A leshy is a strange man wearing loose scraps of clothing and covered in bark and root-like growths. The hair and beard that frame his piercing green eyes writhe like living vines.
Expanding the Wild. Solitary leshy tend plants and animals in groves around great forests, and they are the self-proclaimed protectors of the forest outskirts. Leshy have little patience for interlopers and often kill, abduct, or frighten off trailblazers and guides. With their plant growth ability, they sabotage cultivated land, wipe out trails, and create weed walls and thickets to keep civilization at bay. Using speak with plants, they transplant dangerous plant creatures to discourage new settlements. Some have wrangled rabid animals to the same purpose.
Ax Thieves. Leshy prefer trickery to combat, particularly enjoying leading interlopers astray through use of their mimicry. If challenged, they use their ability to change size to scare intruders away, but they never hesitate to fight to the death in service to the forest if necessary. Leshy hate metal, especially axes, and they go out of their way to steal metal items and lead those who use them astray.
Accept Bribes. With careful courting and appropriate gifts, it is possible to gain a leshy's capricious assistance. This can be risky, because leshy love mischief. Still, at times a leshy's help is essential to a group traversing ancient woodlands.