| Hit Dice: | 10d6+30 (65 hp) |
| Initiative: | +5 |
| Speed: | 50 ft. (10 squares), swim 50 ft. |
| Armor Class: | 22 (−1 size, +1 Dex, +12 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 21 |
| Base Attack/Grapple: | +5/+16 |
| Attack: | Hoof +11 melee (1d6+7) |
| Full Attack: | 2 hooves +11 melee (1d6+7) and bite +6 melee (1d8+3) |
| Space/Reach: | 10 ft./5 ft. |
| Special Attacks: | Spell-like abilities, trip |
| Special Qualities: | Alternate form, damage reduction 10/cold iron low-light vision, resistance to cold and fire 10, scent |
| Saves: | Fort +6, Ref +10, Will +10 |
| Abilities: | Str 24, Dex 13, Con 17, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 14 |
| Skills: | Bluff +15, Diplomacy +6, Disguise +2 (+4 acting), Hide +5, Intimidate +4, Listen +14, Move Silently +14, Sense Motive +14, Spot +14, Swim +20; racial bonuses |
| Feats: | Alertness, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes |
| Environment: | Any aquatic and land |
| Organization: | Solitary |
| Challenge Rating: | 10 |
| Treasure: | Standard |
| Alignment: | Always chaotic evil |
| Advancement: | 11–15 HD(Large); 16–20 HD (Huge) |
| Level Adjustment: | — |
Not all fey are shy and reclusive nature spirits. Kelpies are bloodthirsty and evil fey that thrive on mayhem and murder. They live in rivers, lakes, pools, and other bodies of water where they can drown their prey before devouring the corpses.
In its natural form, a kelpie looks like a large warhorse with coal-black eyes. Its body constantly drips water and is covered in bits of rotted vegetation. A kelpie exudes an odor of death and decay. Horses get agitated and nervous when they are within a kelpie’s territory.
A kelpie can assume the form of a human. Even in this form, a kelpie retains a feral and disturbing aura about it, with long stringy hair, darting eyes, and a gruff voice. The creatures dress in tattered clothing that smells of rotting fish and dampness.
While in this guise, a kelpie often feigns being a fisher, hunter, or lost traveler. A common tactic is for one to act as if it is drowning in the middle ofa lake, so that it can lure a victim to dive in to assist.
Kelpies make their lair in ponds, lakes, rivers, and other inland bodies of water. If someone makes a careful search of such an area, great amounts of bones and carcasses will be found littering the muddy floor.
Kelpies speak Common and Sylvan.
A kelpie usually takes on human form and tries to woo or convince individuals to approach its watery lair. Alternatively, a kelpie remains just under the surface of the water and waits for a victim to get close. It uses charm person to draw victims in and then emotion to either fill victims with fear or root them in place for an easy kill.
Once a victim is close to or in the water, the kelpie reverts to its natural form and attacks. It is adept at tripping opponents in the water so that they are in danger of drowning.
Kelpies can be summoned using a summon nature’s ally IX spell.
Spell-Like Abilities: At will—detect thoughts. 3/day—cause fear, charm person, crushing despair, good hope, rage. Caster level 7th; save DC 12 + spell level.
Trip (Ex): A kelpie that hits with a hoof attack can attempt to trip its opponent as a free action without making a touch attack or provoking an attack of opportunity. If the attempt fails, the opponent cannot react to trip the kelpie.
Alternate Form (Su): A kelpie can assume the form of a human (either gender) as a standard action. Switching back to its natural form is also a standard action. See Alternate Form.
Skills: Kelpies have a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard and can always choose to take 10 on Swim checks, even if distracted or endangered.
Source: Fiend Folio, page 114. Changes applied as per the D&D® v.3.5 Accessory Update. Replaced emotion in the Spell-Like Abilities entry with , crushing despair, good hope, and rage.