“It’s a bird! It’s a plane!” No, it’s that half-bird half-boy shadow-fighting faerie-friend from Neverland, that lad who can never grow up but apparently can do anything else: Peter Pan!
This is a literature character invented by the Scotsman J.M. Barrie, a novelist and playwright in the early 1900s. There’s an extremely popular animated Disney film, Peter Pan, as well as a great movie starring the late Robin Williams called Hook, that have introduced him to most modern audiences. He’s a chaotic youth that never grows up and whisks children away to the wondrous island of Neverland where they too never become old, joining his gang the Lost Boys. Captain Hook and his pirates are always trying to capture Peter and his friends, until the buccaneer is gruesomely killed by a crocodile. At the end Peter remains in Neverland while the Lost Boys return to England with his most recent batch of abductees, adopting the kids into their family and growing old--too old to fly and ever return.
Design Notes: My initial impulse here was to make Peter Pan as a Mythological Figure using the feywalker class (as so many folks like to call that the Peter Pan class!) but upon thorough consideration it became clear that actually isn’t a very good fit. Why? Let’s review what this little dude can do: he’s eternally young and has to forget things to retain that youth, he can fly under his own power, he apparently affects the entire region of Neverland while present, he’s a swordsman on par with a pirate captain (who admittedly might not be that good, what with the amputated hand), has superior senses, can imagine things into existence, has a danger sense, and is a psychopomp.
What? Yes. There are three other original works beyond the narrative most of us know (Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, When Wendy Grew Up - An Afterthought, and Peter and Wendy) and apparently he takes to shepherding the souls of dead children so they’re not frightened on their way to the afterlife.
With all that in mind—let’s do the numbers. The Danger Sense trait gives Peter here an effectively higher AC (and if you want to be nuanced an abstractly ~7-8% higher hit point total) so if you boil him down into the DMG rubric it spits out a 7.5, the Blog of Holding ever so slightly higher at 7.83333. With those nifty lair actions (which includes a minion option and shadow puppetry! ♥) I’m inclined to round up to an even 8.
Note: Over on Twitter designer Shea Reinke had some passionate thoughts on Peter Pan and pointed out there’s some good reasons for him to be considered evil: “forget the brown hannah barbara hero, and understand.. ‘sneaking into children's bedrooms’ stealing ‘lost boys’ .. chopping off people's hands.. the racism.. then read the bio of the author.. yeah and in the book he kills Tink and doesn't care, EVIL!!...I feel I should qualify for nerd pickyness. The Author kills Tink to highlight how evil Peter is. In the last chapter Wendy visits Neverland one last time and asks where Tink is, and Peter responds ‘Tink who?’ then the book ends.” Considering the (much wider) public perception of the sanitized version I’m sticking to chaotic neutral, but definitely with a skeptical eye at this little fellow’s brand of ‘mischief’.
Peter Pan
Small fey, chaotic neutral
Armor Class 14
Hit Points 130 (20d6+60)
Speed 45 ft., fly 40 ft. (hover)
Skills Acrobatics +10, Athletics +2, Deception +7, Nature +4, Perception +5, Persuasion +7, Stealth +10
Senses passive Perception 20
Languages Common
Challenge 8 (3,900 XP)
Ageless Amnesia. Peter does not age. He cannot suffer from frailty of old age, die from old age, or be aged magically. He also suffers from partial amnesia. Peter knows who he is, retains racial traits and class features, and recognizes people he knows, but he doesn’t remember any past events that occurred more than 1d4+1 months ago. If Peter is cured of his amnesia, he loses this trait.
Cunning Action (1/Turn). Peter can take a bonus action to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action.
Danger Sense. Peter can’t be surprised and has advantage on saving throws. Additionally, other creatures have disadvantage on attack rolls against him. Unlike normal, if an attacking creature would have advantage twice or more (such as from true strike while making a melee attack against Peter while he is prone) the attacking creature has advantage.
Ethereal Sight. Peter can see 60 feet into the Ethereal Plane when he is on the Material Plane, and vice versa.
Fairy Dust. Peter can use an action to blow fairy dust into the air to produce a variety of effects.
Keen Senses. Peter has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or vision.
Mimicry. Peter can mimic animal sounds and humanoid voices. A creature that hears the sounds can tell they are imitations with a successful DC 17 Wisdom (Insight) check.
Neverdying. When Peter is ‘killed’, his body fades away and he reappears in Neverland after 2d6 days at maximum health. The only way to permanently destroy Peter is to cure him of his partial amnesia and force him to doubt himself with a DC 30 Charisma (Persuasion) check, three consecutive DC 20 Charisma (Persuasion) checks, or by another means determined by the GM.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. Peter attacks three times.
Rapier. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8+4) piercing damage.
Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft. and range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d4+4) piercing damage.
REACTIONS
Feat: Master of the Sword. Peter can use his reaction when wielding a sword to gain a +1 bonus to his AC until the start of his next turn or until he is disarmed. In addition, Peter has advantage on opportunity attacks.
LAIR ACTIONS
Peter has a visceral effect on Neverland and the island seems to awaken when he is there. On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), he takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; Peter can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:
This is a literature character invented by the Scotsman J.M. Barrie, a novelist and playwright in the early 1900s. There’s an extremely popular animated Disney film, Peter Pan, as well as a great movie starring the late Robin Williams called Hook, that have introduced him to most modern audiences. He’s a chaotic youth that never grows up and whisks children away to the wondrous island of Neverland where they too never become old, joining his gang the Lost Boys. Captain Hook and his pirates are always trying to capture Peter and his friends, until the buccaneer is gruesomely killed by a crocodile. At the end Peter remains in Neverland while the Lost Boys return to England with his most recent batch of abductees, adopting the kids into their family and growing old--too old to fly and ever return.
Design Notes: My initial impulse here was to make Peter Pan as a Mythological Figure using the feywalker class (as so many folks like to call that the Peter Pan class!) but upon thorough consideration it became clear that actually isn’t a very good fit. Why? Let’s review what this little dude can do: he’s eternally young and has to forget things to retain that youth, he can fly under his own power, he apparently affects the entire region of Neverland while present, he’s a swordsman on par with a pirate captain (who admittedly might not be that good, what with the amputated hand), has superior senses, can imagine things into existence, has a danger sense, and is a psychopomp.
What? Yes. There are three other original works beyond the narrative most of us know (Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, When Wendy Grew Up - An Afterthought, and Peter and Wendy) and apparently he takes to shepherding the souls of dead children so they’re not frightened on their way to the afterlife.
With all that in mind—let’s do the numbers. The Danger Sense trait gives Peter here an effectively higher AC (and if you want to be nuanced an abstractly ~7-8% higher hit point total) so if you boil him down into the DMG rubric it spits out a 7.5, the Blog of Holding ever so slightly higher at 7.83333. With those nifty lair actions (which includes a minion option and shadow puppetry! ♥) I’m inclined to round up to an even 8.
Note: Over on Twitter designer Shea Reinke had some passionate thoughts on Peter Pan and pointed out there’s some good reasons for him to be considered evil: “forget the brown hannah barbara hero, and understand.. ‘sneaking into children's bedrooms’ stealing ‘lost boys’ .. chopping off people's hands.. the racism.. then read the bio of the author.. yeah and in the book he kills Tink and doesn't care, EVIL!!...I feel I should qualify for nerd pickyness. The Author kills Tink to highlight how evil Peter is. In the last chapter Wendy visits Neverland one last time and asks where Tink is, and Peter responds ‘Tink who?’ then the book ends.” Considering the (much wider) public perception of the sanitized version I’m sticking to chaotic neutral, but definitely with a skeptical eye at this little fellow’s brand of ‘mischief’.
Peter Pan
Small fey, chaotic neutral
Armor Class 14
Hit Points 130 (20d6+60)
Speed 45 ft., fly 40 ft. (hover)
STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
9 (–1) | 19 (+4) | 17 (+3) | 12 (+1) | 14 (+2) | 18 (+4) |
Senses passive Perception 20
Languages Common
Challenge 8 (3,900 XP)
Ageless Amnesia. Peter does not age. He cannot suffer from frailty of old age, die from old age, or be aged magically. He also suffers from partial amnesia. Peter knows who he is, retains racial traits and class features, and recognizes people he knows, but he doesn’t remember any past events that occurred more than 1d4+1 months ago. If Peter is cured of his amnesia, he loses this trait.
Cunning Action (1/Turn). Peter can take a bonus action to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action.
Danger Sense. Peter can’t be surprised and has advantage on saving throws. Additionally, other creatures have disadvantage on attack rolls against him. Unlike normal, if an attacking creature would have advantage twice or more (such as from true strike while making a melee attack against Peter while he is prone) the attacking creature has advantage.
Ethereal Sight. Peter can see 60 feet into the Ethereal Plane when he is on the Material Plane, and vice versa.
Fairy Dust. Peter can use an action to blow fairy dust into the air to produce a variety of effects.
- Fly: Each creature in a 10-foot cube originating from Peter gains a flying speed equal to its walking speed for 1 hour and can hover. If a creature is in the air when the dust wears off, it falls unless it has some other means of staying aloft.
- Glitter: Each object in a 20-foot cube originating from Peter is outlined in blue, green, or violet light (your choice). Any creature in the area when the dust is blown is also outlined in light if it fails a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. For 1 minute, objects and affected creatures shed dim light in a 10-foot radius. Any attack roll against an affected creature or object has advantage if the attacker can see it, and the affected creature or object can't benefit from being invisible.
- Restore: Each creature in a 15-foot cube originating from Peter is washed over with healing energy, regaining 17 (3d8+4) hit points.
Keen Senses. Peter has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or vision.
Mimicry. Peter can mimic animal sounds and humanoid voices. A creature that hears the sounds can tell they are imitations with a successful DC 17 Wisdom (Insight) check.
Neverdying. When Peter is ‘killed’, his body fades away and he reappears in Neverland after 2d6 days at maximum health. The only way to permanently destroy Peter is to cure him of his partial amnesia and force him to doubt himself with a DC 30 Charisma (Persuasion) check, three consecutive DC 20 Charisma (Persuasion) checks, or by another means determined by the GM.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. Peter attacks three times.
Rapier. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8+4) piercing damage.
Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft. and range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d4+4) piercing damage.
REACTIONS
Feat: Master of the Sword. Peter can use his reaction when wielding a sword to gain a +1 bonus to his AC until the start of his next turn or until he is disarmed. In addition, Peter has advantage on opportunity attacks.
LAIR ACTIONS
Peter has a visceral effect on Neverland and the island seems to awaken when he is there. On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), he takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; Peter can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:
- Peter imagines a nonliving object of vegetable matter within 15 feet: soft goods, rope, wood, or something similar. He can also create mineral objects such as stone, crystal, or metal. The object created must be no larger than a 5-foot cube. The duration depends on the object's material (as creation). If the object is composed of multiple materials, use the shortest duration. Unless he decides otherwise when making it, only Peter and other children are able to see the conjured object.
- Naturally drawn to him, one of the Lost Boys appears from a place of concealment within 200 feet of Peter and joins the fight, acting on his initiative (use the statistics for a Scout).
- Shadows wrap around the creatures casting them. Peter chooses up to 6 creatures he can see that are casting a shadow. Until the start of the next round, when one of these creatures moves 10 feet or more, makes an attack, or casts a hostile spell, it is ensnared by its shadow. The creature makes a DC 15 Strength saving throw. On a failed save, the creature is grappled (escape DC 15).
