By Agatha Crowe, Pact-Writer of the Wyrdraev

Boggarts are shapeshifting swamp spirits, most commonly encountered in the guise of hunched goblinoid figures, coated in algae, muck, and reeds. Their base form is described as between amphibian and reptilian, but this is rarely seen. Boggarts constantly alter their bodies through sympathetic resonance with their environment or prey. They are not bound to a single flesh, but instead wear flesh like wet clothes, shifting as suits their trickery. Despite their grotesque visage, boggarts are not inherently malevolent. They are creatures of mischief, mimicry, and liminality, drawn to sites of neutral energy, stagnant change, and emotional residue. Boggarts feed not on meat, but reaction: fear, confusion, delight, shame. These spirits thrive when observed, feared, or loved.

Abilities & Behavior:

Shapeshifting: Boggarts can assume partial or full traits of those they study. By imitating the aetheric frequency of their specimens, they can align with their resonance and take an identical form.

Nest Crafting: Boggarts are attracted to places of abandonment, where there is neutral aetheric activity, a perfect site for building their own sympathetic web. Although they do not build traditional lairs, boggarts gather sentimental refuse, including lost shoes, broken dolls, and old keys, and craft "nests" that radiate sympathetic energy. These nests are both feeding grounds and focuses of power for the boggarts.

Sympathetic Magic: Boggarts excel at detecting sympathetic links. A dropped lock of hair or forgotten item can anchor their imitations. The more personal the object, the more convincing the mimic, and the stronger the sympathetic link.

Clairsentient: Boggarts are sensitive to polarity in psychic fields, excited emotions such as delight and terror create resonance in the aetheric field when shared among multiple people, this results in an excess of potential sympathetic energy for links to be made. Boggarts feed off this energy, as well as wield it in their magic.

Vulnerabilities:

Iron and Salt: As with many spirits, boggarts recoil from iron and salt. 

Naming Rites: Giving a boggart a name (and having it accept it) binds it to a persona, weakening its ability to shift. Some wytches "tame" boggarts by naming them and feeding them sympathetic energy. 

Broken Sympathies: Destroying or corrupting a boggart’s nest can unravel its link to the area, forcing it to flee or dissipate. Be warned: such desecration often provokes retaliation in the form of hexes, curses, or misdirection.

Field Classification Tags:

• Mutable Spirit

• Liminal Entity

• Clairsentience

• Sympathetic Magic User

• Potential Familiar

• Aethervore