The Baitan - A Shapeshifting threat for OSR & 5th Edition

The Baitan (Druidic for Lurking Threat) is a sort of terror weapon employed by particularly extreme or otherwise aggressive Druid circles who wish to make civilized folk think twice about harming wildlife. Take a small woodland creature, preferably one which is harmless like a squirrel, rabbit or sparrow. Bind the creature’s spirit to a summoned elemental and then banish the elemental but without fully severing the link. The creature is then let loose close to an offending settlement. Druids do not generally make the creation of Baitans a secret, to the contrary they generally make the fact that they have done so known far and wide and will see any mayhem that the creatures cause from that point on to be have done with fair warning.

Aside from being exceptionally tough a Baitan is nothing more than a typical member of its species if left alone, but as soon as it is directly agitated or attacked the Elemental which it is linked to springs back into being to protect its host and savages whatever struck it. The changeover from beast to elemental is nearly instantaneous. The Spirit form is typically the size of a small cottage and is strong enough to tear a wagon apart with relative ease even without the help of their elemental abilities. Only a few moments after changing into their spiritual form, they switch back to the animal one. The animal recalls being attacked, but will generally respond as a normal member of its species would under duress, unless attacked again, in which case the process repeats.

I originally made the Baitan for my 5th Edition Westmarch style game, but I am presenting it here with stats for Lamentations of the Flame Princess

B/X Stats:

HD 9 (HP 64)

Armor: None if in Animal form, as Plate in Elemental form

Move: 10’ in Animal form, 40’ in Elemental form

Attacks: 1d2-1 meek bite in Animal form, 2d12+3 Smash as an Elemental
Special: Transforms into an Elemental on hit and appears as per Dimension Door next to the culprit. The Baitan remains in Elemental form until the end of its turn and then shifts back into its Animal form. The Baitan regains 5 HP whenever it transforms.

And here are the Fifth Edition stats:

Art Sources: I'm In Luck! & By Day She Made Herself Into A Cat by Arthur Rackham