Spriggan

A spriggan is a humanoid, forest-dwelling creature, often persecuted along with dryads by humans, in particular Rangers. Danusia Stok uses the word "spriggan" as a translation of Polish "borowik".

Associated quests

 * Big Feet to Fill: The Third Group
 * Knight for Hire, liberating Cutterin Manor

Bestiary entry

 * I was gathering berries, as one does this time of year, when suddenly the trees shook and I saw this… this thing… – fragment of a story told by a woman returning from the woods.


 * Spriggans are a subspecies of the monsters known as leshens. One is liable to come across them in inaccessible, unfrequented woodlands. They do not usually attack humans if unprovoked, but when irritated they can be quite fearsome, and, as they possess considerable strength, they are capable of doing great damage. Their appetite is such that they can devour more flesh than an army at a wedding.


 * Each spriggan has mastery over plants and is inextricably tied to them. Thus if someone destroys greenery in its domain, it immediately comes to punish the disturber.

In The Witcher: Reasons of State graphic novel
"Spriggan" is mentioned as another name for leshy.

Spriggan
Spriggans are legendary creatures known from Cornish faery lore. Spriggans were grotesquely ugly, found at old ruins and barrows guarding buried treasure and generally acting as fairy bodyguards. They were also said to be busy thieves. Though usually small, they had the ability to swell to enormous size (they're sometimes speculated to be the ghosts of the old giants).

Certainly their disposition was poor, and they caused mischief to those who offended them. They sent storms to blight crops, and sometimes stole away mortal children, leaving their ugly changelings in their place.

Borowik
According to a Russian legend, Baba-Yaga puts the hero in touch with magic creatures (spirits), Lesovik and Borovik, who live under a mushroom and provide the hero with magical gifts which show him the way to reach his goal. In both Polish and Russian, borowik/borovik is also the name of the boletus mushrooms.

Borowy
It is not entirely certain whether borowy and borowik are the same creature but the descriptions are extremely similar.

Gallery
Waldteufel Spriggan Borowik Borowik