This enormous amalgamation of stone and plant matter takes the shape of an old man leaning on an equally huge staff.

Guardians of significant natural wonders like mountains, large lakes, forests, and so on, jinushigami (known also as land kami) are the most powerful and revered of all kami, commanding the very forces of nature itself to ensure the safety and security of their wards. These potent spirits garner the most respect among other kami, wielding great influence over both them and the native creatures that dwell within their territories. Jinushigami tend to stay hidden amongst their land, however, knowing that their intimate tie with the environment makes them highly desirable targets among those who would seek to do harm to nature.

Strangers to lands protected by jinushigami are well-advised to take the utmost care to not offend the powerful spirit creatures. When displeased, jinushigami can eradicate trails and warp the contours of their terrain, forcing travelers to endure unreasonable hardship in travel. These goliaths have little patience for those who would defile their efforts, and offenders who fail to listen to a jinushigami's initial hints quickly discover how devastating the kami's powers can be as they are forced from the land either by the lesser kami who serve their superior or by the towering jinushigami itself. Of course, those who respect and honor the jinushigami see the kami's other side, as the kami eases their travel by lessening undergrowth, shifting rivers, and otherwise providing subtle but incredible aid to travelers.

Jinushigami are ancient and wise, and while they are no fools, they prefer to give visitors to their domains the benefit of the doubt. Only when an individual makes known his disruptive intentions toward the structure and cohesion of nature does a jinushigami react with violence. Of course, those who align themselves with naturally opposing forces of the kami, such as the oni, do not receive this friendly grace period, and a jinushigami can perceive most treacherous thoughts, sensing a suspicious visitor through its connection with the land, then tracking it down to stealthily observe it more closely.

A jinushigami is 38 feet tall and weighs over 30,000 pounds. When they manifest physical bodies, they appear as lumbering humanoid forms made of earth and stone and plant matter, sometimes with strange humanoid affectations like hats or jewelry.

Special Abilities

Infused Quarterstaff (Su) Any quarterstaff a jinushigami wields functions as a +5 quarterstaff (unless the quarterstaff already has a greater enhancement bonus). If a jinushigami is within its regional ward, it can create a Gargantuan quarterstaff out of the surrounding terrain as a standard action.

Manipulate Terrain (Su) A jinushigami can help any number of creatures travel within its territory. Creatures aided in this way receive a +10 bonus on Survival Checks and do not suffer reductions to overland movement from terrain or lack of a highway or other roadway, regardless of the presence of roads or the type of terrain they actually travel through. Alternatively, a jinushigami can make terrain more difficult for any number of creatures to travel through, imparting a 10 penalty on all Survival Checks and causing overland movement to be reduced to one-tenth its normal speed. A jinushigami can affect as many creatures as it wishes with this ability, selecting whether it aids or impedes travel for each, as long as it can notice the creature and the creature is within its regional ward. A jinushigami may use this ability while merged with its ward.

Ward (Su) A jinushigami treats an entire region as its ward. This region can be a single forest, swamp, mountain, lake, or any other natural feature, with a maximum radius of 5 miles. Most jinushigami have smaller regional wards, since not all regions are large enough to fill this area, but no region with a radius smaller than 1 mile radius can support (or deserves) a jinushigami. As long as it is within its territory (either merged with it or in its physical form), a jinushigami can observe the world from any point within its regional ward as if it were at that point. While merged with its ward, it can observe all points simultaneously in this way. As a standard action, it can convey information about a creature within its ward (effectively imparting a description and exact location) to all kami within its regional ward.