Gremlin, JinkinGrimacing like a maniac, this lean little bat-eared horror displays a mouth full of needle-like teeth and glowing, orange eyes.Jinkin CR 1Source Bestiary 2 pg. 142, Pathfinder #19: Howl of the Carrion King pg. 82
XP 400
CE Tiny fey
Init +4; Senses darkvision 120 ft., low-light vision; Perception +6DefenseAC 18, touch 17, flat-footed 13 (+4 Dex, +1 dodge, +1 natural, +2 size)
hp 6 (1d6+3)
Fort +0, Ref +6, Will +4
DR 5/cold iron; SR 12OffenseSpeed 40 ft.
Melee short sword +6 (1d3–4/19–20), bite +1 (1d2–4)
Space 2-1/2 ft., Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks sneak attack +1d6, tinker
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st; concentration +3)
At will—prestidigitation
1/hour—dimension door (self plus 5 lbs. only)StatisticsStr 3, Dex 19, Con 11, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 15
Base Atk +0; CMB +2; CMD 9
Feats Dodge, ToughnessB, Weapon FinesseB
Skills Bluff +6, Craft (traps) +10, Disable Device +9, Escape Artist +8, Perception +6, Sleight of Hand +8, Stealth +16, Use Magic Device +6; Racial Modifiers +4 Craft (traps), +4 Disable Device
Languages UndercommonEcologyEnvironment any underground or urban
Organization solitary, pair, mob (3–12), or infestation (13–20 with 1–3 sorcerers of 1st–3rd level, 1 rogue leader of 2nd–4th level, 2–8 trained stirges, 2–5 trained darkmantles, and 1–2 trained dire bats)
Treasure standard (short sword, other treasure)Special AbilitiesTinker (Sp) A group of six jinkins working together over the course of an hour can create an effect identical to bestow curse on any living creature. This effect functions at CL 6th and has a range of 60 feet, and the target creature must be either willing or helpless (but still gets a saving throw to resist). The save is DC 14 + the Charisma modifier of the jinkin with the highest Charisma score (DC 16 for most groups of jinkins). Alternatively, the group of jinkins can attempt to infuse a magic item with a curse. The nature of this curse is determined randomly; half of these curses make the magic item unreliable (each time the item is used, there is a 20% chance it does not function), while the other half give the item a random requirement. A jinkin can take part in a tinkering only once per day, and may only tinker with a creature or object that isn’t already cursed. Once a tinkering curse is in place, it is permanent until removed via an effect like remove curse. All jinkin tinkerings function as a curse created by a 6th-level caster.DescriptionSneaky and sadistic, jinkins are hideous gremlins that inhabit the dark places underground. Well acclimated to the shadows, they hide in cramped quarters and attack larger creatures when they’re strategically positioned. Jinkins commonly work with or near larger or more powerful creatures; these larger creatures provide cover for the jinkins’ trickery. They use dimension door to exit any battle that goes badly, taking any stolen goods with them.
Jinkins delight in leading larger creatures into dangerous caves or pits, usually by lunging out of the shadows to make a single sneak attack against a creature and then running away, taking care while “fleeing” to remain visible to their target so that they can lure the victim into a trap.
Jinkins also hold dangerous grudges, and one might follow a creature that supposedly slighted it for weeks, looking for an opportunity to take revenge. This revenge can take many forms, from leading horses astray to contaminating food supplies to directing larger monsters toward the begrudged creature.
One of the most direct and unwelcome revenges of the jinkins is the destruction or cursing of magical items. Many times they’ll observe camped enemies from a distance and either steal an item to tinker with it or just use their tinkering magic at a distance to annoy the item’s owner. Once a jinkin has worked its sabotage on a stolen item, the jinkin either grows bored with the item or may attempt to return it to its owner. Jinkin lairs are often cluttered with stolen items that bear curses the jinkins themselves have forgotten all about.
Dwarves in particular hate jinkins, with numerous tales in their folklore telling of tragedy at the hands of the gremlins. The loathing is largely mutual.
The average jinkin stands almost 2 feet tall and weighs about 13 pounds.Creatures in "Gremlin" CategorySource Bestiary 2 pg. 141
Well known for their mischievous natures, their nasty senses of humor, and their destructive habits, the fey creatures known as gremlins rightfully earn their reputations as cruel pranksters and sadistic saboteurs. Ranging in size from 3 feet in height down to barely over a foot tall, numerous types of gremlins stalk the world's dark and unseen reaches, tending to linger near thin spots in reality between the Material Plane and the realms of the fey. The smaller a gremlin is, the stronger its ties to the realm of the fey remain, and the stranger and more potent its powers.
Gremlins understand that they lack physical power, and thus are usually encountered in large groups that work together to defend each other and their lair. While all gremlins share certain traits in common, such as a resistance to damage from weapons save those made of cold iron, a cruel and sadistic sense of humor, the ability to use prestidigitation to enhance their mischievous plans, and their slight statures, the single trait that gremlins are most well known for is their ability to break, curse, and otherwise ruin the works of other creatures. Gremlins take great delight in ruining and breaking things, and while each gremlin race has a particular “specialty” (be it magical auras, complex machinery, coordinated tactics, or even luck itself), all gremlins are fascinated by complex devices and intricate social constructs. Nothing pleases a gremlin more than being involved in the collapse of something complex.
Although gremlins originally hailed from the mysterious realm of the fey, they have lived upon the Material Plane for countless generations. In that time, they have become natives of this realm, both in body and soul. Yet not all gremlins have managed to retain their strange powers to disrupt and destroy—the most unfortunate gremlins are not even commonly known as gremlins at all. These bizarre creatures are known as mites. While they retain the gremlin ability to use a few spell-like abilities, mites represent to their fellow gremlins the ultimate shame and horror—a fall into pathetic self-loathing and pitiful cowardice. As a result, gremlins grow particularly sadistic and violent when presented with an opportunity to torment a tribe of mites, abandoning their more subtle methods of disrupting communities and machinery in favor of all-out war, invading mite homes and lairs with tiny knives in hand and murder on their minds. Only mite tribes that have managed to ally themselves with particularly dangerous vermin generally have any chance at all to withstand an invasion of this sort, and most tribes quickly surrender to the gremlins. In some cases, the wholesale act of surrender can cool the gremlins' rage, and the attackers simply take steps to subjugate and enslave the tribe of mites, using them from that point on as a slave class to serve their whims, but in other cases not even the mite tribe's complete surrender can save them.
Against larger creatures, particularly humanoids (whom gremlins particularly love to torment and vex), gremlins adopt a much more subtle approach. Gremlins know that they lack the physical strength to withstand a fight against even the weakest humanoid societies, and thus keep to the shadows when moving through cities and villages. Gremlins seek out regions within urban areas where the “big folk” don't bother to visit often—places like sewers, dumps, graveyards, and abandoned buildings make for perfect gremlin lairs. Once a gremlin tribe establishes itself in the shadows of a humanoid society, it begins its work. Operating in pairs or even alone, the gremlins move out into the society, seeking ways to undo anything that can be undone. If a gremlin can arrange it, it prefers to leave an object, relationship, or situation in such a condition that it may seem stable and undamaged to the casual observer, but falls apart or fails spectacularly the next time it is used or encountered. A gremlin often waits in hiding nearby so it can observe the calamitous results of its mayhem, but takes pains to be well out of reach when such a disaster occurs. Gremlins know that it's not good to be in arm's reach of an angry humanoid once it realizes it's been visited by a gremlin.
In areas where gremlin activity is well established, many societies have developed unique and clever ways to both protect themselves from gremlin-related mayhem and root out the little monsters from their lairs. One common method of dealing with gremlins is to use objects known as gremlin bells. Crafted from bronze, brass, or other semiprecious metals and measuring no more than an inch tall, gremlin bells are hung from delicate chains or silken cords over door frames and windows, or affixed to precious objects. The belief is that the presence of a gremlin bell sickens the creatures and even renders their supernatural and spell-like abilities useless. Strangely enough, many gremlins believe this as well, and even when the gremlin bells aren't magic, gremlins won't risk tinkering with most objects that seem to be warded in such a manner.
Other communities take a much more active path in ridding themselves of gremlins, training small animals like cats, dogs, falcons, or even weasels to seek out and attack gremlins on sight. Tiny trained animals can pursue gremlins into their cramped warrens with ease and, when their claws are fitted with cleverly constructed cold iron spikes, can inflict significant damage on a tribe of these creatures. Many gremlin tribes have learned from such tactics, however, and utilize trained (or not) animals in their own lairs for protection.
|