Mythic Gremlin, Fuath

APPEARANCE

This waterlogged gremlin has lobster claws for hands and an almost canine face with webbed ears.

Mythic Fuath CR 2/MR 1

XP 600
CE Tiny fey (aquatic, mythic)
Init +5; Senses darkvision 120 ft., low-light vision; Perception +5
Aura choppy seas^MA (30 ft.)

DEFENSE

AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 15 (+1 Dex, +3 natural, +2 size)
hp 13 (1d6+10)
Fort +1, Ref +3, Will +3
DR 5/cold iron; Resist cold 10; SR 13
Weaknesses vulnerable to fire and sunlight

OFFENSE

Speed 20 ft., climb 10 ft., swim 30 ft.
Melee 2 claws +3 (1d3+1)
Ranged dart +3 (1d2+1)
Space 2–1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks congeal water, mythic power (1/day, surge +1d6), wood warper^MA
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st; concentration +0)

• At will—create water, prestidigitation
• 1/day—sleep (DC 10)

STATISTICS

Str 7, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 8
Base Atk +0; CMB –1; CMD 7
Feats Improved Initiative, Toughness^B, Weapon Finesse^BMF
Skills Climb +6, Escape Artist +5, Handle Animal +4, Perception +5, Stealth +13, Swim +10, Use Magic Device +3; Racial Modifiers +4 Handle Animal
Languages Aquan
SQ amphibious

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Aura of Choppy Seas (Su)

Within the radius of a mythic fuath’s aura, open water becomes more turbulent, increasing DCs for Swim checks within it by 5. The fuath can expend one use of mythic power as a swift action to further increase the DC by 5. Water affected this way returns to its normal state one round after it leaves the fuath’s aura.

Congeal Water (Su)

Once per day, a fuath can surround a creature in a thin layer of magically viscous water as a standard action at a range of 30 feet. A target that fails a DC 10 Reflex save becomes entangled and must hold its breath or risk drowning. The target or an adjacent creature can spend a full-round action on its turn scraping off the clinging fluid, allowing a new Reflex save with a +2 bonus; otherwise, the effect lasts for 1d4 minutes. A fuath can use this ability even if there is no source of water nearby. The save DC is Charisma-based and includes a +1 racial bonus.

Vulnerable to Sunlight (Ex)

A fuath takes 1 point of Constitution damage after every hour it is exposed to sunlight. Water of a depth of at least 1 foot negates this harmful effect.

Wood Warper (Sp)

Once per day, a mythic fuath can use warp wood as a spell-like ability (CL 8th) but only to affect boats or ships. A non-mythic creature cannot use warp wood to undo damage done by a mythic fuath using this ability.

ABOUT

Environment any water
Organization solitary, pair, mob (1 mythic fuath gremlin plus 3–12 fuath gremlins), or school (1 mythic fuath gremlin plus 13–20 fuath gremlins with 1–3 druids of 1st level and 2–5 reefclaws)
Treasure standard (6 darts, other treasure)

Drowners of sailors and sinkers of ships, a fuath (FOO-ah) climbs aboard ships in the dead of night to sever ropes, bore holes in barrels, soil provisions, and murder any hapless crew it puts to sleep or catches alone. It delights in drowning creatures by surrounding them with magically thickened water, cackling with wicked glee as its victims claw desperately for the air only inches from their mouths. A fuath wears seaweed, shells, and coral like other creatures wear armor, clothes, and jewelry. Its body is protected by a hard, hunchbacked carapace. It stands less than 2 feet tall and weighs 12 to 15 pounds.

Fuaths don’t share a common language with other types of gremlins, though they can pantomime to each other fairly effectively. They have a surprising rapport with other sea creatures, even foul-tempered beasts like giant crabs and crayfish. Small groups of fuaths lair in sea caves or rocky crevices. Larger groups frequently lay claim to whole sections of ruined ships. Their lairs usually include several trained guard animals. Fuaths prefer the taste of “land-meat” to anything from the sea, and often raid shore and ships to slake their hunger. They adore sea hags to the point of worship.

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.

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, and their slight statures, all are famed for 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.

Against larger creatures, particularly humanoids (whom gremlins particularly love to torment and vex), gremlins adopt a subtler approach. Lacking the physical strength to fight even the weakest humanoid societies, they seek out urban areas where the “big folk” don’t visit often, like sewers, dumps, graveyards, and abandoned buildings. Once established in the shadows of society, the gremlins move out singly or in pairs to undo anything that can be undone. They love leaving objects, relationships, or situations looking stable to casual observation, but ready to collapse or fail spectacularly at the slightest touch, hiding nearby so they can observe the calamitous results but keeping well out of range of the disaster.

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 lairs for protection.