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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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Marp

While many creatures hunger after gold, the blue-furred marp literally eats this precious metal as a vital part of their diet. Although a few marp families live near natural gold deposits, most sources of gold are already under some other creature's control. Therefore, marps generally survive by ingratiating themselves to those creatures. Once they have inured themselves with such a group, they will gather all the gold they can get.

Even hungry marps ask first, a display that varies by region but is rarely more complex than gripping their hands in the air and asking “gold?” in a plaintive voice. Marp cultures consider this process of asking first to be virtuous, but they fundamentally think of gold as a food, not a trade good. As such, they will steal gold if refused, considering it justified the same way one might steal bread if starving. That being said, marps generally attempt to earn their keep by assisting in roles like prospectors or counterfeit detectors, for which their acute sense for gold makes them well suited.

Marps rarely engage in direct combat, preferring to run away if attacked. On the rare occasions they meet other creatures that also eat minerals, they're generally willing to reach an equitable trade agreement.

The scent and feel of lead disgust marps. If a marp is given lead, they no longer approach that creature and leave them alone. Even a single lead coin in a bag of gold is enough to protect the bag from theft, making such coins an effective deterrent in regions frequented by marps.

Recall Knowledge - Beast (Arcana, Nature): DC 19
Unspecific Lore: DC 17
Specific Lore: DC 14

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

MarpCreature 4

Small Beast 
Source Howl of the Wild pg. 174 2.0
Perception +8; darkvision, goldsense (imprecise) 60 feet
Languages Common, Fey
Skills Acrobatics +8, Athletics +6, Deception +9, Thievery +8
Str +4, Dex +4, Con +2, Int -2, Wis +2, Cha +5
Goldsense Marps can sense any accumulation of gold within range. They also can precisely measure the purity of gold by touch.
AC 16; Fort +6, Ref +10, Will +6
HP 48
Panicked Withdrawal [reaction] Trigger The marp takes damage from a melee Strike; Effect The marp drops any items held in their hands, then ClimbS or Strides up to 15 feet.
Speed 25 feet, climb 15 feet
Melee [one-action] jaws +8 [+3/-2], Damage 2d6+6 piercingGold? [one-action] (auditory, emotion, linguistic, mental) The marp asks for gold from all creatures in a 30-foot emanation. Each target must attempt a DC 18 Will save or retrieve and drop gold valuables as a free action.
Critical Success The target can refuse the request, though they can also choose to willingly hand over any amount of gold. If they do so, they gain a +1 status bonus to the next saving throw they attempt within 1 minute, and they're temporarily immune to Scampering Theft for 1 minute.
Success The target can refuse the request.
Failure The target must drop coins, gold jewelry, or other objects worth 20 gp.
Critical Failure As failure, but 40 gp Scampering Theft [two-actions] (manipulate, move) The marp runs and attempts to snatch a purse, pendant, or other such object. The marp Strides up to their Speed, and they can move through enemy spaces during this movement. They then attempt to steal valuables from the target, who must attempt a DC 18 Reflex save.
Success The marp fails to steal anything from the target.
Failure The marp steals one object from the target's possession that is made of or contains gold. They can't steal objects held by or permanently attached to the creature. If the object contains lead, the marp drops it at the target's feet. After stealing the object (or dropping it), the marp then Strides up to their Speed.