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Hobkins

Hobkins are eerie little creatures, pallid humanoids with enormous, lantern-like eyes and massive ears on a too-big head. Unlike other gremlins, hobkins aren't fully in step with the Universe. Instead, they're trapped halfway between it and the First World—eternally out of phase, just a hair's breadth from reality. They move strangely, with jerking, jittery gestures that jump between too fast and too slow, and they float above the ground. They have a physical form, but they feel off to the touch, with a texture not quite like anything else.

Where most gremlins dismantle machines or relationships, hobkins love to scare people, striving to spread paranoia and terror wherever they go. A hobkins might lurk outside a child's window during a storm, pressing its great gleaming eyes against the glass until a lightning flash illuminates its horrible visage—and then vanish before the next lightning strike, giggling to itself with delight.

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

HobkinsCreature 0

Small Fey Gremlin 
Source Feybound pg. 112
Recall Knowledge DC 14 • Fey (Nature)
Perception +5; darkvision
Languages Fey
Skills Acrobatics +6, Athletics +3, Intimidation +6, Stealth +6
Str -1, Dex +4, Con +3, Int +1, Wis +1, Cha +3
AC 16; Fort +6, Ref +9, Will +5
HP 12; Weaknesses cold iron 2, Resistances physical 1 (except cold iron)
Not Where You Think [reaction] (primal) Trigger A frightened creature misses the hobkins with a Strike; Requirements There is a creature other than the attacker within 15 feet that would be a valid target for the triggering attack; Effect The hobkins redirects the triggering attack to the required creature. The attacker rerolls the attack against the new target.
Speed 25 feet, fly 15 feet; floating
Melee [one-action] claw +7 [+3/-1] (agile, finesse, magical), Damage 1d4+1 slashingPrimal Innate Spells DC 16; 1st fear, illusory object; Cantrips (1st) figment, light
Floating Hobkins always levitate about an inch off the ground, ignoring difficult terrain unless it would also affect flying creatures. If they’re further than an inch off the ground at the end of their turn, they gently fall to that height, without taking damage, unless they have something to hold on to.Spooky Little Thing [one-action] (primal) Requirements The hobkins is hidden; Effect The hobkins produces eerie lights and uncanny sounds with no clear source, attempting to Demoralize a foe within 30 feet. Demoralizing this way loses the auditory trait, gains the visual trait, and doesn’t cause the hobkins to lose the hidden condition. The hobkins takes no penalty to their check if the target cannot understand their language.

All Monsters in "Gremlin"

NameLevel
Durtik3
Fuath1
Gnagrif2
Gremlin Swarm4
Grimple-1
Grimple Guards-1
Haniver-1
Hobkins0
Jinkin1
Mitflit-1
Monaciello1
Nuglub2
Pugwampi0
Scrit0
Very Drunk Jinkin-1
Vexgit1

Gremlin

Source Monster Core pg. 180
Gremlins are cruel fey tricksters and saboteurs who have fully acclimated to life in the Universe, finding distinct niches for their inventive destructiveness. Nearly all gremlins delight in ruining or breaking things, whether it's something physical like a device or vehicle or something intangible such as an alliance or relationship. A gremlin's greatest joy is watching the collapse of complex creations, preferably after the slightest, carefully targeted nudge from the gremlin. Gremlins tend to denigrate, bully, or even slaughter their lesser kin, particularly mitflits, whom stronger gremlins derisively call “baggies.”

Sidebar - Treasure and Rewards Gremlin “Treasure”

All gremlins are hoarders, and their nests are cluttered with objects both valuable and worthless. Sorting through a gremlin nest can reveal unexpected treasures like pieces of jewelry or minor magic items, but care must also be taken to avoid being cut on rusty shards of metal, taking cursed items, or disturbing a hidden nest of venomous vermin.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Gremlin Bells

Superstitious societies sometimes hang tiny bells made of semiprecious metals in the belief that such bells will dissuade gremlins from destroying an affixed object or infesting a home. Strangely enough, most gremlins believe this superstition as well, and even when a gremlin bell hasn't been magically enhanced, a gremlin usually won't risk tinkering with objects that have been protected in this manner.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Gremlin Games

When gremlins gather, one challenge always presents itself: figuring out which gremlin should be in charge. Sometimes, this is resolved by a simple rule, “the biggest and meanest gremlin is the boss,” but there are other ways. Sometimes, a gremlin takes command on the merits of a really impressive and complicated act of sabotage. Other times, the group plays a rousing game of Screaming Mortal. Gremlins take turns scaring random mortals, and whoever can make a victim scream or swear the loudest earns the title of Gremlin King. Regardless of the result, each gremlin believes in their heart of hearts that they're the one in charge.

Sidebar - Additional Lore The Gremlin Way

“Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong if I have anything to say about it.” If gremlins can be said to have a philosophy, it is this. No one knows who first coined this saying, and over the eons, variants that leave off the final clause have spread to other societies, where it's much beloved by cynics and all who study complex systems, social or mechanical. To gremlins, this mantra verges on a religion, and many seek to embody it with all their actions. Besides, following the saying is a lot of fun—if you're of a gremlin-ish disposition.

Shelyn's Corner

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