Imp, Mephit

	Fire	Ice	Lava
Climate/Terrain:	Any	Any	Any
Frequency:	See below	See below	See below
Organization:	Solitary	Solitary	Solitary
Activity Cycle:	Any	Any	Any
Diet:	Special	Special	Special
Intelligence:	Average (8-10)	Average (8-10)	Average (8-10)
Treasure:	Nx2	N	N
Alignment:	Any evil	Any evil	Any evil
No. Appearing:	See below	See below	See below
Armor Class:	5	5	6
Movement:	12, FL 24 (B)	12, FL 24 (B)	12, FL 24 (B)
Hit Dice:	3+1	3	3
THAC0:	17	17	17
No. of Attacks:	2	2	2
Damage/Attack:	1-3/1-3	1-2/1-2	1/1
Special Attacks:	See below	See below	See below
Special Defenses:	See below	See below	See below
Magic Resistance:	Nil	Nil	Nil
Size:	M (5' tall)	M (5' tall)	M (5' tall)
Morale:	Average (8-10)	Average (8-10)	Average (8-10)
XP Value:	420	420	420
	Mist	Smoke	Steam
Climate/Terrain:	Any	Any	Any
Frequency:	See below	See below	See below
Organization:	Solitary	Solitary	Solitary
Activity Cycle:	Any	Any	Any
Diet:	Special	Special	Special
Intelligence:	Average (8-10)	Average (8-10)	Average (8-10)
Treasure:	N	N	N
Alignment:	Any evil	Any evil	Any evil
No. Appearing:	See below	See below	See below
Armor Class:	7	4	7
Movement:	12, FL 24 (B)	12, FL	24 (B)
Hit Dice:	3+2	3	3+3
THAC0:	17	17	17
No. of Attacks:	2	2	2
Damage/Attack:	1/1	1-2/1-2	2-5/2-5
Special Attacks:	See below	See below	See below
Special Defenses:	See below	See below	See below
Magic Resistance:	Nil	Nil	Nil
Size:	M (5' tall)	M (5' tall)	M (5' tall)
Morale:	Average (8-10)	Average(8-10)	Average (8-10)
XP Value:	420	420	420

Mephits are nasty little messengers created by powerful lower planes creatures. They are evil and malicious by nature and appear on the Prime Material Plane only to perform evil deeds. Six types of mephits are known: fire, ice, lava, mist, smoke, and steam. Each is created from the substance for which it is named.
Mephits appear as thin, 5-foot humanoids with wings. Their faces have exaggerated features, including hooked noses, pointed ears, wide eyes, and protruding chins. Their skin continually oozes the stuff from which they were made. Mephits speak a common mephit tongue.

Combat: In battle, mephits attack with either clawed hands or breath weapons. Damage is variable depending on the type of mephit encountered. All mephits have the ability to gate in other mephits; the type gated in and percentage chance for success varies with the mephit initiating the gating (see below for details).

Habitat/Society: Mephits love tormenting helpless creatures and bragging about their latest evil accomplishments. They wear garish, vulgar costumes in bizarre colors and outrageous designs. They give themselves pompous, impossibly long names, such as Garbenaferthal-sprite-slayer-greatest-of-all-the-steam-mephits.
Mephits assume a groveling, craven, yes-master stance around their bosses. Toward victims and each other, mephits drop their humble servant persona and take on the arrogant air of a superior being. A limited camaraderie exists between mephits of the same order. Disputes between different types are often settled by a friendly game of tug-a-demihuman.
Mephits are usually assigned to deliver some message or pick to up packages on the lower planes, but occasionally (5 % ) they are sent to the Prime material plane. Missions on the Prime Material Plane include retrieving a particular person, delivering a special magical item, or just spreading a little mayhem (so folks don't forget the lower planes are still there).

Ecology: Mephits lead brief, troublesome lives. They are quickly created and destroyed, but they have no predetermined life span. They never eat, but must return to the substance from which they were formed to heal damage (usually 1 hit point per turn in contact).

Fire Mephit
The most mischievous of all mephits, these fiends play terrible pranks on other mephits (such as pushing lava mephits into wa-
ter and watching them harden) and on their victims.
Touching a fire mephit causes 1 point of heat damage (no saving throw). Their clawed hands rake for ld3 points of damage each, plus 1 hit point of heat damage per hit.
Fire mephits may use their breath weapon three times a day. It has two forms. The first is a flame jet 15 feet long and 1-foot wide. This jet automatically hits one target, of the mephit's choosing, for ld8+1 points of damage (half if saving throw is successful). The second form is a fan of flame covering a 120 arc directly in front of the mephit to a distance of 5 feet. Any creature in the arc suffers 4 points of damage, no saving throw allowed.
Fire mephits may also cast heat metal and magic missile (two missiles) spells each once per day. Once every hour a fire mephit can attempt to gate in another mephit. The chance for success is 25% and the summoned mephit is either fire, lava, smoke, or steam (equal probability of each).

Ice Mephit
Ice mephits are angular in form, with translucent ice-blue skin. They live on the colder lower planes and never mix with fire, lava, smoke, or steam mephits. Ice mephits are aloof and cruel, surpassing all other mephits in the fine arts of torture and wanton destruction.
In combat, ice mephits attack with two clawed hands, inflicting 1-2 points of damage each. In addition, their chilling touch has a freezing effect, reducing the victim's hit points by 1 per hit, no saving throw allowed. These effects are cumulative and last three to four turns, or until the victim is healed to full hit points (whichever comes first).
Ice mephits may breathe a volley of ice shards three times per day. This volley automatically hits a single victim within 15 feet of the mephit. Damage is 1d6, halved if the victim rolls a successful saving throw.
Once per hour an ice mephit may attempt to gate in one other mephit. The chance of success is 25% and the summoned mephit is either mist or ice (equal probability of each).

Lava Mephit
Lava mephits are the least intelligent of all mephits. They are slow on the uptake and frequently the brunt of fire mephit jokes. Lava mephits generate extreme heat that can be felt 30 feet away. Their claws are small and soft, causing only 1 point of damage when they hit, but each hit inflicts an additional 1d8 points of heat damage. The touch of a lava mephit automatically melts or burns most materials. The rate of this destruction varies from one hour to burn through an inch of wood to three rounds to completely melt plate armor.
Their breath weapon is a molten blob of lava usable once every three melee rounds. This blob automatically hits one target within 10 feet of the breathing mephit (ld6 points of damage, no saving throw). A lava mephit may use this weapon a maximum of eight times, after that, the mephit must recharge by soaking in a lava pool for on hour. Mephits may recharge during battle, if they come in contact with lava during combat, they regenerate 2 hit points per melee round. This ability is, of course, lost if the mephit is brought to 0 hit points or less, at this point the mephit is dead. These fiends may shapechange into a pool of lava 3 feet in diameter by 6 inches deep. This maneuver does not recharge the breath weapon. They may still be harmed normally when in this lava pool form.
Once every hour, a lava mephit may attempt to gate in 1-2 other mephits. The chance of success is 25%. If two are summoned, they are of the same type (equal probability of fire, lava, smoke, or steam).

Mist Mephit
Mist mephits fancy themselves as spies par excellence and practice this ability on other mephits. They are quick to report other mephits who show mercy or any other treasonous behavior, and they never engage in idle banter with other mephits. Mist mephits have the ability to see clearly in fog or mist. Their skin is pale green. They never engage in melee unless they are trapped. Their soft claws inflict just 1 point of damage when they hit. Mist mephits may breathe a sickly, green ball of mist, every other round, up to three times an hour. This ball automatically envelopes one victim within 10 feet of the breathing mephit. The victim must roll a successful saving throw vs. poison or suffer ld4+1 points of choking damage and be blinded for ld4 rounds. In addition to the breath weapon, mist mephits can create a wall of fog (as the spell) once per day (at a 3rd level ability). They can also assume gaseous form once per day and often use this ability to spy on others or escape combat.
Once per hour a mist mephit may attempt to gate in 1-2 other mephits. The chance of success is 20%. If two mephits arrive, they are of the same type (either ice or mist, equal probability).

Smoke Mephit
Smoke mephits are crude and lazy. They spend most of their time lounging around invisible, smoking pipe weed, telling bad jokes about their creators, and shirking their responsibilities.
Smoke mephits' two clawed hands cause 1-2 points of damage each. Their breath weapon consists of a sooty ball usable every other melee round, with no limit on the number of times it can be used in a day. The sooty ball automatically strikes one creature of the mephit's choice within 20 feet, causing ld4 points of damage and blinding the victim for 1-2 rounds. No saving throw is permitted.
Smoke mephits may cast invisibility and dancing lights once each per day. Once per hour they can attempt to gate in 1-2 other mephits. The chance of success is 20%, with equal probability of the summoned mephits being fire, lava, smoke, or steam. If two mephits appear, they are of the same type.
When a smoke mephit dies, it disappears in a flash of flame. The flash causes 1 point of damage to all creatures within 10 feet (no saving throw).

Steam Mephit
Steam mephits are the self-appointed overlords of all mephits. They frequently give orders to weaker mephits. In addition to hissing steam escaping from their pores, steam mephits leave a trail of near-boiling water wherever they walk.
The hardened claws of a steam mephit cause 1d4 points of damage each, plus 1 additional point of heat damage per touch (no saving throw). In addition, the victim is 50% likely to be stunned for one round. These effects are cumulative, so a victim raked twice could be stunned for two rounds.
Steam mephits can breath a scalding jet of water every other round; no limit to the number of times per day this can be used. This jet has a 20-foot range and automatically hits its target. Damage is 1d3 points (no saving throw) with a 50% chance of stunning the victim for one round.
Once per day a steam mephit may create a rainstorm of boiling water over a 20-by 20-foot area. This storm inflicts 2d6 points of damage to all victims caught in the area of effect, with no saving throw allowed. Steam mephits may also contaminate water once per day (reverse of purify water).
Once per hour a steam mephit may attempt to gate in 1-2 other mephits with a 30% chance of success. There is an equal probability that the summoned mephits are either fire, lava, smoke, or steam. If two are summoned: they are of the same type.
Unlike other mephits, who will delay an attack for as long as possible, steam mephits are ruled by their oversized egos. They will even ambush even large, well-armed parties, striking first with boiling rainstorms, then concentrating their breath weapons on the nearest wizard or priest.

Previous   Index   Next

Cover   Up