Gremishka

[Ebonshade]

Ok, so I've decided on what I'm going to do for my first adventure, and I wanted to use a house overrun with gremishka as the main focus. So the main question I have is, with a challenge rating of 1/3, are 3 of them really a moderate challange for lvl 1 pcs? are they too difficult or easy? I note that rather high ac is offset by a low hp. I also don't plan on just having them come at the pcs in groups of 3. Also I'm thinking of using their movie counterparts ablity to bud off more of them if they get wet. How do you think I should simulate that?

[The Giamarga]

Interesting topic.

A tangent: I wonder if there are any modules using gremishka or gremlins available? From the RL line? Or from Paizo perhaps (they did model their goblins to be quite gremlin-like imho)?

So far I only found a Side Trek from Dungeon #49:

TWO FOR THE ROAD
AD&D SideTrek adventure, 2-6 characters of levels 2-5
Written by: Tony Quirk
Any town or wilderness, temperate
2 pages

Description: The heroes purchase a used wagon occupied by a pair of troublesome gremlins.

[The Giamarga]

Apparently Pathfinder 19 Howl of the Carrion King featured 3.5 stats for a couple of gremlins: link. PF 25 Bastards of Erebus featured another type of gremlin.

I'm not sure how they feature in the adventures contained.

The stats were converted to PFRPG here and the last one will probably be converted sometime soon here

[Joël of the FoS]

Also, one of the intro adventure for Carnival had gremishkas (the one with Blasse the albino girl).

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DM trick: when I'm not sure of how a battle will go, I use the number of foes I think is enough for a fun battle. But if it goes too easily, I have more monsters coming from a nearby room, or whatever.

Joël

[Joël of the FoS]

I'm not sure how they feature in the adventures contained.

As a nuisance mainly, not a main feature of the adventure.

The PF 25 gremlin is a fey, but it looks and behave like an abberation. Far from the original concept.

Joël

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

Also, one of the intro adventure for Carnival had gremishkas (the one with Blasse the albino girl).

IIRC, those were Bakhna Rahnas, not gremishkas. (they though Blasse was one of them because of their pale skin.)

[Joël of the FoS]

Doh! You are right! (that is why I was very surprised that the usually well informed Giamarga didn't get this "obvious" one!)

Mmm, gremishkas, other than taking blame for netbook production delays, I don't see any RL adventure using them. The first PF adventure featured gremlins (they invade a town), and that also could be changed to gremishkas?

Joël

[Mangrum]

The creepling and fidgets in Carnival were gremishkas by another name.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Unless you're planning to lace your entire campaign with movie references and oddball gags, Ebonshade, I'd recommend leaving out the water-reproduction bit. The first adventure of a D&D campaign tends to set the tone for the whole thing, and throwing something so goofy into a Ravenloft campaign's debut could taint any later attempts at serious suspense. A small shout-out to Gremlins, such as finding the family pet tied up with wires on the porch, would be reasonable; basing major elements of your scenario on a comedy (even a spooky one) risks undermining your future sessions' seriousness.


Rather than siccing hordes of gremishkas on the party, BTW, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have just a few of them, and set the story up so it escalates in tension rather than relying on sheer numbers. Early in the investigation, the PCs won't know what the heck is causing trouble for the family that just moved into the house -- ghost? fey? a child's imaginary friend come to life? -- as the perpetrator has always just left the room when they rush to investigate a mysterious crash. Later, they spot one gremishka, and can make a few attempts to corner the elusive little pest; this part can be a little less grim, as they begin to assume it's not so dangerous after all.

Then it bites the residents' little kid and flees. The child gets very sick, because its mouth was either venomous or full of an injectible poison. The PCs don't yet have the capacity to cure the kid, but the local doctor might ... if the heroes can provide a fresh sample of the toxin. Suddenly their hunt becomes very serious again...

...just in time for them to discover the gremiska they'd spotted isn't alone: it's one of a gang of four or five, all of which have to be hunted down ASAP if they're to find the child's cure. Luckily, they don't work together very well, so can be fought one or two at a time as the heroes chase them through the narrow crawlspaces between the house's walls.

[Ebonshade]

Not bad an idea. I might use that. The idea I had was that a noble that was also an alchemist got a few to use as lab rats. They managed to breed enough to be about the size of a gang (about 30). Up untill now, they had been content to stay on the grounds.
The pcs arrive in a small thorp and that night a small band of them attack the village (setting a fire or two, minor theft, attack some lone villagers.), and the pcs follow them back to the house to stop further attacks. Inside the house I was going to have them attack from ambush, using alchemic supplies as weapons. With a possible confrontation with the mad alchemist at the end. I want to play up the malicous nature of them. not so much the humor.