Jermlaine (CR 1/2)
Tiny Fey
Alignment: Usually neutral evil
Initiative: +3 (Dex); Senses: low-light vision, Listen +8, and Spot +8
Languages: Jermlaine
AC: 15 (+2 size, +3 Dex), touch 15, flat-footed 12
Hit Dice: 1/2d6-1 (1 hp)
Fort -1, Ref +5, Will +5
Speed: 40 ft.
Space: 2 1/2 ft./0 ft.
Base Attack +0; Grapple -12
Attack: Diminutive dart +5 ranged; or Tiny shortspear -2 melee
Full Attack: Diminutive dart +5 ranged; or Tiny shortspear -2 melee
Damage: Diminutive dart 1d3-4, Tiny shortspear 1d3-4/x3
Special Attacks:
Abilities: Str 3, Dex 17, Con 8, Int 8, Wis 16, Cha 5
Special Qualities: speak with rats, wild empathy
Feats: Alertness
Skills: Craft (trapmaking) +2, Hide +14, Listen +8, Move Silently +6, and Spot +8
Advancement: 1-2 HD (Tiny)
Climate/Terrain: Any underground
Organization: Solitary, pair, gang (3-5), raiding party (4-16 plus 2-8 rats or 1-4 giant rats), or plague (10-60 plus 4-16 rats or 2-8 giant rats)
Treasure/Possessions: Standard
Source:
Monster Manual II
Jermlaines, sometimes called jinxkin or banemidges, a tiny humanoid-shaped beings with foul dispositions and evil designs. They are remarkably adept at hiding and sneaking, so they are the enemies of all who venture underground.
A jermlaine appears to be a shaggy humanoid about 1 foot tall. Its eyes are tiny and beady, and its hair is sparse and filthy. It either dresses in dirty rags and scraps of hide or simply goes naked. Its skin is baggy, wrinkled, and always crusted with filth.
Jermlaines' speech amounts to high-pitched chitters and squeaks that are easily mistaken for the noises produced by rats or bats. (Indeed, rats are among the few living creatures that will have anything to do with them.) A few jermlaines can speak Common, Dwarf, Gnome, Goblin, or Orc, but seldom can any individual speak more than one of those languages.
Combat
Jermlaines attack only from ambush. If an ambush is impossible, they hide and wait until it is feasible. They always try to single out injured, ill, or sleeping foes as their first targets. Jermlaines enjoy sneaking into camps and vandalizing or stealing equipment, so long as they stand a good chance of getting away without combat.
Rather than confront an enemy, jermlaines prefer to dig pits or build net-dropping traps and other devices that can capture prey without a fight. Once an enemy is caught in a pit or net, jermlaines swarm over him, pummeling to cause subdual damage until the target is knocked out. They have also been known to pour acid or flaming oil over trapped foes that appeared to dangerous to approach directly, even while trapped.
Speak with Rats (Sp): At will, a jermlaine can produce an effect like that of a speak with animals spell (caster level 3rd), except that it enables communications only with rats and dire rats.
JERMLAINE SOCIETY
Jermlaines are extremely distant relatives of the gnomes. Their deeply rooted sense of inferiority at their own diminutive size has become a malicious need to humiliate normal-sized humanoids. They prey on hapless adventurers, who provide riches, sadistic amusement, and an occasional meal.
Jermlaine society is divided among clans whose members are united by blood. The clan chief is normally the strongest or cleverest of the elders. The chief both instructs the young jermlaine in the art of the ambush and leads important attacks (albeit from a secure location in the rear). Jermlaine family life centers on the mother, as the father may be unknown, off hunting, or dead. If a female jermlaine has dependent children, she normally concentrates on raising such children rather than participating in attacks. As the children mature, she and the clan chief take the young on practice attacks on potential victims and participate in the humiliation of captives.
Jermlaine lairs are cunningly hidden and physically impassable by most humanoids, as they are usually a series of small chambers and tunnels scaled to their tiny occupants. The typical jermlaine lair is a filthy cave or burrow, a short distance from a larger cavern complex. The only areas that can be easily reached by a Small or larger creature are the ones where living captives are held, and dead victims are butchered for food. Small, corridors or thin, normally impassable cracks in the rock walls control access past this area. The corridors lead directly to living areas and communal chambers. The living areas are furnished with crude furniture and items scavenged from past victims.
Treasures are concealed throughout the lair. Each family maintains a series of small, personal caches, while the communal hoard is hidden in a series of small chambers at the end of cunningly concealed crawl ways. Creatures of Small or larger size cannot fit into the crawl ways.
The Jermlaine first appeared in the 1e FF(1981).