Imp

Tiny tempting devil with a stinger. A tiny celestial.

Imagine a tiny red humanoid with bat wings, a barbed tail and the face like a commedia dell’arte mask.

It exists to tell secrets with dire consequences to mortals, with the end goal they will make a pact with a more powerful devil to avoid the consequences.

Ironic deference, Evil enabler, Coward agility.


 
HD: 0 Armor: none
Hit it: hard Dodge it: normal
Move: normal, fly fast  

It is immune to curses. It resists everything else (because it’s a divine servant). It can see in the dark and speak telepathically. Out of combat, it can cast minor infernal-themed magic.

Also, whenever a creature the imp can see rolls a fumble, the Imp grows. It gains 1 HD, 1 Spell Dice, and increases its damage by one dice size. It also loses the ability to fly and gains the Maleficence spell. These changes last until the imp rolls a fumble.

Attacks (1/round)

Stinger. The imp makes one melee attack (1D2) and the target must save or be poisoned by imp venom.

Invisibility. The imp becomes invisible until its concentration breaks.

Shapechange. The imp transforms into a rat, raven or spider. Its stinger attack becomes a bite attack.

Imp Venom. Poison. Save or be poisoned, save again each day to cure. Increases fumble range by 1.



Random Encounter
  1. Monster: 1D4 imps or 1 imp swarm
  2. Lair: A poorly attended arcane machine, owned by a spellcaster.
      OR
    Omen: Impish cackling.
  3. Spoor: A freshly made obscene tag.
  4. Tracks: High pitched giggles.
  5. Trace: An arcane grimoire, desecrated.
  6. Trace: Obscene tags on magical equipment.
Celestial Pact

Evil celestials give the reward and the quest at the same time, then try to make accomplishing the quest impossible within the decided time frame. Good celestials give a quest first and the reward upon completion. The price of breaking a pact is always your soul.

Reward:

  1. A red imp follower.
  2. A spell scroll with a random spell.
  3. A potion of healing.
  4. The way to contact a more powerful celestial.
  5. A wizard apprentice follower.
  6. Tiny goat horns and the ability to cast Bewitch.

Quest:

  1. Steal a spell from an archmage.
  2. Steal the plan for a magical apparatus.
  3. Make a pact with a celestial.
  4. Graduate first of your class from the academy.
  5. Create a new, very powerful spell.
  6. Ruin a wizard’s reputation.


DM Notes

Imps have an awkward position in DnD’s cosmology as being clearly chaotic agents of order. I love it. I see their goal as being to push people into making bad decisions, and the concept of a bad decision as being lawful in itself. I based this version from the classic DnD imp, but added the fumble twist from Goblin Punch.</details>

Written on November 14, 2020