Mite

Mite

Species	faerie
No. Appearing	6-24
Behaviour	resentful
Range	subterranean, urban
Size	2 ft. tall
Weight	10 lbs.
Intelligence	12 to 14
Armour Class	5
Hit Dice	2
Action Points	5
Max. Stride	8
THAC0	20
Hp/Die	d2
Attack Forms	bite or by weapon type
Damage	1–3 or dagger
Special Attacks	bite, experience levels, skulduggery, stealth

Mites are not a race unto themselves, but are are grotesque, spiritually poisoned sprites consumed with baleful vice and malevolent compulsions. These creatures hate the light and seek to dwell in dark, underground sewers and dungeons, where they can be near those they wish to hurt. They hate other sprites as well as themselves. Their minds have been twisted with malignance and a desire to perpetrate cruelty, while having little love for existence; a sprite would rather die causing pain to another than to preserve its own life ... though it does desire to cause the most pain possible before shuffling off its coil.

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Origin

It is legend that sprites seek to rid the world of evil persons, which relies upon their ability to distinguish evil from good. On occasion, a small group of sprites will error in this racial quest — and though they will seek to make amends, the knowledge of their error will prey upon their conscience. Further chance errors will set these sprites upon the road to corruption. As they begin to hate themselves, they brood, transforming themselves as a group, day by day, into mites. These new mites will separate from their own kind and form a "nest" ... where their malevolence will grow. In a year or two, they will begin to see the evil in every creature, just as they see it in their own hearts, and begin to hate every thinking creature, everywhere.

Sprites know of this danger, and see to protect themselves from it; more than anyone, they will seek to find mite lairs and bring peace to their lost brethren — though this can be managed only by death. There have been many small wars fought in tiny underground realms between mites and sprites, and the latter do not always triumph.

Behaviour

Wherever they dwell, mites will seek to create complex tunnel systems too small for most humanoids to enter, with access to victims and stores they can either plunder or destroy. These passages may be no more than 4 inches in diameter. Mites are particularly fond of targeting a single row of houses or court, or an underground culture, waiting for their chance to kill off unsuspecting dwellers one by one. They are usually careful enough to go undetected for months, even a year or two, but eventually they will be rooted out by those who begin to recognize the signs. Whenever a lair is exterminated, a few mites will sometimes escape. If they become alone and isolated, however, their hatred becomes so consuming they'll usually expose themselves in a few days, usually by attacking a target in the open.

If mites can cause long-term suffering, they will. A chance to imprison a victim with a trap will enable them to torment the victim for days or weeks before death occurs. If given the opportunity, they will steal needful items, notes or medicines, deliberately destroying these things to wreak unhappiness or desperation.

Mites are cannibalistic by preference; if possible, they will sup upon the corpes of sprites, pixies and brownies in particular, but will eat any humanoid, including themselves, if given the opportunity.

Advantages

Of the mites encounted, 1 in 4 will have experience levels as a thief, up to a maximum of 5th level. This includes all the benefits thereto. Additionally, the mite will specialize in the sage field, Skulduggery, preferring to specialize in either backstabbing or setting traps. Those with a 16 dexterity or more will sometimes employ two weapons while fighting.

All mites have a +4 adjustment to their stealth.

The Mite's Curse

The bite of a mite is toxic with malevolence, having the possibility of imparting the mite's malefic nature unto any creature that's bitten. If bitton, the victim must make save or be cursed; thereafter, on a random hour of any given day, the victim must make a wisdom check (with a -4 modifier) or else commit a heinous act. If this fails, the character feels compelled to perform some horrific act.

In order to relate this act to the present circumstances, a cursed player should be encouraged to be creative in a manner of committing arson, murder or some other like crime with the expectation of "getting away with it." The DM should consider the proposed crime and either approve of it or ask for something more heinous or more practical; if the player cannot or will not think of something suitable, the DM should rule that the character attempts to self-harm. In this case, an intelligence check is made. If this succeeds, the character rolls 1d4, this being the number of injury points the character causes to his or her self. If the check fails, the character rolls 1d4-1 for every point by which success was missed. For example, if a character has an 11 intelligence, and a 14 was rolled, then the character would roll 1d4 minus 3 total. Again, this is the amount of injury points the character suffers. If the character rolls more injury damage than the character has hit points, then the character has successfully committed suicide and is considered dead.

See Bestiary