Imp
Species | chthonic (demon) |
No. Appearing | 1 |
Behaviour | servant |
Range | Abyss, Hades, ruin, rural, urban |
Size | 2 ft. 5 in. tall |
Weight | 11½ lbs. |
Intelligence | 10 |
Armour Class | 2 |
Hit Dice | 2+2 |
Action Points | 5 |
Max. Stride | 6 |
THAC0 | 20 |
Hp/Die | d3 |
Attack Forms | 1: tail |
Damage | tail (1–4) |
Special Attacks | detect magic, detect malevolence, immunities, invisibility, magic or silver to hit, magic resistance, polymorph, regeneration, save as 7th level, suggestion, telepathy, venom |
Imps are subordinate demons of little physical prowess, though they possess a wide range of profound natural abilities. These make an imp extraordinarily dangerous for their size. They're most likely to be encountered in their capacity as familiars, in the service of a mage. They don't appear on the Prime Material, except in service to some master, for whom they'll perform their powers exclusively.
Transferable Advantages
There are many of these, primarily defensive in nature.
While evil, these creatures have been specifically created to serve and never to act independently. If their master is killed, or whisked away by a teleport or like spell, imps immediately return to their home plane of either Hades or the Abyss.
Imps are able to commune telepathically with their masters, maintaining a continuous connection. Orders need never be given; the imp knows instantly what a master desires and sets out at once to bring this about. As such, any mage possessing an imp is able to "run" the creature as their own character, including full use of the imp's many abilities. Having an imp is a boon of enormous power. The imp's master can see all the creature sees, and hear all the creature hears.
Imps are immune to magical cold, fire and electricity, but not the natural forms of these attacks. Imps also save as 7th level creatures and possess a 25% magic resistance.
When attacked, imps regenerate 1 hit point per round. Each of these defenses can be tranferred to the imp's master, but only if the master is within 10 ft., or two combat hexes.
Non-transferable Advantages
These abilities cannot be transfered from the imp to its master.
Imps require a silvered or magic weapon to hit. They are immune to normal weapons, regardless of the form they take.
Magic
Once per day, imps are able to detect magic and detect malevolence exactly like the spells of those names; these are natural abilities. They're able to perform a suggestion once per day, usually asking something that requires the subject to move away from the imp's master at a walking pace, such as "go get −" or "go see −". Each of these abilities cost the imp only 1 action point to use.
As often as they wish, imps can become invisible. It uses this tactic it will use to spy on others. Naturally, invisibility precludes the imp from taking any aggressive action, as this would make it visible.
Polymorph
If the imp wishes to spy for longer periods, or act as an assassin, the imp can polymorph into the following four forms: raven, goat, giant rat or large spider. It's able to attack in these forms, retaining its own hit dice and intelligence. As a giant rat, the imp can bestow a disease; as a large spider, it possesses the spider's poison.
Venom
Imps carry a venom in their tails that delivers its poison when hitting in combat. If the saving throw vs. poison fails, the victim sustains 1-4 damage per round until a total of 18 is sustained. No antidote exists except — but the victim can be sustained by cure spells during this period. The imp's venom has no limitation and must be saved against every time the creature hits.
Imps don't have effective claws or fangs.
See also,
Bestiary
Find Familiar (spell)