Monster Monday: Xiuhcoatl, Aztec Fire Serpent

Today's Monster Monday is the xiuhcoatl, a fire serpent from Aztec mythology. This serpentine dragon has turquoise. Waves of heat ripple around it as it vents steam and breathes fire. When angered, it can charge with lightning speed, striking its target with an explosion of fiery force.

Xiuhcoatl sculpture at the British Museum (author's photo)

In Aztec mythology, the god Huitzilopochtli used his atlatl to throw xiuhcoatl like lightning-bolt javelin. It was how he killed his sister Coyalxauhqui when she led the Southern Star Gods to war against their pregnant mother. Xiucoatl was also a form of Xiuhtecuhtli - the Turquoise Lord - Aztec god of fire. Xiuhcoatl is the lightning bolt that starts a brushfire in the grasslands, the fire that rains out of a volcanic eruption, and the heat of the sun in the dry season.

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2018 Jonah Bomgaars.

Monster Monday: Termite Mound Guardian, a Swarm-Filled Construct

Today's Monster Monday is the termite mound guardian, a druidic construct full of swarming, biting termites. Crafted from the gigantic termite mounds found in the tropical regions of the world, these stalwart defenders are often created to protect villages, natural resources, or sacred spaces. From a distance, they appear to be ordinary termite mounds, but when interlopers approach, they rise out of the ground, taking on a roughly humanoid form. A flood of angry termites pours from a thousand tiny tunnels throughout its body, massing against the enemy, while other warrior termites take up defensive positions along the mound's body, ready to bite any who make contact with it.

via Wikimedia

5 meter high Cathedral Termite Mound - Litchfield National Park, Northern Territory, Australia

I like the idea that there is a whole range of naturalistic constructs that only druids can make. Like, if a wizard saw a termite mound guardian, they might think, "Why not just make a clay golem?" But druids see these as something that augments and complements nature, where golems are something that contravenes the natural order.

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2018 Jonah Bomgaars.

Plane of the Apes, Part I: Chimpanzees and Orangutans

I hope y'all like apes, because this month's Monster Mondays are all ape related. I'll explain why in a moment, but first: Today's Monster Monday (yes, I know it's Tuesday) is the chimpanzee and the orangutan. Both of these great apes are intelligent, tool-using forest dwellers. While orangutans are typically loners, chimpanzees have a complex social structure. Chimps will even form hunting parties and sometimes engage in inter-troop warfare.

Orangutan photo by David Arvidsson, via Wikimedia / Chimpanzee photo by Hans Hillewaert, via Wikimedia

At this point, some of you may be wondering, "Hey, but chimpanzees and orangutans are already statted up for Pathfinder. So are gorillas and gigantopitheci, two of the other apes I determined you were going to be profiling either by guessing, reading ahead, or through use of my own psychic powers. So why are you statting them up again?" A fair question. Several months ago, I set out to stat up a man-ape - the sort of monstrous beast that Conan might fight in a rad Frank Frazetta painting or an equally rad but problematically racist Conan short story. In so doing, I checked the pre-existing stat blocks for several apes in order to get a baseline to work off of. What I found was a bit of a mess. According to their stat blocks, chimpanzees and orangutans have 11 Strength - roughly what an average peasant NPC might have. If you know anything about apes, you know this is wrong. Chimps and orangutans have incredibly strong arm muscles. Like Kickpuncher, their punches have the power of kicks. In fact, unless you are pals with Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, adult chimpanzees are probably stronger than anyone you've ever met. The much stronger gorilla has a Strength score of 15, which you might recognize as the roll you got for your fighter's Strength shortly before the GM let you re-roll.

So I set to work doing what RPG nerds do best - pedantically correcting the products of hard-working professional game designers. I did some research into the strength of apes, the many attempts to measure ape strength compared to humans and the assorted downfalls of such trial methods. I read about how apes defend themselves in the wild, and what parts of their body they use when attacking each other. I looked at Wikipedia and saw that gorillas are usually 4'11"-5'11" tall, putting them squarely in the Medium size category, not Large as they had been statted up. I went to a zoo and stood next to a gorilla and confirmed that no, they are not as big as horses. I took all of this knowledge and used it to give you this wonderful month full of apes.

Next week, we will Return to the Plane of the Apes with the gorilla and silverback gorilla, then we'll journey Beneath the Plane of the Apes to dig up the aptly named gigantopithecus, also known as the Dire Ape. Finally, we'll witness the War for the Plane of the Apes with the terrifying and monstrous Man-Ape. But first, let's look at those stat blocks for the chimpanzee and orangutan.

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2018 Jonah Bomgaars.

Monster Monday: Sivatherium - Dire Giraffe?

Today's Monster Monday is sivatherium, a prehistoric giraffe that had a moose-like head of antlers. Sivatherium was not as long-necked and spindly as modern giraffes. While its neck was rather long, this beast was thicker and stockier, weighing more than the average adult giraffe at around half the height. I guess you could think of it as a condensed giraffe. With antlers.

photo by Hiuppo, via Wikimedia

Sivatherium reconstruction in the Museum of Evolution of Polish Academy of Sciences

The sivatherium ranged across Africa and India during the Pliocene epoch and survived in some areas up until 8,000 years ago. It also had a really cool looking skull:

photo by Ghedoghedo, via Wikimedia

Skull and leg of sivatherium giganteum in the Natural History Museum, London

In a campaign setting, a sivatherium would stand out as an attractive target for a hunt, as it is tall and distinct enough to spot from far away, it is packed with almost a ton of meat, and its skull and hide would make distinctive trophies. It would also be challenging to hunt, as its high vantage point would give it advance warning of approaching enemies, and its long legs and neck would allow it to lash out at attackers with surprising reach.
The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2018 Jonah Bomgaars.

Monster Monday: Aker, Two-Headed Golden Lion

   On bare feet, the thief padded across the cold marble floors of the palace. Bars of moonlight filtered through shuttered windows as he slipped from shadow to shadow, keeping an ear open for guards. He saw them before he heard them - so still were they standing that even bedecked in gleaming mail they made little sound. Two palace guards, fauchards in hand, standing guard over an iron-bound door. This must be the hiding place of the Khwarzid Ruby. 

   The thief produced a small linen-wrapped tube from a pouch at his side. He slunk as close as he dared to the guards, keeping to their periphery where their vision was obscured by their helmets. At last, he took a deep breath, unwrapped the tube, placed it to his lips, and blew. A cone fine powder billowed out like the breath of some foul beast, choking the air around the guards. Purple lotus powder - a paralytic. It had cost the thief dearly, but it would all be worth it if he could get out of this palace with the ruby. 

   Wrapping a fold of his cape over his mouth and nose, he sprang into the poisonous cloud, catching one of the paralyzed guards before he could fall and, with a crash of armor against the stone floor, wake the entire palace. He held the guard up by the throat, but as he moved to catch the other, he was met with a blade. The second guard had not yet succumbed to the poison! He caught the edge of the thin dagger against his leather bracer and, right arm still holding up the first guard, began to grapple with the second guard with his off-hand. The towering brute of a guardsman stabbed at the thief awkwardly, slashing his back thrice with his blade before the purple lotus poison finally took hold. The thief silently lowered the two men, conscious but immobilized, to the floor. 

   The guards, of course, did not carry a key to the door they were guarding, so the thief picked the lock himself. He ignored a false keyhole, uncovered the true lock, bypassed a few trapped tumblers, and finally worked the door open. The room beyond the reinforced door glittered. Torches burned in wall sconces, casting orange light upon piles of gold, silver, and gems, which sparkled enticingly. In the center of the room rose a copper statue of a cobra, an enormous ruby clenched in its fanged jaws. A trap, obviously, but the thief saw no way to retrieve the ruby without triggering it. He knew he could afford to carry little else out of this room except the ruby, lest he be encumbered by it as he escaped. Still, he stuffed a handful of gold into his pouch as he approached the ruby, never taking his eyes off the snake statue for fear of being surprised by some wizardly trick.  

   The hair on the nape of his neck stood on end, his primal senses picking up on some danger his eyes had failed to notice. A low, purring growl began behind him, joined soon by a second. Whirling, he saw padding towards him a twin-headed lioness, fearsome in her power and beauty. Her fur gleamed just as brilliantly as the piles of gold she navigated between, as if the beast were herself wrought from the stuff. The thief froze, calculating his next move as the two-headed creature tensed and readied to pounce. Just as it move to strike, he whirled, snatched the ruby out of the snake's jaws, and ducked. Just as he expected, a spray of poison burst forth from some mechanism hidden in the snake's mouth. He could feel his back blistering where droplets of the poison splattered it. The beast growled and shook its heads, but was otherwise unfazed.  

   Immune to poison? Of course! This was an aker. The thief had heard tales of them in the south. Terrible golden lions with two heads. Legend held that ancient kings once used them to keep the giant snakes of those lands in check, for they were unaffected by the serpents' bites. The thief cursed as he ducked a swipe of the beast's claw. rolled to a pile of ceremonial weapons, and pulled a jeweled scimitar from its gilded sheath. He held it up prophylactically as the creature bit at him. One head caught the blade and bit clean through it. The other sunk its teeth into the thief's shoulder. Hot blood spilled out over the gold-strewn floor as the thief stifled a roar. He brought the shattered blade up and stabbed it deep into one of the beast's necks. It roared like a peal of thunder, surely waking the entire palace. Working quickly, he stabbed its neck over and over again until its eyes faded and closed. The other head snatched his sword-arm in its mouth and bit hard. The thief screamed, wrenching his arm from its mouth. He could not move his fingers, nor feel the pain he knew was there in his arm.  

   He cradled the ruby with his good hand, the other arm hanging dead at his side, and rolled between the legs of the aker. The beast wheeled to pursue, zigzagging awkwardly as its injured head hung limp from its bleeding neck. The thief knocked over a table covered with statuettes, but the aker crashed through it effortlessly. He leapt over a chest of coins and slid across the slick floor out through the open door. Guards were shuffling down the hall from both sides, leveling their polearms at the thief. The wounded aker burst through the door behind him, starling the guards for a moment. Just the moment the thief needed to act. Let them deal with each other, he thought. He sprung through the shuttered window and exploded out into the night air, plummeting toward the palace moat far below.

Today's Monster Monday is the aker, a two-headed lion often used as a guardian beast by the wealthy  and the power-hungry. With golden fur and dual slavering maws, these creatures certainly make a statement when lounging at the foot of a petty warlord's throne or chained in the gardens of an extravagant maharaja.

The inspiration for this monster came from a picture in the 2nd edition AD&D al-Qadim supplement showing a rogue sneaking into the gold-strewn chamber of a sleeping giant and confronted by a roaring two-headed lion (page 45 for those of you following along at home). As I began to stat the creature up, I realized I needed a name for it, so I searched for a mythological precedent for a two-headed lion. What I found was Aker, an Ancient Egyptian deity often depicted as two lions or a two-headed lion who protects the pharaoh from poisonous snakes. This lent some additional character to my monster, and its protective nature fit in well with the picture of it as a treasure guardian.

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2017 Jonah Bomgaars.

Monster Monday: Carnotaurus, the Horned Predator

Today's Monster Monday is carnotaurus, a horn-headed giant predatory dinosaur. Carnotaurs was an abelisaurid - a group of bipedal predators from the Late Cretaceous southern hemisphere who had comically small arms - smaller even than a tyrannosaurus rex. I mean, their wimpy little baby arms aren't their defining characteristic, but they are pretty noticeable.

carnotaurus reconstruction by DiBgd, altered by Steveoc 86, via Wikimedia

Little arms aside, carnotaurus was a legitimately terrifying predator. It was one of the fastest of the large theropods, capable of running up to 30 mph. It could also work its toothy mouth very quickly, delivering slashing bites to its prey. There are two main theories about how it hunted - one points to its speed and its almost snake-like jaw to suggest that the carnotaurus chased down and swallowed whole smaller prey. Another theory suggests it would dart into herds of titanosaurs and deliver dozens of quick slashing bites to the giant creature's flanks, letting them bleed out so it could feast on them later. I say: why not both?

Carnotaurus illustration by Lida Xing and Yi Liu, from this article on how carnotaurus was so fast, via Wikimedia

So what about those horns? Most theropods don't have horns like that. In fact, carnotaurus is the only one. They might have used them to ram other carnotauruses in mating displays, like rams do. They might have used them for self-defense against other predators. They might - and this is my favorite theory - have used them to clear a space around a carcass so they could feast, spiking others who tried to horn in on their spot.

In any case, the creature presented below has both bite and gore attacks, it can swallow creatures whole with its bite attack, and deliver a free bull rush attempt with its gore attack. It also has a move speed of 50 ft., the same as a horse, letting easily catch up to a group of adventurers and commence with the biting.

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2017 Jonah Bomgaars.

Monster Monday: Giant Camel and Two-Humped Camel

Today's Monster Monday is a twofer: both the two-humped camel and the giant camel, two sure-footed pack-animals specialized at living in harsh conditions.

Tang-Dynasty model of a Sogdian riding a camel, via Wikimedia
Modern camels aren't as big as that tiny rider makes this one look, but the scale is about right for someone riding a
prehistoric giant camel like titanotylopus. Also, the rider looks like a lawn gnome, which amuses me.

The two-humped camel is more commonly known as the Bactrian camel, but Bactria is a real place on Earth, so that name is probably not suitable for most fantasy campaign settings. The one-humped dromedary or Arabian camel has already been statted up, but I felt the need to stat up their hardier, stronger, and more wide-ranging two-humped cousins as well. Two-humped camels have higher Strength and Constitution scores, making them ideal for hauling heavier loads in harsher environments than dromedaries, and also making them more formidable in a fight - both of which are characteristics that adventurers in camel-country might want to look for in their mounts and pack animals.

Bactrian camels resting in Jiayu Pass, by Emcc83, via Wikimedia

Prehistoric North America was home to many species of camel, including the gigantic megacamelus, titanotylopus, and gigantocamelus (those last two are considered by some paleontologists to be the same). These giant camels could be roughly 12 feet high and weighed over 5,000 pounds, making them about twice the size of the largest modern camels. In your campaign, giant camels might be employed by wealthy merchants to ship large quantities of goods across the desert, or they might be ridden by desert giant warriors. They could even be used as fighting platforms similar to war-elephants; imagine a giant camel draped in scale barding armor, with two archers firing from its back and two pikemen fighting from armored baskets hanging on either side of the beast.

(Don't forget to check out the encounter ideas and adventure hooks for these camels below the stat blocks!)

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2017 Jonah Bomgaars.

Monster Monday: Lightning Bug, An Electric Insect

Today's Monster Monday is the lightning bug, a flashy magical insect that fires bolts of electricity at its enemies.  It's basically a living bug zapper.

Lightning bugs are surrounded by a field of electric energy that grows stronger the more of them there are in close proximity, allowing each lighting bug to draw on the electric fields of their neighbors to deliver a powerful jolt.  In combat, this means that each individual lightning bug does more damage when it is near multiple other lightning bugs.  This novel game mechanic makes fighting lightning bugs interesting and engaging for the players as they work out how the ability functions and how best to counter it.

Modified from a photo of Photinus pyralis taken by antfarmer, via Wikimedia

In addition, lightning bugs can deliver a blinding flash which dazzles nearby opponents, at the cost of draining its electrical energy for a few rounds.  Engaging these creatures in melee also has its risks, as any hit on the bug has a chance of delivering an electric shock to the attacker.

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2017 Jonah Bomgaars.

Monster Monday: Pangolins, Armor-Covered Anteaters

Today's Monster Monday is the pangolin, also known as the spiny anteater.  Pangolins are small insectivorous mammals covered in thick overlapping scales.  They curl up into a defensive ball like an armadillo, presenting a front of spiny armor plates to any predators trying to bite them.  There are about eight species of pangolins ranging across Africa, India, Southeast Asia, and South China.  The smaller species of pangolin tend to be tree-dwellers, using their sharp claws and prehensile armored tails to navigate life in the branches, while the larger ones are ground-dwellers and burrowers.  Tree pangolins also tend to be good swimmers; they suck in extra air in their stomach and then glide through the water with an undulating motion.

Giant Pangolin, by Joseph Wolf (1865), via Wikimedia

Of course I statted up both the tree and ground pangolins, because more is always better.  Tree pangolins make a great (and adorable) choice of familiar for wizards and witches that hail from tropical climes.

A tree pangolin hanging by its tail, via Wikimedia

Of course, because pangolins are covered with natural armor, they have occasionally been used to make armor for humans.  Consider pangolin hide armor for those who adventure in tropical settings.

Pangolin shield; Wikimedia

Pangolin armor; Wikimedia

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2017 Jonah Bomgaars.

Monster Monday: Terrestrisuchus & Saltoposuchus, Little Running Crocs

Today's Monster Monday is a two-fer: the greyhound-like prehistoric crocodilians terrestrisuchus and saltoposuchus.

by Nobu Tamura, via Wikimedia

Terrestrisuchus gracilis

Both of these prehistoric crocodylomorphs were built for speed, galloping across the landscape and snapping up prey on the run.  They may have even been able to rise up on their hind legs.  Their lifestyle must have born little resemblance to that of the crocodilians we are familiar with today (though modern crocs can certainly put on astounding bursts of speed).  The smaller terrestrisuchus gracilis was about three feet long including its tail, which made up about half its total length.  Saltoposuchus connectens was similarly built but larger, reaching almost five feet in length.  Both creatures inhabited Late Triassic Europe, which had a hot and dry climate, meaning these speedy crocs probably dashed across sand dunes and arid plains.  Their physiological similarities, combined with the fact that they existed at roughly the same time and in roughly the same place, have led to the suggestion that terrestrisuchus was simply a juvenile saltoposuchus, which is certainly plausible.

by Nobu Tamura, via Wikimedia

Saltoposuchus connectens

Why stat up both of these running reptiles?  Terrestrisuchus is just the right size and challenge rating to be a familiar, while saltoposuchus is large and powerful enough to serve as a threat for low-level adventurers.  Think of it as the difference between a rat familiar and a dire rate: one of them could hang out with a wizard or possibly attack in a swarm, the other can fight a beginning adventuring party alone or in a small pack.

But mostly, of course, I statted them both up because I love prehistoric life and I want as much of it as possible available for GMs to use in their campaigns.

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2016 Jonah Bomgaars.

Monster Monday: Bonnacon, the Medieval Bullshit Beast

Today's Monster Monday is the bonnacon, a strange bull-like creature often found in medieval bestiaries.  Unlike a normal bull, the bonnacon's horns are largely useless, curving inwards toward its own head.  It defends itself instead by spraying burning poop at its attackers.  As you might imagine, the bonnacon usually had the funniest picture in the bestiary.

Kongelige Bibliotek, Gl. kgl. S. 1633 4º, Folio 10r, via Wikimedia

Those expressions are priceless.

The earliest recorded reference to the bonnacon (also known as the bonasus) comes from Pliny the Elder's Naturalis Historia:

There are reports of a wild animal in Paeonia called the bonasus, which has the mane of a horse, but in all other respects resembles a bull; its horns are curved back in such a manner as to be of no use for fighting, and it is said that because of this it saves itself by running away, meanwhile emitting a trail of dung that sometimes covers a distance of as much as three furlongs, contact with which scorches pursuers like a sort of fire.

Although such an animal clearly doesn't exist, that doesn't mean Pliny made it up.  Pliny's work was an encyclopedic compilation of information on animals, plants, rocks, astronomy, medicine, and magic, begun in 77 AD and nearly finished by the time Pliny died in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.  He claims to have consulted about 2,000 books, and lists over 400 sources for his information.  The bonnacon may have originated in a work that no longer survives, or belong to an earlier oral tradition.  It may have started life as a joke, a trick that Paeonians played on Romans in the same way that Australians warn tourists to watch out for drop bears, or it could have originated in an observation of a wild European bison with diarrhea, a tale which grew in the telling.  The European bison's hairy, ridged back and its inward-curving horns do lend themselves well to the description of the bonnacon, with its curved horns and horse mane.  It was not uncommon for garbled transmissions and exaggerations to lead to Roman authors recording the existence of fantastic beasts on the peripheries of Roman territory: Julius Caesar, in his account of the conquest of Gaul, describes knee-less elk that sleep upright leaning against a tree, and a deer with an single horn that sprouts into five points.

Medieval bestiaries were collections of animal illustrations combined with descriptions of the beasts and their behavior and lessons that Christians could draw from these animals.  They derived much of their description from the Physiologus, a similar work of late antiquity, but they incorporated elements of other works as well.  The bonnacon made the transition from the Naturalis Historia to the bestiaries, but the monks seem not to have made the attempt to bring a spiritual reading to the description of the beast and its flaming poop.  Its popularity may have been grounded in scatological humor rather than theological study.  The Aberdeen Bestiary, created around 1200 AD, describes it thus:

In Asia an animal is found which men call bonnacon. It has the head of a bull, and thereafter its whole body is of the size of a bull's with the maned neck of a horse. Its horns are convoluted, curling back on themselves in such a way that if anyone comes up against it, he is not harmed. But the protection which its forehead denies this monster is furnished by its bowels. For when it turns to flee, it discharges fumes from the excrement of its belly over a distance of three acres, the heat of which sets fire to anything it touches. In this way, it drives off its pursuers with its harmful excrement.

The description is much the same as Pliny's, but its location has shifted from Paeonia (roughly modern day Macedonia) to the more mysterious and less known Asia.  Illustrations of the bonnacon often feature armored hunters protecting themselves from its flaming poop with large shields, usually while looking suitably grossed-out.

Oddly, the bonnacon found its way into Jacobus de Voragine's The Golden Legend, a 13th century collection of fantastic and inspiring tales about the lives of saints.  In the story of Saint Martha, the saint tames a ferocious beast called the tarasque, which is described as "a great dragon, half beast and half fish, greater than an ox, longer than an horse, having teeth sharp as a sword, and horned on either side, head like a lion, tail like a serpent, and defended him with two wings on either side, and could not be beaten with cast of stones ne with other armour, and was as strong as twelve lions or bears."  We dungeon delvers are more familiar with the classic D&D tarrasque (with two 'r's), a nigh-unstoppable Godzilla-like monster that has served as the final boss of many a campaign.  In The Golden Legend, the tarasque is said to be the offspring of the biblical Leviathan and, oddly enough, the pooptastic bonnacon (here rendered 'bonacho').

My bonnacon is below.  After the stat block, I will talk about my decision making process in statting the beast up.

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2016 Jonah Bomgaars.

Monster Monday: Chindi - Ghostly Navajo Dust Devils

Today's Monster Monday is the chindi, a vengeful spirit from Navajo mythology that can take the form of a dust devil.

NASA/U. of Michigan

Yep.  That's a ghost alright.

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2015 Jonah Bomgaars.

Monster Monday: Ammit - The Deadliest Egyptian Chimera

Today's Monster Monday is the Ammit, a soul-devouring creature from Ancient Egyptian mythology with the head of a crocodile, the forequarters of a lion, and the hindquarters of a hippopotamus - the three deadliest creatures in Egypt.

Photographed by the British Museum, via Wikimedia

The artist didn't know what a hippo looked like sitting down, so he was just like, "F*** it - stubby legs"

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2015 Jonah Bomgaars.

Monster Monday: Chalicothere, Prehistoric Clawed Horse-Beast

Today's Monster Monday entry is the chalicothere, a prehistoric creature related to horses and rhinos with long, powerful arms and curved claws.

source: wikipedia

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is (C)2013 Jonah Bomgaars.

Monster Monday: Pantere, the Cat with the Sweet Breath

Today's Monster Monday entry is the pantere, a giant savannah cat that hunts by luring prey to its lair with its sweet breath.

source

The following text in yellow is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is (C)2013 Jonah Bomgaars.

Monster Monday: Tikoloshe, Evil African Leprechaun

Today's Monster Monday entry is the tikoloshe, an evil water spirit from Zulu mythology.  They are somewhat like leprechauns, equipped with an array of mischief-making spell-like abilities including at-will invisibility, but where leprechauns are tricksters, tikoloshe are purely evil.

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is (C)2013 Jonah Bomgaars.