Small Humanoid (Gnome)

Hit Dice: 4d8+8 (26 hp)

Initiative: +4 (Dex)

Speed: 20 ft

AC: 19 (+1 size, +4 Dex, +4 chain shirt)

            Enlarged: 18 (-1 size, +4 Dex, +4 chain shirt)

Attacks: Short sword +3 melee

            Enlarged: Large short sword

Polearm +2 melee or Polearm +10/+5 melee

Damage: Short sword 1d6-1

            Enlarged: Large short sword 2d6+7

Face/Reach: 5 ft by 5 ft/5 ft

            Enlarged: 5 ft by 5 ft/10 ft

Special Attacks: Sneak Attack

Special Qualities: Size alteration, Spell-like abilities

Saves: Fort +3, Ref +8, Will +1

Abilities: Str 8, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 11, Wis 11, Cha 9

            Enlarged: Str 23, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 11, Wis 11, Cha 9

Skills: Listen +3, Spot +3

Climate/Terrain: Any land and underground

Organization: Solitary or Mob (3-12)
Challenge Rating: 3

Treasure: Standard

Alignment: Always chaotic evil

Advancement: by character class

These ugly, dour cousins of gnomes are able to become Large size at will.

   In either size, spriggans look the same. They are ugly, thick-bodied humanoids, with pale or dull yellow skin, brown or black hair, and red eyes. Their noses are large and bulbous, but not beyond the human norm. They are very fond of mustaches and bushy sideburns, but they never clean or comb them. Spriggans smell of dank earth.

   Outside of their lair they always wear armor and carry weapons. Spriggans never use shields. They like to carry several nasty little daggers concealed in various places in their armor.

   Spriggans speak Gnome or Common.

COMBAT

Spriggans are tricky and tough in battle. They have a wide variety of options for combat.

   Size Alteration (Su): At will, as a full round action, a spriggan can triple its size. Weapons, armor, and other inanimate objects on its person will grow proportionately with the spriggan. The spriggan can changes sizes at will, each time requiring a full round action to do so.

   An enlarged spriggan gains the bonuses listed in the statistics block. While enlarged a spriggan cannot use its spell-like abilities or its sneak attack ability.

   Spell-Like Abilities: At will—daze, flare, and shatter. These abilities are as the spells cast by a 4th-level sorcerer (save DC 10). The spriggan cannot use its spell-like abilities when enlarged.

   Sneak Attack (Ex): All spriggans are rogue-like in nature, and can sneak attack an opponent any time it is unaware or loses its Dexterity bonus to AC. The spriggan deals +4d6 points of damage when using this ability. A spriggan cannot use this ability when enlarged.

SPRIGGAN SOCIETY

Spriggans usually travel in packs, all of them male. The females keep to dismal burrows or secret dens in forgotten ruins, rarely venturing out farther than necessary to gather food. A female has the same combat abilities as a male, except that her hit dice in giant size are only 7d8. The females mate with males from packs that wander nearby.  The children are cast out upon reaching maturity, the males to join up with packs and the females to find a place to lair.  Spriggan infant mortality is high, with the males (80%) surviving more often than the females (60%).

   Spriggans hate gnomes more than any living creatures, but they truly love none but those of their own ilk.  Perhaps it is the similarity of the true gnomes to their race that drives their hatred.  They like to terrorize, rob, and otherwise work vile deeds.  They do not hesitate to attack or steal from traveling groups or small settlements in their area.  All of their possessions, including their armor and weapons, are stolen from their victims.  They greatly fear large groups of organized humans and demihumans, and they avoid such parties.

SPRIGGAN CHARACTERS

The favored class of the spriggans is rogue. Spriggan leaders are usually rogue/fighters or rogue/sorcerers.

The Spriggan first appeared in the 1e MM II (Gary Gygaxm 1983).