By Zak Kramer (pk961591@OAK.CATS.OHIOU.EDU) (30 August 1995)
Wicked pranksters, spriggans delight in nothing more than stealing and causing terror amongst mortal and Kithain alike. Pain and death are not their aims, as it is for Redcaps. It is, instead, the sour draught of fear and loathing that is their foremost delight. Their favorite pranks generally involve thievery; more than any other Kith, the spriggans embody the ancient faerie ethic of 'Whatever's mine is mine, and whatever's yours is mine, too.' From bread machines to babies, nothing is safe around a spriggan.
Manners, or at least good ones, are not the strong suit of the spriggan. They delight in being uncouth, smelly, disgusting little critters. Just like a pooka will go to any lengths for a laugh, a spriggan will go to any lengths for a shudder. No obscenity is too vile, no behavior is too outlandish. It is popular Kithain wisdom that one never shakes the hand of a spriggan, because you never know where it's been.
Interestingly, the bards tell that the spriggans were not always thus. Once, it is said, they were giants, builders of great stone structures. However, as humans lost belief, and took over or destroyed the structures that the giants had sunk so much of their Glamour into, the giants shrank, smaller and smaller, until they wound up as the diminutive beings they are today. Some bards say that the spriggans steal to avenge that which was stolen from them, and they mortify their flesh that they might laugh at their shrunken state.
Although Unseelie spriggans are not uncommon, most could really care less about courts and politics. They take absolutely nothing seriously, and if a spriggan is forced to attend a court, she will likely discover a way to disrupt it in the most embarrassing ways possible. Usually, these disruptions are things like stealing the Duke's signet and replacing it with a squirting ring, or a continuous chorus of noisome flatuation during the bard's newest ode to unrequited love. Mortals are usually the recipients of the spriggans' more violent pranks, but what is the point of a prank if the victim doesn't live to tell about it?
Most other Kithain are wary of keeping company with spriggans; who wants to be blamed for their latest escapades, or caught in their legendary ill-luck? But he who befriends a spriggan has won a friend for life. Whether this is a positive or a negative state is, of course, highly debatable. Spriggans are just as foul to each other as they are to outsiders, perhaps moreso, since their tolerance for slovenly behavior is so high. Overall, however, they tend to enjoy each others' company more than that of other fae. They frequently form rough gangs, egging each other on to greater and greater depths. Spriggan parties tend to be affairs even the satyrs shun, as they combine all the worst elements of a middle school playground and a fraternity party.
Appearance: Spriggans are not the most attractive of faeries. They tend to be very short and squat, with knobby joints and brown, leathery skin. Their eyes are like black beads, with no visible iris or whites. With their big noses and long, pointed, sometimes tufted, ears, spriggans are comically grotesque. They tend to wear dingy clothing, and the smellier it is, the better. No one has ever seen a spriggan bathe. As if this were not enough, they tend to carry about a large number of miscellaneous small items (all of them stolen, of course) in moldy sacks and tucked in the folds of their fetid garments. Occasionally, these items are useful, but more often, they are just disgusting.
Seemings: Childling spriggans are frequently called goblins. They are the nightmares of teachers everywhere; so ugly they're cute, and so vulgar they're funny. At least to the other kids.
Wilders stick together. They lose most of their former cuteness, and form bands so they can more efficiently steal. Their skin darkens and gets wrinkly, and hair begins to sprout on the tips of their ears.
Grumps are just that. Their hair may begin to turn white, and their skin becomes so wrinkly their eyes seem to disappear. But this apparent age is misleading; grumps are no less rambunctious than wilders, just better at not getting caught.
Lifestyles: If it's productive, spriggans don't want to have anything to do with it. They are rarely employed, and tend to wander city streets and country lanes as vagrants, vandals, and worse. Some masquerade as 'town loonies'; this is a highly honored position amongst the spriggans, for such creatures frequently encounter psychologists, social workers, and other well meaning Autumn People in the course of their lives.
Affinity: Prop.
Birthrights:
Inflate: Despite their shrunken nature, spriggans can, for a short time, regain their former statures. This growth is chimerical, but even mortals can sense the invisible menace of the now-huge spriggan. This growth can be performed by rolling a Strength + Intimidation vs. 8. Botching this roll gives the character a point of temporary Banality, as it means that the spriggan has forgotten what it was like to be a giant. Each success gives the player a die to add to the spriggan's Strength, Stamina (including soak), or Intimidation pool. Each bonus die can only be used once, but they need not be used all together, or all in the same category.
Nimble Fingers: To aid them in their thievery, spriggans have the knack of being able to pull off the most fantastic heists, even in plain view. This gift can manifest in any number of ways; the mark was jostled by someone else just as the spriggan grabbed his wallet, a birdcall distracts the rent-a-cop, the Duke doesn't notice that his signet ring is gone until it's too late. The spriggan rolls Manipulation + Subterfuge (or Security) against a variable difficulty. The difficulty ranges from 5 (the pickpocket) to 10 (the signet ring.)
Frailties:
Easy Botch: Because of their disruptive nature, spriggans are much more likely to fail at things than most fae. And, they tend to fail in interesting, and often hilarious, ways. Every time a spriggan makes a roll, the player must roll an extra die, which only counts if a '1' is rolled. On the bright side, their botches tend to be amusing and embarrassing rather than truly injurious. Some say this is just the universe's way of paying the spriggans back for the abuse they heap on others.
Quote: "Look! What Nockers!" (Takes the opportunity to dump an entire plate of eclairs into his pants.)
Boggans: They don't like us, but we love them...clean houses make it so much easier to find stuff.
Eshu: Cool stories, and the look on their faces when they wind up face-first in the lawn pies! Priceless!
Nockers: Every once in a while, these guys come out with a zinger, but they spend too much time making, when they could be breaking.
Pooka: Here, kitty, kitty, kitty...Mommy's got a special treat for you...
Redcaps: Yuck. Sure, the eating bit's fun, but they just don't know how to take a joke.
Satyrs: Great parties! I love horny men!
Sidhe: Flick a booger on'em. That usually helps.
Sluagh: Sure, they smell great, but they're just damned weird.
Trolls: It's Log! It's Log! It's big, it's heavy, it's wood...