Whispergrist

Urban

Claws

A whispergrist is a long-eared fey that enters the dreams of its victims to learn their most vulnerable secrets. It then passes these secrets on to others to breed conflict, either by planting them in minds through dreams, or by leaving carefully-forged notes in places where they are sure to be discovered. Whispergrists that have been brought into service under powerful fey lords and ladies can serve as excellent spies, but the creatures innately despise authority and are usually only inclined to follow orders for as long as they can remain focused on a single task, which is no more than a few hours.

Whispergrists exist to find and spread the secrets that will cause the most conflict and mayhem throughout a community, for this is what brings the whispergrist joy. These are often the secrets that are the most shameful or the most carefully guarded. A whispergrist may pull at the relational threads of small, community-oriented villages, or accelerate the infighting of a capital city’s royal court by laying sensitive truths bare. 

Notes left by a whispergrist in order to spread a secret always smell faintly of lilac. Members of a community afflicted by a whispergrist increasingly complain about strange dreams and stranger nightmares. 

Whispergrists are blind, rely heavily on their supernaturally capable hearing: spells or other effects that dampen sound will give any monster hunters the edge in pursuit and combat. Whispergrists hate the smell of alcohol and recoil in its presence; alcohol causes their blood to congeal should it enter their bloodstream. The stronger the alcohol, the quicker and more catastrophic this effect. 

Whispergrists prefer to lair bedrooms and attics, especially in proximity to children. In some cases, these dwellings are abandoned and taken over by the whispergrist. In other cases, the whispergrist may live in the closet or under the bed in a child’s bedroom, having convinced the child of their secret friendship. A whispergrist’s lair is cluttered with secrets and notes that it writes down both to give to others and to make sense of what it has learned. 

Whispergrists avoid direct combat at all costs, preferring to aid their escape using 

 spells. They fight only when cornered. Whispergrists usually begin combat by casting 

on as many targets as possible, then following up with Claw attacks against the closest available target. 

The ears of a whispergrist, when dried, ground into a powder, and ingested, allow the consumer to hear the calling of spirits. Whispergrist fingers are said to be good luck charms. A PC can make a 

 Wisdom (Survival) check, or other check the GM deems appropriate, to obtain loot from the 

. On a successful check, the GM chooses one piece of loot, or has the PC roll a d4 to determine what they get. On a failed check, the PC gets a Whispergrist Finger. A PC can choose to have another make their skill check if they so choose.

Whispergrist

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