Duende

Duende

(Creature)

Uncommon

CN

Small

Earth

Fey

Level

2

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Source: Bestiary 3, pg(s). 87

Duendes are small fey who, while naturally living in termite mounds and ant hills, have taken to residing with humanoids in their homes.

Appearance

Despite being the size of a halfling or goblin, duendes spend almost all of their time invisible, making navigating the houses they have adopted a bit of a challenge. When visible, duendes appear as small, dirty humans wielding their ever-present toenail clippers.

Abilities

Besides their innate invisibility, duendes can shrink themselves to the size of an insect indefinitely. Prior to the development of built-up civilizations, duendes typically inhabited termite mounds and the like, living in the dirt with the bugs. Duendes can also glamour small yellowish bits of earthen objects (root vegetables, dung, etc.) into appearing as gold, though close examination will shatter the illusion.

Some believe that keeping a duende happy in your household will inspire the duende to help crops grow and protect the home with their magics, but nothing in the study of their displayed powers indicates that they have either of these abilities.

Society

Unlike most fey, duendes have taken their lessons from humanoid society. The creatures view themselves as the landlords of the homes they choose to inhabit. The duende, however, take toenails as their "rent." As many people believe the duendes have a beneficial effect on their surroundings, acquiescing to these demands for bits of nail are typically granted. Those who do not keep up on their rent payments may find that the duendes simply take the toenails themselves.

External links

Duende (real world mythical creature) on Wikipedia