Elemental scamp

From PathfinderWiki
Elemental scamp
Mephit
Elemental scamp
(Creature)

Elemental scamps, also known as mephits,123 are diminutive, bat-like creatures native to the Elemental Planes.1

Appearance

A scamp resembles a bat with a body composed of its corresponding elemental matter, large eyes, and small fangs.45

Behavior

Scamps are mischievous creatures, but despite their small stature are also imperious and egotistical. Many devise many elaborate titles to add to their name.4 They are influenced by their elemental nature; for instance, metal scamps are aggressively committed to the entropy that permeates the Plane of Metal6 while wood scamps are more social and committed to teamwork and cooperation.7

Ecology

Scamps can reproduce, and not only with their own kind. Some geniekin are descended from scamps.8

Society

Scamps form their own independent nations in the Elemental Planes, such as the air scamp Sparkling Principality of Hautansia in the Plane of Air910 or the conquering fire scamps of the Ninefold Towers of the Matriarch of Holy Sublimation.11

Abilities

A scamp can wield some magic and emit elemental matter of their own type from their mouth.41 Each type of scamp has unique powers, although all can fly.112

On Golarion

A spellcaster can take a scamp as their familiar.4 Scamps have a reputation for being easy for novice spellcasters to conjure and command while also offering useful abilities, but they also require supervision to prevent them from descending into mischief.1

In the Great Beyond

The metal scamp Manganija is a renowned architect responsible for most of the buildings in Argyris and many more buildings constructed in more than 100 of the plane's cities over the last 10,000 years.13

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Logan Bonner, et al. “Monsters A-Z” in Bestiary, 150. Paizo Inc., 2019
  2. Logan Bonner, et al. Rage of Elements, 3. Paizo Inc., 2023
  3. Paizo referred to elemental scamps as mephits until the publication of the Pathfinder Second Edition Bestiary, and began solely referring to them as scamps in Rage of Elements. See Bestiary pg. 150, Rage of Elements pg. 3, and Pathfinder Core Preview pgs. 2, 13. Their appearance also changed from small humanoids to small bat-like creatures.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Logan Bonner, et al. “Elemental Characters” in Rage of Elements, 43. Paizo Inc., 2023
  5. Rage of Elements 43 unintentionally omitted a retroactively changed description of elemental scamp appearance. This was corrected in the "Official Pathfinder FAQ and Errata" document and is reflected here. See Meta:Elemental scamp.
  6. Logan Bonner, et al. “Metal” in Rage of Elements, 153. Paizo Inc., 2023
  7. Logan Bonner, et al. “Wood” in Rage of Elements, 204. Paizo Inc., 2023
  8. Logan Bonner, et al. “Elemental Characters” in Rage of Elements, 49. Paizo Inc., 2023
  9. Logan Bonner, et al. “Air” in Rage of Elements, 64. Paizo Inc., 2023
  10. Logan Bonner, et al. “Air” in Rage of Elements, 65–66. Paizo Inc., 2023
  11. Logan Bonner, et al. “Fire” in Rage of Elements, 113. Paizo Inc., 2023
  12. In Pathfinder First Edition, mephits could magically summon others of their kind. This ability is no longer present in the Second Edition mechanics for mephits.
  13. Logan Bonner, et al. “Metal” in Rage of Elements, 139. Paizo Inc., 2023