Pugwampi

From PathfinderWiki
Pugwampi
A pugwampi.
(Creature)

Detestable little fey loathed by nearly ever other creature, including their fellow fairy folk, pugwampis are commonly known as "jackal rats" and are beacons of bad luck and misfortune.1234

Appearance

Pugwampis resemble rabid little lapdogs that have mastered walking gracelessly on its hind legs. Their faces have traits of jackals and hyenas with milky white eyes. Pugwampis stand less than two feet tall and weigh barely over ten pounds.5 They clothe themselves in dirty tattered rags and wield daggers and vicious knives that are nearly as large as they are.1

Habitat and ecology

Pugwampis prefer dark shelters in warm environments, and their favored location for a lair is in an abandoned structure or near a natural hazard, such as a rickety bridge, ruined settlement, or treacherous cliffs.62 They possess an aura of bad luck to bring misfortune to those who try to pass,462 and they rarely fight unless they can imperil their opponents to their advantage.62

Larger swarms of pugwampis build underground cities rather than small lairs, and several of these pugwampi colonies are rumored to exist beneath the Brazen Peaks of northern Katapesh.7

As scavengers, pugwampis have stout stomachs capable of digesting even poisonous or rotting meat.2 They have poor hearing, and as a result they scream loudly to communicate when not attempting ot hide.34

Society and culture

Pugwampis are among the most loathed creatures on Golarion, and unlike many other hated creatures they do not have the power or strength to make them feared or respected—even other gremlins loathe pugwampis.8 They prank other creatures with often fetid devices that use spikes, vermin, excrement, and other similarly unpleasant features, and enjoy the many accidents that their aura of unluckiness cause.34

Pugwampis seem to delight in the misfortune and misery of all other creatures, with the sole exception of kholo,9 whom pugwampis revere as deities34 for their similar appearance, size, and warrior stature.8 Kholo, on the other hand, despise pugwampis more passionately than any other creature, viewing them as disgusting, fawning sycophants.834

Within pugwampi colonies, order is established through size and strength, with alpha pugwampis dominating others into a tribe and branding them. This extends to the tribes themselves, with larger tribes often enslaving or destroying smaller ones.2

Pugwampis collect shiny treasures, marking them in buried stashes with their pungent urine. The powerful stench helps the gremlins track down anyone who finds their treasures.2

Reference

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

  1. 1.0 1.1 Erik Mona, et al. Howl of the Carrion King, 83–84. Paizo Inc., 2009
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Tim Hitchcock. Gremlin” in Fey Revisited, 13. Paizo Inc., 2013
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Logan Bonner, et al. “Monsters A-Z” in Bestiary, 193. Paizo Inc., 2019
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Logan Bonner, et al. Gremlin” in Monster Core, 180. Paizo Inc., 2024
  5. Paizo increased the size category of pugwampis from Tiny to Small in Monster Core 180. The ramifications of this change on the more specific description of their size from Pathfinder First Edition sources are unknown.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Erik Mona, et al. Howl of the Carrion King, 83. Paizo Inc., 2009
  7. Elaine Cunningham. Pathfinder's Journal: Dark Tapestry 3 of 6” in The Jackal's Price, 73. Paizo Inc., 2009
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 Erik Mona, et al. Howl of the Carrion King, 84. Paizo Inc., 2009
  9. Paizo referred to all kholo as gnolls until the publication of The Mwangi Expanse, and renamed all gnolls to kholo across Player Core, GM Core, and Monster Core. For details, see Meta:Kholo.