The Creepy Crepitus

Thursday, May 29th, 2008

Here's another peek at the forthcoming Pathfinder Module LB1: Tower of the Last Baron.

It is speculated that Asmodeus spawned the first crepitus devils, sometimes called magewretches, to tempt and corrupt mortal wizards into damning their souls. Yet while it is true that the crepitus is a highly intelligent creature with a gift for spellcraft and all things arcane, its great intellect is countered by its foolishness and inability to competently lure mortals to Asmodeus's will. As a result, specimens seen on the Material Plane are more often slaves than fiendish tempters.

Ecology

A crepitus stands 3 to 4 feet tall, with bright eyes in a saurian head that appears too large for its gaunt, rune-covered body. Its shoulders sprout bat-like wings that allow it to fly with ease, and its sharp talons are surprisingly nimble and capable of fine adjustments when conducting magical rituals. A typical crepitus weighs 30 pounds. Though, like other devils, crepituses don't require food, they take particular joy in consuming wizards' familiars (and sometimes the wizards themselves.) Crepitus devils are native to Hell, and many lurk around Asmodeus's infernal palace, often serving as messengers.

Habitat & Society

Left to their own devices, crepitus devils are cunning, malicious pranksters, content to while away their days flitting about Hell and tormenting lost souls and devils alike. Yet crepituses are rarely left alone for long, and it is likely from this fact that their long-standing racial hatred of wizards stems. Highly valued for their spell-like abilities and intuitive knowledge of magic, crepituses are frequently bound into contracts or enslaved outright by mortal wizards and other fiends, a situation the intelligent devils find exrtemely demeaning. This situation is not helped by the fact that crepituses are frequently the first gifts handed out by higher-ranking demons attempting to seduce mortal magic users. If given an opportunity, a crepitus goes well out of its way to destroy a wizard and burn his precious spellbooks to ashes (not necessarily in that order). Chelish wizards regularly bind crepitus devils as servants, and view having an enslaved crepitus as a mark of prestige.

Crepituses enjoy lording their power over their significantly weaker impish cousins, and referring to a crepitus as an imp is the gravest possible insult.

Mike McArtor
Editor