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I'm really only posting this because I'm curious. I realize that it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, but I'm going to ask anyway. ;-)
I was just looking at the entry on Gremlins in PFAP #19 and realized that the sidebar on page 83 refers to mites (from page 266 in Tome of Horrors Revised as gremlins. However, the entry on mites clearly describes them as goblinoids.
I then went to page 103 my copy of Tome of Horrors III and found the entry on gremlins, in which these fey are described as resembling goblins with floppy ears.
I'm wondering why mites were used to replace actual gremlins. A quick read of the TOHIII legal appendix seems to indicate that Necromancer Games' gremlins are open content, just like mites.
Can any of the three gents who wrote the bestiary section say why mites were referenced instead of gremlins?
Thanks!
Short answer, because we think they're cool. Slightly longer answer, the weird abilities of mites make them feel more like gremlins than more mundane goblinoids and hearkens back to their Fiend Folio roots better. So largely, it's just matters of taste.
Also, expect a few version of the mite in the upcoming PFRPG Bestiary.
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Short answer, because we think they're cool. Slightly longer answer, the weird abilities of mites make them feel more like gremlins than more mundane goblinoids and hearkens back to their Fiend Folio roots better. So largely, it's just matters of taste.
Also, expect a few version of the mite in the upcoming PFRPG Bestiary.
Thanks for clueing me in on your thought process, Wes. I'm anxiously awaiting the PFRPG Bestiary (as in, I've already pre-orderered it).
I've been working on some concepts for a campaign involving certain parts of the Darklands. One area that will be featured is the Candlestone Caverns (the Andoren entrance to Nar-Voth that is reportedly overrun with gremlins and other cave-dwelling fey). Sounds to me like mites may have been among the creatures James and Greg were thinking of.
While I'm waiting for the new Bestiary, would you recommend changing the TOHRev mite's type to fey to reflect the otherworldly nature of these creatures?
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To further expand on Wes's comments... we've got a pretty good thing going with our goblins, and having them set up so that the LE ones (hobgoblins) are the militaristic and organized evil, the NE ones (goblins) are the crazy just-plain-evil ones, and the CE ones (bugbears) are the ones who are the most destructive and ruinous works really well. There's not really much more room for goblinoids—they're pretty much covered.
Furthermore, the Tome of Horrors version of the mite is kind of boring. Making him into a type of gremlin opens up some nifty flavor for them, and I've got some really neat plans for them in the future.
For the most part, we DO adhere to the basic ideas and concepts of the monsters in the Tome of Horrors, but now and then we want to do our own take on those monsters. The mite, gremlins, and even the chupecabra are all great examples of creatures we did more than revise flavor to when importing them into Golarion and Pathfinder.
Mites are certainly one of the creatures folks can expect to find in Candlestone Caverns. Redcaps too.
One last thing: long-term fans of D&D doubtless recall the jermalaine. Those guys aren't open content, so we can't actually put jermalaine into our game. But jermalaine are very much a D&D form of gremlin, so with the pugwampis, jinkins, mites, and other gremlins, we're more or less filling the gap left by the lack of jermalaines.
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great info
Aha! I do remember jermelaines! (Although I can't explain why I can clearly the remember the image on a page last viewed several years ago, yet can't remember a task I was assigned yesterday. :/)
Thanks very much for the explanations, guys! I have to agree that the TOH mites don't feel very "gremlin-y" to me, so I'm really looking forward to seeing your take on them in the Bestiary.
And thanks for the advice on the other creatures to put in the Candlestone Caverns, too!
Short answer, because we think they're cool. Slightly longer answer, the weird abilities of mites make them feel more like gremlins than more mundane goblinoids and hearkens back to their Fiend Folio roots better.
Wha...? An AD&D mite is an extremely mundane goblinish creature. It's essentially a very slow goblin with a bite attack.
I can definitely see the desire to make them cooler, but I don't see how that's hearkening back to anything.
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Creative Director
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Short answer, because we think they're cool. Slightly longer answer, the weird abilities of mites make them feel more like gremlins than more mundane goblinoids and hearkens back to their Fiend Folio roots better.Wha...? An AD&D mite is an extremely mundane goblinish creature. It's essentially a very slow goblin with a bite attack.
I can definitely see the desire to make them cooler, but I don't see how that's hearkening back to anything.
If the Pathfinder mite is hearkening back to anything, it's to the closed-to-us-content of the jermalaine. The classic D&D mite was really no different than a goblin; the original 1st edition Fiend Folio has a LOT of those types of monsters, actually.
That said, I do understand that redesigning monsters like this is a slippery slope. It's one that we won't be doing much at Paizo, but in the case of the mite, it's one we felt expanded on an established creature in a way that makes them more interesting. And certainly the ToH version of the mite isn't going anywhere if that's the one folks end up preferring.