Fantasy Monster: Shanteur Gremlin

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Gremlin, Shanteur

An implacably dressed bluish imp with a mane of blond hair, carefully trimmed to a courtly fashion a few decades out of date, holding a lute.

CR 1; XP 400
CG Tiny Fey
Init +1; Senses low-light vision; Perception +7

Defense
AC 13, touch 13, flat-footed 12 (+1 Dex, +2 size)
hp 14 (4d6)
Fort +1, Ref +5, Will +4
DR 5/cold iron

Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee desperate clawing and biting +2 (2d4–2)

Ranged arrows flung from a lute +5 (1d4, ×3)

Special Attacks an earnest chant

Space 2-1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.

Statistics
Str 6, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 13, Wis 10, Cha 13
Base Atk +2; CMB +1; CMD 9
Feats Endurance, Nimble Moves
Skills Acrobatics +8, Diplomacy +8, Knowledge (local) +8, Knowledge (nobility) +5, Perception +7, Perform (sing) +8, Perform (string instrument) +10, Sense Motive +0, Stealth +9

Languages Common, Elven, Sylvan

Ecology
Environment urban, forests
Organization solitary, duo, band (3–5)
Treasure standard (including Tiny masterwork lute)

An Earnest Chant (Su) A shanteur gremlin can start to sing as a swift action. As long as the gremlin continues singing (a free action) and for 1d4 round thereafter all non-fey sapient creatures within 60 feet that can hear it suffer –2 penalty to skill checks and are distracted potentially disrupting their concentration (DC 13+spell level concentration check is required to cast spells or maintain concentration). On the other hand, it also grants +2 bonus to saving throws against fear, pain, and language-dependent effects because of the distraction and people's brain trying to shut off of their surroundings anyway. Sapient fey creatures instead gain +1 morale bonus to attack rolls, saving throws, and skill checks. Gremlins double that bonus. The concentration check DC is Charisma-based. This is a mind-affecting sonic effect.

A shanteur's song is something to be heard before you can appreciate not hearing it... The melody is there, somewhere, hidden between dissonances and discord, constantly promising it will become a masterpiece, very-very soon, but it never actually delivers. And yet, some people find it hard to chastise the shanteur gremlins over that artistic felony, because of the latter's utter and earnest dedication to their art. Thankfully, they often can be dissuaded from singing for too long, either by appealing to their sense of self-care, gluttony, or by redirecting their attention to another group of listeners.

Shanteurs are almost invariably hopeless romantics, deeply confident in their (non-existent) ability to spot burgeoning love and always happy to provide stirring music accompaniments to a lover's tryst, more often than not providing such assistance out of their own initiative, or even at the rival's suggestion. That tendency isn't helped much by their lack of understanding of more intimate details of love, romance, or sexuality, beyond the general framework of courtly ballads.

Relations between shanteurs are complicated—while they occasionally work together when presented with an opportunity for a magnificent performance before a captive audience, they often squabble over details, each trying to introduce their own themes and dominate the melody.

And before you ask–no, no ones knows how do they manage to fire Tiny arrows out of their lutes. Must be fey magic. They do not cause targets to fall in love on the first sight, though. That was a solitary incident when a shanteur gremlin somehow, somewhere, acquired a bunch of arrows of love. They all spent by now... We hope.