Hinkypunk

A faint snatch of laughter drifts through the forest. For a moment, a tiny, luminescent figure peers out from behind a tree, then playfully darts off into the distance. A trail of shimmering ghost lights dances in its wake.

Sometimes mistaken for will-o’-wisps, hinkypunks are mysterious fey spirits of light. Like their undead cousins, hinkypunks frequently use their alluring lights to lead travelers astray, but their motives are not nearly as dark.

Seekers and Pranksters. Hinkypunks love discovering what others try to hide, and find revealing other creatures’ secrets hilarious. They sometimes lead travelers to concealed treasures, secret passages, or creatures trying to stay hidden. Unfortunately, a hinkypunk’s pranks can just as often be played on the follower, such as getting someone to step in a hunting snare or dig up a nest of stinging insects.

Cunning Familiars. A hinkypunk will sometimes bond with an individual that has proved to share the fey’s love of uncovering secrets, serving as that person’s familiar. Their natural ability to hide within innocuous objects like lantern flames make them very well-suited for spying. The worst of them make themselves consorts of powerful evil creatures, attracting unknowing victims to the hands of the feys’ masters for dark purposes.

Variant: Hinkypunk Familiar

Warlocks who choose the Pact of the Chain can be granted a hinkypunk familiar by their patron. Other hinkypunks are willing to serve a spellcaster they meet as a familiar, and have the following trait.

Familiar. The hinkypunk can serve another creature as a familiar, forming a magic, telepathic bond with that willing companion. While the two are bonded, the companion can sense what the hinkypunk senses as long as they are within 1 mile of each other. At any time and for any reason, the hinkypunk can end its service as a familiar, ending the telepathic bond.

Hinkypunk

Tiny fey, chaotic neutral

  • Armor Class 14
  • Hit Points 5 (2d4)
  • Speed 10 ft., fly 30 ft. (hover)
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
5 (-3) 19 (+4) 10 (0) 15 (+2) 12 (+1) 16 (+3)
  • Skills Investigation +4
  • Damage Immunities lightning, fire
  • Damage Resistances radiant; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks not made with steel or iron weapons
  • Condition Immunities grappled, prone, petrified
  • Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11
  • Languages Common, Sylvan, Auran
  • Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)

Variable Illumination. The hinkypunk sheds either dim light in a 10-foot radius, or bright light in a 10-foot radius and dim light for an additional 10 feet. It can alter the brightness as a bonus action.

False Appearance. The hinkypunk can freely alter its form, choosing to appear as a torch, lantern, glowing orb, or a glowing, vaguely humanoid form of Tiny size. When it is shedding only dim light, it is indistinguishable from one of the torch-sized lights created by a dancing lights spell.

Jack O' Lantern. Once on its turn, the hinkypunk can use 5 feet of its movement to merge magically into a light source within its reach. As long as the light persists and the hinkypunk doesn't move on its own, attack, or cast a spell, it is invisible and moves with the light source, though it can still be harmed by attacks and spells aimed at where it's hiding.
    Also once on its turn, the hinkypunk can use 5 feet of its movement to emerge from that, or any other light source it can see within 60 feet of it, appearing in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the light.

Ephemeral. The hinkypunk can't wear or carry anything.

Innate Spellcasting. The hinkypunk's spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 13). The hinkypunk can innately cast the following spells, requiring only verbal components:

2/day each: dancing lights, minor illusion
1/day each: continual flame (dispelled if the
    hinkypunk casts it again or leaves the flame's
    plane of existence), faerie fire

Actions

Spark. Melee Spell Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., One target. Hit: 4 (1d8) lightning damage. On a critical hit, the target is affected as if by faerie fire until the end of the hinkypunk's next turn.

Monster and monster art both by Alex Franklin, /u/fralexion