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Imp

Imp

AX.GHW.13.06.01

A minor Shadow entity: small, quick, malicious in the way that something with limited power and no consequences tends to be malicious. Imps are scouts, messengers, and nuisances. Individually they are easily handled; in groups, or when guarding something significant, they are a meaningful obstacle.

Type: Shadow Entity (Minor)

Threat Power Package: Minion

Size: Small

Attributes

  • Body: 1D
  • Speed: 3D
  • Wit: 2D

Talents

  • Brawl: 1D
  • Stealth: 2D
  • Notice: 1D

Combat Statistics

  • Health: 26 (20 + Body 1 + Minion modifier 5)
  • Defense: 2 (Speed 3 + Armor 0 = 3 ÷ 3 = 1, +1 base = 2)
  • Armor: None

Saves

  • Body Save: 1D (Body 1D)
  • Speed Save: 3D (Speed 3D)
  • Wit Save: 2D (Wit 2D)

Attacks

  • Claws: Body 1D + Brawl 1D = 2D vs Defense, 1 damage typical
  • Venom Bite: Body 1D + Brawl 1D = 2D vs Defense, 1 damage typical; target must make Body Save vs Threshold 2 or become Hindered (−1D on all actions) for 1D3 Turns from shadow-infused venom

Shadow Traits

  • Shadow Immunity: Immune to Shadow damage
  • Radiant Vulnerability: Takes double damage from Radiant damage; recoils from blessed water (1D3 damage on contact)
  • Hollow Flesh: Immune to poison; does not require air, food, or sleep in physical manifestation

Special Abilities

  • Pack Harassment: When three or more Imps are within Close range of the same target, each Imp's Venom Bite Save Threshold increases by 1 (to Threshold 3). The accumulated venom from multiple sources is more debilitating.
  • Invisible Shift: Once per scene as a Free Action, the Imp can become invisible for one Turn. Attacks against it while invisible are at Disadvantage. The invisibility ends if it attacks.

Tactics

Imps avoid direct confrontation with anything capable of fighting back. They harass from range, use Invisible Shift to escape when targeted, and concentrate Venom Bites to stack the Hindered condition on a single target before anything else. When guarding a location or serving as a messenger, they raise an alarm rather than engage. Their primary value is as early warning and distraction, not combat effectiveness.

Lore & Ecology

Imps are the smallest category of Shadow entity with independent physical manifestation. They serve larger Shadow entities or operate as minor extensions of compact obligations. Their malice is real but shallow; they cause harm because they can and because there are no consequences for them in the hidden world's margins. An Imp encountered alone is usually serving something; finding out what it's serving is more operationally important than the Imp itself.

Banishment

Imps can be destroyed by sustained Radiant damage (standard combat), but expulsion is more efficient: any expulsion application at Threshold 2 will return an Imp to its point of origin. Blessed water splash (Threshold 1 Sacred Fire application) deals enough Radiant damage to destroy most Imps in direct contact. Salt circles contain them. Imps cannot cross a solid salt line.

Scene Materials

  • Shadow residue (trace evidence of compact activity; $100–200 to Aldersham or Order)
  • Any message or object the Imp was carrying (operational intelligence)