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I can’t find spriggans in my 2nd edition and earlier books, but I know they’re in Pathfinder, so they were probably introduced in D&D 3.x. This entry is their 4e debut. It feels like there’s been some condensing here because this entry also uses several other names that I’m sure belonged to separate “small evil fey” enemies, like “redcap” and “powrie”.

The Lore

Back in the post on gnomes, we already saw that the gnome people used to be enslaved by the fomorians in the ancient past, but that they managed to escape. Here, we learn that not all of them managed to get away. Those unfortunates were eventually twisted into spriggans by fomorian magic. It’s unclear whether this happened as punishment for the escape attempt, or during some subsequent experiment.

The book doesn’t describe present-day spriggans as fomorian slaves, so maybe they were discarded by their former masters as failures. They live in underground settlements excavated under rugged terrain.

Fomorian magic warped spriggan hearts as much as it did their bodies. Soaking stuff in the blood of enemies seems to be a big deal to them. Their habit of doing that to their hats caused them to also be known as redcaps by other sapients. Spriggan communities delight in raiding, tormenting and extracting tribute from their weaker neighbors, behaving pretty much like bandit gangs.

The Numbers

Spriggans are Small Fey Humanoids with low-light vision and a ground speed of 6. Their signature ability is Redcap Zeal, a free-action encounter power that grants them temporary HP when they bloody or defeat an enemy.

Spriggan Giantsoul

Giantsouls tap into the fomorian magic in their blood, which gives them enhanced strength and the ability to stretch their arms to gain a giant’s reach. They’re Level 8 Brutes with 106 HP.

These spriggans fight unarmed, using slams as their basic attack. The stretch-arm thing comes into play in the Giantsoul Slam special attack (recharge 4+), which is Reach 2, does the same damage as the slam, and knocks prone on a hit. Both attacks deal bonus damage when the spriggan is bloodied.

Once per encounter, the giantsoul can use a Surprise Slam, an interrupt that triggers when an enemy within 2 squares of them attacks an ally. This allows it to use Giantsoul Slam against the triggering enemy, recharging the ability if necessary.

They’re good frontliners, with a limited ability to protect squishier allies when the PCs try to get around them.

Spriggan Powrie

All spriggans use iron-shod boots as part of their combat gear, but powries have a particular dedication to the fine art of stomping. They’re Level 7 Skirmishers with 79 HP.

The powrie fights with a sickle that does light physical damage and inflicts ongoing damage. It can also be used in a Hamstring special attack that has the same effects and also knocks prone and slows for a turn. This recharges when the powrie is first bloodied.

Against prone enemies it can use the amusing Punt The Fallen attack, which deals the same damage as the sickle and pushes 3 squares. The best thing about this attack is that it’s an at-will minor action!

If the powrie has combat advantage against a creature taking ongoing damage, attacking that creature with any of the above will also increase their ongoing damage by 5.

Finally, the Blood Slide passive trait prevents the powrie from provoking opportunity attacks when leaving a square adjacent to a creature who’s bloodied or taking ongoing damage.

So most of the time a powrie will be attacking enemies with the sickle and moving around the battlefield with the aid of Blood Slide in order to spread as much ongoing damage around as possible, and will then seek combat advantgae against a single target. Hamstring and Punt the Fallen is an hilarious combination, and the latter means powries pair really well with other enemies who can drop targets prone more often. Multiple powries in a fight mean you can begin an impromptu soccer match with a prone PC as the ball.

Spriggan Thorn

The spriggan thorn is armed with a short sword and a light shield, which are imbued with a curse of thorns. The sword itself is enveloped in them, and the spriggan can curse an enemy and cause thorns to spring from under their skin. It’s a Level 6 Soldier with 71 HP.

The Short Sword damages and inflicts ongoing damage (thorns!). It can be enhanced with the Drowsing Puncture power as a minor action. This makes the next attack daze the target for a turn and knock them prone, if it hits. It recharges when the thorn is first bloodied.

The curse is called Mark of Thorns, and it’s an encounter power that automatically hits a target in a Close Burst 5. A cursed target can’t make opportunity attacks against the thorn, and takes 4 damage at the end of any turn in which it didn’t attack the thorn. Any allies of the target that start the turn adjacent to them also take 4 damage.

Drowsing Puncture is a fine skill to use against PC defenders, and the Mark is quite versatile. When used against a defender, it allows the thorn to slip past the PC front-line unmolested. It also works to diver the attention of any PC who would normally gain more by attacking one of the spriggan’s more fragile allies. They pair really well with powries, who can end up increasing the ongoing damage caused by the swords.

Spriggan Witherer

Witherers are spriggan spellcasters who specialize in harmful weather control magic. They can probably cause serious trouble to agrarian communities with rituals, and they can also create more localized effects useful in combat. They have an obsession with soaking the earth in blood, so they pair well with enemies with a similar imagery. They’re Level 8 Artillery with 70 HP and the Leader keyword.

Their melee attack is a whithering touch vs. Reflex that deals necrotic damage. Their main single-target ranged attack is Sun Scorch (Ranged 10 vs. Reflex) dealing fire and radiant damage. They can use a spell named Flattening Wind either as a close blast 3 or as an area 3/range 10 attack vs. Fortitude. This deals physical damage, pushes 2 squares, and knocks prone. It recharges when they’re first bloodied.

After they’re bloodied, they can use Blood For the Earth at will. This is an area 2/range 10 attack that deals light physical damage, inflicts ongoing damage, and gives 5 temporary HP to any allies caught in the area.

This makes for an artillery threat that starts off fairly aggressive and switches to more of a support role as the fight proceeds.

Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

Spriggans are fairly good at fulfilling the “small evil fey” niche, and I love the ties to fomorian lore. There are some good synergies between the stat blocks presented here,

Spriggans can still be found working for fomorians, but some also work for evil eladrin or run their own rackets. They keep dangerous plants and animals around their settlements for protection.

The sample encounter is level 9: an evil eladrin twilight incanter with a pet shambling mound and a quartet of spriggan goons (2 giantsouls, 2 witherers).