The air shimmers around the charcoal-skinned, child-sized creature before you. It smiles a wide grin with a mouth full of needle-like teeth. Then it screams and throws a ball of fire at you.

Gairn are nasty little fey which could easily pass for human children if not for their over-sized mouths of needle-like teeth and charcoal-gray skin. They are most commonly found inhabiting smaller bodies of water in warm climates, especially in desert oases, where they have swiftly ended the lives of many a thirsty traveler…

Gairn (CR 5)

XP 1,600
CN Small fey (aquatic, fire)
Init +10; Senses low-light vision; Perception +18
Aura heat (10 ft., 1d6 fire, DC 19)

DEFENSE
AC 20, touch 17, flat-footed 20 (+6 Dex, +3 natural, +1 size)
hp 52 (8d6+24); fast healing 1
Fort +5, Ref +12, Will +9
Defensive Abilities uncanny dodge; DR 5/cold iron; Immune fire
Weaknesses vulnerability to cold

OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft., swim 40 ft.
Melee dagger +11 (1d3+2 plus 1d6 fire/19–20), and bite +6 (1d6+1 plus 1d6 fire)
Ranged fire bomb +11 (4d6+5 fire)
Special Attacks fire bomb (DC 21), heat, sneak attack +1d6
Spell-like Abilities (CL 8th; concentration +13)
Constant—blur

TACTICS
Before Combat Gairn hide in whatever body of water they have claimed as theirs and wait for a victim to arrive.

During Combat When faced with a single foe, a gairn begins combat with a targeted fire bomb; otherwise, it throws the bomb as a grenade-like weapon. It focuses on the smallest and weakest humanoid creature before attacking others.

Morale A gairn fights until it has less than 11 hp, then retreats deep into the water to heal, typically attacking again within minutes.

STATISTICS
Str 14, Dex 22, Con 17, Int 13, Wis 16, Cha 21
Base Atk +4; CMB +5; CMD 21
Feats Ability Focus (fire bomb), Improved Initiative, Stealthy, Weapon Finesse
Skills Bluff +14, Escape Artist +19, Perception +18, Sense Motive +14, Sleight of Hand +17, Stealth +27 (+31 in water), Swim +21; Racial Modifiers +4 Perception, +4 Stealth (+8 in water)
Languages Aklo, Sylvan
SQ amphibious

ECOLOGY
Environment warm aquatic
Organization solitary, pair, pack (2–5)
Treasure standard (dagger, other treasure)

SPECIAL ABILITIES
Fire Bomb (Su) As a standard action, a gairn can focus its hatred into a tangible ball of flame and throw it. It can either target a specific creature or throw the ball as a grenade-like weapon with a range increment of 20 ft. A gairn’s Charisma modifier is added to the damage.

Whenever a gairn throws a fire bomb, it loses its fire aura, heat, and fire bomb attacks for 1d4 rounds. Splash damage from a fire bomb is always equal to the bomb’s minimum damage (usually 9 hp fire damage). Fire bomb targets can attempt a Reflex save (DC 21) for half damage. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Heat (Ex) Gairn burn with such hatred, their bite and any metallic weapons they wield conduct heat and deal an additional 1d6 fire damage. This damage is not multiplied on a critical hit. A gairn can suppress this ability for up to 1 minute with a successful Wisdom check (DC 10) allowing them to touch flammable items without damaging them.

General Characteristics

Exiled to the Material Plane in ages long past, gairn hate everything to do with it—humanoids most of all. Since their exile, gairn have tried repeatedly to cleanse the material plane of humanoid creatures but have consistently failed due to lack of patience with each other.

Gairn have no civilization of their own and rarely create anything beyond a simple chainmail loincloth. Anything else they own they’ve either stolen or looted from past victims.

Very rarely, a gairn will choose to live in a humanoid town with a rudimentary sewer network where it can select specific victims to kill.

Gairn generally gain levels as barbarians, rangers, and rogues. There are rumors of a group of gairn monks in a ruined monastery somewhere in a desert.

Gairn Brute

Roughly one in ten gairn possess the feed ability.

Feed (Su) Once per month, as a full-round action, a gairn brute can devour a Small or Medium humanoid corpse dead no longer than 1 minute and killed with a targeted fire bomb. It gains a growth point for each such corpse devoured. For every 2 growth points, a gairn brute gains 1 HD and all the related benefits. Once the gairn brute has 5 growth points, it gains the giant simple template (see Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary). At 10 growth points, a gairn brute gains the advanced simple template.

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