Jason Andresen (order #1578489) - Jump page for Jubei

Steamling
Tiny Elemental (Fire)
Hit Dice: 1d8+3 (7 hp)
Initiative: +5
Speed: Fly 60 ft. (good) (12 squares)
Armor Class: 17 (+2 size, +5 Dex),
touch 17, flat-footed 12
Base Attack/Grapple: +0/–8
Attack: Bite +2 melee (1d3)
Full Attack: Bite +2 melee (1d3)
Space/Reach: 2 1⁄2 ft./0 ft.
Special Attacks: Scalding bite
Special Qualities: Boiling frenzy, darkvision 60 ft., elemental
traits, immunity to fire, vulnerability to cold
Not a lot of folks know about wizard’s coal, a rare,
nasty-smelling alchemical reagent. Alchemists use it
in potions, and wizards use it in flame-based spells;
hence the name. When I was a youth, my father had
this theory that it could be put to use as a fuel for steam engines.
He and my brothers had cobbled together a steamjack,
a smaller model made from scavenged parts. The thing was
a heap of junk, but the engine my father put in it had been
lifted from a union caravan in the dead of the night—it was
top notch quality and ready to go.
With the help of a shady mage type he knew, Father
bought about twenty pounds of wizard’s coal.
This batch had been alchemically treated
to burn slowly (it usually goes up in
a burst). His theory was that with an
infusion of wizard’s coal a much smaller
amount of fuel would be needed to keep
the jack running longer and cleaner.
Once the firebox came up to temperature
there was some sort of reaction
in the steam plant. (Of course, we
stood well back not sure what would
happen. Father may have had some cockeyed
schemes, but he was a stickler for
safety.) As we watched the primary
boiler started to bulge, and boom!
Clouds of stinking steam shot
everywhere. Amazingly, the steam
rapidly coalesced into a swarm
of little winged translucent beasts
with broad jaws.
The creatures poured into and out of the engine for a
162
Saves: Fort +3, Ref +7, Will –1
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 20, Con 16,
Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 10
Skills: Disable Device +5, Hide +15,
Move Silently +9, Spot +3
Feats: Stealthy
Environment: Any locale near machinery
Organization: Solitary, gang (2–9), or
swarm (10–16)
Challenge Rating: 1
Alignment: Always chaotic neutral
Advancement: 2 HD (Tiny); 3–4 HD (Small)
Level Adjustment: —
full hour. Once the wizard’s coal burnt low they flew off into
the night, howling and dancing. Thereafter you couldn’t run
a steam engine in the area without the things showing up and
boiling over the whole works. Finally we had to move out and
find a new place to set up shop.
Only during my studies many years later did I discover
what had happened. Father had inadvertently awoken a nest
of steamlings. Steamlings are elemental spirits that sometimes
lay dormant in wizard’s coal. If tainted wizard’s coal is heated
slowly to combustion temperatures, the steamling awakens.
The things eat steam, and they also have
an innate ability to heat water. If there
are enough of them, they can boil a
steam engine over and disable it, or
worse cause it to explode.
Steamlings can be found in
nature on rare occasion, near hot
springs or other places where wizard’s
coal, water, and intense heat
can be found in close proximity.
Combat
Steamlings are rambunctious, chaotic, and driven by
impulse. The primary concern of a steamling is to feed on
steam and spawn. Unless attacked, a steamling will
go about these activities. Steam engines are
open feasts to steamlings. They infest a steam
engine as soon as they hear it, often ruining it
or causing it to burst.
Scalding bite (Ex): Steamling bites are nasty and hard to
heal. If a steamling bites unprotected skin it can leave a blister-
Jason Andresen (order #1578489) 9