Mephit VIII [Mist/Steam]

Mist mephits are pale green and see clearly through fog. Steam mephits hiss with vapor from their pores and leave near-boiling puddles where they step.

A mist mephit melees only when cornered; its soft claws deal 1 hp. Every second round, up to three times per hour, it can engulf one victim within 10 feet in a sickly green puff that never misses: fail a save vs. poison and take 1d4+1 choking damage plus 1-4 rounds of blindness. Once a day each it can raise a fog wall as a 3rd-level wizard and turn gaseous, usually to spy or slip away. Hourly it may try to gate in 1-2 ice or mist mephits, of one type if two appear. Strong winds, gust of wind included, make it flee in confusion.

Steam mephits, unlike most mephits, pick fights eagerly and ambush even large, well-armed groups. They open with their once-daily boiling rainstorm, which scalds everything in a 20-by-20-foot area for 2d6, then aim their breath at the closest wizard or priest. That breath, every second round, is a scalding jet that always hits one target within 20 feet for 1d3. Each of two hard claws deals 1d4 plus 1 hp of heat. The jet and every claw hit carry a 50% chance of a one-round stun, and these stack. Once a day a steam mephit can spoil water with putrefy food and drink. Hourly it may try to gate in 1-2 fire, magma, smoke or steam mephits, of one type if two come. Fire and heat cannot hurt it.

Steam is the only quasi-plane known to have spawned two kinds of mephit, and the pair loathe each other, trading insults and fighting pointless skirmishes. Mist mephits fancy themselves elite spies; they shun small talk and quickly report any mephit caught being merciful or disloyal. Steam mephits are bossy and touchy, sure that they rule all mephits and their quasi-plane. The mist mephits' refusal to obey has kept the feud burning for millennia.

Captive steam mephits warm enclosed spaces or run small engines.