P'oh

This tiny spirit, among the most smug and unpleasant of the minor spirits, is feared by common folk far beyond what his size suggests. A p'oh stands at most 3 feet tall, with ruddy bronze skin, long red hair often bound into a ponytail with dried vines, narrow blue or green eyes, a snub nose and big ears. A condescending smirk rarely leaves his thin lips, and his stubby legs give him a waddling gait. He dresses in the finest silk shot through with gold and silver thread, and speaks his own language and the trade tongue.

A p'oh is more nuisance than warrior. He bullies, insults and threatens, fighting only when equal or weaker foes refuse to back down or meet his demands, and then fearlessly and without mercy. Against truly dangerous opponents who will not be cowed, he usually slips away, and he can turn invisible at will.

His weapon is an iron rod or a club hewn from deadwood, occasionally a katana or wakizashi. Besides normal damage, each hit forces a save vs. spells. On a failure his parching touch dries the victim out, costing 1 point of Constitution. At Constitution 2 the victim can do nothing at all, not even stand, fight or cast; at 0 he dies. Survivors regain 1 point per day.

What peasants dread most is his power to cause drought, as the eastern sorcerers' spell, once per week over an area 5 miles across. It lasts until the p'oh lifts it, the p'oh dies, or the spell is countered with ice blight.

The p'oh wanders by day and night, usually through farmland far from cities. Finding a likely district, he sets up a safe lair in a cave, on a high plateau or in a hollow tree deep in the woods, then appears to the peasants to announce the honor of his presence and demand weekly offerings, which he collects while invisible. As long as he accepts their gifts he causes no trouble. If the gifts fall short, drought follows and lasts until the offerings resume, peace is made, or the p'oh is chased off or slain.

He typically asks for great quantities of water and other drinks, plus fruit and vegetables. To test the villagers or simply torment them, he may demand absurdities, such as a basket of exactly 10,001 kernels of corn, 100 gallons of seawater hauled from a distant coast, or a snowflake that has not melted; failure to deliver brings drought. Occasionally the heavenly emperor sends a p'oh to punish a region for some wrongdoing; such a spirit asks no offerings, inflicts the ordered drought, and departs. Most act on their own whims, and villagers build little roadside shrines to keep them sweet.

A p'oh can eat almost anything but has an astonishing thirst, drinking gallons of wine, milk or water at one sitting.