Squeaker

Squeakers turned up only a few years ago, likely the result of a botched spell. They are small humanoids with oversized heads on spindly bodies, faintly pixie-like, wearing no clothing and showing no sex.

Squeakers are not out to kill, only to annoy, and they are very good at it. From behind cover a few yards off, they hurl stones, rocks and branches, gaining +2 to hit with such missiles thanks to long practice. Chased, they flee, usually into another barrage from more of their kind. They never focus fire to bring one target down, simply throwing at whoever is nearest, fighter or wizard alike and scattering their shots widely, a habit that has wiped out more than one tribe. Many survivors swear the best answer is a fireball lobbed toward the source of the stones. Some think the creatures only want intruders gone; others suspect a darker purpose.

They have been found in every part of the world and seem unaffected by temperature, though they avoid extreme climates. Each group has no visible leader yet works with antlike coordination, patrolling a territory usually no more than a mile across and harrying anyone who goes too deep. Their language is a jumble of squeaks, grunts and whistles that sounds random without magical help. They babble whatever crosses their tiny minds, instantly forgetting it, and do so openly; listeners should leave or be driven to distraction.

Squeakers do not eat and want nothing from their surroundings, so they barely affect the environment. They breed quickly, though, replacing losses to beasts, monsters and angry humanoids.