Stoght [Forest Gnome Fisher]

The stoght is a tame strain of the wild fisher, a weasel-family hunter that forest gnomes have bred for ferocity and loyalty. Its gnomish name, a sound closer to a cough than speech, means 'guardian' or 'warrior.' Up to 3 feet long, a third of it bushy tail, it resembles an oversized ferret or a little fox, low-slung and slender. Its glossy coat may be gray, deep brown, or close to black, always with black paws and a black tail tip, and patches of white-tipped guard hairs give it a frosted sheen. Despite its name, fish are a minor part of its diet.

Stories of fishers defending gnome families against huge creatures are true. Facing a threat, it snarls, hisses, arches its back, and stamps; any ordinary animal witnessing it checks morale at once with a -2 penalty, fleeing on a failure. Its keen senses mean it is surprised only on a 1 on 1d10, its speed makes it hard to hit, and its Dexterity gives -2 to initiative. It has only a bite but bites twice per round.

When needed it can spray musk: a to-hit roll that ignores armor, and on a hit the target saves vs. poison or is incapacitated for 1-4 rounds, which the fisher uses to attack all the harder. Guarding its young or its gnome family, it fights to the death.

Gnome-bred fishers are fast, agile, and clever, as at home in trees as on the ground, leaping up to 18 feet and moving through branches as fast as on land; they also swim well. Young gnomes sometimes take turns riding the family fisher, though adults are too big. Naturally solitary, the animal is rare, especially wild, though a gnome household may keep two or more as companions and watch-beasts. It favors high conifer forests but also likes dense lowland broadleaf woods.

It eats rabbits, rats, mice, weasels, raccoons, birds, fish, carrion, and some nuts and berries, and especially loves porcupine, flipping it to rip into the soft belly; gnomes generally let their fishers feed themselves. After mating, development is delayed, so cubs arrive a full year later, 1-5 per litter. Cubs leave milk behind at 7 weeks, start to hunt at 3 months, and strike out alone by 6 months.

Trappers prize fisher fur, the female's above the male's even though her pelt is about half the size, and only the gnomes' protection keeps the animal from dying out. A trapper who kills one may find a vengeful forest gnome waiting the next time he enters the woods.