Void Sprite

Void sprites look like living balls of St. Elmo's fire, glowing anywhere from deep red to pale violet. Two darker patches at the front of each orb give the impression of eyes. They are semi-intelligent fire beings of the void between worlds, usually found near suns and other fiery bodies.

Heat and energy draw them, and the bustle of a starship is often enough to bring a pack over to look. They are usually more inquisitive than hostile, darting through the rigging and open hatches and ricocheting off bulkheads, leaving big scorch marks wherever they touch.

The trouble begins when they meet anything that burns. Each round, anything burnable in a 5-foot radius around a sprite may burst into flame, scattering fires across the ship. It does not mean to, but the damage is the same. Attacked, it tries to flee, burning through decks and walls if it can, though its flames do not affect metal or stone.

A cornered sprite turns on its tormentor, searing it each round for 1-8 points, and every flammable item on the victim's person, such as scrolls or a cloak, must save vs. fire or be destroyed. At 0 hit points a sprite winks out of existence, and one time in 20 an ioun stone remains where it was.

Void sprites are elemental fire creatures with little more than animal wits. They enjoy the comparatively cool space just above the surface of a sun, where they bob, weave and dance. Ships they damage are usually victims of their curiosity, not malice. Neither size nor color hints at a sprite's strength or whether it carries a stone, which does not stop greedy gnomes in steel ships from prowling the edges of stars and killing many to harvest a few. For crews stuck with a furnace drive and nothing magical to burn in it, the sudden arrival of sprites is welcome news.

Native to the elemental plane of Fire, sprites will not leave the star system they inhabit. Carried into the flame-sea outside it, they explode at once unless held in a fully sealed box or an extradimensional space. The blast deals 1d8 fire damage per Hit Die of the sprite to everyone within 20 feet, and every flammable item in that radius ignites (saves allowed), which can set off a chain of further explosions.

They are sexless and reproduce by splitting. They cannot keep pace with starships at full speed, but they slip into passing air envelopes to hitch a ride. Taming them has failed except for certain mages using special versions of spells that summon and command elementals, and even then they make poor servants. The hippo-headed mercenaries, who love explosions, are nonetheless afraid of them, at least understanding how much harm they can do.

Spacefarers tell of a mage who believed he had tamed void sprites, fitting them with a harness they could not burn through and hitching it to a sled. When he ordered them to fly, they obeyed, racing straight for the blazing face of the sun. Whether the story is true or simply a warning is anyone's guess.