Sneaky and sadistic, jinkins are hideous gremlins that inhabit the dark places underground. Well acclimated to the shadows, they hide in cramped quarters and attack larger creatures when they're strategically positioned. Jinkins commonly work with or near larger or more powerful creatures; these larger creatures provide cover for the jinkins' trickery. They use dimension door to exit any battle that goes badly, taking any stolen goods with them.

Jinkins delight in leading larger creatures into dangerous caves or pits, usually by lunging out of the shadows to make a single sneak attack against a creature and then running away, taking care while “fleeing” to remain visible to their target so that they can lure the victim into a trap.

Jinkins also hold dangerous grudges, and one might follow a creature that supposedly slighted it for weeks, looking for an opportunity to take revenge. This revenge can take many forms, from leading horses astray to contaminating food supplies to directing larger monsters toward the begrudged creature.

One of the most direct and unwelcome revenges of the jinkins is the destruction or cursing of magical items. Many times they'll observe camped enemies from a distance and either steal an item to tinker with it or just use their tinkering magic at a distance to annoy the item's owner. Once a jinkin has worked its sabotage on a stolen item, the jinkin either grows bored with the item or may attempt to return it to its owner. Jinkin lairs are often cluttered with stolen items that bear curses the jinkins themselves have forgotten all about.

Dwarves in particular hate jinkins, with numerous tales in their folklore telling of tragedy at the hands of the gremlins. The loathing is largely mutual.

The average jinkin stands almost 2 feet tall and weighs about 13 pounds.

Special Abilities

Tinker (Sp) A group of six jinkins working together over the course of an hour can create an effect identical to Bestow curse On any living creature. This effect functions at CL 6th and has a range of 60 feet, and the target creature must be either willing or helpless (but still gets a saving throw to resist). The save is DC 14 + the Charisma modifier of the jinkin with the highest Charisma score (DC 16 for most groups of jinkins). Alternatively, the group of jinkins can attempt to infuse a magic item with a Curse . The nature of this Curse Is determined randomly; half of these curses make the magic item unreliable (each time the item is used, there is a 20% chance it does not function), while the other half give the item a random requirement. A jinkin can take part in a tinkering only once per day, and may only tinker with a creature or object that isn't already cursed. Once a tinkering Curse Is in place, it is permanent until removed via an effect like Remove curse . All jinkin tinkerings function as a Curse Created by a 6th-level caster.