Gremishkas
Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2025 2:46 pm
I first encountered the Gremishka while reading Castle's Forlorn a few decades ago, though they are as old as the Ravenloft setting itself, first appearing in the Black Box. My first impression of them was that they were not unlike the Gremlins from the 1984 American black comedy horror film of the same name.
In the 2e it describes them as distant cousins of gremlins, without wings (Gremlins in 2e are often mistaken for imps) resembling cats or dogs from a distance, they have pointed ears and yellow cat-like eyes. Their hands allow for the grasping of tools and weapons, though they usually prefer traps to using any sort of weapon for lengthy periods of time. Although they dislike sunlight they are not harmed by it. They can attack as a swarm making anyone engulfed by them to suffer automatic damage and possibly exposed to hits by people trying to help them.
In 3e the picture resembles the gremlins from the 1984 film and the description of the monster is as lizard-monkey-rat-things. Their eyes are reptilian and needle-toothed mouths that appear too large fr their faces. They have an Improved Grab attack, they can attack as a Swarm and have the Skittering weakness that makes them roll a Fear save when exposed to bright ling such as sunlight or the daylight spell.
In 5e there is an evolution of the gremishka which appeared in VRGtRavenloft. The gremishka is described as a miniature cat-like small monstrosity that somewhat with the skin of a rodent and ears resembling those of a bat that has razor-sharp teeth. They are born from unstable magic that hunt spellcasters. The most notable ability of a 5e gremishkas is their aptitude to react to any magic cast within 30 feet of them called Magic Allergy, which is usable 1/day and can cause them to either create a blast of magical energy, heal themselves, or split into a swarm of smaller gremishkas. The swarm has the ability of Spell Redirection. In response to a spell attack roll missing the swarm, the swarm causes that spell to hit another creature of its choice within 30 feet of it that it can see. A 5e gremishka swarm is also immune to 3rd or lower spells.
Although in older editions gremishkas were omnivore eating anything. from rats, cats, or dogs or even children, in 5e they devour magic. Due to being born from unstable magic, gremishka hunt for magic of any kind to devour. They prefer to live in places with ambient magical energy and will chew through any spellbooks and material components that they came across. They compulsively hunt down spellcasters and often infest their homes.
Which one of the three do you prefer? A combination perhaps?
In the 2e it describes them as distant cousins of gremlins, without wings (Gremlins in 2e are often mistaken for imps) resembling cats or dogs from a distance, they have pointed ears and yellow cat-like eyes. Their hands allow for the grasping of tools and weapons, though they usually prefer traps to using any sort of weapon for lengthy periods of time. Although they dislike sunlight they are not harmed by it. They can attack as a swarm making anyone engulfed by them to suffer automatic damage and possibly exposed to hits by people trying to help them.
In 3e the picture resembles the gremlins from the 1984 film and the description of the monster is as lizard-monkey-rat-things. Their eyes are reptilian and needle-toothed mouths that appear too large fr their faces. They have an Improved Grab attack, they can attack as a Swarm and have the Skittering weakness that makes them roll a Fear save when exposed to bright ling such as sunlight or the daylight spell.
In 5e there is an evolution of the gremishka which appeared in VRGtRavenloft. The gremishka is described as a miniature cat-like small monstrosity that somewhat with the skin of a rodent and ears resembling those of a bat that has razor-sharp teeth. They are born from unstable magic that hunt spellcasters. The most notable ability of a 5e gremishkas is their aptitude to react to any magic cast within 30 feet of them called Magic Allergy, which is usable 1/day and can cause them to either create a blast of magical energy, heal themselves, or split into a swarm of smaller gremishkas. The swarm has the ability of Spell Redirection. In response to a spell attack roll missing the swarm, the swarm causes that spell to hit another creature of its choice within 30 feet of it that it can see. A 5e gremishka swarm is also immune to 3rd or lower spells.
Although in older editions gremishkas were omnivore eating anything. from rats, cats, or dogs or even children, in 5e they devour magic. Due to being born from unstable magic, gremishka hunt for magic of any kind to devour. They prefer to live in places with ambient magical energy and will chew through any spellbooks and material components that they came across. They compulsively hunt down spellcasters and often infest their homes.
Which one of the three do you prefer? A combination perhaps?
