Liminal Sprite, Whisperer At The Threshold

“The Liminal Sprite lurks in the cracks of civilization, a stylish saboteur who steals your thoughts right when you need them most.”

Resembling a miniature elven courtier no taller than a foot and a half, the Liminal Sprite is garbed in elaborate, ever-shifting garments modeled after the latest urban fashion trends—albeit stitched from leaf-veins, moth silk, and discarded thread. Iridescent, mothlike wings flutter silently behind them, catching the light in shades of dusk and moonlight. Their eyes gleam with mischief and intelligence, and their expressions shift with theatrical flair, often mid-sentence.

Behavior

Liminal Sprites are curious, capricious, and theatrically malicious. While not malevolent by nature, they delight in social sabotage, especially when it results in awkward silences, forgotten lines, or the public unraveling of an overconfident speaker. They are intelligent, articulate, and emotionally observant, often mimicking speech patterns or body language for comedic effect—or psychological warfare. Their laughter, though melodic, often signals embarrassment for someone nearby.

Habitat

Bound by a peculiar ancestral curse, Liminal Sprites cannot sleep either fully indoors or fully outdoors. Instead, they nestle in threshold zones—beneath porches, atop archways, within hollow banisters, or under staircases—areas that straddle the line between “in” and “out.” They favor urban environments, where human hubris and political games provide endless entertainment and opportunity. Noble estates, crumbling theaters, and university towers are favored haunts.

Modus Operandi

A Liminal Sprite remains unseen, observing its chosen “hosts” from the shadows for days or weeks. Once it identifies a target—typically someone prideful, eloquent, or dangerously clever—it begins its games. Using spells like fumbletongue, memory lapse, and invisibility, the sprite sows confusion during key social encounters, stealing the spotlight or leaving victims grasping for words. However, it rarely strikes twice in the same way, preferring subtlety and plausible deniability. It aids others only if flattered or bribed with tokens of vanity or artistic value.

Motivation

Liminal Sprites thrive on vicarious participation in the affairs of humanoids, especially intellectual debates, scandals, and artistic performances. They view themselves as unseen critics, patrons, or muses—albeit with a penchant for disruption. Their core motivation is influence without exposure, meddling without responsibility. Yet despite their love of chaos, they secretly yearn for acknowledgment, and a kind word or well-placed compliment may earn a mortal a brief but brilliant boost in wit—until the sprite grows bored again.

Liminal Sprite 5e
Liminal Sprite, Pathfinder

Liminal Sprite

Create

Tiny Fey, Chaotic Neutral
Challenge: 2 (450 XP) Proficiency Bonus: +2

Armor Class 15 (natural armor)

Hit Points 27 (6d4 + 12)

Speed 20 ft., fly 60 ft. (hover)

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
6 (–2)	18 (+4)	14 (+2)	13 (+1)	12 (+1)	16 (+3)

Saving Throws

Dex +6, Cha +5

Skills

Deception +5, Insight +3, Perception +3, Performance +7, Persuasion +5, Stealth +8

Damage Resistances

Bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks

Damage Vulnerabilities

Thunder (disrupts their liminal attunement)

Damage Immunities

Psychic

Condition Immunities

Charmed, frightened, prone

Senses

Darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13

Languages

Common, Elvish, Sylvan

Liminal Home Curse

A liminal sprite cannot complete a long rest entirely indoors or entirely outdoors. It must rest in a transitional space such as a porch, eave, awning, stairwell, or balcony. Failure to do so results in one level of exhaustion after each day.

Traits

Fey Intriguer

The liminal sprite has advantage on Charisma (Deception), (Performance), and (Persuasion) checks made in urban environments or during social encounters involving politics, secrecy, or reputation.

Mirthful Evasion (1/Short or Long Rest)

When the sprite is hit by an attack it can see, it can use its reaction to become invisible until the start of its next turn, leaving behind a faint shimmer of dust and a fading laugh.

Thought Thief (Recharge 5–6)

The sprite targets one creature it can see within 30 feet. The target must make a DC 13 Intelligence saving throw. On a failure, the creature temporarily forgets its most recent intention or plan (as determined by the DM) for 1 minute. While the memory is missing, the creature has disadvantage on Intelligence and Charisma checks related to that idea or goal. The sprite may return the memory as a bonus action.

Spellcasting

The liminal sprite casts spells using Charisma (spell save DC 13, +5 to hit with spell attacks). It does not require material components.

At will:
Prestidigitation, Minor Illusion, Dissonant Whispers

3/day each:
Invisibility (self only), Silence, Tasha’s Hideous Laughter, Suggestion

1/day:
Confusion, Modify Memory

Actions

Rapier (Melee Weapon Attack)

+6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) piercing damage.

Repartee (3/Day)

As a bonus action, the sprite selects one creature it can see within 30 feet that is making a Charisma-based ability check. The sprite delivers a sharply timed comment or clever support. The target gains a bonus or penalty (sprite’s choice) of 2d4 to the roll. A creature may only benefit or suffer from one Repartee per roll.

Tactics

Liminal sprites rarely engage in direct combat unless cornered. They rely on subtle manipulation, disabling opponents with Suggestion or Tasha’s Hideous Laughter, disrupting casters with Silence, and retreating under Invisibility when threatened. They prefer to sabotage from the shadows, particularly in political or intellectual environments where timing and wit matter most.

Treasure

A liminal sprite’s lair contains whimsical and stolen objects of urban fashion and vanity—such as miniature parasols, torn gossip columns, engraved buttons, and 1d4 potions of eloquence. Truly grateful sprites might offer a magical quill or charm that aids social checks.

Optional Rule: Familiar Bonding

A 7th-level or higher chaotic-aligned spellcaster may take a liminal sprite as a familiar using a variant of Find Familiar and the DM’s discretion. The sprite retains its full stat block and personality, including its demand for a suitable liminal resting place. Winning its loyalty requires consistent flattery, clever gifts, or engaging conversation.

Liminal Sprite

Create

This creature resembles an elven courtier in miniature, dressed in the latest fashion and mothlike wings on its back.

Liminal Sprite CR 2

XP 600
CN Tiny fey
Init +7; Senses low-light vision; Perception +7

DEFENSE

AC 16, touch 15, flat-footed 13 (+3 Dex, +1 natural, +2 size)
hp 16 (3d6+6)
Fort +3, Ref +6, Will +4
DR 5/cold iron; Immune sleep; SR 13

OFFENSE

Speed 20 ft., fly 60 ft. (good)
Melee rapier +6 (1d3–1/18–20)
Space 2-1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks repartee
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6th; concentration +8)

At will—daze (DC 12), prestidigitation
3/day—fumbletongue (DC 13), invisibility (self only), memory lapse (DC 13)

STATISTICS

Str 8, Dex 17, Con 14, Int 15, Wis 12, Cha 15
Base Atk +1; CMB +0; CMD 11
Feats Improved Initiative, Weapon Finesse
Skills Diplomacy +8, Escape Artist +9, Fly +17, Knowledge (local) +8, Perception +7, Perform (comedy) +8, Sense Motive +7, Stealth +17
Languages Elven, Common, Sylvan
SQ versatile performance

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Repartee (Su)

Three times per day, when a liminal sprite successfully aids another creature’s Charisma-based skill check, the creature gains a +2d4 bonus on the skill check instead of the normal +2 bonus. A creature can receive this bonus from only one liminal sprite per skill check.

Versatile Performance (Ex)

A liminal sprite can use its bonus for Perform (comedy) in place of its bonus for Bluff and Intimidate. When substituting in this way, the liminal sprite uses its total bonus for Perform (comedy), including any class skill bonus, in place of the associated skill’s total bonus, whether or not it has ranks in Perform (comedy) or Perform (comedy) is a class skill for the sprite.

ECOLOGY

Environment any urban
Organization solitary, pair, or court (3–6)
Treasure standard (rapier, other treasure)

Liminal sprites stand 1 to 1-1/2 feet tall, and their mothlike wings stretch to a similar distance. Liminal sprites follow the local fashions of their city, modeling their clothes after those worn by nobles and celebrities.

An ancestral curse hangs over liminal sprites that prevents them from sleeping either inside a building or outside in the open. Fortunately for these sprites, a loophole exists that allows them to find rest within the external features of a building. As a result, liminal sprites make their homes under eaves, porches, and staircases.

Liminal sprites are fascinated by the arts, philosophy, and social intrigues of humanoids, which they experience vicariously from their hiding places, and with which they are often moved to interfere. They use their magic to bind the tongues of the witty and steal thoughts from the wise, returning them only after the moment in which they would have been useful has passed, thus adding insult to injury.

The sprites must be subtle, however, lest their unwitting hosts turn against them. They especially fear domestic animals turned loose near their hideaways. On the other hand, a homeowner who appeases the sprite with flattery and gifts finds his own eloquence improved.

Improved Familiar

A 7th-level chaotic spellcaster can gain a liminal sprite as a familiar with the Improved Familiar feat, though she must take pains to find her familiar a suitable place to rest each night.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 5 © 2015, Paizo Inc.; Authors: Dennis Baker, Jesse Benner, John Bennett, Logan Bonner, Creighton Broadhurst, Robert Brookes, Benjamin Bruck, Jason Bulmahn, Adam Daigle, Thurston Hillman, Eric Hindley, Joe Homes, James Jacobs, Amanda Hamon Kunz, Ben McFarland, Jason Nelson, Thom Phillips, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, Alistair Rigg, Alex Riggs, David N. Ross, Wes Schneider, David Schwartz, Mark Seifter, Mike Shel, James L. Sutter, and Linda Zayas-Palmer.