Gremlins

 

   I had a random bout of inspiration, so here is a post about how gremlins work in my setting. I think it would be interesting to run a game centered around the overall concept, but for now I think they are just an interesting complication to throw at the party. Don't mind the formatting, I couldn't find a better way to include the images.

    Gremlins are magical creatures formed from negative emotions directed at lifeless objects. That is to say, when an inanimate thing attracts enough anger, annoyance, and spite from living things, a creature appears. These creatures, gremlins, have the singular goal of making their object the recipient of even more negative feelings, on which they feed. They are small, have the ability to become invisible, and they have a deep understanding of their object and how to make it as annoying as they can. Not all negative feelings directed at inanimate things produce a gremlin. Smaller objects are more likely to produce a gremlin because they cannot absorb as much negative energy before it overflows, while more complicated objects are more likely to form a gremlin for reasons that are as yet unknown. Small, complicated objects with many moving parts are highly prone to forming gremlins. The main result of these trends is that complex machinery that breaks down a lot is often infested with gremlins making all of the existing issues much worse.

    Gremlins, as magical creatures, can have almost any appearance imaginable. There are, however, a few constants. Gremlins are never larger than their associated object, but they are usually much smaller. They are usually quite small so they can have maximal access to their object, especially if it is a complex object with many nooks and crannies. As far as body plan goes, all gremlins have two arms and two legs like a human, but that is often where the similarities end. Gremlins can be furry, scaly, slimy, or just about any texture, and they can be just about any color. Their heads and bodies are often adorned with spines, horns, and antlers. Some people believe that gremlins take on different appearances based on the items they are bound to, but there is little evidence to suggest this is consistent. After their initial formation, gremlins do not grow or change unless they fail to attract enough negative energy. If this happens, the gremlin in question will become skinnier and skinnier until they cease to be.

    In the pursuit of attracting negative emotions, gremlins are quite gifted. Although they lack the ability to speak or perform any significant feats of cognition, gremlins have a perfect understanding of how their object works and the best ways to bother living things with it. In the case of simpler objects, the gremlin may move it to make people trip, or it may hide the object from its rightful owner. For a machine, the gremlin has many more options. It may clog up pipes, break gears, or disconnect cables. For particularly large, complicated machines, an initial gremlin may form for the entire machine and then focus on specific parts or areas in an attempt to have smaller gremlins form tied to those parts in particular. If this gets bad enough, it is possible for the main gremlin to start organizing teams of smaller gremlins to work together and make the machine unusable. 

    Finding and removing gremlins can be an arduous process. All gremlins have the ability to become invisible and maintain complete silence indefinitely. They are still physical beings, however, so they can be detected by other means. There are also a number of spells and magical abilities that can reveal gremlins for easier capture. The only way to actually get rid of gremlins, however, is to counteract the negative energy that created them with positive energy. Positive energy, proportional to the amount of negative energy that the object has received during its existence, must be directed at the object. For most people this means a relatively long process of being extra nice to an inanimate object, but those who follow religions that value kindness, patience, and positivity often have prayers and rituals that can speed the process up. It is also possible to use magic to direct positive energy at the object in question. Regardless of method, once sufficient positive energy has been directed at the object, the gremlin will fade away until the object collects enough negativity to reform the gremlin. Because of this, some cultures and businesses perform regular rituals to prevent gremlin formation in their communities, although some work better than others. What gremlins do form will do everything in their power to try to sabotage these rituals, however, so it really is a constant battle.