Skip to content
CharGen Icon
CreatePricing
Coppergrin - AI-generated fantasy Monster

Coppergrin

Locals call the creature a Coppergrin because the first one known in the district left a copper button and a burnt-sugar smell after making a tax collector laugh himself into a fountain. It remembers every face it has pranked and considers a well-executed joke a binding promise.

Monsters
Small fey · CR 5 · Uncommon

Coppergrin

A city-dwelling fey prankster whose harmless-seeming tricks can turn a crowded street into a tactical maze.
AC16
HP82/82
CR5
Init
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
ConditionsNone

Combat

AC 16 · HP 82 · CR 5

Coppergrin

Small fey (fey), chaotic neutral
Armor Class16 (studded leather, quick footwork)
Hit Points82 (15d6 + 30)
Speed
30 ft.,
Climb 20 ft.
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
Saving ThrowsDexterityWisdom
SkillsAcrobaticsDeceptionPerceptionSleight of HandStealth
Weaknesses
Its strongest control effect is limited to once per day.
It is reluctant to endanger children or uninvolved residents, a restraint opponents can exploit.
The smell of burnt sugar gives away the recent presence of a Coppergrin to anyone who succeeds on a DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) check.
Senses
Darkvision 60 ft.,
Passive Perception 14
Languages
Common,
Sylvan,
Thieves' cant
Challenge5
Proficiency Bonus+3
Initiative+4
Streetwise Slip. The Coppergrin has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made in a crowded urban environment. It can move through the space of any creature that is Medium or larger, and nonmagical difficult terrain made of urban clutter does not cost it extra movement.
Fey Mischief. The Coppergrin's weapon attacks are magical.
Fey Ancestry. The Coppergrin has advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic cannot put it to sleep.

Actions

Multiattack. The Coppergrin makes two attacks, using Hooked Cane or Pocket Sand in any combination.
Hooked Cane. Melee Weapon Attack: to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 () piercing damage. If the target is Medium or smaller, it must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be pulled up to 10 feet toward the Coppergrin.
Pocket Sand. Ranged Weapon Attack: to hit, range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 14 () bludgeoning damage, and the target must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or be blinded until the start of the Coppergrin's next turn. The Coppergrin carries pouches of flour, pepper, and powdered chalk for this attack.
Cackling Bell (Recharge 5-6). The Coppergrin chooses a point it can see within 60 feet. Each creature in a 10-foot-radius sphere centered there must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, a creature is charmed by the Coppergrin until the end of its next turn. While charmed this way, a creature spends its turn laughing and has its speed reduced to 0. A creature that succeeds is immune to this Coppergrin's Cackling Bell for 24 hours. The Coppergrin can use this action once per day.

Reactions

Slip Between Crowds. When a creature the Coppergrin can see makes an attack roll against it, the Coppergrin moves up to 10 feet without provoking opportunity attacks. If this movement places it behind cover or among a crowd, the triggering attack is made with disadvantage.
Role
Mobile controller and urban skirmisher
Built for
5th level party of four characters

Gear

  • Hooked cane (Weapon, Worth 5 gp)A hooked walking stick used to snag purses, pull foes off balance, and vault over low barriers.
  • Trick-powder pouches (Tool, Enough for 6 uses)Small paper twists of flour, pepper, and powdered chalk, used for blinding tricks.
  • Cackling bell (Wondrous item, No ordinary market value)A tarnished copper bell whose sound carries an enchantment.

Notes for the game master

The Coppergrin is a custom fey creature, not an official published monster.
Its attacks are magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks.
Cackling Bell is a custom action and is not a spell.
Suggested baseline encounter: one Coppergrin against four characters of approximately 5th level, with urban cover and space to maneuver.

Tactics

  1. Opening

    Begin with Cackling Bell from behind cover, ideally catching several characters while bystanders scatter. Follow with Pocket Sand against a visibly dangerous ranged attacker.

  2. Mid-fight

    Use Hooked Cane to drag a dangerous melee foe away from an ally, then blind a second target with Pocket Sand. Keep moving through doors, alleys, and market stalls.

  3. End of the fight

    If reduced below 20 hit points, it uses its reaction to Slip Between Crowds and flees toward a narrow lane, rooftop route, or busy public space. It stops fighting if offered a genuinely amusing story or a bargain it finds fair.

  4. Retreat

    The Coppergrin is not brave when outmatched. It surrenders stolen goods as a distraction, then escapes when attention shifts. It does not fight to the death.

How it fights

Stay mobile and use corners, crowds, carts, and doorways to break line of sight.
Use Cackling Bell when it can affect several enemies, but avoid harming bystanders when possible.
Pull melee threats out of position with Hooked Cane, then exploit the opening to flee or reposition.
Use Pocket Sand to disrupt a ranged attacker or a character protecting an ally.

Who it attacks first

Characters carrying important keys, purses, or documents.
Ranged attackers who threaten its escape routes.
Isolated characters who can be pulled out of position.
Anyone who threatens its neighbors or bolt-hole.

Works well with

Street gangs or swarms of urban vermin can create extra distractions without needing to be allies.
A rooftop archer or spellcaster can pressure characters who focus on chasing the Coppergrin through the streets.
Civic guards may mistake the party for accomplices after the Coppergrin's pranks cause public disorder.

How to beat it

Its tricks rely on line of sight and nearby urban clutter, so open ground and bright, unobstructed spaces limit its options.
A successful save against Cackling Bell grants 24-hour immunity to that creature.
Its modest hit point total makes focused attacks effective if the party can pin it down.
Creatures immune to being charmed ignore the control effect of Cackling Bell.

Ways to avoid a fight

Trade a secret for a favor, especially if the secret embarrasses someone powerful.
Lead the party through hidden doors and service passages in exchange for a promise to spare its neighbors.
Stage a harmless public prank to distract guards or draw attention away from a vulnerable person.
Return a stolen object if its owner admits what they did to deserve the prank.

Ecology

A knee-high, broad-eared fey in a patched city coat, with bright brass eyes and a grin full of tiny square teeth. Its gloves are always mismatched, and a little copper bell hangs from its belt. Wherever it has been, a faint smell of burnt sugar lingers.

Behavior

A gleeful nuisance with a strict personal code: it steals from the pompous, pranks bullies, and repays kindness with uncanny favors. It prefers embarrassment and confusion to injury, but it will fight fiercely to protect its hidden bolt-hole.

How it lives

Coppergrins thrive where many people live close together and every day brings new faces, rumors, and overlooked corners. They eat sugared nuts, stolen pastries, and the occasional serving of gossip. They are solitary but may maintain informal pacts with street children, performers, and shopkeepers.

Lair

Its bolt-hole is usually concealed behind a false wall in a theater, under a bakery, or above a crowded shop. It is decorated with stolen signs, wind-up toys, and carefully catalogued objects taken from people who deserved to be inconvenienced.

Habitat
Urban neighborhoods, especially crowded markets, old tenements, clock towers, theaters, and streets with many awnings and narrow passages.

Signs that it is near

The smell of burnt sugar around an empty shop or locked door.
Copper buttons arranged in a trail that ends at a dead end.
A bell's bright chime heard from a direction where no one is standing.
Market stalls mysteriously rearranged to spell a crude joke when viewed from above.

Tags

fey,
urban,
mischievous,
skirmisher,
controller,
custom monster

Lore

Locals call the creature a Coppergrin because the first one known in the district left a copper button and a burnt-sugar smell after making a tax collector laugh himself into a fountain. It remembers every face it has pranked and considers a well-executed joke a binding promise.

What drives it

To puncture arrogance, collect amusing secrets, and keep the streets lively enough that no powerful person can control them completely.

After the fight

When cornered, a Coppergrin often bargains with stolen keys, overheard secrets, or the location of a hidden passage. If driven off, it leaves the neighborhood in peace for a few days before returning with a new disguise.

Variants

Buttonback: Named for the trail of buttons it leaves, this version is a harmless informant with a weaker Cackling Bell that affects only one target.
Burnt Sugar: Named for the lingering smell, this version specializes in disguises and replaces Pocket Sand with a brief smoke cloud.
Market Laugh: Named for the time it is most often seen, this version uses bells and juggling tricks to distract crowds and escape.

Hooks

Plot hooks

A series of valuable documents keeps appearing in the wrong offices, each annotated with clues to a crooked magistrate's crimes.
The Coppergrin has stolen a signet ring that the party needs, but claims it is keeping the ring away from a dangerous heir.
A rival prankster frames the Coppergrin for a serious crime, forcing the party to find the real culprit.
The creature's bolt-hole lies beneath a building scheduled for demolition, and it refuses to abandon the neighborhood children who visit.

How to use it

A running chase through a market, with the Coppergrin using crowds and stalls as moving cover.
A mischievous antagonist has stolen a vital key, but insists it was borrowed to expose a corrupt official.
A neighborhood's petty crimes and humiliating pranks are all part of the Coppergrin's campaign against a local bully.
A social encounter can turn into combat if the party threatens its adopted street community.

Treasure

A pouch of mismatched buttons and copper coins worth 35 gp.
A stolen but recoverable trinket belonging to a local resident.
A folded map of service passages, rooftop bridges, and forgotten doors in the district.
One minor magic item taken as a prank, which the Coppergrin may return for a favor.

Media

0 images

No images yet.

Visual sheet

Turn Coppergrin into a sheet

A high-res, share-ready sheet you can post or print.