Jinkin

Of all evil fey, the Jinkin is perhaps the most steeped in classical fey themes. Jinkins don't do much damage, have very little general combat strength, and almost are required to work in groups to be effective in combat against even the lowest level groups. 

Before I delve in properly, I recommend this video by Dael Kingsmill. It's within the context of 5th edition D&D but the advice is applicable in any fantasy tabletop game. Even if your game is not taking place in a classical medieval setting, fey creatures can be utilized in almost any game to great effect—particularly to shake up the pace of the game. This is particularly relevant to today's gremlin of choice.

Where the jinkin is strongest is in its mechanically relevant narrative abilities. For the uninitiated, the fey of the classical English, Slavic, and Celtic traditions are often not outright evil and are instead quite alien. When the fey of old are evil, it's often in the most convoluted and inconvenient way. The Jinkin is an embodiment of that theme.

Even though the jinkin is narrowly useful in combat, you may find ample room to utilize its tinker ability. This is, effectively, a free pass to mess with your players. Should they find themselves someplace particularly close to the fey, where the veil is "thin" or even in the domain of the fey itself, you might find a reason to utilize these petty curses. 

When slighted, the jinkin can be a particularly spiteful creature. Consider what small thing one of your players has done that could've set a jinkin on a path to revenge, and then design something around that behavior. A jinkin could even spurn your players to take on some greater threat, or drive them towards making a decision they would have otherwise spent a lot of time mulling over.

Is it mean? Yes. And you can be too, at least every once in a while...

- Reece

Hook 1 (TJ) - Always Trust Your Tinker

Whenever a tool malfunctions in the town of Yewbough, the townsfolk bring it to Elias the Tinker, a portly, friendly man on the outskirts of town, well out of the way. His expertise is well worth it, and he always provides advice to avoid similar malfunctions in the future. The townsfolk laugh behind his back at his offerings of charms and precautions to ward against gremlins. When he forgets to check the wards on his workshop one evening, a group of jinkin take advantage of it. The next day, his workshop is an unsurpassed labyrinth of traps and tricks, which he falls victim to. With the Tinker out of the way, the jinkin begin systematically cursing the tools of every townsperson they come across, which undoubtedly leads the hapless individual directly into the tinker's workshop, where they fall directly into the waiting traps of the jinkin.

Hook 2 (Max) - Hex for Hire

The Unseen Hexers are a mercenary group who provide a very specific service to their employers—point them to a magical item and they'll curse it, rendering it either useless or too much of a hassle to use.

Despite being gremlins, they always fulfill their contracts, which are only made by spoken agreements. As is usually the case with fae creatures, the payment for their services is never as easy as simply paying in coin. Should one have need of their service, often the one who hires their services is more at risk than the affected target...

Hook 3 (Nemanja) - Ragtime Ridge

The dwarves of Ragged Ridge Reach are a very suspicious lot, though they are highly sought after for their brutal efficiency in battle.

They refuse to use any technology nor enchantments, citing ancient customs and rules. In truth, the inner circle of their leadership are time travelers who've gone back in time to prevent the clan from starting a massive and bloody series of wars against jinkins, bloodthirsty technoparasites that the dwarves accidentally create in the far future. The only way they knew how to do that, however, was to stop the dwarves' innate ability for innovation and thirst for knowledge. The morality of such a temporal maneuver might be a bit iffy...