Dictionary of the Nature Spirits: Class B - Dwarfs

Class B Nature Spirits are a little different from Class A. They tend to be about 1-3ft tall, and grounded, usually associated with the earth element. They’re more commonly seen as male, and are known for three major attributes: Inhabiting human residences, keeping secrets and guarding treasure. Some are dangerous to humans.

Bean-Tighe:
Origin: Ireland

Appearance: The Bean-Tighe look like small elderly ladies dressed in peasant clothing. They are somewhat chubby with very kind-looking faces. She’s rarely seen, and most likely heard sweeping the floor.

Gender: Female

Personality: Maternal and wise. They are attached to the old families of Ireland and assist with everything from housework to caring for the family pets. Sometimes they will take up residence if a household leaves strawberries and cream out for them.

Relatives: The Brownie, who also assists in house chores.

Human Interaction: The Bean-Tighe will finish any chores the lady of the house is unable to finish in the course of a day. She will care for the children and the animals all in exchange for a daily offering of fresh strawberries. There is a test that can be performed to see if a Bean-Tighe has taken up residence in a home. If a wet piece of linen is left out to dry hanging in front of a hearth, she will come out and turn the linen when one side is dry, as long as she’e thinks she’s not seen.


Boggarts:
Origin: Scotland, element of earth

Appearance: About 2 feet tall, stocky and somewhat deformed. They usually have outfits of blue or green. Bearded with a long, thin nose and dark eyes.

Gender: male

Personality: malicious and dangerous. It is said the Boggart is a former brownie which was mistreated by his resident family. While originally he assisted with chores and duties of the household, his mistreatment turns him into an evil impish character.

Relations: The Brownie is actually a cousin of this guy, only they assist with chores unless they are taunted.

Human Interaction: Boggarts can devastate a household. They will torment children with pinching and biting, spoil food, free livestock, destroy furniture and relentlessly drive a family to a new home. Only problem with a Boggart is they follow families to new homes. The only way they can be detached from a family is through exorcism. They only way they will invite a family is if the family taunts them as brownies. They require respect.

Brownies:
Origin: England, element of Earth

Appearance: A little over a foot tall, in blue and green suits with felt hats. They have Black eyes, no noses (just nostrils) and beards. They’re rustic looking little guys with very delicate fingers for tedious tasks.

Gender: Male

Personality: Friendly, generous, hard-working yet sensitive and easily offended. They will help a household, but have their own strict rules.

Relations: Many dwarf nature spirits are related, just have different tasks. Their closest relations are Boggarts, who were brownies who turned bad due to human torment.

Human Interaction: Brownies are the best dwarfs one can have in their home. They assist in chores, repair furniture and clean all spills, all for a small ration of food a day. They are very sensitive, however. The food must be of good quality, and they must not be watched while they work. They start work after the household goes to bed. A new set of clothes or any award will make them disappear from the household forever, and criticism and torment will change them into the sinister boggarts.


Cluricaune:
Origin: Ireland, element of earth

Appearance: Very well groomed little guy, about 18” tall, usually carrying a stein or a beer mug. He wears a red coat, blue stockings, a red night cap and silver buckled shoes, all neatly pressed and clean.

Gender: Male

Personality: Always intoxicated, therefore usually jolly unless he finds a members of the household drinking in the wine-cellar. Then he gets frightening.

Relations: The Monaciello of Italy, who also guards wine cellars.

Human Interaction: The Cluricaune will protect a wine cellar, but will also take some of the wine for himself. They also follow a household to another home if a household moves.


Duergar:
Origin: France or Spain

Appearance: About 20” tall with leathery black skin. They are somewhat strong and athletic. They wear jackets and shoes of lamb skin and green moss hats with one long pheasant feather.

Personality: Angry and bitter

Relations: the English Redcap, who also kills humans

Human Interaction: Duergars hate humans, and will kill them when they see them. They wait for lost travelers in the woods and attack and kill.


Knockers:
Origin: England, earth element

Appearance: Look like small miners, with hunched over backs. They usually carry sacks of raw metals on their backs. Often they have shovels and picks. They wear green or brown clothing. They are rarely seen but can be heard working in the mines.

Gender: Male

Personality: Intelligent and hard-working. Can be pranksters. They have been known to scare miners and if the miner does not respond positively with the practical jokes the Knockers may cave the mine in.

Relatives: Knockers tend to follow the “helpful” groups of dwarfs like the brownies, only they inhibit the mines. They will assist if treated properly. In Germany they have very close mining cousins called the Wichtlein.

Human Interaction: When knockers are heard working it usually means that area of the mine has an abundance of the metals being quarried. Miners treat the Knockers with respect by leaving food and drink out for them, and in turn the Knockers will point out the ore. Knockers will also warn miners of cave-ins. If mistreated the Knockers will either cave the mine in or leave, drying up the mine of any precious metals in the process.


Kobold:
Origin: Northern Europe, associated with the earth element.

Appearance: about 2 ft. tall, wearing brown or green suits and white stocking and brown kneepads, caps and shoes.

Gender: Male:

Personality: Helpful and cheery, but also sensitive and moody. If angered of mistreated they can cause some serious problems for their victims.

Relatives: The Brownie when the Kobold is good, and the Boggart when the Kobald goes bad.

Human Interaction: These guys can be helpful in a home by taking care of the domestic chores, especially the fireplace. However they are easily offended and if they’re mede angry they will cause havoc in the entire household. No family member is spared. The infestation will appear as intense poltergeist activity and is very difficult to stop. The Kobold does hate smoke, however, and may be “smoked out”.


Leprechaun:
Origin: Ireland

Appearance: The most popular of this class, the Leprechaun is usually seen in a green jacket and pants with black shoes. They wear three-pointed hats (similar to the American Patriots) and generally have red beards. He’s about a foot tall.

Gender: Male

Personality: The Leprechaun is the shoe-maker of the nature spirits. He’s generally cheery and very witty. He is known to protect a crock of gold, but pagans say this represents the Crone Goddess opposed to a physical treasure. If captured, this guy will grant the captor his treasure, but he always outsmarts his opponent and escapes. They also love to drink Ale so theyre frequently seen drunk.

Relatives: The Monaciello of Italy, who also guards a treasure.

Human Interaction: Leprechauns love to tell riddles and shard word games with humans. They may act a little ditzy but are very clever and masters of head games. If caught, the Leprechaun always manages to “riddle” his way out giving up his gold and his secrets.


Massariol:
Origin: Spain, associated with earth

Appearance: Dresses in a red suit with a long red stocking cap. He looks about 2 feet tall with the face of an elderly man. He has long hair and a beard and always appears very clean and neat.

Gender: Male

Personality: These guys tend to live stock, milking cows and braiding their hair on Fridays. They also find young human woman irresistible and when not in the barns they can be seen ogling the farmer’s maiden daughters.

Relatives: The Massariol that live in the city are called Barabaos.

Human Interaction: They will help with dairy livestock, but also can be a nuisance due to the undying obsession they have for young girls. He will attempt to persuade young ladies to move to the highlands with him, but has no powers to force them and due to they’re small size they’re rendered harmless.


Monaciello:
Origin: Italy, earth element

Appearance: Monaciello means “little monk” in Italian, and they do look like miniature monks. Only difference is they wear read habits. They have no facial hair and have very round chubby faces. They wear red hoods that are vital to their survival. They also wear sandals. They stand about 3 ft tall.

Gender: Male

Personality: The Monaciello are guardians of wine cellars. They’re usually drunk but very jovial. He like his fellow dwarfs can get mischievous and pinch people and steal clothes.

Relatives: The Leprechaun and the Cluricaune, the latter for guarding wine cellars and the former for guarding treasure.

Human Interaction: They will guard wine cellars from thieves, and also grant part of their treasure is a human is able to steal his red hood. Without the hood he will soon die and will dive anything to have it returned.


Pamarindo:
Origin: Italy, associated with Earth

Appearance: Small and ugly. They’re fat, lazy and covered in animal fat and whatever they had for a meal recently.

Gender: male

Personality: mean and malicious. They crave meat but cant kill anything, so they trick and con humans and animals to fall off cliffs or chase them into bog so they can eat the corpses. They’re very lazy so only kill when they need to eat.

Relatives: Duergers, who also hate humans.

Human Interaction: If a human sees him its best to turn the other way. He can’t kill but will maim if provoked. He’s generally a nasty guy who should just be avoided.

Red Cap:
Origin: Scotland, associated with fire

Appearance: Red Cap looks like an old, hairless man with long claws and sharp teeth. He carries a very sharp executioner-style axe used to attack his victims. He’s about 3 feet tall. His trademark is the beret-like hat he wears. If its dry and rustic red he hasn’t killed recently. If it’s scarlet and dripping he made a kill.

Gender: Male

Relatives: The Red-Cap is a complete loner and a killer, so few dwarfs share his characteristics.

Human Interaction: The Red Cap will immediately kill any human he sees, but fortunately he only resides in the ruins of English and Scottish castles. He kills in a sadistic way so he can dip his cap into the fresh blood. Two amulets will protect a potential victim from the Red Cap; reciting Scripture or showing it a cross. In either case he will vanish, leaving only a talon. He will reappear in another old castle to stalk new victims. He is the most dangerous of all the dwarfs.

Rubezahl:
Origin: Germany, associated with earth

Appearance: about 3” tall with black cloaks with the collar always turned up so their faces are rarely seen. They carry walking sicks.

Gender: male

Personality: Mean and manipulative, and destined to harm human travelers.

Relatives: Duergars, who also despise human travelers.

Human Interaction: They will attempt to do whatever they can to make a traveler lose his way. They call to the traveler to get him off the beaten path, they cause storms when there’s no shelter, and dry the weather if the traveler has no water.

Wilde Frauen:
Origin: Germany, associated with Earth

Appearance: They dress according to the colors of the season. They wear red gold and brown for the fall and green and yellow in the summer, for example. They range from small children to elderly women. They are about 3” tall and none are males. They are ruled by a mysterious queen.

Gender: Female

Personality: The Wilde Frauen are wise ladies who exclusive tend to the sacred forests of Germany and Scandinavia. They live in the roots of sacred trees and are known as the ecological mistresses of the woods.

Relatives: the Greek Dryads, who also tend to the trees, and Gnomes who tend to the ecology of the forest.

Human Interaction: Very little, if any. They may distrust humans for polluting the sacred forests.