Redcap

Redcaps were evil murderous fey with an insatiable bloodlust.

Description
They resembled small, tough, and elderly human men or undersized wizened gnomes, standing 3–4 feet (0.9–1.2 meters) tall and weighing 50 pounds (23 kilograms). They had hunched backs, wiry muscles, leathery skins, and evil smiles filled with wickedly sharp, protruding teeth. They wore heavy iron boots, leather pants, and the bright-red leather pointed caps for which they were named; these were soaked in fresh blood. They also carried scythes, sickles, or other heavy bladed weapons that seemed much too big for them.

Abilities
Redcaps needed to kill constantly in order to continue existing, absorbing a little of the essence of everything they slew. Their pointed red hats needed to remain soaked in fresh blood, which had to be replenished at least once every three days, otherwise the redcap would simply disappear, a fact they were entirely aware of. The more they did this, the more their physical abilities enhanced and the more resilient and naturally armored the redcap became. It took a cold iron weapon to overcome their unnatural durability.

Despite their small bodies and scrawny frames, they were actually fairly strong and relatively powerful, as capable as human-sized beings.

Their heavy iron boots made them noise, but not slow. They could kick a foe to much injury and knock them down.

An elder redcap that achieved great age and experience in killing possessed terrible strength and was practically invulnerable.

When a redcap hurled a bullet from its sling, it glowed greenish-blue with an eldritch energy, and it struck harder than normal.

When it died, a redcap vanished completely, leaving behind just one tooth, which had magical power. Whoever dared wear it was seen a little favorably by other fey and especially by other redcaps. It was valued at 1000 gp.

Combat
Redcaps of course favored attacking from ambush, usually as their prey were about to settle down for an evening. They began with slings and their magic, and swiftly closed to melee where they could swing their blades, hard and reckless, before their victim could get their defense up. They were brutal and merciless in battle.

Elder redcaps used the same tactics, but would also tracked wounded or weakened victims for miles, just waiting for them to relax their guard.

Personality
Vicious and cruel fey, redcaps were insane serial killers who thrived on others' pain. They dipped their caps in the blood of those they'd killed. They wished only to murder and to cause carnage and mayhem, and they acted only to satisfy these bloody impulses. However, their instinct to survive and need to soak their hats in fresh blood was the root of their murderous nature.

Attacking head on, they had no sense of subtlety. Even when they tried to stealthy, their heavy iron boots made them noisy and menacing, and slow except when rushing to the slaughter.

Lifecycle
It was once reported that redcaps were asexual creatures that spawned by budding. They did this only once or twice in their loves, growing a hump on their backs for some six months. Eventually, it fell off, with head and limbs popping out. This newborn had to fight for its life as soon as it was spawned, quickly making it hungry and cantankerous. It grew to full size in under a year.

Later sources claimed instead that they were born from the very earth, either in the Feywild or where that plane touched the Material Plane at a fey crossing, and from bloodlust itself. At a site where a sentient creature had acted on a powerful need for bloodshed and killed another, and the redcaps would appear where the blood watered the soil. The newborn looked like a small blood-stained mushroom with a red cap, just emerging from the dirt. When bathed in moonlight, it leapt from the ground, fully formed, armed, dressed with a bloody red cap, and already blood-crazed.

Redcaps could theoretically live as long as 150 years, but most died much younger.

Society
Redcaps were naturally loners, and rarely banded together. When they did form small gangs of 3 or 5 or bands of 7, 9, or 11, redcaps usually lurked within caves and old keeps and towers, usually abandoned after some tragedy or after massacring any former inhabitants.

With hot tempers, redcaps argued and brawled with one another incessantly, usually to the death. They would slaughter each other without hesitation, but refused to soak their caps in another redcap's blood, for fear of a curse. It required an elder redcap, even more than one, to reign in their tempers and murderous impulses, mostly by bullying the youngers.

Some redcaps worked for hags or evil wizards who knew how to summon them from the Feywild for some grisly work. If spawned from bloodsoaked earth, a few recaps could sense the creature whose murderous impulse had led to their creation and might choose to track them down, either to make them their first victim or be near a creature with the same bloodthirsty heart, to copy them or serve them. A killer could attract a small group of redcaps spawned at the one site. However they came and served, the redcap insisted on being paid in blood and victims. Denying the redcap this saw the redcap extract its price from its former master.

They spoke Sylvan and Common.

Beliefs
Redcaps had a set of superstitions intricately interweaving with one another. They belief rivers were home to water spirits that could steal with souls; thus they washed themselves only in still water. They believed even number were unlucky, and thus would only carry odd numbers of coins and travel in groups with an odd number of members.

They were not religious, but some dwelling near settlements of other races would worship their gods of slaughter. There were few redcap adepts, and much fewer clerics.

Lands
Redcaps could potentially be found all around Faerûn, but were a special threat in the halfling realm of Luiren.

Rumors & Legends
In halfling fairy tales told in Luiren, redcaps were said to be former halflings cursed as punishment for betrayal, but these were just stories and nothing more.

Background
The redcap is closely based on Redcap, sometimes also known as Redcomb or Bloody Cap, a monster of Scottish and northern English folklore.