Of all the vague summaries in Fantastic Beasts, the line “leprechauns produce a realistic gold-like substance” is one of the more troubling. There’s no mention of whether this production is biological or magical, and I’m not entirely happy with either. If it’s the latter, than leprechauns have an arcane ability that specifically trolls people looking for gold.
If it’s the former, then these little scamps are secreting gold from somewhere… and that creates so many other questions.
Leprechaun
I went with the biological option for the stat block. A magical fool’s gold could be easily discovered in a D&D setting; one detect magic spell and the truth is revealed.
This is another Fantastic Beast that won’t put up much of a fight. The ‘cunning action’ move makes it a tough creature to get a hold of, and the stealth means that 1 point of piercing damage could come from anywhere. But the threat is low, and the leprechaun is more of a fun story beat than a fierce combatant.
There’s all sorts of ways the leprechaun could mess with the adventurers. Leave a trail of gold nuggets into a trap. Have a crafty merchant swindle them with a leprechaun companion hidden in the wings. Or have them running around an ancient forest looking for these little scamps with the hope they are about to become millionaires.
Thank You For Reading
Another week, another Fantastic Beasts comes to Dungeons & Dragons. You can find the rest of the beasts here.
Gamer Peak 