Peeve

Appearance

Peeves are not cute/kawaii. They are tireless and plodding. They are hunched and homuncular. Unpleasant but not frightening. Hunched and homuncular, but not human. Perhaps impish or fae corruption of a human, or like the character Igor in Young Frankenstein (1974). (However the AI offers some fun alternatives.)

Origin

Peeves were accidentally created, and then purposefully replicated, by the Warlock Kennel Club Association. Peeves are byproducts of boggartry.

Abilities

The peeve is by its magical nature, aligned toward Void MP.

A peeve might learn an ability corresponding to each Elemental Magic, for various temporary effects.

• Air -> Air Assist. Tiny Wings. Platforming advantages. Peeve gains tiny wings, grants player glide dynamic on long jumps. Short levitation, and easier "fetch" behavior.
• Water -> Water Mount. Can be ridden like a pool toy.
• Fire -> Devil. Pitchfork. Peeve turns red, gets spade tail, horns.
• Earth -> Land Mount. Saddle. Makes peeve rideable. Slower than walking, but can be used to traverse fire, spikes, and so forth.
• Light -> Causes damage.
• Void -> Recovers, rages.

Names

All peeves have 4-letter names. Almost all 4-letter names sound awful... which is quite suitable. TURD. GOOB. SNOT.

Habitat

Peeves inhabit Pandemonium, especially the Dank. However they are found throughout all realms.

Host/Familiar Program

As familiars, they are slow servants, who gain impish satisfaction from irritating their host. Some Peeves enroll in host/familiar programs to become familiars of powerful magic practioners. (See Peeve Host/Familiar Program Brochure.)

The antagonistic service relationship is part of their magical relationship. Small pranks and irritations cause a magical exchange between peeve and host. The peeve absorbs the host's Light Magic, and the host gains Void Magic - which is the peeve's waste product. However, Void Magic can be used to cast powerful spells. So both benefit from the relationship, although it turns wizards older and grumpier. Perhaps it even grants long existence, but with a thinner life. The peeve acts as a servant familiar, but largely because the wizard is its food source.

Peeves are often allocated to companionless wizards via exchange programs, or set to any number of menial jobs across the island, such as your tour guide. They enjoy jobs where they can feed on negative emotions, and may initiate unnecessary conflict when hungry.

Feeding

A peeve fills that awkward niche between a parasite and a symbiote. It does benefit its host as advertised. But it also feeds upon its master's soul soul energy. It tends to repeat whatever actions got its host to feed it soul energy in the past.

A peeve is generally an awful little passive-aggressive beast, always ready to have a laugh at your expense. Your own peeve will always follow your commands to the letter, but rarely the spirit, and will take opportunities to irritate you. This ensures you have sufficient Void with which to feed it.

Your peeve will attempt to engage you for feeding at regular intervals, or after taking damage. They indicate this through subtle cues, such as:

• Not doing as it is told
• Talking shit about your mom
• Timed flatulence
• Leaving treasure behind
• Pointing out your failings
• Pointing out your failings in front of NPCs
• Pointing out your failings in front of your mom
• Being very nice to everyone but you. Mostly because it pisses you off.
• smearing peanut butter in the toes of your shoes
• stitching your name on your underwear
• just a good ol fashioned wet willy.

In Game

Peeves are infernal creatures, and so the Mephistophelian contract still lurks somewhere in their shriveled DNA. As such, they are prone to making creative bargains in exchange for cooperation. This is how wizards establish a relationship with a Peeve or other familiar.

Magic casters would be able to recruit their own peeve companion. We could make it absurdly difficult to finish the game without a peeve, and perhaps said player loses out on significant items and treasure, but it should be possible to do so.

In-game purposes of a peeve companion:

• Non-committal physical protection
• Reconnaissance
• Cooking meals
• Laundry
• Degrading humor
• Climbing, digging, squeezing, and jumping into otherwise inaccessible places.
• Traversing high ledges, ropes, water, poison, and fire.
• Flipping switches, opening doors, and other physical puzzle game tasks.
• Capturing, retrieving, and carrying loot.
• Dialog interactions, with the player and NPCs. For instance, if you have low INT, it will have high INT, and NPCs will sideline the player in certain INT dialog. Likewise, if you have low CHA, the peeve has high CHA, and it will be the "more popular". Any time this occurs and it is unpleasant for the player's character, the player is awarded Curse MP.
• Curse MP (as opposed to Fire, Water Earth, Air, and Holy MP) is the alchemic opposite of Holy. It is the magical embodiment of unpleasantness. Your peeve causes you to gain Curse MP, as do ugly weather and terrains, getting physically attacked, or social interactions (if you are CHA-). Curse MP charges slowly, but it is hands-down the most powerful source of magic in the game. It can also be directed back at your peeve, giving it a massive power boost for a short time.
• Taking beatings, aka "tanking". The main reason for having a peeve is so that monsters have something irritating to beat on while you are casting magic from a safe distance. A peeve does relatively little damage (depending also on its current outfit), and it cannot be killed. However, it can be overwhelmed and become unable to hold agro.

The player has a rather Calvin-and-Hobbes relationship with his peeve. Yet it is obedient, helpful, always truthful. A peeve is generally truthful, helpful, and compliant, but often with an irritating slowness. For instance, a peeve may choose inconvenient moments to be truthful. Telling you (truthfully) that your zipper is untied while you are in war negotiations, and then attempting to "get it for you" under the table
When your peeve benefits you, it does so in the most irritating WAY possible. Animations should be amusingly unpleasant.

• crouch when being pummeled by enemies
• flail when falling
• simper
• wring hands
• hang from things like a little booger
• ill-tied hand animations

It's important that even though the player's peeve is ostensibly awful in a role play sense, the player is not actually disadvantaged in any way. In fact, when your peeve does "awful" things to you, they need to both be amusing, and also visibly benefit the player. E.g. by granting Curse/Void MP.

Pet Peeve

A "pet peeve" is derisive term used by peeves to describe another peeve that has bound itself to a specific host. However, if the peeve makes its wizard disproportionately miserable, that wizard is called a "pet wizard", with a certain level of bragging rights allocated to the peeve. You may not have two peeves at once. See Quest "Enjoying your Peeve"

Damage

A peeve can be damaged, but not killed via damage alone. As it is damaged, it becomes less able to attack and hold back enemies, which causes the player to pull aggro. When falling into infinite chasms, they return shortly after combat.

Peeves are practically immortal, provided they continue to consume negative emotion suitable to their digestion. (They refer to this state as "permanence," suggesting that by contrast that mortals are "impermanent".) They can fall off cliff-sides, into abysses, explode, or get squashed, and they recover just fine. They can carry immense weights. But this doesn't make them infinitely strong. A peeve lifts massive weight by allowing itself to be crushed, yet regenerating its legs faster than they can be crushed. (Everything peeves do is unpleasant.)

See also TV Trope = Iron Butt-Monkey

Death

How and when you feed your peeve matters. If you simply starve your peeve, it will get emaciated and die. Basically: a peeve can be killed through neglect. According to the pamphlet from the Warlocks' Kennel Club: Peeves feed on their master's negative energy, leaving their masters feeling fresh and invigorated!

Scent

Peeves are not specifically vomit-scented. Just as ultra-violet transcends violet, stench has its ultra-stench. This is a natural adaptation for peeves, as it facilitates maximum irritation to everything in a radius. The experience of ultra-stench varies dramatically between individuals, yet is frustratingly consistent. It is usually experienced as the scent just past the worst scent one can imagine. For instance, vomit is common. But feel free to imagine your own at home, kids!

Carry Limit

"Oh please! Load me up with your precious "loot". Carrying all your lame shit will put a nice curve on my spine." A peeve isn't considered attractive until they get at least a 60-degree bend in their back.

Props

Peeves are able to magically produce pianos, accordions, step ladders, and 10ft poles to suit comedic needs, but never having things the player actually needs on hand. Kazoo, spoons, Jew's harp, pennywhistle, triangle.

Accessories

Available at (fine) retail outlets such as The Pampered Peeve.

Outfits:

• Bellhop: +STR
• Cowboy: +PER
• Labcoat: +INT
• Luchador: +AGI
• Sack Cloth: +Void
• Candy-striper: +Void
• Holiday Elf: +Void
• Cone of Shame
• Bureaucrat (Tie): +Void
• Leisure Suit

Peevish Astrology

Peeves have an astrological system that reflects their culture. Instead of Orion (for instance), they have "Sad man cradling cup of tepid soup". To the irritation of everyone, Peevish Astrology is persistently accurate. (Or "imp-perfect".) Usually in ironic ways.

Peevish Language

Peeves have hundreds of words to distinguish between forms of minor pain, and about 50 words for existential angst. This is important, because negative emotion is their food source.

Peevish Looting Song

Peeves sing a looting song when there are enough lootable nodes in the area when he starts, that the animation will have time to play. The player is rewarded with Curse MP in addition to the loot. Sung jauntily.

Here's my peevish looting song, I like to sing it while I loot. capers V3 V4
Shatter latches, locks and grates Empty boxes, bins, and crates Burgle barrels, bags, and graves Rifle pockets, ...

#joebob381 (5/4/2020): Let me know if you need some poorly played guitar or piano accompaniment

AI Stub Peeve by ChatGPT 4.0 Plus / DALL-E

by Longears

Peeve Concept 1 by Longears

Peeve Concept 2 by Longears

Peeve Concept 3 by Longears

Peeve Concept 4 by Longears

Scientific Name

Homunculus Boggartis

Origin/Ancestry

Impish

Geographic Distribution

• Pandemonium
• The Dank