What Botnibs Want
Botnibs are computer glitch gremlins whose whole existence is “making systems misbehave in the most entertaining way possible.” They’re smart (Int +3), mobile, and wired directly into nearby tech via techsense and digital telepathy, so they naturally think in terms of systems first, targets second.
They don’t want a fair fight; they want:
Lots of tech in range of their Glitch Aura and techsense.
Enemies who need that tech (weapons, suits, doors, life‑support consoles).
Time to turn “one bug” into a cascading failure.
If there’s no tech around—bare rock, analog gear, no powered doors—a botnib’s first instinct is to avoid the confrontation or lure foes toward better terrain.
Instincts and Priorities
Botnibs are Tiny, with Speed 20 ft and climb 20 ft, low HP, and only AC 14, so they can’t win by trading blows. Their defenses (Resist cold/electricity 1, Weaknesses cold iron 2 and fire 2) tell you they expect to avoid focused fire rather than tank it.
They prefer:
Control rooms, server clusters, maintenance shafts where they can cling to walls or ceilings and still see consoles, turrets, or doors.
Crowded tech scenes: PCs with powered armor, smart weapons, drones, or exocortexes—anything with the tech trait to feed their aura.
Layered access: multiple adjacent rooms or corridors so glitches in one place can drive enemies into worse positions.
If forced to fight in open space with minimal tech, a botnib is effectively “out of its element” and should become cagey, using stealth, figment, and unstable spark more than aura‑driven plays.
Core Tools and Instincts
Mechanically, a botnib is tuned to attack the interface layer between people and machines.
Key tools:
Glitch Aura (20 ft, Will DC 16): Pushes nearby tech into glitching 1 or 2, which you can resolve as misfires, lockups, bad targeting, etc.
Digital Telepathy 30 ft: Lets it attempt Computers checks remotely, no line‑of‑sight needed, to access or subvert computers.
Primal innate spells:
Cantrips: electric arc, figment, recharge weapon (great for “keeping toys alive” that it likes).
1st‑level: delete for nuking key data or programs, thunderstrike for damage plus noise and theming.
Unstable Spark Ranged Strike (1d4+1 electricity) and a decent melee bite as fallback.
The design says: this is not a blaster; it’s a sabotage controller that uses spells and aura to ruin gear, then pokes with sparks while the PCs fight their own failures.
Opening Tactics: “Make It Glitch First”
On round one, a botnib doesn’t run straight at the party; it positions for maximum glitch.
Typical opener if it starts unseen and with system access:
Pre‑combat setup (before initiative, if it’s had time):
Use digital telepathy to get into local systems: lock a door behind the party, arm a turret, or place a key console behind higher-access.
Seed cosmetic glitches: flickering lights, looping sprites, false warning tones. This is “soft cover” for its later mischief—players learn to ignore some glitches before the important one hits.
First visible round:
Move/climb to just inside 20 ft of the most tech‑loaded character or cluster (the heavy armor user, the drone operator, or whoever is hugging consoles).
Glitch Aura in effect as soon as it’s in range: anyone starting their turn in that 20‑ft zone with tech has to save vs glitching.
Use figment to generate a misleading visual—extra botnibs, false panel lights, or fake cover—and/or electric arc if it can catch two tech‑dependent enemies at once.
The first goal is not damage but to force will saves and sow uncertainty: “Can I trust my weapon/armor/door/jetpack this round?”
“Punch Through the Weakest Link”
Once the glitch aura is up and the party is reacting, a botnib starts playing the puzzle that the rules text explicitly says it loves: figuring out how to subvert a system in the most disruptive way.
Behaviors to emphasize:
Target selection: Prioritize the highest‑leverage tech user: the person whose gear or interface can hurt the botnibs the most if functioning (the gunner on a turret, the hacker, the pilot). If someone fails their Glitch Aura save, focus digital telepathy and delete on that device or system—it’s already unstable.
Spell usage:
Use delete on: security lockdown overrides, targeting subroutines, critical logs, or the one piece of software the PCs need right now.
Use thunderstrike when it can hit clustered foes or critical tech, especially if that tech is already glitching (flavor it as overloads and shorts).
Use recharge weapon
on things it likes: maybe a faulty turret it’s claimed as a toy, helping keep the chaos going.
Movement and line of effect:
Climb up walls or into cable trays to break line of sight while staying in 20‑ft aura range of key targets. Tiny size plus climb 20 ft makes “peek and duck” very safe.
If threatened in melee, it is more likely to scuttle sideways along walls/ceilings than retreat straight back—staying near the tech cluster but changing which PCs are in its aura.
Coordinated mischief (if multiple botnibs):
One botnib focuses on techsense + telepathy, probing systems, while another stays closer to the PCs to maintain aura pressure.
They “tag‑team” concentration: if one draws too much fire, it retreats into the backline wiring while another takes over aura duties.
Think of them as fighting “through the user interface”: every round, ask, “Which single glitch or misfire would be the most infuriating this turn?” and do that before rolling damage.
Exploiting Player Mistakes
When players hand them leverage, botnibs are quick to pounce. Examples:
Over‑reliance on one console or device: The moment the party clusters around a single terminal, the botnib tries to glitch that whole cluster and then delete critical code, forcing the party to fix hardware and software under pressure.
Bunching in a tech‑rich choke point: It continues to occupy that 20‑ft bubble, spamming aura saves each round and using electric arc/thunderstrike through metal and cabling.
Ignoring cosmetic glitches: If the PCs repeatedly shrug off “harmless” UI errors, it escalates each unseen: funny sprites → sensor ghosts → fake enemies → false fire doors. By the time someone gets suspicious, the system state is a mess.
This is very much in line with the core glitch gremlin flavor that they “can’t resist leaving behind telltale signs of their sabotage,” especially in vidgames and UI layers.
What it avoids
When Do Botnibs Run?
They’re fey, not mindless hazards, and the original text emphasizes that glitch gremlins are mischievous, not suicidal.
A botnib retreats when:
Its nest hardware anchor is threatened (PCs start physically replacing boards or purging power in its favorite junction).
Its favorite “toy system” is fully shut down or isolated from the network, turning the fight into a straight slugfest.
It sees multiple PCs cleanly bypassing or hard‑locking systems it’s already compromised—evidence that this group is “not fun” and might actually get it killed.
Retreat behavior:
Drop a last‑ditch figment or visual glitch to obscure its escape route.
Climb out through ducts or cable trays beyond line of sight, staying inside conductive paths as long as it can.
If part of a troupe, botnibs try to fall back toward their nest, forcing PCs to either abandon the chase or pursue deep into its preferred terrain.
