Context
Leprechaun is a 1993-2018 series of eight absurd horror-comedy movies. Meant to be straight slasher films, Warwick Davis — playing said leprechaun — injected humor into his role.
(When he was a teen, Mr. Davis also played the Ewok named Wicket in Return of the Jedi).
The titular character is an evil magical being. His only desire is for his gold.
Though it does poorly with critics, this genre’s fan-base has kept the series alive for almost 20 years.
Leprechaun also marked the cinema debut of Jennifer Aniston.
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Background
- Real Name: Unrevealed if any.
- Other Aliases: Lep, Leg’re Ghaun.
- Marital Status: Single (although he sometimes takes a human wife in a forced marriage).
- Known Relatives: None.
- Group Affiliation: None.
- Base of Operations: Extra-dimensional underground home with a secret doorway.
- Height: 3’6″ (1.07m). Weight: 55 lbs. (25 Kg.).
- Eyes: Blue/Green. Hair: Red. Birthday: St Patrick’s Day – March 17th.
- Other Distinguishing Features: Green blood.
Powers & Abilities
The Leprechaun has many magical powers:
- Telekinesis.
- Teleportation.
- A degree of super-strength. He’s far mightier than his diminutive size would suggest.
- Quite durable, able to sustain many blows.
- Nearly immortal, he can’t age or be killed except by specific means. Such as a four-leafed clover, wrought iron, magic, etc.. He will recover from anything else in seconds.
- Magically change his voice to copy another’s.
- Pain immunity. He’ll even chop off his own fingers for a gag.
- If he loses a body part, it will come to life and act on its own. He can re-attach them at will.
- Illusions – tricking victims, making them believe whatever he desires.
- Sharp claws and teeth. The leprechaun’s favorite ways to kill are to tear a person open or slash their throat.
- All manner of creative magical effects produced with but a wave of his hand. Examples include:
The doorway to his home is a dimensional opening. The door can open anywhere, even onto other planets.
He’s also skilled at stealth and hiding. One of his favorite tricks is to hide and leap out when someone is near. Jumpscare!
This is no fairy tale
The vulnerabilities of leprechauns are not well known. Misinformation has been sown over the years. Usually, uncovering a vulnerability or two is the best you can get.
Weaknesses include:
- Greed.
- Like fairies, they can be hurt by wrought iron.
- If a mortal gets hold of a leprechaun’s gold, he’ll gain one wish for every shilling in his possession.
- A leprechaun is very territorial. He could never tolerate another leprechaun crossing his boundaries.
- If you destroy the gold, you destroy the Leprechaun too.
- A leprechaun can’t harm you if you possess his gold.
Misinformation:
- If captured, it’s said leprechauns must grant wishes. The leprechaun isn’t compelled to do so. But will if it’s in his best interest.
- His power lies in his gold. Well, kind of. There is power in his gold and it is linked to the leprechaun’s own magic. He doesn’t need the gold to wield his magic.
Where do Leprechauns come from?
A bite from a Leprechaun will not transform a victim into a leprechaun by itself. The wound must have the same leprechaun’s blood splashed over it. And of course, the victim must survive the encounter.
The bite victim will begin to transform within a few hours. How long a full transformation takes is not known. The transformation reverses if the original leprechaun dies before it has completed.
Leprechaun Trailer
History
Leprechauns live a long solitary life, uh, unless killed of course.
They look and act very much alike so it’s hard to tell them apart.
If two should meet, they will fight until only one survives.
So, each tale is about unique individual leprechauns.
Leprechaun
North Dakota. Daniel O’Grady caught a Leprechaun and forced it to give up its pot of gold. But this was not the end. The vengeful Leprechaun followed him home and murdered his wife.
O’Grady used a 4-leaf clover to trap the leprechaun within a crate. He placed the clover on top. The leprechaun remained trapped for ten years.
In 1993, Torey Redding (played by Jennifer Aniston) and her dad move into the O’Grady house.
Hired to paint the house are Alex, his friend Ozzy, and his older brother, Nathan – a.k.a. Three guys that paint.
F*** you Lucky Charms!
Ozzy and Alex follow a rainbow to its end. There they find the Leprechaun’s gold in an old truck – where O’Grady had hidden it.
The Leprechaun is freed when Ozzy inadvertently knocks the clover off the crate.
Thus begins a fight for their lives. But they learn how to kill the Leprechaun from the elderly O’Grady, now living at a rest home.
Alex fires a four-leaf clover into the Leprechaun’s mouth. It falls into the well, where Nathan sets it on fire.
Leprechaun 2, This time luck has nothing to do with it!
1,000 years ago, a leprechaun cast a Ritual to enslave a new bride. But his current slave happened to be her father.
The Leprechaun told him that once she sneezed three times and wasn’t blessed afterwards, she’d be his bride. To save his daughter, the slave broke the spell by blessing her. The spell was thus wasted for 1,000 years.
This brings us to the year 1994. The leprechaun’s new target is Bridget – a descendant of the woman he tries to enslave.
He uses magic to locate her, then casts his 1000-year bride curse. The Leprechaun can now take Bridget through his mystic doorway.
However, the leprechaun loses a gold coin during the kidnapping. Therefore, he must return to retrieve it. Bridget’s boyfriend Cody fights to save her.
Here’s Johnny, I guess.
Leprechaun 3, Welcome to Vegas… Your losing streak is about to begin!
A statue of a leprechaun is sold at a Vegas pawn shop for $20. The seller warns not to touch the medallion around the statue’s neck.
But the owner removes it immediately. The leprechaun comes to life and escapes.
However, he soon realises that he left behind his pot of gold. He returns and attacks, biting off the storekeeper’s ear. But he is forced to recoil when faced with the medallion. Of course, one gold coin gets dropped and left behind as the Leprechaun escapes.
Meanwhile, college freshman Scott is driving through Las Vegas on his way to Los Angeles. He meets Tammy, a magician’s assistant working at the Lucky Shamrock casino. Entranced by the excitement and lights of Vegas, Scott gambles away his tuition.
In despair, Scott pawns his watch. But this is the same pawn shop the leprechaun was at. Scott thus finds the lost gold coin – and successfully wishes for a huge winning streak.
At this point, the Leprechaun returns for his coin. In an odd turn of events, Scott gets bitten and begins transforming into a leprechaun himself. He and Tammy have to find a way to defeat the creature before the transmogrificationMagically transforming something into something else finishes!
Leprechaun 4: In Space
Marines in space, like in Aliens. They are traveling to planet Ithicon on a search and destroy mission. The troops are commanded by a… over-the-top Sergeant channeling R. Lee Ermey of Full Metal Jacket fame.
The creature they are pursuing, as it turns out, is a leprechaun. It’s trying to barter a marriage with the captured Princess Zarina of the planet Dominia. The leprechaun wants to be a king.
The marines make their assault and kill the leprechaun. They take the unconscious queen with them. But the leprechaun transferred bits of himself into a marine’s body. A stow-away.
Once on-board their spacecraft, the leprechaun heals in seconds. Bursting forth from the marine, he turns the trip home into a cat-and-mouse bloodbath.
Leprechaun 5 – in the hood
Leprechauns are rumored to be the dark elves of Satan. Each with his own pot of gold. Anyone stealing this gold is hunted down and killed in a most brutal manner.
1970s, Los Angeles. Two would-be treasure hunters break through a subway wall and discover a petrified leprechaun. He has a medallion around his neck, and his pot of gold before him. A golden flute also stands out to one robber as special.
As the medallion is removed, the leprechaun attacks. He would’ve made short work of the robbers. Except by chance, the medallion gets flung into the air and lands back on him. The leprechaun is once again immobile stone.
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Lep in the Hood, come to do no good!
2000s, Los Angeles. Post, a young rapper, has hopes of making it big at the Vegas Hip-Hop Cafe. But he and his friends, Stray and Butch, fail an audition. To buy musical equipment, they made several failed criminal attempts on their own.
The trio then comes across one Mac Daddy. Who, 30 years before, found the Leprechaun.
Mac Daddy is now wealthy and still in possession of the flute, the leprechaun, and his pot of gold. The rappers attempted to rob him, but things go wrong when Mac Daddy comes home. They remove the medallion from the leprechaun statue, then steal the gold and the flute.
They soon realize the power of the magic flute. When it is played, even briefly, everyone becomes entranced and will love whatever they perform. These rappers thus become a huge, sudden hit.
However, Mac Daddy and the Leprechaun come after the young men and the stolen gold.
Leprechaun 6: Back 2 tha hood
Long ago, a king possessed the ancient treasures of the dark ages. Wicked men would lay siege on the king. But the king summoned forest spirits — leprechauns — to protect his gold.
When the king’s reign ended the leprechauns returned home. Except for one. One did not go back.
At a construction site for a new Youth Center, Father Jacob uses holy water and clovers to banish this Leprechaun to Hell.
One year later… Lisa and her friend Emily visit a fortune-teller. She warns them that they will come into great wealth… but must deny it lest evil come to reclaim it.
At a BBQ, four friends – Lisa, Emily, Jamie, and Rory found the Leprechaun’s gold. They split it equally, but this triggers the Leprechaun’s return to Earth.
57 Fake
The four spend the gold foolishly. Meanwhile, the Leprechaun comes to Jamie’s house-party, looking for his gold. But he hasn’t smoked a good pipe in a while, and ends up getting high on weed.
The monster kills one of Jamie’s friend, and Jamie is arrested for the murder.
Lisa and her friends then receive help from the fortune-teller, who teaches them how to deal with a Leprechaun.
(This version of the Leprechaun was the weakest to date. He only had increased strength on occasion – and no magic for gag-deaths. He had his usual durability, but seemed over-determined to prove it).
Leprechaun 8 – Leprechaun Returns
25 years after the first movie. We’re back in North Dakota. The AU Sorority girls bought the O’Grady house (from the original movie).
Ozzy meets Lila at the bus depot. She’s the daughter of Torey Redding (Jennifer Aniston), who passed away one year ago.
Ozzy stills works as a painter, but also runs a taxi service. He drives Lila to the house where she meets her friends.
The leprechaun somehow survived all these years in the well – but the four-leaf-clover kept him from escaping.
Ozzy accidentally gives him a means of escape. Once again free of the power of the clover, the leprechaun goes on a killing spree in search of his long-lost gold.
Description
The usual leprechaun trappings. Buckles on his shoes and his hat. Though he can’t help but polish other shoes, his own are very dusty.
His teeth are rotten and black.
Personality
The leprechaun in each movie is played by the same actor, except for the last two. He looks similar, acts the same. But he is not the same leprechaun. They are individuals living in different places at different times.
The Leprechaun is forever in character, rhyming with an Irish accent. He keeps to this motif. For instance, if he kills you with lightning, it’ll be green lightning.
Their very nature makes them this way. As we see in Leprechaun 3 when Scott was becoming a leprechaun. He adopted an Irish accent and gained a mad desire for potatoes.
(Yes, really — Ed.).
He likes to find creative ways to kill his victims. Like riding a pogo stick onto a victim he’s just crippled.
Procurement
Leprechauns love:
- Gold.
- Strong drink.
- Potatoes.
- Making and shining shoes.
- Smoking a pipe.
- The color green.
On his thousandth birthday, the Leprechaun may lay claim to a bride and by day-break she is never heard from again.
A running gag
Almost every film has someone mocked and dismissed by authorities or friends when describing their first encounter with a Leprechaun.
Quotes
“Try as they may, try as they might, steals me gold, won’t live through the night.”
Ozzy: “Wha… What are you ?”
Leprechaun: “What do I look like, me lad ? See the hat ? The buckles on me shoes ? Why ? I’m a leprechaun ! A shoemaker by trade.”
(As soon as his gold is in hand)
“Me powers are returning.”
“She sneezes once, she sneezes twice. She’ll be my bride when she sneezes thrice.”
“I’ve searched this house for me gold shilling, the fool that holds it is due for a killing.”
“Drink what you want, drink what you’re able. If you’re drinking with me, you’ll be under the table.”
“You silly little twit. A Leprechaun’s gold can do him no harm.”
“Small though I am, mighty is my spirit when bloody battle calls. Come at me with what you will, shoot me, stab me, kill me a hundred ways and still I fight on. I am eternal as the sun. I am a thousand demons from hell. Death and destruction are my game. Agony is my name ! Hahahaha !”
“‘*Share*’. Now there’s a word that lies crooked upon me. The very sound of it sets my teeth to grate. Conjures up pictures of me gold being carted off to pay for feminine pleasures, leaving me with less than what I want. And what I want is everything !”
(Released from his stone prison)
“Death to he who sets a leprechaun free. Steal his gold, it will corrupt your soul, you see. For many a moon, the legend has grown. Death toll increases, solution unknown. Beware the evil wanderer, in search of his loot. Lest ye suffer the wrath of his golden flute. Flee while you can, the future’s not good… For no one is safe from a lep in the hood.”
“For 2,000 years, you filthy mortals have tried to steal my riches, to satisfy your greedy urges. And it always ends the same. with you begging for your miserable lives.”
“I’m a leprechaun and I’ve come to get me gold back.”
DC Universe Adaptation
(This section proposes ways of using this character in DC Universe stories).
Yes, the leprechaun can appear at any time or place. He’d make quite a challenge for street-level characters.
DC Heroes RPG
Tell me more about the game stats
Leprechaun
| Dex: 03 | Str: 05 | Bod: 04 |
| Int: 02 | Wil: 03 | Min: 05 |
| Inf: 03 | Aur: 02 | Spi: 04 |
| Init: 008 | HP: 030 |
Powers:
Analytical Smell/Tracking Scent: 01, Anatomical Division: 01, Claws: 03, Dimension Travel: 01, Mental Illusion: 06, Omni-Power: 06, Interface (ML): 04, Invulnerability: 12, Running: 04, Shrinking: 02, Telekinesis: 02, Teleportation: 02
Bonuses and Limitations:
- Analytical Smell/Tracking Scent is Analytical Smell Only.
- Anatomical Division: If a body part is separated from the Leprechaun, he uses the Anatomical Division power until it can re-attach itself.
- Anatomical Division: Oddly, if he loses a body part and hasn’t healed from Invulnerability, he can replace it with someone else’s body part (like replacing a lost eye with another’s). But once healed by Invulnerability the other person’s part is expelled.
- Claws and STR are used separately. Claws and teeth are used to viciously tear and torment his victims.
- Dimension Travel only allows him to open a doorway to and from his home.
- Interface is Derived from Telekinesis (-1 FC).
- Invulnerability isn’t activated until the following phase. The Leprechaun may choose to suspend the roll for as long as he likes (+1 FC).
- Invulnerability is ineffective when damage comes from attacks on his pot of gold.
- Running can be done in many ways. Riding a tricycle, wheel-chair, roller skates, or just running on his wee feet.
- Shrinking is always on and Innate.
- Teleportation doesn’t work through wrought iron. And doesn’t have +7 Range.
Skills:
Artist (Actor): 06, Gadgetry (Build): 06, Occultist: 02, Thief (Locks & Safes, Stealth): 06
Bonuses and Limitations:
- All Skills except Occultist are powered skills and Mystic Linked.
- Artist (Actor) used to mimic voices heard.
- All Gadgetry rules apply, except the time is instantaneous (+3 FC).
- Thief subskills are Derived (-1) from Telekinesis. Thief (locks & Safes) therefore need no tools (+1), and is Ranged (+1).
Advantages:
Expertise (Shoemaker), Headquarters (Expansive), Immortal, Scholar (Rhyming curses).
Connections:
None.
Drawbacks:
- Catastrophic Irrational Attraction to his gold.
- Strange Appearance (If he’s taken for someone in costume, disregard the automatic Intimidation check).
- Minor Irrational Attraction to murder.
- Serious Irrational Attraction to following his own code.
- Serious Irrational Attraction to shining shoes.
- Fatal Vulnerability range touch (4-leaf Clover, wrought iron).
- Loss Vulnerability (All Powers (except Artist (Actor)), DEX, and STR drop to 00 APs) at a range of 00 APs in the presence of a 4-leaf clover.
- Catastrophic Psychological Instability (believes his powers come from his gold).
Motivation:
Psychopath.
Occupation:
Why, I’m a Leprechaun!
Wealth:
000
Rituals:
Curse – [Mental Blast: 04, Casting Time: 01, Special Restrictions: Target must hear the spell cast. The caster calls out some malady, like a stroke, and the target is attacked.]
Locate Individual – [Life Sense: 13, Casting Time: 01, Bonuses and Limitations: Life Sense is discerning, Special Restrictions: Draw a scrying circle in chalk, spin a shillelagh when it stops it will point in the direction of the person sought.]
1,000 Year Bride – This only gives the leprechaun permission to take a bride. He still has to place a slave collar on her and drag her back to his home.
This curse is only Leprechaun tradition, part of his code, yet listed here because it is “cast” like a Ritual in the film.
The rules are simple:
- Every 1,000th birthday, a leprechaun may select a “bride”.
- If on that day, the bride sneezes three times, she’ll be his bride.
- As long as no one saves her soul by saying “God bless you.”
- Once fulfilled, the leprechaun is free to do as he will with her.
Equipment:
- Pipe [Body 01]. This is a standard pipe.
- Shillelagh [BODY 03, Enhance (EV): 01 (cap of 06) Descriptor: Bludgeoning or Slashing, Energy Blast: 06, Bonuses and Limitation: Energy Blast has no range]. The Enhance slashing represents a small blade that extends from the end of the Shillelagh. Yes, the Energy Blast is a little green lightsaber only seen in Leprechaun 4.
- Pot of gold [BODY 03, Sorcery: 06]. Normally, this is a simple pot, bag, or chest containing 100 gold shillings. Sometimes it has other gold items with it. The Leprechaun can wave his hand over the pot to know that everything is there. Still, he prefers to count each coin one by one. Attacks on the gold itself are directed to the Leprechaun linked to it.
Sorcery:- Allows wishes to be granted, one wish per coin.
- Can be used to protect the holder of the Leprechaun’s gold from the Leprechaun himself, but like the wish, the holder must believe in the gold’s power.
- Cannot be used to attack the leprechaun.
- Has an AP level equal to the Leprechaun’s Omni-Power.
- Doesn’t cause bashing damage to the user.
You don’t have a leg to stand on!
The magic flute
Leprechaun in the Hood introduced a magic flute that caused those who heard it to become mesmerized.
Magic Flute [BODY 01, Hypnotism: 08, Bonuses and Limitations: Hypnotism has Area Effect (those in listening range), If no command is given, those affected by it will interpret for themselves what the flute-player wants.]
Muddy? Slimy? My home this is
An Extra-Dimensional underground cavern with a secret doorway. The inside of the leprechaun’s home is a cavernous labyrinth. There are manacles hanging on the walls.
The caverns may have a specific location. Likely in Ireland. It’s an unknown.
Though the doorway can be opened anywhere, once outside his home, the doorway doesn’t move. The leprechaun must re-enter his home to open the doorway somewhere else.
Design notes
Once Jennifer Aniston became famous, she was prominently displayed on Leprechaun DVD covers. The tagline was changed to “Her luck just ran out.”
I found the Leprechaun’s name, “Lubdan” on Wikipedia and several fan-sites. I don’t think it’s ever said in the movies. The name doesn’t appear in the credits either. So, I’ve left it off this writeup.
His Wealth score is 000. Though he has 100 gold coins, he’ll never part with them.
The Leprechaun states he is a shoemaker. But the only thing we see him do is shine shoes. Still, I gave him an expertise in shoemaking.
The Leprechaun doesn’t spend Hero Points on LDD. He’s confident his Invulnerability will always bring him back.
More design notes
In one scene, the Leprechaun runs into a barn. We hear welding sounds. And in less than five seconds he returns with a modified Go-Cart able to ram and flip a full-sized truck. There’s definitely magic going on here.
I’ve represented this with his Gadgetry skill as a powered skill and removed the necessary time for the build. The Go-Cart had STR 06.
In Leprechaun 3, a pawn shop owner tries to shoot the leprechaun with a revolver. The leprechaun puts his finger in the end of the barrel and the gun explodes with no damage to the leprechaun’s finger. This is clearly an old cartoon comedy bit. This doesn’t lend itself to an example of his durability.
The leprechaun was shot with hollow-point bullets filled with 4-leaf clover. This should’ve killed him. Later, his gold was tossed into a furnace. This should’ve killed him. Only in this film are his Loss Vulnerabilities/Fatal Vulnerabilities treated as Attack Vulnerabilities (Leprechaun: Back 2 tha hood).
The films are in chronological order but Leprechaun Returns works right after Leprechaun.
Leprechaun: Origins, aka Leprechaun 7
Left out of this writeup. The writers pushed the leprechaun in a new direction. That of a straight horror film, without the humor found in the other films.
The demonic creature in this version is better served in its own writeup.
Source of Character: Based on characters created by Mark Jones. The 1993 film Leprechaun, 1994 Leprechaun 2, 1995 Leprechaun 3, 1997 Leprechaun 4: In Space, 2000 Leprechaun in the Hood, 2003 Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood, 2018 Leprechaun Returns. Played by Warwick Davis and Linden Porco (for Leprechaun Returns only).
Helper(s): Wikipedia, Chris Cottingham (I borrowed Chris’ Powered Thief skills designed for Prue Halliwell).
Writeup completed on the 23rd of April, 2020.