Humandrill (3.5e Monster)
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| Humandrill | |
|---|---|
| Size/Type: | Medium Magical Beast |
| Hit Dice: | 3d10+12 (28 hp) |
| Initiative: | +2 |
| Speed: | 30 ft. (6 squares), climb 30 ft. |
| Armor Class: | 15 (+2 Dex, +3 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 13 |
| Base Attack/Grapple: | +3/+13 |
| Attack: | Slam +9 melee (1d8+6) or bite +4 melee (1d8+3) |
| Full Attack: | 2 slams +9 melee (1d8+6) or bite +4 melee (1d8+3) |
| Space/Reach: | 5 ft./5 ft. |
| Special Attacks: | Kick |
| Special Qualities: | Acclimatized, learn through imitation, naturally skilled |
| Saves: | Fort +7, Ref +5, Will +3 |
| Abilities: | Str 23, Dex 14, Con 19, Int 5, Wis 15, Cha 8 |
| Skills: | Balance +5 (3 ranks), Climb +20 (6 ranks), Jump +12 (6 ranks), Sense Motive +8 (6 ranks), Swim +9 (3 ranks), Listen +6 (0 ranks), Spot +6 (0 ranks) |
| Feats: | Alertness B, Alternative Tradition (open, Wisdom), Improved GrappleB |
| Environment: | Usually forests and jungles |
| Organization: | Solitary, group (4-10 humandrills) or horde (50-100 humandrills) |
| Challenge Rating: | 2 |
| Treasure: | Half coins and goods |
| Alignment: | Any (see text) |
| Advancement: | 4-9 Hit Dice (Medium) or by class level (see learn through imitation) |
| Level Adjustment: | +0 (cohort) |
To some, immitation is flattery, but to the humandrill, it is the key to survival in a dangerous world.
These large, stout-bodied, ape-like monkeys are armed with a great intellect, but their most impressive quality is their almost peerless ability to learn by doing. Humandrills vary greatly from individual to individual, depending on their fouraging grounds, but it is especially those that find themselves exposed to civilized life that may develop in a huge variety of ways.
Humandrills are highly discerning, empathic and perceptive. When exposed to the culture of humans or other sentient creatures, they quickly learn skills by imitation, from the craftsmanship of artisans to the fighting skills of warriors. In lands beset by war, humandrills have been observed learning to fight with manufactured weapons, yet in peaceful fringe settlements, they were documented taking up forms of artisanry, such as pottery, weaving, and even painting or sculpting. Some people even take humandrills as companions, allowing them to learn and assist in their trade. Fringe societies have included humandrill labour as a cheap alternative to employment, only to find that humandrills turned out even better at imitating people than they thought, when they took up the art of going on strike for the sake of more food and living comforts.
Their adaptive mentality however makes humandrills very impressionable. As such, humandrills become 'imprinted' easily, depending on the behaviour and abilities of any sentient creature it observes. Humandrills in peaceful regions tend to grow up to become benign and friendly, open to contact with other creatures, whereas others that grow up in wartorn lands, or amidst cuttrhoats and criminals, have a propensity to become just as morally reprehensible as those they imitate. In summary, under the right circumstances humandrills cultivate a human-like cunning that can be either wondrous or dangerous.
Humandrill are intelligent enough to learn to understand the language of sentient creatures. One year of exposure to a given language allows a humandrill to learn to perfectly interpret it. They are, however, incapable of writing without tutelage or learning through imitation, and lack the vocal chords to speak themselves.
Humandrills stand roughly 5 to 6 feet, and generally weigh between 150 and 250 pounds.
Combat[edit]
Acclimatized (Ex): A humandrill gains a +4 bonus to Fortitude saves made to resist diseases and poisons from creatures with which it shares its territory.
Kick (Ex): A humandrill can use its lower legs for slam attacks as well, meaning that it can attack even when swinging and climbing with both arms. A humandrill's legs and feet have the same damage potential as its arms.
Learn through Imitation (Ex): A humandrill's most impressive ability is its nearly peerless potential. Humandrills learn fast, and their sophisticated and adaptive mindsets allows them to learn and develop with nearly no limit. When surrounded by sentient creatures, a humandrill advances with class levels instead of Hit Dice, though the class it gains depends on the humandrill's exposure. When living in or near a settlement of sentient creatures, humandrills most often gain levels in the favoured class of the most numerous (or most visible) species. Observing conclaves or societies that focus heavily on specific trades or classes generally make the humandrill develop and gain ranks and levels in the appropriate skills and classes. Humandrills of sufficient intelligence and immersion in sentient culture can even pick and choose what skills they learn. Regardless of their chosen class or profession however, the maximum class level a humandrill is capable of reaching is equal the level of the observed creature with the highest level in that class -3. A humandrill receives all benefits from any level it gains, including an ability score increase every 4 levels.
A humandrill can even learn spellcasting, if sufficiently exposed to the art. Whenever a humandrill takes up a spellcasting class or any other class with class features based on mental ability scores through imitation, its dormant Alternative Tradition feat becomes linked to that class, and the humandrill will use its Wisdom score to determine the amount of spells known, spells per day, the highest level spells it can cast, as well as the effectiveness of any other Intelligence or Charisma-based class feature. Despite being incapable of speech, a humandrill may 'imitate' any verbal components with simple throatnoises.
Humandrills cannot multiclass. They pick one class path depending on what options are available to them, and stick with it. However, if sufficiently many creatures focus on one specific prestige class, the humandrill may take said prestige class if it meet all prerequisites. A humandrill may only pick class options that are represented within the group of people it imitates. As such, if a humandrill would gain its abilities by observing a conclave of wizards that specialize in transmutation, the humandrill will also have a specialization in transmutation.
Naturally Skilled (Ex): Humandrills use their Wisdom score instead of their Intelligence score to determine the amount of skill points they get per level or Hit Die.
Skills: Humandrills get a +8 racial bonus to Climb checks, as well as a +2 racial bonus to Listen and Spot checks.
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| Alignment | Any (see text) + |
| Author | Sulacu + |
| Challenge Rating | 2 + |
| Environment | Usually forests and jungles + |
| Identifier | 3.5e Monster + |
| Level Adjustment | +0 (cohort) + |
| Rated By | Undead Knave + and Eiji-kun + |
| Rating | Rating Pending + |
| Size | Medium + |
| Title | Humandrill + |
| Type | Magical Beast + |
