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SlaadLord
2009-08-23, 10:19 PM
Canopy Crawler

Canopy crawlers are made when expeditions go awry. After losing a substantial part of their party, the survivors try to get as far away from the savage forest floor as they can. Moving across the topmost reaches of the canopy, telling themselves they will try to get out, many go mad evading the endless parade of dangers inherent to the jungle. They become adapted to their new home near the clouds, the perfect survivors in their new home.

Hared Askari
Medium Monstrous Humanoid
Canopy Crawler Human Commoner 3
Hit Dice: 3d4 + 6 (13 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 30 ft., climb 20 ft.
AC: 14, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dex, +2 natural)
Base Attack/ Grapple: +1/+3
Attack: Sickle +3 melee (1d6 + 2) or Claw +3 melee (1d4 + 2)
Full Attack: Sickle +3 melee (1d6 + 1) and Claw -2 melee (1d4 + 1) or 2 claws +3 melee (1d4 + 2)
Space/Reach: 5ft./5ft.
Special Attacks: Ambush, Diseased
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60ft., immune to disease and poison, slow fall
Saves: Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +0
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 4, Wis 9, Cha 8
Skills: Climb +8, Jump +6, Listen +3, Profession (Guide) +3, Spot +3, Survival +0
Feats: Alertness, Endurance, Track (B)
Challenge Rating: 3

Hared Askari was a career guide, helping travelers safely through the rainforest and carrying their loads. When one of his groups was attacked by a pair of leopards, Askari and two of his charges fled upward. Over the next three days, Askari noticed his companions seemed more and more appealing. Finally, he killed and ate them both with a sickle he kept in his pack to hack through undergrowth. Now he wanders the treetops, hunting for his next prey.

Combat
Ambush (Ex): A canopy crawler deals double damage on a successful charge attack against a flat-footed target.
Diseased (Ex): Canopy Crawlers carry Red Ache in their claw attacks. Injury, Fort DC 15, Incubation 1d3 days, 1d6 Str damage.
Slow Fall (Ex): A canopy crawler never takes falling damage if it falls from under fifty feet.

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Canopy Crawler Creature
“Canopy Crawler” is an acquired template that can be added to any giant, humanoid or monstrous humanoid creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature). A canopy crawler uses all of the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Size and Type: Humanoids become monstrous humanoids. Otherwise size is unchanged.
Speed: Canopy crawlers gain a climb speed of 20ft.
Armor Class: The creature’s natural armor bonus increases by +2.
Attack: Canopy crawlers retain all the natural attacks, manufactured attacks, and weapon proficiencies of the base creature and also gains two claw attacks if it didn’t already have one. It deals the indicated damage plus their strength bonus. When wielding weapons, a canopy crawler can use a claw attack as a secondary attack.

Size Claw Damage
Tiny 1d2
Small 1d3
Medium 1d4
Large 1d6
Huge 1d8
Gargantuan 2d6
Colossal 2d8
Special Attacks: A canopy crawler retains all special attacks of the base creature and also gains the following special attacks.

Ambush (Ex): A canopy crawler deals double damage on a successful charge attack against a flat-footed target.

Diseased (Ex): Canopy Crawlers carry Red Ache in their claw attacks. Injury, Fort DC 15, Incubation 1d3 days, 1d6 Str damage.

Special Qualities: A canopy crawler retains all special qualities of the base creature and also gains the following special qualities.

Immunities: A canopy crawler has immunity to poison and disease.

Slow Fall (Ex): A canopy crawler never takes falling damage if it falls from under fifty feet.

Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Str +2, Dex +4, Con +2, Int -6 (min 2).
Skills: A canopy crawler has a +4 bonus on Climb and Jump checks.
Feats: A canopy crawler gains Track as a bonus feat.
Environment: Warm Forests
Challenge Rating: As the base creature +2.
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always chaotic evil.
Level Adjustment: +3

blazinghand
2009-08-24, 02:23 AM
This looks like a very cool template. It has a scared paranoiac element to it, in a good way. It seems like the sort of thing that would be easy to work into a campaign; travelers disappearing in the jungle, and these creatures appearing in their stead. Did you intend to have the minimum Int be 2? That's animal intelligence, without speech or sapience.

Eloel
2009-08-24, 02:47 AM
Reducing Wisdom (for the reduced sanity) might be in-place too...

SlaadLord
2009-08-24, 09:31 AM
travelers disappearing in the jungle, and these creatures appearing in their stead. Did you intend to have the minimum Int be 2? That's animal intelligence, without speech or sapience.
Yes. These people have "gone feral" in every sense of the word.


Reducing Wisdom (for the reduced sanity) might be in-place too...
The thought occurred to me, but losing your mental acuity tends to lead to losing your physical acuity as well in the jungle. OOC: It would bring penalties to Listen and Spot checks that are kind of important for survival.

Lysander
2009-08-24, 09:43 AM
Cool idea. Not sure if it should provide complete immunity to poison and disease since they're still the same species though - maybe say it provides immunities to poisons and diseases native to that forest, and provide a significant bonus to saves against other poisons and diseases?