Monsters without hands

I've always wanted to run a monster campaign, but to make the character creation really interesting, I've often thought that among the available races should be things without hands. Chuul, pegasuses, Achaierai, ropers, whatever.

The problem is how you give something like this PC levls. Can you cast spells with somatic components by waving some other body part? What do you do about giving them starting items.

If these are limitations, how much of a ECL decrease should this be?

Has anyone done anything like this? Or even if not, what suggestions do you have?

I'm pretty sure you can cast using other body parts IF and only IF you have used that body part all you casting career. unicorns can use their horns, but a wizard polymorphed into a unicorn? no.

There's something in one of the monster manuals or in savage species... you take a feat, you can "fake" the appropriate spellcasting requirement if you lack the proper anatomy. you gurgle/screech/squelch out a verbal component, wave whatever unspeakable part of your anatomy seems appropriate for the deed to complete a somatic component... stuff like that. As for items? that might require some apposable thumbed assistance in game. I'm sure you could find a way to armor or weaponize pretty much any critter you could name in any of the MMs with a liitle (or a lot) of imagination. Worst case scenario, fake it, use the starting material as a guideline. They use money to purchase upgrades, either physical or imagined a suit of light armor could represent some sort of barding, or possibly represent an ability that makes the character tougher when he's "wearing" it.