Grudgling
by Jamie BatySCMC
Small Magical Beast
Hit Dice: 2d10+4 (15 hp)
Initiative: +4 (+4 Dex)
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armour Class: 15 (+1 size, +4 Dex), touch 15, flat-footed 11
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/-3
Attack: Claw +2 melee (1d3 -1)
Full Attack: 2 Claw +2 melee (1d3 -1) and bite -3 melee (1d6 -2)
Space/Reach: 5 ft. /0 ft.
Special Attacks: Pounce
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60ft., low-light vision
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +7, Will -2
Abilities: Str 8, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 4, Wis 6, Cha 6
Skills: Balance +12, Climb +8, Hide +12*, Jump +13, Listen +2, Move Silently +8, Spot +2
Feats: Alertness (B), Dodge
Environment: Any land
Organisation: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 1/4
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 3-4 HD (Small); 5-6 HD (Medium)
Level Adjustment: -
These halfling-sized creatures have a combination of feline and human characteristics. Grudglings were originally created to serve as house pets and familiars to rakastas.
Grudglings heads are typically elf, human, or dwarf in appearance, though similarities to other races are not unknown. To most grudgling owners, elven ears and dwarven beards on their pets tend to be favourite features. A grudgling's body resembles that of a large cat, including the natural variations in fur colour and thickness. Yellow-orange colour and sleek pelts are the most common.
Grudglings were created by a talented some say insane rakasta wizard to serve as familiars for the feline humanoids. However, their unsteady morale made them less suitable than desired. Now they survive almost exclusively as pets in rakastan households. Finding a grudgling outside of a rakastan home is very rare, and in the wild rarer still.
Though grudglings have a limited intelligence, these creatures try to assert themselves as being more humanoid than animal, clumsily walking about on their hind legs and using their front paws as hands. These pathetic attempts do appeal to some rakastas, however, who continue to raise and breed them. Despite their delusions, grudglings are almost completely dependent on their rakastan masters.
Grudglings able to exist outside of domestic living are very rare. They invariably possess a Legacy which helps them to survive and are almost always Afflicted due to a lack of cinnabryl. These grudglings are often pitiful, intelligent enough to be unhappy with their plight, but not intelligent enough to do anything about it. A few wild grudglings can be found in the vicinity of most large rakastan settlements, living off refuse or begging for scraps.
Combat
Grudglings are clumsy, awkward beings until threatened or in some way provoked; even then, their skittishness usually send them running. When a grudgling does attack, it drops down to all four legs and springs with feline speed and grace. Their weak claws are little threat, but their large fangs set in an otherwise humanoid mouth deliver a nasty bite.
Pounce (Ex): When a grudgling makes a charge, it can follow with a full attack.
Skills: Grudglings have a +4 racial bonus on Climb, Hide, and Move Silently checks and a +8 racial bonus on Jump checks. Grudglings have a +8 racial bonus on Balance checks. They use their Dexterity modifier instead of their Strength modifier for Climb and Jump checks. *In areas of tall grass or heavy undergrowth, the Hide bonus rises to +8.
The Red Curse
Not all (about 50%) grudglings gain a Legacy, but those who do always require cinnabryl to ward off Affliction. Quite often, its master trains it to attack on command, withholding cinnabryl as punishment for fleeing. Even so, only one or two attacks can be expected before the grudgling takes flight.
If the grudgling possesses a Legacy that is not useful to its master, it is often left to fend for itself and perhaps die of the Affliction that follows. The few grudglings that withstand the Affliction are turned out into the wilderness where they lack the skills to survive.