The cat with hands

[Nomadic]

I did it for you sdragon! for you...

[ooc]
The Cat with Hands
Size/Type: Tiny Aberration (Chaotic)
Hit Dice: 4d8+12 (30 hp)
Initiative: +8
Speed: 30ft (6 squares)
Armor Class: 20, touch 20, flat-footed 12 (+2 size, +8 dex)
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/-6
Attack: bite +4 str-based / claw +13 dex-based (1d6-1)
Full Attack: +4
Space/Reach: 2½ ft./0 ft.
Special Attacks: Absorb
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +9, Will +6
Abilities: Str 8, Dex 26, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 16
Skills: Hide: 2; Listen: 9 (+2 alertness); Climb: 5; Spot: 2 (+2 alertness)
Feats: Alertness, Dodge
Enviroment: Swamps, Abandoned Settlements
Organization: Single, Pack (3)
Challange Rating: ??
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always Chaotic Evil

Appearance:
Sitting in front of you is what at first appears to be a dirty alley cat. However, it lifts one of it's paws up to lick it, revealing that it is in fact not a paw but the hand of a child. The cat stares at you with an unearthly gleam in it's eye, hinting at hidden evil desires.

Absorb (su): On a successful melee hit that brings an opponent's HP into the negatives the Cat With Hands may attempt to absorb a body part from their fallen foe. The foe may resist this by succeeding on a DC 15 will save. If they fail the save the cat absorbs a random body part (head, left hand, right hand, left foot, right foot) making it it's own. The cat may choose to keep or discard absorbed body parts at will.

Note: When a cat with hands appears it will have a random number of absorbed body parts already. With each body part absorbed it seems more human (and yet even more unnatural). In addition, for each body part absorbed it loses 2 charisma. When it has absorbed the last part it takes on the full appearance of a human and regains it's charisma.
[/ooc]

[LordVreeg]

SHOULD BE ON THAT OLD HORROR MONSTER THREAD.  SA did it, I think

[Nomadic]

I would put it there if I could find that thread. Anyhow if you are wondering this is the video I got it from (which sdragon showed me)

The Cat With Hands

[Superfluous Crow]

Well, cats don't need hands to be horror monsters :p

[SDragon]

I like it. You already know about my overlookabley minor quibble about the dissonance between the Absorb flavor and mechanics, and the added note does a good job taking into consideration my other issue. I'd like to suggest a slight expansion on that note; maybe the effect on The Cat's CHA should have some sort of bell curve. Maybe the CHA can only go so low with this effect, at which point, the added parts make it seem more human than monster (in opposition to the original CHA penalties of looking more monster than cat).

All in all, I definitely like this. now that there's stats, I might even try to see if I could include it in a game somehow. Good work :)

[Nomadic]

I like that idea so I made it take on full human appearance at the end and regain it's charisma

[Polycarp]

Creepy video, nifty idea.  A few little comments:

*With 16 Cha, the CWH (Cat With Hands) will probably have more body parts that need absorbing than actual Charisma so long as it loses 2 per part.  I know odd-numbered adjustments to ability scores are anathema in 3rd ed D&D, but it might be better to go with -1 adjustments based on that alone.  RF's idea about the Charisma getting low and coming back up is a good one too - maybe it's as simple as losing Cha until you get to a half-human look and then gradually gaining it again until total humanity is reached.

*The absorb mechanic seems a little bit under-developed; personally, I'd go for some kind of grapple maneuver or a spell-like fascination/hypnotism thing.  To me, it's way creepier to have the body part removed from you while you're still conscious and aware; presumably you won't mind as much when you're unconscious in negative hp and probably about to die.

*If you're really planning on using this, a list of possible body parts is probably a good idea to prevent confusion.  Does it steal units as small as an eye, or can it take a whole head at once?  Finger by finger or the whole hand?

*What happens to this monster once it has its full human form?  Is it just a Chaotic Evil human now?  Does it join human society or continue to groom itself in a swamp somewhere?  What is its goal now that it has all the parts it wants?

*There isn't anything like this in the video, but IMO what makes classic monsters good is their quirks, weaknesses, and so on (like the litany of things that are bad for a vampire's health).  Maybe (real) cats act differently around a CWH - maybe they hiss and spit at it, or maybe they crowd around it because it's "one of them" and the CWH has to shoo them away to avoid suspicion.  Maybe dogs growl at it, even in full human form, because it still smells like cat to them.  Maybe tatooing a body part with a certain religious/sacred/magic symbol can protect it, or harm the CWH if it tries to absorb that part.  Maybe, like both cats and vampires, it

really doesn't like water.

*Finally, it's an aberration (rather than an outsider), so presumably it reproduces somehow besides spontaneous planar generation.  Maybe that's it's purpose when it becomes fully human - breed and make new CWHs? (Well, you wanted creepy, right?)[/list]

Edit:  Also, I think it should have more Hide ranks and some MS too.  Cats are stealthy!  Actually, now that I look at it, why does it have a Hide of 2 when it's got 26 Dex?

[Nomadic]

I made this in about 5 minutes because of something me and sdragon discussed. I'm not the best at statting things out as I am not very crunchy. I could give it a shot though.

[Polycarp]

Right, I know.  I just thought I'd give it some crunch feedback.  It's a pretty good idea for a monster, after all. :)

[Nomadic]

After attempting to restat this and spending half an hour I am going to say no lol. If someone else wants to, go ahead.

[LordVreeg]

HANDICAT!!!!!!!!

(**** **** **** ^%r*8 ****)
(translated as "I stole this fucking guys vocal chords...and it turns out the fucker was a mute!")

[Llum]

Now I have no books to reference, but I think (at least as according to the movie) the absorb skill should look something like this.

Abosrb: On a succesfull grapple check the CWH can make a basic touch attack, if successful roll 1d6. The CWH absorbs this body part from a person, they suffer a condition resulting from lack of body part. If the CWH has that body part already, (ether roll again or it does nothing, dunno)

1-Hands: Cannot wield weapon
2-Feet: Slowed. -10 to reflex
3-Legs: Cannot move
4-Torso: Death!
5-Tongue: silenced
6-Face: blinded, silenced.

[Polycarp]

If someone stole your torso, wouldn't you be pretty much... dead?  I keep a lot of important things in my torso.

[Llum]

If someone stole your torso, wouldn't you be pretty much... dead?  I keep a lot of important things in my torso.

Yep... for some reason I was thinking you got the cat troso in return... you don't. Save or die, make sure your good at grappling :P

[Polycarp]

Well that would be interesting - the cat turns into a person, and you turn into a cat.  Though it would be a bit odd to be "that guy with the cat leg," assuming you weren't devoured immediately afterwards.

But going off the original "save or die" angle, I suppose face-stealing would be equally lethal.  After all, everything you use to breathe with is on your face.