Homebrew Civilized Girallon Species Details

Additional Information helping to make this race playable either for roleplaying or serious gameplay purposes: Throughout time and regular interactions with common folk and more civilized races of the world, the Girallon have learned to read and write, practice economy and establish their own businesses, and engage in general labor and other trades where their bodies and strength could be of the best use. Some stick to mercenary and soldier work, while others engage in other less violent means such as merchants of various things. Girallons have since learned to speak Common and are fairly social creatures. Some are more trusting and social than others, and it's always wise to never cross the temper of a Girallon. They are known to pull the someone's arms out of their sockets when they lose at games.

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Primary Race Description copied from the specie's Monster Card: Girallons are most common in temperate or warm forest environments abundant with life. They share apes’ adeptness at climbing, although few trees can support the weight of these half-ton creatures. The ruins of cities, especially those found in deep forests and jungles, seem to attract girallons. They see a city’s buildings as a superior sort of forest whose uppermost “branches” can safely support them. The creatures can easily scale walls and battlements, and they perch on tower tops and other high vantages to keep an eye on the surrounding area.

When girallons can’t climb, they stalk the forest floor, lurk in narrow ravines or shallow caves, or hide in ruined sites while waiting for prey to come near. A girallon is surprisingly stealthy, considering its size and its lack of camouflage.

Girallons form loose bands of several individuals and their offspring, usually led by a dominant adult that also tends to be the oldest member of the group. When on the hunt away from their lair, girallons use roars and body language to communicate with one another over distance. Each individual typically hunts alone and widely separated from the others to ensure that everyone gets adequate fodder. The leader might organize members to work together to make a big kill, however. If they succeed, everyone in the group shares the spoils, with the best parts going to those caring for their young.

Girallons’ strange appearance and attraction to ruins lead sages to believe they were created through magic to serve as guardians for some lost empire. When that empire fell ages ago, girallons turned feral and spread out across the world.

Numerous creatures have tried to tame, subjugate, or cooperate with the monsters. For instance, some forest-dwelling peoples capture girallons and train them to serve as sentinels. Recognizing that girallons are peaceful among their own kind, other folk have learned how to approach a group’s leader, offering food and other gifts in hopes of establishing an alliance with the creatures.

Girallons that are well treated might be willing to serve as guards, though they lack the intelligence to take on tasks more complicated than attacking strangers who enter their domain. A girallon that’s captured when young and carefully trained could end up in a seemingly unlikely place, such as guarding the entrance to a city’s thieves’ guild. Those who would keep a girallon must always be wary, however, because the creature could revert to its predatory nature at any time.

 

Civilized Girallon Traits

Girralon, while not extremely skilled, have inherited the more primitive instinctual traits of their feral ancestors.

Creature Type

You are a humanoid.

Speed

Your Walking Speed is 40 feet. Your Climbing Speed is 40 Feet. 

Size

Your Size is Large (about 8-9 feet tall).

Darkvision

You have Darkvision with a range of 60 feet.

Ability Score Increase

Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.

Keen Smell

You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.

Aggressive

As a bonus action, you can move up to its speed toward a hostile creature that it can see.

Restless Endurance

When you are reduced to 0 Hit Points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 Hit Point instead. Once you use this trait, you can’t do so again until you finish a Long Rest.