Tree Monkeys

These creatures are only part of a much larger organism. Tree monkeys are mobile scouts, hunters, guardians and seeds for a large, un-remarkable appearing tree. Found in most temperate locations across the globe, this creature is an organism that is feared by many creatures, especially those that live in the water.

Chris Van Deelen is the author of the Skirmisher Publishing LLC sourcebook Creatures of the Tropical Wastes sourcebook and co-author of its Wisdom from the Wastelands game supplement.

No. Enc: 1d10 (1)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 60' (20')  (none)
                     120' (40') climb
                     90' (30') swim
AC: 2 (-1)
HD: 7 (30)
Attacks: 3 (bite, claw, claw) (none)
Damage: 1d6 (plus special, see below) / 3d4 / 3d4 (none)
Save: L7 (20)
Morale: 10 (10)
Hoard Class: XXII

Note: The stats in brackets are for the mother tree.

These creatures are only part of a much larger organism. Tree monkeys are mobile scouts, hunters, guardians and seeds for a large, un-remarkable appearing tree. Found in most temperate locations across the globe, this creature is an organism that is feared by many creatures, especially those that live in the water.

The mother tree, as it is known, appears to be an oak tree with an unusually thick trunk, but otherwise looks no different than its un-mutated cousin. Like all other trees in the temperate zones, the mother trees leaves lose their chlorophyll during the fall and change color, and finally are shed, only to sprout once again in the spring.

The tree however doesn't go dormant during this period. It instead uses these creatures to hunt and provide nourishment for it.

The creatures appear to be large, ape-like creatures that are made entirely of wood. Instead of hair, they have twigs growing out from the top of the skull and on its back.  The color of the creature varies from season to season. In spring, it is a bright green, which then turns to a dark, almost black green during the summer, then changes to a reddish orange during the fall and finally a greyish white during the winter.

They stand about five feet in height and weigh in at almost 500 pounds, mainly because of the fact that they are made of hard yet flexible wood.

In combat, the creatures will attempt to bite their opponent. Any organic creature bitten by one of tehse mutants must make a save versus poison or have their bodies turn into plant matter due to a very strange and powerful toxin.

Anyone converted to plant matter finds that their skin becomes bark, all hair turns into leaves and the legs (or arms if they're touching the ground), take root. All internal organs are converted to plant matter as well. Although the victim isn't killed by the transformation, they are incapable of any action, such as moving, fighting etc. including communication, with the exception of any mental mutations. There is no known cure for this. These creatures are capable of generating this toxin once per day.

Although they are somewhat slow and clumsy on the ground, when they are climbing or moving through trees, they are quite fast and very agile. They also have a rather unique method of travel. They are able to use trees or other sufficiently large sources of plant life to literally teleport from one location to another. This teleportation has a range of 1 mile and can be used at will by the creature.

All of these creatures are in constant telepathic link with one another and with the Mother Tree, and thus are able to co-ordinate their attacks and defenses with cunning accuracy.

When not on a mission for the mother Tree, they meld into the trunk of the mother tree, becoming indistinguishable from the plant itself. This takes 1d3 rounds to achieve and if the mother tree ever comes under attack, it can expel these creatures at the same rate. Each tree has a maximum of 10 Tree Monkeys and can replace any that are destroyed at the rate of 1 per week. 

The mother tree has two methods of reproduction. It can send out a single creature to any location it so desires and cause the creature to undergo a metamorphic change. This will turn the mutant into a new mother tree, which will take ten full years to develop into a fully matured mother tree, which can then produce its own Tree Monkeys.

The second way is that it can trigger the same metamorphic change in any creature that has been turned into plant matter by the mutants. Any creature which undergoes this transformation loses all of its memories, mental statistics and mutations, in effect becoming an immature mother tree. The mother tree is of human intelligence, and as a result, because of the hive mind, all its creatures are likewise as intelligent.

Even though they have no real use or need for it, the mother trees do hoard treasure and artifacts. They are typically buried in among the roots of the tree itself and are difficult at best to get at.

In order to sustain itself during the winter and early spring, the mother tree uses these creatures as hunters. This is the only time that they will refrain from using their toxic weapon, as they need to be able to transport back any captured creatures to give to the mother tree.

Any creature brought back to the mother tree will be placed against the bark, where tiny tendrils will begin to bore through the flesh of the creature and drain it of all bodily fluids. This causes 1d6 points of damage per round and heals the tree for the same amount of damage (if it has sustained any).

These creatures can gain nourishment by simply melding with the mother tree, but in times where they are incapable of doing so, they can feed off the bodily fluids of any creature they attack. The can bite and drain 1d6 points of damage per round, but unlike the mother tree, this doesn't heal them, only helps sustain them.

For some unknown reason, the mother tree has a great hatred for aquatic life forms. Any that are found to be near the tree are summarily hunted down and destroyed by these mutants as they are excellent swimmers and never need to fear drowning.

Mutations: Animate seeds (special), full senses, increased physical attribute (dexterity), mobility, natural armour (plant), neural telepathy, teleport (special), toxic weapon (special).

Source: Lady in the Water (2006)