#8: Psimian Mandrill

I remember seeing Su-Monsters in the original Monster Manual and thinking that they were incredibly goofy monsters; I also remember thinking that the psionics rules were way too complicated for me, and I’d never use them. I was eleven, so take both opinions for what they’re worth…

However, the more mature me (heh) has a find spot for Gorilla Grodd and the whole idea of psionic apes; and these are like cuter, little, meaner versions of Gorilla Grodd. He’s a master manipulator who uses his psionic abilities to enslave mankind and further the cause of apes; these are angry little creatures that use their psionic abilities to steal food and throw poop. They’re just mean, nasty little buggers.

Psimian Mandrill (26 CPs)

Fighting +4; Bonus Attack; Might +1; Speed +2; Stamina +1; Stealth +3
Focus +2; Intuition +4 (Confusion)

3’ tall monkeys of silvery coats and burning, amber eyes, psimian mandrills seemingly exist only to sow discord among mortals. They may attack with two claws, distributing a total +5 attack rating between the two attacks; each claw attack deals +1 damage.

Confusion (Ability or Application)

Roll your action vs. the target’s focus. Success means that the target randomly acts for D6 rounds. As a victim of confusion, roll D6 below to see what you do. (Note: Players and referees are encouraged to develop their own lists for confusion; this list represents some of the options that could appear. One option on the list should be to continue attacking the caster or acting normally; randomness should include some option for things to not work out so well for the caster of confusion). As an ability, you may use confusion at will; as an application, you may use it once per scene. A target that resists your confusion, or that has already been affected by it that scene, is immune to further uses that scene.

1. Turn and attack your nearest ally.
2. Attack the caster of the confusion spell.
3. Babble incoherently.
4. Turn and flee.
5. Decide that your feet really, really itch.
6. Start looking for something in your backpack that isn’t there.

Note: In thinking about two weapons/bonus attack, this ability should give you a +1 shift to fighting in a turn you use it; if you have two weapons and fighting +6, you get to have fighting +7 whenever you wield two weapons, but you distribute this +7 between the weapons; you can elect to go +6 with your primary and +1 with your secondary, or as far as +4 with your primary +3 with your secondary. This doesn’t unbalance things at all, but gives you a small additional benefit for having spent 2 CPs.