New Monster: Chienge

Back in my post about monsters, I discussed the idea of abominations. As I recounted back then:

These are creatures that should not be. Their very existence goes against the natural order of the world. They are twisted mockeries of life. They are formed not by nature but by sorcery, science or both in some cases. Abominations usually come in two varieties; corruptions of an existing lifeform or an attempt to create a new form of life. The former includes the undead and, depending on the campaign setting, orcs and mutants. The latter includes fusion creatures like the owlbear and created life like the golem or robot.

Consider this my newest addition to the list of monsters for your campaign. The chienge (pronounced Shee-Enj) is a cross between a dog and a monkey. The name comes from combining the French names for dog (chien) and monkey (sange). Depending on your point of view, the chienge is either man's best friend merged with man's closest genetic relative, or it's a rabid pit bull that can climb trees. Your call.

The following is designated as Open Game Content per the Open Game License.

Chienge

No. Enc.: Alignment: Movement: Armor Class:    Hit Dice Attacks: Damage: Save Morale Hoard Class: XP:

1d3 (2d4) Neutral 150' (50') 6 1+1 1 (1 bite or by weapon) 1d4 or by weapon Fighter 1 7 None 65

The chienge is a hybrid creature; half-dog, half-monkey. How these creatures are created are unknown. But many sorcerers seek out these creatures as familiars due to their loyalty, intelligence and ferociousness. Their appearance is mostly dog-like, save for their limbs with prehensile paws and a prehensile tail. Chienges can climb objects such as trees at the same rate of speed as they can normally move on land. In combat, they can either attack with a vicious bite or use small weapons in their prehensile paws. Chienges can be trained to use tools in their paws. Their tails can be used to hold small objects and can support their own body weight when hanging upside-down.