Rock Man
by Jamie BatyDMR2 88
Medium Monstrous Humanoid
Hit Dice: 3d8+9 (22 hp)
Initiative: -3 (-3 Dex)
Speed: 15 ft. (3 squares)
Armour Class: 18 (-3 Dex, +11 natural), touch 7, flat-footed 18
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+9
Attack: Slam +9 melee (1d8 +6)
Full Attack: 2 Slam +9 melee (1d8 +6)
Space/Reach: 5 ft. /5 ft.
Special Attacks: -
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60ft., immunity to fire, spell vulnerabilities
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +0, Will +4
Abilities: Str 22, Dex 5, Con 16, Int 11, Wis 13, Cha 10
Skills: Craft (Sculpture or Stonecarving) +6, Diplomacy +2, Hide +0*, Listen +4, Spot +3
Feats: Endurance, Power Attack
Environment: Temperate mountains
Organisation: Solitary, Pair, Cluster (2-5), or Clan (10--40 plus 1d4+4 5th level elders)
Challenge Rating: 2
Treasure: 1 heart-shaped ruby worth 1d10x10 gp (per Rock Man)
Alignment: Usually lawful neutral
Advancement: by character class
Level Adjustment: +2
Rock men are cone-shaped humanoids with the appearance of granite. Devoted mountain dwellers that jealously guard their territory, rock men are fond of gems and little else.
Rock men are about 6 feet tall, with the "base" at their legs measuring about 4 feet in diameter. They have muscular-looking frames. The skin of a rock man looks like broken granite, with coloration ranging from blue-grey to purple. When they stand still, rock men look like stalagmites or rock spires. The eyes of rock men shine like gold nuggets.
Rock men speak Common and their own language, a verbose tongue that takes ten words to convey an idea that could be expressed in two in most other languages. Rock men speak in slow, rasping voices, like the sound of a boulder being slowly pushed uphill.
As long as travellers simply pass through territory claimed by rock men and do not exhibit plans to settle, mine, or otherwise poke around, the rock men are happy to let them pass.
Combat
Rock men are not overly aggressive, but are tough foes if pushed to violence. They are very strong, but somewhat ponderous. They attack with their fists, and look unfavourably upon weapons and armour of any type.
When killed, a rock man crumbles into rocky debris. Anyone sifting through the debris will find the rock man's heart, which is a heart-shaped ruby worth ld10 x 10 gold pieces. If a rock man sees anyone possessing one of these rubies, it will attack the owner immediately.
Immunity To Fire (Ex): A Rock Man has 100% immunity to fire and fire-based attacks, both normal and magical.
Spell Vulnerabilities (Ex): A rock man is vulnerable to the following spells:
• A shatter spell affects the rock man as a crystalline creature, but doing only 1 point of damage per caster level (6 point maximum). A rock man gets no save against this effect.
• A stone shape spell causes 3d6 points of damage to the rock man, and allows a fortitude save for half damage.
• A stone shatter* spell destroys the rock man immediately if it fails a Fortitude saving throw.
• A transmute rock to mud spell inflicts 3d8 points of damage to the rock man, and allows a fortitude save for half damage.
* Spell from "Magic of Faerun".
Skills: Rock men have a +4 racial bonus to all Craft (Sculpture) or Craft (Stonecarving) skill checks. *Rock men have a +8 racial bonus to all Hide skill checks made in natural caverns or rocky, mountainous terrain.
Society
The rock man credo is, "take things slow; there is time enough for everything under the sun." Rock men live for about six centuries, and as a result, are never in much of a hurry to do anything.
Rock men do not build villages. They dwell in natural caves and mountain gullies. Many spend plenty of happy hours carving intricate designs into their home caves. A rock man cave group typically contains 1d4x10 rock men. Leadership is handled by a council of elders made up of 1d4+4 of the oldest rock men. Note that the term 'rock man" refers both genders.
Rock men can reproduce only once a decade and give birth to only one offspring at a time. Rock children grow to maturity in 40 years. Like the adults, the offspring are in no particular hurry for anything.
Rock men shun weapons, clothing, and other items. They prefer instead to direct any creative urges toward the continuing beautification of the caverns in which they dwell. Some spend decades carving a single wall.
Due to their greatly extended lives, rock men have a different perspective on time. The concept of hours, days, or even weeks rarely occurs to rock men. Unless shown the urgency in a situation, rock men will simply refuse to be rushed.
Rock men mate for life, though it seems to take an eternity for mates to be chosen. Rock men venerate special days such as birthdays, wedding days, and significant events of their clan. The observances sometimes last as long as a week.
Rock Men as Characters
A rock man's favoured class is expert, often specialising in crafting stone. Occasionally, if the rock man's territory is often threatened, rock man fighters and paladins may be found. Clerics are uncommon, but not unheard of. Other classes are rare at best among the rock men. Rock man clerics may choose two of the following domains: Cavern, Earth, Law, or Strength.