Character concept: druid throws an "Awaken" spell at a squirrel. The squirrel gains decent Int, rolls randomly for alignment... and gets Chaotic Evil.
A CE squirrel with rogue levels can actually be a pretty badass villain. It's a Tiny creature with racial bonuses to Acrobatics and Stealth and a natural Climb speed. Much can be done with this. Squeezil is actually quite dangerous; he can sneak up on you, drop onto your shoulder, and weapon finesse a shiv into your neck for massive sneak attack damage before you even realize you're in trouble. (Note that Squeezil is not stupid; he's not going to attack one member of a well-armed party. Sneaking into your room at night and cutting your throat works too. But he does like it public and messy, if he thinks he can get away with it -- Squeezil considers himself a badass, and wants people to be terrified of him.)
In terms of roleplay, Squeezil is Todd T. Squirrel from the Achewood webcomic -- multiple drug addictions, stutters, basically the whole package.
Squeezil has actually been a recurring NPC in my campaigns for years, working as an enforcer and hit man for a local crime boss. The PCs developed a healthy respect for him after their first meeting, which involved Squeezil very messily killing an NPC.
Awakened Animals in general are awesome actually. Think about a Dire Tiger Paladin smiting evil with his mighty paws and wearing full plate barding, or a pair of Lion Rangers with Favored Enemy (Human) going all 'Ghosts In The Darkness' on some human group, or an ex-Familiar whose bond was severed somehow and decided to go out and get some Wizard levels of his own. There's also (of course) the overdone killer rabbit, if you like.
None as funny as Squeezil, of course, but it just opens up so many fun ideas. :)
I played a squirrel for one adventure. I so wished that campaign lasted longer. He was awesome. It was a few years ago and the DM and it worked out basically a custom race. It was tiny with lots of dex and movement. I never got to pull off what I hoped to be an awesome tactic. We had a barbarian with us as well. My plan was to grab one end of somebody's silk rope run through the enemy wrapping around their feet up their backs and all over burning through my fastest movement endding my turn handing the end of the rope to the barbarian and yelling pull.
Considering most people wouldn't be able to tell one squirrel from another, Squeezil may want to invest some ranks in the Handle Animal skill and train himself some convenient foils/scapegoats.
Let's start with an ordinary, unAwakened squirrel. What are a squirrel's stats? Astonishingly, neither the Bestiary nor the SRD have this critical information. But we can start with a rat and work from there. Here's a single, ordinary, non-dire rat:
AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dex, +2 size)
hp 4 (1d8)
Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +1
OFFENSE
Speed 15 ft., climb 15 ft., swim 15 ft.
Melee bite +4 (1d3–4)
Space 2-1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
STATISTICS
Str 2, Dex 15, Con 11, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 2
Base Atk +0; CMB +0; CMD 6 (10 vs. trip)
Feats Weapon Finesse
Skills Climb +10, Stealth +18, Swim +10; Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth
Converting rat to squirrel:
-- squirrels do not have low-light vision or a Swim speed
-- the squirrel is +2 Dex, +2 Cha, -2 Con. (Squirrels are nimbler and more popular than rats, but not as tough.)
-- instead of +4 racial bonus to Stealth, the squirrel gets +2 each to Stealth, Acrobatics, Escape Artist, and Climb.
The Awaken spell gives a new Int score (roll 3d6) and adds 1d3 to Charisma. So Squeezil's stats come out as follows:
Str 2, Dex 17, Con 9, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 6
IMC I had him as a 5th level rogue, so he'd be able to boost his Dex or Con. Probably Dex -- he's a finesse fighter, and +1 to hit and AC is just too good to miss. Feats would be Improved Initiative, Dodge (there's not much squirrel-sized armor out there) and Weapon Focus: Shiv. Rogue Talents are Finesse Fighter and, I don't know, something that helps with poison or sneak attacks. If he has traits, one of them will be Reactive -- Squeezil is all about going first.
Squeezil attacks with a masterwork shiv for 1d3-4 damage; he wins fights by getting surprise and then winning initiative so that he can get two sneak attacks back-to-back. 6d6+2 damage will put most low-CR enemies down pretty hard.
Squeezil is a regular user of alcohol and several different sorts of drugs; at any given time, he's likely to be addicted to at least a couple of them. (He's chaotic evil, so being a junkie is just gravy.) When he's taking a job, he'll dose up on zerk (+1 alchemical bonus to initiative) and scour (+1d4 to Dex). If it's an important job, he'll buy a potion of Cat's Grace and swig it just before going in. This will boost his Dex to around 24, his AC to 20, his Init to +14 or so, and his attack bonus to (+3 BAB +7 Dex/Finesse +1 weapon focus +1 masterwork) = +12 or so. Sneak up on you, gain surprise, sneak attack, win initiative, sneak attack again -- simple but effective.
In roleplaying terms, again, Todd T. Squirrel from the Achewood comic. That is to say, he's not a very nice squirrel. He's a career criminal who steals, kills, robs, and blows the money on drugs and booze. About the only good thing you can say about him is... well, actually I can't think of anything offhand. Well, he's not stupid, and he's more or less loyal to his employer, and he'll cheerfully party with you if you're buying the drinks. That's about it.
As a member of a PC class, I think you give him the standard +4/+4/+2/+2/+0/-2 ability mods (though, for reasons of logic, I'd make you put the +0 in Int). That'd probably give him Str 4, Dex 22 (with the level up), Con 13, and either Wis 15, Cha 4 or Wis 11, Cha 8. Either way, it makes him a much more vicious little bastard.
A PC picking a random squirrel and doing this to them wouldn't get those stat mods...but then neither does an ordinary, say, Troll who takes levels of Barbarian after he's fought the PCs already, while one created as a Barbarian by the GM (as Squeezil was created as a Rogue) does.
An awakened housecat barbarian with Whirlwind Attack also strikes me as hilarious at this time of night. (Alternately, restat a badger or something as a Tasmanian devil.)
As a member of a PC class, I think you give him the standard +4/+4/+2/+2/+0/-2 ability mods (though, for reasons of logic, I'd make you put the +0 in Int). That'd probably give him Str 4, Dex 22 (with the level up), Con 13, and either Wis 15, Cha 4 or Wis 11, Cha 8. Either way, it makes him a much more vicious little bastard.
Too vicious, I think. Dex 22 means that he wakes up in the morning with AC 19, Init +12, and +11 attack, and with a little preparation can boost that to AC 23, Init +15 and +15 attack. That seems a bit much for a CR 4 creature.
I'm assuming he was just J. Random Squirrel before the druid Awakened him. So, normal squirrel stats.
Edit: Forgot his size bonus to attack, +2 for being Tiny. So, my Dex 18 version already starts with +11 to attack and with drugs and the potion can usually get +15. Maybe his next feat should be Power Attack...
Doug M.
CalebTGordan
RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32
I have been saying for years that squirrels are evil. This just proves it.
I think I will steal this for my Kingmaker game. One party member is already wanting to kill all fey in the area (that doesn't go over all that well with the fey bloodline sorcerer, so he behaves.) An awakened squirrel would only add to the awesome strangeness that is the Greenbelt.
Too vicious, I think. Dex 22 means that he wakes up in the morning with AC 19, Init +12, and +11 attack, and with a little preparation can boost that to AC 23, Init +15 and +15 attack. That seems a bit much for a CR 4 creature.
Eh. He'd also do an average of only 10.5 damage per attack (barring Feats like Piranha Strike anyway), and that only once a round and when sneak attacking.
Douglas Muir 406 wrote:
I'm assuming he was just J. Random Squirrel before the druid Awakened him. So, normal squirrel stats.
Fleshing it out a little more: his other rogue ability is Befuddling Strike (anyone he sneak attacks gets -2 to hit him). His other trait besides Reactionary is Iron Liver (+2 vs. drugs and poison, +4 vs. alcohol).
If you really want to nasty him up, you could give him the Knife Master archetype. A Knife Master loses Trap Sense, but his sneak attacks with a dagger or similar light weapon roll d8s. That verges on overkill IMO; given his sky-high Init and good attack bonus, it means he has a decent chance of hitting for 6d8+2 damage before his victim can even react.
Maxed-out skills will be Acrobatics, Climb, Escape Artist, Intimidate, Perception, and Stealth. (Yes, Intimidate. Hard to do when you're a squirrel with Cha 6, but Squeezil considers himself a badass.) He'll throw a rank or two each at Appraise, Disguise, Knowledge (local), Swim, and Use Magic Device. ("Disguise" means slicking his tail down with grease and trying to pass himself off as a rat.)
Standard NPC equipment, limited by his very low encumbrance. The two items he's never without are his masterwork shiv and one dose of Cat's Grace potion. He'll often be carrying some drugs as well. At any given time, Squeezil is either broke (75% chance) or has just been paid for a job, and hasn't had time to blow the money on booze and drugs yet (25% chance). If the latter, he's carrying d3 gems -- he insists on being paid in gems, since he can't carry more than a few gold pieces -- worth 2d6x10 gp each.
Eh. He'd also do an average of only 10.5 damage per attack (barring Feats like Piranha Strike anyway), and that only once a round and when sneak attacking.
I think it's 11.5 -- don't you always do minimum 1 damage when attacking? But either way, his standard tactic is to get a surprise round and then win initiative. That means he has a pretty good chance to do either 21 or 23 points of damage before the victim even knows he's there. Befuddling Strike and his high AC mean he can then probably scamper away unscathed, spend a couple of rounds hiding in the shadows, then sneak back up and do it again.
Squeezil's a bit of a glass cannon -- a simple Sleep spell will shut him down 2/3 of the time -- but boosting his Dex higher makes him kind of alarming for a CR 4 creature. (IMO, and YMMV.)
I think it's 11.5 -- don't you always do minimum 1 damage when attacking?
Sneak Attack is added before such subtractions are made (since it's simply a normal part of the attack's damage), so the damage is (1d3+3d6)-3.
Douglas Muir 406 wrote:
But either way, his standard tactic is to get a surprise round and then win initiative. That means he has a pretty good chance to do either 21 or 23 points of damage before the victim even knows he's there. Befuddling Strike and his high AC mean he can then probably scamper away unscathed, spend a couple of rounds hiding in the shadows, then sneak back up and do it again.
Squeezil's a bit of a glass cannon -- a simple Sleep spell will shut him down 2/3 of the time -- but boosting his Dex higher makes him kind of alarming for a CR 4 creature. (IMO, and YMMV.)
Getting away is far from a sure thing with an entire party's attacks on him for a round or two...but yeah, he's pretty hardcore with PC class stats.
But on the other hand, it doesn't increase his damage much at all, and (as you say) a single Will Save spell will still mess him up.
Of course, all that assumes he attacks the PCs, not the reverse, which is erhaps not an assumption that should be made. I can easily see PCs accepeting a mission to kill the fury litle bastard.
Sneak Attack is added before such subtractions are made (since it's simply a normal part of the attack's damage), so the damage is (1d3+3d6)-3.
Really! Okay then, his average damage with a SA is only 8.5. (2 Str means it's -4 damage.) In that case, maybe Knife Master is the way to go after all -- he'll roll d8s, which will bring him back up to 11.5.
Deadmanwalking wrote:
Getting away is far from a sure thing with an entire party's attacks on him for a round or two...
Well, but he wouldn't attack a whole party. He's an enforcer and hit man, not a combat monster. -- Though he could certainly be one member of an evil NPC party. He'd ride around on the evil sorceror's shoulder, so everyone thinks they're a wizard and familiar... Of course, Squeezil is a junkie and has a nasty temper to boot, so there'd have to be an NPC boss to keep him in line.
But as to getting away: note that his Acrobatics is +14 before buffs, meaning he can zip through a couple of threatened squares without much difficulty. Also, he's an experienced killer with 12 Int and 13 Wis. That means he plans things out in advance so that he always has an escape hole -- often literally, a rat hole or something similar where no non-Tiny creature can reach him -- no further than a full move away.
Deadmanwalking wrote:
Of course, all that assumes he attacks the PCs, not the reverse, which is erhaps not an assumption that should be made. I can easily see PCs accepeting a mission to kill the fury litle bastard.
Catching Squeezil will be easy-ish if he doesn't know he's being hunted; he's often out on the town drinking, snorting drugs, gambling, swaggering, and generally being an obnoxious jerkass.
If he knows, OTOH, it gets very difficult -- for a group of like-leveled PCs, maybe impossible. He's a Tiny creature with hideouts in Tiny-only places (crawlspaces and such) all over town. And as a squirrel, he has enough little buried stashes of nuts and drugs to keep him through a long winter. So the PCs will basically get one shot at him, and then he disappears.
Doug M.
CalebTGordan
RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32
By the way, Bestiary 3 has a flying squirrel. Flyby sneak attack anyone?
Oh, and the stealth would be crazy high enough that they just might pull off making the stealth check -20 after attacking to not be noticed.
Huh. I just had an NPC get baleful polymorphed into a rat. He's going through all kinds of hell at the moment, so I'm thinking this might be a cool to do to him. >:)
RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32
