Inspired by the grommam from classic Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition Spelljammer campaign setting.

Source: adapted by Charles W. Plemons III

Grommam

Grommam are an oft-underestimated simian race found across wildspace.

Physical Description: Grommams are gorilla-like creatures with strong shoulders, long arms, short legs, and padded grasping feet. They have chocolate brown skin and short, rough, copper-red fur all over their bodies except on their faces, the palms of their hands, and the soles of their feet.

Society: Grommams are close-knit, highly religious, and organized. They are generally peaceful. They communicate by using gestures and finger-sign language. Body postures, facial expressions, and a variety of hoots, screams, grunts and calls add to the basic language.

Relations: Grommams get along well with law-abiding and peaceful races. They form strong bonds with dwarves and halflings and are peaceful with elves. Grommam and giff afford each other mutual respect. They find rastipedes suspect.

Alignment and Religion: Their leadership is made up of "director" females led by a demigod. (The grommam demigods openly live among the grommams, but they never adventure.) Most are lawful good.

Adventurers: Unmarried males form the backbone of the military forces, and more than a few become adventurers. Grommam are often fighters, rogues, or clerics.

Male Names: Being mostly nonverbal, Grommam names are often difficult for other races to communicate, so they adopt shorter names on their own or those given them by others. Joe, Kong, Igor, Charles, Elmer

Female Names: Eva, Lola, Nonna, Trudy

Grommam Racial Traits

+2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, -2 Intelligence: Grommam are powerfully built and extremely nimble, but they are generally less sophisticated and educated than many races.

Medium: Grommam are Medium creatures and receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.

Grommam: Grommam are humanoids with the grommam subtype.

Climb (Ex): Grommam have a climb speed of 20 feet and gain a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks.

Ferocity (Ex): If a grommam's hit points fall below 0 but is not yet dead, it can continue to fight. If it does, it is staggered, and loses 1 hit point each round. It still dies when its hit points reach a negative amount equal to its Constitution score.

Stubborn (Ex): Grommam gain a +2 racial bonus on Will saving throws to resist spells and spell-like abilities of the enchantment (charm) and enchantment (compulsion) subschools. When a gromman fails such a save, it receives another save 1 round later to prematurely end the effect (assuming the spell or spell-like ability has a duration greater than 1 round). This second save is made at the same DC as the first. If the grommam has a similar ability from another source (such as a rogue's slippery mind class feature), it can only use one of these abilities per round, but can try the other on the second round if the first reroll ability fails.

Woodland Heritage (Ex): Grommam gain a +4 racial bonus on Stealth checks in forest terrain.

Languages: Grommam begin play speaking Common and Grommish. Grommam with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Draconic, Elven, Giant, Gnome, Halfling, Orc, or Sylvan.

Age, Height, and Weight Charts

Table: Racial Age and Aging

¹ This category includes barbarians, oracles, rogues, and sorcerers.

² This category includes bards, cavaliers, fighters, gunslingers, paladins, rangers, summoners, and witches.

³ This category includes alchemists, clerics, druids, inquisitors, magi, monks, and wizards.

Table: Racial Aging Effects

¹ At middle age, -1 to Str, Dex, and Con and +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha.

² At old age, -2 to Str, Dex, and Con and +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha.

³ At venerable age, -3 to Str, Dex, and Con and +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha.

Table: Random Height & Weight