G IRALLON

A girallon looks like an oversized, four-armed ape

with gray skin and white fur. Its fangs and claws set
it apart from a normal ape, revealing it to be a mon-
strous predator.
Forest Hunters. Girallons are most common in tem-
perate or warm forest environments abundant with life.
They share the ape's adeptness at climbing, although
these half-ton creatures shy away from scaling trees
that can't support their bulk. Instead, they stalk the
forest floor, lurk in narrow ravines or shallow caves, or
hide in ruined sites while waiting for prey to come near.
A girallon is surprisingly stealthy, considering its size
and its lack of camouflage.
Girallons form loose bands of several individuals and
their offspring, usually led by a dominant adult that also
tends to be the oldest member of the group. When on the
hunt away from their lair, girallons use roars and body
language to communicate with one another over dis-
tance. Each individual typically hunts alone and widely
separated from the others, to ensure that everyone gets
adequate fodder. The leader might organize members to
work together to make a big kill. If they succeed, every-
one in the group shares the spoils, with the best parts
going to mothers caring for their young.
Wall Climbers. The ruins of humanoid habitations,
especially those found in deep forests and jungles, seem
to attract girallons. They move effortlessly along stairs
and balconies, as well as on the sloped rooftops and
buttresses of such formations. To a girallon, a city's
buildings are just another sort of forest- and better yet,
one whose uppermost "branches" can easily support
the creatures. In such a setting, the girallons take full
Lorg13 monstrosity, unaligned advantage of their skill in climbing. The creatures can
easily scale walls and battlements, and they perch on
Armor Class 13 tower tops and other high vantages to keep an eye on
Hit Points 59 (7d10 + 21) the surrounding area.
Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft. Magical Origin. The social habits of wild girallons
are unusual for apes, as is their instinctive attraction to
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA humanoid structures. These facts, together with the gi-
18 (+4) 16 (+3) 16 (+3) 5 (-3) 12 (+l) 7 (-2) rallon's appearance, lead sages to believe that girallons
were created through magic to serve as guardians for
Skills Perception +3, Stealth +5
some lost empire. When that empire fell ages ago, giral-
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages- lons turned feral and spread out across the world.
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP) In the time since then, numerous creatures have tried
to tame, subjugate, or cooperate with the monsters. For
instance, yuan-ti enslave girallons, turning them into
Aggressive. As a bonus action, the girallon can move up to its border sentinels for their serpent kingdoms. Because
speed toward a hostile creature that it can see. girallons are known to be peaceful among their own
Keen Smell. The girallon has advantage on Wisdom (Percep- kind, some humanoids have learned how to approach a
tion) checks that rely on smell. group's leader, offering food and other gifts in hopes of
establishing an alliance with the creatures.
ACTIONS Girallons that are well treated might be willing to
Multiattack. The girallon makes five attacks: one with its bite serve as guards, though they lack the intelligence to take
and four with its claws. on tasks more complicated than attacking strangers that
enter their domain. If one is taken young and properly
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature.
trained, a girallon could end up in a seemingly unlikely
Hit: 7 {ld6 + 4) piercing damage.
place, such as guarding the entrance to a city's thieves'
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. guild. Those who would keep a girallon as a pet must
Hit: 7 (ld6 + 4) slashing damage. always be wary, because the creature could revert to its
i -· •" a # c · . . ,Rt ?S?f · · #! .aa-N!±& predatory nature at any time.