Noble Lizard, Monitor

Monitor Lizards are large reptiles found mainly in jungle areas although some species of monitor lizard are water-bound.

Most species of monitor lizard have a predominantly carnivorous diet, eating eggs, smaller reptiles, fish, birds and small mammals. Some species of monitor lizard also eat fruit and vegetation depending on where they live.

Female monitor lizards bury their eggs in holes or hollow tree stumps that the female monitor lizard then covers with dirt in order to protect her eggs. Monitor lizards can lay up to 30 eggs at a time, although many monitor lizards lay less, and only a lucky few of the monitor lizard babies tend to survive.

Species Descriptions

Slow to act, yet quick to anger, noble monitor lizards will kill and eat anything they can get their powerful jaws on.

They consider themselves (correctly so, in most cases) to be the undisputed lords of the places in which they live. Noble monitors challenge, of course, having no patience for other animals, especially reptiles, who choose to serve.

While noble monitors will not blatantly hunt fellow nobles the way noble crocodiles do, they are not above having a bit of fun at another creature’s expense. Of course, a noble monitor’s “fun” often leaves a noble animal horribly maimed.

Noble Monitor Lizard Species Traits
  • Ability Score Modifiers: +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, -2 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom, -4 Charisma.
  • Size: Small.
  • Size Threshold: 3rd Hit Die.
  • Base Speed: 30 ft., Swim: 30 ft.
  • Natural Weapons: Bite (1d4).
  • Senses: Low-light vision (Ex).
  • Natural Talent Track:  Great Fortitude, Skill Focus (Perception).
  • Skills: +8 racial bonus on any Swim checks made to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. A noble monitor can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line; +4 racial bonus to Stealth checks. In forested areas, the bonus to Stealth becomes +8.
  • Family: Reptile.
  • Noble Animal Type: Noble apes have the noble animal type except where superseded by other species traits and features.
  • Social Group: None.
  • Automatic Languages: High Fauna and Monitor.
  • Bonus Languages: Bat, Camel, Canine, Common, Crocodilian, Elephant, Equine, Feline, Herdspeak, Hyena, Lizard, Raptor, Rodent, Serpent, Simian, Songbird, Ursine, and Woodland.

Racial Feats

The following feats are available to a noble monitor lizard character who meets the prerequisites.

  • Linked Feat

Noble Monitor Lizard Class

Hit Die: d8

Class Skills

The noble monitor lizard's class skills are Climb (Str), Perception (Wis), Stealth (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).

Skill Ranks Per Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Table: Noble Monitor Lizard
Level Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Special
1st +0 +2 +2 +0 Ability increase (Dex +2), natural armor +1
2nd +1 +3 +3 +0 Natural armor +2, bonus feat, grab
3rd +2 +3 +3 +1 Ability increase (Dex +2, Con +2), natural armor +3

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the noble monitor lizard class.

Ability Increase

At 1st and 3rd levels your Dexterity score increase by +2. At 3rd level your Constitution increases by +2.

Natural Armor

At each level you gain a +1 natural armor bonus, to a total of +3 at 3rd level.

Bonus Feat

At 2nd level you gain a bonus feat from the following list: Alertness, Death Roll, Great Fortitude.

Grab (Ex)

At 2nd level, you gain the Grab special attack. When you hit with a bite attack, you deal normal damage and may attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. Grab only works against opponents that are at least one size category smaller than you. You have the option to conduct the grapple normally, or simply use your jaws to hold or drag your opponent. If you choose to do the latter, you take a –20 penalty on your CMB check to make and maintain the grapple, but do not gain the grappled condition yourself. A successful hold does not deal any extra damage. Each successful grapple check you make during successive rounds automatically deals bite damage. Monitors with the grab special attack receive a +4 bonus on combat maneuver checks made to start and maintain a grapple.

Alternative Racial Traits

You can exchange one or several of your character’s normal racial Traits, but of course you cannot exchange the same racial trait more than once.

As with any alternate or optional rule, you must first get the permission of your GM to exchange any of your character’s normal racial Traits for those listed here.

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Favored Class Alternatives

Instead of receiving an additional skill rank or hit point whenever they gain a level in a Favored Class, noble monitor lizards have the option of choosing from a number of other bonuses, depending upon their Favored Classes. The following options are available to all noble monitor lizards who have the listed Favored Class, and unless otherwise stated, the bonus applies each time you select the listed Favored Class reward.

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Section 15: Copyright Notice

The Noble Wild. Copyright 2009 by Lee Garvin and Skirmisher Publishing LLC.

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