[3.5] A literal skill monkey.

[Totema]

I'm running a rather low-manned adventure, and unfortunately none of my players are of any particularly highly skilled class. (We've got a psychic warrior, a sorcerer, and a cleric. Not cloistered either.) As I am against having to armwrestle a player into making a new character, this puts me in a rather difficult position; I can't easily make traps part of the experience, and I will also have to deal with no one being able to reliably scout. At first, I was going to deal with the problem by introducing a roguish DMPC, which I slightly dislike. (I always feel that using a DMPC removes me somewhat from the DMing experience. It's like playing Magic with yourself; you can't be your own opponent convincingly.)

While discussing this option with one of my players, he made an offhanded comment about having a literal skill monkey in the group. Then the wheels started turning: if one of my players could gain an animal companion (such as by taking this feat (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a)), the companion might be able to scout for the party reasonably well. So this partially helps. But would there be a way for the animal to disable traps?

Having Trapfinding isn't much of a problem since the cleric could just get himself a wand of Find Trap, the question boils down to: what kind of skills can animals use (and what skills can't they use), and are there any particular animals that would be helpful for this situation?

[Gnome Alone]

I say just roll with it, and power through any parts that don't quite make sense (pffft, logic) with the awesome power of handwavium.

Also it would finally, in my eyes, bring some tiny measure of legitimacy to the rather uninspired term "skill monkey," so hey, bonus.

[Kraken]

Get a wand of find traps (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/findTraps.htm) to the cleric, if you want traps to play a bigger part. Let them have spot and listen as class skills if you want them to be better at scouting.

[HammeredWharf]

Animals have an int of 2, so they only get a single skill point per level. Even if your animal could get Trapfinding, it wouldn't be able to get enough Search or Disable Device to disarm traps effectively.

However, an animal could be a decent scout. For example, the Dire Eagle in Races of Stone has around +20 Spot and can be taken at level 5. If you need both, you could just let one of them take Leadership and have a Rogue cohort.

[NotScaryBats]

That's a funny idea, but if I were you, I'd just give everyone some free skill points. Like +2-4 per level, and then the characters feel more powerful, but balance is practically unaffected. Since no one is playing a skill monkey, no one will feel their toes are being stepped upon.

[Erik Vale]

PF happens to have a possible list for import from animal companion.

However for a literal skill monkey, Obtain Familiar [Monkey] + Bardic Knack, Familiar takes Jack of All trades and GM fudges slightly or monkey takes Wedded to History Wanderer.

Doesn't help with traps over dc 20 though unless it uses UMD for a item of detect traps or it grabs a item of detect traps. [Or GM fudges slightly]

[Totema]

That's a funny idea, but if I were you, I'd just give everyone some free skill points. Like +2-4 per level, and then the characters feel more powerful, but balance is practically unaffected. Since no one is playing a skill monkey, no one will feel their toes are being stepped upon.

I think this is the most sensible option, really. Although I'm not sure how I would handle it if I do somehow get a new player that wants to play a roguish class. Granted, I don't see that happening with this game, so I'll probably just implement this instead.


PF happens to have a possible list for import from animal companion.

I am interesting in seeing this, however. Where can I find it?

[Erik Vale]

Here. (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/druid/animal-companions)

Or to save time:


Acrobatics* (Dex), Climb* (Str), Escape Artist (Dex), Fly* (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Perception* (Wis), Stealth* (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim* (Str).

All of the skills marked with an (*) are class skills for animal companions

[Totema]

Here. (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/druid/animal-companions)

Pretty much amounts to what I thought it would, but thanks.

I'll either Rule of Cool it (claim it's a trained monkey and knows how to disable traps) or just give bonus skill points to the party.

[hymer]

A few thoughts/opinions:
Extra skill points won't get them far without Trapfinding. That said, I'd leave out the monkey and use traps anyway. Not a lot, and not terribly dangerous, but enough to occasionally highlight that class and skill choices matter.
If the players are sufficiently annoyed, they should go out of their way to hire or otherwise acquire a traps-and-locks person.
Personally, I'd be liable to loss of seriousness if a monkey could do traps and locks. Which may be fine for your campaign, but since you hesitate, I guess not.

[Callin]

Use the traps and reward them for creative ways to disable or circumvent. Traps should be there since it makes sense for them to be there. Working past a groups shortcomings can be fun and rewarding.

[unseenmage]

Dragon 334 page 39 has the Flying Monkey. It's a Tiny size, Magical Beast with a single HD with both a fly and climb speeds.

I used the Effigy Template (CAr) to make Effigy Flying Monkeys for my stronghold once. We were using the 'Constructs are Magic Items' rules interpretation so I was also able to build some skill boosting items directly into the Effigies.

The Rod of Construct Control from Arms and Equipment Guide allows command of Constructs to be transferred from their creator to anyone with the Rod so Effigies could potentially be bought and sold like any Magic Item.

Base Effigies are not Intelligent and so don't get to make complex skill checks. making them Intelligent (and still commandable) can take three forms. Augmented Intelligence from Dragon, the Sacred Guardian Template from Dragonlance: Bestiary of Krynn, or through using the PF rules for modifying Constructs to just give them Intelligence.
Of these the Sacred Guardian Template is cheapest for the most benefit, if you don't mind your Constructs now having deity based super powers. It does also let them speak three languages though, which is nice.

Effigy Flying Monkey: 2,500gp
Sacred Guardian Effigy Flying Monkey: 5,500gp
Sacred Guardian Effigy Flying Monkey with built-in skill boost: (+1) 10,500gp, (+2) 15,500gp, (+3) 20,500gp, (+4) 25,500gp, (+5) 30,500gp

[Rubik]

Use the traps and reward them for creative ways to disable or circumvent. Traps should be there since it makes sense for them to be there. Working past a groups shortcomings can be fun and rewarding.This, I think. Standard trap rules are basically just there to make players who take levels in rogue feel useful; it serves no other purpose in the metagame to have floor panels that trigger a wand of Fireball or what have you, since it just slows the party down and wastes resources without actually being fun. Designing traps in such a way as to push the party into using their brains to bypass it in-game (and perhaps giving additional hints on how to overcome them based on skill checks and Int/Wis checks) would be much more interesting and fun. Do it right, and the players could have every bit as much fun overcoming a long and interesting puzzle-dungeon as they could with killing mooks. Just don't make the traps so easy or difficult that they aren't fun at all.

You can also go the Tucker's Kobolds route, where the "traps" are just as much tactical ambush as they are traps. Look for Lycanthromancer's posts in this thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=155518) as examples.

[Psyren]

Vanara/Hadozee Rogue/Factotum?

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Just get the Sorcerer or Cleric to take the Summon Elemental reserve feat in CM, and have their unlimited free elementals Nodwick every hallway, door, chest, etc.

[Zharradan Marr]

I'm running a rather low-manned adventure, and unfortunately none of my players are of any particularly highly skilled class. (We've got a psychic warrior, a sorcerer, and a cleric. Not cloistered either.) As I am against having to armwrestle a player into making a new character, this puts me in a rather difficult position; I can't easily make traps part of the experience, and I will also have to deal with no one being able to reliably scout.
Summon Monster I is all the trapfinding and scouting you'll ever need. In the rogue-less party I play with, the Cleric loads up on SMI, and the Celestial Hawk can fly ahead, try to open doors or grab items suspected as trapped, and can even fly ahead to scout and report (the Cleric took Speak Language: Celestial)