No. Appearing: 5-30
Armor Class: 5 (base)
Movement: 6, Sw 18
Hit Dice: 1+2
THAC0: 19
No. of Attacks: 3 (or by weapon)
Damage/Attack: 1-4 / 1-4 / 2-8 + disease
Special Attacks: Tail swipe
Special Defenses: See below
Magic Resistance: 30% to all illusion/phantasm spells
Size: M (4'6"+ hight)
Morale: Elite (13)
XP Value: 650
Tomanths are large, bipedal reptiles with crocadile-like tails, lizard-like snouts, and independantly swivelling eye turrents. Their color varies from mottled greens to browns to blacks, with dark-colored scales that blend in easily with the background. They are very strong, compared with normal humans, and masters of their element when in the water. On land, they tend to be a bit slow, except when in the trees..
Their fingers are not as dexterous as a man's, as their joints past the second knuckle are all claw. Thus, Tomanths subtract one point from their initial Dexterity scores, if played as a PC; they add one point to their Strength scores. Tomanths have night-vision at 6", and can 'see' in the water, through ambient sound detection, just as well (at 6"). They have nictating membranes to protect their eyes, when underwater or on land. Because the turrents are independant of one another, tomanths are only surprised on an unpenalized one (1) -- thus, they have a +2 to their surpise. At each hit die of the tomanth, an automatic +1 Hit Points is added to the creature's total score -- tomanths are very hardy creatures, competing with alligators and crocadiles in both fresh and salt waters.
Their language is rather limited to clicks and hisses when out of the water, but is vibrant and colorful when under the water, even though the tomanths insist that it is the same language, both above and below water. They have no ears, only a hearing diaphragm just behind their eyes on their skulls. Although omnivores, they are primarily meat-eaters, with lots of constantly replacing, three-rowed saw-teeth. Tomanth's tongues and throats are capable of making a wider variety of sounds than any humans', and can thus master one or two other languages rather successfully.
On the whole, tomanths tend to keep to themselves, although they may ally with other races when necessary. They are also an intensely curious people, showing a non-invasive interest in all things.
Combat: Ferral tomanths, and unarmed tomanths, have a formidable weapon -- themselves. Each swipe of their claws deals 1d4 points of damage to unprotected flesh, and their bite can deal 2d4 points of damage. When biting, teeth often break off inside the wound, to be replaced within a week. When a tooth breaks off inside a wound, the wound becomes infected with a bacterium common to tomanths, but devastating in other animals and peoples; the disease causes the wound to fester, sapping one point of Constitution per day, until the disease is removed, or the infected individual wastes away. Curing the disease allows the Constitution to return to normal at the rate of one point per day.
Tomanths can also perform a tail sweep, knocking bipedal opponents down on with a sweep against an opponent with just his base THAC0; a successful sweep knocks his opponent off his feet (only applies to bipedal creatures of size M or under). Once down, an opponent is subject to prone attacks, giving the tomanths +4 to hit, until the target regains its feet. They can make this tail sweep once per round, but must foregoe other attacks.
Because they lack the extra joint that humans have, plus the ends of their digits are made of saw-edged, double-edged claws (two edges on the palm side, parallel to one another), tomanths cannot utilize weapons that for a human would require only one hand. Tomanths utilize two-handed weapons only, and these must be custom-made for tomanths only. Common weapons include battle-axes, pole-axes, and on rare occasions, custom-made bows. (For the bows, the tomanth must wear a special glove on one claw-hand, to prevent cutting the bow-string.)
Tomanths prefer to fight in or near water, where their natural speed aids their efforts. If forced to fight on land, they will leap from tree to tree, digging their claws in, and staying in an aerial attack mode, to harass foes. A tomanth can leap up to twenty feet from a standing broad-jump, and up to ten feet straight up, with help from its muscular tail. When encountered, roughly 50% of all tomanths will be unarmed, 20% will have two-handed battle-axes, 20% will have two-handed pole-axes, and 10% will have custom bows and arrows.
There are no tomanth mages or rogues, though there are fighters, clerics, fighter/clerics, and rangers. In any group of tomanths, there is a 10% chance that there will be a 4th level tomanth of each type in the group. Tomanths tend to stash magical items, rather than use them, and so it is rare to find magical items in combat.
Habitat/Society: Tomanths value their independance and isolation, though when working with allies, are simply cliquish. Tomanths tend not to congregate permanently in large communities, as their under-water language can travel several miles before being drowned out. Thus, communities of 10-60 indivuals are most common, with a half of them being capable of combat, and the other half being old and young. Females tend to fight just as well along-side males; and, indeed, it is difficult for non-tomanths to tell the difference in the two (although tomanths find this laughable).
Because tomanths live only ten (10) years, their view of the world is a bit different than that of the other races. Tomanths reach adulthood at two (2) years of age, middle-age at six (6), and venerableness at nine (9). They complete tasks as quickly as possible, working at what appears to be a frantic pace. The tomanths themselves are fast-thinkers, though, and friends with their environment, never sacrificing time for long-term gain. Also because of their short life-spans, they place much more emphasis on leaving items and material-gains for their young, and the next generations. They see humans and other species as very selfish and uncaring towards their young, and those yet unborne.
Tomanths mate once a year, and a female lays a clutch of between three and six eggs. The hatchlings are roughly the size of a man's head, and can survive on their own; they are born knowing their own language, how to hunt and forage, and how to swim and walk. Both males and females will fight tenaciously to defend their young.
Ecology: Tomanths have a number of competitors in their environments, and a number of predators. The young, especially, are susceptible to predation by alligators or crocadiles, as well as large fish and terrestrial predators. Precocious and inquisative, no tomanth parent could be expected to watch all their children, all the time. Though tomanths eat primarily meat, their numbers are usually low enough that they do not make a significant impact on the environment. This, coupled with their strict view of future generations, ensures that their presence in an area will remain secret, until they opt to make contact with someone.
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