Grommams (CSH)

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==Grommams==
Grommams are gorillalike creatures with strong shoulders, long arms (9' span), short legs, and padded grasping feet. Grommams 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.
Grommams are close-knit, highly religious, and organized; most are lawful good. They are generally peaceful, with their leadership made up of "director" females led by a demigod. (The grommam demigods openly live among the grommams, but they never adventure.) Unmarried males form the backbone of the military forces, and more than a few become adventurers.
The grommams make their homes in forests, but they enjoy the same climates as humans. They have no trouble eating human food.
Grommam spelljamming ships (usually purchased from humans) are decorated with bright colors and wild designs. Because grommams are so adept at climbing, they make heavy use of ropes and swing bars in their rigging.
Male grommam may be fighters (maximum 15th level) or thieves (maximum 15th level). Grommam of either gender may be clerics (maximum 10th level). They cannot be multi-classed.
Grommams communicate by using gestures and finger-sign language. Body postures, facial expressions, and a variety of vocal hoots, screams, grunts, and calls add to the basic language, called "grommish" by other races. In addition to grommish, the initial languages a grommam may learn are common and elvish. The number of languages a grommam can learn is limited by Intelligence (see Table 4 in the Player's Handbook) or the number of proficiency slots allocated to languages (if that optional system is used).
While grommams can cast clerical spells (and so can use spelljamming helms), they have tremendous difficulty using other magical items. All magical items not specifically suited to the character's class have a 40% chance to malfunction when used by a grommam. This check is made each time a grommam uses a magical item. A malfunction affects only the current use; the item may work properly next time. For devices that are continually in operation, the check is made the first time the device is used during an encounter. Malfunction applies to rods, staves, wands, rings, amulets, potions, horns, jewels, and all other magical items except weapons, shields, armor, gauntlets, and girdles.
Because grommams spend much of their lives in trees and have developed skills in climbing and swinging, they have a +25% racial modifier to all climbing rolls.
Grommam can use all weapons that humans can. Indeed, they can wield a weapon in each hand without penalty for two-handed combat, as if they had the Ambidexterity weapon proficiency (see Chapter 5 of this book). Their preferred weapons are those that inflict the highest damage, as grommams are not concerned with the weapon's weight.
Male and female grommams have markedly different physical and mental structures. The males are more physically oriented, receiving a +2 on their Strength and Dexterity. However, they are less intellectually oriented, and suffer a -1 on their Intelligence and Wisdom. Conversely, the females receive a +2 on their Intelligence and Wisdom, but a -1 on their Strength and Dexterity.