Sikari macaque swarm
Sikari Macaques are diseased, rabid monkeys from distant Vudra; individually, they are little more than vicious, biting annoyances but when they swarm they become deadly, able to strip an elephant to the bone in mere minutes.
Appearance
Sikari macaques appear as small, bald, red coloured monkeys. They stand around a foot tall and weigh approximately five pounds. They appear gaunt and thin and their entire body is covered in angry red welts. When enraged (which is near constantly) they become whirling dervishes of teeth and claws attacking anything that gets in their way. While a lone Sikari does not appear to be a fearsome opponent they never travel alone, instead moving in swarms of dozens, sometimes hundred of individual monkeys. It is in this swarm form that they gain their foul reputation as the red wind: a swarming, unstoppable horde of monkeys that know no fear, barely feels pain, and devours everything in its path.1
Habitat and ecology
Sikari macaque swarms are most typically found in the Sikari region in northern Vudra. Here they tend to travel in closely related family swarms known to the locals as red winds. These family swarms rarely claim any one patch of territory as their own instead roaming the jungles of Sikari in screaming hordes hunting for food. These hordes are somewhat nocturnal, preferring to rest during the hottest part of the day, but are active the rest of the time. During mating season the Sikari macaques cease resting even during the hottest part of the day, remaining active for weeks at a time. When different swarms encounter each other there is always violence, those monkeys that survive the initial fight normally form a swarm together, often larger than either of the previous swarms. These huge swarms are known as furies or frenzies, and terrify the resident of Sikari, whose folklore is filled with tales of them devouring entire villages.2
The driving force behind the Sikari swarms is the disease that infects them, known as Sikari rage. This disease is very similar to rabies and is transmitted by the bites and scratches of infected monkeys. While most animals are immune to this disease it affects other monkeys and humanoids. In non-macaques the effects of the disease are only temporary, driving the victim into a furious stupor. The life of the average Sikari monkey swarm member is short and violent. They are born after four months gestating in the womb but are not usually raised by the mother, instead being adopted by the swarm. They mature quickly and any weak or infirm members of the tribe are weeded out, either being left to die or more likely devoured by the rest of the swarm. Sikari macaques are carnivores—devouring any creature that gets in their way. Being a swarm allows them to overwhelm and devour much larger creatures than they would normally be able to and there are reports of them killing and eating tigers and even elephants.2
Abilities
- Diseased
- All members of a Sikari macaque swarm are infected with Sikari rage so casting any spell that cures disease at a swarm weakens it as many of it members are cured and return to being normal, inquisitive macaque monkeys.
- Sikari Rage
- The deadly disease carried by Sikari monkeys can be passed on to their opponents through bites and scratches. It causes their opponents to enter an enraged stupor as the disease tries to take hold of them.1
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 . “Bestiary” in Escape from Old Korvosa, 88. Paizo Inc., 2008
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 . “Bestiary” in Escape from Old Korvosa, 89. Paizo Inc., 2008