Why, that's a Sapient Sloth!

The final comments are in from last week's "Weekly What the Heck". The result is the sapient sloth, a small race of bipedal sloths which scratch out a living on the sides of high mountains surrounded by jungles.

I'd like to thank dicemonkey and benpop (with special thanks to benpop for the name) for their ideas, all of which have been mashed together to create:

Sapient Sloth

An upstanding sapient sloth acts with deference, deliberation, and seeks not to draw attention to their self. All bets are off when a clear danger presents itself to their community.

Level 3 Minion

Sapient Sloth Commoner

XP 37

Small natural humanoid

Initiative +2 Senses Perception +4
HP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion.
AC 17; Fortitude 15, Reflex 14, Will 16
Speed 4

mPitchfork (standard; at-will) * Weapon

+7 vs. AC; 4 damage.

MRapid Frenzy (standard; at-will) * Weapon

The sapient sloth commoner moves up to 8 squares and makes two basic melee attacks.

Alignment Unaligned Languages Common
Str 14 (+3) Dex 12 (+2) Wis 17 (+4)
Con 14 (+3) Int 12 (+2) Cha 14 (+3)

Sapient Sloth Tactics

Sapient sloth commoners try to surprise foes with a sudden burst of fast movement, trying to get in a good position to aid their allies. They are rarely inclined to fight to the death.

Level 4 Skirmisher

Student of the Path

XP 175

Small natural humanoid

Initiative +6 Senses Perception +6
HP 55; Bloodied 27
AC 18; Fortitude 15, Reflex 15, Will 17
Speed 4

mClaw (standard; at-will)

+9 vs. AC; 1d10 + 3 damage.

MRapid Frenzy (standard; at-will)

The student of the Path moves up to 8 squares and makes two basic melee attacks.

MDazing Strike (standard; encounter)

+8 vs. AC; 1d8 + 4 damage, the target is dazed until the end of the student of the Path’s next turn, and the student of the Path shifts 1 square.

Walk the Middle Path (move; recharge 5 6)

The student of the Path shifts up to 6 squares.

Combat Advantage

The student of the Path deals an extra 1d6 damage on melee attacks against any target it has combat advantage against.

Alignment Unaligned Languages Common
Skills Insight +11, Stealth +9
Str 15 (+4) Dex 15 (+4) Wis 18 (+6)
Con 15 (+4) Int 13 (+3) Cha 14 (+4)

Student of the Path Tactics

Students of the Path use the same tactics as sapient sloths.

Sapient Sloth Lore

A character knows the following information with a successful Nature check.
DC 15: It is of a small race of sapient, bipedal sloths which scratch out a living on the sides of high mountains surrounded by jungles. Their culture straddles a transition between a lowland tribal tradition fraught with spirits at every corner, and a simple, stoic devotion to moderation and the Middle Path of Life.
DC 20: There is little difference between the lay and monastic ways of life, with the chief differences lying in the segregation of the sexes and a more pronounced focus on spiritual (and bodily) excellence in the latter.

Encounter Groups

Sapient sloths are peaceful unless their communities are threatened, in which case they attack fiercely en masse.

Level 5 Encounter (XP 1,000)
* 4 students of the Path (level 4 skirmisher)
* 8 sapient sloth commoners (level 3 minion)

I hope benpop feels his "bad luck to the stranger who predicts a hapless commoner but gets a student of the Path" is realized here.