I like the idea of the nandie-bear having different attributes from its folklore - hence one version has reddish hair, and even the picture in WD18 has it on all fours. Maybe make it more demonic/aberrant or mutable? Its appearance changes with varying attributes?
I'll hash something out.
Let's start with the
Nandie-Ape, so far we've got:
Chattering Mobs. [Both nandie-apes and nandie-bears speak a primitive language of bestial chattering and gestures that can only convey simple concepts. The nandie beasts have no name for this language, but other creatures call it Kerit after one of the commonest sounds nandie-apes say, together with koddoelo. Kerit is both a spoken language and a sign-language, or both at the same time (nandie-apes prefer the latter, speaking while they gesture).
Nandie-apes love to chatter and only refrain from talking when stealth is essential. Nandie-bears are silent, they understand spoken Kerit but only communicate in sign-language.
The meaning of a sound or gesture in Kerit varies with the tone it is spoken in or the posture accompanying the gesture. Depending on this emphasis, "Kerit" literally means "Hungry", "Food" or "Feed Me!"; while "Koddoelo" means something like "Come Over Here!", "Here I Am!" or "Look At That!"
Can they speak to other monkeys and apes, or is it just koddoleo and kerits they can talk to?]
(Based on the Nandie in White Dwarf Magazine #18 (Apr/May 1980), from "The Halls of Tizun Thane" by Albie Fiore.)
…upon reflection, that "Chattering Mobs" is way too wordy.
and:
BTW here is revised Nandie-ape with first attempt at description
The Description in the latter transcribes as follows (with a couple of typos fixed):
Nandie-apes are simian carnivores related to baboons; similar in appearance, they are much larger in size - at around 5 feet tall - and are as bulky as a dwarf or small human. They have brownish pelts and lack tails, and can walk or fight on two legs or scamper on all fours.
Nandie-apes dwell in rocky hill-country or thick forest/jungle, living in colonies that are usually (75%) headed by a mated pair (5d8) or a nandie bear (25%). The colony will have its lair in ruins or a cave complex, where there will be an additional 80% of young. In a secluded corner of the colony will be their "treasure" hoard, which is a vast pile of glittering shards and objects.
Outside the colony, they are encountered in groups of 2 to 12 adults. They are rarely encountered more than a mile from their colony. If unmolested, there is a 40% chance/3 turns that they will ignore anyone encountering them, a 30% chance/3 turns that they will attack, and a 30% chance that they will follow inquisitively. In encountered in their lair, those present will always screech to summon those that are elsewhere.
Nandie-apes make loyal pets if captured and suitably trained by one skilled in animal training. However, tamed ones lose the natural impulse to summon others.
Nandie-apes have their own language which consists of screeches and chatters - they do this almost incessantly. Their screech to summon others is indistinguishable to all save druids and rangers of at least fourth level, even if they have never encountered nandies before.
Hmm… I don't think we need to say they are literally related to baboons.
Also don't care for them being carnivores - a hundred+ man sized carnivores would have difficulty finding enough to eat within an territory that's just a mile radius from their lair. Makes more sense if they're omnivores who prefer the taste of flesh.
Description
A koddoelo, commonly called a nandie-ape, resembles an oversized tailless baboon with mangy black-brown fur. They normally scamper on all fours but can walk and fight on their hind legs, standing around 5 feet tall on average. Male and female koddoelos are equal in size and status. Particularly large nandie-apes are called
bosses (see
Nandie-Ape Boss) and can exceed 6 feet in height. Nandie-ape colonies are usually led by boss nandies or a loathsome monster called a kerit or nandie-bear (see
Nandie-Bear).
Nandie-apes are simian omnivores who inhabit rocky hills, thick forests and jungles. While they would rather eat meat, most make do with a mostly vegetarian diet supplemented by bugs, lizards, and other small animals.
Chattering Beasts. Nandie-apes are often heard before they're seen. They constantly screech and chatter at one another in a primitive language that humanoids call Kerit after the nandie-bear. Kerit is both a spoken language and a sign-language, but can only convey simple concepts of a few words. Nandie-apes prefer to speak and gesture at the same time, but nandie-bears only use the sign-language form of Kerit.
The most notable sound in Kerit is the summoning screech of a nandie-ape's
Call to Arms, which corresponds to the terrifying cry of a nandie-bear's
Haunting Howl. A character proficient in Nature can identify the purpose of this call with a DC 12 Nature check.
Kerit has numerous dialects, and each colony of nandie-apes has a unique summoning screech. A koddoelo will recognize the
Call to Arms of nandie-apes from another colony as being a rival or enemy but can still communicate crude concepts with the simian stranger, such as "go away!"
Chaotic Mobs. A koddoelo is an innately chaotic creature. Groups of nandie-apes are unruly bickering mobs, not a disciplined pack like wolves live in. A powerful or charismatic leader can force some temporary cohesion upon a group, but this requires constant enforcement. Arguments and fights are frequent, often triggered when one ape insults or steal from another. Disputes inside a koddoelo colony are always between individuals, only a pair-bonded partner will help a nandie-ape fight another colony member (see
Loyal Pairs).
Screeching Colonies. Despite their chaotic temperament, nandie-apes are highly gregarious creatures with strong social instincts. They live in colonies that range in size from 10 to 150 adults. The colony will have a lair in a cave or abandoned building.
The size of a colony is measured in
dice; the smallest nandie colonies contain 10d4 (10 to 40) to 15d4 (15 to 60) nandie-apes; bigger colonies usually have between 10d4+5d6 (15 to 70) and 5d4+5d6+5d8 (15 to 90) apes; the largest colonies can have from 5d4+10d6+5d8 (20 to 120) up to 5d4+5d6+5d8+5d12 (20 to 150) nandies.
Each colony will be led by 1 to 5 nandie-ape bosses or 1 nandie-bear; the commonest leadership is a mated pair of boss nandies. Colonies ruled by a nandie-bear never have bosses, since nandie-bears tolerate no challengers to their tyranny.
Small groups of nandie-apes numbering a few dice (typically 2d6) will be scattered throughout the colony's territory. If encountered, nandie-apes will either ignore or stare at intruders and then continue about their business, or issue a
Call to Arms and follow or attack them. The lair will contain a sizeable group of nandie-apes, perhaps a quarter of the dice of the colony, who will always
Call to Arms to gather the rest of the nandie-apes.
Loyal Pairs. A koddoelo can form an extremely close bond with one other creature. They are extremely loyal to their pair-bonded partner and may defend them fiercely. The bonded partner is usually the nandie-ape's mate, but a koddoelo can form platonic pair-bonds with a creature they have no reproductive interest in. Even mated pair-bonds are not necessarily sexually exclusive; bonded koddoelos often have harems or affairs with other nandie-apes. Pair-bonds tend to only be broken by death, betrayal or sustained neglect. Showing another creature more attention than the bonded-partner is likely to provoke a jealous outburst though.
If a nandie-ape is raised from a young age, with proper training they can form a pair-bond with their owner and become an extremely devoted pet and fierce watchape. They will still be mischievous due to their chaotic alignment. Trained nandie-apes will not know Kerit or be able to use
Call to Arms, since that requires an upbringing in a koddoelo colony.
(Originally named Nandie; appeared in
White Dwarf Magazine #18 (Apr/May 1980) as part of "The Halls of Tizun Thane" by Albie Fiore.)
Hmm, I'm thinking that could be a lot more succinct. Maybe have the info about nandie-ape colony sizes in their Description section rather than the Call to Arms Special Trait?
Will need to think about it…
Here's a trimmed down version accounting for the above Description.
Call to Arms. A nandie-ape can use its bonus action to make screeching calls. This gives it advantage on melee attack rolls against a creature if at least one of the nandie-ape's allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn't incapacitated.
In addition, any members of the nandie-ape's colony within earshot of
Call to Arms (about 300 feet) will come to aid the nandie-ape. Typically, 1d4 nandie-apes will arrive per round for 1d3 + 1 rounds, for a total of between 2 and 16 nandie-apes. (alternatively, use 1d6 per round for 1d4 rounds; 1d8 per round for 1d3 rounds; or 1d12 per round for 1d2 rounds)
If a nandie-ape is close to its colony, one dice worth of nandie-apes will arrive every round until the colony's entire population is accounted for. The largest available dice arrive first (see
Screeching Colonies in
Description).
If more than one nandie-ape makes a
Call to Arms, the number of creatures that arrive does not increase.
Boss nandie-apes who hear a
Call to Arms always arrive last. If a nandie-bear is within earshot, it arrives after all available nandie-apes have turned up.
Should a nandie-ape hear multiple summoning calls it gives priority to a nandie-bear's
Haunting Howl, otherwise it responds to the loudest
Call to Arms it hears.
Example: A nandie colony contains 10d4 + 10d6 nandie-apes and three nandie-ape bosses. A party of adventurers encounter a foraging patrol of 2d6 nandie-apes and fight them; the patrol makes a
Call to Arms and rolls 3, so 3d4 apes answer the call over 3 rounds of combat. This leaves 7d4 + 8d6 unaccounted for.
The adventurers continue and discover 5d6 nandie-apes plus a mated pair of bosses in the colony's lair, who immediately
Call to Arms. This leaves 7d4 + 3d6 nandie-apes and 1 boss unaccounted for. Over eleven rounds of screeching conflict, 1d6 ape reinforcements will arrive each round for three rounds (3d6), followed by 1d4 apes per round for seven rounds (7d4), and finally a single boss ape on the last round.