I Want To Play An Intelligent Mouse

[Singing Smurf]

The +2d8 hp are from Awaken. Sadly, if you want to stick with published rules (AFAIKT), you're stuck with an Awakened mouse, with its automatic +2 hit dice, which is +2 ECL right there. The mouse is size Tiny, however, with a suggested -1 level adjustment.

Personally, with the mouse's large array of ability score penalties and limited mobility, I'd consider such a character well balanced with a total ECL of +1 or even +0.

The notion makes me smile, in any event. I'd love to play this character, or have it in my game.

 

[Mike Sullivan]

The +2d8 hp are from Awaken.

I somehow totally missed that from the spell description.

The notion makes me smile, in any event. I'd love to play this character, or have it in my game.

This thread inspired me to think about a one-shot game where all the PC's are Awakened animals, trying to tend to their Druid master's duties while he's away for some reason...

 

[Artoomis]

I don't see "mouse" listed in the MM, but here's a toad and a rat, and from these I'll do a mouse:

Toad
Diminutive Animal
Hit Dice: 1/4 d8 (1 hp)
Initiative: +1 (Dex)
Speed: 5 ft.
AC: 15 (+4 size, +1 Dex)
Attacks: -
Damage:
Face/Reach: 1 ft. by 1 ft./0 ft.
Special Attacks: -
Special Qualities: -
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +2
Abilities: Str 1, Dex 12, Con 11, Int 1, Wis 14, Cha 4
Skills: Hide +21, Listen +5, Spot +5
Feats: -

<The rest really does not apply at all to a PC>


Rat
Tiny Animal
Hit Dice: 1/4 d8 (1 hp)
Initiative: +2 (Dex)
Speed: 15 ft., climb 15 ft.
AC: 14 (+2 size, +2 Dex)
Attacks: Bite +4 melee
Damage: Bite 1d3-4
Face/Reach: 2 1/2 ft. by 2 1/2 ft./0 ft.
Special Qualities: Scent
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +1
Abilities: Str 2, Dex 15, Con 10, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 2
Skills: Balance +10, Climb +12, Hide +18, Move Silently +10
Feats Weapon FIness - Bite -

From these two and from AWAKEN, I come up with the following (I think you might want to modify the mouse to be more like "Redwall" or "Stuart Little" so that it could use items, but that's up to you):

Mouse PC
Diminutive Animal (smaller than a rat, but not smaller than a toad)
Hit die by class as normal (Ignoring it's hit die as it is 1 or less, as normal for monster PCs. Note that I did not include the bonus 2HD from awaken - since this animal will be a PC, that did not seem appropriate. You could add them in and still be ECL 0 considering the size and net negative modifers to his stats.)
Initiative - Normal (adjusted by Dex, etc.)
Speed 15ft., climb 15ft. (Same as the rat - it could possibly be 10 if you think mice should be slower than rats))
AC Base 14 (+4 Size)
Attacks By animal HD for the bite (+ Dex bonus from weapon finesse), normal by class otherwise
Damage : Bite 1d3-5 or by weapon ("-5" to make it weaker than a rat bite)
Face/Reach: 1 ft. by 1 ft./0 ft.
Special Qualities: Scent
Saves: No racial bonuses

Note: Ability score adjustments are found by taking 10 from the ability score in the MM. I adjusted the MM score by AWAKEN which gives average intelligence and +1 cha (well, +1.5 average, round down)

Abilities: -8 Str; +5 Dex; +0 Con, +0 Int, +2 Wis, -7 Cha

Note: Skiils are as per Rat with ability bonuses/penalties backed out of them

Skills (Racial Bonuses): Balance +8, Climb +16, Hide +8, Move Silently +8
Racial Feat: Weapon Finesse - Bite


This looks to me like an ECL 0 character. Stats come out at a net of -3 physical and -5 mental, making up for any other class benefits.

It's not "official," but it's as close as I could come.

 

[Mike Sullivan]

Why did you give the mouse a lower Charisma than both the rat and the toad?

 

[Artoomis]

Why did you give the mouse a lower Charisma than both the rat and the toad?

That was an error - it should have been -7 which would give you an average of 3, the correct score (the rat's score +1 from the Awaken)

Whoops - it's fixed now.

 

[niteshade6]

I actualy allowed an awakened monkey PC in my campaign. I made it +1 to ECL to account for the extra HD and all the special abilities. I would have made it +2, but I also seriously limit the magic items he's allowed to use, and I don't have most items resize to fit him. He's still quite strong (as a sorceror).

 

[Hypersmurf]

Nimh mouses would be anthropomorphic, except for the size change issue.

Come now... everyone knows the plural of "mouse" is "meeces".

-Hyp.

 

[Gez]

Come now... everyone knows the plural of "mouse" is "meeces".

Mice. Ain't a poor non-native English speaker allowed some mistakes past midnight ?

 

[mattcolville]

OK, so what I'm getting here is that there's no real "rule" for what I'm trying to do, at least in the sense that mice aren't covered in most examples. And there's no concensus about whether Squee would be an anthropomorphic mouse or an awakened mouse.

Is there a difference? Squee is not literally awakened, i.e. he never had that spell cast on him. He's from a colony/family of intelligent mice.

 

[Ferret]

The rats/mice of nimh, are not anthomorph, they did stand on two feet whoever a lot of creatures can do that. Not only where they given intelligence, but reasoning, strength and dexterity. Far more robust aswell, an awakened could cover for this (+2 hd). but the strength and dex + shopuld be up to you.