Tasloi

The tasloi are an obscure species of humanoid from Dungeons & Dragons, seemingly native to the Forgotten Realms. Residents of tropical jungles, the tasloi are described as "long-limbed, flat-headed" humanoids with lustrous green skin thinly covered in coarse black hair, and golden, cat-like eyes. In a nutshell, they look something like a goblin and something more like a small ape, especially with their tendency to crouch as they walk and use their long arms for extra support by knuckle-walking.

Publication History

Tasloi first appeared in the 1st Edition adventure Dwellers of the Forbidden City, and were subsequently reprinted in the same edition's Monster Manual II. They reappeared in 2nd edition first in the Monstrous Compendium Volume 2, and then in the Monstrous Manual, before being upgraded to PC-viable in Dragon Magazine #262. They received a 3rd edition update in Oriental Adventures, and made their final appearance to date in "Shining South": a 3.5e Forgotten Realms supplement that also presented them as a player-character race.

Fluff

It is not known where and how tasloi originated. It is likely they have been around for many millennia, interbreeding in deep isolated jungles. Their lifestyle has probably existed in much the same fashion for thousands upon thousands of years.
They are a primitive species of hunter-gatherers, dwelling in loosely structured bands of multiple families within tree-top villages underneath the dense canopy; tasloi have keen eyes that are adapted for low-light conditions, and can't stand bright sunlight. Their villages often keep large jungle vermin as steeds or added muscle; in AD&D, they are said to favor both giant spiders and giant wasps, whilst in "Shining South", they are said to prefer Dire Rats and Spider Eaters; this can easily be attributed to regional differences.

While certainly among the least fearsome of all jungle creatures, tasloi are perhaps worth worrying about in numbers, or after fleeing encounters with nastier jungle denizens. Tasloi know the location of such lairs and often set up obvious escape routes for any creature that foolishly finds itself confronting the beast. The tasloi then lay their traps along the escape path and wait for the weakened, unsuspecting creatures to run through blindly. This strategy is highly successful, apparently, as the tasloi boast many more trophies than their small size and limited prowess might otherwise indicate. This is of great concern to any neighboring races; tasloi are cannibals, and known to greatly savor the taste of human and elf meat. As such, they will often ambush traveling parties from above. If a party is too vigilant or prepared, the tasloi attempt to wear down the group through short, sudden attacks followed by retreat. If possible, tasloi try to steal the enemy’s dead after an attack.

Tasloi are firm believers in the principle of strength through numbers. Their society does not have a particularly coherent social order (they are typically Chaotic Evil, after all), but they work effectively as packs, relying on sheer numbers and sneak attacks to bring down victims they might never otherwise defeat. They believe firmly in the right of each individual to do exactly what he wants, bu the best way to avoid retribution while doing exactly what you want is to find a group of friends - the larger the better - to do it with you. This strong social instinct keeps the species together, and in fact they have a superstition-reinforced phobia for being alone; after all, the group is what keeps them alive in an environment where they are pretty low on the food chain.

Despite looking and acting so much like goblins, and even worshipping Maglubiyet in their Shining South depiction, tasloi are not officially considered part of the goblinoid family tree. This is something a lot of players call bullshit on, and may explain why they have been absent since third edition.

Statblocks

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons

Ability Score Minimum/Maximum: Strength 3/17, Dexterity 10/19, Constitution 3/18, Intelligence 3/17, Wisdom 3/18, Charisma 3/17

Ability Score Adjustments: +2 Dexterity, -1 Strength, -1 Intelligence

Class & Level Limits: Fighter 12, Thief 15, Cleric (must take the Shaman kit) 5

Multiclass Options: Fighter/Thief

Available Kits: Tribal Defender, Pit Fighter, Sellword, Scavenger, Shadow

Thieving Skill Adjustments: Open Locks -10%, Find/Remove Traps -5%, Move Silently +5%, Hide in Shadows +70%, Detect Noise +5%, Climb Walls +25%, Read Languages -10%

Natural Armor Class: 6

Base Movement Rate: 9, Climb 15

A tasloi can forfeit its weapon attacks to make two natural claw attacks in a single round, each dealing 1d3 damage on a hit.

In a tropical jungle, when climbing, a tasloi that is either on its own or moving with other quiet creatures (such as halflings, elves, grippli and jermlaine) imposes a -4 penalty on their opponent's Surprise roll.

A non-thief tasloi possesses a 75% Hide in Shadows.

-1 penalty to attack rolls in daylight conditions.

Weapon Proficiencies: Javelin, Club, Shortsword, Net, Lasso

Nonweapon Proficiencies: Alertness, Animal Lore, Animal Noise, Animal Training (Spiders & Wasps), Blind-fighting, Danger Sense, Direction Sense, Eating, Endurance, Fire-building, Fishing, Herbalism, Hiding, Hunting, umping, Local History, Looting, Natural Fighting, Observation, Religion, Airborne Riding (Giant Wasp), Rope Use, Set Snares, Survival, Tightrope Walking, Tracking, Tumbling, Ventriloquism, Voice Mimicry, Weather Sense, Wild Fighting

3rd Edition

-2 Strenth, -2 Charisma, +2 Dexterity

Small

Base land speed 30 feet

Base speed 30 feet, Climb speed 20 feet

+4 racial bonus on Hide and Move Silently, which increases to +8 to Hide in thickly forested areas.

A tasloi uses its Dexterity modifier for Climb checks, has a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks, and can always Take 10 on Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened.

Low-Light Vision

Light Sensitivty

Favored Class: Rogue

Gallery

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  3e Oriental Adventures