Monkey [Greater Spirit]

Monkey can wear almost any shape, but he usually appears either as a human or in his true form: a monkey-faced man in robes richer than any mandarin of the great eastern empire. His manners are flawless by mortal standards, though the heavenly court considers him coarse and vulgar.

No one can force Monkey into a fight he does not want. When he does fight, he either kills (if his enemy is evil) or sets out to shame and embarrass. His sword flashes five times per round, only +3 or better weapons can hit him, and he regenerates 5 hit points each round.

His magic is far more frightening. Simply by thinking it, with no components or gestures, he can produce nearly any spell. Only wishes, spells that call beings from other planes, and spells of planar travel are denied him. In battle this makes him all but unbeatable.

He fights as a 20 Hit Die creature, but by the terms of his exile he can never truly die: if his body is destroyed, he returns whole at the next sunrise.

Monkey once held office in the celestial court of heaven, until the heavenly emperor, tired of his pranks, took away most of his might and exiled him to a prime world. Happily, he has no taste for power. He has grown fond of the folk of his little island of exile, and when they attack him he tends to teleport them to a mountain peak or a lonely islet rather than kill them, though killing would be easy.

His motives are hard to read. He is a trickster and a thorn in the side of the great powers: he stole the peaches of immortality, fought the animal kings, learned seven great disciplines from nine masters, and shaved off the death lord's beard, among countless other outrages. He shows neither fear nor regret, and exile has not dulled him; restored to heaven, he would be up to his old tricks within a day and banished again the next.

His real flaw is a lack of common sense: he brags when it will cost him, lies shamelessly, never conceals his part in the wildest schemes, and mocks his enemies in front of their peers, which has won him few friends in heaven.

Monkey owns magic and riches but cares little for them; knowledge is his true wealth. In return for a service he usually answers one to three questions on any subject in the world, since nothing there is hidden from him except the affairs of his fellow powers. Peasants of the eastern empire celebrate him in myth as a comic hero who humbles corrupt officials, and many outlaws have borrowed his name.

Monkey can live on air alone, but he loves rich food, fruit and wine and can eat staggering amounts without getting full. Offering to cook for him is a mistake.