Gray render

A gray render was a magical beast born from various terrain substances present in swamps and marshes. They were favored monsters of the orcish god Bahgtru.

Description
It had very thick skin that protected it from the bites and stings of insects. Its six eyes had an insect-like structure, each being composed of hundreds of tiny ocelli. The gray render lacked external ears and had two thin horizontal slits for nostrils, which were easily overlooked.

Ecology
Gray renders were never found in groups. They reproduced asexually in a manner most unusual for such an advanced species. Once in each gray render's lifetime (shortly after attaining adulthood), it produced a single offspring, which grew from a bud and developed in the adult render's pocket. Its first six months were spent nursing in the marsupial pouch, after which time it had grown to the size of a small chimpanzee and was ready to go off on its own.

Gray renders had both low-light vision and 60-foot darkvision. They enjoyed a sense of hearing comparable to that of a human and an excellent sense of smell.

A gray render's teeth continued to grow throughout its lifetime, with new teeth replacing older ones that had come loose. The teeth grew in several different layers, one behind another. It was not uncommon for a tooth to dislodge from the render's mouth and remain embedded in the flesh of a bite victim.

Gray renders had excellent manual dexterity, on par with that of a human. Despite their ability, they seldom used tools or weapons, preferring to use their razor-sharp claws to rend their opponents.

Gray renders were immune to the effects of sleep spells. They were light sleepers in any case, the better to respond to any danger threatening their charges.

Gray renders could understand a spoken language, even though they had no language of their own and couldn't speak.

History
Although many scholars came to believe that the roots of gray renders could be traced back to the Elemental Chaos, the truth of the matter was that gray renders were created thousands of years before by a small conclave of silver dragon wizards who spent most of their time in elven form and developed gray renders primarily as bodyguards for their loyal minions.

The method for creating new gray renders was passed from the silver dragons to several elven communities, and from them to numerous like-aligned wizards of various races over the following centuries. The knowledge of how to create a gray render was not uncommon among wizardly scholars, although the origins of the race were largely forgotten.

Appearances

 * Farthest Reach
 * Neverwinter Nights