Watchpack

Adventuring Gear Uncommon

When not in use, this strange beast looks as if it were made all backwards. It walks on four legs, each of which has a three toed, multi-jointed foot. These legs are completely backwards, so that the creature’s back faces the ground and its belly faces the sky. Its head is low and flat, with absolutely no neck. It just joints right to the torso. The ridged mouth is huge, hiding a three foot long prehensile tongue. Its eyes can face forward, or roll to look straight up.   The reason for the creature’s strange build is that it is used as a living backpack. It climbs up onto its owner’s back and locks its legs around him. The fit is extremely comfortable. Once in place, it looks very much like a backpack, with the mouth where the opening should be, and a pair of large, watchful eyes above it.   A watchpack will bond with a person that treats it well for three consecutive days. The final step in the bonding process involves the creature licking its new owner’s skin for an extended period of time. Once bonded, the watchpack remains loyal to its   Only the sight and smell of its owner’s dead body will release it from its bond.   Watchpacks are not any more intelligent than other animals, but they have been shaped to have a high degree of associative memory. In-other-words, they can learn many simple commands easily and quickly. In particular, they are predisposed to learn two important commands, store and fetch.   Since these can be different words in different languages, the watchpack does need to be taught. When its owner says store, the long tongue whips out and wraps around whatever is in its owner’s hand.   If its owner releases the object, the watchpack tucks it away inside its large mouth. While they are both holding the object, its owner can name the object (three words maximum). Later, if the owner wants that object, he merely has to call out fetch and the object’s name. The watchpack will quickly find the item and put it directly into its owner’s hand. A watchpack can hold as much as a normal backpack. Even the most fragile items inside it are kept dry and unbroken.   The watchpack will protect its owner’s possessions. Anyone other than the owner attempting to reach into the pack will get bitten. There is no attack roll. The thief just takes 1d6 points of dam- age. The ridged mouth clamps down and will not release unless the thief’s hand is empty.

Cost: 400gp