The Gray Gorillas from 'Congo'

Ugly gorillas. Ugly. Go away.

Although the movie version of Congo was mostly awful, the Michael Crichton novel was outstanding and unique. The gray gorillas, bred for intelligence, ruthlessness, and strength were ideal guardians and enforcers for the ancient city of Zinj. Despite the destruction and loss of the city to the gorillas, the codes and training that were established continued well into the 20th century.

Why the gray gorillas?

First and foremost, I am looking more at the novel, which is probably one of my all-time favorites and definitely my second favorite Crichton novel. I just like the concept and was disappointed with the 1995 film adaptation. I also believe that the gray gorilla concept is a great thing to throw at street level heroes and could adapt well in a variety of situations.



Gray Gorillas

Typical Gray Gorilla

F: Ex (20)
A: Gd (10)
S: Ex (20)
E: Gd (10)
R: Pr (04)
I: Gd (10)
P: Typ (06)

Health: 60
Karma: 20
Popularity: 0
Resources: N/A

Talents:
The gray gorillas have rudimentary skills due to their breeding and instruction. It is assumed that they have the following 'skills'

• Hunting/Gathering
• Animal Training - Gray Gorillas*
• Area Knowledge: Zinj
• Blunt Weapons - Simple

Powers:
Bred Gorilla Species: The gray gorillas of Zinj have been interbred with other apes (and possibly humans) to produce the gray gorillas who act as both protectors and enforcers to the city. As such, the gray gorillas are slightly larger, more humanoid, and more intelligent than a standard large ape. In addition, the gorillas of Zinj have the following natural abilities:

• Stealth: The gray gorillas have a dusky gray coloration which makes them nearly invisible in darkness and difficult to spot amid the jungle foliage. Combined with their natural predator senses and the harsh training from the ancient taskmasters of Zinj, the gorillas have the effect of Ex (20) stealth within the jungle and around Zinj
• Natural Aggression: the gorillas of Zinj are naturally more aggressive than other large apes, as such, they gain a +1 to their initiative score, as well as a +1cs to damage after taking more than 50% health.
• Dark Vision: The gorilla of Zinj are unhindered in the dark, and can see with Gd (10) dark-vision, limited to normal night-time conditions. They cannot see in manufactured darkness or similar abilities/shadows.
• Psychological Advantage: The gorillas of Zinj have adapted their attacks to probe enemy lines and to attack weakened areas. As part of this, the Zinj gorillas do not leave their dead when possible, which combined with the nocturnal assault makes them downright scary. If first encountering a Zinj Gorilla, an opponent must make a Psyche FEAT at Gd (10) intensity or suffer a -1cs reaction bonus during the course of the combat. This is because of the psychological effect on individuals from the tactics. (See notes for additional details).

Contacts:
None

Limitations:
The gorilla of Zinj have the following limitations due to their nature:

• Nocturnal: Unlike most apes, the gorillas of zinj are primarily nocturnal, bred and trained for darkness. While the gray gorillas can operate in daytime, they prefer not to, suffering a -1cs to all F, A, and I actions while in bright daylight.
• Unusual Looks: The gray gorillas of Zinj are an entirely new species which are unusual to say the least. The gorillas suffer a -1cs reaction bonus when fully seen and are considered 'hideous' in appearance.
• Training*: The gorillas of Zinj were trained to use lethal force in all dealings under cruel punishment. Although the city of Zinj has long since disappeared into legend, the training has been continued and passed from gray gorilla to gray gorilla out of instinct. The training also includes several key phrases which are used within the novel to prevent them from attacking. Still, the training enforces strict behavior control, which a gray gorilla would need to make a -4cs Psyche FEAT to resist. Although incapable of understanding the context of the training, the gorillas of Zinj still remember the specifics.
• Location Limited: The gray gorillas of Zinj are found only around the lost city, and are not encountered anywhere else. The gorillas are region bound, and do not migrate or function easily in new environments.

Notes: While I attempted to maintain a version of the gray gorillas more towards the novel, there are enough moments where the 1995 movie did get the gorillas right not to include some of the representative behaviors and appearances. The 'sneak attack' ability I feel is important to address, as it is stressed by Crichton in the book at different points, and was clearly designed to unnerve any would-be attackers by making the gorillas seem like ghosts. I think that it's clear that the training was advanced enough to take the impact of the sneak attack into account.

Finally, I wanted to address the higher FASERIP. Comparative to a standard ape, a gorilla of Zinj is simply superior physically and mentally. The specifics were addressed in the novel and the very unnerving concept of human-ape copulation was suggested. Regardless of the reasons, it's clear that the gorillas are more a threat than a standard Ape per the Judges Book.