| Hit Dice: | 4d10 (22 hp) |
| Initiative: | +5 |
| Speed: | 40 ft. (8 squares) |
| Armor Class: | 12 (+1 Dex, +1 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 11 |
| Base Attack/Grapple: | +4/+3 |
| Attack: | Claw +3 melee (1d4–1) |
| Full Attack: | 2 claws +3 melee (1d4–1) and bite –2 melee (1d6–1) |
| Space/Reach: | 5 ft./5 ft. |
| Special Attacks: | — |
| Special Qualities: | Alternate form, darkvision 60 ft., empathy |
| Saves: | Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +2 |
| Abilities: | Str 9, Dex 12, Con 11, Int 8, Wis 13, Cha 12 |
| Skills: | Climb +2, Hide +2, Jump +5, Listen +2, Move Silently +6, Spot +2; racial bonuses |
| Feats: | Acrobatic, Improved Initiative |
| Environment: | Temperate plains |
| Organization: | Solitary |
| Challenge Rating: | 2 |
| Treasure: | None |
| Alignment: | Usually neutral |
| Advancement: | 5–8 HD (Medium); 9–12 HD (Large) |
| Level Adjustment: | +3 |
Prized pets and dedicated guard animals, the shapeshifting grimalkins are found among many civilized societies. Most of these unusual creatures are domesticated, so it is rare to see one in the wild.
The mutable nature of the grimalkin allows it to take on a wide variety of animal forms, though its preferred form is its natural one—that of an oversized, blue-gray housecat. When it is feeling playful, a grimalkin performs for its master by changing into amusing or beguiling forms. It adopts a more threatening form when defending itself from an attack.
A grimalkin bonds with one master and remains his or her loyal companion for life. Its personality is extremely malleable, and over time the grimalkin takes on a disposition similar to that of its owner.
Grimalkins speak Common. They are chatty creatures that never know when to keep quiet.
A grimalkin changes its shape each round during a battle to confuse its foes. This makes it very difficult to adopt any sort of strategy for fighting it. A grimalkin fights to the death when defending its master, though it is quite willing to flee a battle that is going badly for it while it is alone.
Alternate Form (Su):A grimalkin can assume any animal or vermin form of Medium size or smaller as a free action. This ability functions as a polymorph spell cast on itself at a caster level of 4th, except that the creature does not regain hit points for changing form and can only assume the form of an animal or vermin. The creature can remain in its animal or vermin form until it chooses to assume a new one or return to its natural form. See Alternate Form.
Empathy (Ex): A grimalkin can detect the surface emotions of any creature within 50 feet that it can see. It can sense basic needs, drives, and emotions, but not thoughts. A successful Will save (DC 13) allows a target to avoid being sensed in this way by that grimalkin for 24 hours thereafter.
Skills: A grimalkin has a +4 racial bonus on Move Silently checks and a +2 racial bonus on Climb and Jump checks.
Source: Monster Manual II, page 122. This creature’s statistics block has been updated to version 3.5 as given in the D&D® V.3.5 Accessory Update for Monster Manual II.