Let's put that last point into Hide so it's actually trained in it. The CR looks about right--it's got a lot of hit points, but offensively it's below the average humanoid warrior, so it balances out.
"I won't kill you, but I don't have to save you." - Batman, Batman Begins "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." - Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight "Yeah, I can fly." - Tony Stark, Iron Man
Inside my hands these petals browned;
dried up falling to the ground,
but it was already too late now.
I pushed my fingers through the earth,
returned this flower to the dirt;
so it could live, I walked away now."
Rise Against - "The Good Left Undone"
"I won't kill you, but I don't have to save you." - Batman, Batman Begins "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." - Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight "Yeah, I can fly." - Tony Stark, Iron Man
Inside my hands these petals browned;
dried up falling to the ground,
but it was already too late now.
I pushed my fingers through the earth,
returned this flower to the dirt;
so it could live, I walked away now."
Rise Against - "The Good Left Undone"
"I won't kill you, but I don't have to save you." - Batman, Batman Begins "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." - Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight "Yeah, I can fly." - Tony Stark, Iron Man
Inside my hands these petals browned;
dried up falling to the ground,
but it was already too late now.
I pushed my fingers through the earth,
returned this flower to the dirt;
so it could live, I walked away now."
Rise Against - "The Good Left Undone"
Location: My happy place. It's OK, they know me there.
Posts: 166
Yeah, that sounds good.
Upsizing Dicynodon to Medium gives us these ability scores:
Str 14, Dex 8, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 4
Do we want to increase the Dex score to 10?
The wikipedia article says that Lystrosaurus had strong forelimbs and was good at digging. It also states that it may have nested in burrows. I still don't think of it as a burrower in the way that Diictodon or (theoretically) Robertia was; I personally think it dug up roots and stuff to eat and used a burrow as a place to sleep.
Increasing Dicynodon to Medium just by giving it the size adjustments nets us:
Str 14, Dex 8, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 4
This is about comparable to a boar, which I like, but like the boar I think that the Dex should get boosted back up to 10. It was ridiculously common, leading me to think that it should have a similar racial Survival bonus to Diictodon. The Wikipedia entry suggests that paleontologists have hypothesized that it nested in burrows--I'm thinking this should be just flavor text as opposed to a burrow speed, but I'm flexible. Likewise, we could give it either a slow Swim speed or a racial bonus to Swim checks, since its high nostrils and eyes, and its hippo-like body plan, suggest it may have been an aquatic grazer.
"I won't kill you, but I don't have to save you." - Batman, Batman Begins "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." - Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight "Yeah, I can fly." - Tony Stark, Iron Man
Inside my hands these petals browned;
dried up falling to the ground,
but it was already too late now.
I pushed my fingers through the earth,
returned this flower to the dirt;
so it could live, I walked away now."
Rise Against - "The Good Left Undone"
Location: My happy place. It's OK, they know me there.
Posts: 166
Alertness and Endurance for feats?
2 ranks in Survival and 3 ranks each in Listen and Spot?
Temperate or warm land for environment?
Resources I've been looking up say that Lystrosaurus was fully terrestrial. This page says "It was once thought that Lystrosaurus lived much like a modern hippopotamus, pursuing a semi-aquatic existence, but it now appears to have thrived in hot, dry environments."
This creature resembles a melding of pig and lizard, with a thick, barrel-like body and splayed legs. Its forelimbs look particularly strong. Its head is large but short, with high-set eyes and a hooked beak with two fangs situated directly behind it.
Lystrosaurus is a dicynodont, an herbivorous therapsid (“mammal-like reptile”). Dicynodonts are characterized by their parrot-like beaks, two tusks in the upper jaw, and barrel-shaped bodies with splayed legs. Lystrosaurus is a common, widespread representative of the dicynodont lineage.
Lystrosaurus is one of the few dicynodonts with near-worldwide distribution. They sleep in simple burrows during the day. Around sundown, lystrosauruses emerge from their burrows, congregating in large groups to protect their young from predators. At dawn, the herds disperse and individuals return to their burrows. When food becomes scarce, lystrosauruses dig for roots and ground water using their powerful forelimbs.
Lystrosaurus is heavy for its size, being about 3 feet long and weighing around 200 pounds.
Combat
Adult lystrosauruses have few natural predators due to their size (they are large for dicynodonts), though Small predators such as the cynognathus may take young lystrosauruses. Adults ignore Small or smaller creatures unless attacked by one, retaliating by biting. If a lone lystrosaurus is threatened by a Medium or larger creature, however, it will flee back to its burrow, but will bite as a last resort.
Last edited by InsanePsychoRabbit; 14th January 2009 at 04:44 AM..
"I won't kill you, but I don't have to save you." - Batman, Batman Begins "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." - Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight "Yeah, I can fly." - Tony Stark, Iron Man
Inside my hands these petals browned;
dried up falling to the ground,
but it was already too late now.
I pushed my fingers through the earth,
returned this flower to the dirt;
so it could live, I walked away now."
Rise Against - "The Good Left Undone"
"I won't kill you, but I don't have to save you." - Batman, Batman Begins "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." - Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight "Yeah, I can fly." - Tony Stark, Iron Man
Inside my hands these petals browned;
dried up falling to the ground,
but it was already too late now.
I pushed my fingers through the earth,
returned this flower to the dirt;
so it could live, I walked away now."
Rise Against - "The Good Left Undone"
Not sure how I feel about "worldwide distribution". That'd be fine if all campaigns took place in the end Permian/early Triassic, but the general assumption is that dinosaurs et al are only found in "lost world" regions. Let's say instead that Lystrosaurus is exceedingly common in primeval worlds, or something like that.
Other than that, I think we're done. Now, Placerias.
Advancing Lystrosaurus gets us:
Str 22, Dex 8, Con 21, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 4 and +6 natural armor.
Compare to a bison: Str 22, Dex 10, Con 16, Int 2, Wis 11, Cha 4, +4 natural armor
or a rhino: Str 26, Dex 10, Con 21, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 2, +7 natural armor
I think we should boost the Str up to 24, and the Dex back to 10.
Location: My happy place. It's OK, they know me there.
Posts: 166
About the 'worldwide distribution' vs 'lost world' thing, I wouldn't mind letting it go. It's really not a big deal, it's all just a matter of preference on the part of the person making the campaign setting.
Now as for Placerias I agree with the strength boost, and I also believe we should give it a special attack like trample and/or powerful charge.
Also the way its tusks stick out I would even consider giving it a gore attack, unless we want to make it generic and usable to represent other Large dicynodonts like Kannemeyeria, Dinodontosaurus and that unnamed rhinoceros-sized dicynodont from Poland.
Replacing the bite with a gore suits me just fine. Ditto giving it both trample and deadly charge (unfortunately, "Powerful Charge" has been co-opted into a feat). Perhaps, to heighten the boar analogy, ferocity? Just a thought--I'm not as attached to it as I am to trample and deadly charge.
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