Converting prehistoric creatures

[demiurge1138]

So, IPR, what do you think about the CR? 3 or 4?

[InsanePsychoRabbit]

I'm leaning towards CR 4.

[RavinRay]

Hippos are herbivores but if provoked can inflict serious damage with their canines, so it's not far-fetched for a cynodont (and the distantly related dicynodonts) to be dangerous as well.

[freyar]

Originally Posted by RavinRay

Hippos are herbivores but if provoked can inflict serious damage with their canines, so it's not far-fetched for a cynodont (and the distantly related dicynodonts) to be dangerous as well.

True enough! I hear hippos are quite dangerous.

CR 4 is ok by me.

[Echohawk]

Originally Posted by freyar

True enough! I hear hippos are quite dangerous.

Very. They kill more people around these parts than any other animal. I'd much rather stumble across a crocodile or a lion than a hippo in the bush.

[RavinRay]

Which reminds me, the behemoth from the 1e Monster Manual 2 is what would be in 3e a dire hippo. Has it been converted on another thread?

[Echohawk]

There is a CC version of the MMII behemoth here, but it dates back to 2001, and might need a 3.5 update.

[Shade]

There's a dire hippo in Sandstorm, but we can update the behemoth in the Overhaul thread if you'd like.

Originally Posted by InsanePsychoRabbit

The report described the environment as semi-arid and similar to western South Africa today (but a bit drier), so I'm thinking more along the lines of scrubland than forests.

So using the 3.5 environments, would that be best described as "temperate or warm plains"?

Updated.

We still need Advancement, length, and weight.

[InsanePsychoRabbit]

'Temperate or warm plains' sounds good.

I haven't been able to dredge up anything about its length or weight yet, but my mom says that a small cow would weigh about 1,000 pounds. For advancement I'd go with something like 8-14 HD (Large).

I almost forgot! Its reach should be 5 feet instead of 10 feet, since it's a quadruped.

[freyar]

Probably 5-6 ft long, too. Say "upto 1000 lb"?

Alignment needs to be capitalized.

[Shade]

Updated.

[InsanePsychoRabbit]

Exaeretodon (the Medium cynodont) was 6 feet long, so Diademodon would probably be longer. Looking at pictures they seem to be built similarly.
Also, you listed its reach as 10 feet, whereas it should be 5 feet because it is a quadruped.

Aside from my nitpicking, are we done?

[Shade]

Nice catch on the reach.

About the length...isn't a small cow about 5-6 feet long? If so, we should probably either remove the "size of a small cow" bit and increase the length, or just eliminate the length and stick with the "small cow" bit and weight.

[InsanePsychoRabbit]

I'd stick with the 'small cow' bit and the weight, and drop the length.

[Shade]

Sounds good. Updated. I think we're done now.

[InsanePsychoRabbit]

All right then, let's get started on the dicynodonts! I've come up with a list of species and their sizes.

Dicynodon – average ~4ft (Small, advanced specimens may be Medium)
Diictodon – 18 inches (Tiny)
Kannemeyeria – ~10 ft (Large)
Lystrosaurus – 'pig sized' (Medium)
Placerias – 3.5 meters long and 1-2 metric tons (Large, advanced specimens may be Huge)
Robertia – ~8 inches (Diminutive)
Stahleckeria potens – 13 feet long and 880 pounds (Large)

[Shade]

Nice summary! We should try to come up with a HD breakdown as well before we get started.

[demiurge1138]

I'm in favor of:

Diictodon: Tiny, 1 HD (suitable for being a familiar, grants a +2 to Survival checks)

Dicynodon: Small, 2 HD (advances to 4)

Lystrosaurus: Medium, 5 HD (advances to 8)

Placerias: Large, 9 HD (advances to 18, with 15-18 HD being Huge)

[Shade]

Sounds good. I'd throw Robertia in there as well, simply because there aren't enough Diminutive prehistoric creatures.

[demiurge1138]

Robertia as 1/2 HD, familiar, grants +2 to Hide?