Converting prehistoric creatures

[Shade]

Part Two.

Original thread closed due to exceeding 1,000 post count.

[Shade]

We left off working on therapsids. Do we want to do a smaller gorgonpsid, or move on to a cynodont or dicynodont?

[freyar]

Oooph, I'll leave that to demiurge, since I don't really know enough of a difference.

[demiurge1138]

Let's do another gorgonopsid, one that's Medium size. Gorgonops, say.

[InsanePsychoRabbit]

According to Wikipedia, Gorgonops was 3-5 meters long, though probably usually closer to 3 meters. That's close to 10 feet, which is still Large. Also according to Wikipedia, the gorgonopsid in Primeval was a Gorgonops.

I'm sorry if it seems like I'm intruding, what with this being my only post and all, but I hold you all in high regard. I'm following this conversion thread because I'm putting together a big book of dinosaur stat blocks for personal use.

[freyar]

Originally Posted by InsanePsychoRabbit

I'm sorry if it seems like I'm intruding, what with this being my only post and all, but I hold you all in high regard. I'm following this conversion thread because I'm putting together a big book of dinosaur stat blocks for personal use.

Not at all! Please feel free to join in!

[Shade]

Here's a good Small one: Lycaenops - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[demiurge1138]

Hm. I'd like to do a Medium sized one to fill sort of a wolf analogue, but all of the gorgonopsids that have any substantial info on them are either Small or Large. A puzzler.

[Shade]

Ditto here. I did come across this one to bookmark for later:

Euchambersia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[InsanePsychoRabbit]

I already did Euchambersia for a thread on the WotC forums. I'll repost it here, feel free to butcher it.

Originally Posted by Me

Euchambersia
Small Animal
Hit Dice: 2d8+4 (13 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: 13 (+1 size, +1 Dex, +1 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 12
Base Attack/Grapple: +1/-3
Attack: Bite +3 melee (1d4 plus poison)
Full Attack: Bite +3 melee (1d4 plus poison)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Poison
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +1
Abilities: Str 11, Dex 13, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 4
Skills: Hide +5, Listen +5, Spot +4
Feats: Alertness, Weapon Finesse (B)
Environment: Warm forests
Organization: Solitary or pair
Challenge Rating: 1
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 3-4 HD (Medium)

This creature at the same time resembles both a monitor lizard and a dog-like mammal. Its head looks more dog-like, though, due to the whiskers and large fangs. Bristle-like hair sprouts in various places from its rust-brown hide.

Euchambersia was a late Permian therocephalian, a relative of the larger gorgonopsians. Called the viper-wolf by peoples of the land in which it dwells, it is unique in that it has evolved venom for offensive use - to kill its prey.

Combat
Euchambersia waits for prey to come along, then charges in to bite. If threatened by a larger creature, however, it will flee.

Poison (Ex): Euchambersia's venom is a neurotoxin that slows the prey's reflexes and prevents it from struggling (Fort DC 13, 1d4 Dex/1d4 Dex).

Also if you need help converting 2nd Edition to 3.5 I still have the 2nd to 3rd edition conversion manual lying around, I could potentially help if you need it.

[freyar]

That looks pretty good, IPR! Based on the Wikipedia article, I might make the poison nastier (Con damage probably) and maybe add something to indicate the strong jaws (sounds like they hold on, actually, maybe even to inject poison like a gila monster). Shouldn't take too long with what you've done already!

[InsanePsychoRabbit]

How about I give it Attach like a dire weasel, and it injects its poison every round it's attached? Also I'll switch its poison to Con damage. That would probably necessitate bumping it up to CR 2.

[Shade]

That sounds good!

[demiurge1138]

Hah. I'm okay with getting side-tracked. If we wanted the poison to get really vicious, we could switch Alertness for Ability Focus.

[InsanePsychoRabbit]

How does this look?

Euchambersia
Small Animal
Hit Dice: 2d8+4 (13 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: 13 (+1 size, +1 Dex, +1 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 12
Base Attack/Grapple: +1/+1*
Attack: Bite +3 melee (1d4 plus poison)
Full Attack: Bite +3 melee (1d4 plus poison)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Attach, poison
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +1
Abilities: Str 11, Dex 13, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 4
Skills: Hide +5, Listen +5, Spot +4
Feats: Alertness, Weapon Finesse (B)
Environment: Warm forests
Organization: Solitary or pair
Challenge Rating: 2
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 3 HD (Small); 4-6 HD (Medium)

This creature at the same time resembles both a monitor lizard and a dog-like mammal. Its head looks more dog-like, though, due to the whiskers and large fangs. Bristle-like hair sprouts in various places from its rust-brown hide.

Euchambersia was a late Permian therocephalian, a relative of the larger gorgonopsians. Called the viper-wolf by peoples of the land in which it dwells, it is unique in that it has evolved venom for offensive use - to kill its prey.

Combat
Euchambersia waits for prey to come along, then charges in to bite. It usually attempts to hold on to its prey. If threatened by a larger creature, however, it will flee.

Attach (Ex): A euchambersia that hits with its bite attack latches onto the opponent’s body with its powerful jaws. An attached euchambersia loses its Dexterity bonus to AC and thus has an AC of 12. An attached euchambersia can be struck with a weapon or grappled itself. To remove an attached euchambersia through grappling, the opponent must achieve a pin against the creature.

Poison (Ex): Euchambersia's venom is a hemotoxin that damages its prey's internal organs (Fort DC 13, 1d4 Con/1d4 Con). A euchambersia injects venom each round it is attached.

*A euchambersia has a +4 racial bonus on Grapple checks.

[Shade]

I'd recommend a +4 racial bonus on grapple checks in the attack ability, giving it a positive modifier.

Other than that, it looks good!

[InsanePsychoRabbit]

Ok, I'll do that. Where does it go when we're done with it?

[freyar]

Originally Posted by InsanePsychoRabbit

Ok, I'll do that. Where does it go when we're done with it?

Shade puts it in a thread in the homebrews forum (one of the locked ones at the top) for "storage" until he gets a chance to upload it to the official Creature Catalog. In fact, usually, that's our "working copy" as we change abilities around, etc.

I'm thinking Ability Focus might be a little mean at CR 2. Anyone else?

[Shade]

Added to Homebrews.

Any idea on the actual height/weight of these things? I'm having no luck Googling it.

[InsanePsychoRabbit]

When I first created the Euchambersia creature in November 2007 I found a site that said its skull was 24cm long, so based on the pictures I found, I extrapolated it to be about 84cm in length (a bit less than 3 feet).

Shade, be sure to note that in my above post I gave it the Grapple bonus like you suggested and revised its advancement a little.