Converting prehistoric creatures

Shade said:

No, I just meant that the "Dire" SQ is redundant with a dire creature. In other words, if it says "Dire" in its name, it is assumed to have the good Will saves. The standard eucladoceros, IMHO, should still get the dire trait, but isn't called "Dire Eucladoceros".

I'll fix all the rest.

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Okay. I'm not that partial to giving the standard Eucladoceros the dire SQ, but not enough to kick up a fuss about it.

So, I guess that means they're both done.

Moving on?

freyar said:

Moving on?

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Lead on, MacShade!

We'd discussed doing this next...

GrayLinnorm said:

I'm reading USA Today and they have an article about Inkayacu, a giant prehistoric penguin, one of the largest species to exist. Does that sound like something we could stat up?

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Shade said:

We'd discussed doing this next...

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Dire Penguin?

Do we have any stats for regular penguins?

Penguins are in Frostburn.

GrayLinnorm said:

Penguins are in Frostburn.

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Anyone have the stats handy?

Penguin
Tiny Animal
Hit Dice: ½d8 (2 hp)
Initiative: -1
Speed: 10 ft. (2 squares), swim 40 ft.
Armor Class: 12 (+2 size, -1 Dex, +1 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 12
Base Attack/Grapple: +0/-12
Attack: Bite -4 melee* (1d2-4)
Full Attack: Bite -4 melee* (1d2-4)
Space/Reach: 2-½ ft./0 ft.
Special Attacks: -
Special Qualities: Hold breath, low-light vision
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +1, Will +0
Abilities: Str 2, Dex 9, Con 10, Int 2, Wis 11, Cha 6
Skills: Listen +2, Spot +2, Swim +6
Feats: Endurance, Weapon FinesseB
Environment: Cold aquatic
Organization: Flock (11-30)
Challenge Rating: 1/6
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: -
Level Adjustment: -

Hold Breath (Ex): A penguin can hold its breath for a number of rounds equal to 6 x its Constitution score before it risks drowning.

Skills: A penguin has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always can choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.

Thanks, I was hoping someone else would spare me having to find the stats and type them out.

Hang on, what's the point of giving it Weapon Finesse when it has a Dex penalty?

So, increase the size to Medium and give them the Dire quality?

Standard Advancement would give:

Dire Penguin
Medium Animal
Hit Dice: 2d8+2 (11 hp)
Initiative: -3
Speed: 10 ft. (2 squares), swim 40 ft.
Armor Class: 8 (-3 Dex, +1 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 8
Base Attack/Grapple: +1/+1
Attack: Bite -4 melee* (1d4)
Full Attack: Bite -4 melee* (1d4)
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +0, Will +0
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 5, Con 12, Int 2, Wis 11, Cha 6

Hmm, I think we'd better keep the Dex the same as the Tiny penguin.

If its Dire we might as well make the bite a normal attack. I toyed with the idea of increasing the Strength to 12-13, but decided that was too much. These things are only a bit bigger than an Emperor penguin, so shouldn't be that strong.

Probably add a drop of NA.

Oh, and penguins are not restricted to cold climates, indeed the Inkayacu we're basing this on is a South American species. The environment should just be "Aquatic".

Dire Penguin
Medium Animal
Hit Dice: 2d8+2 (11 hp)
Initiative: -1
Speed: 10 ft. (2 squares), swim 40 ft.
Armor Class: 11 (-1 Dex, +2 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 11
Base Attack/Grapple: +1/+1
Attack: Bite +1 melee (1d4)
Full Attack: Bite +1 melee* (1d4)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: ---
Special Qualities: Hold breath, low-light vision
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +0, Will +0
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 9, Con 12, Int 2, Wis 11, Cha 6
Skills: Listen +2, Spot +3, Swim +8
Feats: Endurance
Environment: Aquatic
Organization: Flock (11-30)
Challenge Rating: 1/2
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: ---
Level Adjustment: ---

It looks like they gave the penguin Weapon Finesse because its strength is even worse than its dexterity.