Converting prehistoric creatures
Shade
Monster Junkie
From the "Creatures that Time Forgot" article...
From earlier in the article...
To simplify the listings, all creatures will conform to the following AD&D statistics unless otherwise noted:
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Shallow sea floor
DIET: Carnivore/Scavenger
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Day
ORGANIZATION: Solitary
INTELLIGENCE: Animal
TREASURE: Nil
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
All these animals walk or crawl on the bottom of the sea, though some can swim. For game purposes, I’ve assumed that some can come out of the water for short periods of time.
Yohoia
FREQUENCY: Rare
NO. APPEARING: 1d8
ARMOR CLASS: 6
MOVEMENT: 2, Sw 4
HIT DICE: 3
THAC0: 17
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1d8 (x2)
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Seize gear
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Camouflage
SIZE: M (6’ long)
MORALE: Average (8)
XP VALUE: 270
Yohoia is obviously similar to Opabinia, no doubt hunting in the same manner (camouflage and ambush) with the same surprise penalty for AD&D characters. It can swim twice as fast, however, and has two four-fingered “hands” instead of the pincer. When hunting small prey, Yohoia spears its quarry on the fingertips, then folds its arm back to bring the food to its mouth. A group of Yohoia may work together against a common threat, as a hive of bees does.
I am assuming that the finger-spines themselves have some flexibility, enabling Yohoia to grab items too large to be conveniently speared. If it grabs a man-sized character, it may yank off a piece of gear, such as a wand, dagger, pouch, or holstered pistol. PCs trying to keep the thing from making off with their gear should make the same strength rolls as listed above for breaking free from Opabinia’s grasp. (The Opabinia’s is strong enough to yank a man off his feet and hold him under until he drowns. A trapped AD&D character must roll a strength check on 1d20 to escape.)
NOTE: The article presented stats for both D&D and a game called "Bug Hunters". I tried to cut out all references to game mechanics for the latter, but may have missed one here or there.
Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #204 (1994).
From earlier in the article...
To simplify the listings, all creatures will conform to the following AD&D statistics unless otherwise noted:
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Shallow sea floor
DIET: Carnivore/Scavenger
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Day
ORGANIZATION: Solitary
INTELLIGENCE: Animal
TREASURE: Nil
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
All these animals walk or crawl on the bottom of the sea, though some can swim. For game purposes, I’ve assumed that some can come out of the water for short periods of time.
Yohoia
FREQUENCY: Rare
NO. APPEARING: 1d8
ARMOR CLASS: 6
MOVEMENT: 2, Sw 4
HIT DICE: 3
THAC0: 17
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1d8 (x2)
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Seize gear
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Camouflage
SIZE: M (6’ long)
MORALE: Average (8)
XP VALUE: 270
Yohoia is obviously similar to Opabinia, no doubt hunting in the same manner (camouflage and ambush) with the same surprise penalty for AD&D characters. It can swim twice as fast, however, and has two four-fingered “hands” instead of the pincer. When hunting small prey, Yohoia spears its quarry on the fingertips, then folds its arm back to bring the food to its mouth. A group of Yohoia may work together against a common threat, as a hive of bees does.
I am assuming that the finger-spines themselves have some flexibility, enabling Yohoia to grab items too large to be conveniently speared. If it grabs a man-sized character, it may yank off a piece of gear, such as a wand, dagger, pouch, or holstered pistol. PCs trying to keep the thing from making off with their gear should make the same strength rolls as listed above for breaking free from Opabinia’s grasp. (The Opabinia’s is strong enough to yank a man off his feet and hold him under until he drowns. A trapped AD&D character must roll a strength check on 1d20 to escape.)
NOTE: The article presented stats for both D&D and a game called "Bug Hunters". I tried to cut out all references to game mechanics for the latter, but may have missed one here or there.
Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #204 (1994).
Shade
Monster Junkie
Yohoia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Here's Demiurge's Opabinia from Dragon #348...
Opabinia
Medium Aberration (Aquatic)
Hit Dice: 3d8+6 (19 hp)
Initiative: +11
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares), swim 30 ft.
Armor Class: 14 (+2 Dex, +2 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 12; Dodge
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+5
Attack: Bite +5 melee (1d6+4)
Full Attack: Bite +5 melee (1d6+4)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. (bite 10 ft.)
Special Attacks: Improved grab, worry 1d6+4
Special Qualities: Extended reach, jagged bite
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision
Saves: Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +4
Abilities: Str 16, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 5
Skills: Hide +6, Move Silently +6, Spot +7, Swim +11
Feats: Dodge, Stealthy
Environment: See below
Organization:: See below
Challenge Rating: 2
Treasure: See below
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 5-8 HD (Medium); 9-12 HD (Large)
Level Adjustment: -
Extended Reach (Ex): The mouth of an opabinia sits on a long trunk, granting its bite attack 10-foot reach.
Improved Grab (Ex): In order to use this ability, an opabinia must hit a Small or smaller creature with its bite attack. It can then make a grapple check as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it gets a hold, it can make worry attacks.
Jagged Bite (Ex): An opabinia's bite leaves terrible tears in the flesh. Damage taken from an opabinia's bite does not heal naturally. Magical healing (such as with cure spells), fast healing, and regeneration work normally.
Worry (Ex): An opabinia shakes opponents grabbed in its jaws, dealing 1d6+4 damage every round it maintains the grapple.
Skills: An opanbinia has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always 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. An opabinia's five eyes grant it a +4 racial bonus on Spot checks.
Here's Demiurge's Opabinia from Dragon #348...
Opabinia
Medium Aberration (Aquatic)
Hit Dice: 3d8+6 (19 hp)
Initiative: +11
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares), swim 30 ft.
Armor Class: 14 (+2 Dex, +2 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 12; Dodge
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+5
Attack: Bite +5 melee (1d6+4)
Full Attack: Bite +5 melee (1d6+4)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. (bite 10 ft.)
Special Attacks: Improved grab, worry 1d6+4
Special Qualities: Extended reach, jagged bite
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision
Saves: Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +4
Abilities: Str 16, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 5
Skills: Hide +6, Move Silently +6, Spot +7, Swim +11
Feats: Dodge, Stealthy
Environment: See below
Organization:: See below
Challenge Rating: 2
Treasure: See below
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 5-8 HD (Medium); 9-12 HD (Large)
Level Adjustment: -
Extended Reach (Ex): The mouth of an opabinia sits on a long trunk, granting its bite attack 10-foot reach.
Improved Grab (Ex): In order to use this ability, an opabinia must hit a Small or smaller creature with its bite attack. It can then make a grapple check as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it gets a hold, it can make worry attacks.
Jagged Bite (Ex): An opabinia's bite leaves terrible tears in the flesh. Damage taken from an opabinia's bite does not heal naturally. Magical healing (such as with cure spells), fast healing, and regeneration work normally.
Worry (Ex): An opabinia shakes opponents grabbed in its jaws, dealing 1d6+4 damage every round it maintains the grapple.
Skills: An opanbinia has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always 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. An opabinia's five eyes grant it a +4 racial bonus on Spot checks.
Shade
Monster Junkie
Ours can be. I didn't past Demiurge's flavor text, but his take on the opabinia was warped by the daelkyr, so aberration was an apt choice.
Cleon
Legend
I'd think Vermin suits them better, since they're non-intelligent arthropods.
Indeed most, if not all, of the creatures in that Dragon article could well be Vermin.
Cleon
Legend
Well paleo-people are still arguing over the taxonomy, and are likely to be doing so for a long time. but the sources I read most recently put Yohoia in Arthopoda, possibly as a proto-Chelicerate like Sanctacaris.
Still, I'll agree it makes little difference to them being Vermin whether they're true arthropods or "arthopod-like" creatures such as tardigrades and velvet worms.
Yes, the article has monster versions of a lot of Burgess Shale fauna for both the AD&D and BUGHUNTERS games.
Cleon
Legend
Hold on, I just realized the article makes all these critters animal-intelligent rather than non-intelligent.
That doesn't seem very likely paleontologically, but I'm game to make the monster version Int 1 Animals.
The conversions of the Hallucigenia we did changed them to Int 0 Vermin, and I'd still prefer to do the same for the other Cambrian critters. Such primitive creature's are not likely to be very smart.
That doesn't seem very likely paleontologically, but I'm game to make the monster version Int 1 Animals.
The conversions of the Hallucigenia we did changed them to Int 0 Vermin, and I'd still prefer to do the same for the other Cambrian critters. Such primitive creature's are not likely to be very smart.
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