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Cleon Specials – Prehistoric Beasts!
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<blockquote data-quote="Cleon" data-source="post: 7950146" data-attributes="member: 57383"><p><strong><em><span style="font-size: 22px">Spinosaurus</span></em></strong></p><p>Gargantuan Animal</p><p><strong>Hit Dice:</strong> 20d8+120 (210 hp)</p><p><strong>Initiative:</strong> +2</p><p><strong>Speed:</strong> 50 ft. (10 squares)</p><p><strong>Armor Class:</strong> 18 (–4 size, +2 Dex, +10 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 16</p><p><strong>Base Attack/Grapple:</strong> +15/+37</p><p><strong>Attack:</strong> Bite +22 melee (3d6+10/19–20) or claw +22 melee (2d6+5)</p><p><strong>Full Attack:</strong> Bite +22 melee (3d6+10/19–20) and 2 claws +20 melee (2d6+5)</p><p><strong>Space/Reach:</strong> 20 ft./15 ft.</p><p><strong>Special Attacks:</strong> Improved grab</p><p><strong>Special Qualities:</strong> Low-light vision, scent</p><p><strong>Saves:</strong> Fort +18, Ref +14, Will +8</p><p><strong>Abilities:</strong> Str 31, Dex 15, Con 22, Int 1, Wis 14, Cha 10</p><p><strong>Skills:</strong> Hide +4* [<em>+12 in undergrowth or water</em>], Listen +11, Spot +11, Swim +14, Survival +9</p><p><strong>Feats:</strong> Combat Reflexes, Improved Critical (bite), Iron Will, Multiattack, Weapon Focus (claw), Weapon Focus (bite), Track</p><p><strong>Environment:</strong> Warm plains or swamps</p><p><strong>Organization:</strong> Solitary or pair</p><p><strong>Challenge Rating:</strong> 9</p><p><strong>Treasure:</strong> None</p><p><strong>Alignment:</strong> Always neutral</p><p><strong>Advancement:</strong> 21–30 HD (Gargantuan)</p><p><strong>Level Adjustment:</strong> —</p><p></p><p>A <em>Spinosaurus</em> is slim for a theropod and has unusually long, narrow jaws. It has fairly large forearms with 3 fingered hands.</p><p></p><p>This dinosaur is an swift moving, opportunistic predator that hunts small prey such as fish, juvenile dinosaurs and even pterosaurs. Its lightweight build and narrow jaws mean its ill-equipped for preying upon big creatures, but its Gargantuan size means there are many victims small enough for it to hunt.</p><p></p><p>A typical adult <em>Spinosaurus</em> has a total length from 50 to 60 feet and weighs between 8 and 10 tons.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 18px">Combat</span></strong></p><p>A <em>Spinosaurus</em> seeks to grab hold of an opponent and tear it apart with their claws and teeth. They usually hunt prey smaller than themselves.</p><p></p><p><strong>Improved Grab (Ex):</strong> To use this ability, a <em>Spinosaurus</em> must hit with a claw or bite attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity.</p><p></p><p><strong>Skills:</strong> A <em>Spinosaurus</em> has a +4 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, Spot, Swim and Survival checks.</p><p></p><p>*Its racial bonus to Hide increases to +12 when it is in undergrowth or submerged in water.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: green"><strong><span style="font-size: 18px">Design Notes</span></strong></span></p><p><span style="color: green">This is an out-of-date model of <em>Spinosaurus</em> resembling the one in <em>Jurassic Park III</em>. See <strong><em><a href="https://enworld.org/index.php?posts/8679532" target="_blank">Spinosaurus Redux</a></em></strong> for a more paleontologically accurate animal.</span></p><p><span style="color: green"></span></p><p><span style="color: green">Official 3E stats for <em>Spinosaurus</em> appear in the <em>Monster Manual II</em>. I happened to lack that product while writing <a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/reviewing-revising-and-finalizing-prehistoric-animals-and-dinosaur-ecology.266148/" target="_blank"><em>Reviewing, Revising, and Finalizing Prehistoric Animals and Dinosaur Ecology</em></a>. If I'd had access to that book's dinosaur entries at the time I might not have bothered with a Homebrew <em>Spinosaurus</em> conversion.</span></p><p><span style="color: green"></span></p><p><span style="color: green">Mechanically my conversion came out fairly close to the <em>MMII version</em>, its Strength is noticeable lower (mainly so its claw/claw/bite full attack damage wouldn't completely overwhelm a Tyrannosaurus's single bite full attack damage) and it doesn't have a Frightful Presence, Trample or Swallow Whole attack (although I'd consider giving it Frightful Presence & Swallow Whole, since they seem appropriate special attacks for such a formidable predator). Many of the other numbers differ by a bit too, but not significantly.</span></p><p><span style="color: green"></span></p><p><span style="color: green">Like many 3.0 creatures, the official version has a Challenge Rating that's a bit higher than it probably should be.</span></p><p><span style="color: green"></span></p><p><span style="color: green">While the species <em>Spinosaurus aegyptiacus</em> was probably the largest carnivorous dinosaur and may have been the biggest predator to ever walk on land, I prefer to interpret it as being roughly a match to its rivals such as <em>Tyrannosaurus</em>, <em>Giganotosaurus</em> or <em>Carcharodontosaurus</em>. None of those other dinosaurs lived in the same place and time as <em>S. aegyptiacus</em>, so they would have never fought each other in real life. This dinosaur was long and leanly built compared to, say, a <em>Tyrannosaur rex</em> and might not have weighed much more than one. A particularly massive <em>T. rex</em> could have been heavier than a small <em>S. aegyptiacus</em> and arguably was built better for dealing with a huge opponent than <em>Spinosaurus</em>, which had a narrow skull similar to a crocodile rather than the bone-crushing jaws of a <em>Tyrannosaur</em>. Much is unclear about this species, including whether it normally walk on two legs or four.</span></p><p><span style="color: green"></span></p><p><span style="color: green">One noteworthy hypothesis is that Spinosaurs specialized in hunting fish. The giant sawfish <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onchopristis" target="_blank">Onchopristis</a></em> was a contempory of <em>Spinosaurus aegyptiacus</em> [it's fish #9 in <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Spinosaurus_with_contemporaneous_taxa.jpg" target="_blank">this picture</a>] and may have been among the large fish it preyed upon, at least according to <a href="https://bbcplanetdinosaur.fandom.com/wiki/Onchopristis" target="_blank">an episode</a> of the BBC's Planet TV Dinosaur series.</span></p><p><span style="color: green"></span></p><p><span style="color: green">One noteworthy hypothesis is <em>Spinosaurus</em> used its long body and sail to drive fish into a cluster before stunning them them with blows from its long flexible tail, then seized the stunned fish with its claws or jaws and devoured them. Should I ever revise this conversion I'd definitely consider adding a Tail-slap and a stunning Tail Sweep to its attack repertoire!</span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cleon, post: 7950146, member: 57383"] [B][I][SIZE=6]Spinosaurus[/SIZE][/I][/B] Gargantuan Animal [B]Hit Dice:[/B] 20d8+120 (210 hp) [B]Initiative:[/B] +2 [B]Speed:[/B] 50 ft. (10 squares) [B]Armor Class:[/B] 18 (–4 size, +2 Dex, +10 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 16 [B]Base Attack/Grapple:[/B] +15/+37 [B]Attack:[/B] Bite +22 melee (3d6+10/19–20) or claw +22 melee (2d6+5) [B]Full Attack:[/B] Bite +22 melee (3d6+10/19–20) and 2 claws +20 melee (2d6+5) [B]Space/Reach:[/B] 20 ft./15 ft. [B]Special Attacks:[/B] Improved grab [B]Special Qualities:[/B] Low-light vision, scent [B]Saves:[/B] Fort +18, Ref +14, Will +8 [B]Abilities:[/B] Str 31, Dex 15, Con 22, Int 1, Wis 14, Cha 10 [B]Skills:[/B] Hide +4* [[I]+12 in undergrowth or water[/I]], Listen +11, Spot +11, Swim +14, Survival +9 [B]Feats:[/B] Combat Reflexes, Improved Critical (bite), Iron Will, Multiattack, Weapon Focus (claw), Weapon Focus (bite), Track [B]Environment:[/B] Warm plains or swamps [B]Organization:[/B] Solitary or pair [B]Challenge Rating:[/B] 9 [B]Treasure:[/B] None [B]Alignment:[/B] Always neutral [B]Advancement:[/B] 21–30 HD (Gargantuan) [B]Level Adjustment:[/B] — A [I]Spinosaurus[/I] is slim for a theropod and has unusually long, narrow jaws. It has fairly large forearms with 3 fingered hands. This dinosaur is an swift moving, opportunistic predator that hunts small prey such as fish, juvenile dinosaurs and even pterosaurs. Its lightweight build and narrow jaws mean its ill-equipped for preying upon big creatures, but its Gargantuan size means there are many victims small enough for it to hunt. A typical adult [I]Spinosaurus[/I] has a total length from 50 to 60 feet and weighs between 8 and 10 tons. [B][SIZE=5]Combat[/SIZE][/B] A [I]Spinosaurus[/I] seeks to grab hold of an opponent and tear it apart with their claws and teeth. They usually hunt prey smaller than themselves. [B]Improved Grab (Ex):[/B] To use this ability, a [I]Spinosaurus[/I] must hit with a claw or bite attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. [B]Skills:[/B] A [I]Spinosaurus[/I] has a +4 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, Spot, Swim and Survival checks. *Its racial bonus to Hide increases to +12 when it is in undergrowth or submerged in water. [COLOR=green][B][SIZE=5]Design Notes[/SIZE][/B] This is an out-of-date model of [I]Spinosaurus[/I] resembling the one in [I]Jurassic Park III[/I]. See [B][I][URL='https://enworld.org/index.php?posts/8679532']Spinosaurus Redux[/URL][/I][/B] for a more paleontologically accurate animal. Official 3E stats for [I]Spinosaurus[/I] appear in the [I]Monster Manual II[/I]. I happened to lack that product while writing [URL='https://www.enworld.org/threads/reviewing-revising-and-finalizing-prehistoric-animals-and-dinosaur-ecology.266148/'][I]Reviewing, Revising, and Finalizing Prehistoric Animals and Dinosaur Ecology[/I][/URL]. If I'd had access to that book's dinosaur entries at the time I might not have bothered with a Homebrew [I]Spinosaurus[/I] conversion. Mechanically my conversion came out fairly close to the [I]MMII version[/I], its Strength is noticeable lower (mainly so its claw/claw/bite full attack damage wouldn't completely overwhelm a Tyrannosaurus's single bite full attack damage) and it doesn't have a Frightful Presence, Trample or Swallow Whole attack (although I'd consider giving it Frightful Presence & Swallow Whole, since they seem appropriate special attacks for such a formidable predator). Many of the other numbers differ by a bit too, but not significantly. Like many 3.0 creatures, the official version has a Challenge Rating that's a bit higher than it probably should be. While the species [I]Spinosaurus aegyptiacus[/I] was probably the largest carnivorous dinosaur and may have been the biggest predator to ever walk on land, I prefer to interpret it as being roughly a match to its rivals such as [I]Tyrannosaurus[/I], [I]Giganotosaurus[/I] or [I]Carcharodontosaurus[/I]. None of those other dinosaurs lived in the same place and time as [I]S. aegyptiacus[/I], so they would have never fought each other in real life. This dinosaur was long and leanly built compared to, say, a [I]Tyrannosaur rex[/I] and might not have weighed much more than one. A particularly massive [I]T. rex[/I] could have been heavier than a small [I]S. aegyptiacus[/I] and arguably was built better for dealing with a huge opponent than [I]Spinosaurus[/I], which had a narrow skull similar to a crocodile rather than the bone-crushing jaws of a [I]Tyrannosaur[/I]. Much is unclear about this species, including whether it normally walk on two legs or four. One noteworthy hypothesis is that Spinosaurs specialized in hunting fish. The giant sawfish [I][URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onchopristis']Onchopristis[/URL][/I] was a contempory of [I]Spinosaurus aegyptiacus[/I] [it's fish #9 in [URL='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Spinosaurus_with_contemporaneous_taxa.jpg']this picture[/URL]] and may have been among the large fish it preyed upon, at least according to [URL='https://bbcplanetdinosaur.fandom.com/wiki/Onchopristis']an episode[/URL] of the BBC's Planet TV Dinosaur series. One noteworthy hypothesis is [I]Spinosaurus[/I] used its long body and sail to drive fish into a cluster before stunning them them with blows from its long flexible tail, then seized the stunned fish with its claws or jaws and devoured them. Should I ever revise this conversion I'd definitely consider adding a Tail-slap and a stunning Tail Sweep to its attack repertoire![/COLOR] [/QUOTE]
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