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Converting prehistoric animals
- Thread starter BOZ
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Shade
Monster Junkie
Next....
Amphicyon (bear dog)
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Temperate plains
FREQUENCY: Uncommon
ORGANIZATION: Solitary
DIET: Omnivore
NO. APPEARING: 1-2
ARMOR CLASS: 6
MOVEMENT: 15
HIT DICE: 7+7
THAC0: 13
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3
DAMAGE/ATTACKS: 2-8/2-8/1-8
SIZE: M (6½' long)
MORALE: Average (8-10)
XP VALUE: 650
Amphicyon giganteus was the largest of an early group of carnivores. It looked like a bear with a wolfish muzzle and canine tail.
Combat: Amphicyon is much like a bear in combat, striking with two paws and a bite (but no hug).
Habitat/Society: The bear dog is solitary and lives much like a grizzly bear. It feeds heavily on roots, wild fruit, and small animals. Unlike bears, however, it regularly attacks larger game, striking from ambush. Its prey includes the titanothere and hornless rhinoceros.
Amphicyon is at the top of the food chain, having no natural enemies.
From Dragon #167 (1991).
Amphicyon (bear dog)
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Temperate plains
FREQUENCY: Uncommon
ORGANIZATION: Solitary
DIET: Omnivore
NO. APPEARING: 1-2
ARMOR CLASS: 6
MOVEMENT: 15
HIT DICE: 7+7
THAC0: 13
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3
DAMAGE/ATTACKS: 2-8/2-8/1-8
SIZE: M (6½' long)
MORALE: Average (8-10)
XP VALUE: 650
Amphicyon giganteus was the largest of an early group of carnivores. It looked like a bear with a wolfish muzzle and canine tail.
Combat: Amphicyon is much like a bear in combat, striking with two paws and a bite (but no hug).
Habitat/Society: The bear dog is solitary and lives much like a grizzly bear. It feeds heavily on roots, wild fruit, and small animals. Unlike bears, however, it regularly attacks larger game, striking from ambush. Its prey includes the titanothere and hornless rhinoceros.
Amphicyon is at the top of the food chain, having no natural enemies.
From Dragon #167 (1991).
Mortis
First Post
Looks like an easy one.
Average the brown bear and polar bear stats and remove Improved Grab.
Brown Bear: Str 27, Dex 13, Con 19, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6
Polar Bear: Str 27, Dex 13, Con 19, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6
Oh! They have the same stats.
In that case, advance a Brown Bear by 1 Hit Dice and remove Improved Grab?
So extra hit points and an additional skill point (in Listen).
To give us...
Amphicyon (bear dog)
Large Animal
Hit Dice: 7d8+28 (59 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)
Armor Class: 15 (–1 size, +1 Dex, +5 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +5/+17
Attack: Claw +12 melee (1d8+8)
Full Attack: 2 claws +12 melee and bite +7 melee (2d6+4)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: -
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +9, Ref +6, Will +3
Abilities: Str 27, Dex 13, Con 19, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6
Skills: Listen +5, Spot +7, Swim +12
Feats: Endurance, Run, Track
Environment: Temperate plains
Organization: Solitary or pair
Challenge Rating: 4
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 8-12 HD (Large), 13-16 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment: -
These massive carnivores weigh more than 1,800 pounds and stand nearly 9 feet tall when they rear up on their hind legs. They are bad-tempered and territorial.
Combat
An amphicyon attacks mainly by tearing at opponents with its claws.
Skills
An amphicyon has a +4 racial bonus on Swim checks. Should it retain this?
Regards
Mortis
Average the brown bear and polar bear stats and remove Improved Grab.
Brown Bear: Str 27, Dex 13, Con 19, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6
Polar Bear: Str 27, Dex 13, Con 19, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6
Oh! They have the same stats.
In that case, advance a Brown Bear by 1 Hit Dice and remove Improved Grab?
So extra hit points and an additional skill point (in Listen).
To give us...
Amphicyon (bear dog)
Large Animal
Hit Dice: 7d8+28 (59 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)
Armor Class: 15 (–1 size, +1 Dex, +5 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +5/+17
Attack: Claw +12 melee (1d8+8)
Full Attack: 2 claws +12 melee and bite +7 melee (2d6+4)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: -
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +9, Ref +6, Will +3
Abilities: Str 27, Dex 13, Con 19, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6
Skills: Listen +5, Spot +7, Swim +12
Feats: Endurance, Run, Track
Environment: Temperate plains
Organization: Solitary or pair
Challenge Rating: 4
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 8-12 HD (Large), 13-16 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment: -
These massive carnivores weigh more than 1,800 pounds and stand nearly 9 feet tall when they rear up on their hind legs. They are bad-tempered and territorial.
Combat
An amphicyon attacks mainly by tearing at opponents with its claws.
Skills
An amphicyon has a +4 racial bonus on Swim checks. Should it retain this?
Regards
Mortis
Shade
Monster Junkie
Yep, this is a pretty easy one, and not particularly interesting. Just cleanin' out the request queue.
Dropping Improved Grab makes sense.
Here's something interesting from Wikipedia that might help differentiate them further:
"They were about as tall as the American black bear and were most likely ambushers due to the fact that their legs were made for short, sudden bursts of speed."
Maybe a lesser version of the cheetah's sprint ability?
This site states...
"Amphicyon was built like a lion, and probably ambushed its prey with short, powerful bursts of speed, just as lions do today. Bear-dog prints that were left some 14 million years ago show a stride length about equal to the animal's body length, minus the tail. They also show that the bear-dog was pacing -- moving the two left legs and the two right legs alternately, the way bears do today, though at a much slower stride."
And this...
"Giant bear-dogs of the genera Amphicyon and Ischyrocyon (Carnivora, Amphicyonidae, Amphicyoninae) were the largest carnivorans in North America during middle and late Miocene (17.5-8.8 Mya) with a dental and skeletal morphology that combined features found in living Ursidae, Canidae, and Felidae. This study tests previously proposed models of diet and hunting behaviour of these extinct carnivorans. Relative grinding area (RGA) of lower molars and wear pattern on upper molars suggest that bear-dogs were carnivorous. Amphicyon and Ischyrocyon possessed skeletal features of both ambush (short distal limb segments) and pursuit (caudally bent olecranon process of ulna) living predators. Therefore, bear-dogs probably pursued their prey (mediportal ungulates) for a longer distance but at a slower speed than do living ambush predators. Upon catching up to its prey a bear-dog probably seized it with powerfully muscled forelimbs and killed it by tearing into its ribcage or neck with canines set in a narrow rostrum."
So maybe pounce makes more sense?
Dropping Improved Grab makes sense.
Here's something interesting from Wikipedia that might help differentiate them further:
"They were about as tall as the American black bear and were most likely ambushers due to the fact that their legs were made for short, sudden bursts of speed."
Maybe a lesser version of the cheetah's sprint ability?
This site states...
"Amphicyon was built like a lion, and probably ambushed its prey with short, powerful bursts of speed, just as lions do today. Bear-dog prints that were left some 14 million years ago show a stride length about equal to the animal's body length, minus the tail. They also show that the bear-dog was pacing -- moving the two left legs and the two right legs alternately, the way bears do today, though at a much slower stride."
And this...
"Giant bear-dogs of the genera Amphicyon and Ischyrocyon (Carnivora, Amphicyonidae, Amphicyoninae) were the largest carnivorans in North America during middle and late Miocene (17.5-8.8 Mya) with a dental and skeletal morphology that combined features found in living Ursidae, Canidae, and Felidae. This study tests previously proposed models of diet and hunting behaviour of these extinct carnivorans. Relative grinding area (RGA) of lower molars and wear pattern on upper molars suggest that bear-dogs were carnivorous. Amphicyon and Ischyrocyon possessed skeletal features of both ambush (short distal limb segments) and pursuit (caudally bent olecranon process of ulna) living predators. Therefore, bear-dogs probably pursued their prey (mediportal ungulates) for a longer distance but at a slower speed than do living ambush predators. Upon catching up to its prey a bear-dog probably seized it with powerfully muscled forelimbs and killed it by tearing into its ribcage or neck with canines set in a narrow rostrum."
So maybe pounce makes more sense?
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