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[Let's Read] Dr. Dhrolin's Dictionary of Dinosaurs
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<blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 9227810" data-attributes="member: 6750502"><p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/BjRdoWm.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p><strong>Note:</strong> Quite a few dinosaurs in this book don’t have one size category, instead listing two. This is likely due to the fact that a few dinosaurs only have juvenile fossils discovered so far, meaning that more accurate surveys of their average size are harder to determine. The Yixian Bolong is the only one noted in that section this way: a Medium or Large Beast, specifically, but the dual-size categories become much more common going forward in this book.</p><p></p><p>The <strong>Bahariya Formation</strong> is set in Early Cretaceous Egypt, specifically the Western Desert. It is a region of extremes, veering between hot dry seasons marked by wildfires in scrublands and violent monsoon storms during the wet season, with the soil rich in nutrients for mangroves and other plants to thrive. In spite of all these plants, it didn’t have as many herbivores comparatively speaking, instead having more common carnivorous animals feeding off of the fish, crustaceans, and other aquatic life forms living in the waters. It is a dangerous place for adventurers to explore, with flesh-craving dinosaurs roaming for their next meal on the banks, while the scrublands are prone to fire in the dry season. And in the monsoon season, storms are common as the waters rise, provoking animals to flee for higher ground.</p><p></p><p>Interesting flora that can be found here include the Marsilea sp* fern that floats on the top of water, whose components could be either made into nourishing food or toxic parts (magic rules allow it to be brewed into potion that grants advantage on Dexterity saves for 24 hours, but the poison can inflict psychic damage), the Agathis sp Evergreen tree that is more than twice the height of even the largest sauropod** dinosaurs (magic rules indicate that the souls of druids often inhabit these trees, and using Speak with Plants to engage in a ritual with them grants advantage on all saves for 24 hours), or the Cladophlebis sp fern that grows on moist ground that can be baked into various edible substances (magic rules indicate it can be baked into flammable oils and grenades to deal bludgeoning and fire damage to targets).</p><p></p><p>*The “sp” is a scientific term indicating that researchers know the proper genus of a specimen, but cannot determine exactly which species it is.</p><p></p><p>**long-necks.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/wxcVciG.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycotylidae" target="_blank"><strong>Bahariyan Polycotylid</strong></a> is a plesiosaur that lives in freshwater environments with specialization in shallow waters. Its long jaw helps it snatch animals on the shoreline, to say nothing of fish and other underwater creatures. It is quite small as far as aquatic dinosaurs go (Medium or Large), indicating that it is likely a more cautious predator who relies on hit and run tactics and will only attack humanoids who interfere with their feeding spots and breeding grounds. In terms of stats it is a mobile CR 5 monster, having advantage on Dexterity saves and checks of various kinds while in water, and can multiattack with bite and paddle slap attacks. It can also use its paddles to stir up an underwater dirt cloud, causing an AoE heavily obscured blinding area. Its Optional Magical Rule increases its CR 6 to and grants it 40 feet of blindsight.</p><p></p><p><em>Player-Facing:</em> Like sharks and octopi, aquatic creatures are highly situational when it comes to choosing them for shapechanging and summoning spells. It’s competing with Giant Crocodile and Giant Shark for creatures of its CR, and it falls short of the Shark which has more hit points, a more damaging bite attack, faster swim speed, and has blindsight by default. The ability to create the equivalent of nonmagical darkness spells but underwater may be useful for line of sight and battlefield control, but as the party is likely Tier 3 by now they probably have better means of foiling enemies. Its Intelligence is low enough to be affected by Animal Friendship.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/n8Jc31r.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcharodontosaurus" target="_blank"><strong>Carcharodontosaurus</strong></a> is one of the largest theropod dinosaurs known, and much like the Tyrannosaurus Rex it is a big carnivorous biped with a powerful bite. While it shares territory with the spinosaurus, their different diets mean that they don’t compete with each other for food and are thus less likely to come into conflict. It is a Huge CR 10 beast with a notable resistance to non-magical slashing damage, advantage on attack rolls against Large to Gargantuan sized creatures, and can make three Ripping Bite attacks which can inflict a new condition known as Torn. Torn is basically what you’d call “bleeding” in other RPGs, where every round in combat or minute outside combat the target must make a Constitution save or take slashing damage. The condition is a tad harder to cure, requiring either 25 hit points worth of healing, a DC 18 Medicine check, Lesser Restoration, or doing nothing but long resting. It also has one use of Legendary Resistance, and its Optional Magical Rule increases its CR to 12, granting it the ability to pick from a random table of Mutations listed later in this book and can spend a Legendary Action to replace one of its mutations with a new one.</p><p></p><p><em>Player-Facing:</em> Much like the Yutyrannus, this is a monster whose stat block PC won’t get to use themselves until the highest levels of play. The creature is rather one-note in comparison to the Yutyrannus, mostly being chomp and bite but it has the potential to really wear down foes’ hit points with a combination of Multiattack and a nasty new condition. It is faster than the T-Rex and Yutyrranus, having a 60 foot speed in comparison to their respective 45 and 50 foot speeds. It is too smart to be affected by Animal Friendship.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/TQewqUK.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paralititan" target="_blank"><strong>Paralititan</strong></a> is a sauropod, those famous long-necked dinosaurs are the largest known land animals. The Paralititan is an herbivore like the rest of its kind, and is large enough to not fear most predators. Such creatures often prey on their young and in numbers rather than going after adults. The creature notably includes a new size category carried over from 3rd Edition, being either Gargantuan or Colossal, and is CR 10. It is so large that it is <em>immune</em> to non-magical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from any source smaller than Huge, and is also immune to the Frightened and Prone conditions while also having advantage on saves vs paralysis and poison. Its Achilles Heel is that it automatically fails any Dexterity save. The Paralititan’s major offensive capabilities include a bonus action Bellow that can cause an AoE frightened effect on non-Paralititans, or a Multiattack where it can do two Huge Stomps that damage and can knock prone a target who fails a Strength save. Finally, it can Rear Up as an action, and then use an Almighty Stomp on its next action that can hit up to two targets who are automatically knocked prone, and as a result of said attack it delivers an AoE prone condition to further targets who fail saves from the shockwave. The Optional Magical Rule increases its CR to 11 and grants it the ability to summon storms when it bellows, calling down lightning strikes on itself and nearby targets. As it has resistance to lightning damage even in its base stat block, this is more of a small price than a risky gambit for the dinosaur.</p><p></p><p><em>Player-Facing:</em> <em>Player-Facing:</em> The paralititan is yet another dinosaur with no official Beast matching its CR. Once again it’s a decent choice, but unlike the Yutyrannus of the same CR it requires more setup to use effectively, making it a slightly worse option IMO. It's really slow at 15 foot walking speed, and while its Almighty Stomp deals a lot of damage it requires giving up a round’s worth of actions. The real value is in its outright immunity to non-magical damage from non-big sources, which depending on the encounter can be an immense boon. Just imagine sending this creature to assault an enemy fortification as arrows uselessly bounce off of it. It may be at risk from siege weapons, however. It can be affected by Animal Friendship.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/Kt1rit8.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinosaurus" target="_blank"><strong>Spinosaurus</strong></a> is a dinosaur whose various physical functions have been debated by paleontologists, and it was only in recent times that new fossils shown more variations in its proportions. The animal has been constructed in a variety of ways, and the stat block’s capabilities in the book reflect the most recent discoveries. The spinosaurus was a carnivore who specialized in hunting fish, although it was likely able to feed upon terrestrial animals and scavenge carcasses as alternative food sources. It is a Huge CR 7 creature who can multiattack with a snapping jaw that can grapple targets and a hooked claw that can push a target 5 feet in any direction. It can also use a reaction when hit by an attack or save-provoking effect to gain immunity to fire or cold damage for 1 turn due to thermoregulation, and when underwater it has blindsight and can hold its breath for half an hour. Its Optional Magical Rule increases its CR to 8, where each time the players encounter it it will have a new feature representing a dramatically different anatomy, such as increasing its base 14 AC to 20, or doubling its walking speed to 60 feet but removing its 30 foot swim speed.</p><p></p><p><em>Player-Facing:</em> Its Challenge Rating is just a smidge too high for the Moon Druid’s Wild Shape, but it is still a polymorphable option. As a CR 7 monster it’s competing with a Giant Ape (CR 7) and Mammoth (CR 6). The spinosaurus has a higher AC than either of them, but its 128 hit points fall short of the ape’s 157. Unlike either it has a swim speed of 30 feet, and in regards to its attacks it has no ranged attack (ape can throw a rock) but its snapping jaw deals more average damage than the ape’s fist, with the hooked claw being about on par. It can deal a lot more damage than the mammoth as that animal cannot multiattack. As the spinosaurus’ attacks also impose additional things, it’s a good battlefield control option. Due to this, the dinosaur is a pretty nice Polymorph option. Its Intelligence is too high for Animal Friendship.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/JgK8vVX.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stomatosuchus" target="_blank"><strong>Stomatosuchus</strong></a> is a dinosaur that closely resembles a crocodile, although as only one fossil of it was discovered not much is known about the animal. The absence of conical teeth causes researchers to assume that it fed primarily on plankton, but some suggest that it can use its jaw and thin teeth to trap prey. The book goes with the latter interpretation, noting that plankton-based filter feeding requires very specific feeding structures. Its stat block is a Large or Huge CR 4 creature, and predictably it has a higher swim speed than walking speed at 30/20 feet. Its immune system is similar to crocodiles, granting it resistance to poison damage and immunity to the poisoned condition. Underwater it can hold its breath for half an hour and has advantage on Stealth checks, which slightly helps its meager +2 bonus on said skill. It can Multiattack with a bite and tail swipe, and it can swallow small and tiny creatures bitten which are restrained and take further damage in its throat pouch. In terms of tactics the Stomatosuchus won’t attack Medium and larger creatures save in self-defense or in defense of its feeding grounds. Its Optional Magical Rule doesn’t alter its CR, instead giving it a 1d6 table of random magical treasure it swallowed which in turn can give it a specific ability. For example, a holy symbol grants it resistance to radiant damage, while a wand shard can let it cast a damaging cantrip.</p><p></p><p><em>Player-Facing:</em> As the Stomatosuchus isn’t as damaging as a giant scorpion’s poison or stegosaurus’ tail even with Multiattack, its major feature is its restraining swallow. While it doesn’t impose the Blinded condition, one could argue that a creature trapped inside breaks line of sight to everyone else, which can be a good way to shut down enemy spellcasters. Unfortunately it only works on Small and Tiny opponents, which greatly limits its usability. Its Intelligence is low enough to be affected by Animal Friendship</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/TpSAKgq.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p><strong>Hateg</strong> is a landmass peculiar for housing fossils of dinosaurs who were significantly smaller than other specimens found elsewhere. This is known as insular dwarfism, where animals on islands evolve to smaller sizes in order to adapt to the limited resources. Hateg Island is believed to either be a single island, archipelago, or “tiny spit of land” as the book puts it. I don’t exactly know what that last part means, and how that differs from a tiny island. In spite of its small size Hateg Island was dominated by subtropical forests and was very biodiverse, containing all sorts of animals. As an adventuring location it has a unique magical property where any creature from outside who steps upon the island shrinks by one size category over the next long rest. The effect reverses if they get off the island within two days, otherwise it’s permanent.</p><p></p><p>The unique flora of Hateg Island tends towards the tropical, such as the Pandanites trinervis shrub with fibrous spiky leaves that are sharp enough to cut skin and likely could’ve been made into a curry (magic rule has it where consuming the fruit deals fire damage but grants the eager the ability to breathe fire as a breath weapon a limited number of times), the Ettingshausenia onomasta tree whose wood is sturdy enough to have practical applications for construction (its optional rule causes fibres to erupt when it’s cut down, transforming nearby creatures into Sharovipteryx dinosaurs [small harmless creature detailed later in this book] for 10 minutes), or Phyllites sp ferns that grow in shady areas (magical rules cause it to ooze milky fluids that cause those it comes into contact with to gain vulnerability to radiant damage for 24 hours).</p><p></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/yWyAWbn.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balaur_bondoc" target="_blank"><strong>Balaur</strong></a> is the first Hateg dinosaur, named after a dragon from Romanian mythology. It is a Small flightless creature with sickle-like claws on their feet, and its incomplete fossil makes reconstructing its form quite challenging. It could be either herbivorous or omnivorous, and many aspects of it are still under debate. As a creature it is CR ½ and suited to being an ambush predator, with 40 foot walking speed, advantage on Stealth check, darkvision of 60 feet,* can jump up to 30 feet, and is immune to falling damage. It can give an allied Balaur advantage on attacks and saving throws for 1 turn as an action, and its sole offensive feature is using its claws that can damage and grapple foes who fail a Strength save. Its Optional Magical Rule increases its CR to 1 and causes them to revive into a ghostlike form, gaining full hit points and dealing necrotic damage with its claws. This only triggers if it used its advantage-granting ability on an ally, representing them sharing the same spirit.</p><p></p><p>*The only dinosaur with this in the Bahariya Formation.</p><p></p><p><em>Player-Facing:</em> For shapechanging purposes it is competing with apes, crocodiles, and warhorses. Its HP and AC are more or less the same as all three of these creatures, but it has better Passive Perception and Stealth bonuses. Combined with their huge jump speed they are quite good for scouting. Its melee attack is slightly weaker than the aforementioned animals in terms of average damage, and the crocodile’s grapple is harder to escape. On the plus side they can easily hit low-lying flying targets who are up to 30 feet off the ground and don’t have to worry about falling damage when striking them this way. But if you’re wild shaping into an animal to sneak around, there are better options for pure stealth. Due to this, the Balaur is rather okay as a CR ½ choice. Same for Conjure Animals, but their CR 1 magic bump generally isn’t worth it IMO. They’re too smart to be affected by Animal Friendship</p><p></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/RCEn3Vp.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatzegopteryx" target="_blank"><strong>Hatzegopteryx</strong></a> is this section’s obligatory high-CR “boss” monster. As it could fly to other landmasses, the hatzegopteryx wouldn’t have been affected by insular dwarfism in competing for resources, and at Huge size it would’ve towered over every other creature on Hateg Island as its apex predator. The book recommends playing it as a fearless creature who would regard even humanoids as prey, usually flying in to catch and swallow someone before flying away. It is a CR 14 creature who focuses on hit-and-run tactics, having an impressive 100 foot fly speed,* 25 foot walking speed, and while on the ground it can Multiattack three times with a combination of its beak, ranging from jabbing it as a strong spear-like motion to prone and stun a target or a flurry which only inflicts prone but has a much higher to-hit bonus (+12 vs spear’s +8). It can swallow prone creatures as a bonus action if it has at least 100 hit points, but due to being heavy it can only fly via a Legendary Action (which it has 1 per round) or if it’s falling. Its throat pouch restrains and deals bludgeoning damage to targets, while also slowly suffocating them over the course of 1 minute. For defensive features it is immune to thunder damage,** has one use of Legendary Resistance, and has an Evasion-like feature that can’t be used on attacks originating from swallowed targets. Its Optional Magical Rule bumps it CR to 18, granting it the ability to perform an AoE Sonic Shockwave by increasing its fly speed to 600 feet and moving that distance, can screech as a Legendary Action that can damage and frighten creatures, and gains resistance to both magical and nonmagical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage along with cold, fire, and lightning.</p><p></p><p>*This speed is reduced by half when it’s carrying swallowed targets.</p><p></p><p>**I wonder how that works in terms of scientific anatomy?</p><p></p><p><em>Player-Facing:</em> <s>Too high CR to shapechange into (its magic version has the highest CR in this book).</s> In addition to being yet another high-level Polymorph option, Hatzegopteryx has an ace up its sleeve in that few creatures can beat a 100 foot fly speed. While that speed is reduced when it swallows creatures, 50 foot flight isn’t anything to sneeze at either. The main problem is that as it can only fly via a legendary action or if falling, a Polymorphed version will somehow have to be launched into the air by another source in order to do so, more or less requiring the caster to cast the spell while dropping from a height. The fact that it can only attack while on the ground makes it a bit situational and weak, albeit it can still swallow prone creatures while flying. The hatzegopteryx is dumb enough to be affected by Animal Friendship, but given its Legendary Action will most likely resist that.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/Onwn06N.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magyarosaurus" target="_blank"><strong>Magyarosaurus</strong></a> is a very small sauropod, being only Large in size. Even at its reduced size most predators wouldn’t have bothered with adults, and the hatzegopteryx would’ve hunted the hatchlings instead. Due to being isolated on an island it likely wouldn’t have been afraid of unfamiliar creatures such as outside explorers, which would’ve made the magyarosaurus easy to domesticate for agricultural purposes. In terms of stats it is CR 4, notable for a crappy -4 Dexterity saving throw but a sturdy +6 Constitution save and advantage on Strength saves of which it has +4. Like the Paralititan it can rear up as an action to deliver a damaging prone-inducing stomp, but otherwise its main attack is slamming with its neck which it can also use as a counterattack reaction when hit in melee. Its Optional Magical Rule increases its CR to 5 and grants it the ability to cast Invisibility twice per day without components.</p><p></p><p><em>Player-Facing:</em> Much like the Bolong, this CR 4 dinosaur is competing with other big and beefy animals such as the elephant and stegosaurus. It has the potential to deal more damage in a round than the stegosaurus if it uses a stomp attack (33 damage average) and is followed up by a reaction-based neck attack (15 damage average). But as the stomp requires sacrificing a round and the reaction attack requires getting hit in combat, this still makes them an inferior choice for damage. Their 20 foot walking speed is also far slower than the aforementioned animals, another point against them. Their Hit Points are far higher than other Beasts of its CR at 106, and its 17 AC is far higher than the stego’s 13 and elephant’s 12, which helps save it as being a decent option in terms of sheer endurance and tanking.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/NVAjJBR.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Struthiosaurus" target="_blank"><strong>Struthiosaurus</strong></a> is a dinosaur noted for its osteoderm armor, which are bony deposits lining its body. It was an herbivore that could use its long tongue to eat plants growing close to the ground. It is a nodosaurid, which along with ankylosaurids is part of the Ankylosauria group.* But the Struthiosaurus’ tail is more flexible than an ankylosaur’s rounded bludgeoning tail. In terms of stats it is CR ½, possessing a decent 22 hit points and a very sturdy 17 AC. Any creature that hits it in melee suffers 1d4 slashing damage, and it can attack by tackling which deals a mixture of bludgeoning and slashing damage. Alternatively it can take up a defensive stance as an action, granting itself resistance to non-magical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage. Its Optional Magical Rules enhance this Defensive Stance with rainbow osteoderms that let it swap one of the damage resistances with any other damage type, and it deals +1d2 damage with its automatic counter damage.</p><p></p><p>*Figure they could’ve used a more different-sounding name for the latter.</p><p></p><p><em>Player-Facing:</em> No other official Beast at this CR has Armor Class this high, which makes it a good choice for a melee attacker. It doesn’t do as much damage as an ape or crocodile, nor is its to-hit bonus that good at +3. Ironically it is better off using Dodge instead of a Defensive Stance: Dodge effectively grants it +5 AC and can thus negate damage entirely rather than halving it. The damage automatically inflicted by attackers isn’t enough to matter save against very weak opponents such as goblins, and its optional magical rule doesn’t really increase its overall effectiveness. It is for these reasons that the Struthiosaurus is a bit of a gimmick option useful mostly for tanking purposes. Its Intelligence is low enough to be affected by Animal Friendship</p><p></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/xpH17pe.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zalmoxes" target="_blank"><strong>Zalmoxes</strong></a> is a Small bipedal herbivore part of the Rahbdondontidae, which includes much larger animals. Its discovery on Hateg Island made it the textbook example of insular dwarfism, but a recent study argued that it was average-sized for that group and other Rahbdondontidae evolved to become even bigger. The Zalmoxes is primarily a herd animal who often have sentries to scan for threats. The book suggests that this behavior combined with its stout body would’ve made them easy to domesticate for livestock.</p><p></p><p>In terms of stats they are CR ¼ but have an awful lot of hit points for this CR at 42. Their AC is still a low 11, and while they have +3 Perception and Darkvision of 30 feet,* their Passive Perception is 1 lower at 12. Their sturdy body grants them resistance to non-magical bludgeoning damage, and while it can attack with a beak it will not attack unless cornered or otherwise trapped, preferring to flee instead. Its Optional Magical Rule doesn’t change its CR, where it lets out a shriek upon reaching 0 hit points, cursing whoever dealt the knockout/killing blow to suffer supernatural cowardice. For the next 24 hours or until magically cured they must make a Wisdom save each time they enter combat, or become frightened of all foes for a minute.</p><p></p><p>*Another dinosaur with this exclusive sense type for their region.</p><p></p><p><em>Player-Facing:</em> Boy howdy, talk about defense over offense! 42 hit points is astounding for a creature of this CR, although its beak attack at 1d6+1 can be done better by creatures such as a wolf or the poisonous animals in this grouping. The darkvision is much shorter than other animals that get it, and its non-magical bludgeoning resistance is too situational to be of much use. It’s an overall poor choice for shapechanging or summoning, and is too smart to be affected by Animal Friendship.</p><p></p><p><strong>Thoughts So Far:</strong> Almost every dinosaur has some interesting ability they can do in combat beyond straight damage, plus the rare non-combat utility feature such as the Balaur’s great leap. This helps set them apart from Beasts in the official sourcebooks, which I like very much. Of the two sections, I like the Bahariya Formation a lot more: it gives us some higher-CR and bigger dinosaurs, a welcome change of pace to the less threatening Yixian group. Hateg Island isn’t as exciting as an adventuring location, as its primary terrain-based hazard seems to be permanent size reduction which feels a bit unimaginative and overly punishing. The dinosaurs of Hateg Island also don’t excite me as much as Bahariya’s, but the inclusion of what is basically a tough, speedy hit-and-run boss monster is a definite high point. The Agathis’ druidic soul magical rule is really cool, and I do like the various herbal creations one can make from the plants. So even with my criticisms these two sections are still a worthwhile read.</p><p></p><p><strong>Join us next time as we explore the Crato Formation and begin the Rest of the Alphabet!</strong></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Libertad, post: 9227810, member: 6750502"] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/BjRdoWm.png[/img][/center] [b]Note:[/b] Quite a few dinosaurs in this book don’t have one size category, instead listing two. This is likely due to the fact that a few dinosaurs only have juvenile fossils discovered so far, meaning that more accurate surveys of their average size are harder to determine. The Yixian Bolong is the only one noted in that section this way: a Medium or Large Beast, specifically, but the dual-size categories become much more common going forward in this book. The [b]Bahariya Formation[/b] is set in Early Cretaceous Egypt, specifically the Western Desert. It is a region of extremes, veering between hot dry seasons marked by wildfires in scrublands and violent monsoon storms during the wet season, with the soil rich in nutrients for mangroves and other plants to thrive. In spite of all these plants, it didn’t have as many herbivores comparatively speaking, instead having more common carnivorous animals feeding off of the fish, crustaceans, and other aquatic life forms living in the waters. It is a dangerous place for adventurers to explore, with flesh-craving dinosaurs roaming for their next meal on the banks, while the scrublands are prone to fire in the dry season. And in the monsoon season, storms are common as the waters rise, provoking animals to flee for higher ground. Interesting flora that can be found here include the Marsilea sp* fern that floats on the top of water, whose components could be either made into nourishing food or toxic parts (magic rules allow it to be brewed into potion that grants advantage on Dexterity saves for 24 hours, but the poison can inflict psychic damage), the Agathis sp Evergreen tree that is more than twice the height of even the largest sauropod** dinosaurs (magic rules indicate that the souls of druids often inhabit these trees, and using Speak with Plants to engage in a ritual with them grants advantage on all saves for 24 hours), or the Cladophlebis sp fern that grows on moist ground that can be baked into various edible substances (magic rules indicate it can be baked into flammable oils and grenades to deal bludgeoning and fire damage to targets). *The “sp” is a scientific term indicating that researchers know the proper genus of a specimen, but cannot determine exactly which species it is. **long-necks. [img]https://i.imgur.com/wxcVciG.png[/img] [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycotylidae][b]Bahariyan Polycotylid[/b][/url] is a plesiosaur that lives in freshwater environments with specialization in shallow waters. Its long jaw helps it snatch animals on the shoreline, to say nothing of fish and other underwater creatures. It is quite small as far as aquatic dinosaurs go (Medium or Large), indicating that it is likely a more cautious predator who relies on hit and run tactics and will only attack humanoids who interfere with their feeding spots and breeding grounds. In terms of stats it is a mobile CR 5 monster, having advantage on Dexterity saves and checks of various kinds while in water, and can multiattack with bite and paddle slap attacks. It can also use its paddles to stir up an underwater dirt cloud, causing an AoE heavily obscured blinding area. Its Optional Magical Rule increases its CR 6 to and grants it 40 feet of blindsight. [i]Player-Facing:[/i] Like sharks and octopi, aquatic creatures are highly situational when it comes to choosing them for shapechanging and summoning spells. It’s competing with Giant Crocodile and Giant Shark for creatures of its CR, and it falls short of the Shark which has more hit points, a more damaging bite attack, faster swim speed, and has blindsight by default. The ability to create the equivalent of nonmagical darkness spells but underwater may be useful for line of sight and battlefield control, but as the party is likely Tier 3 by now they probably have better means of foiling enemies. Its Intelligence is low enough to be affected by Animal Friendship. [img]https://i.imgur.com/n8Jc31r.png[/img] [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcharodontosaurus][b]Carcharodontosaurus[/b][/url] is one of the largest theropod dinosaurs known, and much like the Tyrannosaurus Rex it is a big carnivorous biped with a powerful bite. While it shares territory with the spinosaurus, their different diets mean that they don’t compete with each other for food and are thus less likely to come into conflict. It is a Huge CR 10 beast with a notable resistance to non-magical slashing damage, advantage on attack rolls against Large to Gargantuan sized creatures, and can make three Ripping Bite attacks which can inflict a new condition known as Torn. Torn is basically what you’d call “bleeding” in other RPGs, where every round in combat or minute outside combat the target must make a Constitution save or take slashing damage. The condition is a tad harder to cure, requiring either 25 hit points worth of healing, a DC 18 Medicine check, Lesser Restoration, or doing nothing but long resting. It also has one use of Legendary Resistance, and its Optional Magical Rule increases its CR to 12, granting it the ability to pick from a random table of Mutations listed later in this book and can spend a Legendary Action to replace one of its mutations with a new one. [i]Player-Facing:[/i] Much like the Yutyrannus, this is a monster whose stat block PC won’t get to use themselves until the highest levels of play. The creature is rather one-note in comparison to the Yutyrannus, mostly being chomp and bite but it has the potential to really wear down foes’ hit points with a combination of Multiattack and a nasty new condition. It is faster than the T-Rex and Yutyrranus, having a 60 foot speed in comparison to their respective 45 and 50 foot speeds. It is too smart to be affected by Animal Friendship. [img]https://i.imgur.com/TQewqUK.png[/img] [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paralititan][b]Paralititan[/b][/url] is a sauropod, those famous long-necked dinosaurs are the largest known land animals. The Paralititan is an herbivore like the rest of its kind, and is large enough to not fear most predators. Such creatures often prey on their young and in numbers rather than going after adults. The creature notably includes a new size category carried over from 3rd Edition, being either Gargantuan or Colossal, and is CR 10. It is so large that it is [i]immune[/i] to non-magical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from any source smaller than Huge, and is also immune to the Frightened and Prone conditions while also having advantage on saves vs paralysis and poison. Its Achilles Heel is that it automatically fails any Dexterity save. The Paralititan’s major offensive capabilities include a bonus action Bellow that can cause an AoE frightened effect on non-Paralititans, or a Multiattack where it can do two Huge Stomps that damage and can knock prone a target who fails a Strength save. Finally, it can Rear Up as an action, and then use an Almighty Stomp on its next action that can hit up to two targets who are automatically knocked prone, and as a result of said attack it delivers an AoE prone condition to further targets who fail saves from the shockwave. The Optional Magical Rule increases its CR to 11 and grants it the ability to summon storms when it bellows, calling down lightning strikes on itself and nearby targets. As it has resistance to lightning damage even in its base stat block, this is more of a small price than a risky gambit for the dinosaur. [i]Player-Facing:[/i] [i]Player-Facing:[/i] The paralititan is yet another dinosaur with no official Beast matching its CR. Once again it’s a decent choice, but unlike the Yutyrannus of the same CR it requires more setup to use effectively, making it a slightly worse option IMO. It's really slow at 15 foot walking speed, and while its Almighty Stomp deals a lot of damage it requires giving up a round’s worth of actions. The real value is in its outright immunity to non-magical damage from non-big sources, which depending on the encounter can be an immense boon. Just imagine sending this creature to assault an enemy fortification as arrows uselessly bounce off of it. It may be at risk from siege weapons, however. It can be affected by Animal Friendship. [img]https://i.imgur.com/Kt1rit8.png[/img] [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinosaurus][b]Spinosaurus[/b][/url] is a dinosaur whose various physical functions have been debated by paleontologists, and it was only in recent times that new fossils shown more variations in its proportions. The animal has been constructed in a variety of ways, and the stat block’s capabilities in the book reflect the most recent discoveries. The spinosaurus was a carnivore who specialized in hunting fish, although it was likely able to feed upon terrestrial animals and scavenge carcasses as alternative food sources. It is a Huge CR 7 creature who can multiattack with a snapping jaw that can grapple targets and a hooked claw that can push a target 5 feet in any direction. It can also use a reaction when hit by an attack or save-provoking effect to gain immunity to fire or cold damage for 1 turn due to thermoregulation, and when underwater it has blindsight and can hold its breath for half an hour. Its Optional Magical Rule increases its CR to 8, where each time the players encounter it it will have a new feature representing a dramatically different anatomy, such as increasing its base 14 AC to 20, or doubling its walking speed to 60 feet but removing its 30 foot swim speed. [i]Player-Facing:[/i] Its Challenge Rating is just a smidge too high for the Moon Druid’s Wild Shape, but it is still a polymorphable option. As a CR 7 monster it’s competing with a Giant Ape (CR 7) and Mammoth (CR 6). The spinosaurus has a higher AC than either of them, but its 128 hit points fall short of the ape’s 157. Unlike either it has a swim speed of 30 feet, and in regards to its attacks it has no ranged attack (ape can throw a rock) but its snapping jaw deals more average damage than the ape’s fist, with the hooked claw being about on par. It can deal a lot more damage than the mammoth as that animal cannot multiattack. As the spinosaurus’ attacks also impose additional things, it’s a good battlefield control option. Due to this, the dinosaur is a pretty nice Polymorph option. Its Intelligence is too high for Animal Friendship. [img]https://i.imgur.com/JgK8vVX.png[/img] [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stomatosuchus][b]Stomatosuchus[/b][/url] is a dinosaur that closely resembles a crocodile, although as only one fossil of it was discovered not much is known about the animal. The absence of conical teeth causes researchers to assume that it fed primarily on plankton, but some suggest that it can use its jaw and thin teeth to trap prey. The book goes with the latter interpretation, noting that plankton-based filter feeding requires very specific feeding structures. Its stat block is a Large or Huge CR 4 creature, and predictably it has a higher swim speed than walking speed at 30/20 feet. Its immune system is similar to crocodiles, granting it resistance to poison damage and immunity to the poisoned condition. Underwater it can hold its breath for half an hour and has advantage on Stealth checks, which slightly helps its meager +2 bonus on said skill. It can Multiattack with a bite and tail swipe, and it can swallow small and tiny creatures bitten which are restrained and take further damage in its throat pouch. In terms of tactics the Stomatosuchus won’t attack Medium and larger creatures save in self-defense or in defense of its feeding grounds. Its Optional Magical Rule doesn’t alter its CR, instead giving it a 1d6 table of random magical treasure it swallowed which in turn can give it a specific ability. For example, a holy symbol grants it resistance to radiant damage, while a wand shard can let it cast a damaging cantrip. [i]Player-Facing:[/i] As the Stomatosuchus isn’t as damaging as a giant scorpion’s poison or stegosaurus’ tail even with Multiattack, its major feature is its restraining swallow. While it doesn’t impose the Blinded condition, one could argue that a creature trapped inside breaks line of sight to everyone else, which can be a good way to shut down enemy spellcasters. Unfortunately it only works on Small and Tiny opponents, which greatly limits its usability. Its Intelligence is low enough to be affected by Animal Friendship [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/TpSAKgq.png[/img][/center] [B]Hateg[/B] is a landmass peculiar for housing fossils of dinosaurs who were significantly smaller than other specimens found elsewhere. This is known as insular dwarfism, where animals on islands evolve to smaller sizes in order to adapt to the limited resources. Hateg Island is believed to either be a single island, archipelago, or “tiny spit of land” as the book puts it. I don’t exactly know what that last part means, and how that differs from a tiny island. In spite of its small size Hateg Island was dominated by subtropical forests and was very biodiverse, containing all sorts of animals. As an adventuring location it has a unique magical property where any creature from outside who steps upon the island shrinks by one size category over the next long rest. The effect reverses if they get off the island within two days, otherwise it’s permanent. The unique flora of Hateg Island tends towards the tropical, such as the Pandanites trinervis shrub with fibrous spiky leaves that are sharp enough to cut skin and likely could’ve been made into a curry (magic rule has it where consuming the fruit deals fire damage but grants the eager the ability to breathe fire as a breath weapon a limited number of times), the Ettingshausenia onomasta tree whose wood is sturdy enough to have practical applications for construction (its optional rule causes fibres to erupt when it’s cut down, transforming nearby creatures into Sharovipteryx dinosaurs [small harmless creature detailed later in this book] for 10 minutes), or Phyllites sp ferns that grow in shady areas (magical rules cause it to ooze milky fluids that cause those it comes into contact with to gain vulnerability to radiant damage for 24 hours). [img]https://i.imgur.com/yWyAWbn.png[/img] [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balaur_bondoc][b]Balaur[/b][/url] is the first Hateg dinosaur, named after a dragon from Romanian mythology. It is a Small flightless creature with sickle-like claws on their feet, and its incomplete fossil makes reconstructing its form quite challenging. It could be either herbivorous or omnivorous, and many aspects of it are still under debate. As a creature it is CR ½ and suited to being an ambush predator, with 40 foot walking speed, advantage on Stealth check, darkvision of 60 feet,* can jump up to 30 feet, and is immune to falling damage. It can give an allied Balaur advantage on attacks and saving throws for 1 turn as an action, and its sole offensive feature is using its claws that can damage and grapple foes who fail a Strength save. Its Optional Magical Rule increases its CR to 1 and causes them to revive into a ghostlike form, gaining full hit points and dealing necrotic damage with its claws. This only triggers if it used its advantage-granting ability on an ally, representing them sharing the same spirit. *The only dinosaur with this in the Bahariya Formation. [i]Player-Facing:[/i] For shapechanging purposes it is competing with apes, crocodiles, and warhorses. Its HP and AC are more or less the same as all three of these creatures, but it has better Passive Perception and Stealth bonuses. Combined with their huge jump speed they are quite good for scouting. Its melee attack is slightly weaker than the aforementioned animals in terms of average damage, and the crocodile’s grapple is harder to escape. On the plus side they can easily hit low-lying flying targets who are up to 30 feet off the ground and don’t have to worry about falling damage when striking them this way. But if you’re wild shaping into an animal to sneak around, there are better options for pure stealth. Due to this, the Balaur is rather okay as a CR ½ choice. Same for Conjure Animals, but their CR 1 magic bump generally isn’t worth it IMO. They’re too smart to be affected by Animal Friendship [img]https://i.imgur.com/RCEn3Vp.png[/img] [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatzegopteryx][b]Hatzegopteryx[/b][/url] is this section’s obligatory high-CR “boss” monster. As it could fly to other landmasses, the hatzegopteryx wouldn’t have been affected by insular dwarfism in competing for resources, and at Huge size it would’ve towered over every other creature on Hateg Island as its apex predator. The book recommends playing it as a fearless creature who would regard even humanoids as prey, usually flying in to catch and swallow someone before flying away. It is a CR 14 creature who focuses on hit-and-run tactics, having an impressive 100 foot fly speed,* 25 foot walking speed, and while on the ground it can Multiattack three times with a combination of its beak, ranging from jabbing it as a strong spear-like motion to prone and stun a target or a flurry which only inflicts prone but has a much higher to-hit bonus (+12 vs spear’s +8). It can swallow prone creatures as a bonus action if it has at least 100 hit points, but due to being heavy it can only fly via a Legendary Action (which it has 1 per round) or if it’s falling. Its throat pouch restrains and deals bludgeoning damage to targets, while also slowly suffocating them over the course of 1 minute. For defensive features it is immune to thunder damage,** has one use of Legendary Resistance, and has an Evasion-like feature that can’t be used on attacks originating from swallowed targets. Its Optional Magical Rule bumps it CR to 18, granting it the ability to perform an AoE Sonic Shockwave by increasing its fly speed to 600 feet and moving that distance, can screech as a Legendary Action that can damage and frighten creatures, and gains resistance to both magical and nonmagical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage along with cold, fire, and lightning. *This speed is reduced by half when it’s carrying swallowed targets. **I wonder how that works in terms of scientific anatomy? [i]Player-Facing:[/i] [s]Too high CR to shapechange into (its magic version has the highest CR in this book).[/s] In addition to being yet another high-level Polymorph option, Hatzegopteryx has an ace up its sleeve in that few creatures can beat a 100 foot fly speed. While that speed is reduced when it swallows creatures, 50 foot flight isn’t anything to sneeze at either. The main problem is that as it can only fly via a legendary action or if falling, a Polymorphed version will somehow have to be launched into the air by another source in order to do so, more or less requiring the caster to cast the spell while dropping from a height. The fact that it can only attack while on the ground makes it a bit situational and weak, albeit it can still swallow prone creatures while flying. The hatzegopteryx is dumb enough to be affected by Animal Friendship, but given its Legendary Action will most likely resist that. [img]https://i.imgur.com/Onwn06N.png[/img] [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magyarosaurus][b]Magyarosaurus[/b][/url] is a very small sauropod, being only Large in size. Even at its reduced size most predators wouldn’t have bothered with adults, and the hatzegopteryx would’ve hunted the hatchlings instead. Due to being isolated on an island it likely wouldn’t have been afraid of unfamiliar creatures such as outside explorers, which would’ve made the magyarosaurus easy to domesticate for agricultural purposes. In terms of stats it is CR 4, notable for a crappy -4 Dexterity saving throw but a sturdy +6 Constitution save and advantage on Strength saves of which it has +4. Like the Paralititan it can rear up as an action to deliver a damaging prone-inducing stomp, but otherwise its main attack is slamming with its neck which it can also use as a counterattack reaction when hit in melee. Its Optional Magical Rule increases its CR to 5 and grants it the ability to cast Invisibility twice per day without components. [i]Player-Facing:[/i] Much like the Bolong, this CR 4 dinosaur is competing with other big and beefy animals such as the elephant and stegosaurus. It has the potential to deal more damage in a round than the stegosaurus if it uses a stomp attack (33 damage average) and is followed up by a reaction-based neck attack (15 damage average). But as the stomp requires sacrificing a round and the reaction attack requires getting hit in combat, this still makes them an inferior choice for damage. Their 20 foot walking speed is also far slower than the aforementioned animals, another point against them. Their Hit Points are far higher than other Beasts of its CR at 106, and its 17 AC is far higher than the stego’s 13 and elephant’s 12, which helps save it as being a decent option in terms of sheer endurance and tanking. [img]https://i.imgur.com/NVAjJBR.png[/img] [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Struthiosaurus][b]Struthiosaurus[/b][/url] is a dinosaur noted for its osteoderm armor, which are bony deposits lining its body. It was an herbivore that could use its long tongue to eat plants growing close to the ground. It is a nodosaurid, which along with ankylosaurids is part of the Ankylosauria group.* But the Struthiosaurus’ tail is more flexible than an ankylosaur’s rounded bludgeoning tail. In terms of stats it is CR ½, possessing a decent 22 hit points and a very sturdy 17 AC. Any creature that hits it in melee suffers 1d4 slashing damage, and it can attack by tackling which deals a mixture of bludgeoning and slashing damage. Alternatively it can take up a defensive stance as an action, granting itself resistance to non-magical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage. Its Optional Magical Rules enhance this Defensive Stance with rainbow osteoderms that let it swap one of the damage resistances with any other damage type, and it deals +1d2 damage with its automatic counter damage. *Figure they could’ve used a more different-sounding name for the latter. [i]Player-Facing:[/i] No other official Beast at this CR has Armor Class this high, which makes it a good choice for a melee attacker. It doesn’t do as much damage as an ape or crocodile, nor is its to-hit bonus that good at +3. Ironically it is better off using Dodge instead of a Defensive Stance: Dodge effectively grants it +5 AC and can thus negate damage entirely rather than halving it. The damage automatically inflicted by attackers isn’t enough to matter save against very weak opponents such as goblins, and its optional magical rule doesn’t really increase its overall effectiveness. It is for these reasons that the Struthiosaurus is a bit of a gimmick option useful mostly for tanking purposes. Its Intelligence is low enough to be affected by Animal Friendship [img]https://i.imgur.com/xpH17pe.png[/img] [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zalmoxes][b]Zalmoxes[/b][/url] is a Small bipedal herbivore part of the Rahbdondontidae, which includes much larger animals. Its discovery on Hateg Island made it the textbook example of insular dwarfism, but a recent study argued that it was average-sized for that group and other Rahbdondontidae evolved to become even bigger. The Zalmoxes is primarily a herd animal who often have sentries to scan for threats. The book suggests that this behavior combined with its stout body would’ve made them easy to domesticate for livestock. In terms of stats they are CR ¼ but have an awful lot of hit points for this CR at 42. Their AC is still a low 11, and while they have +3 Perception and Darkvision of 30 feet,* their Passive Perception is 1 lower at 12. Their sturdy body grants them resistance to non-magical bludgeoning damage, and while it can attack with a beak it will not attack unless cornered or otherwise trapped, preferring to flee instead. Its Optional Magical Rule doesn’t change its CR, where it lets out a shriek upon reaching 0 hit points, cursing whoever dealt the knockout/killing blow to suffer supernatural cowardice. For the next 24 hours or until magically cured they must make a Wisdom save each time they enter combat, or become frightened of all foes for a minute. *Another dinosaur with this exclusive sense type for their region. [i]Player-Facing:[/i] Boy howdy, talk about defense over offense! 42 hit points is astounding for a creature of this CR, although its beak attack at 1d6+1 can be done better by creatures such as a wolf or the poisonous animals in this grouping. The darkvision is much shorter than other animals that get it, and its non-magical bludgeoning resistance is too situational to be of much use. It’s an overall poor choice for shapechanging or summoning, and is too smart to be affected by Animal Friendship. [b]Thoughts So Far:[/b] Almost every dinosaur has some interesting ability they can do in combat beyond straight damage, plus the rare non-combat utility feature such as the Balaur’s great leap. This helps set them apart from Beasts in the official sourcebooks, which I like very much. Of the two sections, I like the Bahariya Formation a lot more: it gives us some higher-CR and bigger dinosaurs, a welcome change of pace to the less threatening Yixian group. Hateg Island isn’t as exciting as an adventuring location, as its primary terrain-based hazard seems to be permanent size reduction which feels a bit unimaginative and overly punishing. The dinosaurs of Hateg Island also don’t excite me as much as Bahariya’s, but the inclusion of what is basically a tough, speedy hit-and-run boss monster is a definite high point. The Agathis’ druidic soul magical rule is really cool, and I do like the various herbal creations one can make from the plants. So even with my criticisms these two sections are still a worthwhile read. [b]Join us next time as we explore the Crato Formation and begin the Rest of the Alphabet![/b] [/QUOTE]
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