Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
[Let's Read] The Star-Shaman's Song of Planegea: Dungeons & Dragons, Prehistoric Style
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 9257592" data-attributes="member: 6750502"><p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/qOgfpRg.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p> <p style="text-align: center"><strong>Chapter 13: Gods & Monsters, Part 1</strong></p><p></p><p>The final chapter of the book is also the longest, making us so close yet so far away from the finish line. Before we dive into all the new creatures in the setting, we start out with some general advice in preserving the awe and wonder of a new world that remains unknown to much of the PCs. The DM is encouraged to avoid using proper names for creatures, instead focusing on other discerning factors of their appearance and behavior, readily reskinning stat blocks, and making use of the 19 new monster templates which serve as quick and easy alterations. For example, the Armored template gives a creature a thicker natural defense, granting +2 to AC but disadvantage on Dexterity checks, while Elemental grants resistance to an associated damage type corresponding to that element and can emit a damaging elemental burst as a rechargeable AoE. The templates in particular are short and their new abilities are simple enough in terms of tactics to add to most monsters without complicating things too much. The book does note that some templates may alter a monster’s effectiveness beyond what the initial numbers may demonstrate, so it’s still something which must be judged on a case by case basis.</p><p></p><p>Unlike many other settings, <strong>Gods</strong> not only walk the land, they are tangible creatures which mortals can find and interact with and are bound to their local hallows. Basically all magic flows from the Worldheart Dragon, where arcane magic is when it rises into the heavens and interacts with celestial bodies and dreams, while divine magic flows into the land. When enough divine magic pools in an area, this accumulated power takes the form of a god. Beyond that, the specific processes that create a god are unknown, but the universal nature of magic means that they can appear anywhere and take the form of just about anything…albeit no god has yet manifested as a primarily humanoid being, with most of them taking the forms of animals, plants, places, and natural processes.</p><p></p><p>We get some advice on creating gods along with general expectations based on the setting. Gods at this point in time are separated enough to the point that no real pantheons yet exist; some deities such as the idols of the Cult Riverlands may have common traits or overlapping spheres of influence, but none of them have yet to coalesce into a unified political bloc or family. Additionally, a god’s alignment determines its creature type, with good-aligned ones being celestials, evil ones fiends, and neutral ones (which are the most common moral alignment among gods) can have a wider variety of types ranging from beast to undead. Gods do not need to subsist on normal food, although they can still partake in such activities, instead feeding off of something known as glory. Glory represents a wide range of actions undertaken that help a god’s public image persist in the minds of mortals. This can take a wide variety of forms, from building shrines to the god, ceremonies and rituals honoring them, sacrifices and offerings, and consuming the divine ivory of a slain god. This last action is considered taboo by most gods, and learning of a cannibal god is a good way to get otherwise warring deities to put aside their differences to punish their wayward kin.</p><p></p><p>There’s a subsystem for tracking lost and gained glory points, which can also increase or decrease their strata level. However, this system isn’t very involved and even then it suggests making use of DM Fiat rather than bean-counting every little act like a game of Sid Meier’s Civilization. Which makes me wonder why include it at all?</p><p></p><p>The hallows of gods are also demiplanes,* meaning someone with spells such as Plane Shift can teleport directly into a hallow. Hallows are also affected by a permanent hallow spell whose particular effects are either randomly rolled or chosen by the DM. A god can create beings known as visitants by expending a fraction of their personal power and can take whatever form or stat block makes sense. The only real limit is that the maximum Challenge Rating of a visitant is determined by a god’s Strata, or general level of power, ranging from 1st to 4th.</p><p></p><p>*Yet still physically connected to the rest of Planegea given that mortals can visit it just by traveling there.</p><p></p><p>Strata is something equivalent to the Divine Ranks of 3rd Edition DnD when deities were given stat blocks. Beyond visitant CR, the other 3 factors it determines are its Range (determining how far a god can extend its senses and the range of its spells)* the maximum level spells they can cast, and the rarity value of magic items it can craft. The higher the strata, the rarer the god: the gods of the three Brother Clans, Mala Long-Song of the Whale Clan, and the Winter God Twr are the only known 3rd Strata gods at the moment. There is no known 4th Strata being, and only Mala Long-Song can conceivably approach such a level of power at this point in time.</p><p></p><p>*The book isn’t clear whether or not this supersedes or replaces the range of the base spell. Can a 1st Strata God with Sight Range cast a Magic Missile on a target visible across the horizon?</p><p></p><p>For building one’s own gods, it’s a bit more complicated than the aforementioned Templates. As such beings are akin to prehistoric kings and queens, the chapter first asks the DM what place they have in the world, their divine domains and areas of influence, and how they use their powers to influence the surrounding region. The DM chooses a pre-existing stat block of a creature that makes sense for the god’s nature, with its CR based on the Strata. Even a 1st Strata god is a power to be reckoned with, ranging from 10 to 15, and each Strata above that adds +5 to the range. This means that even 2nd Strata deities can be a match for Epic tier parties at 16 to 20, where felling them is the stuff of legends or the climax of a campaign.</p><p></p><p>Beyond the base stat block, gods alter their creature type based on alignment, and since they often project power and might their size (and thus Hit Dice) may be larger than a typical creature of its stat block. Furthermore, gods gain a variety of features reflective of their divine nature, such as telepathy, a minimum Charisma score based on Strata if their stat block has a lower value, a variety of innate spells whose level and number depend upon Strata, Legendary Resistance, Lair Actions, a rechargeable ability to “reset” the per-day limit on cast spells by drawing on raw magic from the world, and a second Spiritual Form which is basically a more powerful Stage 2 Boss.</p><p></p><p>Following this we have detailed outlines of the five most notable gods of Planegea, including their hallow, general personality traits, stat blocks for their regular and spiritual forms, lair actions, and their regional effects.</p><p></p><p><em>Glelh the Unblinking</em> is the deity of the Lion Clan, whose hallow is a hill decorated with artwork and encircled by stones. His eyes are the feature most people first witness, for they are seemingly all-seeing and can dig deep into one’s soul. He spends most of his days using his powers to look upon the world, and shares a glimpse of his cosmic insights with those who earn his favor. In spite of being Neutral Good, he has zero tolerance for weakness and believes that suffering is a necessary process to gain worthiness. The book explains that his rites “can be truly cruel as they weed the weak from the stoic,” which doesn’t sound very good-aligned to me! As a monster he is a CR 23 creature, and his abilities are themed around being a mighty lion-like being along with his insightful nature. His primary physical attacks are a flurry of claws and bites, and his Unblinking Gaze can impose a variety of magical conditions and damage types to those he can see. His innate spells are geared towards typical holy stuff such as healing, fire and radiant damage, and light-based effects. Besides the 1st level Detect spells he doesn’t have a lot of divination magic, surprisingly enough. His Spiritual Form looks like a silhouette of blinding light, and he replaces his physical attacks with hot touches and his gaze with AoE roars.</p><p></p><p><em>Mala Long-Song</em> is the most powerful deity of Planegea, the goddess of the Whale Clan and whose form is appropriately magnificent as a whale the size of an island. She holds influence over the islands of Scattersea and the surrounding oceans, meaning she is worshiped not just by land-dwellers but also the merfolk beneath the waves. She is Neutral Good and thus patient and kind, encouraging her followers to learn as much as they can about a situation before rashly acting. Her followers see her once per year on the Day of Breath, where she parts the ocean’s surface while singing and then blesses all attending. As a monster she is CR 30 and the strongest being in this book, whose physical prowess is actually the least powerful of her attacks. Much of her abilities are more “pure mage” in style, ranging from skin that can reflect ranged spells, a damaging and stunning gaze attack that can also cast the Maze spell on those with pre-existing conditions, three different Songs that can deal fire damage, restrain, or Plane Shift affected targets in an AoE, and a variety of multitarget and AoE spells. Mala’s spiritual form transports creatures into an ethereal place in her hallow, where all creatures are always within range of her attacks and effects. She trades in her physical attacks and spells for Touches of Life/Death dealing either radiant or necrotic damage, the ability to extinguish a soul and prevent them from coming back to life, and cosmic-style rechargeable attacks such as creating a blinding Baleful Star dealing radiant damage or a multi-target magical dispelling attack.</p><p></p><p><em>Kho Many-Arms</em> is a god of contrasts, generous and fun-loving when dreaming but possessed of an uncontrollable rage when awake…and he Chaotic Good in both states! The desire to sleep the days away in his massive tree hollow is in fact his greatest goal, and the Ape Clan is more than happy to keep him that way for as long as possible. In fact, a common means of capital punishment in the clan is when people leave for Wintersouth. The worst criminal is left behind to play the last drum, doing so as long as possible until they can do so no longer and Kho awakens to punish them.</p><p></p><p>As a monster Kho is CR 25 and befitting his many arms is a speedy “death by a thousand cuts” type of fighter. In addition to being able to multiattack with a mixture of fists and manifested force-damage missiles, Kho can also get 4 reactions per round to make attacks of opportunity or do a Spirit Guard to add +7 to one attack that he can see (base AC is 20). His spells hew towards a mixture of ones that can aid in movement and debuff effects. In his spiritual form he becomes a living personification of dreams, being naturally invisible but appears as an ape made of stardust if he can be seen. His main attack in this state is a dreamtouch dealing psychic damage and imposes disadvantage on Wisdom ability checks and saves. He also has a variety of dream-based attacks that can make targets fall unconscious, granting them deadly dreams that cause damage and conditions in line with the dream at hand.</p><p></p><p><em>Twr the Tyrant</em> is the most powerful of the Winter Gods, presiding over the Ox River of the Wintersouth and appearing like a titanic shadowy humanoid bull wreathed in flame and shadow. She does not fear the other Winter Gods or the gods of the Brother Clans, and knows very well that the northern mortals in the Great Valley require hospitality in her lands to survive the cold months. She has no qualms against consuming the divine ivory of gods and has tasked her strongest servants in defeating other Winter Gods. The more divine ivory Twr consumes the more humanoid she becomes. Like the demons such gods will eventually be named, she is predictably Chaotic Evil.</p><p></p><p>As a monster Twr is CR 25, her primary attacks being a melee longsword and whip that deal bonus lightning and fire damage respectively, can hurl bolts of flames or teleport to take care of far-away targets, and has a variety of AoE effects such as summoning spouts of boiling water or cracking her whip as a damaging stun-based attack. Her innate spells hew towards the directly offensive, with the higher end ones being manifestations of hostile weather such as Earthquake, Firestone, and Meteor Swarm. Her spiritual form is a mass of surging water, whose attacks are more tightly themed around powerful currents of boiling water.</p><p></p><p><em>Unkillable Urhosh</em> is our final deity detailed, the Lawful Good god of the Bear Clan. He has survived countless foes and thus has come to know no fear, confident that he will live to see the next day. He is a straightforward god, whose power and courage earned him the respect of mortals, and in turn he taught mortal worshipers how to be more like him.</p><p></p><p>As a monster Urhosh is CR 24, and his physical attacks can be a mixture of natural claw and bite along with conjured weapons dealing radiant damage. His rechargeable abilities include a swipe that can knock a foe up to 60 feet back, a frightening roar, and an enchanting remark that charms the target. He regenerates 30 hit points each round unless he took 30 or more points of necrotic damage, and his innate spells are typical cleric stuff. While he can cast Create Food and Water, he cannot cast Heroes’ Feast, which is a bit of a surprise to me given his portfolio. His spiritual form causes an explosive growth of grasping plant life in his hallow, along with summoning a swarm of bees dealing AoE radiant damage in an aura effect. Urhosh still has his physical and conjured weapon attacks, but trades in his rechargeable abilities with life-themed attacks such as absorbing the life force of others as necrotic damage.</p><p></p><p><em>Thoughts:</em> I like how Planegea acknowledges that stat blocks are going to be necessary for gods, even if the majority are going to be out of the leagues of most PCs. The tools and advice for creating gods are very welcome, and the use of Strata, Visitants, and innate spells are good guidelines for how to make them more memorable encounters than saying something like “just use balor stats.”</p><p></p><p>As for the 5 pre-existing gods, I am glad that they’re included but just looking at them I know they’re going to be very complicated to run in combat. Not only does the DM have a regular and Spirit form stat block to deal with, they’ll also need to cross-reference any spells they’re likely to use during battle. Add onto that Lair Actions, the fact that they’re almost never alone in their Hallows, and that they’ll only be realistically fought in high level play, it can be a lot for the DM to keep track of.</p><p></p><p>I also feel a bit weird regarding their assigned alignments. Mala and Twr’s make sense, but it’s rather odd for all three gods of the Brother Clans to be Good. I don’t think that they should be evil, but Glelh’s Social Darwinism and Kho’s unstoppable rages feel like odd choices. There’s also the fact that in games where DMs play up the “desire each other’s destruction” hostile relations between the Brother Clans, it feels a tad strange for their leaders to be good-aligned but are basically desiring what can only be described as genocide.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/4LB7iCu.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p> <p style="text-align: center"><strong>Bestiary</strong></p><p></p><p>Now that we’re done with the Gods, we cover the rest of the monsters and NPCs of Planegea in more or less alphabetical order. Many of the monsters that are real-world animals have alternative names rather than using the oft-Latinized examples. For example, an ankylosaurus is called a Bouldertail.</p><p></p><p>We have 64 individual monsters and 6 NPCs, totalling 70 new stat blocks. Or 80 if we include the gods we already covered. As you can imagine, the most common creature type is Beast at 39 entries, followed up by Monstrosity at 14, Celestial at 8, and Humanoid at 7. We have 2 undead types and 1 each of Aberration, Fey, and Ooze, so overall Planegea’s bestiary skews heavily towards a few types rather than being broad. But this isn’t a weakness in my opinion, as the monster types line up very well with Prehistoric Fantasy.</p><p></p><p>When it comes to the diversity of Challenge Ratings, I ended up making a numbered list to see how friendly this chapter is towards certain tiers of play:</p><p></p><p>0: 3</p><p></p><p>⅛: 2</p><p></p><p>¼: 5</p><p></p><p>½: 6</p><p></p><p>1: 8</p><p></p><p>2: 12</p><p></p><p>3: 5</p><p></p><p>4: 6</p><p></p><p>5: 7</p><p></p><p>6: 4</p><p></p><p>7: 3</p><p></p><p>8: 3</p><p></p><p>9: 5</p><p></p><p>12: 2</p><p></p><p>13: 2</p><p></p><p>23: 2 (Glelh the Unblinking)</p><p></p><p>24: 2 (Unkillable Urhosh)</p><p></p><p>25: 4 (Kho Many-Arms, Twr the Tyrant)</p><p></p><p>26: 1</p><p></p><p>30: 2 (Mala Long-Song)</p><p></p><p>In the case of parenthetical entries, they are individual gods whose normal and spirit forms are 2 stat blocks each.</p><p></p><p>Planegea’s Bestiary is very friendly to the 1st Tier of play, with 47 entries of CR 0 to 4. Tier 2 is less but a still respectable number of 22 monsters. It’s at Tier 3 and higher do entries peter out, and while Tier 4 may look to have quite a bit, all but one of them are gods, with the Deathwalker (Giganotosaurus) being the CR 26 example. While there aren't a lot of opponents for higher-level play, this more or less tracks with said Tiers not being played by that many people so most groups won’t notice this.</p><p></p><p>While I went over it earlier in this Let’s Read, two new creature tags relevant to this chapter are “God” and “Defiant.” The God tag is self-explanatory and only applies to the 5 beings covered earlier. As for the Defiant Tag, it covers 5 Beasts in this chapter, all of which are various kinds of dinosaurs. Most are on the high end of Tier 2, albeit only one breaks the 20+ barrier, that one being the CR 26 Giganotosaurus.</p><p></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinotherium" target="_blank"><strong>Arctusks</strong></a> look like slender elephants who topple trees to feed off its leaves and other plants growing on it. As their tusks regrow relatively quickly, many clans are known to scavenge their shed and broken ivory, particularly when the animals fight each other. Some clans even domesticated them, but such animals are temporarily turned loose during mating season when they become uncontrollable. They are CR 4 beasts who specialize in charge attacks and melee combat, not much to say.</p><p></p><p><strong>Batface</strong> is a monster appearing like a bipedal mouse. They are evil-aligned creatures whose bite has a toxin that can charm people, causing the victims to view the batface as a friend. Batfaces are similar to standard fantasy goblins and kobolds by living in trap-filled caves of squalor. They are ¼ monstrosities (not humanoids, strangely) who have a bite attack that can impose the charmed condition and cause a character to fall unconscious if they are less than half their hit point maximum. Batfaces are incredibly slow and fragile for their CR, at 4 hit points, AC 13, and with a 20 foot speed. This makes them weaker and slower than goblins and kobolds who at least can keep pace with a human.</p><p></p><p><strong>Dinosaurs & Leatherbeasts</strong> is a broad category for a variety of reptilian creatures encountered in Planegea. Leatherbeasts refers to reptiles in general, which can include dinosaurs, and most originate from the Venom Abyss but can be found in surrounding lands from being swept upstream by the Unfalls. Quite a few dinosaurs who have stats in the official sourcebooks can be found here, but they tend to be beefed-up higher CR versions and some even have magical abilities. We also get a brief sidebar listing dinosaurs detailed in official sourcebooks and what names they are known by in Planegea, such as Dimetrodons being called Sailcrawlers or Triceratops being known as Hornbeasts.</p><p></p><p>To start off, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankylosaurus" target="_blank"><strong>Bouldertails</strong></a> are extremely strong dinosaurs that many human-led clans attempt to domesticate, as they make for natural deterrents against the lands’ many dangers. They are CR 6 beasts whose body slam and tail attacks come with additional imposed conditions such as bonus damage against a prone target or pushing foes away.</p><p></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caviramus" target="_blank"><strong>Chattercrests</strong></a> are small winged dinosaurs that can mimic complex sounds and speech up to 1 minute in length, making them valuable as messenger animals. Edgegather has people specializing in their domestication.</p><p></p><p>The legendary <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giganotosaurus" target="_blank"><strong>Deathwalker</strong></a> is thankfully only found in the Venom Abyss and which all other predators there fear. It is a CR 26 boss monster specializing in physical attacks and has a full page stat block of various abilities, ranging from an AoE fear-based roar, the supernatural ability to “sense Strength” of physically powerful creatures within 5 miles, can throw a grappled creature up to 60 feet away if they fail a Strength save, and an assortment of Legendary Actions. Of course, like most dinosaurs and the Tarrasque it lacks any long-range attacks, and needless to say it is the first non-God monster with the Defiant tag.</p><p></p><p>Continuing on, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utahraptor" target="_blank"><strong>Doomclaw</strong></a> is a fearsome pack animal in the Venom Abyss whose species actually created a simple language among themselves, making them smarter than the average dinosaur. They are CR 5 hit and run ambush predators with features such as blightsight of 30 feet, a multiattack bite and claw, can Pounce like a lion, and have advantage on attack rolls against creatures it surprises.</p><p></p><p>The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallimimus" target="_blank"><strong>Farloper</strong></a> are dinosaurs commonly domesticated by people living on the plains, for their fast speed and ability to carry up to two to three riders makes them valuable for travel. They are CR 1 creatures with a powerful kick attack, Pack Tactics (great when someone’s mounting them) and can Dash as a bonus action.</p><p></p><p>The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stegosaurus" target="_blank"><strong>Flintback</strong></a> is famous for its ridges which can glow with magical light, and many clans regard their presence as a good omen. They are big bulky CR 8 creatures whose scales aren’t just for show, for they can create AoE cubes that can magically charm and incapacitate onlookers as they stare entranced. Their multiattack tail attack can hit two targets with each attack roll, meaning they are good at spreading the damage around while unlucky allies may be stymied by their scales.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/9Ox3OIj.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dilophosaurus" target="_blank"><strong>Frilled Spitter</strong></a> is clearly inspired by Jurassic Park, being a seemingly harmless and playful creature who’s actually a deadly CR ½ monsters. It can perform a Startling Display with their brightly-colored frill as a bonus action to avoid opportunity attacks, and in addition to a bite has a rechargeable acid spit attack.</p><p></p><p>The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therizinosaurus" target="_blank"><strong>Great-Hook</strong></a> is a physically imposing dinosaur whose otherwise silly appearance betrays a fierce demeanor. They are one of the only dinosaurs known to fight tyrantmaws (T-Rexes) and live, and while attempts have been made to domesticate them for their claws which are good crafting tools, they seem to not really register the presence of humanoids and are prone to wandering off. They are CR 7 and there’s not much to say about them in terms of interesting abilities, sadly.</p><p></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quetzalcoatlus" target="_blank"><strong>Greatwings</strong></a> are widely-feared flying creatures who travel in groups, and seeing them in the sky is enough to send entire clans running for the hills. They have an immense hatred for dragons, to the point that they will do anything to injure or kill them even when obviously outmatched. They are monsters who specialize in flying attacks, such as a Prone-causing swooping strike, a beak that can grapple instead of dealing damage, and kicking up dirt as a reaction to an attack to impose a d6 penalty on an attack roll.</p><p></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euparkeria" target="_blank"><strong>Littlesnaps</strong></a> are nearly harmless as individual creatures, but as they are encountered in swarms that can strip prey to the bone in a short amount of time. Littlesnap swarms are monsters who have advantage on melee attacks against creatures that aren’t at their maximum hit points.</p><p></p><p>The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yi_(dinosaur)" target="_blank"><strong>Madcrash</strong></a> is so named for its seeming lack of self-preservation, clumsily slamming into all kinds of creatures to try and attack them even when outmatched, and their sole real tactic as low-threat monsters is to charge and attack with their beaks and can take a bonus action to Disengage if they hit with said attack.</p><p></p><p>The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinosaurus" target="_blank"><strong>Sailstalker</strong></a> lives in swamps, adroit at hiding in spite of its great size, and the ones that live in Ghostmire have been infected by the surrounding undeath where spirits of their kills can be seen and heard on their frills. They are another monster with the Defiant tag, which if I had to guess is due to its Drown based bonus action where it can cause a grappled creature to start drowning unless they spend an action each round to cough up water. They are powerful physical attackers with features helping it as an ambush predator, like pseudo-sneak attack dealing 4d6 bonus damage to surprised creatures they hit.</p><p></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosasaurus" target="_blank"><strong>Seatooth</strong></a> is our next Defiant dinosaur, a horrific monster that attacks boats in the ocean and are even willing to hunt and eat each other. They are rather simplistic in having a grappling bite and swallow attack as their main feature, but their echolocation gives them 60 foot blindsight and they have a very high Passive Perception at 19 to go with that.</p><p></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachycephalosaurus" target="_blank"><strong>Skullsmashers</strong></a> are a commonly domesticated dinosaur, being similar to dogs in showing their owners lots of affection and loyalty. They are commonly used to headbutt trees in order to dislodge fruit, and that ability can also be used to great effect for self-defense. They aren’t the most resilient of creatures (22 hit points, AC 11) but their headbutt attack can do up to 4d4+3 damage if they get at least a 20 foot head start (2d4+3 normally), which makes them a pretty good wild shape form for a CR ½ creature.</p><p></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elasmosaurus" target="_blank"><strong>Snakenecks</strong></a> are serpentine water-dwelling creatures who hunt by causing underwater cyclones via quick bursts of speed, and their presence is considered a bad omen by fishers and halflings. They’re similar to the Spinosaurus in being a Defiant ambush predator that is also good at Stealth, albeit they are entirely water-dwelling and can spend all of their regular movement in a round to create an AoE vortex that can draw in creatures who fail a Strength save.</p><p></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velociraptor" target="_blank"><strong>Swiftclaws</strong></a> are large feathered dinosaurs that hunt in packs with warbles that sound like cruel laughter, and their presence is often forewarned by the scent of blood coating their feathers. They too are ambush predators, with a great Stealth bonus (+9) and have advantage on such checks made to hide. Their claws can latch onto creatures, reducing their speed to 0, and with Pack Tactics they can easily overwhelm and immobilize foes.</p><p></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterodactylus" target="_blank"><strong>Tentwings</strong></a> are one of the most recognizable leatherbeasts in Planegea, for they are frequently seen soaring across the sky at all times of day, and some clans and giants have been known to domesticate them. They are more defensive than offensive in their fighting style, their primary attack being a beak, can also avoid opportunity attacks when flying out of an enemy’s reach, and can spend a bonus action to fly half their fly speed. Which at its base is 50 feet and already quite good. They’re also Medium size with a decent 13 Strength, so it’s not inconceivable that a Small sized character to use a pterodactyl as an aerial mount.</p><p></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanosaurus" target="_blank"><strong>Thunderfeet</strong></a> are massive dinosaurs that are likened to living mountains for their slow yet unstoppable trodding through forests, even when said forests are on fire. They are highly secretive in regards to where they reproduce or die, and herds are known to travel great distances beyond the reach of mortals into secret locations when a child’s about to be born or an old or sick member of their species is nearing death. They are Defiant creatures, whose very movement can cause nearby beings to end up prone, and in addition to a mighty stomp attack their tails can knock enemies prone as well as dealing thunder damage.</p><p></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasaurolophus" target="_blank"><strong>Trumpetcrests</strong></a> live in wetlands and are known for their ability to let out incredibly loud sounds. They are considered beautiful by many Planegeans and people avoid hunting them for this reason. The other reason is that a loud warning call can scatter wildlife across great distances, up to half a day’s travel. There’s not much to say about them besides their rechargeable Trumpet Call that can summon other members of its herd in a matter of rounds.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/S52vCMQ.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p><strong>Mammothmaw</strong> is one of the only dinosaur entries without a parenthetical real-world name, making me believe that it’s an entirely fictional being. It is an alligator-like animal with a mouth disproportionately sized to the rest of its body, and often waits concealed in the wilds with their mouths open for passing prey, at which point they charge and attack. The dinosaur is a CR 12 monster that gets a massive +11 Stealth modifier when remaining motionless for an hour as they blend in with the land, and their primary means of attack is an acidic tongue, rechargeable Wild Thrashing that crushes adjacent creatures, and once per day can make a Massive Bite attack that can only be dodged via a Dexterity save, can hit multiple targets, and those trapped within are basically swallowed. It is unable to open its own mouth until its next short or long rest, but others can via a DC 25 Strength check or by dealing enough damage to make a hole in its body.</p><p></p><p><strong>Spider Raptor</strong> is our other non-Latinized species, being raptors with elongated limbs that are capable of climbing around like spiders. The Venomguard has no shortage of work in keeping them from coming up out of the Venom Abyss. They are pack-based hunters with highly mobile features such as a high standing leap, Pounce attack, Spider Climb, and Pack Tactics.</p><p></p><p><strong>Thoughts So Far:</strong> Barring the Batface, all of the monsters I covered here are various kinds of prehistoric beasts. I do like how the book made them more than just random monsters to fight and hunt, like saying which ones are commonly domesticated and for what purpose and why some may be regarded as good or bad omens. In comparing them to existing monsters of the same CR, I have noticed a variation in values at times. For instance, the Littlesnap Swarm is pretty equivalent to a Swarm of Poisonous Snakes, both being CR 2. The Snakes can do more possible damage with their poison but that requires a failed save, while the Littlesnaps have more consistent damage and situational advantage vs a common trigger which in theory should even out. But when comparing the Sailstalker against a Cloud Giant, both CR 9, the Cloud Giant has much more hit points, a reliable long-ranged attack, and a few spells up its sleeve. The Sailstalker can deal more damage on average and is deadlier when it manages to succeed in evading the party’s passive Perception or is fighting in water, but otherwise the Cloud Giant has a broader variety of potential tactics. The Doomclaw is CR 5 but is very fragile for that CR range at 52 hit points. Although it strongly points to being used as a glass cannon that is best deployed at the beginning of combat or during surprise with its buddies. That being said, I haven’t spotted any wildly out there values so far, so at an initial glance quite a bit can be decent Wild Shape/Polymorph options.</p><p></p><p><strong>Join us next time as we finish this review by covering the rest of the Bestiary!</strong></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Libertad, post: 9257592, member: 6750502"] [CENTER][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/qOgfpRg.png[/IMG] [B]Chapter 13: Gods & Monsters, Part 1[/B][/CENTER] The final chapter of the book is also the longest, making us so close yet so far away from the finish line. Before we dive into all the new creatures in the setting, we start out with some general advice in preserving the awe and wonder of a new world that remains unknown to much of the PCs. The DM is encouraged to avoid using proper names for creatures, instead focusing on other discerning factors of their appearance and behavior, readily reskinning stat blocks, and making use of the 19 new monster templates which serve as quick and easy alterations. For example, the Armored template gives a creature a thicker natural defense, granting +2 to AC but disadvantage on Dexterity checks, while Elemental grants resistance to an associated damage type corresponding to that element and can emit a damaging elemental burst as a rechargeable AoE. The templates in particular are short and their new abilities are simple enough in terms of tactics to add to most monsters without complicating things too much. The book does note that some templates may alter a monster’s effectiveness beyond what the initial numbers may demonstrate, so it’s still something which must be judged on a case by case basis. Unlike many other settings, [B]Gods[/B] not only walk the land, they are tangible creatures which mortals can find and interact with and are bound to their local hallows. Basically all magic flows from the Worldheart Dragon, where arcane magic is when it rises into the heavens and interacts with celestial bodies and dreams, while divine magic flows into the land. When enough divine magic pools in an area, this accumulated power takes the form of a god. Beyond that, the specific processes that create a god are unknown, but the universal nature of magic means that they can appear anywhere and take the form of just about anything…albeit no god has yet manifested as a primarily humanoid being, with most of them taking the forms of animals, plants, places, and natural processes. We get some advice on creating gods along with general expectations based on the setting. Gods at this point in time are separated enough to the point that no real pantheons yet exist; some deities such as the idols of the Cult Riverlands may have common traits or overlapping spheres of influence, but none of them have yet to coalesce into a unified political bloc or family. Additionally, a god’s alignment determines its creature type, with good-aligned ones being celestials, evil ones fiends, and neutral ones (which are the most common moral alignment among gods) can have a wider variety of types ranging from beast to undead. Gods do not need to subsist on normal food, although they can still partake in such activities, instead feeding off of something known as glory. Glory represents a wide range of actions undertaken that help a god’s public image persist in the minds of mortals. This can take a wide variety of forms, from building shrines to the god, ceremonies and rituals honoring them, sacrifices and offerings, and consuming the divine ivory of a slain god. This last action is considered taboo by most gods, and learning of a cannibal god is a good way to get otherwise warring deities to put aside their differences to punish their wayward kin. There’s a subsystem for tracking lost and gained glory points, which can also increase or decrease their strata level. However, this system isn’t very involved and even then it suggests making use of DM Fiat rather than bean-counting every little act like a game of Sid Meier’s Civilization. Which makes me wonder why include it at all? The hallows of gods are also demiplanes,* meaning someone with spells such as Plane Shift can teleport directly into a hallow. Hallows are also affected by a permanent hallow spell whose particular effects are either randomly rolled or chosen by the DM. A god can create beings known as visitants by expending a fraction of their personal power and can take whatever form or stat block makes sense. The only real limit is that the maximum Challenge Rating of a visitant is determined by a god’s Strata, or general level of power, ranging from 1st to 4th. *Yet still physically connected to the rest of Planegea given that mortals can visit it just by traveling there. Strata is something equivalent to the Divine Ranks of 3rd Edition DnD when deities were given stat blocks. Beyond visitant CR, the other 3 factors it determines are its Range (determining how far a god can extend its senses and the range of its spells)* the maximum level spells they can cast, and the rarity value of magic items it can craft. The higher the strata, the rarer the god: the gods of the three Brother Clans, Mala Long-Song of the Whale Clan, and the Winter God Twr are the only known 3rd Strata gods at the moment. There is no known 4th Strata being, and only Mala Long-Song can conceivably approach such a level of power at this point in time. *The book isn’t clear whether or not this supersedes or replaces the range of the base spell. Can a 1st Strata God with Sight Range cast a Magic Missile on a target visible across the horizon? For building one’s own gods, it’s a bit more complicated than the aforementioned Templates. As such beings are akin to prehistoric kings and queens, the chapter first asks the DM what place they have in the world, their divine domains and areas of influence, and how they use their powers to influence the surrounding region. The DM chooses a pre-existing stat block of a creature that makes sense for the god’s nature, with its CR based on the Strata. Even a 1st Strata god is a power to be reckoned with, ranging from 10 to 15, and each Strata above that adds +5 to the range. This means that even 2nd Strata deities can be a match for Epic tier parties at 16 to 20, where felling them is the stuff of legends or the climax of a campaign. Beyond the base stat block, gods alter their creature type based on alignment, and since they often project power and might their size (and thus Hit Dice) may be larger than a typical creature of its stat block. Furthermore, gods gain a variety of features reflective of their divine nature, such as telepathy, a minimum Charisma score based on Strata if their stat block has a lower value, a variety of innate spells whose level and number depend upon Strata, Legendary Resistance, Lair Actions, a rechargeable ability to “reset” the per-day limit on cast spells by drawing on raw magic from the world, and a second Spiritual Form which is basically a more powerful Stage 2 Boss. Following this we have detailed outlines of the five most notable gods of Planegea, including their hallow, general personality traits, stat blocks for their regular and spiritual forms, lair actions, and their regional effects. [I]Glelh the Unblinking[/I] is the deity of the Lion Clan, whose hallow is a hill decorated with artwork and encircled by stones. His eyes are the feature most people first witness, for they are seemingly all-seeing and can dig deep into one’s soul. He spends most of his days using his powers to look upon the world, and shares a glimpse of his cosmic insights with those who earn his favor. In spite of being Neutral Good, he has zero tolerance for weakness and believes that suffering is a necessary process to gain worthiness. The book explains that his rites “can be truly cruel as they weed the weak from the stoic,” which doesn’t sound very good-aligned to me! As a monster he is a CR 23 creature, and his abilities are themed around being a mighty lion-like being along with his insightful nature. His primary physical attacks are a flurry of claws and bites, and his Unblinking Gaze can impose a variety of magical conditions and damage types to those he can see. His innate spells are geared towards typical holy stuff such as healing, fire and radiant damage, and light-based effects. Besides the 1st level Detect spells he doesn’t have a lot of divination magic, surprisingly enough. His Spiritual Form looks like a silhouette of blinding light, and he replaces his physical attacks with hot touches and his gaze with AoE roars. [I]Mala Long-Song[/I] is the most powerful deity of Planegea, the goddess of the Whale Clan and whose form is appropriately magnificent as a whale the size of an island. She holds influence over the islands of Scattersea and the surrounding oceans, meaning she is worshiped not just by land-dwellers but also the merfolk beneath the waves. She is Neutral Good and thus patient and kind, encouraging her followers to learn as much as they can about a situation before rashly acting. Her followers see her once per year on the Day of Breath, where she parts the ocean’s surface while singing and then blesses all attending. As a monster she is CR 30 and the strongest being in this book, whose physical prowess is actually the least powerful of her attacks. Much of her abilities are more “pure mage” in style, ranging from skin that can reflect ranged spells, a damaging and stunning gaze attack that can also cast the Maze spell on those with pre-existing conditions, three different Songs that can deal fire damage, restrain, or Plane Shift affected targets in an AoE, and a variety of multitarget and AoE spells. Mala’s spiritual form transports creatures into an ethereal place in her hallow, where all creatures are always within range of her attacks and effects. She trades in her physical attacks and spells for Touches of Life/Death dealing either radiant or necrotic damage, the ability to extinguish a soul and prevent them from coming back to life, and cosmic-style rechargeable attacks such as creating a blinding Baleful Star dealing radiant damage or a multi-target magical dispelling attack. [I]Kho Many-Arms[/I] is a god of contrasts, generous and fun-loving when dreaming but possessed of an uncontrollable rage when awake…and he Chaotic Good in both states! The desire to sleep the days away in his massive tree hollow is in fact his greatest goal, and the Ape Clan is more than happy to keep him that way for as long as possible. In fact, a common means of capital punishment in the clan is when people leave for Wintersouth. The worst criminal is left behind to play the last drum, doing so as long as possible until they can do so no longer and Kho awakens to punish them. As a monster Kho is CR 25 and befitting his many arms is a speedy “death by a thousand cuts” type of fighter. In addition to being able to multiattack with a mixture of fists and manifested force-damage missiles, Kho can also get 4 reactions per round to make attacks of opportunity or do a Spirit Guard to add +7 to one attack that he can see (base AC is 20). His spells hew towards a mixture of ones that can aid in movement and debuff effects. In his spiritual form he becomes a living personification of dreams, being naturally invisible but appears as an ape made of stardust if he can be seen. His main attack in this state is a dreamtouch dealing psychic damage and imposes disadvantage on Wisdom ability checks and saves. He also has a variety of dream-based attacks that can make targets fall unconscious, granting them deadly dreams that cause damage and conditions in line with the dream at hand. [I]Twr the Tyrant[/I] is the most powerful of the Winter Gods, presiding over the Ox River of the Wintersouth and appearing like a titanic shadowy humanoid bull wreathed in flame and shadow. She does not fear the other Winter Gods or the gods of the Brother Clans, and knows very well that the northern mortals in the Great Valley require hospitality in her lands to survive the cold months. She has no qualms against consuming the divine ivory of gods and has tasked her strongest servants in defeating other Winter Gods. The more divine ivory Twr consumes the more humanoid she becomes. Like the demons such gods will eventually be named, she is predictably Chaotic Evil. As a monster Twr is CR 25, her primary attacks being a melee longsword and whip that deal bonus lightning and fire damage respectively, can hurl bolts of flames or teleport to take care of far-away targets, and has a variety of AoE effects such as summoning spouts of boiling water or cracking her whip as a damaging stun-based attack. Her innate spells hew towards the directly offensive, with the higher end ones being manifestations of hostile weather such as Earthquake, Firestone, and Meteor Swarm. Her spiritual form is a mass of surging water, whose attacks are more tightly themed around powerful currents of boiling water. [I]Unkillable Urhosh[/I] is our final deity detailed, the Lawful Good god of the Bear Clan. He has survived countless foes and thus has come to know no fear, confident that he will live to see the next day. He is a straightforward god, whose power and courage earned him the respect of mortals, and in turn he taught mortal worshipers how to be more like him. As a monster Urhosh is CR 24, and his physical attacks can be a mixture of natural claw and bite along with conjured weapons dealing radiant damage. His rechargeable abilities include a swipe that can knock a foe up to 60 feet back, a frightening roar, and an enchanting remark that charms the target. He regenerates 30 hit points each round unless he took 30 or more points of necrotic damage, and his innate spells are typical cleric stuff. While he can cast Create Food and Water, he cannot cast Heroes’ Feast, which is a bit of a surprise to me given his portfolio. His spiritual form causes an explosive growth of grasping plant life in his hallow, along with summoning a swarm of bees dealing AoE radiant damage in an aura effect. Urhosh still has his physical and conjured weapon attacks, but trades in his rechargeable abilities with life-themed attacks such as absorbing the life force of others as necrotic damage. [I]Thoughts:[/I] I like how Planegea acknowledges that stat blocks are going to be necessary for gods, even if the majority are going to be out of the leagues of most PCs. The tools and advice for creating gods are very welcome, and the use of Strata, Visitants, and innate spells are good guidelines for how to make them more memorable encounters than saying something like “just use balor stats.” As for the 5 pre-existing gods, I am glad that they’re included but just looking at them I know they’re going to be very complicated to run in combat. Not only does the DM have a regular and Spirit form stat block to deal with, they’ll also need to cross-reference any spells they’re likely to use during battle. Add onto that Lair Actions, the fact that they’re almost never alone in their Hallows, and that they’ll only be realistically fought in high level play, it can be a lot for the DM to keep track of. I also feel a bit weird regarding their assigned alignments. Mala and Twr’s make sense, but it’s rather odd for all three gods of the Brother Clans to be Good. I don’t think that they should be evil, but Glelh’s Social Darwinism and Kho’s unstoppable rages feel like odd choices. There’s also the fact that in games where DMs play up the “desire each other’s destruction” hostile relations between the Brother Clans, it feels a tad strange for their leaders to be good-aligned but are basically desiring what can only be described as genocide. [CENTER][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/4LB7iCu.png[/IMG] [B]Bestiary[/B][/CENTER] Now that we’re done with the Gods, we cover the rest of the monsters and NPCs of Planegea in more or less alphabetical order. Many of the monsters that are real-world animals have alternative names rather than using the oft-Latinized examples. For example, an ankylosaurus is called a Bouldertail. We have 64 individual monsters and 6 NPCs, totalling 70 new stat blocks. Or 80 if we include the gods we already covered. As you can imagine, the most common creature type is Beast at 39 entries, followed up by Monstrosity at 14, Celestial at 8, and Humanoid at 7. We have 2 undead types and 1 each of Aberration, Fey, and Ooze, so overall Planegea’s bestiary skews heavily towards a few types rather than being broad. But this isn’t a weakness in my opinion, as the monster types line up very well with Prehistoric Fantasy. When it comes to the diversity of Challenge Ratings, I ended up making a numbered list to see how friendly this chapter is towards certain tiers of play: 0: 3 ⅛: 2 ¼: 5 ½: 6 1: 8 2: 12 3: 5 4: 6 5: 7 6: 4 7: 3 8: 3 9: 5 12: 2 13: 2 23: 2 (Glelh the Unblinking) 24: 2 (Unkillable Urhosh) 25: 4 (Kho Many-Arms, Twr the Tyrant) 26: 1 30: 2 (Mala Long-Song) In the case of parenthetical entries, they are individual gods whose normal and spirit forms are 2 stat blocks each. Planegea’s Bestiary is very friendly to the 1st Tier of play, with 47 entries of CR 0 to 4. Tier 2 is less but a still respectable number of 22 monsters. It’s at Tier 3 and higher do entries peter out, and while Tier 4 may look to have quite a bit, all but one of them are gods, with the Deathwalker (Giganotosaurus) being the CR 26 example. While there aren't a lot of opponents for higher-level play, this more or less tracks with said Tiers not being played by that many people so most groups won’t notice this. While I went over it earlier in this Let’s Read, two new creature tags relevant to this chapter are “God” and “Defiant.” The God tag is self-explanatory and only applies to the 5 beings covered earlier. As for the Defiant Tag, it covers 5 Beasts in this chapter, all of which are various kinds of dinosaurs. Most are on the high end of Tier 2, albeit only one breaks the 20+ barrier, that one being the CR 26 Giganotosaurus. [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinotherium'][B]Arctusks[/B][/URL] look like slender elephants who topple trees to feed off its leaves and other plants growing on it. As their tusks regrow relatively quickly, many clans are known to scavenge their shed and broken ivory, particularly when the animals fight each other. Some clans even domesticated them, but such animals are temporarily turned loose during mating season when they become uncontrollable. They are CR 4 beasts who specialize in charge attacks and melee combat, not much to say. [B]Batface[/B] is a monster appearing like a bipedal mouse. They are evil-aligned creatures whose bite has a toxin that can charm people, causing the victims to view the batface as a friend. Batfaces are similar to standard fantasy goblins and kobolds by living in trap-filled caves of squalor. They are ¼ monstrosities (not humanoids, strangely) who have a bite attack that can impose the charmed condition and cause a character to fall unconscious if they are less than half their hit point maximum. Batfaces are incredibly slow and fragile for their CR, at 4 hit points, AC 13, and with a 20 foot speed. This makes them weaker and slower than goblins and kobolds who at least can keep pace with a human. [B]Dinosaurs & Leatherbeasts[/B] is a broad category for a variety of reptilian creatures encountered in Planegea. Leatherbeasts refers to reptiles in general, which can include dinosaurs, and most originate from the Venom Abyss but can be found in surrounding lands from being swept upstream by the Unfalls. Quite a few dinosaurs who have stats in the official sourcebooks can be found here, but they tend to be beefed-up higher CR versions and some even have magical abilities. We also get a brief sidebar listing dinosaurs detailed in official sourcebooks and what names they are known by in Planegea, such as Dimetrodons being called Sailcrawlers or Triceratops being known as Hornbeasts. To start off, [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankylosaurus'][B]Bouldertails[/B][/URL] are extremely strong dinosaurs that many human-led clans attempt to domesticate, as they make for natural deterrents against the lands’ many dangers. They are CR 6 beasts whose body slam and tail attacks come with additional imposed conditions such as bonus damage against a prone target or pushing foes away. [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caviramus'][B]Chattercrests[/B][/URL] are small winged dinosaurs that can mimic complex sounds and speech up to 1 minute in length, making them valuable as messenger animals. Edgegather has people specializing in their domestication. The legendary [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giganotosaurus'][B]Deathwalker[/B][/URL] is thankfully only found in the Venom Abyss and which all other predators there fear. It is a CR 26 boss monster specializing in physical attacks and has a full page stat block of various abilities, ranging from an AoE fear-based roar, the supernatural ability to “sense Strength” of physically powerful creatures within 5 miles, can throw a grappled creature up to 60 feet away if they fail a Strength save, and an assortment of Legendary Actions. Of course, like most dinosaurs and the Tarrasque it lacks any long-range attacks, and needless to say it is the first non-God monster with the Defiant tag. Continuing on, the [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utahraptor'][B]Doomclaw[/B][/URL] is a fearsome pack animal in the Venom Abyss whose species actually created a simple language among themselves, making them smarter than the average dinosaur. They are CR 5 hit and run ambush predators with features such as blightsight of 30 feet, a multiattack bite and claw, can Pounce like a lion, and have advantage on attack rolls against creatures it surprises. The [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallimimus'][B]Farloper[/B][/URL] are dinosaurs commonly domesticated by people living on the plains, for their fast speed and ability to carry up to two to three riders makes them valuable for travel. They are CR 1 creatures with a powerful kick attack, Pack Tactics (great when someone’s mounting them) and can Dash as a bonus action. The [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stegosaurus'][B]Flintback[/B][/URL] is famous for its ridges which can glow with magical light, and many clans regard their presence as a good omen. They are big bulky CR 8 creatures whose scales aren’t just for show, for they can create AoE cubes that can magically charm and incapacitate onlookers as they stare entranced. Their multiattack tail attack can hit two targets with each attack roll, meaning they are good at spreading the damage around while unlucky allies may be stymied by their scales. [CENTER][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/9Ox3OIj.png[/IMG][/CENTER] The [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dilophosaurus'][B]Frilled Spitter[/B][/URL] is clearly inspired by Jurassic Park, being a seemingly harmless and playful creature who’s actually a deadly CR ½ monsters. It can perform a Startling Display with their brightly-colored frill as a bonus action to avoid opportunity attacks, and in addition to a bite has a rechargeable acid spit attack. The [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therizinosaurus'][B]Great-Hook[/B][/URL] is a physically imposing dinosaur whose otherwise silly appearance betrays a fierce demeanor. They are one of the only dinosaurs known to fight tyrantmaws (T-Rexes) and live, and while attempts have been made to domesticate them for their claws which are good crafting tools, they seem to not really register the presence of humanoids and are prone to wandering off. They are CR 7 and there’s not much to say about them in terms of interesting abilities, sadly. [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quetzalcoatlus'][B]Greatwings[/B][/URL] are widely-feared flying creatures who travel in groups, and seeing them in the sky is enough to send entire clans running for the hills. They have an immense hatred for dragons, to the point that they will do anything to injure or kill them even when obviously outmatched. They are monsters who specialize in flying attacks, such as a Prone-causing swooping strike, a beak that can grapple instead of dealing damage, and kicking up dirt as a reaction to an attack to impose a d6 penalty on an attack roll. [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euparkeria'][B]Littlesnaps[/B][/URL] are nearly harmless as individual creatures, but as they are encountered in swarms that can strip prey to the bone in a short amount of time. Littlesnap swarms are monsters who have advantage on melee attacks against creatures that aren’t at their maximum hit points. The [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yi_(dinosaur)'][B]Madcrash[/B][/URL] is so named for its seeming lack of self-preservation, clumsily slamming into all kinds of creatures to try and attack them even when outmatched, and their sole real tactic as low-threat monsters is to charge and attack with their beaks and can take a bonus action to Disengage if they hit with said attack. The [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinosaurus'][B]Sailstalker[/B][/URL] lives in swamps, adroit at hiding in spite of its great size, and the ones that live in Ghostmire have been infected by the surrounding undeath where spirits of their kills can be seen and heard on their frills. They are another monster with the Defiant tag, which if I had to guess is due to its Drown based bonus action where it can cause a grappled creature to start drowning unless they spend an action each round to cough up water. They are powerful physical attackers with features helping it as an ambush predator, like pseudo-sneak attack dealing 4d6 bonus damage to surprised creatures they hit. [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosasaurus'][B]Seatooth[/B][/URL] is our next Defiant dinosaur, a horrific monster that attacks boats in the ocean and are even willing to hunt and eat each other. They are rather simplistic in having a grappling bite and swallow attack as their main feature, but their echolocation gives them 60 foot blindsight and they have a very high Passive Perception at 19 to go with that. [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachycephalosaurus'][B]Skullsmashers[/B][/URL] are a commonly domesticated dinosaur, being similar to dogs in showing their owners lots of affection and loyalty. They are commonly used to headbutt trees in order to dislodge fruit, and that ability can also be used to great effect for self-defense. They aren’t the most resilient of creatures (22 hit points, AC 11) but their headbutt attack can do up to 4d4+3 damage if they get at least a 20 foot head start (2d4+3 normally), which makes them a pretty good wild shape form for a CR ½ creature. [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elasmosaurus'][B]Snakenecks[/B][/URL] are serpentine water-dwelling creatures who hunt by causing underwater cyclones via quick bursts of speed, and their presence is considered a bad omen by fishers and halflings. They’re similar to the Spinosaurus in being a Defiant ambush predator that is also good at Stealth, albeit they are entirely water-dwelling and can spend all of their regular movement in a round to create an AoE vortex that can draw in creatures who fail a Strength save. [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velociraptor'][B]Swiftclaws[/B][/URL] are large feathered dinosaurs that hunt in packs with warbles that sound like cruel laughter, and their presence is often forewarned by the scent of blood coating their feathers. They too are ambush predators, with a great Stealth bonus (+9) and have advantage on such checks made to hide. Their claws can latch onto creatures, reducing their speed to 0, and with Pack Tactics they can easily overwhelm and immobilize foes. [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterodactylus'][B]Tentwings[/B][/URL] are one of the most recognizable leatherbeasts in Planegea, for they are frequently seen soaring across the sky at all times of day, and some clans and giants have been known to domesticate them. They are more defensive than offensive in their fighting style, their primary attack being a beak, can also avoid opportunity attacks when flying out of an enemy’s reach, and can spend a bonus action to fly half their fly speed. Which at its base is 50 feet and already quite good. They’re also Medium size with a decent 13 Strength, so it’s not inconceivable that a Small sized character to use a pterodactyl as an aerial mount. [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanosaurus'][B]Thunderfeet[/B][/URL] are massive dinosaurs that are likened to living mountains for their slow yet unstoppable trodding through forests, even when said forests are on fire. They are highly secretive in regards to where they reproduce or die, and herds are known to travel great distances beyond the reach of mortals into secret locations when a child’s about to be born or an old or sick member of their species is nearing death. They are Defiant creatures, whose very movement can cause nearby beings to end up prone, and in addition to a mighty stomp attack their tails can knock enemies prone as well as dealing thunder damage. [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasaurolophus'][B]Trumpetcrests[/B][/URL] live in wetlands and are known for their ability to let out incredibly loud sounds. They are considered beautiful by many Planegeans and people avoid hunting them for this reason. The other reason is that a loud warning call can scatter wildlife across great distances, up to half a day’s travel. There’s not much to say about them besides their rechargeable Trumpet Call that can summon other members of its herd in a matter of rounds. [CENTER][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/S52vCMQ.png[/IMG][/CENTER] [B]Mammothmaw[/B] is one of the only dinosaur entries without a parenthetical real-world name, making me believe that it’s an entirely fictional being. It is an alligator-like animal with a mouth disproportionately sized to the rest of its body, and often waits concealed in the wilds with their mouths open for passing prey, at which point they charge and attack. The dinosaur is a CR 12 monster that gets a massive +11 Stealth modifier when remaining motionless for an hour as they blend in with the land, and their primary means of attack is an acidic tongue, rechargeable Wild Thrashing that crushes adjacent creatures, and once per day can make a Massive Bite attack that can only be dodged via a Dexterity save, can hit multiple targets, and those trapped within are basically swallowed. It is unable to open its own mouth until its next short or long rest, but others can via a DC 25 Strength check or by dealing enough damage to make a hole in its body. [B]Spider Raptor[/B] is our other non-Latinized species, being raptors with elongated limbs that are capable of climbing around like spiders. The Venomguard has no shortage of work in keeping them from coming up out of the Venom Abyss. They are pack-based hunters with highly mobile features such as a high standing leap, Pounce attack, Spider Climb, and Pack Tactics. [B]Thoughts So Far:[/B] Barring the Batface, all of the monsters I covered here are various kinds of prehistoric beasts. I do like how the book made them more than just random monsters to fight and hunt, like saying which ones are commonly domesticated and for what purpose and why some may be regarded as good or bad omens. In comparing them to existing monsters of the same CR, I have noticed a variation in values at times. For instance, the Littlesnap Swarm is pretty equivalent to a Swarm of Poisonous Snakes, both being CR 2. The Snakes can do more possible damage with their poison but that requires a failed save, while the Littlesnaps have more consistent damage and situational advantage vs a common trigger which in theory should even out. But when comparing the Sailstalker against a Cloud Giant, both CR 9, the Cloud Giant has much more hit points, a reliable long-ranged attack, and a few spells up its sleeve. The Sailstalker can deal more damage on average and is deadlier when it manages to succeed in evading the party’s passive Perception or is fighting in water, but otherwise the Cloud Giant has a broader variety of potential tactics. The Doomclaw is CR 5 but is very fragile for that CR range at 52 hit points. Although it strongly points to being used as a glass cannon that is best deployed at the beginning of combat or during surprise with its buddies. That being said, I haven’t spotted any wildly out there values so far, so at an initial glance quite a bit can be decent Wild Shape/Polymorph options. [B]Join us next time as we finish this review by covering the rest of the Bestiary![/B] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
[Let's Read] The Star-Shaman's Song of Planegea: Dungeons & Dragons, Prehistoric Style
Top