VENATOSAURUS
Huge Animal
Hit Dice: 9d8+54 (94 hp)
Initiative: +6
Speed: 50ft (10 squares)
Armor Class: 22 (-2 size, +6 Dex, +8 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 16
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+20
Attack: Talons +11 melee (2d8+7/19-20)
Full Attack: Talons +11 melee (2d8+7/19-20), 2 claws +9 melee (1d6+3) and bite +9 melee (2d6+3)
Space/Reach: 15ft/10ft
Special Attacks: Canny flanking, improved grab, pounce, trip
Special Qualities: Jungle movement, low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +11, Ref +12, Will +10
Abilities: Str 24, Dex 23, Con 22, Int 2, Wis 18, Cha 11
Skills: Climb +8, Hide +12, Jump +23, Listen +6, Move Silently +16, Spot +14, Survival +13, Tumble +16
Feats: Dodge, Improved Critical (talons) (B), Mobility, Multiattack, Track
Environment: Warm forests and mountains
Organization: Solitary, pair or pack (6-12)
Challenge Rating: 7
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 10-27 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment: -
The snap of a twig draws your attention to a bipedal, lizard-like creature as tall as an ogre, its jaws full of razor-sharp teeth and its eyes high on its head, giving it a somewhat alien appearance. Its limbs are well-muscled, hands tipped with claws and each foot bearing a talon like an oversized kukri. Too late you realize that the impatient flicks of its long stiff tail are in fact signals, as more of the beasts pounce…
Canny hunters, the venatosauruses are pack dwelling predators of Skull Island’s sweltering interior jungles and mountains. Relatives of the dinonychus and other dinosaurs colloquially referred to as “raptors”, the venatosaurus is a highly evolved elaboration of their theme. Although quite strong, they rely on tactics and coordination to fell prey.
Venatosauruses are the only predators on Skull Island that deliberately hunt brontosaurs, the largest animals on the island. Brontosaur herds are corralled by hit-and-run attacks into roads long ago abandoned by Skull Island’s first natives, and stampeded towards cliffs, pits and dead-ends. The venatosauruses carefully avoid such carnage until the dust settles, then climb down to feed. Venatosaur packs often kill more than they can eat at once, leaving the partially consumed carcasses for later meals or to lure in scavengers which are then preyed upon.
The social structure of venatosaurus packs is complex and elegant, similar to wolves and other social mammals. An alpha breeding pair dominates the pack, but other male-female pairs still breed. Eggs and young are cared for by the whole pack, the infants hidden under tree roots, guarded by a sentry and fed by adults bringing in food. Vicious from a young age, baby venatosauruses have been known to hunt for mice, centipedes and other small animals within weeks of hatching. Each pack has a well-defined territory; although disputes between packs are common, they more often consist of posturing and display then outright violence.
A venatosaurus reaches between sixteen and twenty four feet long, although up to half of this length can be tail. They grow to nine feet high at the hip.
These statistics can also be used to represent dwarf venatosauruses, a smaller species reaching a maximum of 12 feet long. These dwarf venatosaurs prefer to hunt in (and through) the dense foliage around Skull Island’s riverbanks, preying on ligocristuses and feral buffalo. Reduce the dwarf venatosaurus’s size to Large (with the differences in ability scores this entails) and give it Weapon Finesse as a racial bonus feat and a climb speed of 20ft.
Combat
A venatosaurus pack hunts by stealth. Large prey is often herded and driven into natural hazards, as described above. Smaller prey is charged from all sides, the venatosaurs concentrating their attacks on one individual. If the prey is not successfully tripped, the venatosauruses scatter, making hit-and-run attacks until they can bring the victim down. Prey is consumed while still alive, or carried away once killed if the dinosaurs are met with resistance (such as by the adventurer’s compatriots).
Canny Flanking (Ex): Venatosauruses are skilled at coordinating their attacks. A venatosaurus gains a +4 bonus on attack rolls made when flanking an opponent instead of the usual +2 bonus.
Improved Grab (Ex): In order to use this ability, a venatosaurus must hit its opponent with a bite attack. It can then make a grapple check as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. Venatosauruses that successfully grab an opponent usually carry them off for consumption.
Pounce (Ex): If a venatosaurus charges a foe, it can make a full attack.
Trip (Ex): If a venatosaurus hits an opponent with its talon attack, it may make a trip attempt (+14 check modifier) as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity.
In addition, due to their stiff balancing tails, venatosauruses are treated as quadrupeds for the purposes of resisting a trip attempt.
Jungle Movement (Ex): Venatosauruses have supreme agility and maneuverability despite their size, allowing them to pass through the thickest jungle with ease. A venatosaurus can move through light undergrowth without penalty, and treats heavy undergrowth as light undergrowth for the purposes of movement (two squares to pass through, +2 to Tumble and Move Silently DCs).
Saves: A venatosaurus has all good saves, as if it were a dire animal.
Skills: A venatosaurus receives a +8 racial bonus to Jump, Move Silently, Spot, Survival and Tumble checks and a +12 racial bonus to all Hide checks.
Copyright 2006 Nicholas Herold. The World of Kong is copyright 2005 Weta Workshop.
Demiurge out.
![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
