Converting "Real World" Animals and Vermin

[Shade]

Updated.

Short-Faced Hyena
FREQUENCY: Common
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 7
MOVE: 15”
HIT DICE: 5
% IN LAIR: 5%
TREASURE TYPE: Nil
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-12
SPECIAL ATTACKS: NIl
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Semi-
SIZE: L (300 lbs.)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
LEVEL/XP. VALUE: III/90+5/hp

The short-faced hyena is a lion-sized relative of the striped hyena from the Pleistocene. Its habits are those of its smaller cousin, though it can tackle larger game. It lives in temperate climates.

Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #102 (1985).

 

[Cleon]

Updated.

Short-Faced Hyena

Looks like a question of just increasing the Hit Dice (+1 HD), Strength (+2 Str) and bite damage (2d6) of the Cave Hyena.

If it's Lion-size, I'd want to give it the same +5 Strength bonus as the SRD Lion (which it matches in Hit Dice, conveniently).

Apart from those changes I don't think there's much to them.

 

[freyar]

I think Cleon's about right. We should think about swapping skills and feats around as a point of differentiation, though.

 

[Shade]

Added to Homebrews.

I don't mind if we mix up the skill and/or feat selection.

 

[Cleon]

I think Cleon's about right. We should think about swapping skills and feats around as a point of differentiation, though.

Yes, I'd better refresh my memory about what a Short-Faced Hyena is like...

Hmm, we're talking Pachycrocuta brevirosta (a literal translation of which is "thick-hyena, short-faced").

They're the largest hyena (Hyaenodons are bigger, but they're not strictly speaking hyenas)m being the size of lions.

Probably laired in caves like a Cave Hyena.

Heaviset and not built for long-distance chases. That suggests to me it used an ambush strategy, like its feline ancestors?

There's a recent study that claims Pachycrocuta was almost entirely a scavenger that bullied other predators and stole their kills. Although I am happy to say it like to steal kills, I don't want to make it an exclusive scavenger. Almost all predators will scavenge if given an opportunity, but I think they also need to be able to catch their own prey. Besides, a good scavenger needs to be able to cover a lot of ground without expending much energy while searching for carrion, and Pachycrocuta don't seem to be built for that.

So, let's make it an ambush killer, with some bonus to Hide and Spot, and possibly Stealthy. Could give it keen scent to help it find carrion.

They're fairly low-set for their weight, because they have proportionally shorter legs than modern hyenas.

Possible size range 35-40 inches at the shoulder and 220-400 pounds (probably averaged ~250-300 lbs). Let's say at least 3 feet at the should and about 300 pounds.

Its jaws were great at cracking bones but may not have been so good for biting/grappling onto struggling prey (cut the Trip attack to represent this?).

Likely to have lived in packs.

Oh, and short-faced hyenas definitely ate people, or at least our hominid ancestors, so we could say they have a reputation as man-eaters.

Some cryptozoologists suggest the Nandi Bear is a short-faced hyena. Maybe we should give it the Nandi's love of eating brains?

The Nandi Bear theory would match up with the Hide and Move Silently bonus - they have to be sneaky or the scientists would discover them.

 

[freyar]

So swap Alertness out for Stealthy or Skill Focus (Hide)? Move some ranks around?

 

[Cleon]

So swap Alertness out for Stealthy or Skill Focus (Hide)? Move some ranks around?

Let's see, SRD Hyenas already have a +4 racial bonus to Hide. I'd keep that, give them Stealthy (preferably instead of WF (bite), since it'll have a pretty good attack without it), and maybe move a few points from Spot to Hide.

Oh, and how about a Wolf/Dog-type +4 racial bonus to track by scent plus Track as a bonus feat? Maybe even a "keen scent" to sniff out carrion over long distances?

 

[Shade]

Let's see, SRD Hyenas already have a +4 racial bonus to Hide. I'd keep that, give them Stealthy (preferably instead of WF (bite), since it'll have a pretty good attack without it), and maybe move a few points from Spot to Hide.

Oh, and how about a Wolf/Dog-type +4 racial bonus to track by scent plus Track as a bonus feat? Maybe even a "keen scent" to sniff out carrion over long distances?

That all sounds good. Didn't we develop a "keen scent" for a previous conversion?

 

[freyar]

How about the shark?

Keen Scent (Ex): A shark can notice creatures by scent in a 180-foot radius and detect blood in the water at ranges of up to a mile.

 

[Cleon]

That all sounds good. Didn't we develop a "keen scent" for a previous conversion?

Sounds familiar, but I think we just modified the SRD Shark's keen scent.