D&D General Dinosaurs in your campaigns

[Mind of tempest]

Of course I of all people have dinosaurs. Not even dinsoaurs, all sorts of extinct weirdos. They just, turn up in appropriate places, generally not jungles. The "What if I just, stuck the Western Interior Seaway back in the middle of North America" continent has a lot of 'em, but they can be found in other places. Canonical explanation? The world is near the bottom of various universe so dinosaurs and other things slipped through minor breaks in reality, creating a messy world that has anything I require at a time. Every time some crazy magic thing happens in another realm, that's a chance for something else to drop down in this one. The rare enviroment in my ridiculous land is the scale tree swamps, of "Here's some 100 foot tall 'trees' that are grouped way too close together in a swamp, let off spores at one time, and then die en-mass" very much extinct fame

Dinosaurs are feathered if appropriate, which is typically yes on maniraptorans, maybe on tyrannosaurs (See: Yutyrannus or Nanuqsaurus for the dino equivilent of polar bears), and quills on a few misc ones in Ornithischians (generally heterodontosaurians if they show up, or more likely ceratopsians). Pterosaurs, however, are always fuzzy

One day I gotta plug away at numbers and actually whip up some stats for a Rhizodus to inflict on other people aside from 'reskin a crocodile, make it stay in the water'. Worried about dinosaurs? Don't be, I can pull up much worse. I got pterosaurs for the sky, rausuchians for the land, all sorts of wonderful fish, molluscs, eurypterids and lobopodians for the water

bring out a temnospondyl or Labyrinthodont mega amphibian fast to reskin from a croc and can live in icy fresh water, scare your player half to death.

We have ample evidence that evolution simply doesn't work in D&D; there's no relation between the clearly hominid dwarves and elves and gorillas, for instance. If we can accept the existence of gorillas, humans and grimlocks, can't we accept the existence of tyrannosauruses and galluses?

or evolution is used in some areas of the multiverse and the gods just steal the cool life forms and stick together an ecosystem like kids using lots of action figures together.

 

[Vaalingrade]

or evolution is used in some areas of the multiverse and the gods just steal the cool life forms and stick together an ecosystem like kids using lots of action figures together.

That's how I do it!

 

[Frozen_Heart]

We have ample evidence that evolution simply doesn't work in D&D; there's no relation between the clearly hominid dwarves and elves and gorillas, for instance. If we can accept the existence of gorillas, humans and grimlocks, can't we accept the existence of tyrannosauruses and galluses?

Depends on the setting, but yeah as far as I can tell, all official settings just have everything created by magic.

I've actually gone a bit too full nerd and designed a tree of life for my setting, as all the creatures classed as beasts or humanoids are naturally evolved in it. Which is why there ends up being no dinosaurs and no birds.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Depends on the setting, but yeah as far as I can tell, all official settings just have everything created by magic.

I've actually gone a bit too full nerd and designed a tree of life for my setting, as all the creatures classed as beasts or humanoids are naturally evolved in it. Which is why there ends up being no dinosaurs and no birds.

put a random goose as a monster as it would be the most aline horror they had ever seen.

 

[Oofta]

put a random goose as a monster as it would be the most aline horror they had ever seen.

A goose in any campaign can be horrifying.

 

[Mind of tempest]

A goose in any campaign can be horrifying.

true but in a world of nothing with feathers they would be as alien as mindflayers

 

[DragonLancer]

My current campaign setting has a Lost World continent in the equatorial regions. Even so, I've always had such in previous campaign settings. Dinosaurs are cool and deserve to be in the D&D style fantasy.

 

[Voadam]

A goose in any campaign can be horrifying.

Just FYI there is the Honkonomicon if you are playing 5e.

"The time of humanoids is over, the age of geese has arrived.

Peace was never an option, so honk on."

 

[Mind of tempest]

had a thought would haast's eagle work?
a eagle that can hunt bipeds fairly effectively

 

[Frozen_Heart]

had a thought would haast's eagle work?
a eagle that can hunt bipeds fairly effectively

I mean, DnD has eagles, and large eagles.

A medium eagle would work pretty well. Though that runs the risk of small characters riding one!