Help me figure out Dire animals

Beerf · Oct 30, 2002

What makes an animal a dire animal?
When traveling in packs do they ever travel as a mixed group with non-dire versions of the same type? (Ie. Dire wolf with non-dire wolf.)
Or maybe as the Alfa male?
Do the live every place non-dire animals live?

James McMurray · Oct 30, 2002

What makes an animal a dire animal?

Size. Dire Animals are always much larger than their normal counterparts.

When traveling in packs do they ever travel as a mixed group with non-dire versions of the same type? (Ie. Dire wolf with non-dire wolf.)

The organization entry doesn't state, but if the DM wanted them too I could see where it would make sense.

Or maybe as the Alfa male?

It would definitely make sense for a Dire animal that was driven out of its pack to move in on a normal pack of its type and become the alpha male.

Do the live every place non-dire animals live?

Probably not everywhere, otherwise the ecology would certainly be freaky, as you'd have the Dire Wolves eating the Dire Rabbits, and the regular wolves eating the regular rabbits.

Mr Fidgit · Oct 30, 2002

Beerf said:
What makes an animal a dire animal?

"Dire animals are larger, tougher, meaner versions of normal animals." MM58 dire animals make viable opponents to higher level parties, and viable companions to higher-level druids and rangers. otherwise, high level parties would never see animals (unless they're eating them via Wilderness Lore

)

When traveling in packs do they ever travel as a mixed group with non-dire versions of the same type? (Ie. Dire wolf with non-dire wolf.)

the climate/terrain for a dire animal is the same as the normal animal its based on, so it's possible...

Or maybe as the Alfa male?

there's no way a dire animal wouldn't be the alpha male. just using the wolf as an example, one size bigger, 12 points stronger, and deals more than twice the damage. a normal wolf couldn't challenge a dire and survive

Do the live every place non-dire animals live?

see above

Spectrum Rider · Oct 30, 2002

As far as I can tell: a dire animal is not just a really tough memeber of a standard animal species. It' a different species altogether. There's no reason to believe that a dire animal will travel with (or rule over) a pack of similarly-named standard animals; it would proably run with a pack of its own kind (dire animals of the same sort). However, the DM can (as always) rule otherwise, depending on the campaign world.

Each dire animal type has its own Climate/Terrain listed, which may or may not be the same as the ordinary animal version's Climate/Terrain.

The Spectrum Rider

Mr Fidgit · Oct 30, 2002

Re: Re: Help me figure out Dire animals

Mr Fidgit said:
the climate/terrain for a dire animal is the same as the normal animal its based on, so it's possible...

a correction, most dire versions of animals add underground to the climate/terrain list, but generally, lists are the same

(except for the dire wolverine, which apparently doesn't like the cold like his non-dire counterparts do...)

Spatzimaus · Oct 30, 2002

I think of it as being sort of like comparing a chimp to a gorilla. Same genetic family, evolved in different directions. So, a Dire Tiger may be similar to a Tiger but the two won't hang out together, I'd think. They really just don't have that much in common.

If you accept they're different species, you wouldn't see an "alpha male" effect since they wouldn't be able to crossbreed with non-Dire versions. One might view itself as boss and protector (thinking of the non-Dires as adopted "children"), but it wouldn't have some of the other aspects (the "getting all the chicks" part).

This could vary with the exact type, though; a Dire Squirrel might prefer hanging out with regular squirrels, just to avoid an inferiority complex. But it wouldn't be the sort of instinctive family bond you'd get with members of the same species, IMHO.