Lizards' and Breathing/Oxygen?

[mythusmage]

Clearing up a misapprehension, all vertebrates have iron based blood. It's molluscs that have copper based blood.

Reptiles by and large have a lower oxygen requirement than mammals, and so need less oxygen over-all. However, they also have less endurance than mammals. The most notable exception are the goannas of Australia, which have a near mammal-like endurance.

BTW, during hibernation snakes den together and shiver. This produces body heat which keeps the snakes from freezing.

 

[fusangite]

I know nothing about reptiles at all but thought I might note that one should never try to explain anything in D&D referencing by oxygen. It's not one of the four elements and, I suspect, works pretty differently from the element air.

 

[D-rock]

I was also going to mention that lizards also have smaller brains that require less oxygen, but because your talking about lizard men I don't think that would apply here(well it could I suppose).

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

I know nothing about reptiles at all but thought I might note that one should never try to explain anything in D&D referencing by oxygen. It's not one of the four elements and, I suspect, works pretty differently from the element air.

Frostburn has rules for oxygen at high altitudes, so it's very much applicable to D&D.

 

[fusangite]

Frostburn has rules for oxygen at high altitudes, so it's very much applicable to D&D.

Well, Frostburn is pretty clearly wrong then. Either air is an element or oxygen is an element; certainly, both cannot be elements.

 

[arscott]

Well, Frostburn is pretty clearly wrong then. Either air is an element or oxygen is an element; certainly, both cannot be elements.

Either Denial is a state or Kansas is.

 

[jasper]

what do lizards and generations of Oxen have to do with each other? keep most the science out of game you will game better.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

what do lizards and generations of Oxen have to do with each other? keep most the science out of game you will game better.

We game just fine thank you very much. There's nothing wrong with my original question. If you don't like it, feel free to ignore the thread. Sheesh!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Re: Goannas

I was just reading somewere that goannas have a unique metabolic system. For the most part, it is the same as the system that all lizards have, however, they have a "turbocharger" that operates much like the system that mammals have. Some special organ they have allows them to oxygenate their blood almost as much as us furry types, allowing them to move faster for longer than their other scaly cousins.

This could be an interesting option for lizardmen...

Other interesting options:

Dirty Mouth: like monitors, their saliva could be toxic due to bacterial content.

Water Storage: like the Ghila Monster and certain other desert species, perhaps they could store moisture in their tails for the dry season.

Alternative movement: Like the basilisk or the flying lizard, subspecies of lizardmen may be capable of running on water for short distances or gliding from tree to tree, respectively.

Venom: the Ghila is one of the few lizards with true venom, but snakes have it in abundance. And some spit it.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

Ooo! I like the dirty mouth.