Prehistoric Animals

[DMH]

When you think of prehistoric mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, etc (non-dinosaur!), what creatures do you think of?

Last night I found a d20 source for several animals from the Age of Mammals- Lost Prehistorica.

Here is the part of the ToC with them:

Amphimid 83
Apatosaurus 83
Archaeopteryx 84
Brachiosaurus 84
Dinofelis 85
Dimetrodon 85
Elves, Slither 85
Entelodont 86
Felklaw 87
Gastronis 88
Glyptodon 89
Golgaut 89
Guzi 90
Hoc 91
Hominid, Early 91
Hominid, Later 92
Iguanodon 93
Kifter 93
Leptictidium 94
Magma Brute 94
Mandreg 95
Mandrillion 96
Massospondylus 96
Megatherium 98
Oolori 98
Oviraptor 98
Plateosaurus 99
Primordial Ooze 99
Protoceratops 100
Probosin 100
Pteranodon 101
Scaphonyx 101
Scutellosaurus 101
Stegosaurus 102
Stegotaur 103
Trachodon 104
Tyrotaun 105

 

[tarchon]

the Ammonoid Gobhocker

Finally, updated to 3.5, and as paleontologically correct as such a thing gets (well, everything except the spitting part):

Ammonoid Gobhocker
Medium Animal
Hit Dice: 4d8 (18 hp)
Initiative: +4 (Dex)
Speed: Swim 40 ft.
AC: 19 (+4 Dex, +5 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+9*
Attack: Arms +5 melee (0) or spit +9 ranged touch (drag)
Full Attack: Arms +5 melee (0) and bite +0 melee (1d6+2) or spit +9 ranged (drag)
Space/Reach: 5 ft/5 ft.
Special Attacks: Spit, drag, improved grab
Special Qualities: Jet, low light vision, clam up
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +8, Will +3
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 19, Con 11, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 5
Skills: Listen +6, Spot +8, Swim +10
Feats: Alertness, Point Blank Shot,
Environment: Temperate or tropical aquatic
Organization: Solitary or school (6-11)
Challenge Rating: 3
Treasure: None (except for an interesting shell)
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 4-6 HD (Medium-size); 7-11 HD (Large)
Level Adustment: -

COMBAT
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, an ammonoid must hit an opponent of any size with its arms attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and automatically deals bite damage. *An ammonoid has a +4 racial bonus on grapple checks.
Spit (Ex): An ammonoid gobhocker can spit a line of jet-black ichor in air 5 times a day with a range increment of 10 ft. (20 if large). If an ammonoid hits with a spit attack, strands of congealed ichor glom onto the opponent’s body. This deals no damage, but if the target is 10 ft. or less from the ammonoid gobhocker, it can use its tentacles to draw in the creature and grab or bite with a +4 attack bonus in the same round, unless that creature breaks free, which requires a DC 17 Escape Artist check or a DC 17 Strength check. The check DCs are Strength-based. The strands have 5 hit points collectively and can be attacked by making a successful sunder attempt. However, attacking the strands does not provoke an attack of opportunity. The strands dissolve after 10 rounds of immersion in water. No matter what the range, a hit with the congealed ichor gives the target a -4 penalty against attacks and Swim checks (before it begins to dissolve) and makes physical flight impossible for any creature less than large size.
Jet (Ex): An ammonoid can jet backward once per round as a full-round action, at a speed of 200 feet. It must move in a straight line, but does not provoke attacks of opportunity while jetting.
Clam Up (Ex): A seriously threatened ammonoid can retreat into its shell and close the opening as a move equivalent action (provoking no AOO), in which state it cannot attack but adds +4 to its already formidable natural armor. It may still use its Jet ability in this state.
Skills: An ammonoid has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line
Description:
The ammonoid gobhocker appears to be a peculiar combination of squid and snail, with a coiled shell body 3 to 4 ft. in diameter and another 4 ft. of a bundle of tentacles topped by a pair of strangely expressive eyes. Its somewhat comical appearance conceals its deadly speed and agility in the water, as well as its unusual and highly effective hunting technique.
This canny aquatic predator supplements its diet with seabirds and even the occasional unwary terrestrial creature by ejecting a black and foul-smelling glue-like ichor at its target. The substance congeals almost instantly in air, forming strands by which the gobhocker draws prey into its grasping tentacles and clacking beak. Gobhockers normally attempt to draw aerial and terrestrial prey under the water to kill and devour it, though their intellectual capacity is only of the animal level typical of wolves and similar carnivores.
The gobhocker has the instinctive ability to target creatures above the water's surface without suffering a penalty for the refraction of the target's image. The creature hunts aquatic organisms smaller than itself, but it is not shy about assailing other creatures of its own size if they come too close to the water, sailors, fisherfolk, and adventurers included. Ammonoids occasionally hunt in small groups if prey is numerous, though they are otherwise solitary.
Truly monstrous large sized ammonoids are encountered from time to time in the deep ocean, and such abominations fear nothing that walks on legs.

 

[frankthedm]

Smilodon is a relatively recent sabertooth, from the Late Pleistocene. It went extinct about 10,000 years ago. Fossils have been found all over North America and Europe. Smilodon fossils from the La Brea tar pits include bones that show evidence of serious crushing or fracture injuries, or crippling arthritis and other degenerative diseases. Such problems would have been debilitating for the wounded animals. Yet many of these bones show extensive healing and regrowth indicating that even crippled animals survived for some time after their injuries. How did they survive? It seems most likely that they were cared for, or at least allowed to feed, by other saber-toothed cats.

Hmm, plot idea, groups keeping or worshipping these beasts would sometimes sacrifice them to the tar pits in ancient times.


Non fancy names.....

Megatherium – Bearhemoth
Similadon – Fangcat
Mammoths- long nosed tuskers
Fish with bone plate jaw- Helmfish

 

[David Howery]

I've always been fascinated with prehistoric critters (I wrote 2 articles on them for Dragon way back in 1E/2E days). What I've also found interesting is how many of them survived the end of the Ice Age, only to die out as civilization was getting going. The mammoths on that small Arctic island were mentioned earlier. The big European 'cave' lion survived in the Balkans for quite some time, perhaps until 2000 BC. A small American elephantine creature, Cuvieronius, may have lived in C. and S. America until 400 AD. A giant hippo lived in the Meditteranean area up to the end of the Late stone age. Sivatherium, a type of giant giraffe with moose-like horns, survived in Africa long enough to be painted onto rocks by Africans. The Irish elk may have survived in central Europe up to 2500 years ago. The aborigines in Australia arrived there in time to see a lot of the megafauna, from Diprotodon to Megalania. The cave bear and dire wolf both survived the end of the Ice Age only to die out later. Having some of these creatures surviving in a D&D campaign isn't so farfetched.....