Casimir Liber
Adventurer
Okay fair points. Sold me on the large one....all material above looks in order....
Yuan Ti and allies thread (Ti-Khana critters)
Casimir Liber
Adventurer
Cleon
Legend
I've got the Ti-khana Giant Pterosaur as the Large one and Ti-khana War Pterosaur as Huge.
The SRD Pteranodon in the 5th edition Monster Manual has 3 Hit Dice not 4, so would have 7d10 if you added another 4 HD, not 8d10.
Presumably you used one of the 4 HD alternative versions as the base archosaur, like this (or this, which is identical mechanically. I think they're both copied from an earlier or trial version of the 5E rules).
Casimir Liber
Adventurer
Gah! I meant Giant Pterosaur (changed now). I added one hit dice and made d10 as pteranodon is size M.
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Cleon
Legend
Just to be clear we're on the same page (or rather post) we're doing this Ti-khana Giant Pterosaur, with the Ti-khana War Pterosaur and Ti-khana Venomwing Pterosaur to come later.
So it's Large with 4d10 Hit Dice? That's in the ballpark for an average battlefield mount comparable to a Warhorse, or rather a flying one like a Giant Eagle or Hippogriff, which is what we're aiming for.
I'd suggest giving it a +3 Strength bonus like a Riding Horse or Giant Eagle rather than the +2 it's got. It needs to be strong enough to lug around a rider. Maybe STR 16 (+3) like the oversized bird of prey?
DEX and CON are allright, although I could see the Giant Pterosaur having the same DEX 15 as its regular sized cousin.
As for the mental stats, hmm… I don't think it should be quite as smart as the INT 6 Ti-khana Deinonychus which we intended to be exceptionally cunning, although I'd accept the War Pterosaur being that smart the Giant Pterosaur is more an everyday mount cum warbeast.
Maybe INT 6 for War, INT 5 for Giant, INT 4 for the birdbrained Venomwing?
WIS 10 seems off. I know a regular 5E Pteranodon has WIS 9 but frankly that's silly, as Pteranodons had quite well developed brains and sensory organs. Certainly there's no sound justification for it having a Wisdom lower than a Plesiosaurus!
I'd go for WIS 12 (+1).
CHA 11 is fine by me.
Or how about swapping the odd/even around for WIS 13, CHA 10 like the TK Deinonychus?
Hmm… I quite like that.
Which boils down to the following suggestions:
Giant Ptero #1A: STR 16, DEX 17, CON 12, INT 5, WIS 12, CHA 11.
Giant Ptero #1B: STR 16, DEX 15, CON 12, INT 5, WIS 12, CHA 11.
Giant Ptero #2A: STR 16, DEX 17, CON 12, INT 5, WIS 13, CHA 10.
Giant Ptero #2B: STR 16, DEX 15, CON 12, INT 5, WIS 13, CHA 10.
Giant Ptero #2B: STR 16, DEX 15, CON 12, INT 5, WIS 13, CHA 10.
Any winners among those?
Casimir Liber
Adventurer
Going with 2A - idea is the ti khana process gives it a bit of extra vim dex-wise. Happy to do the three pterosaurs as suggested yeah
Trying to think of a random spell or spell-like power it might have is challenging...
Trying to think of a random spell or spell-like power it might have is challenging...
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Cleon
Legend
Updating the Ti-khana Giant Pterosaur.
I'm thinking its Speed should be 30 ft. in Snake Form, like a Giant Constrictor Snake on land. Wouldn't bother with a true snake's swim speed since Yuan-ti don't gain a swim speed in their serpentine form.
Did we ever discuss whether the Deinonychus and Triceratops versions of this should have a "## ft. in snake form" in Speed? I don't recall whether we did or not.
I'm fine leaving the TK Deino at 40 ft. in snake form since Abominations can slither that fast, but 50 ft. in snake form feels a little high for the TK Trike.
Never mind, let's leave it as it is. It can move like a supercharged snake if it wants and we declared the conversion done. I don't want to go back and start fussing over it.
Cleon
Legend
OK, next up is Skills. You've proposed Acrobatics, Perception and Stealth.
The SRD Pteranodon just has Perception, the other two skills appear to be holdovers from the TK Deinonychus. I can see it having Acrobatics (or should that be Aerobatics
) but Stealth seems unlikely. It's got like a 30+ foot wide leathery wings that flap about, one would think it stands out a bit!
How about Skills Acrobatics +5, Perception +3?
For traits, I'd consider adding it Keen Sight as pterosaurs had well developed eyes. We're basically making this a reptilian version of the SRD Giant Eagle, and that has Keen Sight.
I'd leave that for the War Pterosaur since I'm aiming for the Giant Pterosaur to be a more run-of-the-mill monster that is encountered in groups with Yuan-ti masters and/or other Pterosaurs. If they all threw around spells during a combat it could easily make things too confusing.
The SRD Pteranodon just has Perception, the other two skills appear to be holdovers from the TK Deinonychus. I can see it having Acrobatics (or should that be Aerobatics
) but Stealth seems unlikely. It's got like a 30+ foot wide leathery wings that flap about, one would think it stands out a bit!How about Skills Acrobatics +5, Perception +3?
For traits, I'd consider adding it Keen Sight as pterosaurs had well developed eyes. We're basically making this a reptilian version of the SRD Giant Eagle, and that has Keen Sight.
I'd leave that for the War Pterosaur since I'm aiming for the Giant Pterosaur to be a more run-of-the-mill monster that is encountered in groups with Yuan-ti masters and/or other Pterosaurs. If they all threw around spells during a combat it could easily make things too confusing.
Cleon
Legend
Okay, now on to combat!
I'm wondering whether to give it Dive like the third-party Pteranodon:
You may want to add a note that if the pteranodon has a rider they need to make an Animal Handling or Athletics check to keep their balance, maybe:
Apart from that we just need to set the Bite damage. We'll set that to something appropriate for its target Challenge Rating.
I'm wondering whether to give it Dive like the third-party Pteranodon:
Dive. If the pteranodon dives at least 30 feet straight toward a target and then hits it with a Bite attack on the same turn, the target takes an additional 7 (2d6) piercing damage.
You may want to add a note that if the pteranodon has a rider they need to make an Animal Handling or Athletics check to keep their balance, maybe:
If a creature is riding the giant pteranodon when it dives, the rider must succeed at a DC 15 Dexterity (Athletics) check or a DC 15 Wisdom (Animal Handling) check or fall prone while remaining in their saddle. If the target fails the check by 5 or more, they impact knocks them off the pteranodon: the rider takes 10 (3d6) bludgeoning damage and falls to the ground, landing prone in an unoccupied space adjacent to the target of the dive attack.
Apart from that we just need to set the Bite damage. We'll set that to something appropriate for its target Challenge Rating.
Cleon
Legend
Oh, I forgot the Armour Class.
A regular 5E Pteranodon is AC 13 with DEX (+2) so has a point of natural armour.
Our boy is more agile with DEX (+3) which'll give it AC 14. If it has a point thicker armour equivalent to leather it'll become AC 15 like the TK Deinonychus.
Hmm… I'd be OK with either of those ACs but prefer AC 14 as I imagine these fellows are somewhat fragile compared to a souped up Deinonychus. If you're attached to AC 15 you could probably convince me with a bit of effort.
A regular 5E Pteranodon is AC 13 with DEX (+2) so has a point of natural armour.
Our boy is more agile with DEX (+3) which'll give it AC 14. If it has a point thicker armour equivalent to leather it'll become AC 15 like the TK Deinonychus.
Hmm… I'd be OK with either of those ACs but prefer AC 14 as I imagine these fellows are somewhat fragile compared to a souped up Deinonychus. If you're attached to AC 15 you could probably convince me with a bit of effort.
