Creature Catalogue Overhaul Project Revisited

[Cleon]

Very good!

Updating the Lizard Lord Working Draft.

Should we base the background on the hawk lord's?

We might as well recycle as much of it as we can. I'm sure the Animal Lords favor environmentally friendly flavour text.

 

[freyar]

For reference:

The hawk lord (or Lady Hawk, as some call her) is the animal lord who has dominion over hawks everywhere. Unlike most animal lords, she enjoys interacting with humans when pursuing her duties. She frequently leaves her home in the skies of the Beastlands to tend to the affairs of hawks in both the Upper Planes and the Prime Material Plane.

The hawk lord often appears in areas where hawks are being endangered. She rarely intervenes when hawks are menaced by natural perils such as a typhoon, but instead opposes unnatural forces or intelligent beings. The hawk lord most often works to prevent humanoids driving hawks from their habitat, stealing all their eggs and young, and so forth. Lady Hawk is a protector of hawks in general, not individually, and shows little concern if a hunter or predator kills a single hawk, unless the bird is a member of a very rare species whose loss might contribute towards its extinction.

The hawk lord stands 6 feet tall and weighs 140 pounds when in humanoid, dire hawk, or hybrid form. Her dire hawk and hybrid forms both have a wingspan of 12 feet. Her normal hawk form is about 2 feet long with a 5 foot wingspan.

The hawk lord can speak Auran, Common and Draconic and can also communicate telepathically with any intelligent creature.

Also

Habitat/Society: The lizard lord is one of the most aloof animal lords. He rarely takes human form, and even less rarely involves himself in the affairs of nonreptile kind. Usually sedentary, he only infrequently rouses himself out of his torpor, and that only at some great calamity to his people. Once active, however, he is implacable in his anger and desire for vengeance.

How about this?

The lizard lord is the animal lord who has dominion over lizards everywhere. He is aloof from humanoids, representing the extreme of the animal lords' stand-off-ish-ness. He rarely leaves his home in the Beastlands, resting until a great disaster threatens his people.

The lizard lord will only appear in areas where lizards are being endangered. He rarely intervenes when lizards are menaced by natural perils such as a typhoon but instead opposes unnatural forces or intelligent beings. The lizard lord most often works to prevent humanoids driving lizards from their habitat, stealing all their eggs and young, and so forth. The lizard lord is a protector of lizards in general, not individually, and shows little concern if a hunter or predator kills a single lizard, but he is implacable in his wrath once he is aroused.

 

[Cleon]

How about this?

I think we need to but more emphasis on him spending most of the time in a torpor, which he only emerges from to deal with a "calamity".

We might also mention that he occasionally takes the form of a lizardfolk.

How about this revision...

The lizard lord is the animal lord who has dominion over lizards everywhere. He is a cold, aloof being with little interest in the affairs of non-reptilian creatures.

The lizard lord spends his time lying in a torpor in his Beastlands home, only rousing himself when some great disaster threatens his scaly dependants. He is a protector of lizards in general, not individually, and shows little concern over the deaths of single lizards. The lizard lord seldom intervenes against natural calamities, instead protecting lizards from unnatural forces or intelligent creatures. Once stirred into action, his wrath against threats to lizardkind is implacable.

When he does appear, the lizard lord normally takes animal form - usually a giant gila monster, huge komodo dragon, or a tiny gecko. He only takes on humanoid form when the circumstances demand it, and prefers the shape of reptilian species such as lizardfolk.

The exact dimensions of the lizard lord varies depending on what type of lizard or humanoid he takes the form of.
In humanoid or hybrid form, the lizard lord stands 6 to 7 feet tall, weighs 250 pounds, and often has a tail 3 or 4 feet long. His giant lizard form is 20 to 40 feet long (including tail) and weighs 4000 pounds. His normal lizard form is from one foot to three feet in total length (including tail) and weighs 5 pounds.

The lizard lord can speak Common and Draconic and can also communicate telepathically with any intelligent creature.

 

[freyar]

Other than turning "dependants" into "dependents," I like it! Do we just need to work out his retinue? Know of any cool reptiles we can suggest (that aren't actually dragons)? Maybe some magical beasts, like basilisks?

 

[Cleon]

Other than turning "dependants" into "dependents," I like it! Do we just need to work out his retinue? Know of any cool reptiles we can suggest (that aren't actually dragons)? Maybe some magical beasts, like basilisks?

I thought the Animal Lords portfolios only covered actual animals, so it wouldn't include fabulous magical beasts like basilisks.

How about advanced (36 HD) Megalania or Mystaran Gargantua Monitor Lizards? Although the two of those are pretty similar.

Maybe an advanced (30 HD) Fire Lizard?

 

[freyar]

True, I guess I was thinking that legendary animals got their type changed, but not so.

I'd rather not necessarily go for advanced animals, since that's a bit more work for the DM, and I'd probably keep things to simpler templates. Some normal megalania and maybe dinosaurs for the larger/higher CR ones?

 

[Cleon]

True, I guess I was thinking that legendary animals got their type changed, but not so.

I'm fine with Legendary Animals.

However, I don't think there are any "Legendary Lizards" in any of the Monster Manuals. If I recall correctly, there's a Legendary Snake in one of them, but I suspect snakes don't fall within this Lord's portfolio.

I'd rather not necessarily go for advanced animals, since that's a bit more work for the DM, and I'd probably keep things to simpler templates. Some normal megalania and maybe dinosaurs for the larger/higher CR ones?

The problem is most normal animals have such low CRs compared to the Lizard Lord they'd be inconsequential in any beat-down he gets involved in (except possibly as decoys).

A basic Megalania is CR 8 and even the toughest dinosaurs are around CR 12. That's a good 10-12 Challenge Ratings lower than the Lord.

What templates did you have in mind anyway?

 

[Cleon]

A basic Megalania is CR 8 and even the toughest dinosaurs are around CR 12. That's a good 10-12 Challenge Ratings lower than the Lord.

We could pass on the problem to the DM and have "court (1 plus X reptilian creatures of CR Y)" in the Org?

 

[freyar]

Hmm, I keep forgetting that Legendary Animal isn't a template.

Lady hawk has a retinue (1 plus 10-60 hawks, 3-18 dire hawks and 2-12 legendary eagles). Those are respectively CR 1/3, CR 2, and CR 6, if my internet search is correct (books at home). So I think we're just going for a lot of lizards, not necessarily a big challenge.

 

[Cleon]

Hmm, I keep forgetting that Legendary Animal isn't a template.

Lady hawk has a retinue (1 plus 10-60 hawks, 3-18 dire hawks and 2-12 legendary eagles). Those are respectively CR 1/3, CR 2, and CR 6, if my internet search is correct (books at home). So I think we're just going for a lot of lizards, not necessarily a big challenge.

Okay, I can live with that. Upon reflection I was thinking of the retinues of the Animal Generals (which were full of high-CR creatures) rather than the Animal Lords which had weaker attendants.

So how about we keep the numbers similar or the same to Hawk Lady but just swap the raptors for lizards of roughly the same CR?

King lizard has a retinue (1 plus 50-150 lizards, 3-18 monitor lizards and 2-12 megalanias)

I'd better add the background info we'd agreed on to the Lizard Lord Working Draft:

Other than turning "dependants" into "dependents," I like it!

"Dependants" is how we spell it where I'm living, but I'll tolerate your curious overseas foibles just this once.