Cleon
Legend
Allosaurus Redux
Large Animal
Hit Dice: 10d8+50 (95 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 50 ft. (10 squares)
Armor Class: 17 (–1 size, +2 Dex, +6 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +7/+17
Attack: Bite +12 melee (2d6+6)
Full Attack: Bite +12 melee (2d6+6) and claws +7 melee (1d6+3)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Improved grab, swallow whole
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +12, Ref +9, Will +5
Abilities: Str 23, Dex 15, Con 21, Int 1, Wis 15, Cha 10
Skills: Hide +6* [+10 in undergrowth], Listen +9, Spot +9, Survival +9
Feats: Endurance, Power Attack, Run, Track
Environment: Warm forests or plains
Organization: Solitary, pair or pack (3–12)
Challenge Rating: 5
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 11–12 HD (Large); 13–24 HD (Huge); 25–30 HD (Gargantuan)
Level Adjustment: —
An Allosaurus is a classically built predatory dinosaur, with a large head full of serrated teeth and two short but powerful forelimbs ending in 3-fingered hands for grasping prey.
A typical Allosaurus stands about 8 feet tall, with a total length of 25 feet, and weighs about 2,500 pounds. They can grow considerably bigger than this, and some of its larger relatives may rival a Tyrannosaurus in size.
Combat
An Allosaurus strikes fast and hard, often from ambush. They usually charge in with their bite attack, and then tries to grapple with its foreclaws and strikes repeatedly with power-attack bite attacks. Against particularly large opponents they attempt to circle around to make hit-and-run attacks against their flanks.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, an Allosaurus must hit with its bite or claws 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 with a bite attack, it establishes a hold and can try to swallow the foe the following round. If it wins with its claws attack it can full-attack the held opponent with both its bite and claws at their full +12 attack bonus.
Swallow Whole (Ex): an Allosaurus can try to swallow a grabbed opponent of up to two sizes smaller by making a successful grapple check. The swallowed creature takes 1d10+6 points of bludgeoning damage and 8 points of acid damage per round from the Allosaurus’s gizzard. A swallowed creature can cut its way out by using a light slashing or piercing weapon to deal 25 points of damage to the gizzard (AC 13). Once the creature exits, muscular action closes the hole; another swallowed opponent must cut its own way out.
A Large Allosaurus’s gizzard can hold 2 Small, 8 Tiny, or 32 Diminutive or 128 Fine opponents.
Skills: An Allosaurus has a +4 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, Spot, and Survival checks.
*Its racial bonus to Hide increases to +8 when it is in thick undergrowth.
Greater Allosaurus
Huge Animal
Hit Dice: 15d8+90 (157 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 50 ft. (10 squares)
Armor Class: 18 (–2 size, +1 Dex, +9 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 17
Base Attack/Grapple: +11/+27
Attack: Bite +17 melee (3d6+8/19–20)
Full Attack: Bite +17 melee (3d6+8/19–20) and claws +12 melee (1d8+4)
Space/Reach: 15 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Improved grab, swallow whole
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +15, Ref +10, Will +9
Abilities: Str 27, Dex 13, Con 23, Int 1, Wis 15, Cha 10
Skills: Hide +6* [+10 in undergrowth], Listen +9, Spot +10, Survival +9
Feats: Endurance, Improved Critical (bite), Iron Will, Power Attack, Run, Track
Environment: Warm forests or plains
Organization: Solitary, pair or pack (3–12)
Challenge Rating: 7
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 16–24 HD (Huge); 25–30 HD (Gargantuan)
Level Adjustment: —
10 feet high and 35 feet long, weighing around 6,000 pounds. This represents the old AD&D 15 Hit Dice Allosaurus and could be a particularly big specimen of Allosaurus of a larger relative such as Saurophaganax.
Design Notes
The official 3E stats for the Allosaurus appear in Monster Manual II. The main objections I have to them are (a) at 36 feet long and Huge size it's arguably a little too big, that's roughly the size of the LARGEST Allosaurids such as Saurophaganax maximus (which some consider to be a species of Allosaurus). If the MMII version had 15 Hit Dice like the AD&D Allosaurus did I wouldn't mind so much, but the official 3E Allosaurus is reduced to 10 Hit Dice and has Strength 24, which seems more appropriate for a smaller animal – that's between a Bison's Str 22 and a Brown Bear's Str 26, both of which are Large animals.
Secondly, I didn't care for the special attacks of the MMII version, which gave the Allosaurus a Trample and Rake special attacks in addition to the Grab & Swallow Whole of the Tyrannosaurus. While I guess any sufficiently large animal could trample smaller creatures underfoot, a Theropod seems build for grabbing on and tearing a single opponent up with tooth & fang rather than rushing about stomping everything underfoot. As for the Rake, I am perplexed how an Allosaurus is supposed to contort itself enough to hold onto an opponent with its jaws while kicking them with both its hind feet - they're not as flexible as a cat after all!
Now I appreciate that giving the dinosaur another special attacks can make it more interesting in play, I just don't feel those particular special attacks are appropriate.
So I've statted up a "minimalist" 10 Hit Dice Allosaurus by reducing its size to be the high end of Large and cutting the Rake and Trample while adding a separate Greater Allosaurus to cover the Huge size and 15 Hit Dice aspects of the old versions.
You probably notice I've also given it a "claws" attack rather than 2 separate claw attacks. The main reason I did this is that it made it simpler to match the damage of a Tyrannosaur-style "one big bite" dinosaur and an Allosaur-style "bite and claws" dinosaur of the same size. If I gave it two claw attacks, each with ×½ its Strength bonus added to the damage, the only way to have two dinosaurs of these bauplans do roughly similar damage would be to give one of them natural weapon's base damages massively higher or lower than the other.
i.e. say you have two Str 26 theropods, an Allosaur-type with a bite/claw/claw routing would get +16 damage from its Strength and the Tyrannosaurus-type would get +12 damage from its strength. Even with only 1d4 base damage claws, the Allosaur's claws could do 13 more damage on average, so the Tyrannosaur's bite would need to have a base damage 4d8 or 5d6 higher for it to have the same lethality.
Making it a single "claws" is a lot easier.
The Allosaurus could do with some sort of special attack to make it a little more interesting, but for this bare-bones version I'll just leave it with Improved Grab & Swallow Whole. Most likely if I get around to Re-Reduxing this bauplan of dinosaur I'd add some sort of special effect to its bite. Allosaurs (and many other "carnosaur" type predatory dinosaurs) had thin sharp teeth and might have gaped their jaws wide to slash great wound in their prey's flesh much like a shark does. That will have to wait for another day though.
Skill Breakdown
Allosaurus: Hide 4S+Dex2+4R–4size, Listen 3S+4R+Wis2, Spot 3S+4R+Wis2, Survival 3S+4R+Wis2
Greater Allosaurus: Hide 9S+Dex1+4R–8size, Listen 3S+4R+Wis2, Spot 3S+4R+Wis2, Survival 3S+4R+Wis2
Large Animal
Hit Dice: 10d8+50 (95 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 50 ft. (10 squares)
Armor Class: 17 (–1 size, +2 Dex, +6 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +7/+17
Attack: Bite +12 melee (2d6+6)
Full Attack: Bite +12 melee (2d6+6) and claws +7 melee (1d6+3)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Improved grab, swallow whole
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +12, Ref +9, Will +5
Abilities: Str 23, Dex 15, Con 21, Int 1, Wis 15, Cha 10
Skills: Hide +6* [+10 in undergrowth], Listen +9, Spot +9, Survival +9
Feats: Endurance, Power Attack, Run, Track
Environment: Warm forests or plains
Organization: Solitary, pair or pack (3–12)
Challenge Rating: 5
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 11–12 HD (Large); 13–24 HD (Huge); 25–30 HD (Gargantuan)
Level Adjustment: —
An Allosaurus is a classically built predatory dinosaur, with a large head full of serrated teeth and two short but powerful forelimbs ending in 3-fingered hands for grasping prey.
A typical Allosaurus stands about 8 feet tall, with a total length of 25 feet, and weighs about 2,500 pounds. They can grow considerably bigger than this, and some of its larger relatives may rival a Tyrannosaurus in size.
Combat
An Allosaurus strikes fast and hard, often from ambush. They usually charge in with their bite attack, and then tries to grapple with its foreclaws and strikes repeatedly with power-attack bite attacks. Against particularly large opponents they attempt to circle around to make hit-and-run attacks against their flanks.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, an Allosaurus must hit with its bite or claws 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 with a bite attack, it establishes a hold and can try to swallow the foe the following round. If it wins with its claws attack it can full-attack the held opponent with both its bite and claws at their full +12 attack bonus.
Swallow Whole (Ex): an Allosaurus can try to swallow a grabbed opponent of up to two sizes smaller by making a successful grapple check. The swallowed creature takes 1d10+6 points of bludgeoning damage and 8 points of acid damage per round from the Allosaurus’s gizzard. A swallowed creature can cut its way out by using a light slashing or piercing weapon to deal 25 points of damage to the gizzard (AC 13). Once the creature exits, muscular action closes the hole; another swallowed opponent must cut its own way out.
A Large Allosaurus’s gizzard can hold 2 Small, 8 Tiny, or 32 Diminutive or 128 Fine opponents.
Skills: An Allosaurus has a +4 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, Spot, and Survival checks.
*Its racial bonus to Hide increases to +8 when it is in thick undergrowth.
Greater Allosaurus
Huge Animal
Hit Dice: 15d8+90 (157 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 50 ft. (10 squares)
Armor Class: 18 (–2 size, +1 Dex, +9 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 17
Base Attack/Grapple: +11/+27
Attack: Bite +17 melee (3d6+8/19–20)
Full Attack: Bite +17 melee (3d6+8/19–20) and claws +12 melee (1d8+4)
Space/Reach: 15 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Improved grab, swallow whole
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +15, Ref +10, Will +9
Abilities: Str 27, Dex 13, Con 23, Int 1, Wis 15, Cha 10
Skills: Hide +6* [+10 in undergrowth], Listen +9, Spot +10, Survival +9
Feats: Endurance, Improved Critical (bite), Iron Will, Power Attack, Run, Track
Environment: Warm forests or plains
Organization: Solitary, pair or pack (3–12)
Challenge Rating: 7
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 16–24 HD (Huge); 25–30 HD (Gargantuan)
Level Adjustment: —
10 feet high and 35 feet long, weighing around 6,000 pounds. This represents the old AD&D 15 Hit Dice Allosaurus and could be a particularly big specimen of Allosaurus of a larger relative such as Saurophaganax.
Design Notes
The official 3E stats for the Allosaurus appear in Monster Manual II. The main objections I have to them are (a) at 36 feet long and Huge size it's arguably a little too big, that's roughly the size of the LARGEST Allosaurids such as Saurophaganax maximus (which some consider to be a species of Allosaurus). If the MMII version had 15 Hit Dice like the AD&D Allosaurus did I wouldn't mind so much, but the official 3E Allosaurus is reduced to 10 Hit Dice and has Strength 24, which seems more appropriate for a smaller animal – that's between a Bison's Str 22 and a Brown Bear's Str 26, both of which are Large animals.
Secondly, I didn't care for the special attacks of the MMII version, which gave the Allosaurus a Trample and Rake special attacks in addition to the Grab & Swallow Whole of the Tyrannosaurus. While I guess any sufficiently large animal could trample smaller creatures underfoot, a Theropod seems build for grabbing on and tearing a single opponent up with tooth & fang rather than rushing about stomping everything underfoot. As for the Rake, I am perplexed how an Allosaurus is supposed to contort itself enough to hold onto an opponent with its jaws while kicking them with both its hind feet - they're not as flexible as a cat after all!
Now I appreciate that giving the dinosaur another special attacks can make it more interesting in play, I just don't feel those particular special attacks are appropriate.
So I've statted up a "minimalist" 10 Hit Dice Allosaurus by reducing its size to be the high end of Large and cutting the Rake and Trample while adding a separate Greater Allosaurus to cover the Huge size and 15 Hit Dice aspects of the old versions.
You probably notice I've also given it a "claws" attack rather than 2 separate claw attacks. The main reason I did this is that it made it simpler to match the damage of a Tyrannosaur-style "one big bite" dinosaur and an Allosaur-style "bite and claws" dinosaur of the same size. If I gave it two claw attacks, each with ×½ its Strength bonus added to the damage, the only way to have two dinosaurs of these bauplans do roughly similar damage would be to give one of them natural weapon's base damages massively higher or lower than the other.
i.e. say you have two Str 26 theropods, an Allosaur-type with a bite/claw/claw routing would get +16 damage from its Strength and the Tyrannosaurus-type would get +12 damage from its strength. Even with only 1d4 base damage claws, the Allosaur's claws could do 13 more damage on average, so the Tyrannosaur's bite would need to have a base damage 4d8 or 5d6 higher for it to have the same lethality.
Making it a single "claws" is a lot easier.
The Allosaurus could do with some sort of special attack to make it a little more interesting, but for this bare-bones version I'll just leave it with Improved Grab & Swallow Whole. Most likely if I get around to Re-Reduxing this bauplan of dinosaur I'd add some sort of special effect to its bite. Allosaurs (and many other "carnosaur" type predatory dinosaurs) had thin sharp teeth and might have gaped their jaws wide to slash great wound in their prey's flesh much like a shark does. That will have to wait for another day though.
Skill Breakdown
Allosaurus: Hide 4S+Dex2+4R–4size, Listen 3S+4R+Wis2, Spot 3S+4R+Wis2, Survival 3S+4R+Wis2
Greater Allosaurus: Hide 9S+Dex1+4R–8size, Listen 3S+4R+Wis2, Spot 3S+4R+Wis2, Survival 3S+4R+Wis2
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