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[Let's Read] Dr. Dhrolin's Dictionary of Dinosaurs
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<blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 9228809" data-attributes="member: 6750502"><p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/HwWA3pr.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Dating around 120 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous period, the <strong>Crato Formation</strong> is located in northeastern Brazil and famed for having some of the best-preserved fossils in the world. While this has been a blessing for research, it has also made the region a target for black market exports of dinosaur fossils. These operations have become so lucrative that fossils from Brazil can be found all over the world, and has had a negative effect on that country’s own paleontological research and tourism. The authors of this book state their support for the return of illegally-acquired fossils to their home countries.</p><p></p><p>The specifics of the Crato Formation’s environment is under debate, with some researchers believing that it was a lake-lagoon and others believing that it was a semi-arid wetland. The insects and plants found around the region point to being native in scrublands and freshwater environments. The rarity of fish, combined with higher than normal salinity levels, points towards the lake being mostly freshwater near the surface and saltier near the bottom. In many ways, it was a lush beacon of life in an otherwise dry and inhospitable environment. As an adventuring location, suggested hazards include exhaustion-inducing heat for those who go unsheltered for too long, sudden heavy rainstorms and flash floods, deceptively fresh-tasting saltwater, and the risk of petrification for those who touch the bottom of the lake and fail a Constitution save.</p><p></p><p>The Formation’s plants are mostly hardy specimens that can survive in very dry environments, such as the leafy Klitzchophyllites flabellatus that grows in shallow water (optional magic rules allow intelligent creatures to speak any language for 1 minute if they place a leaf under their mouth), the Equisetum sp. whose younger shoots are edible but whose adult forms are poisonous (optional magical rules turn it into a plant that can heal or inflict the poisoned condition depending on maturity), and the dangerous to handle Welwitschiophyllum brasiliense with incredibly sharp leaves and an edible central stem that likely would’ve tasted like an onion (magical rule has it so that creatures between Small and Large take 1d4 piercing damage if they are pushed/fall on/run into them, and its stem can be turned into 4 days’ worth of trail rations for a single humanoid).</p><p></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/URVur80.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cratoavis" target="_blank"><strong>Cratoavis</strong></a> is our first dinosaur, a Tiny creature that looks a lot like a modern bird. Like many modern birds it primarily feeds on insects but might have subsisted on other foods such as fruits and possibly carrion. Their species was incredibly spread out, existing on every continent save Antarctica before going extinct sometime around the end of the Cretaceous period. In terms of stats they are a CR ⅛ creature with extremely high Perception and passive Perception (+6 and 18), can twice per day do a Charming Display that is akin to Charm Person but encourages the target to give food to the animal, and as long as its flying and moved last turn it increases its AC by 3 (from 13 to 16) and ignores opportunity attacks when flying out of an enemy’s reach. Its Optional Magical Rule leaves its CR intact, where if slain its body will not decay and merely becomes unconscious, capable of waking up via healing magic. Additionally if it charms a PC and is offered food, it will continue to follow the party in hopes of getting more food from them at least once per day.</p><p></p><p><em>Player-Facing:</em> The closest comparison of a creature of its CR would be the Blood Hawk and Flying Snake. It has less hit points than either of them (3 vs the hawk’s 7 and snake’s 5) and its primary peck attack is both less accurate and damaging at +2 to hit dealing 1d2+1 damage, and its fly speed is slower at 40 feet. However, the Cratoavis has a stronger version of Flyby Attack, which increases its AC to be higher than either animal. Its optional magic rule can make it quite resilient in spite of its low hit points, and can serve as a clever means for a party druid to avoid certain death if they are facing an unwinnable scenario. Given that at such low hit points there isn’t much difference in survivability, this can make the Cratoavis a good skirmishing enemy for a CR ⅛ creature. The Charm Person can be a good means of battlefield control, particularly if the birds are summoned in groups via Conjure Animal and are used to distract enemies. Its Intelligence is too high to be affected by Animal Friendship.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/gBOqMby.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludodactylus" target="_blank"><strong>Ludodactylus</strong></a> is a pterosaur that primarily feeds off of fish, keeping close to most bodies of water be they freshwater or oceanic. They often hunted in packs, but as they’re unable to eat anything larger than Tiny size they wouldn’t be a threat to humanoids unless their nesting grounds are threatened.</p><p></p><p>The ludodactylus is a CR 3 creature that has a good number of skill proficiencies, ranging from the typical Perception, Stealth, and Survival, but also including Acrobatics, Athletics, and Intimidation. They have advantage on attacks against creatures submerged in water and don’t provoke opportunity attacks when moving out of enemy reach provided that they’re flying. If they’re on the ground they can launch themselves into the air as a bonus action, possibly knocking adjacent targets prone, and its primary forms of attack include a multiattack melee beak bite and projectile vomit that deals acid damage.* While flying it can also snatch and disarm small items held or in possession of creatures by forcing a Strength check on the target. Interestingly plant creatures have advantage on attacks against the dinosaur, for its preserved fossil was discovered to have died from eating a sharp yucca leaf and the wound thus became infected. Its Optional Magical Rule increases its CR to 4, allowing it to be mounted by Small creatures and wear barding, and gains a ranged attack that deals force damage.</p><p></p><p>*This is one of the few dinosaurs in the book with a ranged attack.</p><p></p><p><em>Player-Facing:</em> As none of the core CR 3 beasts have a fly speed, the Ludodactylus is a pretty good choice. Its hit points are a decent 45, its fly speed also 45, and while its ranged attack is a mere 15 feet it should be a decent skirmisher given its Flyby Attack equivalent. The ability to snatch items from targets is a good way of disarming enemies of weapons, spellcasting foci, components, and other valuables. Its Intelligence is too high to be affected by Animal Friendship.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/25KKni5.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrapodophis" target="_blank"><strong>Tetrapodophis</strong></a> is a snake-like creature so small it has its own size category of Miniscule at 8 inches in length. It was initially thought to be a burrowing animal, but recent research discovered comparative physiology with aquatic lizards. It fed on fish, insects, and small reptiles and while not a threat to humanoids it would have bitten in self-defense if antagonized. It is a CR 0 creature that isn’t really good at anything except perhaps hiding (Stealth is at +5), and while in water it gains the equivalent of Evasion and attacks against it are made at disadvantage. Its Optional Magical Rule increases its CR to ½ and gives it a venomous bite that deals poisoned damage, one level of exhaustion, and the poisoned condition. The exhaustion levels top out at 4 from this venom.</p><p></p><p><em>Player-Facing:</em> Like most CR 0 animals there isn’t a practical reason to choose it for a shapeshifting or summoning, save for some rare situation where someone has to pass through a small area even Tiny creatures cannot bypass. The magical variant can make for a good debuffer if the animals are summoned in batches and sicced on a single target, and the save DC is pretty decent for its CR: DC 14 in comparison to a giant wasp’s 11 or poisonous snake’s 12. It can be affected by Animal Friendship.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/kXVe8uP.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupandactylus" target="_blank"><strong>Tupandactylus</strong></a> is a pterosaur that has a huge sail-like crest on its head. As such a placement would not aid in aerodynamics, it is believed that the crest was used for mating purposes as the ones with the largest crests would be viewed as the healthiest. It was probably a forager, scouring nearby woodlands and coming to the Crato Formation’s lake primarily to drink. They aren’t particularly offensive, more likely to flee than fight, save of course when it comes to the defense of their young and prime feeding spots.</p><p></p><p>In terms of stats it is a CR 2 creature, and like the ludodactylus it has quite the number of skill proficiencies, but with a pretty big +3 Proficiency Bonus and can launch itself into the air and knock prone adjacent targets. It is slightly faster than that creature at a 50 foot fly speed, and also resistant to lightning and thunder damage indicating its willingness to fly even during storms. Its primary means of attacking are a multiattack beak-slash or a Dazzling Display that grants itself advantage on Charisma saves for 1 minute. The Display also functions as a short-range gaze attack that can grant disadvantage on said saves and Charisma skills for an equal duration on a failed Dexterity save. Its Optional Magical Rules up its CR to 3, make it immune to thunder damage, make its beak deal additional damage of that same energy type, and has a rechargeable AoE shockwave attack that deals thunder damage and disadvantage on attack rolls for 1 turn. Amusingly both AoE abilities also impose a disability on the tupandactylus, causing it to take disadvantage on Perception checks for 1 minute.</p><p></p><p><em>Player-Facing:</em> When it comes to CR 2 flying creatures, the quetzalcoatlus from Volo’s Guide to Monsters is perhaps the closest equivalent. Sadly the tupandactylus doesn’t compare in offense or speed, where the Volo dinosaur has a speedy 80 feet and Flyby Attack, making it a skirmisher par excellence. The tupandactylus could make for a better scout given its skill proficiencies, but its AoE dazzle is of limited use unless the party has people with Charisma save-targeting abilities. The CR 3 magical powers are probably not enough to save it, due to the short range of its shockwave attack. I should note that this product has an alternative version of the Quetzalcoatlus, albeit as a Huge CR 9 creature instead. So if a DM uses that instead of Volo’s, the tupandactylus may become a better option. Its Intelligence is too high to be affected by Animal Friendship.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/w7ELl5f.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubirajara_jubatus" target="_blank"><strong>“Ubirajara”</strong></a> is a dinosaur whose fossils were taken illegally from Brazil, and this controversy caused the manuscript detailing the creature to be pulled. Thus the name is considered invalid and it thus doesn’t have a formal name yet. It was a dinosaur that was most likely a scavenging predator, and its dense mane of feathers would’ve probably made it look quite fluffy. The book suggests playing it as an alert animal that would keep its distance from most PCs save for injured and weak Small creatures which would register as prey.</p><p></p><p>“Ubirajara” is a Small CR ½ creature with 30 foot darkvision, advantage on Stealth when in foliage, and can halve any bludgeoning or piercing damage targeting it as a reaction. It also gets a +5 Intimidation on account of its feathery mane. Its sole means of offense is a multiattack nip that hits three times but doesn’t do a lot of damage individually (1d4+1 piercing). Its Optional Magical Rules don’t alter its CR, giving it a 30 foot range filamentous spear attack that can’t multiattack, and once per day can open a portal that leads it to wherever it considers home in the Multiverse. Other creatures up to Large size can follow it through the portal for the next minute.</p><p></p><p><em>Player-Facing:</em> As a CR ½ creature its closest comparison would be the Ape. Even with 3 attacks the Ape wins out in overall damage, and the “Ubirajara” has a slow 25 foot speed which means a lot of other animal options can outrun it. Therefore, the creature is most likely to be used as a scout considering its situational Stealth advantage, darkvision, and a surprisingly high Passive Perception at 15 despite not being proficient in the skill. As for its magical bonuses, the filamentous spear is roughly on par with the Ape’s rock attack, but the limited teleportation can be extremely useful in the right circumstances. Trapped in a dungeon? Take the party to safety at the shapechanger’s home! Its Intelligence is too high to be affected by Animal Friendship.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/mb75soC.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Consisting of 32 dinosaurs unconnected to any particular era or locale, this covers the rest of the Dictionary’s bestiary save for the unique creatures from higher-end backers of the Kickstarter. I will not be covering all of them in this post, instead breaking this chapter up into smaller sections.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/PfgPJSe.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizonasaurus" target="_blank"><strong>Arizonasaurus</strong></a> is a Middle Triassic creature that lived in Arizona back when it was a floodplain. Its most distinctive feature was a large dorsal sail whose primary purpose is under debate, ranging from display for mating purposes, thermal regulation, or making itself look more threatening to other animals. It was a predator who spent much of the day resting in order to conserve its energy, and if its sail was used for thermoregulation it would’ve been multipurpose: blood flowing into it would’ve helped cool it off, while orienting it perpendicular to the sun would’ve helped warm it up in the early morning.</p><p></p><p>In terms of stats it’s a Medium CR 1 creature, its special abilities including 30 feet darkvision, gaining advantage on Intimidation checks as a bonus action by flushing its sail with blood, and is resistant to either cold or fire damage depending on the time of day. Its primary attack is a bite which can deal additional slashing damage if the target fails a Strength save and also grapples the target if they’re Medium or smaller. Its Optional Magical Rule increases its CR to 2 and grants it a consistent AoE aura dealing fire damage as well as personal immunity to that damage type.</p><p></p><p><em>Player-Facing:</em> The arizonasaurus’ main competition is with the Dire Wolf, which has more hit points (34 vs the dino’s 29) and a better AC (14 vs the dino’s 11). The arizonasaurus’ bite attack deals less damage, with the only real upside being a slightly higher DC (14 vs the wolf’s 13) for its mobility-impairing condition. The CR 2 version makes the dinosaur a much better option, as the consistent AoE fire damage can stack nicely with its existing melee attack and the potential to grapple. It’s still fragile in comparison to monsters of that CR, particularly the Giant Elk and Saber-Toothed Tiger. It can be affected by Animal Friendship.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/MmjFFeN.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrosaurus" target="_blank"><strong>Centrosaurus</strong></a> is a horned dinosaur that is a smaller relative of the triceratops, and exclusively herbivorous in feeding off of ferns and branch leaves. Like the triceratops it lived in herds for protection, and while its horns were effective weapons its frill was quite weak and wouldn’t have protected it against a tyrannosaurus rex.</p><p></p><p>It’s a Large CR 3 creature that gains +2 AC (base AC 13) whenever it is facing in the direction of an incoming attack,* has advantage on Wisdom saves, and can fill its frills with blood as an AoE gaze-based attack with a bonus action. Those who fail a Charisma save have disadvantage on all saves for the next minute. Its primary attacks are either a horn swipe or a more damaging charge which requires it to first move 20 feet in a straight line. Its Optional Magical Rule increases its CR to 4 and lets it cast Mirror Image once per day without components as a bonus action, and lasts for 24 hours.</p><p></p><p>*Hope you like facing rules!</p><p></p><p><em>Player-Facing:</em> The closest comparison would be the ankylosaurus, which has a better AC at 15 but less hit points (Centrosaurus has 72 vs ankylo’s 68). The centrosaurus’ attack deals slightly less damage, but its real valuable ability is the AoE frill. As it only affects enemy targets there is no need to have allies move out of range first, and the many combinations for disadvantage on saves are self-evident. A 24 hour Mirror Image is an amazing ability, making the Centrosaurus a great choice be it magical or non-magical. It can be affected by Animal Friendship.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/7iGejG9.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concavenator" target="_blank"><strong>Concavenator</strong></a> is most noted for a hump, being an archpredator that lived near a large lake used as a water source for various animals. The hump’s function is unknown and subject to debate, and it likely hunted in groups like lions.</p><p></p><p>It is a Large CR 3 creature who fights with a very damaging bite and claw attack, which is treated as a single attack but deals two separate instances of 2d6+2 damage. It has advantage on any Strength check to avoid being grappled, and its Mysterious Hump has one of three suggested abilities: advantage on Charisma checks for sexual display, gain resistance to fire or cold damage as a reaction against an attack or save-inducing effect for thermoregulation, or only needs to drink once per month for storing fat. Its Optional Magical Rule increases its CR to 4 and makes it related to the Bulette, granting tremorsense, a burrowing speed that grants it resistance to non-magical damage when so moving, and can burst upwards from underground to gain advantage on attack rolls until the end of its turn.</p><p></p><p><em>Player-Facing:</em> In terms of offense the concavenator deals roughly equivalent damage as an ankylosaurus’ tail attack, but has two different damage types. It can’t do as much as a giant scorpion with its poison, and the concavenator is more fragile than the ankylosaurus with a lower AC and hit points. The Mysterious Hump is mostly for defense and utility, more of a situational gimmick. The magical rules granting it tremorsense and burrowing redeems it a bit, particularly for hit and run and scouting tactics. Its Intelligence is too high to be affected by Animal Friendship.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/imXbIcO.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinocheirus" target="_blank"><strong>Deinocheirus</strong></a> is the largest example of its various families (gallimimus, ornithomimus, and struthiomimus), being around 36 feet long when fully grown. Its fused spines form a hump or sail running along its back, and combined with likely having feathers all over its body would’ve given it quite the distinctive appearance. It’s primarily a meat-eater, albeit it mostly used its claws for digging into soil to expose small animals which it likely snatched up with its long tongue, and it probably waded in shallow water to eat fish and plants.</p><p></p><p>It is a Huge CR 6 creature, having a slow swim speed but being able to move in shallow water without reducing its speed or having to swim, and its multiattack claws could also cause creatures to drop wielded items on a failed Strength save as well as dealing additional poison damage if both of them hit, reflecting coating the wounds with mud. The deinocheirus’s long tongue can be manipulate items from a distance. The tongue can also be deployed as a bonus action where it can pick up and wield non-ammunition weapons and attack with them as a bonus action (albeit it is not proficient with such weapons). To top things off, the deinocheirus has advantage on Intimidation and Persuasion checks,* and its Optional Magical Rule increases its CR to 8 by granting it resistance to poison damage and a rechargeable line-based breath weapon dealing poison and bludgeoning damage at 4d8 each.</p><p></p><p>*Kind of wondering how a non-magical non-shapeshifted dinosaur would use Persuasion.</p><p></p><p><em>Player-Facing:</em> The deinocheirus is roughly equivalent to a mammoth in terms of hit points and Armor Class, and while its walking speed is slower it has more maneuverability in watery environments. It can deal a lot more damage than a mammoth, as each claw attack can deal 22 damage on average, plus 1d6 if both hit, and disarm enemy weapons and items. And add on top a bonus action tongue attack with all sorts of weapons, you open up a bunch of options. The deinocheirus may thus be one of the few shapechanged Beasts that can thus wield a magic weapon this way, and while not proficient its 22 Strength should still give it a decent chance to hit. Its CR 8 version is only accessible by Polymorph and similar magic, and thus has to be compared to a Tyrannosaurus Rex. While it still loses out on melee damage and hit points, the AoE breath weapon is a good ranged option that does a decent amount of damage, making it still a good option. It can be affected by Animal Friendship.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/uVW9MQj.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinosuchus" target="_blank"><strong>Deinosuchus</strong></a> is a relative to modern alligators, appearing much like a far larger version of such animals. Being in the Late Cretaceous, its fossils were found around an inland sea known as the Western Interior Sea, and it was likely semi-aquatic. Deinosuchus was likely a patient ambush predator that could hunt either alone or with others of its kind, and the book suggests that it is fearless and would willfully attack all but the largest of creatures.</p><p></p><p>It is a Huge CR 11 dinosaur, marked by its extreme resiliency in having resistance to all damage types and immunity to the poisoned condition. This effectively doubles its 155 hit points to 310, and combined with its 18 AC it can last for quite a while in combat. Like alligators it can hold its breath for a long time and has advantage on Stealth checks in water (-1 modifier means it’s still not good at sneaking overall). Its major attack is a Bone-Crushing bite that ignores armour, meaning that it is resisted by a Dexterity save rather than a to-hit roll, and creatures bigger than Medium suffer disadvantage on the roll. It can damage, grapple, and restrain such a struck target. It also has 1 Legendary Action per round, which it can use to either Thrash as a short-range damaging AoE or a Deathroll against a grappled target that deals force damage on a failed Strength save (success halves the damage). The deinosuchus’ Optional Magical Rule makes it worshiped by locals as a regional demigod, who decorate it with various materials. The Deinosuchus will not attack humanoids save in self-defense, and locals offer the creature food to safely pass through its territory…which sounds like a bit of a contradiction.</p><p></p><p><em>Player-Facing:</em> <s>Its CR is too high to be an option for Polymorph or Wild Shape.</s> The deinosuchus is an extremely good Polymorph option. So good in fact it may cause a DM to have serious thoughts about banning or restricting it. Its meager 20 foot movement speed makes it ideal to use either underwater (40 foot swim speed) or in closer environments. The bite attack is a particularly great means of dealing a lot of damage to big monsters, given they tend to not have great Dexterity saves in the first place, and effectively having 310 hit points more or less makes it the best option period for tanking. The only time you might use something else is the paralititan if you’re guaranteed to be going up against creatures who don’t have magic weapons, energy damage, or are too big in size. Its Intelligence is low enough to be affected by Animal Friendship, and while it’s proficient in Wisdom saves at a +5 bonus it has no Legendary Resistance to auto-succeed.</p><p></p><p><strong>Thoughts So Far:</strong> Once again, the Dictionary of Dinosaurs gives us more mechanically interesting creatures who are guaranteed to have a trick or two up their scaled sleeves besides basic damage. The practically harmless cratoavis and tetrapodophis aren’t really challenges or even hazards on their own, being more akin to set dressing, so I found them the least interesting overall. My favorite dinosaurs among this post include the centrosaurus for its interesting non-damaging features, the deinocheirus for its weapon-wielding tongue, and the deinosuchus’ bite which is so massive it’s more akin to trying to dodge a fireball. I also liked how the Concavenator had various suggestions for its hump’s use, reflecting how even in the ever-evolving fields of science there isn’t always one certain answer.</p><p></p><p><strong>Join us next time as we journey further into the Rest of the Alphabet!</strong></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Libertad, post: 9228809, member: 6750502"] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/HwWA3pr.png[/img][/center] Dating around 120 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous period, the [b]Crato Formation[/b] is located in northeastern Brazil and famed for having some of the best-preserved fossils in the world. While this has been a blessing for research, it has also made the region a target for black market exports of dinosaur fossils. These operations have become so lucrative that fossils from Brazil can be found all over the world, and has had a negative effect on that country’s own paleontological research and tourism. The authors of this book state their support for the return of illegally-acquired fossils to their home countries. The specifics of the Crato Formation’s environment is under debate, with some researchers believing that it was a lake-lagoon and others believing that it was a semi-arid wetland. The insects and plants found around the region point to being native in scrublands and freshwater environments. The rarity of fish, combined with higher than normal salinity levels, points towards the lake being mostly freshwater near the surface and saltier near the bottom. In many ways, it was a lush beacon of life in an otherwise dry and inhospitable environment. As an adventuring location, suggested hazards include exhaustion-inducing heat for those who go unsheltered for too long, sudden heavy rainstorms and flash floods, deceptively fresh-tasting saltwater, and the risk of petrification for those who touch the bottom of the lake and fail a Constitution save. The Formation’s plants are mostly hardy specimens that can survive in very dry environments, such as the leafy Klitzchophyllites flabellatus that grows in shallow water (optional magic rules allow intelligent creatures to speak any language for 1 minute if they place a leaf under their mouth), the Equisetum sp. whose younger shoots are edible but whose adult forms are poisonous (optional magical rules turn it into a plant that can heal or inflict the poisoned condition depending on maturity), and the dangerous to handle Welwitschiophyllum brasiliense with incredibly sharp leaves and an edible central stem that likely would’ve tasted like an onion (magical rule has it so that creatures between Small and Large take 1d4 piercing damage if they are pushed/fall on/run into them, and its stem can be turned into 4 days’ worth of trail rations for a single humanoid). [img]https://i.imgur.com/URVur80.png[/img] [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cratoavis][b]Cratoavis[/b][/url] is our first dinosaur, a Tiny creature that looks a lot like a modern bird. Like many modern birds it primarily feeds on insects but might have subsisted on other foods such as fruits and possibly carrion. Their species was incredibly spread out, existing on every continent save Antarctica before going extinct sometime around the end of the Cretaceous period. In terms of stats they are a CR ⅛ creature with extremely high Perception and passive Perception (+6 and 18), can twice per day do a Charming Display that is akin to Charm Person but encourages the target to give food to the animal, and as long as its flying and moved last turn it increases its AC by 3 (from 13 to 16) and ignores opportunity attacks when flying out of an enemy’s reach. Its Optional Magical Rule leaves its CR intact, where if slain its body will not decay and merely becomes unconscious, capable of waking up via healing magic. Additionally if it charms a PC and is offered food, it will continue to follow the party in hopes of getting more food from them at least once per day. [i]Player-Facing:[/i] The closest comparison of a creature of its CR would be the Blood Hawk and Flying Snake. It has less hit points than either of them (3 vs the hawk’s 7 and snake’s 5) and its primary peck attack is both less accurate and damaging at +2 to hit dealing 1d2+1 damage, and its fly speed is slower at 40 feet. However, the Cratoavis has a stronger version of Flyby Attack, which increases its AC to be higher than either animal. Its optional magic rule can make it quite resilient in spite of its low hit points, and can serve as a clever means for a party druid to avoid certain death if they are facing an unwinnable scenario. Given that at such low hit points there isn’t much difference in survivability, this can make the Cratoavis a good skirmishing enemy for a CR ⅛ creature. The Charm Person can be a good means of battlefield control, particularly if the birds are summoned in groups via Conjure Animal and are used to distract enemies. Its Intelligence is too high to be affected by Animal Friendship. [img]https://i.imgur.com/gBOqMby.png[/img] [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludodactylus][b]Ludodactylus[/b][/url] is a pterosaur that primarily feeds off of fish, keeping close to most bodies of water be they freshwater or oceanic. They often hunted in packs, but as they’re unable to eat anything larger than Tiny size they wouldn’t be a threat to humanoids unless their nesting grounds are threatened. The ludodactylus is a CR 3 creature that has a good number of skill proficiencies, ranging from the typical Perception, Stealth, and Survival, but also including Acrobatics, Athletics, and Intimidation. They have advantage on attacks against creatures submerged in water and don’t provoke opportunity attacks when moving out of enemy reach provided that they’re flying. If they’re on the ground they can launch themselves into the air as a bonus action, possibly knocking adjacent targets prone, and its primary forms of attack include a multiattack melee beak bite and projectile vomit that deals acid damage.* While flying it can also snatch and disarm small items held or in possession of creatures by forcing a Strength check on the target. Interestingly plant creatures have advantage on attacks against the dinosaur, for its preserved fossil was discovered to have died from eating a sharp yucca leaf and the wound thus became infected. Its Optional Magical Rule increases its CR to 4, allowing it to be mounted by Small creatures and wear barding, and gains a ranged attack that deals force damage. *This is one of the few dinosaurs in the book with a ranged attack. [i]Player-Facing:[/i] As none of the core CR 3 beasts have a fly speed, the Ludodactylus is a pretty good choice. Its hit points are a decent 45, its fly speed also 45, and while its ranged attack is a mere 15 feet it should be a decent skirmisher given its Flyby Attack equivalent. The ability to snatch items from targets is a good way of disarming enemies of weapons, spellcasting foci, components, and other valuables. Its Intelligence is too high to be affected by Animal Friendship. [img]https://i.imgur.com/25KKni5.png[/img] [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrapodophis][b]Tetrapodophis[/b][/url] is a snake-like creature so small it has its own size category of Miniscule at 8 inches in length. It was initially thought to be a burrowing animal, but recent research discovered comparative physiology with aquatic lizards. It fed on fish, insects, and small reptiles and while not a threat to humanoids it would have bitten in self-defense if antagonized. It is a CR 0 creature that isn’t really good at anything except perhaps hiding (Stealth is at +5), and while in water it gains the equivalent of Evasion and attacks against it are made at disadvantage. Its Optional Magical Rule increases its CR to ½ and gives it a venomous bite that deals poisoned damage, one level of exhaustion, and the poisoned condition. The exhaustion levels top out at 4 from this venom. [i]Player-Facing:[/i] Like most CR 0 animals there isn’t a practical reason to choose it for a shapeshifting or summoning, save for some rare situation where someone has to pass through a small area even Tiny creatures cannot bypass. The magical variant can make for a good debuffer if the animals are summoned in batches and sicced on a single target, and the save DC is pretty decent for its CR: DC 14 in comparison to a giant wasp’s 11 or poisonous snake’s 12. It can be affected by Animal Friendship. [img]https://i.imgur.com/kXVe8uP.png[/img] [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupandactylus][b]Tupandactylus[/b][/url] is a pterosaur that has a huge sail-like crest on its head. As such a placement would not aid in aerodynamics, it is believed that the crest was used for mating purposes as the ones with the largest crests would be viewed as the healthiest. It was probably a forager, scouring nearby woodlands and coming to the Crato Formation’s lake primarily to drink. They aren’t particularly offensive, more likely to flee than fight, save of course when it comes to the defense of their young and prime feeding spots. In terms of stats it is a CR 2 creature, and like the ludodactylus it has quite the number of skill proficiencies, but with a pretty big +3 Proficiency Bonus and can launch itself into the air and knock prone adjacent targets. It is slightly faster than that creature at a 50 foot fly speed, and also resistant to lightning and thunder damage indicating its willingness to fly even during storms. Its primary means of attacking are a multiattack beak-slash or a Dazzling Display that grants itself advantage on Charisma saves for 1 minute. The Display also functions as a short-range gaze attack that can grant disadvantage on said saves and Charisma skills for an equal duration on a failed Dexterity save. Its Optional Magical Rules up its CR to 3, make it immune to thunder damage, make its beak deal additional damage of that same energy type, and has a rechargeable AoE shockwave attack that deals thunder damage and disadvantage on attack rolls for 1 turn. Amusingly both AoE abilities also impose a disability on the tupandactylus, causing it to take disadvantage on Perception checks for 1 minute. [i]Player-Facing:[/i] When it comes to CR 2 flying creatures, the quetzalcoatlus from Volo’s Guide to Monsters is perhaps the closest equivalent. Sadly the tupandactylus doesn’t compare in offense or speed, where the Volo dinosaur has a speedy 80 feet and Flyby Attack, making it a skirmisher par excellence. The tupandactylus could make for a better scout given its skill proficiencies, but its AoE dazzle is of limited use unless the party has people with Charisma save-targeting abilities. The CR 3 magical powers are probably not enough to save it, due to the short range of its shockwave attack. I should note that this product has an alternative version of the Quetzalcoatlus, albeit as a Huge CR 9 creature instead. So if a DM uses that instead of Volo’s, the tupandactylus may become a better option. Its Intelligence is too high to be affected by Animal Friendship. [img]https://i.imgur.com/w7ELl5f.png[/img] [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubirajara_jubatus][b]“Ubirajara”[/b][/url] is a dinosaur whose fossils were taken illegally from Brazil, and this controversy caused the manuscript detailing the creature to be pulled. Thus the name is considered invalid and it thus doesn’t have a formal name yet. It was a dinosaur that was most likely a scavenging predator, and its dense mane of feathers would’ve probably made it look quite fluffy. The book suggests playing it as an alert animal that would keep its distance from most PCs save for injured and weak Small creatures which would register as prey. “Ubirajara” is a Small CR ½ creature with 30 foot darkvision, advantage on Stealth when in foliage, and can halve any bludgeoning or piercing damage targeting it as a reaction. It also gets a +5 Intimidation on account of its feathery mane. Its sole means of offense is a multiattack nip that hits three times but doesn’t do a lot of damage individually (1d4+1 piercing). Its Optional Magical Rules don’t alter its CR, giving it a 30 foot range filamentous spear attack that can’t multiattack, and once per day can open a portal that leads it to wherever it considers home in the Multiverse. Other creatures up to Large size can follow it through the portal for the next minute. [i]Player-Facing:[/i] As a CR ½ creature its closest comparison would be the Ape. Even with 3 attacks the Ape wins out in overall damage, and the “Ubirajara” has a slow 25 foot speed which means a lot of other animal options can outrun it. Therefore, the creature is most likely to be used as a scout considering its situational Stealth advantage, darkvision, and a surprisingly high Passive Perception at 15 despite not being proficient in the skill. As for its magical bonuses, the filamentous spear is roughly on par with the Ape’s rock attack, but the limited teleportation can be extremely useful in the right circumstances. Trapped in a dungeon? Take the party to safety at the shapechanger’s home! Its Intelligence is too high to be affected by Animal Friendship. [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/mb75soC.png[/img][/center] Consisting of 32 dinosaurs unconnected to any particular era or locale, this covers the rest of the Dictionary’s bestiary save for the unique creatures from higher-end backers of the Kickstarter. I will not be covering all of them in this post, instead breaking this chapter up into smaller sections. [img]https://i.imgur.com/PfgPJSe.png[/img] [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizonasaurus][b]Arizonasaurus[/b][/url] is a Middle Triassic creature that lived in Arizona back when it was a floodplain. Its most distinctive feature was a large dorsal sail whose primary purpose is under debate, ranging from display for mating purposes, thermal regulation, or making itself look more threatening to other animals. It was a predator who spent much of the day resting in order to conserve its energy, and if its sail was used for thermoregulation it would’ve been multipurpose: blood flowing into it would’ve helped cool it off, while orienting it perpendicular to the sun would’ve helped warm it up in the early morning. In terms of stats it’s a Medium CR 1 creature, its special abilities including 30 feet darkvision, gaining advantage on Intimidation checks as a bonus action by flushing its sail with blood, and is resistant to either cold or fire damage depending on the time of day. Its primary attack is a bite which can deal additional slashing damage if the target fails a Strength save and also grapples the target if they’re Medium or smaller. Its Optional Magical Rule increases its CR to 2 and grants it a consistent AoE aura dealing fire damage as well as personal immunity to that damage type. [i]Player-Facing:[/i] The arizonasaurus’ main competition is with the Dire Wolf, which has more hit points (34 vs the dino’s 29) and a better AC (14 vs the dino’s 11). The arizonasaurus’ bite attack deals less damage, with the only real upside being a slightly higher DC (14 vs the wolf’s 13) for its mobility-impairing condition. The CR 2 version makes the dinosaur a much better option, as the consistent AoE fire damage can stack nicely with its existing melee attack and the potential to grapple. It’s still fragile in comparison to monsters of that CR, particularly the Giant Elk and Saber-Toothed Tiger. It can be affected by Animal Friendship. [img]https://i.imgur.com/MmjFFeN.png[/img] [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrosaurus][b]Centrosaurus[/b][/url] is a horned dinosaur that is a smaller relative of the triceratops, and exclusively herbivorous in feeding off of ferns and branch leaves. Like the triceratops it lived in herds for protection, and while its horns were effective weapons its frill was quite weak and wouldn’t have protected it against a tyrannosaurus rex. It’s a Large CR 3 creature that gains +2 AC (base AC 13) whenever it is facing in the direction of an incoming attack,* has advantage on Wisdom saves, and can fill its frills with blood as an AoE gaze-based attack with a bonus action. Those who fail a Charisma save have disadvantage on all saves for the next minute. Its primary attacks are either a horn swipe or a more damaging charge which requires it to first move 20 feet in a straight line. Its Optional Magical Rule increases its CR to 4 and lets it cast Mirror Image once per day without components as a bonus action, and lasts for 24 hours. *Hope you like facing rules! [i]Player-Facing:[/i] The closest comparison would be the ankylosaurus, which has a better AC at 15 but less hit points (Centrosaurus has 72 vs ankylo’s 68). The centrosaurus’ attack deals slightly less damage, but its real valuable ability is the AoE frill. As it only affects enemy targets there is no need to have allies move out of range first, and the many combinations for disadvantage on saves are self-evident. A 24 hour Mirror Image is an amazing ability, making the Centrosaurus a great choice be it magical or non-magical. It can be affected by Animal Friendship. [img]https://i.imgur.com/7iGejG9.png[/img] [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concavenator][b]Concavenator[/b][/url] is most noted for a hump, being an archpredator that lived near a large lake used as a water source for various animals. The hump’s function is unknown and subject to debate, and it likely hunted in groups like lions. It is a Large CR 3 creature who fights with a very damaging bite and claw attack, which is treated as a single attack but deals two separate instances of 2d6+2 damage. It has advantage on any Strength check to avoid being grappled, and its Mysterious Hump has one of three suggested abilities: advantage on Charisma checks for sexual display, gain resistance to fire or cold damage as a reaction against an attack or save-inducing effect for thermoregulation, or only needs to drink once per month for storing fat. Its Optional Magical Rule increases its CR to 4 and makes it related to the Bulette, granting tremorsense, a burrowing speed that grants it resistance to non-magical damage when so moving, and can burst upwards from underground to gain advantage on attack rolls until the end of its turn. [i]Player-Facing:[/i] In terms of offense the concavenator deals roughly equivalent damage as an ankylosaurus’ tail attack, but has two different damage types. It can’t do as much as a giant scorpion with its poison, and the concavenator is more fragile than the ankylosaurus with a lower AC and hit points. The Mysterious Hump is mostly for defense and utility, more of a situational gimmick. The magical rules granting it tremorsense and burrowing redeems it a bit, particularly for hit and run and scouting tactics. Its Intelligence is too high to be affected by Animal Friendship. [img]https://i.imgur.com/imXbIcO.png[/img] [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinocheirus][b]Deinocheirus[/b][/url] is the largest example of its various families (gallimimus, ornithomimus, and struthiomimus), being around 36 feet long when fully grown. Its fused spines form a hump or sail running along its back, and combined with likely having feathers all over its body would’ve given it quite the distinctive appearance. It’s primarily a meat-eater, albeit it mostly used its claws for digging into soil to expose small animals which it likely snatched up with its long tongue, and it probably waded in shallow water to eat fish and plants. It is a Huge CR 6 creature, having a slow swim speed but being able to move in shallow water without reducing its speed or having to swim, and its multiattack claws could also cause creatures to drop wielded items on a failed Strength save as well as dealing additional poison damage if both of them hit, reflecting coating the wounds with mud. The deinocheirus’s long tongue can be manipulate items from a distance. The tongue can also be deployed as a bonus action where it can pick up and wield non-ammunition weapons and attack with them as a bonus action (albeit it is not proficient with such weapons). To top things off, the deinocheirus has advantage on Intimidation and Persuasion checks,* and its Optional Magical Rule increases its CR to 8 by granting it resistance to poison damage and a rechargeable line-based breath weapon dealing poison and bludgeoning damage at 4d8 each. *Kind of wondering how a non-magical non-shapeshifted dinosaur would use Persuasion. [i]Player-Facing:[/i] The deinocheirus is roughly equivalent to a mammoth in terms of hit points and Armor Class, and while its walking speed is slower it has more maneuverability in watery environments. It can deal a lot more damage than a mammoth, as each claw attack can deal 22 damage on average, plus 1d6 if both hit, and disarm enemy weapons and items. And add on top a bonus action tongue attack with all sorts of weapons, you open up a bunch of options. The deinocheirus may thus be one of the few shapechanged Beasts that can thus wield a magic weapon this way, and while not proficient its 22 Strength should still give it a decent chance to hit. Its CR 8 version is only accessible by Polymorph and similar magic, and thus has to be compared to a Tyrannosaurus Rex. While it still loses out on melee damage and hit points, the AoE breath weapon is a good ranged option that does a decent amount of damage, making it still a good option. It can be affected by Animal Friendship. [img]https://i.imgur.com/uVW9MQj.png[/img] [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinosuchus][b]Deinosuchus[/b][/url] is a relative to modern alligators, appearing much like a far larger version of such animals. Being in the Late Cretaceous, its fossils were found around an inland sea known as the Western Interior Sea, and it was likely semi-aquatic. Deinosuchus was likely a patient ambush predator that could hunt either alone or with others of its kind, and the book suggests that it is fearless and would willfully attack all but the largest of creatures. It is a Huge CR 11 dinosaur, marked by its extreme resiliency in having resistance to all damage types and immunity to the poisoned condition. This effectively doubles its 155 hit points to 310, and combined with its 18 AC it can last for quite a while in combat. Like alligators it can hold its breath for a long time and has advantage on Stealth checks in water (-1 modifier means it’s still not good at sneaking overall). Its major attack is a Bone-Crushing bite that ignores armour, meaning that it is resisted by a Dexterity save rather than a to-hit roll, and creatures bigger than Medium suffer disadvantage on the roll. It can damage, grapple, and restrain such a struck target. It also has 1 Legendary Action per round, which it can use to either Thrash as a short-range damaging AoE or a Deathroll against a grappled target that deals force damage on a failed Strength save (success halves the damage). The deinosuchus’ Optional Magical Rule makes it worshiped by locals as a regional demigod, who decorate it with various materials. The Deinosuchus will not attack humanoids save in self-defense, and locals offer the creature food to safely pass through its territory…which sounds like a bit of a contradiction. [i]Player-Facing:[/i] [s]Its CR is too high to be an option for Polymorph or Wild Shape.[/s] The deinosuchus is an extremely good Polymorph option. So good in fact it may cause a DM to have serious thoughts about banning or restricting it. Its meager 20 foot movement speed makes it ideal to use either underwater (40 foot swim speed) or in closer environments. The bite attack is a particularly great means of dealing a lot of damage to big monsters, given they tend to not have great Dexterity saves in the first place, and effectively having 310 hit points more or less makes it the best option period for tanking. The only time you might use something else is the paralititan if you’re guaranteed to be going up against creatures who don’t have magic weapons, energy damage, or are too big in size. Its Intelligence is low enough to be affected by Animal Friendship, and while it’s proficient in Wisdom saves at a +5 bonus it has no Legendary Resistance to auto-succeed. [b]Thoughts So Far:[/b] Once again, the Dictionary of Dinosaurs gives us more mechanically interesting creatures who are guaranteed to have a trick or two up their scaled sleeves besides basic damage. The practically harmless cratoavis and tetrapodophis aren’t really challenges or even hazards on their own, being more akin to set dressing, so I found them the least interesting overall. My favorite dinosaurs among this post include the centrosaurus for its interesting non-damaging features, the deinocheirus for its weapon-wielding tongue, and the deinosuchus’ bite which is so massive it’s more akin to trying to dodge a fireball. I also liked how the Concavenator had various suggestions for its hump’s use, reflecting how even in the ever-evolving fields of science there isn’t always one certain answer. [b]Join us next time as we journey further into the Rest of the Alphabet![/b] [/QUOTE]
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[Let's Read] Dr. Dhrolin's Dictionary of Dinosaurs
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