Community

Komodo dragons are an endangered species. They were waiting for an ill zoo specimen to die. Like most poisonous lizards it has venom glands in the lower jaw. It extrudes the poison into its mouth which is mixed with the lizards saliva. This makes the venom weaker, so they chew on the opponent to work it into the wound.

As for bacteria, every animal has tons of bacteria in its mouth. Human bites are pretty dangerous, as they tend to become infected easily.

Hellsbells wrote:

I was always under the impresion that the blood poisoning do to bacteria found in the mouth was cold hard fact

Yes, they have that *too* (contrary to the news article). Komodo dragons are scary.

Despite the news article, this isn't entirely a new discovery: the actual glands were MRId now, but the venom's been known for a couple years. See the comments on this Tetrapod Zoology post: http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology … s_rock.php

xidoraven]{long list of creatures}

Awesome, I see some of my favorites on that list (Thylacosmilus, Halticosau wrote:

Halticosaurus
Size/Type: Large Animal
Hit Dice: 4d8+8 (26 hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 50 ft. (10 squares)
Armor Class: 15 (-1 size, +4 Dex, +2 natural)
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+10
Attack: Bite +6 melee (1d8+3)
Full Attack: Bite +6 melee (1d8+3), 2 claws +0 melee (1d4+1)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Pack attack
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +8, Will +2
Abilities: Str 17, Dex 18, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 8
Skills: Jump +6, Spot +3, Survival +2 (+4 following tracks)
Feats: Track, Weapon Focus (bite)
Environment: Warm and temperate plains
Organization: Solitary, pair, or pack (3-8)
Challenge Rating: 2
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 5-8 HD (Large)

Halticosaurus (and Liliensternus; the two are very similar, and were once considered the same) is a large coelophysoid of the late Triassic period. It can exceed 16 feet long and 500 pounds, a very large predator for its era.

In a D&D world, halticosaurs are opportunistic pack hunters. While they will eat almost any creature they can kill, packs will often pursue large herbivores. They do not hunt humans for food, but will often attack cattle, and farmers in areas that halticosaurs inhabit fear their depredations.


The greater threat to humanoids are lone individuals or single pairs, which are unfortunately fairly common. A lone halticosaur will not attack a closely grouped, well-armed party, but a sufficiently hungry halticosaur may attack lone, poorly-armored travelers - or those who wander too far from their companions. Halflings and gnomes are more likely to be targeted due to their small size. They also come into conflict with humanoids by targeting goats and sheep.


Pack Attack (Ex): When three or more halticosaurs attack a Large or larger creature in the same round, all of them gain a +1 competence bonus on their attack roll.

----
And a fictional fantasy modification of the Halticosaurus (note that Halticosaurus is Greek for "leaping lizard")...

Leaping Lizard
Size/Type: Large Magical Beast
Hit Dice: 4d10+12 (34 hp)
Initiative: +6
Speed: 70 ft. (14 squares)
Armor Class: 18 (-1 size, +6 Dex, +3 natural)
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+12
Attack: Bite +8 melee (1d8+4)
Full Attack: Bite +8 melee (1d8+4), 2 claws +2 melee (1d4+2)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Pack attack, pounce, rake 1d6+2
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +8, Will +2
Abilities: Str 19, Dex 22, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 8
Skills: Jump +16, Spot +3, Survival +2 (+4 following tracks)
Feats: Track, Weapon Focus (bite)
Environment: Warm and temperate plains; or domesticated
Organization: Solitary, pair, or pack (3-8); or domesticated
Challenge Rating: 3
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 5-8 HD (Large)

A leaping lizard is the result of magical modification of a halticosaur. The sorcerer Ghall of Lemn, who lived in a village troubled by halticosaur raids on its livestock and the occasional snatching of a child, considered the use of sheepdogs to protect sheep from wolves. He resolved to create a domestic halticosaur, which would defend the village from its wild relatives. This variety would require less food than the natural creature and be far more agile, capable of running at immense speeds and leaping great distances to confront the halticosaurs at a safe distance from people and livestock.

The experiment was only a partial success. The new "leaping lizards" had all the qualities Ghall of Lemn hoped for, except that they could be controlled only by him - and, oddly, by his son. Those Ghall gave to the village's ranchers soon scattered into the wilderness, after dealing great destruction to the herds they were intended to protect. Ghall left in disgrace, retaining some of his leaping lizards; despite their role in his discrediting, he retained a fondness for the creatures. In his new home, he married again and had more children, all of whom shared the ability to control the leaping lizards. To this day the sorcerous House of Lemn - for Ghall's descendants gained great prestige and mighty power- retains the sole control and breeding of the leaping lizards. Since even a very young child of the House can control a leaping lizard safely, they have found a role as guardians and watchdogs for almost every member.

The wild leaping lizards also bred true, and are now a threat in a region of grassland extending for over a hundred miles around Ghall's original village.

COMBAT
Leaping lizards, unless controlled, will attack almost anything not obviously more powerful.

Pack Attack (Ex): When three or more leaping lizards attack a creature in the same round, all of them gain a +1 competence bonus on their attack roll. This affects creatures of any size, unlike the halticosaur's ability.

Pounce (Ex): When a leaping lizard charges, it can make a full attack, including two rake attacks.

Rake (Ex): Attack bonus +2, damage 1d6+2.

InsanePsychoRabbit wrote:

I've seen a number of these in other places. There are a lot of prehistoric creatures in the Creature Catalog, including some I've helped to write up. It even has the Andrewsarchus you've been looking for
Also, http://blacksway.net/cc/ has some homebrew prehistoric creatures, but that site hasn't been available consistently for a LONG time.

This thread at ENworld may also interest you, as it's where the prehistoric animals in the Creature Catalog are coming from.

Here's a list of Prehistoric Creatures currently in the Creature Catalog:

Holy freaking excellent, bro. That narrows down my needs list even further. Thank you much. I will update my own needs list and re-post it.

For Andrewsarchus, I must admit that the brute is heftier in the Creature Catalog, and seems stable. Bhu, I would never be unappreciative of your motivation or efforts, but let's tweak the CC Andrewsarchus unless it's completely alright as-is in terms of stats. (I am making my disclaimer right now that I am stat-creation noob when it comes to being balanced, CRd, etc.)

As for Avimimus and Halticosaurus, we are on a roll again already. I am so glad I could kick-start this again for your interest, and it's friggin awesome to see how quickly you respond, despite my fears that this may have or would soon become a dead thread. I am so glad it's not.

I did find a good picture for Avimimus:

From http://www.dinosaur-world.com/feathered … ntosus.gif

There is also some really helpful information about them by an artist of one of the more intriguing images of Avimimus HERE

I will look for an image for the others as well.

For the record, are you the same human being as the beginner of this thread in new-avatar disguise, o Insane One? That would be an excellent and surprising correspondence, if so, and if not - then I humbly shut my damned mouth

I love the Haltico and fantasy version, and I am so excited about Piatnytski or whatever. I love that one's head shape and have some ideas about changing it up a little too (I will then repost it here, of course). Also Avimimus looks good so far, but could it also have a Climb skill score? I was considering making them a very necessary evolutionary step between dinosaurs and actual tree-dwelling avians. It would be neat to have them able to perform very low-elevation climb/jump/crawl maneuvers with their pseudo-wings and clawed finger. Just a thought.

Thanks to all of you. *rocks on*
-will

xidoraven wrote:

Holy freaking excellent, bro. That narrows down my needs list even further. Thank you much. I will update my own needs list and re-post it.

For the record, are you the same human being as the beginner of this thread in new-avatar disguise, o Insane One? That would be an excellent and surprising correspondence, if so, and if not - then I humbly shut my damned mouth

Thanks to all of you. *rocks on*
-will

You're welcome, xidoraven. However, I have one request: For everyone's future reference, I'm female, so please refer to me with the appropriate gender-specific terms.

Also, I'm not Insane Pixie. I don't even know him. Our names are just coincidence. :D