Better Dinosaurs 3

A long overdue follow-up post to my first two efforts to make dinosaurs better. It's only been like two years, cut me some slack

Ettercaps, but they're dinosaur ettercaps now!

One of my players found a baby one of these- very adorbs! The cutest little pocket flamethrower <3

Large beast,unaligned

Armor Class 12

Hit Points 19 (3d10+ 3)

Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft. ft.

STR 15 (+2) DEX 12 (+1) CON 13 (+1) INT 2 (-4) WIS 10 (0) CHA 5 (-3)

Proficiency Bonus+2

Senses darkvision 30 ft., passive Perception 10

Challenge 1/4(50 XP)

Description

Actions

Fire Spittle. The Salasaur sprays a sticky substance that ignites on contact with air or flesh. Each creature in a 15-foot cone must make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 12 (3d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. A creature that fails this saving throw is caught on fire, and takes 3 (1d6) points of damage on each of it's turns until the flames are extinguished.

The fire also ignites any flammable objects in the area that aren’t being worn or carried.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) piercing damage and 3 (1d6) fire damage. The target must also make a Strength saving throw or be grappled. A creature that starts it's turn grappled by the 

Grey Render

Such a dinosaur!

Found some perfectly serviceable 5e stats, so that part is done.

What ecological/encounter role do they play on the island?

Huge beast, unaligned

Armor Class 13 (mage armour)

Hit Points 59 (7d12+ 14)

Speed 40 ft. ft.

STR 21 (+5) DEX 8 (-1) CON 15 (+2) INT 2 (-4) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 6 (-2)

Proficiency Bonus+2

Sensespassive Perception 11

Challenge2(450 XP)

Charge. If the rhinoceros moves at least 20 feet straight toward a target and then hits it with a gore attack on the same turn, the target takes an extra 9 (2d8) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.

Magic Resistance. Thanks to it's horn, the thaumoceros has advantage on saving throws against magic.

Magic Horn. The thamoceros's gore and toss attacks count as magic for the purpose of overcoming damage resistance. 

Actions

Toss: Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (3d8 + 5) bludgeoning damage. The target must also make a Strength save or be tossed 2d5x5 feet in a random direction, taking 6 (2d6) extra damage upon landing.

Gnarax

Huge monstrosity, unaligned

Armor Class 17 (Natural Armor)

Hit Points 195 (17d12+85)

Speed 40 ft., burrow 20 ft, climb 30 fit.

STR 24 (+7)  DEX 13 (+1)  CON 21 (+5)  INT 4 (-3)  WIS 10 (+0)  CHA 5 (-3)

Damage Immunities Acid, Poison

Senses Darkvision 60 Ft., Tremorsense 60 Ft., passive Perception 10

Challenge 11 (7,200 XP)

Long Legs. The gnarax's long legs give disadvantage on melee attacks against it, unless those attacks are made with a polearm, or by a Large or larger creature. Creatures can attempt to climb on to the gnarax's back to negate this effect, with a DC 17 Acrobatics check to move around and make attacks on their turn, and a DC 17 Athletics check every round on the gnarax's turn as the creature tries to shake them off.

Actions

Multiattack: The gnarax makes four claw attacks.

Bite: Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 40 (6d10 + 7) piercing damage.. If the target is a creature, it is Grappled (escape DC 17). Until this grapple ends, the target is Restrained, and the gnarax can't bite another target.

Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 20 ft, one target. Hit: 18 (2d10+7) bludgeoning damage

Swallow: The gnarax makes one bite Attack against a Medium or smaller creature it is Grappling. If the Attack hits, that creature takes the bite's damage and is swallowed, and the grapple ends. While swallowed, the creature is Blinded and Restrained, it has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the gnarax , and it takes 21 (6d6) acid damage at the start of each of the gnarax turns.

If the gnarax takes 30 damage or more on a single turn from a creature inside it, the gnarax must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw at the end of that turn or regurgitate all swallowed creatures, which fall prone in a space within 10 feet of the gnarax . If the gnarax dies, a swallowed creature is no longer Restrained by it and can escape from the corpse using 15 feet of Movement, exiting prone.

Let's just do these guys up like giant otters, but give 'em a grab attack, cuz if these guys chomp you they're not letting go.

Otter-Flea

medium monstrosity, unaligned

Armor Class 13 (Natural Armor)

Hit Points 9 (2d8)

Speed 40 ft., swim 40 ft.

STR 12 (+1)  DEX 14 (+2)  CON 11 (+0)  INT 5 (-3)  WIS 12 (+1)  CHA 12 (+1)

Senses Passive Perception 11 (16 for hearing or smell)

Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)

• Keen Hearing and Smell. The otter-flea has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.
• Pack Tactics. The otter-flea has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the otter-flea's allies is within 5 ft. of the creature and the ally isn't incapacitated.
  
  Standing Leap. The otter-fleas's long jump is up to 20 feet and its high jump is up to 10 feet, with or without a running start.
  ---------------------
• Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: (2d4 + 2) piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it is Grappled (escape DC 11) if it is a Medium or smaller creature. Until the grapple ends, the otter-flea can't bite another target.
• 
  

This is great, I would use stats similar to a giant rhino, but add a wicked tail attack. And some extra AC, of course. Also this one is already named! I guess it was in that one video game? I never played it

Ocryctomus

huge monstrosity, unaligned

Armor Class 16 (Natural Armor)

Hit Points 95 (10d12+30)

Speed 50 ft

STR 22 (+6)  DEX 9 (-1)  CON 11 (+0)  INT 3 (-4)  WIS 11 (+1)  CHA 8 (-1)

Senses Passive Perception 11 

Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)

Charge. If the rhinoceros moves at least 20 ft. straight toward a target and then hits it with a gore attack on the same turn, the target takes an extra 12 (3d8) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 16 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.

ACTIONS
----------

Multiattack: The 0cryctomus makes two attacks: one ram attack and one attack with its tail. It can't make both attacks against the same target.

Ram. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 19 (3d8 + 6) slashing damage.

Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (3d6 + 6) bludgeoning damage.

THESE guys

These next few would just have stats as dire wolves or guard drakes. Nothing much needs tweaking.

Make sure this guy gets a good pounce attack for sure

Maybe a giant boar with a bite attack

Basically just a giant lizard with better armor, but this guy also has some lore from Dark Sun. Probably the most vanilla of those weird monster-dinosaurs they have over there, but I like the crawly illustration. Maybe next post (in another year or two) I'll tackle dark sun monsters specifically.

I just want to give them chin scritches

Do these guys need their own statblocks? Maybe...

Rules of Magic

Magic is mysterious and otherworldly, but there are some guidelines that make it easier for characters to interact with that mystery in an interesting way. Whether examining a magical trap, to understanding how the BBEG gets their superpowers, consistent, permanent magical effects require some level of explanation, both so the rogue can sabotage it, and the wizard can dream of stealing it’s power.

Magic requires Energy.

Whether a permanently invisible bridge (a la Indiana Jones), or a wall of fire blocking off a hallway, magic comes from somewhere (even if the origin is completely opaque to the average layperson.) 

Leylines. Geological force flows through rocks and trees like a vast web, forming nexus nodes where major leylines meet. These nodes are often the locations of ancient druidic stones, temples, and the Church has built it’s own temples over many of these same sites. Leylines provide stable, predictable power, and so are very useful for magical architecture and traps. Temporarily blocking the flow of magic from a leyline is possible, but permanently rerouting major lines typically requires massive engineering projects to move mountains of earth around (these projects are more feasible in wide, flat regions, and are one of the major purposes of pyramids and similar projects.) Harnessing a leyline is typically very slow, but is a commons source of magic for Rituals.

Rivers. Very similar to a major leyline. The power of rivers may ebb and flow with the seasons, and can be blocked or lessened by projects such as bridges or dams. Rivers attract attendant spirits and are essentially minor gods unto themselves, so building a simple bridge involves bargaining or chaining the resident spirit. Rivers have fewer nexus points, whereas geological lines form a kind of net, but they may form nodes at sites such as waterfalls where they interact with the geological lines. Rivers and streams have a kind of world-walking magic inherent to them- Estuaries and the mouths of rivers are often the sites of ethereal portals, which souls use when entering the underworld, and crossing three streams can land you in the land of the Fey. In a way, each land bounded by a river is partially it’s own plane, with it’s own slightly different set of natural laws. This is also why vampires have trouble crossing running water, since they are creatures out of sync with reality.

The Winds of Magic. More akin to magical radiation blown on the wind, than the power of the wind itself. Although fickle, these powers are easily accessible, and as such are the starting point for many wizard’s spells. Plenty of spell preparation involves consulting almanacs, considering moon phases and weather forecasts, in order to tune spells to the appropriate conditions of the Winds. The winds come in many ‘colours,’ visible only to the magically attuned. Most common are the seven winds that correspond to the seven levels of the soul, but there are other shades as well. The Octarine wind of dawn is one of the most potent, and it is this wind that recharges many artifacts, which otherwise might be too portable to be tapped in to a reliable power source.

Elemental Planes. Another source of magical energy involves essentially poking a hole in reality to access another dimension, and then sculpting and harnessing the forces that poor out. The issue is, these rifts are not stable on their own (and if they are, they can cause all kinds of problems), and require an investment of magic to create. Often the magic required to hold open a portal is as much or greater than the power that can be harvested from the portal, and as such spells that utilize this technique tend to be quick taps into high-energy dimensions, such as the Plane of Fire. Naturally occurring or otherwise permanent portals exist as well, especially at the nodes of leylines which can help keep them stable, but even a ‘permanent’ portal can be a fickle source of power, only functioning and specific times of day or under specific conditions- which can be in fact useful if a wizard wants to use a portal for transport, and would prefer the gateway be somewhat secure against the uninitiated.

The Gods. Faith is a source of great power, and the gods can maintain a miracle essentially infinitely should they choose- but the gods can be fickle. Clerics do not necessarily require a leyline for a permanent magical effect, but they may need to set up elaborate ritual elements, altars, holy symbols, to maintain the miracle. There exist temples where the priests sit in constant prayer, intent on maintaining some obscure magical effect. Priests of the wind god often set up flags or prayer wheels, and driven by the wind they manufacture constant stores of faith. Other beings of lesser power may fulfill a similar function, albeit on a smaller scale, such as through the gifts given to warlocks and cultists.

Sorcerers. Those with innate magic may tap into any of the above, but the core of their magic is their own. It burns within them, providing the seed for all their spells- even in a world otherwise dead to magic, the weakest sorcerer might be able to muster the power to lift a pebble or light a candle.

The Mystery. No one is quite sure where bards get their power, including bards themselves. At lower levels, they might not even realize they are casting spells. They may tap into and dabble with leylines, faith, or any of the other means listed above, they may even have a sorcerous spark within them (and many do)- but the core of their ability is unknown. The magic does not seem to always originate from them, sometimes, rather, it happens to be there at the right time, and they happen to stumble upon it. A feather fall spell may manifest as a conveniently placed haycart, magical defenses can appear as amazing coincidences of luck, and even flashier magics disguise themselves as unlikely confluences of events. Above all the power of their music or even just their simple suggestions to influence minds and change the course of events cannot be easily explained

It’s a Trick! As the aforementioned ‘invisible’ bridge, sometimes the easiest and most mana-effecient solution is not to use ‘true’ magic at all. Many studies of the arcane include learning particular combinations of smoke and mirrors, whereby a practitioner’s apparent power may be magnified. 

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Harnessing & Storage

Gemstones. Some of the most flexible and potent vessels for magic, gems come in all shapes, sizes and uses. Small or poor-quality stones may ‘burn out’ after a few uses, but with the correct precautions a more powerful gem may become a ‘rechargeable battery,’ gaining it’s power from the Winds of Magic, leylines, or the magic of the wielder.

Token objects. Certain objects may accrue specific magical energies around themselves, such as a much-loved child’s toy, a veteran’s blade, or a lucky coin. These magics can be tricky to harness however, as the magic may be specifically attuned (a lucky coin that is good for luck magic but little else), and they may recharge slowly or not at all. Nevertheless they can be useful, and they are the origin of many ‘naturally occurring’ magic items, some of which have considerable, if unsophisticated, levels of potency.

Runes. Situated somewhere between a leyline, a token object, and an element of language, lies the rune. Thousands upon thousands of runes occur in nature, in the random jumble of sticks and stones, in the swirl of leaves and the lines laid by frost and carved by water. Many of these are simple, nearly powerless, like the background static noise of the universe. Others are unparalleled instruments of fate, the runes at the heart of creation, that repeat again and again and resonate in the hearts of all mortals. Fashioned into the surface of an object, they inscribe it’s magic with form and intent. They themselves can provide their own power, but this is often finicky, and often better paired with gems or ritual elements to ease the process.

Pearls of power. Naturally occurring rifts of magic, pinprick-sized, wink in and out of existence every second. Sometimes when they appear within a sensitive organic form, such as a giant clam or a sorcerer’s brain, they stick and the organism begins to secrete a protective coat around it, like a pearl. Those occurring in humans can be less pleasant than the mollusk variety, appearing as a tumor, a bezoar, a carbuncle, and so on- although pearl-like opaline structures have been known to occur.

Poison Is OP

Poisons are OP, aka 'Re-Fanging New-School Poison'

Designed to work with Ten Foot Polemic’s death and dying rules. Poison, however, is mentioned only briefly in those rules, and there is no generic poison ‘death and dying’ table to roll on… which sort of makes sense, given the specificity of most poison. I’ve tried to make each poison feel a little unique, while still keeping them simple to run.

As a place to start, I’ve adapted the classic D&D poisons as they appear in 5e. The damages are calculated for 5e-like games, with their inflated hit points, so you may need to adjust for more OSR-type games.

But 5e poisons, in a 5e context, aren't super dangerous. And worst of all, they don't feel poison-y. This should fix that, where even weak poison is a potential pain in the ass.

Notes on terminology: - The 'poisoned' condition is from 5e. It just means you have disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks (this includes skill checks, initiative rolls- basically any d20 roll that isn't an attack roll or a saving throw)

- I refer to 'poison tokens' but Ten Foot Polemic uses the term 'death dice' 'bleed points' and so on interchangeably. They're all the same thing.

- Death Tables: Some poisons have specialized tables. Use these instead of the generic tables. At some point I plan to write a generic poison table, but for now I mostly just use the 'bleeding,' or 'necrotizing' if I'm feeling fancy.


POISON 

Basic Poison

Injury

1d4 poison damage, plus DC 11 save or gain that many poisoned bleed tokens. When you have more than 4 poisoned bleed tokens, you are poisoned.

by Matthew Stewart

Assassin’s Blood

Ingested, no initial save, OR Injury, DC 10 Save

Gain 1d4 generic poison tokens. At the end of each of your turns, as long as you have any poison tokens, make a DC 10 save. Gain 1d4 poison bleed tokens on a failure, or remove one poison token on a success. As long as you have any of these poison tokens, you cannot benefit from magical healing.

Death Table

1-10, vomiting, ‘poisoned’ condition, 1 poisoned pain token

11-15, bleeding sores, coughing blood, 1d4 poisoned trauma dice

16-20, organ failure begins, bleeding from all orifices, incapacitated, all ability scored halved until recovery (min 1d6 days)

21+ organs shut down, death in 1d4 rounds

Burnt Uther Fumes
Inhaled, DC 13 Save
Take 2d6 damage, and also gain that many poisoned bleed tokens and one poisoned pain token. At the start of that creature’s turn, they make another save, reducing those bleed tokens by 1d6 on a success or adding one pain token on a failure.

Crawler Mucus

Contact, DC 13 Save

1d10 poisoned pain tokens, or 1 token on a successful save. Targets may have a maximum of 10 of these tokens. The target is paralyzed if they fail their test against pain, which they must test for whether or not they ‘tempt fate.’ If they fail this test, they are paralyzed for as long as any poisoned pain tokens remain. At the end of each of their turns, they make another save, removing one token on a success.

Drow Poison
Injury
1d4 poison sleep tokens, the target is poisoned for as long as they have these tokens. At the end of each of their turns, roll all their sleep tokens- if the total exceeds their current hit points, they fall unconscious until they have no more poison sleep tokens, or are damaged or shook awake. Remove one sleep token every minute if there are more than 4, or one every 10 minutes if there are less than 4. Note: this poison is specifically designed to work on elves, so it bypasses their normal sleep resistance. It's not actually true sleep at all, being a kind of psychic paralysis, locking the mind of the creature away in horrifying dreams. Creatures that are immune to sleep AND cannot dream may be immune to this poison.

Essence of Ether – works as written

By Konstantin Vavilov

Malice – works as written

Midnight Tears – works as written
Death Table

1-5, uncontrollable weeping, 1 pain token

10-15, 4 poisoned bleed tokens, permanent blindness unless cured by magic

16-20 unconscious, 1d4 trauma tokens

20+ Death

Oil of Taggit – works as written

Pale Tincture – works as written

Purple Worm Venom

Injury, DC 19

9d6 poison damage, and for each 6 rolled gain a poisoned bleed token, for each double rolled gain a poisoned pain token.

Death Table:

1-15, Gain 1 poisoned trauma token

16-20, Gain 1d4 poisoned trauma tokens

21+ Gain 2d4 poisoned trauma tokens

Serpent Venom

Injury, DC 11

2d6 poison damage. Gain that many poisoned bleed tokens on a failed save, or on a successful save gain one for any 6’s rolled for that poison damage.

Death Table:

1-15, Gain 1 poisoned trauma token

16-20 severe cardiac arrest, death in 1d4 rounds

20+ brain shuts down, death

by Carne Griffiths

Torpor

Ingested, no initial save

Gain 2d4 poison tokens, and 1d4 poisoned pain tokens. As long as you have poison, make a DC 15 save every round, removing a token on a success and gaining a pain token on a failure. You must also make a pain test at the end of every round, becoming incapacitated on a failure.

Truth Serum

Ingested, no initial save

Gain 2d4 poison tokens. As long as you have these tokens you are poisoned, and you must make a DC 15 saving throw to knowingly speak a lie. In addition, you have disadvantage on deception checks. Remove on poison token every 10 minutes.

Wyvern Poison
7d6 poison damage, plus DC 15 save or also gain that many poisoned bleed tokens. For each turn you take bleed damage from this poison, gain 1 poisoned pain point.

Unique Treasures

For use when you have to roll up one of those pesky 'Art Items' in a treasure hoard. Treasure is part of the adventure, so it's always a pet peeve of mine when a published book says 'gold earrings' or something for treasure. Even a boring description would be better than nothing!

Prices are given in SP, but use whatever increment equals 1 experience point in your game. Or don't, because honestly keeping the difference is a pretty good way to split high-power from more gritty-feeling games.

I really should be crediting the artist on some of these, but I've been working on this post so long and in such a piecemeal fashion that I've totally lost track. If you know any of them, tell me!

1. Angular Raven Mask - 1,000 sp 

Carved of Pure Obsidian, magicked to be as strong as steel. Can be used as a regular helm, and the beak can be used to attack in a grapple (or very close combat- knife vs. knife for example) for 1d6 damage (no bonus for Str or Dex, as this is not exactly an optimized weapon)

2. Armillary Ring - 100-250 sp 
Marked with xodiac symbols, as well as planets. With it, one can calculate astronomical events- for example, knowing which day of the year it is, one could determine when the sun or moon would rise and set, what stars might hold sway, and so on. This being a small device, it should not be so relied upon as a proper full sized instrument. Intricate, magical versions of this, where the rings fold out and out again to form a impossibly-large sphere, could be worth up to ten times as much (depending on the DM's needs when you roll this)

3. Opalsidian Blade- 500 sp
Surprisingly sharp and durable. Hits vs. ghosts and spirits, but also breaks on a natural 1.

4. Nine-barreled Gun - 500 sp

Extraordinarily impractical in most situations but, like, SO dope. With it, attack rolls can be made against up to nine targets in a 15-ft square area, however all attacks are made with disadvantage. When fired, the wielder must make a DC 15 Con saving throw or break their shoulder from the recoil. As stated, rather impractical, but worth a considerable amount to a collector.

5. Tea Party Weapons - 1,000 sp

Created by a warrior culture deeply invested in ritual and ceremony. Even meals must be accompanied by a weapon, therefore these ceremonial weapons provide recourse without impinging the honour of either warrior or guest. We'll say the thing that coincidentally looks like a grenade is a potion or a very large tea pot...

6. Nymph Earrings - 100 sp

These tiny elementals chew through rock, secreting minerals like gold and silver, along with precious stones, to make their shells. In earring form, the insect is still alive, tricked into clamping down on an adamantium loop which it cannot bite through. It tenaciously hangs on, while accompanying it's host through interminable dinner parties, dungeon crawls, etc.

5. Moss Agate Garden - 200 sp

this naturally-occurring slice of rock seems to contain a miniature painted scene. Magical versions might be portals to tiny pocket dimensions, which are worth up to ten times as much. Because this is not a crafted magic item, the stone provides no natural way to access the inner world, but a simple teleport or dimension door spell will suffice.

6. Scarab Teacup & Saucer - 150 sp (1,500 for the whole set!)

Used traditionally for the 'last supper' for noble prisoners before they were executed, these designs took on a macabre popularity among the dwellers of the ancient city (insert ruined civilization as appropriate). Players should be awarded only when these fragile items are safely escorted out of the dungeon.