Jab's Dinosaur Builds!: Plateosaurus! Europasaurus!

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Jabroniville
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Komodo Dragon

Post by Jabroniville »

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KOMODO DRAGON (Varanus komodoensis)
Role:
Apex Predator, The World's Largest Lizard
PL 6 (60)- Minion Rank 4, Sidekick Rank 12
Normal Version:
PL 4-5
STRENGTH 4 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 3 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -4 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE -4

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+8)
Close Combat (Natural Weapons) 3 (+6)
Expertise (Survival) 6 (+6)
Intimidation 10 (+6)
Perception 5 (+5)

Advantages:
Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Natural Weapons), Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Startle

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 2 (Acute & Extended Scent) [2]
"Natural Weapons (Bite & Tail)" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Reach) [3]
"Thick Skin" Protection 2 [2]

"Toxic Bacterial Bite" Weaken Stamina 4 (Extras: Disease +2) [12]

Offense:
Unarmed +3 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Natural Weapons +6 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +5

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +6, Fortitude +7, Will +5

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Lizards cannot speak to humans, nor use their claws to easily manipulate objects.
Disabled (Mostly Deaf)- Komodo Dragons can barely hear- their hearing is between 200-2,000 hertz (humans can hear from 40-20,000 for reference)- they typically don't respond even to shouting, but can be trained to recognize voices.
Weakness (Cold-Blooded)- Reptiles are cold-blooded- that is, their bodies are the same temperature as the air around them. As such, they are slow & sluggish in cold temperatures, and will die quickly if left in winter-like conditions. They must warm up before they are any good.

Total: Abilities: 8 / Skills: 28--14 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 19 / Defenses: 14 (60)

Era: Modern
Range: Southern Indonesian Islands
Stereotypes: Unthinking, predatory dicks.
Colouring: Green/brown
Size: Up to 10 feet long (100-400 pounds)
Encounter Groups: Solitary, gather around large prey
Diet: Small mammals, lizards, birds, eggs, carrion, large mammals
Tactics: Lash out with tail, claws & bite.

-Komodo Dragons are by far the biggest, heaviest, and scariest of all lizards, packing more weight than some people (especially the bigger specimens), and carrying enough natural weapons around to do some real damage. Extremely rare and limited in range, they live on only a handful of islands, but are very effective predators. Some even prey on wild boars, deer & water buffalo, though usually only by using their venomous bites- they have a great deal of bacterial toxins packed with their bites, and this will slowly kill prey over a period of days, at which point the Dragons come out of the woodwork and consume the victim. These are big and mean- if you get hurt on one of their islands, and the wound bleeds, GET INTO A TREE, as you are about to be surrounded by a dozen of these mean bastards. Like many large animals that can dig, they can and will dig up and consume human corpses unless measures are taken against this.

-The Dragons are from such a remote area that they weren't discovered by the West until *1910*, after rumors of "Land Crocodiles" unearthed some of these animals. It's believed they evolved when Monitor Lizards moved to Australia and formed many gigantic specimens, then the Australian continental shelf moved closer to Asia and so they headed back, leaving these giants on Komodo Island (from where they get their name).

-A PL 6 predator, Komodo Dragons are big and strong, but not much bigger in mass than some people, so don't require Growth. Their bites use the old "Disease" Extra, which goes into effect on the next day after you inflict the wound, acting sorta like a late-effect venom. It's enough to scare the hell out of somebody, especially when you consider that large prey gets attacked en masse- a dozen of these things is nothing to sneeze at.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Mon Jan 17, 2022 10:32 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Jabroniville
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Megalania

Post by Jabroniville »

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MEGALANIA
Role:
Apex Predator, Largest Lizard Ever
PL 8 (67)- Minion Rank 4, Sidekick Rank 12
Normal Version:
PL 4-5
STRENGTH 7 STAMINA 7 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 4 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -4 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE -4

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+8)
Close Combat (Natural Weapons) 3 (+6)
Expertise (Survival) 6 (+6)
Intimidation 10 (+6)
Perception 5 (+5)

Advantages:
Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Natural Weapons), Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Startle

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 2 (Acute & Extended Scent) [2]
"Natural Weapons (Bite & Tail)" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Reach) [3]
"Thick Skin" Protection 1 [1]

"Toxic Bacterial Bite" Weaken Stamina 4 (Extras: Disease +2) [12]
Growth 3 (Str & Sta +3, +3 Mass, +1 Intimidation, -1 Dodge/Parry, -3 Stealth) -- (12 feet) (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) [7]

Offense:
Unarmed +4 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Natural Weapons +7 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +5

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +8, Fortitude +7, Will +5

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Lizards cannot speak to humans, nor use their claws to easily manipulate objects.
Weakness (Cold-Blooded)- Reptiles are cold-blooded- that is, their bodies are the same temperature as the air around them. As such, they are slow & sluggish in cold temperatures, and will die quickly if left in winter-like conditions. They must warm up before they are any good.

Total: Abilities: 10 / Skills: 28--14 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 25 / Defenses: 13 (67)

Era: Modern
Range: Australia.
Stereotypes: Unknown.
Colouring: Green/brown
Size: Up to 23 feet long (214-4,300 pounds)
Encounter Groups: Solitary, gather around large prey
Diet: Small mammals, lizards, birds, eggs, carrion, large mammals
Tactics: Lash out with tail, claws & bite.

-The largest lizard yet discovered was Megalania, which inhabited Australia during the Pleistocene. Naturally, specimens have varied tremendously, but it's thought to be between 11-23 feet long and can weigh over 4,000 lbs.! Though more reasonably estimates typically put them between 400-1,000 lbs.- paleontolists do like to pile on the pounds in situations like this.
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Davies
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Re: Jab's Animal Builds (Monitor Lizards! Komodo Dragon! Megalania!)

Post by Davies »

There' s a good chance that these may have been the inspiration for the 'dewbacks' from Star Wars, so you could use these stats for any sort of riding lizard.
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Re: Jab's Animal Builds (Monitor Lizards! Komodo Dragon! Megalania!)

Post by Zephrosyne »

Not to be Corrective Courtney, Jab. I am asking because I am literally unsure. Under your Komodo Dragon entry where you list the Complication for its poor hearing, is that supposed to be "decibels" or "hertz?" Those numbers looks more like hearing range frequencies. I didn't think decibels got into the thousands. Just wondering.
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Re: Jab's Animal Builds (Monitor Lizards! Komodo Dragon! Megalania!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Zephrosyne wrote: Mon Jan 17, 2022 6:18 pm Not to be Corrective Courtney, Jab. I am asking because I am literally unsure. Under your Komodo Dragon entry where you list the Complication for its poor hearing, is that supposed to be "decibels" or "hertz?" Those numbers looks more like hearing range frequencies. I didn't think decibels got into the thousands. Just wondering.
Yeah I don't know the difference between them, but it's supposed to be hertz, lol.
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Re: Jab's Animal Builds (Monitor Lizards! Komodo Dragon! Megalania!)

Post by Shock »

Hertz is pitch vs decibels which is volume. 150db is like standing next to a jet taking off. 20000 is Black Bolt
Jabroniville
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Snakes

Post by Jabroniville »

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SNAKES:
-Snakes are an offshoot of Lizards (both part of "Squamata"), and are universally predators who have lost all of their limbs. This seemingly-disadvantageous problem is actually quite evolutionarily-sound, to the point where many lizards and amphibians are themselves developing limblessness, as it enables superior stealth and burrowing abilities, among other things like saving energy and leaving body parts less vulnerable. Snakes take this to the extreme, developing famously-long bodies- even their lungs, hearts and stomachs are extended in this weird manner. Snakes evolved to have thin skulls that can unhinge the jaw, allowing them to swallow creatures larger than themselves- this takes an enormously long time to do, so most snakes have a way of dispatching prey to prevent fighting- either nasty venoms or death by strangulation (again, long, limbless bodies help with grappling, as they can simply encircle the prery repeatedly).

Snakes' surreality to humans, as well as their predatory nature and infamous venom, has made them rather famous as villains. Some cultures do worship them or find them admirable in some ways, but it's not for nothing that nearly every human culture features a Storm or Sky God slaying a Serpent as part of their mythology.

Kenmadragon listed some a while back:
kenmadragon wrote:
Off the top of my head, there are: (Hero, God, Storm-Deity / Dragon, Serpent, World-Monster)
- Marduk / Tiamat
- Zeus / Typhon
- Thor / Jormungandr
- Susanoo / Yamato no Orochi
- Indra / Vritra
- Tarhunz / Illuyanka
- Quetzalcoatl (and Tezcatlipoca) / Cipactli
- Fereydun / Azi Dahaka
- Ba'al Hadad / Tannin
- etc etc

The list goes on and on, but pretty much every mythos in the world has some variation of the story where a Hero (typically a storm-god) fights a mighty serpent/dragon. Usually, this results in the body of the beast being turned into something else. For Tiamat and Cipactli I recall that being the entire mortal world, and all of Earth being what grew from the monster's remains after the gods transformed the body. The others kind of varied.

The stories are pretty epic though, and almost all of them result in the creation of things that are foundational to the cultures of the faiths who tell the stories. Like with the ones where the "Hero v Dragon" is actually the Creation Myth, as with Marduk slaying Tiamat and using her body to create the universe and stuff.

Hell, I can tell you right now that even Judaism/Christianity/Islam has this. There are some old references in the Old Testament to YHWH/Allah fighting and defeating Leviathan with a sword... But due to early Hebrews revising things to form the Hebrew Bible, all those references were scrubbed and/or re-written to cut out those sections because they wanted to move away from the mythologies of their ancestors and all the other faiths that were in the area, especially because the story made Yahweh seem far too much like the deity Ba'al Hadad who was still commonly worshipped in the Levant at the time.
This speaks a lot to how frightening people thought serpents were, and how common it was in mythology to inflate them to stupendous sizes where they were a threat to all live until a great hero destroyed them. It makes me wonder if the ORIGINAL humans told this story, and thus aspects of it were buried deep in every other storyteller.

Snakes were also seen as a source of medicine- even the Ancient Greeks recognized that snake venom had medicinal properties when diluted, and as such included the them as part of the staff of Aclepius, God of Medicine & Healing (and sometimes to Hermes, his father- who sometimes took that aspect for himself). This very symbol appears on ambulances to this day in most of the western world.

Snake Builds will be a bit tricky- there are THOUSANDS of kinds of snakes. And they're too numerous for me to build quickly or just go through every species and go "Kay, these are Tiny, these are Small, these are Medium..." in any kind of a timely manner. So I'll actually have to dig through nearly every genus I can. Snake venom itself is tricky- some affect the neurology, some affect the blood, others affect the flesh itself. As M&M usually just uses "Fortitude Save" and "Weaken Strength or Stamina" for all kinds of poison & venom, this is difficult to ascertain. Certainly Paralytic venoms are Afflictions, but you could also say that's robbing Strength, right? This might need a case-by-case basis.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Apr 05, 2022 4:48 am, edited 2 times in total.
Jabroniville
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Snake Venom

Post by Jabroniville »

SNAKE VENOM:

-Venom is tricky, because it doesn't really work in dramatic, comic-book style ways. Victims rarely feel the effects of the venom within the first few minutes, and death can be HOURS away. Some men have only succumbed to the venom after DAYS of not having it be treated (they often assume they're fine once a small fever wears off). In comics, people who've been poisoned often get all woozy and keel over right away. Elapids affect the central nervous system, often paralyzing their victims, causing them to suffocate (their lungs are no longer given the "order" to breathe). Spitting Cobras can shoot out streams of venom likened to car battery acid, that can cause temporary or permanent blindness.
-Victims who survive snake bites can live with permanent disabilities- legs will shrivel up and be useless; flesh will be lost. Painful swelling can result in limbs nearly bursting like ripe melons- women describe the pain as much worse than childbirth. Even low, non-fatal doses from Cottonmouths can cause fingers to fall off- one man was bitten on the spine while swimming, and was left permanently wheelchair-bound.

Spitting Venom: Dazzle Visuals (Extras: Permanent +3) (Flaws: Uncontrolled on Permanent) (Diminished Range -3)
-A standard short-range Blinding Attack.

Elapid Venom- Neurotoxic: Affliction (Fort; Dazed & Fatigued/Exhausted & Stunned/Incapacitated & Paralyzed) (Extras: Extra Condition, Progression +2)
-Belonging to Cobras & Mambas, Paralytic Venoms essentially paralyze you to death.

Viper Venom- Hemotoxic: Weaken Stamina (Extras: Progression +2) Linked to Affliction (Fort; Fatigued/Stunned/Paralyzed) (Extras: Progression +2)
-Blood-poisoning venoms.

Viper Venom- Cytotoxic: Weaken Stamina (Extras: Progression +2) Linked to Affliction (Fort; Fatigued/Stunned/Paralyzed) (Extras: Progression +2)
-Cell-poisoning venoms, essentially working the same as Hemotoxins statistically- decaying flesh.
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Re: Jab's Animal Builds (Monitor Lizards! Komodo Dragon! Megalania!)

Post by Ken »

"Snakes.... why'd it have to be snakes?" - Professor Henry "Indiana" Jones, Jr.
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Spine-Jawed Snakes

Post by Jabroniville »

SPINE-JAWED SNAKES:
-A recently-discovered, little-understood genus who two listed animals, both found around Malaysia/Borneo. They have head scales with numerous sensory papillae, large prefrontal scales, and an upper jaw with a spiny palate. However, they lack a left lung and no longer have any vestiges of a pelvic girdle- very rare among snakes.
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Lamprophiids

Post by Jabroniville »

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LAMPROPHIIDS:
-Lamprophiids are a very diverse family of 300+ snakes all over the world, particularly in Asia. Some are barely six inches long, while others are quite big. Africa has the Burrowing Asps, for example. Most are venomous, though not dangerous to humans. The "Polemon" group eats mostly smaller snakes. There are all kinds of names throughout the group- Banded, Striped, Black, etc. Not much is written about any of them, so I can't really do a generalized build, but they can fit a lot of the previous things I've built here.
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Garter Snakes

Post by Jabroniville »

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GARTER SNAKES
Role:
Tiny Slithering Predators
PL 0 (21), PL 2 (21) to Tiny Creatures- Minion Rank 2, Sidekick Rank 5
Normal Version:
PL 0
STRENGTH -5 STAMINA -5 AGILITY -2
FIGHTING -2 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -4 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE -3

Skills:
Athletics 10 (+5)
Expertise (Survival) 5 (+5)
Perception 5 (+5)

Advantages:
Close Attack 4, Fast Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Initiative

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 2 (Low-Light Vision & Extended Scent) [2]
Movement 1 (Slithering) [2]
"Puny Venom" Weaken Stamina 2 (Extras: Progressive +2) (Flaws: Limited to Tiny Creatures) [4]

"Fun Size" Shrinking 12 (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) -- (6 inches) [25]
(-3 Strength, +6 Defenses, +12 Stealth, -6 Intimidation, -1 Speed)

Offense:
Unarmed +2 (-5 Damage, DC 10)
Venom +2 (+2 Weaken, DC 12)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +4 (DC 14), Parry +4 (DC 14), Toughness -5, Fortitude +0, Will +0

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Snakes cannot speak to humans, and lack the limbs to easily manipulate objects.
Disabled (Cold-Blooded)- Snakes require warm temperatures to heat up and move about- they are fatally-vulnerable to cold.
Weakness (Small Size)- At their natural size, small Snakes are vulnerable to large creatures- even without good accuracy. Anything of Size Rank -2 or more (human size and up) using a melee attack on a Lizard of this scale effectively strike with Burst Area Damage at their strength rank naturally.

Total: Abilities: -36 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 36 / Defenses: 4 (21)

Era: Modern Day
Range: North America.
Stereotypes: Harmless wimps.
Colouring: Any Possible Colour, in any possibly design.
Size: 18-54 inches long (averaging to 140 grams)
Diet: Earthworms, snails, frogs, tadpoles.
Tactics: Flee rapidly, or attempt to swallow whole.

-Garter Snakes are iconic "Harmless Snakes"- considered creepy and scary, but are no threat to anyone. They eat frogs in great numbers, and also tadpoles & earthworms, though some are toxic. It's recently been discovered that they have a tiny amount of venom, but it only affects tiny creatures- there is a bit of an "evolutionary arms race" going on between them and Toxic Newts. They are actually in the Colubrid family (containing most of the hyper-venomous snakes, particularly Cobras), but I include them here first because of their iconic status.
Jabroniville
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Rat Snakes

Post by Jabroniville »

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Corn Snake, Green Ratsnake.

RAT SNAKES
Role:
Tiny Slithering Predators, Popular Pets
PL 0 (22)- Minion Rank 2, Sidekick Rank 5
Normal Version:
PL 0
STRENGTH -5 STAMINA -5 AGILITY -1
FIGHTING -1 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -4 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE -3

Skills:
Athletics 10 (+5)
Expertise (Survival) 5 (+5)
Perception 5 (+5)

Advantages:
Chokehold, Close Attack 4, Fast Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Initiative

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 2 (Low-Light Vision & Extended Scent) [2]
Movement 1 (Slithering) [2]

"Fun Size" Shrinking 12 (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) -- (6 inches) [25]
(-3 Strength, +6 Defenses, +12 Stealth, -6 Intimidation, -1 Speed)

Offense:
Unarmed +3 (-5 Damage, DC 10)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness -5, Fortitude +0, Will +0

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Snakes cannot speak to humans, and lack the limbs to easily manipulate objects.
Disabled (Cold-Blooded)- Snakes require warm temperatures to heat up and move about- they are fatally-vulnerable to cold.
Weakness (Small Size)- At their natural size, small Snakes are vulnerable to large creatures- even without good accuracy. Anything of Size Rank -2 or more (human size and up) using a melee attack on a Lizard of this scale effectively strike with Burst Area Damage at their strength rank naturally.

Total: Abilities: -32 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 8 / Powers: 32 / Defenses: 4 (22)

Era: Modern Day
Range: All across the world (except Antarctica).
Stereotypes: Soulless, evil, merciless predators.
Colouring: Any Possible Colour, in any possibly design.
Size: Up to 18 inches long (minicule ounces to 50g)
Diet: Mice, rats, frogs, birds.
Tactics: Flee rapidly, or attempt to swallow whole.

-The small Rat Snakes are mostly non-venomous constrictors, related to Vine & King Snakes. They include the Corn Snake, which is one of the world's most popular rerptile pets- this Florida native is often bred to exhibit a variety of colors. Harmless to humans, they will readily choke out mice and rats, among other small prey- the Green Ratsnake of Asia eats bats and birds via hanging down from branches and capturing prey as they fly by. Similarly weak, they are potent enough to take out PL 0 rodents via strangulation.
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Davies
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Re: Jab's Animal Builds (Komodo Dragon! Megalania! Garter Snakes!)

Post by Davies »

... I'm suddenly envisioning an Egypt-like civilization that involves lots of serpent worship -- because they've domesticated these snakes and use them to guard their granaries.
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Re: Jab's Animal Builds (Komodo Dragon! Megalania! Garter Snakes!)

Post by Ares »

Davies wrote: Thu Jan 20, 2022 2:07 am ... I'm suddenly envisioning an Egypt-like civilization that involves lots of serpent worship -- because they've domesticated these snakes and use them to guard their granaries.
Well, Robert E. Howard's Hyperborea / Conan setting had Stygia, which was basically "Not Egypt" and was all about snake worship . . . granted, for very different reasons.
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