Hereby I present you with... Dinosaurs for Stars Without Number!
A common dream of scientists and laymen alike, ever since the development of modern genetics in the second half of the 20th century, was bringing the beasts of the past to life, chiefly dinosaurs, massive reptiles who captured human imagination for many generations. Actual remnant DNA from Jurassic and Cretaceous fossil records, however, was greatly fragmentary in nature, preventing direct cloning of dinosaurs, as was initially proposed. So, until the last First Wave and the early-mid Second Wave of human expansion into space, resurrecting dinosaurs remained a distant dream for many. But the development of advanced pretech genetic engineering techniques allowed for the creation of hybrid genomes, complementing the fragmentary fossil record with genetic material taken from the dinosaurs' living relatives, modern avians. This allowed for the creation of living, breathing dinosaurs, who might show various differences from their actual progenitor templates, but who were close enough to have a huge market among enthusiasts, terraformers, and colonists in search of interesting imported or cloned fauna. Many worlds thus had a certain population of these reptiles, and many still survive to this post-Scream day.
A common dream of scientists and laymen alike, ever since the development of modern genetics in the second half of the 20th century, was bringing the beasts of the past to life, chiefly dinosaurs, massive reptiles who captured human imagination for many generations. Actual remnant DNA from Jurassic and Cretaceous fossil records, however, was greatly fragmentary in nature, preventing direct cloning of dinosaurs, as was initially proposed. So, until the last First Wave and the early-mid Second Wave of human expansion into space, resurrecting dinosaurs remained a distant dream for many. But the development of advanced pretech genetic engineering techniques allowed for the creation of hybrid genomes, complementing the fragmentary fossil record with genetic material taken from the dinosaurs' living relatives, modern avians. This allowed for the creation of living, breathing dinosaurs, who might show various differences from their actual progenitor templates, but who were close enough to have a huge market among enthusiasts, terraformers, and colonists in search of interesting imported or cloned fauna. Many worlds thus had a certain population of these reptiles, and many still survive to this post-Scream day.
So here I will provide the stats for several of the more common resurrected species.
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 12
Attack Bonus: +8
Damage: 4d8 (trample)
No. Appearing: solitary or herd (3d6)
Saving Throw: 9+
Movement: 10m
Morale: 6
The Alamosaurus is an enormous sauropod herbivore, ranging up to 25m in length, with a shoulder height of 7m and a weight of approximately 30 tons. At this size, even Tyrannosauruses will hesitate to attack, unless the Alamosaurus is weak, or a youngster separated from its herd; when in a herd, virtually no predator will dare hunt this giant creature. An Alamosaurus, therefore, has little to fear from predators, and is rarely aggressive unless cornered, or unless defending its young. When it does attack, however, it uses its sheer weight to trample any smaller aggressor; their sheer weight allows them to damage targets otherwise only damaged by Gunnery attacks. While some lostworld tribes tame Alamosauruses to serve as giant beasts of burden, their slow pace and non-aggressive nature make them ill-suited to use as war-beasts.
Armor Class: 3
Hit Dice: 8
Attack Bonus: +9/+9
Damage: 4d4 (tail)/2d6 (trample)
No. Appearing: 1d20
Saving Throw: 11+
Movement: 20m
Morale: 9
Armoured to the hilt with bony plates and armed with a massive club of a tail capable of crushing most predators, the Ankylosaurus has the abilities, as well as the necessary temper, to defend itself from any perceived threat. At the length of 10m and with a weight of 6 metric tons, this is a difficult, but rewarding, challenge for hunters, and its meat may feed an entire tribe of lost-worlers for a few days.This herbivorous dinosaur is quick to anger, and views most other creatures of human-size or larger as potential predators, hence to be minced with its crushing tail. A hit by the heavy, flail-like tail has a 3-in-6 chance of knocking a human-sized target prone on a successful hit, unless the target wears powered armor, in which case the chance is reduced to 2-in-6.
Carnotaurus
Armoured to the hilt with bony plates and armed with a massive club of a tail capable of crushing most predators, the Ankylosaurus has the abilities, as well as the necessary temper, to defend itself from any perceived threat. At the length of 10m and with a weight of 6 metric tons, this is a difficult, but rewarding, challenge for hunters, and its meat may feed an entire tribe of lost-worlers for a few days.This herbivorous dinosaur is quick to anger, and views most other creatures of human-size or larger as potential predators, hence to be minced with its crushing tail. A hit by the heavy, flail-like tail has a 3-in-6 chance of knocking a human-sized target prone on a successful hit, unless the target wears powered armor, in which case the chance is reduced to 2-in-6.
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 7+1
Attack Bonus: +9/+9
Damage: 1d10 (bite)/1d4 (tail slap)
No. Appearing: 1
Saving Throw: 12+
Movement: 25m
Morale: 9
The Carnotaurus is a large, though lightly built, predatory theropod, specializing in ambushing its prey. With teeth like swords and a bite force eclipsing that of a large crocodile, a Carnotaurus hunts dinosaurs larger than itself, tearing their flesh with bestial ferocity. While lacking the bulk of larger predatory theropods, the Carnotaurus is capable of attaining impressive speed, attacking the prey from surprise. As an ambush predator, it surprises its prey unless the victim succeeds in a Perception skill roll at difficulty 8. This dinosaur was actually much more common as an "exotic pet" of wealthy owners than the much more imposing Tyrannosaurus, owing to its lower meat intake and thus cheaper upkeep cost.
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Deinonychus
The Carnotaurus is a large, though lightly built, predatory theropod, specializing in ambushing its prey. With teeth like swords and a bite force eclipsing that of a large crocodile, a Carnotaurus hunts dinosaurs larger than itself, tearing their flesh with bestial ferocity. While lacking the bulk of larger predatory theropods, the Carnotaurus is capable of attaining impressive speed, attacking the prey from surprise. As an ambush predator, it surprises its prey unless the victim succeeds in a Perception skill roll at difficulty 8. This dinosaur was actually much more common as an "exotic pet" of wealthy owners than the much more imposing Tyrannosaurus, owing to its lower meat intake and thus cheaper upkeep cost.
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 2
Attack Bonus: +3/+3/+3
Damage: 1d6 (bite)/1d4 (claw)/1d4 (claw)
No. Appearing: 3-9
Saving Throw: 14+
Movement: 30m
Morale: 8
Occasionally mistaken with the much smaller Velociraptor, the Deinonychus is a man-sized theropod, standing less than a meter tall and stretching up to three meters including its long, feathered tail. Like many of the smaller theropods, the Deinonycus has a coat of feathers, but unlike its modern avian relatives, it possesses claws on its fore-limbs and a toothy maw. This reptile is a pack-hunter, intelligent enough to coordinate attacks on prey much larger than a single Deinonychus, bringing much food to the pack. Since this is a social animal, it is possible to tame it, and several worlds sport Deinonychus pets, though the smaller Velociraptor is much more popular in that role due to its more manageable size.
Edmontosaurus
Tyrannosaurus
Velociraptor
Occasionally mistaken with the much smaller Velociraptor, the Deinonychus is a man-sized theropod, standing less than a meter tall and stretching up to three meters including its long, feathered tail. Like many of the smaller theropods, the Deinonycus has a coat of feathers, but unlike its modern avian relatives, it possesses claws on its fore-limbs and a toothy maw. This reptile is a pack-hunter, intelligent enough to coordinate attacks on prey much larger than a single Deinonychus, bringing much food to the pack. Since this is a social animal, it is possible to tame it, and several worlds sport Deinonychus pets, though the smaller Velociraptor is much more popular in that role due to its more manageable size.
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 4
Attack Bonus: +4
Damage: 1d6 (trample)
No. Appearing: 3-9
Saving Throw: 13+
Movement: 40m
Morale: 7
A common riding animal on worlds where resurrected dinosaurs are common, the Edmontosaurus is a medium-sized herbivore weighting about 4 metric tons. It is relatively easily to tame, and is often raised as a beast of burden. Being able to run twice as fast as a human being is an added bonus.
A common riding animal on worlds where resurrected dinosaurs are common, the Edmontosaurus is a medium-sized herbivore weighting about 4 metric tons. It is relatively easily to tame, and is often raised as a beast of burden. Being able to run twice as fast as a human being is an added bonus.
Armor Class: 3
Hit Dice: 10
Attack Bonus: +12/+12/+12
Damage: 3d8 (bite)/2d8 (trample)/1d8 (tail slap)
No. Appearing: 1
Saving Throw: 10+
Movement: 20m
Morale: 12
King of the dinosaurs, the Tyrannosaurus is a true monster, apex predator of its time, and now apex predator of the genetically-enhanced future. Massing up to seven tons, it outweighs many vehicles, and can exert massive force with its enormous jaws. Originally bred for the preserves of ultra-rich big-game hunters, it now stalks many worlds where the perimeter defending these preserves fell apart during and shortly after the Scream. On many lost worlds, this reptile is worshiped as a god. In battle, in addition to its toothy may, it may also attempt to trample its foes with its great weight, or slap them with its tail; due to the mass and muscle power involved, all of these attacks may harm targets usually only damaged by Gunnery attacks.
King of the dinosaurs, the Tyrannosaurus is a true monster, apex predator of its time, and now apex predator of the genetically-enhanced future. Massing up to seven tons, it outweighs many vehicles, and can exert massive force with its enormous jaws. Originally bred for the preserves of ultra-rich big-game hunters, it now stalks many worlds where the perimeter defending these preserves fell apart during and shortly after the Scream. On many lost worlds, this reptile is worshiped as a god. In battle, in addition to its toothy may, it may also attempt to trample its foes with its great weight, or slap them with its tail; due to the mass and muscle power involved, all of these attacks may harm targets usually only damaged by Gunnery attacks.
Armor Class: 7
Hit Dice: 1/2
Attack Bonus: +1/+1/+1
Damage: 1d4 (bite)/1d2 (claw)/1d2 (claw)
No. Appearing: 2-12
Saving Throw: 15+
Movement: 40m
Morale: 8
While its name is occasionally appropriated to describe the much larger Deinonychus, the Velociraptor is a small predatory theropod, rarely weighting over 15 kilograms. It enjoys a feathery tail (constituting most of its 2m length) and a full coat of feathers, and runs twice as fast as a typical human. Like its larger relative, the Velociraptor is a pack hunter, and a social animal, and is readily tamed - a common pet held on many worlds in lieu of dogs. A single Velociraptor is a nuisance; a hungry pack, on the other hand, could be very dangerous, particularly to a single victim.
While its name is occasionally appropriated to describe the much larger Deinonychus, the Velociraptor is a small predatory theropod, rarely weighting over 15 kilograms. It enjoys a feathery tail (constituting most of its 2m length) and a full coat of feathers, and runs twice as fast as a typical human. Like its larger relative, the Velociraptor is a pack hunter, and a social animal, and is readily tamed - a common pet held on many worlds in lieu of dogs. A single Velociraptor is a nuisance; a hungry pack, on the other hand, could be very dangerous, particularly to a single victim.
Cool. We all need more dinos in our games.
ReplyDeleteIndeed we need!
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