Monday, December 22, 2014

Monday Monster - Resurrected Dinosaurs for Classic Traveller!

Last week I posted dinosaur stats for Stars Without Number. Here are the same dinosaurs... With Classic Traveller stats!

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, for a long time, resurrecting dinosaurs remained a distant dream for many. But the development of advanced genetic engineering techniques during the late Rule of Man 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. Several worlds thus had a certain population of these reptiles, and many still survive to the time of the Third Imperium.

So here I will provide the stats for several of the more common resurrected species.

Alamosaurus
Grazer, solitary or herd (3d6), 30,000kg, 55/26 hits, as Jack, "thrasher" (actually, trample) 8D, A8, F5, S1

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, and may damage vehicles as well, including armored ones. While some barbaric tribes on low-tech worlds 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.

Ankylosaurus
Grazer, herd (3d6), 6,000kg, 35/11 hits, as Battledress, thrasher  4D, A4, F6, S2

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 will knock a human-sized target prone on 7+ after a successful hit, unless the target wears battledress, in which case the chance is reduced to 9+.

Carnotaurus
Pouncer, solitary, 1,600kg, 35/11 hits, as Jack, teeth  6D, A if surprise, F if surprised, S3

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. 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.

Deinonychus
Chaser, pack (2d6), 50kg, 12/4 hits, as Jack, teeth 2D and claws 1D, A if more, F5, S4

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
Grazer, herd (2d6), 3,200kg, 30/12 hits, as Jack, "hooves" 2D, A8, F5, S4

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.

Tyrannosaurus
Hijacker, solitary, 6,000kg, 35/11 hits, as Mesh, teeth  6D, A3, F8, S2

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 beginning of the Long Night. On many lost worlds, this reptile is worshiped as a god.

Velociraptor
Chaser, pack (3d6), 12kg, 8/8 hits, no armor, teeth 2D and claws 1D, A if more, F6, S4

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 several 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.

6 comments:

  1. I don't know how yet, but I am going to include these in the campaign I'm running with my boys. Thanks, Omer!

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  2. Wow. It's too bad that Keng doesn't have some 'previously unknown fauna' on it or my PCs would be in for a HUGE surprise.

    "sir?"
    :"what now?"
    "sir, it looks as though something is...trying to mount the ship, sir"
    "mount?"
    "as in mate, have intercourse with. In fact, It looks remarkably like an anklyosaur."

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  3. These are great. I've been tinkering around a while with an adventure outline based on Jurassic Park (ore specifically, the JP2 film), where a rich and eccentric hunter commissions the PCs and their ship to take him to a red zone world, Doyle-Fairfax (0332, Appomatox, Neworld), just rimward of the Solomani Conferation border. Library data on the world has been obviously redacted and censored by both Imperial and Confederate governments, and the patron is tight lipped about what he hopes to find there.

    If the PCs interrogate the patron, or snoop around his baggage during the trip, they find some centuries old tourism advertisements announcing "Come to Doyle-Fairfax and see the living, breathing wonders of Terra's past!" Seems that a group of Solomani bio-geneticists driven by nothing more than the simple hunger for moneyhave cloned a bunch of old Terran dinosaurs and planned to offer armored ATV tours of the planet for wealthy curiosity seekers. But something went wrong, Tokusatsu Biogen, the corporate backers of the project, went bankrupt and the TAS, Imperium and Confederation declared Doyle-Fairfax a red travel zone.

    Surprisingly, there is no naval presence of any kind restricting access to the planet, and only a lonely, automated (and unmanned and severely outdated) IISS research station orbits the planet, collecting data on the flora and fauna on the surface.

    Common sense tells the PCs to download the station's data and return to safer worlds, but the patron increases his already ludicrous payment offers until they agree to take him down to the planet where he can claim a prize that will make him the envy of all his hunter peers. The exact species he hopes to bag is up to the GM, but should be something nasty and dangerous.

    Let the chaos and carnage begin!

    The critters you have here would fit in great, thanks for sharing!

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    Replies
    1. Many thanks! And let me know how your adventure works in practice.

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