anb's logs

D6 ancient, but wingless dragons

I think some time around november last year, I was talking to some friends about how I stumbled upon that forum post where one of the authors of the original Ravenloft module was explain how they came up with the whole thing1. Basically they thought a random encounter of a vampire in a dungeon was so out of place that they had to write a whole module around it, which is pretty neat.

As the conversation went on, we commented about things that could cause some kind of disconnect or dissonance to our assumed medieval world, to which I mentioned that the Monster Manual had dinosaurs. Most of my friends were rather surprised and said that meeting a dinosaur in their elfgame would completely ruin their immersion2. On one hand, I get it: we have associated dinosaurs to a completely different period of time and I'd dare say that they are more closely related to science fiction than to fantasy. On the other hand, dinosaurs are just wingless dragons. Or, I don't know, wyverns with arms instead of wings. And fantasy is all about unearthing ancient things, right? Would it be too weird to see a dinosaur wandering around when you have Even More Elder Things ™ in 1-in-6 holes in the ground?

I think it partially has to do with how we don't see fantasy worlds as "natural", only as magical. Even though there's a very obvious scientific and analytical lens when we look at magic in the World's Most Overestimated Roleplaying game, the creatures of the world are often seen as "magical beasts", or at least that has been my general experience. Maybe that's part of the reason why Delicious in Dungeon felt like such a breath of fresh air for me, bringing in a more ecological view on the dungeon and it's inhabitants3.

Anyway, short post that crossed my mind. Let's pay our taxes with some clearly-not-a-dinosaur creatures for your medieval fantasy needs, statted for Cairn.

D6 Unorthodox Dragons

  1. Shieldhead Grazer - HP 10, 3 Armor, STR 16, DEX 8, WIL 5, horns (d10)
    • Rotund wingless dragon, with a bony flat head shaped like a greatshield. Mostly eats grass and minds its own business.
    • Defends itself by hiding behind its big head, but will ram enemies or flail if scared. Hitting anywhere but the head ignores armor.
    • Critical Damage: impales, leaving the target stuck to its horn.
  2. Beaked Wyvern - HP 5, STR 9, DEX 14, WIL 9, barbed teeth (d8), prehensile claws (d6)
    • Kite-shaped wyvern with a long, scaly beak and short legs. Glides through the air around its nest, looking for prey.
    • Always hunts in packs (d4), alerts its packmates with a high-pitched shriek when its about to dive.
    • Critical Damage: grabs the target and soars away, taking them to its nest.
  3. Hammerturtle - HP 6, 2 Armor, STR 13, DEX 7, WIL 7, tail club (d12), bite (d4)
    • Human-sized turtle, with a secondary shell at the end of its long tail. Uses it as a weapon for self-defense and territorial bouts.
    • Makes its home near bodies of water, offspring look like normal turtles with long tails.
  4. Death Chicken - HP 6, STR 6, DEX 15, WIL 5, teeth and claws (d6+d6)
    • Tiny wingless dragon, adorned with feathers. Can run very fast on its hind legs.
    • Always hunts in packs (d6), but prone to infighting over food.
    • Critical Damage: covered in wounds, takes an additional d6 DEX damage.
  5. Canopy Gorger - HP 12, STR 15, DEX 5, WIL 10, stomp (d10), tail (d6)
    • Gigantic wingless dragon. Has a long tail and an even longer neck, eats leafage from the top of the Wood.
    • Moss and leaves grow on its skin, leading many to mistake its huge legs for tree trunks.
  6. Jaw Wyrm - HP 10, 1 Armor, STR 14, DEX 10, WIL 11, bite (d12+d12)
    • Great wyvern with short, atrophiated wings that look like arms. Apex predator with massive teeth and thick, scaly hide.
    • Roar: All who hear must pass a WIL Save or succumb to fear (run away, bow down, hide, etc).
    • Critical Damage: roll a d6: 1: eaten, instant death, 2-5: rips out a limb with a bite.

But what do I know, maybe real dragon and dungeon roleplayers are out there fighting wizards riding t-rexes in the Sword Coast, and me and my boring friends are missing out. Oh well.

anb

🐔 🐤

  1. This forum post, for those who are interested.↩

  2. I hate the word "immersion" and how it's used to describe "a play experience I'm really into", be it around computer games or tabletop ones. I don't hate it as much as "replayability" to warrant its own post, though.↩

  3. As someone who really doesn't care about the food side of things, I still really recommend Delicious in Dungeon if you like dungeon crawling and want medieval fantasy manga/anime to be more than boring, MMO-shaped isekai.↩

#cairn #dnd #random-tables