Dinosaur

A cousin of the velociraptor, the fleshraker is a clever predator that lurks in areas of heavy undergrowth and dense forest. Fleshrakers usually hunt in packs, preying upon unsuspecting creatures that pass by. They prefer to attack lone targets, but if they’re hungry enough, or if they outnumber a small group, fleshrakers are just as likely to attack.

When food becomes scarce, fleshrakers have been known to grow bolder in their hunts. They find a deserted stretch of road traveled by the occasional caravan and attempt to pick off straggling pack mules or even lightly guarded wagons. Those who have encountered fleshraker packs and survived swear the creatures set up ambushes and coordinate their attacks.

Some wild tribes of forest dwellers have been known to domesticate fleshrakers to serve as guards. Their natural ability to blend in with their surroundings, combined with their innate tactical sense, makes them especially deadly in this capacity. Rumors also abound of some fleshrakers being used as mounts, although the creature’s spines would certainly require the use of a specially constructed saddle to ride it comfortably.

An average fleshraker stands 7 feet tall and weighs about 300 pounds.

A fleshraker prefers to begin each combat with a leaping pounce attack. A fleshraker tries to land on its target, pinning it to the ground so that it can savagely rip its prey apart as quickly as possible. If a target cannot be slain in a single leaping pounce attack, a fleshraker is likely to flee and let its debilitating poison have a chance to work, returning later when the prey is weakened.

A fleshraker cannot use its tail attack against an opponent it bites in the same round.

Leaping Pounce (Ex): When a fleshraker charges, it leaps high into the air above its prey, attempting to knock it to the ground. This ability functions much like the pounce special attack. However, a fleshraker’s incredible jumping ability makes its leaping pounce particularly deadly.

When a fleshraker charges a foe, it can make a full attack, including one rake attack. If a fleshraker successfully hits and damages a target of its size or smaller that it pounces on during a charge, it can make a free trip attack without provoking attacks of opportunity. If the fleshraker wins the opposed trip check, it can make an immediate grapple check. If it succeeds, the opponent is considered grappled and pinned on the ground beneath the fleshraker. On each subsequent round, the fleshraker can deal automatic claw and rake damage with a successful grapple check against a pinned opponent.

If a fleshraker fails the opposed trip check, it cannot be tripped in return. If it successfully trips its opponent but fails the subsequent grapple check, the opponent is still prone in the fleshraker’s square, but it is not grappled or pinned.

Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 14, initial damage 1d6 Dex, secondary damage 1d6 Dex. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Rake (Ex): Attack bonus +2 melee, damage 1d6+2.

Skills: Fleshrakers have a +8 racial bonus on Hide checks and a +6 racial bonus on Jump checks. The Hide bonus increases to +10 in forested areas.

Druids of 4th level or higher can select a fleshraker dinosaur as an animal companion. Apply a −3 adjustment to the druid’s level for purposes of determining the companion’s characteristics and special abilities.

Not all dinosaurs are massive brawlers that shake the ground as they pass. The swindlespitter relies on its small size and natural agility to survive literally beneath the notice of its larger cousins. They can be found in any land where other dinosaurs live and are a nuisance to just about every creature they encounter.

Swindlespitters are natural thieves, devouring eggs they steal from the nests of other breeds. However, they are easily confused by manufactured objects, mistaking them for oddly shaped eggs. Travelers should be wary of their tendency to sneak into settlements or camps and swipe backpacks, spellbooks, and other objects of similar size. They carry such items into the jungle a fair distance before trying to rip them open to get at the gooey yolk they imagine is within. Many adventurers find their possessions shredded by the time they are able retrieve them from a very perplexed swindlespitter.

In lands where humanoids and dinosaurs live side-by-side, swindlespitters are treated as an unfortunate necessity. While the creatures walk off with unsecured objects regularly, those wise in the ways of natural cycles realize the importance of the lowly swindlespitter. By devouring the eggs of larger dinosaurs, they keep those creatures from reproducing in greater numbers than the land can support. In some cultures, the swindlespitter is even considered a symbol of balance and harmony with nature. Anyone discovered harming one of the little dinosaurs in such a society quickly finds themselves on the wrong end of a very sticky cultural misunderstanding.

A swindlespitter stands less than 3 feet tall and weighs about 30 pounds.

A swindlespitter has no interest in fighting other creatures; it relies solely on stealth to acquire its meals. It flees if discovered, either finding a hiding spot or simply running as fast as it can with its ill-gotten gains. If it is cornered, it attempts to blind its pursuers with its poison and dart away. Only as a last resort does a swindlespitter attack with its sharp beak. In large groups, they are slightly more daring, sometimes descending on a nest or camp and carrying off anything not tied down.

Poison Spray (Ex): When threatened, a swindlespitter sprays a corrosive poison in a 15-foot cone from its mouth. Contact; Fort DC 12; initial damage blindness for 2d4 minutes; secondary damage 1d4 Con. The swindlespitter can spray this poison once every 1d4 rounds. Swindlespitters flee from blinded opponents if possible. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Skills: A swindlespitter has a +2 racial bonus on Spot checks and Listen checks. It gains a +2 racial bonus on Hide checks and Move Silently skills when in forested terrain.

A 1st-level druid can select a swindlespitter dinosaur as an animal companion.

The world of Eberron never endured an Ice Age, and consequently dinosaurs remain vital constituents of the planet’s ecology. On civilized continents such as Khorvaire and Sarlona, dinosaurs of Large size or smaller are used as herd animals or mounts, while larger dinosaurs survive only in remote areas or in captivity. Dinosaurs of all sizes roam free on the untamed continent of Xen’drik, while on Argonnessen they provide a ready food supply for dragons or serve as mounts for dragon-worshiping barbarian tribes.