I would greatly enjoy more dinosaurs in dnd as long as they have interesting features. Dinosaur themed subclasses, monsters, magic items, backgrounds, and feats would be cool but I probably wouldn't be interested in most races. If I really wanted one I would just reskin lizardfolk, kobolds, and minotaurs to be dinosaurs.
At the very least we need another theropod in the CR 4-6 range. I say this as someone playing a dinosaur themed Lizardfolk druid currently.
CR1 and CR2 are solid. Deinonychus and Allosaurus do the job perfectly. After that all we get are herbivores though, which while fun and thematic don't have the same feel as turning into a large two legged animal or a carnivore. Granted this is made pretty hard because allosaurus being CR2 is really low for its size compared to the CR1 Deinonychus and CR8 T-rex. Utahraptor could easily be the CR2 theropod with Carnotaurus being CR3 and Allosaurus being CR4 or 5. You could then add say, Baryonyx as a CR3 theropod with a Swim speed and a Therizinosaurus as a CR4 to spice it up a bit with different combat tactics.
Keeping the allosaurus as a CR2 though, you can still add at least a couple more options.
Some suggestions:
CR2 - Baryonyx; less bulky and fighty than the allosaurus but with a swim speed and maybe a grappling bite attack. Dilophosaurus; smaller and weaker than the allosaurus but maybe buffed up with things like pack tactics and a deadly poison spit (scientifically inaccurate but hey, fantasy world).
CR4 - Therizinosaurus; Quick moving and tanky with a devastating multi-attack with dual claw strikes.
CR6 - Spinosaurus; slow but bulky dinosaur with a grappling bite and two strong claw attacks. Likely has a swim speed. Charcharodontosaurus; Basically a weaker version of the t-rex for wildshapers who wanna be a big bitey theropod out of Jurassic Park. Likely has a slashing damage bite.
An Ornithomimus would be nice for some speed and they could be used as some fast mounts. Comsognathus, Archaeopteryx, Dimorphodon, or some other tiny dinosaur would be cool to have as a familiar. Iguanodon, Saltasaurus, Shunosaurus, Oviraptor, Parasaurolophus, Maiasaura, Ichthyosaurus, and Mosasaurus are all prehistoric creatures that I think could be made.
Having dire dinosaurs would also be cool since this is a fantasy world so some fantastical dinosaurs could be used.
Given that dinosaurs seem to get some of the best treatment among Beasts, and are the most likely to have a respectable CR range among Beasts, I support dinos getting more support.
Our modern-day Beasts can only go so high in terms of power level, and anything above that tends to be a Monstrosity instead.
I'd want to see fantasy themed up dinosaurs. And no not dragons. I mean dinos that reflect the world they are in. Like sure dogs and wolves exist but we also have dire wolves, winter wolves, blink dogs etc. Give us lightning raptors, dire t-rexes, shadow brontosauruses. I miss the whole dire X of 3e era, templates you could slap on monsters etc. As they will never create enough monster variety and I'm lazy and want easy ways to modify monsters for my game.
Given that dinosaurs seem to get some of the best treatment among Beasts, and are the most likely to have a respectable CR range among Beasts, I support dinos getting more support.
Our modern-day Beasts can only go so high in terms of power level, and anything above that tends to be a Monstrosity instead.
Maybe a lot of those monstrosities should be reclassified as beasts.
Edit to add. Basically monstrosities imo should be for things that seem like a mad wizards experiments, and not just a animal natural to a fantasy world. Winter Wolves are just wolves in a fantasy world, make them beasts.
I'd want to see fantasy themed up dinosaurs. And no not dragons. I mean dinos that reflect the world they are in. Like sure dogs and wolves exist but we also have dire wolves, winter wolves, blink dogs etc. Give us lightning raptors, dire t-rexes, shadow brontosauruses. I miss the whole dire X of 3e era, templates you could slap on monsters etc. As they will never create enough monster variety and I'm lazy and want easy ways to modify monsters for my game.
That sounds like an awesome idea, though I also want regular dinos and dino playing options as well.
Given that dinosaurs seem to get some of the best treatment among Beasts, and are the most likely to have a respectable CR range among Beasts, I support dinos getting more support.
Our modern-day Beasts can only go so high in terms of power level, and anything above that tends to be a Monstrosity instead.
Maybe a lot of those monstrosities should be reclassified as beasts.
Edit to add. Basically monstrosities imo should be for things that seem like a mad wizards experiments, and not just a animal natural to a fantasy world. Winter Wolves are just wolves in a fantasy world, make them beasts.
That seems logical to me: The definition of monstrosity here is basically an unnatural monster but winter wolves are natural there, just not in our world.
Oh gosh I remember this thread and it was dead for over a year. Originally, I was gonna analyze the survey results after 50 votes but didn't realize it had more than that and didn't want to revive it to discuss the poll results. Since each question has about 90 votes and someone else naturally brought this thread back, I might as well share my thoughts on what the people of the D&D Beyond forums think about the beauty that is dinos in D&D.
About half of voters liked the triceratops option for the ardling, while under 20% said they didn't and a large minority (just over 30%) didn't particularly care. It isn't unsurprising that a lot didn't find the triceratops ardling exciting, though it's pretty neat that such a large percentage liked it.
Meanwhile, more people wanted more dinos in D&D in future than cared about the ardling thing, which showcases that there are other potential dinosaur stuff that people'd like more. To dinosaurs in general, we had about 13% more yeses, around 5% less nos, and about 7% less people that didn't care when compared to question one. I also kinda wonder if the controversy around the ardling in general bogged down the amount of enthusiasm for the trcieratops ardling.
In terms of the breakdown of what people want, 47% wanted both more dinosaur monsters and more dinosaur player options. 19% only want more monsters, 7% only want more dino player options, and about 13% don't want any dinos in Dungeons and Dragons after all. Well a small minority put in "other". This seems to suggest even stronger support dinos in D&D than the poll results of the first two questions.
The results are relatively consistent that a small minority (Around 13% to 18%) don't want dinosaurs in D&D. Well most people do and the number that said they don't care (or put other other which is pretty much the only option in the last one that represents that) varies drastically. And it's a bit odd that one question has 94 votes and another only 85 but whatevs lol.
I wanna see the broader D&D community's thoughts only this because we're only a tiny fragment. But this result'd make sense as the way that community might poll but I dunno and unfortunately the smallish sample here isn't applicable to the dozens of millions of D&D nerds out there.
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BoringBard's long and tedious posts somehow manage to enrapture audiences. How? Because he used Charm Person, the #1 bard spell!
He/him pronouns. Call me Bard. PROUD NERD!
Ever wanted to talk about your parties' worst mistakes? Do so HERE. What's your favorite class, why? Share & explainHERE.
Oh gosh I remember this thread and it was dead for over a year. Originally, I was gonna analyze the survey results after 50 votes but didn't realize it had more than that and didn't want to revive it to discuss the poll results. Since each question has about 90 votes and someone else naturally brought this thread back, I might as well share my thoughts on what the people of the D&D Beyond forums think about the beauty that is dinos in D&D.
About half of voters liked the triceratops option for the ardling, while under 20% said they didn't and a large minority (just over 30%) didn't particularly care. It isn't unsurprising that a lot didn't find the triceratops ardling exciting, though it's pretty neat that such a large percentage liked it.
Meanwhile, more people wanted more dinos in D&D in future than cared about the ardling thing, which showcases that there are other potential dinosaur stuff that people'd like more. To dinosaurs in general, we had about 13% more yeses, around 5% less nos, and about 7% less people that didn't care when compared to question one. I also kinda wonder if the controversy around the ardling in general bogged down the amount of enthusiasm for the trcieratops ardling.
In terms of the breakdown of what people want, 47% wanted both more dinosaur monsters and more dinosaur player options. 19% only want more monsters, 7% only want more dino player options, and about 13% don't want any dinos in Dungeons and Dragons after all. Well a small minority put in "other". This seems to suggest even stronger support dinos in D&D than the poll results of the first two questions.
The results are relatively consistent that a small minority (Around 13% to 18%) don't want dinosaurs in D&D. Well most people do and the number that said they don't care (or put other other which is pretty much the only option in the last one that represents that) varies drastically. And it's a bit odd that one question has 94 votes and another only 85 but whatevs lol.
I wanna see the broader D&D community's thoughts only this because we're only a tiny fragment. But this result'd make sense as the way that community might poll but I dunno and unfortunately the smallish sample here isn't applicable to the dozens of millions of D&D nerds out there.
I would definitely vote in favor of anything related to dinosaurs. I spent much of my childhood reading about dinosaurs and exploring the Dinotopia books. My fantasy worlds would be incomplete without some secluded corner of the map filled with the fantastical remnants of the thunder lizards. I will admit that I got pretty excited to hear them suggest a triceratops headed ardling. My mind instantly went back to the Dinotopia books and I still want to play one, even if they aren't official.
My Dnd world has Tricerataurs, minotaur/dino hybrids, and blink dogs are reskinned as blink raptors.
I like dinosaurs, but I don't like my D&D to have dinosaurs. It doesn't bother me that they exist (for those who like that sort of thing), unless they start to exist in a game I am playing in. Clearly, my preference would be adding things that fit a classic high fantasy game better.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
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It would be nice to see some more dinosaur-themed stuff in D&D, but ultimately I just don't care about dinosaurs.
[REDACTED]
I would greatly enjoy more dinosaurs in dnd as long as they have interesting features. Dinosaur themed subclasses, monsters, magic items, backgrounds, and feats would be cool but I probably wouldn't be interested in most races. If I really wanted one I would just reskin lizardfolk, kobolds, and minotaurs to be dinosaurs.
Always two maybe three
At the very least we need another theropod in the CR 4-6 range. I say this as someone playing a dinosaur themed Lizardfolk druid currently.
CR1 and CR2 are solid. Deinonychus and Allosaurus do the job perfectly. After that all we get are herbivores though, which while fun and thematic don't have the same feel as turning into a large two legged animal or a carnivore. Granted this is made pretty hard because allosaurus being CR2 is really low for its size compared to the CR1 Deinonychus and CR8 T-rex. Utahraptor could easily be the CR2 theropod with Carnotaurus being CR3 and Allosaurus being CR4 or 5. You could then add say, Baryonyx as a CR3 theropod with a Swim speed and a Therizinosaurus as a CR4 to spice it up a bit with different combat tactics.
Keeping the allosaurus as a CR2 though, you can still add at least a couple more options.
Some suggestions:
CR2 -
Baryonyx; less bulky and fighty than the allosaurus but with a swim speed and maybe a grappling bite attack.
Dilophosaurus; smaller and weaker than the allosaurus but maybe buffed up with things like pack tactics and a deadly poison spit (scientifically inaccurate but hey, fantasy world).
CR4 -
Therizinosaurus; Quick moving and tanky with a devastating multi-attack with dual claw strikes.
CR6 -
Spinosaurus; slow but bulky dinosaur with a grappling bite and two strong claw attacks. Likely has a swim speed.
Charcharodontosaurus; Basically a weaker version of the t-rex for wildshapers who wanna be a big bitey theropod out of Jurassic Park. Likely has a slashing damage bite.
An Ornithomimus would be nice for some speed and they could be used as some fast mounts. Comsognathus, Archaeopteryx, Dimorphodon, or some other tiny dinosaur would be cool to have as a familiar. Iguanodon, Saltasaurus, Shunosaurus, Oviraptor, Parasaurolophus, Maiasaura, Ichthyosaurus, and Mosasaurus are all prehistoric creatures that I think could be made.
Having dire dinosaurs would also be cool since this is a fantasy world so some fantastical dinosaurs could be used.
Weredinosaurs would be awesome.
Always two maybe three
Given that dinosaurs seem to get some of the best treatment among Beasts, and are the most likely to have a respectable CR range among Beasts, I support dinos getting more support.
Our modern-day Beasts can only go so high in terms of power level, and anything above that tends to be a Monstrosity instead.
Actuly trex is cr 8
I'd want to see fantasy themed up dinosaurs. And no not dragons. I mean dinos that reflect the world they are in. Like sure dogs and wolves exist but we also have dire wolves, winter wolves, blink dogs etc. Give us lightning raptors, dire t-rexes, shadow brontosauruses. I miss the whole dire X of 3e era, templates you could slap on monsters etc. As they will never create enough monster variety and I'm lazy and want easy ways to modify monsters for my game.
Maybe a lot of those monstrosities should be reclassified as beasts.
Edit to add. Basically monstrosities imo should be for things that seem like a mad wizards experiments, and not just a animal natural to a fantasy world. Winter Wolves are just wolves in a fantasy world, make them beasts.
That sounds like an awesome idea, though I also want regular dinos and dino playing options as well.
That seems logical to me: The definition of monstrosity here is basically an unnatural monster but winter wolves are natural there, just not in our world.
BoringBard's long and tedious posts somehow manage to enrapture audiences. How? Because he used Charm Person, the #1 bard spell!
He/him pronouns. Call me Bard. PROUD NERD!
Ever wanted to talk about your parties' worst mistakes? Do so HERE. What's your favorite class, why? Share & explain
HERE.Oh gosh I remember this thread and it was dead for over a year. Originally, I was gonna analyze the survey results after 50 votes but didn't realize it had more than that and didn't want to revive it to discuss the poll results. Since each question has about 90 votes and someone else naturally brought this thread back, I might as well share my thoughts on what the people of the D&D Beyond forums think about the beauty that is dinos in D&D.
BoringBard's long and tedious posts somehow manage to enrapture audiences. How? Because he used Charm Person, the #1 bard spell!
He/him pronouns. Call me Bard. PROUD NERD!
Ever wanted to talk about your parties' worst mistakes? Do so HERE. What's your favorite class, why? Share & explain
HERE.I would definitely vote in favor of anything related to dinosaurs. I spent much of my childhood reading about dinosaurs and exploring the Dinotopia books. My fantasy worlds would be incomplete without some secluded corner of the map filled with the fantastical remnants of the thunder lizards. I will admit that I got pretty excited to hear them suggest a triceratops headed ardling. My mind instantly went back to the Dinotopia books and I still want to play one, even if they aren't official.
My Dnd world has Tricerataurs, minotaur/dino hybrids, and blink dogs are reskinned as blink raptors.
Always two maybe three
I like dinosaurs, but I don't like my D&D to have dinosaurs. It doesn't bother me that they exist (for those who like that sort of thing), unless they start to exist in a game I am playing in. Clearly, my preference would be adding things that fit a classic high fantasy game better.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha