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View Full Version : Pterrax (Athasian mount conversion, PEACH)



LOTRfan
2013-03-20, 10:07 PM
Pterran statistics can be found at athas.org. The original creature appeared in the Dark Sun Monstrous Compendium.

http://25.media.tumblr.com/71bca6a892df6053c22d148e92cae76a/tumblr_mjznvrOeHE1rxvia9o2_400.png

Pterrax
Large Magical Beast (Extraplanar)
Hit Dice: 5d10+10 (37 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares), Fly 60 ft. (good)
Armor Class: 15 (+3 Dex, +3 natural, -1 size), touch 12, flatfooted 12
Base Attack/Grapple: +5/+12
Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft.
Attack: Claw +7 melee (1d8+3), or Bite +5 melee (2d6+1)
Full Attack: 2 Claws +7 melee (1d8+3), and Bite +5 melee (1d6+1)
Special Attacks: Psi-like Abilities
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft.
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +2
Abilities: Str 16, Dex 17, Con 14, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 7
Skills: Hide -1, Spot +11
Feats: Multiattack, Flyby Attack
Environment: Warm Plains
Organization: Solitary, Flock (4-6), or Domesticated
Challenge Rating: 3
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always Neutral
Advancement: 6-10 HD (Large)
Level Adjustment: -----

A large creature resembling a cross between a hominid and a pterosaur flies into view, a smaller creature with the same appearance but more humanoid-shape riding on its back. The creature shrieks and descends downward as its rider tosses a spear.

As gorillas are to humans, pterrax are to pterrans. While the latter evolved into an intelligent, humanoid race, pterrax evolved into a larger and psionically-gifted creature. Pterrax and pterrans are both native to the world of Athas, though a few rare groups have been known to make their way to the Material Plane. There, they make small settlements in warm mountainsides and often keep to themselves. In Athas, they can be found in the Hinterlands and the Ringing Mountains. For the most part, wild pterrax are solitary, except during mating seasons where they gather together into flocks of no more than six. They stay together until about three months after their chicks are hatched, at which point they all go their separate ways and leave the young creatures to fend for themselves.

Pterrax are often trained as mounts by pterrans, who become strong enough to carry riders at approximately two years of age. Those who take the Life Path of the Druid often train an individual pterrax that they have raised themselves as a mount. Pterrax eggs are also a good source of food, and certain pterran religious rituals require using drums made from the dried skin of dead pterrax.

Combat
Pterrax usually don’t enter combat unless they are being used as a war steed, in which case they often make flyby attacks with their bite attacks while their riders attack with ranged weapons. Pterrax who are cornered and cannot fly to escape savagely assault one opponent at a time with all of their natural attacks, which are quite devastating for a creature of its size.

Psi-like Abilities: 3/day- Biofeedback, Defensive Precognition. 1/day- Offensive Precognition, Vigor.

Skills: Pterrax have a +2 bonus to Spot checks.

Training a Pterrax
A pterrax requires training before it can bear a rider in combat. Training a pterrax takes six weeks of work and a DC 25 Handle Animal check (DC 20 if the trainer is pterran). Due to the fact that a pterrax is a biped, riding a pterrax requires an exotic saddle. A pterrax can fight while carrying a rider, but a rider cannot unless he succeeds on a Ride check.

Pterrax eggs are worth 3,300 gp on the open market, while young pterrax are worth 5,000 each. Professional trainers charge 1,600 gp to rear or train a pterrax.

Carrying Capacity
A light load for a pterrax is 153 pounds or less; a medium load is 153-306 pounds; a large, 307-460.

zabbarot
2013-03-21, 10:46 AM
Small typo: A hippogriff requires training before it can bear a rider in combat.

I've never actually seen much of the Dark Sun setting. Is that the one where the world is sort of inverted. Like a sphere around the dying sun?

LOTRfan
2013-03-21, 03:50 PM
Oh, whoops, thank you for that.

Dark Sun is the setting where the gods forsook the world and the planet was devastated from it's very densely populated temperate state to a nearly barren desert world. It has a very long history of all sorts of nasty genocides and destruction of nature through the use of defiling magic. It was so deadly that the original boxed set suggested that player characters should start off at third level to lessen the chances of early level fatalities.

It's a really interesting campaign, one that I unfortunately have never had the opportunity to play with a group first hand. I really do suggest reading about it, if you can.

Debihuman
2013-03-23, 04:07 PM
Pterrax's carrying capacity is wrong, Str 16 is 76 lbs. for a light load and you double it for a Large bipedal creature so its light load should be 152 lbs or less., medium load would be 153-306 lbs., and heavy load would be 307-460 lbs. It is not a quadruped so you don't triple the weight it can carry.

See chart here: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/carryingCapacity.htm#liftingandDragging.


Debby

LOTRfan
2013-03-23, 04:43 PM
Fixed.

I really messed that up. Not exactly sure what was going through my mind at that point... But thank you. :smallsmile: