Revenge of the Fleshweaver! [Vote up a Hybrid Creature]

[Eldan]

D&D has a long and honourable legacy of mixing two animals into one. Be it the well-known Owlbear or the more obscure Squark, the fearsome Wolfspider or the humble Duckbunny, few things say "D&D" like the "Owlephants and spiderhorses" does. And so, to celebrate the spirit of the Tarantubat and the Gorillabear, I'm restarting my old Fleshweaver project.

How does this work?

I will homebrew new hybrid animals with your help. I will put up a list of animal groups to vote, from which two can be selected in a 48 hour public vote. Then, we will hold a second vote, further refining those animal votes and, if necessary, a third time, until we are down to two animals.

I will then combine those two animals into one, give it D&D 3.5 stats, a short text on ecology and behaviour and, using my questionable skills at pencil sketching, a picture.

Sounds like fun? Then please vote! If you give me any especially weird and/or awesome ideas, I might also do them right away.

Animal groups:
Arthropod (Spiders, Scorpions, Lobsters, Crabs, Insects, Millipedes, etc.) IV
Amphibian (Frogs, toads, salamanders)
Bird (You know those. They taste like chicken.) V
Echinoderm (Starfish. And only starfish.) III
Fish (They swim. They might be sharks.) II
Mammal (Everything from mice to elephants and naked molerats in between. Also monotremes, for purposes of this thread) V
Mollusc (Slimey things. Snails, squids, octopodes, mussles, clams) II
Reptile (Crocodiles. Lizards. Snakes.) I

A note: while I'm a biologist, I'm not going by precise phylogenic definitions.


Finished Beasts:

Grey Squimu
Hummipede
The Octocrow
Snailstar
Snowfairy Owlmadillo
Tasmanian Garlic
Viperhawk

[Eurus]

I'll vote for Mollusc and Mammal.

[Mr.Bookworm]

Birds and Echinoderms. More animals need radial symmetry.

Twenty million bonus points if you can concoct a reason for one of these animals that isn't "a wizard did it".

[Kellus]

Mollusc and Bird. Because the only way to make cuttlefish even more terrifying is by adding wings.

[zetsu1919]

reptile and birds, because i want a winged serpent that is natural, dammit, not highly magical outsider

[Dracomortis]

I'll second the vote for Bird and Echinoderm.

[Eldan]

Originally Posted by zetsu1919

reptile and birds, because i want a winged serpent that is natural, dammit, not highly magical outsider

This one's on the house. A quickie. No way I'm drawing all those scales. I also couldn't get my scanner working, so there's a bad photo of the sketch instead.

Spoiler

Viperhawk
Tiny Animal (Reptilian)
HD 1/4 d8 (1 HP)
Speed 10 ft. (2 squares); Fly 60 ft. (average)
Init: +7
AC 17; touch 15; flat-footed 14
(+2 size, +3 dex, +2 natural)
BAB +0; Grp -11
Attack Bite +5 (1 plus poison)
Full-Attack Bite +5 (1 plus poison)
Space 2.5 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks Poison
Special Qualities Scent, Low-light vision
Saves Fort +2 Ref +5 Will +1
Abilities Str 5, Dex 17, Con 10, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 4
Skills Spot +13 (+8 racial bonus), Hide +7 (+4 racial bonus)
Feats Weapon Finesse [b], Improved Initiative
Environment Temperare Forests
Organization Solitary or pair
Challenge Rating 1/2
Treasure Viperhawk Skin (~10 GP)
Alignment Neutral
Advancement 1 HD (small), 2 HD (medium), 3 -5 HD (large), 6-13 HD (huge)

Poison (ex): Fortitude DC 10 (1d6/1d6 constitution)

Anatomy
The Vyperhawk is believed to be either a missing evolutionary link between bird and snake or, as others think, a mundane creature from which the mighty Couatl is merely an ascended form, hatching from the spirits of slain vyperhawks in some arcane way.
While most of its body resembles a snake, there are several modifications in the body plan other than just the obvious, and quite large wings: along the back, it has a bony crest, mirrored by a massive, crested sternum on the chest, serving as anchor points for the massive flight muscles.
The tongue and scent organs are, compared to most snakes much reduced, as the creature relies on its eyesight for hunting.
Along the back and chest, there is a gradual change from scale to feather: the back scales become gradually thinner and more elongated first, then notched and finally hairlike, becoming feathers. The entire creature has a light brown colour, but with darker, almost black stripes, most likely to break up its form and create a camouflage pattern.

Ecology
The Vyperhawk is an aerial ambush predator that uses its camouflage and superior eyesight to either hide in trees or circle high in the sky, spotting prey, mostly small rodents. The prey is swallowed whole. For digestion, the Viperhawk retreats in its cave nest, sometimes for several days.
The long, venomous fangs of the Vyperhawk serve mainly for self-defence against superpredators like the Mongdor and the Badger Eagle. When hunting prey, they are flipped into the mouth on a small joint at their top, to make swallowing easier.
Vyperhawks are solitary, only rarely meeting up for mating, after which the male will build a small nest of twigs in a cave, in which the female will lay 3-5 hard-shelled eggs.

[Eurus]

Originally Posted by Kellus

Mollusc and Bird. Because the only way to make cuttlefish even more terrifying is by adding wings.

Gasp. Have you not seen the Octocrow?

Originally Posted by Eldan

Fun fact of the day: good Octocrows are called Cuttledoves, while neutral ones are much smaller and called Squidgeons.

[RollynT.Glal]

Im casting my vote (commoner spell: 0-lvl requiring only a verbal component) for Arthropod and Fish.

Now I'm off to prepare the rest of my daily allotment of spells.

[Debihuman]

These things should be Magical Beasts, not Animals (see Owlbear). In any case, I vote for Mammal/Fish. because otter-sunfish would be cute.

Debby

[Eldan]

I don't really see the reason for that. They aren't intelligent, and they have no magical abilities. But then, I also always thought Owlbears should be animals, too. "Exists in the real world" really shouldn't be a criterion in a fantasy world.

[Debihuman]

Whenever you say "a wizard created one of these" it implies magical beast. It doesn't have to have magical abilities to be a magical beast.

Here is how I would have presented your viperhawk (edited a bit too).

Spoiler

Viperhawk
Tiny Magical Beast
Hit Dice: ¼d10 (1 hp)
Speed: 10 ft. (2 squares); Fly 60 ft. (average)
Initiative: +7
Armor Class: 17(+2 size, +3 Dex, +2 natural); touch 15; flat-footed 14
BAB/Grapple: +1/ -10
Attack: Bite +6 melee (1 plus poison)
Full Attack: Bite +6 melee (1 plus poison) and talons +1 melee (1d4-3)
Space/Reach: 2½ ft./ 0 ft.
Special Attacks: Poison
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +2 Ref +5 Will +1
Abilities: Str 5, Dex 17, Con 10, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 4
Skills: Spot +13*, Hide +11
Feats: Weapon Finesse^B , Improved Initiative
Environment: Temperate Forests
Organization: Solitary or pair
Challenge Rating: 1/2
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always Neutral
Advancement: 1-2 HD (Small), 3-4 HD (Medium)

The viperhawk is believed to be either a missing evolutionary link between bird and snake or a mundane creature from which the mighty couatl is an ascended form, hatching from the spirits of slain viperhawks in some arcane way.

While most of its body resembles a snake, there are several modifications in its body plan other than just the obvious and quite large wings. Along its back, it has a bony crest, mirrored by a massive, crested sternum on the chest, serving as anchor points for the massive flight muscles.

The tongue and scent organs are, compared to most snakes much reduced, as the creature relies on its eyesight for hunting.

Along the back and chest, there is a gradual change from scale to feather. Its back scales become gradually thinner and more elongated first, then notched, and finally becoming feathers. The entire creature has a light brown color, but with darker, almost black stripes, most likely to break up its form and create a camouflage pattern.

Viperhawks are solitary, only rarely meeting up for mating, after which the male will build a small nest of twigs in a cave, in which the female will lay 3-5 hard-shelled eggs.

Intact viperhawk skins sell for 10 gp.

Combat

The viperhawk is an aerial ambush predator that uses its camouflage and superior eyesight to either hide in trees or circle high in the sky, spotting prey, mostly small rodents. The prey is swallowed whole. For digestion, the viperhawk retreats in its cave nest, sometimes for several days.

The long, venomous fangs of the viperhawk serve mainly for self-defense against superpredators like the mongdor and badger eagle. When a viperhawk hunts, its prey is flipped into its mouth on a small joint at their top, to make swallowing easier.

Poison (Ex): Fortitude DC 10 (1d6/1d6 constitution)

Skills: Viperhawks have a +8 racial bonus on Spot checks.

Note: I couldn't tell how many ranks you put into each skill. Hide has a +8 size modifier +3 Dex so it should be at least +11. If you put all ranks into Spot it has +4 ranks +1 Wisdom +8 racial = +13.

Debby

[Lyndworm]

Originally Posted by Eldan

I don't really see the reason for that. They aren't intelligent, and they have no magical abilities. But then, I also always thought Owlbears should be animals, too. "Exists in the real world" really shouldn't be a criterion in a fantasy world.

I largely agree with you, but I still think that these hybrids should probably be Magical Beasts. From the SRD:

Originally Posted by Magical Beast Type

Magical beasts are similar to animals but can have Intelligence scores higher than 2. Magical beasts usually have supernatural or extraordinary abilities, but sometimes are merely bizarre in appearance or habits.

In my opinion, things that absolutely would not occur if not for magical intervention (such as owlbears, howler wasps, and, yes, even octocrows), should be Magical Beasts at the very least, maybe even Aberrations depending on how crazy they are. Animals don't have to be real-world creatures (see Dark Sun), but they should be naturally occurring. In my opinion.


All that said, I totally love and support this idea. I vote Arthropod and Mammal. I love long limbs, chitin, and too many legs in any combination. That and there's just so much awesome you can do with it, due to the insane variety in each group.

[radmelon]

I too say arthropod and mammal. So many combinations, so little time...

[Eldan]

See, we have much, much weirder animals than that in the real world. If an Octopus is an animal, I don't really see why a feathered snake shouldn't be. They are much farther away from a standard vertebrate body plan.

I'm not saying none of these should be magical beasts or aberrations. The octocrows are. But the Viperhawk, to me, is just too normal for that. Feathers and scales are relatively closely related, anatomically speaking. Now, snakes may be far away from those dinosaurs who eventually became birds in our world, but this is a fantasy world.

[Keynub]

In my opinion, as it is described, the Viperhawk is an animal : no supernatural abilities, not really disturbing or alien in form, animal intelligence, and no references to it being created by some lunatic.
I believe the Owlbear is explicitly the creation of a wizard : it is, therefore, a Magical Beast.
The one I can't understand is the Hippogriff, which looks fairly natural to me.

By the way, Eldan, you seem to use both "vyperhawk" and "viperhawk". Are those two official spellings?

Back on topic, I'm going to vote for Arthropod (make that one with claws) and Bird.

What category contains the dreaded jellyfish?

[The Zoat]

Enchinoderm and Mammal.

[Eldan]

Hm. It seems I have forgotten Jellyfish.

[Eldan]

Calling it now. It's not quite 48 hours yet, but the start was made in the middle of the night.

So, it is a Mammal Bird (Avemammalia).

Vote for one each:

Once again, these groups are sometimes based more on what the creature looks like than any actual phylogeny. I also just eliminated some of the less well known groups, especially with the birds. If you especially love a group of species not on the list (say, a Sandgrouse), feel free to suggest it.

What kind of Mammal:

Insectivores: shrews, aardvarks, moles, hedgehogs
Paenungulata: Elephants, Manatees, dugongs
Xenarthra: Sloths, armadillos, ant-eaters
Primates: lemurs, monkeys, apes I
Lagomorpha: hares, rabbits
Rodents: mice, rats, squirrels, hamsters
Cetacea: whales, dolphins, porpoises
Even-toed ungulates: pigs, hippopotamuses, camels, deer, giraffes II
Odd-toed ungulates: horses, rhinoceroses, tapirs
Chirophtera: bats
Carnivores: cats, bears, seals, dog-likes

What kind of bird:
This one I had to trim down massively. even if I just went out and eliminated everything I didn't know myself, there's still just too many groups of birds left.

Waterfowl (Ducks, geese, swans, grebes)
Fowl (Turkeys, chickens, pheasants)
Gulls and waders (snipes, gulls, terns, puffins, plovers)
Albatrosses and petrels
Penguins
Pelican-likes: Pelicans, frigatebirds, cormorants I
Stork-likes: storks, herons, ibises
Vultures: vultures, condors
Flamingoes
Raptors: hawks, eagles, kites, buzzards, ospreys I
Doves and pigeons
Parrots: cockatoos, parrots, lorikeets, budgies
Cuculiformes: cuckoos, roadrunners, hoatzin, turacos
Owls I
Apodiformes: swifts and hummingbirds
Kingfishers: kingfishers, bee-eaters, hornbills
Woodpeckers
Songbirds (non-corvid passerines, pretty much, for this contest)
Corvids

[radmelon]

Primates and Raptors

[Eldan]

You want Lemur ospreys?

[radmelon]

I was thinking more chimphawks.

[dethkruzer]

Even-toed ungulates and Owls

[Eldan]

Hm. The mighty Cowl...

[Eldan]

Here, for you.

Spoiler

[Keynub]

Even-toed ungulates and Pelicans.

Gotta love a flying cow.

[THEChanger]

Corvids and Carnivores.

I like my ravens, and nothing says Native American Spirit Dream like a coyote covered in feathers.

[Lyndworm]

I've taken the liberty of formating your lists into nice, neat tables, Eldan. No offense is intended, but feel free to use them if you like. Note, however, that they've not been updated from the OP/Post 19, and so will likely need to be modified.

Tables inside:

Spoiler

Animal Groups:

Category	Example Creatures	Votes
Arthropod	Spiders, scorpions, lobsters, crabs, insects, millipedes, etc.	4
Amphibian	Frogs, toads, salamanders.	0
Bird	You know those. They taste like chicken.	5
Echinoderm	Starfish. And only starfish.	3
Fish	They swim. They might be sharks.	2
Mammal	Mice, elephants, monotremes, and everything in between.	5
Mollusc	Slimey things. Snails, squids, octopodes, mussels, clams.	2
Reptile	Crocodiles, lizards, snakes.	1

What kind of Mammal:

Category	Example Creatures	Votes
Insectivores	Shrews, aardvarks, moles, hedgehogs.	0
Paenungulata	Elephants, manatees, dugongs.	0
Xenarthra	Sloths, armadillos, ant-eaters.	0
Primates	Lemurs, monkeys, non-human apes.	1
Lagomorpha	Hares, rabbits.	0
Rodents	Mice, rats, squirrels, hamsters.	0
Cetacea	Whales, dolphins, porpoises.	0
Even-Toed Ungulates	Pigs, hippopotamuses, camels, deer, giraffes.	2
Odd-Toed Ungulates	Horses, rhinoceroses, tapirs.	0
Chirophtera	Bats.	0
Carnivores	Cats, bears, seals, dog-likes.	0

What kind of Bird:
This one I had to trim down massively. Even if I just went out and eliminated everything I didn't know myself, there's still just too many groups of birds left.

Category	Example Creatures	Votes
Waterfowl	Ducks, geese, swans, grebes.	0
Fowl	Turkeys, chickens, pheasants.	0
Gulls & Waders	Snipes, gulls, terns, puffins, plovers.	0
Procellariiforms	Albatrosses and petrels.	0
Penguins	You know these.	0
Pelican-likes	Pelicans, frigatebirds, cormorants.	1
Stork-likes	Storks, herons, ibises.	0
Vultures	Vultures, condors.	0
Flamingos	These, too.	0
Raptors	Hawks, eagles, kites, buzzards, ospreys.	1
Pigeons	Pigeons, doves.	0
Parrots	Cockatoos, parrots, lorikeets, budgies.	0
Cuculiformes	Cuckoos, roadrunners, hoatzin, turacos	0
Owls	True and barn.	1
Apodiformes	Swifts and hummingbirds.	0
Kingfishers	Kingfishers, bee-eaters, hornbills.	0
Woodpeckers	Come on, now.	0
Songbirds	Non-corvid passerines, pretty much, for this contest.	0
Corvids	Ravens, choughs, jays, magpies.	0

I'll cast my vote for Rodents and Ratites. I know, they're not on the list. They should be.

If you feel like both adding ratites and using the tables, here's an entry for them that you can copy/paste into the list:

Ratites | Ostriches, emus, cassowaries, rheas, and kiwis. | [center]1[/center]

[Eldan]

Wow. That I shouldn't have forgotten, yeah. I'll build you a Squimu tomorrow.

[SheepInDisguise]

I vote Xenarthra and Owl