DINOSAURS THAT NEVER WERE. By Gregory Detwiler

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3 DINOSAURS THAT NEVER WERE By Gregory Detwiler

4 Table of Contents Chapter 1: Storm Valley Chapter 2: New Creatures Allosaurus temnonychus Ankylosaurus peltaspinos Anoplotops ferox Aublysodon orogradior Avimimus struthioides Carnocornus megalocornus Ceratops susoides Cetiocrocodylus thalassos Chirostenotes temnocheirus Colossosaurus cretasus Craspedoceratops gregarium Deinocheirus gryponychus Dolichobrachios ferox Dracoroc megalopteryx Dracotherizinos cretasus Dryptosaurus ingens Elasmoforme ingens Gorgomonstrum torvovenator Hyaenasaurus osseophagus Hypsilophodon cervesaurus Hypsilophodon lemmo Iguanodonts Linnorms Liopleurodon gigantis Maleevosaurus nasipilum Megalochelys thalassos Multiceratops tarbos Nanotyrannus acinonyx Oviraptor arbophagus Pentaceratops tarbomonstrum Pilumcephalus velos Potamoceratops cretasus Pteranodon pilumgnathus Segnosaurus ursoides Sirenisaurus macrolophus Spinoflagella peloros Titanosaurs Velociraptor homoides Appenix 1: Encounter Tables by CR Credits Writer: Gregory Detwiler Cover Artist: Erik Omtvedt Interior Artists: Tim Burgard, William McAusland, Brad McDevitt Cartography: Matt Snyder Copy Editor/Graphic Designer: Joseph Goodman Logo Design: Derek Schubert Comments or questions? us at

5 Chapter 1: Storm Valley Introduction This book describes the wildlife, terrain, and other features of Storm Valley, one of the first great valleys of the planet Cretasus to be explored by humans. Storm Valley is notable not merely for its violent weather, but also for the amazing variety of dinosaurs that live there. Many of these creatures were once derived from the root stock of Earth dinosaurs, but have evolved into entirely new beasts. They are dinosaurs that never were dinosaurs that could have evolved on Earth but never did, yet have evolved on Cretasus. Although Storm Valley is set in the world of Dinosaur Planet: Broncosaurus Rex, most of this book is world-neutral monster statistics. You can use these creatures in any d20 game world. Where the first two Broncosaurus Rex books focused on creatures with low CR (the better to start low-level campaigns with), this book expands into the higher CRs. Most are in the 6-8 range but some are as high as 30! The Storms Exploring Storm Valley is not easy, due to its wildlife and the violent storms that rage over its surface constantly. Places of mystery still exist here, and even those spots that are on the map or spoken of by travelers are by no means fully explored. Characters will have to undergo a series of grueling treks in order to penetrate even one of Storm Valley s mysteries, with no guarantee that they will come back alive with the knowledge they gained. Storm Valley is one of the largest valleys on the world of Cretasus, covering an area equivalent to one entire hemisphere on Earth. This is not all land, however. The mainland consists of a vast irregular circle of land with as much area as the three continents of the Old World of Earth (Europe, Africa, and Asia). Closer to the center, like an internal layer of an onion, is the Tempest Sea, so called because of the frequent storms that lash its surface. This sea is equivalent in size to the Atlantic Ocean of Earth. In the very center of this sea, and the valley itself, is the island continent of Carsonia, which owes its name to its discoverer and first explorer. Equal in size to the combined territories of Australia, New Zealand, and New Guinea, it is a self-contained world in its own right, with mists concealing whatever features and wildlife may dwell there. Naturally, the first thing one notices about Storm Valley is the nonstop cover of storm-wracked clouds that cloaks the entire valley. These clouds descend to the tops of the great mountains that surround the valley, but come no lower, as if they are actually supported by the mighty peaks. Beneath them, there is an entirely separate weather system, which operates just as it does on Earth, with clear weather, clouds, and rain alternating in regular cycles. Explorers attest that the most pleasant days in Storm Valley, weather-wise, are those when the local weather is cloudy, but not rainy, because clear skies give them a nerve-wracking view of the violent storms that constantly rage above. Even when the storms are invisible above the local cloud layer, they can still be heard; the constant roar and rumble of thunder is the major background noise of Storm Valley. The storms themselves are spectacular affairs, with mile-long lighting bolts constantly darting from one boiling cloud to another, or to the tops of the great peaks that cut off Storm Valley from the rest of the planet. Accompanying the thunder and lightning is the roar of the wind, for the air currents above this valley are in constant turmoil. The difficulty of flying in such an environment is one of the main reasons why the valley has been so little explored by humans (or aliens, so far as anyone knows). Flying any kind of aerial vehicle into the maelstrom of clouds, wind, and lightning above Storm Valley requires a Pilot skill check to stay aloft. However, the storms are so violent that the DC is 24 rather than the usual 20. A typical trip through the storms lasts long enough to subject a pilot to at least three skill checks. The only bit of good news is the sheer distance between the storms and the ground. A pilot has time to make a heroic lastminute effort to regain control, meaning a ship may still survive the trip. Although the passengers and crew will be shaken up, they will have taken no real damage, and the same goes for any equipment stored in the hold. The pilot gets one attempt to regain control in the stormy upper atmosphere (DC 24). If that check fails by 6 or more, the ship crashes; if by 3 or less, the ship plummets into the calmer lower atmosphere, where another check is possible (DC 20) before all bets are off. Failure to regain control means a crash landing, wherein the ship itself will be a total loss. This leaves the party to make a funfilled return trip on foot through one of the mountain passes assuming they can find any, that is. Those who manage to maintain full control of their flying machines will see the wrecks of predecessor craft scattered at long, irregular intervals throughout the valley, and rumor has it that some of these craft are not of human design. 3