As I recently began running a TMNT & OS game, which will become a AtB game for the summer (as one of our players is going back upstate until next year when she comes back down for school again), I decided to dust off these old Animal Descriptions & post them for you guys to see, use & possibly make better.
The original versions didn't include most of this stuff (the vestigal disadvantages namely), but I added it in to make it more compatible with the new 2nd Ed. AtB game. I also added a teeeeny bit of AtB backstory for these animals.
I have 2 more animal descriptions to post, a Kiwi (the bird, not the fruit) & a Mountain Goat, but I figured I'd let you guys check out these two first.
So without further adue, my Animal Descriptions for the Prehistoric Dinichthys & the Modern Coelacanth.
Dinichthys
ORIGINAL ANIMAL CHARACTERISTICS
Description: A primitive, armoured, fishlike animal that dominated ancient seas. Dinichthys lived during the Late Devonian Period (374 to 360 million years ago) and is found fossilized in rocks of that age in Europe, northern Asia, and North America. Dinichthys grew to a length of about 30 feet, more than 6 feet of which consisted of an armoured head shield that was hinged in the neck region, permitting the upper jaw to be raised in relation to the lower. Dinichthys was clearly the dominant marine predator of its time. In the world of After the Bomb, mutant Dinichthys are rare, but exist in small numbers near the coasts of MesozoicLand, perhaps also created as a possible Aquatic Attraction of the Pre-Crash park. They've developed a hatred for mutant sharks & believe themselves to still be a contender for the title of dominant marine predator.
Size Level: 22
Length: to 30 feet
Weight: to 2,000 pounds
Build: Long
MUTANT CHANGES & COSTS
Total BIO-E: 0
Attribute Bonuses:
P.S.: +8
P.E.: +4
Spd.: +4
HUMAN FEATURES
Hands: None: A pair of fins used for swimming.
10 BIO-E for Partial: Fins become "lobe-fins", or fins on the end of limbs. Stronger, more developed fins that branch apart at the end to form a non-opposable thumb.
15 BIO-E for Full: Fully developed arms. Fins branch apart in three places to form fingers and an opposable thumb.
Biped: None: No legs, just a long eel-like tail for swimming and a pair of rear fins. Helpless on land, unless alternative means of movement cane be found. If the character has arms then he will be able to drag himself on land at a speed of 1. Can swim ten times faster then other mutants.
5 BIO-E for Partial: Fins grow into "lobe-fins" & become strong enough to support the weight of the character on land. Can rear up on hind legs like a bear & walk that way, but the long tail design makes it a bit difficult. Prefers to walk on all 4's.
10 BIO-E for Full: Fully developed set of legs equal to a human's.
Speech: 5 BIO-E for Partial
10 BIO-E for Full
Looks: None: Rounded head & thick body with thick, greenish skin; awkward, flat legs and arms. Head, eyes & part of neck covered in heavy bony plates. Large, powerful mouth, jaws like a snapping turtle's beak. Thick tail with thin, eel-like fin on tip, webbed fingers and toes.
5 BIO-E for Partial: Rounded head with flat face, eyes on side of head; thick greenish skin; short arms & legs; webbed fingers and toes.
Full Human looks are NOT available.
Natural Weapons:
5 BIO-E for 1D10 Bone jaw
10 BIO-E for 2D10 Bone jaw
10 BIO-E for Extra Jaw Strength (Enables the character to use P.S. bonuses in bite attacks.)
10 BIO-E for Bone Plates: Butting with head does 2D4 damage. Also acts as a natural helmet that protects the head with A.R. 12 and S.D.C. +25.
Mutant Animal Powers:
5 BIO-E for Swim skill equal to 80%
5 BIO-E for Breathe underwater
10 BIO-E for Light Natural Body Armor: A.R.: 7 S.D.C.: +25
10 BIO-E for Extra P.S.
10 BIO-E for Extra P.E.
10 BIO-E for Beastly Strength
15 BIO-E for Crushing Strength
5 BIO-E for Predator Burst
15 BIO-E for Locking Jaws: requires the bone jaw natural weapon to be purchased, once the character makes a successful bite attack, they can lock their jaws with crushing strength, doing an additional 2D8 damage per melee and has a 20% chance of breaking the bone of the target (if animal). The jaws cannot be released except if the character releases or is killed, otherwise it takes a combined strength equal three times the character's P.S. to pry the jaws apart. This, combined with bone plates, makes for a virtually in-escapable situation.
20 BIO-E for Dinichthys ability to bite through bone, cartilage, shells & other hard organic defenses. When attacking an opponent with a natural A.R., character will inflict damage directly to the victim's Hit Points, regardless of rolling over the A.R. or not. If attacking an opponent with an un-natural A.R. of 12 or less, will bite directly through & inflict damage to victim's natural S.D.C. (Note: Must first purchase Bone Jaws)
(Vestigial Disadvantages):
-5 BIO-E for Reptile Brain: Predator
-15 BIO-E for Aquatic Vestigial Skin
-15 BIO-E for Aquatic Respiratory System
-5 BIO-E for Webbed Hands and Feet (only if character has Hands AND Feet)
-10 BIO-E for Diet: Carnivore
-5 BIO-E for Vestigial Skull Plates: Plates on head & face are no thicker then the other bone of it's body & just succeptible to breaking. (This negates taking the Skull Plates natual weapon from above.)
Note: Remember, a Giant Animal can sell I.Q. & M.E. and or P.P. & Speed attribute points for extra BIO-E points without sacrificing Size Levels.
Coelacanth
ORIGINAL ANIMAL CHARACTERISTICS
Description: Known as the "living fossil", this fish was once thought to have gone extinct more than 60 million years ago, until a live specimen was caught off the east coast of South Africa off the Chalumna River in 1938. It's thick, slimy body has eight fins, six of these are at the ends of leglike extremities ("lobe-fins") that can move in any direction. It's head is protected by a shield of bony plates and it has a unique hinged jaw that is found only on others of it's kind enabling it to move it's top & lower jaws to swallow larger prey. It continues to live in the ocean at depths of 650 feet, in numerous locations around Africa & Indonesia, numbering only in the low hundreds. After the crash, the numbers of the Coelacanth begain to slowly increase as mutations made them self-aware enough to avoid capture..plus the humans who caught them to sell as lab specimens were all wiped out. Very rarely do any mutant coelacanth come to the surface, and most sightings of them are from other ocean-going mutants. Due to the "freaky" appearence & coloration of the Coelacanth, the site of one silently emerging from the ocean depths (or coming across one under water) at night is enough to un-nerve almost anybody.
Size Level: 9
Length: to 6 feet
Weight: to 175 pounds
Build: Long
MUTANT CHANGES & COSTS
Total BIO-E: 50
Attribute Bonuses:
P.S. +5
P.E. +3
HUMAN FEATURES
Hands: None: A pair of fins (the "high pectoral fins") used for swimming.
5 BIO-E for Partial: High pectoral "lobe-fins" become stronger & slightly more developed that branch apart at the end to form a non-opposable thumb.
10 BIO-E for Full: Fully developed arms. "High Pectoral Lobe-Fins" branch apart in three places to form arms with fingers and an opposable thumb at the ends.
Biped: None: No legs, just a long eel-like tail for swimming and a pair of rear fins. Helpless on land, unless alternative means of movement cane be found. If the character has arms then he will be able to drag himself on land at a speed of 1. Can swim ten times faster then other mutants.
5 BIO-E for Partial: It's 4 "lobe-fins" (the high pectoral fins & ventral fins) mutated into primitive legs capable of walking on land. Character can run at half of it's maximum speed while on dry land.; gets +2 to dodge while underwater and can swim twice as fast as normal.
10 BIO-E for Full: Ventracl fins have fully developed into a set of legs equal to a human's.
Speech: 5 BIO-E for partial
10 BIO-E for full
Looks: None: grayish-blue, tough skin, mouth encircles half the head, wide-set eyes, very wide, pointed head with no neck, large sail-like dorsal fin on back with a second lobe-fin dorsal fin near the tail, webbed fingers and toes, bolbous 3-lobed tail, powerful build, gill slits on sides of head, no nose but has small nostrils.
5 BIO-E for partial: very wide head and mouth, wide-set eyes, powerful build, no hair, small sail-like dorsal fin on back, gray-blue skin, webbed fingers and toes, gill slits on side of head, large, pointed nose with small nostrils.
10 BIO-E for full: bald, large head, wide mouth with jagged teeth, pointed nose with no nostrils, grayish complexion, long bump in center of back, slight webbing between fingers and toes, short, fat neck with small gill slits on each side.
Natural Weapons:
5 BIO-E for 1D6 Teeth
10 BIO-E for 1D8 Teeth
5 BIO-E for Bony Head Plates: Butting with head does 1D6 damage. Also acts as a natural Helmet that protects the head with A.R. 10 and S.D.C. +25.
Mutant Animal Powers:
5 BIO-E for Swim skill equal to 70%; 80% if Multi-directional fins are taken.
5 BIO-E for Breathe underwater
5 BIO-E for Night vision (40 feet)
10 BIO-E for Brute Strength
15 BIO-E for Beastly Strength
5 BIO-E for Multidirectional fins: Character has complete control over it's Epicaudal (second tail fin), Anal & second Dorsal lobe-fins. These fins help the character move in any direction and grant a +4 to dodge rolls while underwater.
5 BIO-E for Jelly Filled Gland: Located under the nasal cartilage, that is served by numerous sensory organs, similiar to a shark's Ampullae of Lorenzini. This gland enables the character to detect the weak electrical field given off by living creatures. Range is 5 feet (1.5 m), double underwater.
10 BIO-E for Unique Swim Bladder: Swim bladder is filled with an oily, fatty tissue that remains in the bladder at all times. Instead of adjusting to different depths like a gas-filled swim bladder, the fat-filled bladder balances out the density of the characters bones and tissues without changing. The character naturally hovers at the same depth underwater unless it actively swims up or down.
15 BIO-E for Slimy Body: Adds +10 to Speed attribute while swimming- character will taste particularly disgusting & opponent will become mildly nauseous for 1D4 rounds after biting the character.
15 BIO-E for Light Natural Body Armor: AR: 8, SDC: +20
20 BIO-E for Medium Natural Body Armor: AR: 10, SDC: +40
15 BIO-E for Pressure Resistance: Allows the character to resist the effects of water pressure, up to 600 ft deep (+100 ft every 3rd level), without worry of such ailments as damage to blood vessels and decompression sickness. Since most Coelacanth live at depths of 650 feet (200 meters), their bodies have evolved (before mutation) to survive at such depths without any negative concequences. To keep this ability, the player must spend points on it.
(Vestigial Disadvantages):
-5 BIO-E for Reptile Brain: Predator
-15 BIO-E for Aquatic Vestigial Skin
-15 BIO-E for Aquatic Respiratory System
-5 BIO-E for Webbed Hands and Feet (only if character has Hands AND Feet)
-10 BIO-E for Diet: Carnivore
-20 BIO-E for Vestigial Decompression Vulnerability: Coelacanths live underwater at depths of 650 feet & only by mutation are they able to survive going closer to the surface. By taking this vestigial trait, the mutant Coelacanth will not be able to go to the surface for more then a few minutes without running the risk of dying due to decompression. (Note: It is highly suggested that players who want mutant Coelacanths to be able to interact with the surface world, NOT to take this vestigial trait. Otherwise your character's visit to the surface would be short-lived; literally.)
Well, there they are! Hopefully someone will get use out of them.
The name's Boglin & I'm new to the forums, although I did post on here as "FredHampster" (at least I think that was the name...) several years ago before the change-over.
-Boglin
