Early Access
Popularly known as the velociraptor, the dinosaur genus called deinonychus doesn’t care if its prey gets the proper terminology sorted. Meat tastes like meat. The “terrible claw” these carnivores are named after refers to their massive, sickle-shaped claws, which are unsheathed from their hind legs when attacking prey.
Deinonychus are pack hunters, which means they work together as a unit, each taking on different roles to scare, flush, and direct even intelligent prey into the claws of an ambush.
Motive: Hunger for flesh
Environment: Wherever they can hunt food, in packs of three to seven
Health: 15
Damage Inflicted: Moderate wound
Armor: 1
Movement: Short
Modifications: Perception as level 5; attacks and dodge as level 4 due to quickness; overcoming obstacles and figuring out tricks as level 4
Combat: A deinonychus leads off with a bite that inflicts a moderate wound. If the foe fails a Might defense roll, the deinonychus also grabs them with its mouth and automatically slashes them with its foot claws, inflicting another moderate wound and hindering the foe (if human-sized or smaller) by two steps. Each round thereafter, the foe can attempt another Might roll to break free; otherwise the deinonychus automatically hits on its turn and inflicts another moderate wound.
If two or more deinonychus attack the same foe on their turn, their attacks are eased.
Interaction: Vicious, cunning, and a little too smart to be classified as simple predators, these creatures are unlikely to negotiate, give quarter, or back off from a fight even if contact could be made.
Use: Some fool decided to build a Cretaceous-themed zoo. The only question is: How long before the dinosaurs get loose and take over the local mall?
GM Intrusion: The deinonychus flees, but is actually attempting to lead the character off a cliff, into a deadfall trap, or into an ambush with more deinonychus.