#sauropodamorph

Is from Jurassic Park book.🫠

By Leandra Walters, Phil Senter, James H. Robins - http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0144036, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=46753856

[I’m being conservative with the integument here. We know nothing of whether basal sauropods were feathered, scaled or both. So I didn’t mention it. In game, do what your heart tells you.]

Plateosaurus CR 4 N Animal This large biped has a small head atop a long neck and muscular, clawed arms. About half of its length is tail.

Plateosauruses are relatives of the massive sauropods, but they are still relatively close in body plan to the ancestral dinosaurs. Like their colossal relatives, plateosauruses are herbivorous, using their leaf-shaped, scalloped teeth to tear apart plant matter. They use their strong arms to burrow, digging up roots and tubers and scratching out dens in which to avoid the heat of the desert day.

Plateosauruses are solitary creatures, as the deserts in which they dwell lack the resources to support large family groups. Female plateosauruses bury and then abandon their eggs, and the juveniles are able to fend for themselves immediately upon being born. Due to their ability to eke out a living on meager food and little water, they are among the largest natural animals of the desert, and humanoids that live in deserts where plateosauruses dwell use them as beasts of burden. Plateosauruses grow throughout their lifetime and their size is linked to the amount of resources available to them. Most plateosauruses top out between twenty and twenty-five feet long, but thirty-five foot specimens are not unheard of in areas where food is plentiful (or provided by a humanoid handler).

Plateosaurus as Animal Companions

Starting Statistics: Size Medium; Speed 40 ft..; AC +2 natural armor; Attack 2 claws (1d3), tail slap (1d6); Ability Scores Str 15, Dex 15, Con 16, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 5; Special Qualities low-light vision, healthy

7th-Level Advancement: Size Large; AC +3 natural armor; Attack 2 claws (1d4), tail slap (1d8); Ability Scores Str +4, Dex -2, Con +4