Playing Dinosaur Characters?

[Palanan]

Last night I dreamed my DM was switching campaigns and we had to bring tenth-level dinosaur characters to our next session.

Naturally I was disappointed when I woke up and realized that probably wouldn't be happening. But now it's got me wondering: are there playable dinosaur races?

[hamishspence]

Yup - Saurials from Forgotten Realms are pretty much "dinosaur-themed lizardfolk" - there was a Serpent Kingdoms web enhancement for them.

[Studoku]

I know it's not 3.5 but a friend of mine has run games where the players are raptors in Jurassic Park.

[DrMotives]

Not a dinosaur but could also fit in a lost world setting, I was idly wondering after playing Smash Bros what would be the best way to stat out Donkey Kong, either an awakened gorilla or an anthropomorphic gorilla? And then what class would DK be?

[Inevitability]

Not a dinosaur but could also fit in a lost world setting, I was idly wondering after playing Smash Bros what would be the best way to stat out Donkey Kong, either an awakened gorilla or an anthropomorphic gorilla? And then what class would DK be?

Anthropomorphic gorilla, I'd say. He walks on two legs, displays a level of intelligence that isn't far from human, and is clever enough to use weapons. Class would be some big melee type.

[Ruethgar]

The Anthropomorphic template could be applied to any dinosaur to allow them to be playable. Then there is also the Familiar Form trick to give yourself the body of your familiar indefinitely picking one of the three dinosaurs available for familiars: Compsognathus, Needletooth, Rhamporynychus or something like that. The Z'Tal any of the birds or lizard are all also easily fluffed to be dinosaurs as anthropomorphics or familiars. There is also the muckdweller which doesn't have great art but the description specifically says they look like dinosaurs. And of course lycanthropy with a dinosaur is entirely possible.

[Urpriest]

There were also Saurian Shifters, in a Dragon IIRC.

[Milo v3]

In PF you can play as a dinosaur using the Monsters as PC rules.

[Bullet06320]

The Complete Guide to Velociraptors by Goodman Games
3rd party but it would work for you
http://www.goodman-games.com/1002preview.html

[kardar233]

Now I really want to play a dinosaur Artificer as Dr. Dinosaur.

[Troacctid]

You can be a were-dinosaur. Most dinosaurs are animals, so they're compatible with the lycanthrope template.

[Oberon Kenobi]

Oh! You can also do a Shapeshifter Druid and fluff your forms as dinosaurs.

Doesn't actually make you a dinosaur, but don't forget the Dinosaur Cultist (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/3rd-party-prestige-classes/bastion-press/dinosaur-cultist), which requires you to be eaten by a T-Rex before you can enter.

[Thurbane]

A while back on these very forums, someone did a whole campaign journal about playing as a Velociraptor (or maybe Fleshraker?) Swordsage.

http://archive.wizards.com/dnd/images/ss_gallery/49105.jpg

[sovin_ndore]

You could always assume a Druid exists and could have cast Awaken Animal on the Dinosaur.

[Deox]

Hmm...

Kobold (or poisondusk lizardfolk ?) bards with swarm fighting and similar feats, calling out dinosaur names and jumping on eachother's bodies:

Power Rangers.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by hamishspence
Yup - Saurials from Forgotten Realms are pretty much "dinosaur-themed lizardfolk" - there was a Serpent Kingdoms web enhancement for them.

Ah yes, thank you--the Lost World episode of RealmsTV. :smalltongue:


Originally Posted by Milo v3
In PF you can play as a dinosaur using the Monsters as PC rules.

Interesting, thanks. Which book has those rules? The CRB only has a couple of paragraphs, and they refer to essentially humanoid races rather than, well, dinosaurs.


Originally Posted by Oberon Kenobi
Doesn't actually make you a dinosaur, but don't forget the Dinosaur Cultist, which requires you to be eaten by a T-Rex before you can enter.

That is quite possibly the silliest entry requirement I've ever seen.

And also one of the most improbable. Besides which, what if your region only has Allosaurs?


Originally Posted by Thurbane
A while back on these very forums, someone did a whole campaign journal about playing as a Velociraptor (or maybe Fleshraker?) Swordsage.

I remember that one, and it was described as a Velociraptor. I don't recall exactly how the raptor was able to handle swords.

[Flickerdart]

Then there is also the Familiar Form trick to give yourself the body of your familiar indefinitely picking one of the three dinosaurs available for familiars: Compsognathus, Needletooth, Rhamporynychus or something like that.
Do you have a link to this trick? It sounds very useful indeed.

[Ruethgar]

AFB ATM but Familiar Form is a Drg Mag 3rd level spell that is an indefinite Magic Jar without the gem for your familiar only. Cheese it by taking Sanctum Familiar Form as your Precocious Apprentice and take Extra Familiar from the same article. Cast Familiar Form twice, dismiss the first one and then the second one and you will be in the first familiar's body indefinitely and it can't be dispelled or magically suppressed since no spell is actually active, retrain/rebuild away the Precocious Apprentice, Extra Familiar and spellcasting and you can be whatever you want as a tiny dinosaur by level 3 or 4

[Urpriest]

You could always assume a Druid exists and could have cast Awaken Animal on the Dinosaur.

That lets you have an NPC dinosaur, but doesn't help with making it a PC.

[Ruethgar]

There is a 3.0 Drg Mag article with all of the MMI Awkened Animal ECL. Unfortunately dinosaurs were beasts then, but there is another Drg Mag that makes a single Needltooth set to lizard stats plus a 1 round 1 damage bleed effect. Then of course you could fluff the lizard to something else.

[Milo v3]

Interesting, thanks. Which book has those rules? The CRB only has a couple of paragraphs, and they refer to essentially humanoid races rather than, well, dinosaurs.
The bestiary, here's a link to it's PRD entry (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/monsters/monstersAsPCs.html).