Monster Monday Friday: Spinosaurus, the Aquatic Predator

It's not Monday yet, but I just read some new findings about Spinosaurus that place it squarely in the 'aquatic predator' camp, not the 'run at you T-Rex style' camp, mainly because Spinosaurus probably couldn't run.  You know how excited I get about prehistoric stuff.

Art: Davide Bonadonna, National Geographic, via Smithsonian.com

Obviously, I had to modify the existing stat block for Spinosaurus to take these new findings into account.

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. It is (C)2014 Jonah Bomgaars, based on material published in Pathfinder Bestiary 3 © 2011, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors Jesse Benner, Jason Bulmahn, Adam Daigle, James Jacobs, Michael Kenway, Rob McCreary, Patrick Renie, Chris Sims, F. Wesley Schneider, James L. Sutter, and Russ Taylor, in turn based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams.

Spinosaurus              CR 11

XP 12,800

N Gargantuan animal

Init +6; Senses low-light vision, scent, tremorsense 60 ft. (in water only); Perception +25

DEFENSE

AC 24, touch 8, flat-footed 22 (+2 Dex, +16 natural, -4 size)

hp 170 (20d8+80)

Fort +16, Ref +16, Will +9

OFFENSE

Speed 20 ft., swim 40 ft.

Melee bite +23 (2d8+12/19-20 plus grab), 2 claws +23 (2d6+12)

Space 20 ft.; Reach 5 ft. (20 ft. with bite)

Special Attacks lunging bite, power attack (-4 to hit, +8 damage), swallow whole (2d8+12, AC 18, 17 hp)

STATISTICS

Str 34, Dex 15, Con 18, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 13

Base Atk +15; CMB +31 (+35 grapple); CMD 43

Feats Critical Focus, Diehard, Endurance, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack, Skill Focus (Perception), Staggering Critical

Skills Perception +25, Swim +28

SQ hold breath

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Lunging Bite (Ex)

Once per minute, a spinosaurus can extend the reach of its bite attack by 5 feet without taking the normal penalties to AC associated with the Lunge feat.  This extended reach applies only to the dinosaur’s bite attack and lasts until the start of the creature’s next turn. 

ECOLOGY

Environment warm swamps and rivers

Organization solitary, pair, or pack (3-6)

Treasure none

At 60 ft. long, Spinosaurus is the largest predatory dinosaur.  It lives a primarily aquatic lifestyle, its body well-built for stalking the muddy rivers and swamps where it dwells.  It is somewhat less maneuverable on land, where its short hind legs and long torso and neck force it to walk mainly quadrupedally.  Its long, conical teeth and sharp, grasping claws are ideal for catching large fish and wrangling with sea monsters, but Spinosaurus is an opportunistic predator and will eat anything that it can catch.  Riverboat captains that work near Spinosaurus territory know to stay clear of the water when the dinosaur’s massive sail is spotted.  

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AFP, via news.com.au

To account for its aquatic nature, I slightly changed the environments in which the Spinosaurus could be encountered, replaced  the Run feat with Power Attack, and replaced the Pounce special ability with the Lunging Bite.  I also gave Spinosaurus tremorsense in the water, because, to quote the press-release, Spinosaurus had "Neurovascular openings at the end of the snout. Similar openings on crocodile and alligator snouts contain pressure receptors that enable them to sense movement in water. It's likely these openings served a comparable function in Spinosaurus."  I also reduced the Spinosaurus' reach with its claws, to account for the fact that it probably wouldn't be able to make lunging attacks with them.

-your aegyptiacus d20 despot