Monster Monday: Gallimimus & Ornithomimus - They're Flocking This Way

Today's Monster Monday is a two-for-one deal: ornithomimus and gallimimus, two fast, bipedal dinosaurs that ran around in herds. You may remember gallimimus from this scene in Jurassic Park.  Can a druid have a gallimimus companion and ride it around?  Of course.

Struthiomimus by Nobu Tamura, via Wikimedia

Ornithomimus stands slightly taller than a man, and reaches lengths of 12 feet including its tail.  Gallimimus is much larger, easily reaching 20 feet in length, with some specimens reaching 26 feet.  Together, these two dinosaurs are the most recognizable of a group of dinosaurs called ornithomimosaurs.  These dinosaurs tend to be lightly built, nimble, and very fast - Struthiomimus may have attained speeds of 50 miles per hour.  They are recognizably ostrich-like in shape, with long legs and long necks.  Like many species of dinosaurs, ornithomimosaurs were feathered.  Unlike other more familiar theropods, like tyrannosaurus and velociraptor, ornithomimosaurs were not fierce hunters.  Their diet is still under debate, but it is likely that they were omnivores, snatching up small mammals and reptiles, munching on insects, and pulling soft buds and leaves off of trees.

There are many species of ornithomimosaur.  The stats for ornithomimus work just as well for struthiomimus or archaeornithomimus, while the stats for gallimimus will serve for beishanlong as well.  Smaller ornithomimosaurs like anserimimus, sinornithomimus, pelicanomimus, rativates, and garudimimus can be simulated by applying the Young simple template to the ornithomimus stat block.  The largest ornithomimosaur - the odd-looking but gigantic and terrifying deinocheirus - will require its own unique stat block, but that is a Monster for a different Monday.

 by Nobu Tamura, via Wikimedia
Beishanlong, a large ornithomimosaur rivaling and perhaps exceeding gallimimus in size.

I went back and forth many times over what size category these dinosaurs should be in.  Strictly by the numbers, ornithomimus is closer to horse-sized than man-sized, and should be a Large creature, while gallimimus is as long as an orca and might belong in the Huge size category.  Ultimately, though, I opted to make ornithomimus a Medium creature and gallimimus Large.  For one thing, without its tail, ornithomimus is roughly the size of an ostrich, which is already statted up as a Medium creature.  The dinosaurs also just aren't very powerful compared to other Large and Huge monsters respectively.  What really convinced me was that making ornithomimus Large would mean it could serve as a mount for Medium creatures.  While very light jockeys can ride ostriches in real life, I can't imagine a scenario involving an armored adventurer getting onto an ornithomimus resulting in anything other than horrible hip injuries for the poor dinosaur; on the other hand I can easily imagine humanoids riding gallimimus - probably because I read Dinotopia so much as a kid.

Ring Riders by the great James Gurney

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2017 Jonah Bomgaars.

This feathered dinosaur pounds forward on long legs, wide-eyed head bobbing on its spindly neck

Dinosaur, Ornithomimus          CR 2

XP 600

N Medium animal

Init +7; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +10

DEFENSE

AC 15, touch 14, flat-footed 11 (+1 dodge, +3 Dex, +1 natural)

hp 19 (3d8+6)

Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +3

OFFENSE

Speed 50 ft.

Melee bite +5 (1d4+3), claw +5 (1d6+3)

Special Attacks stampede, trample (1d6+4, DC 14)

STATISTICS

Str 16, Dex 17, Con 14, Int 1, Wis 15, Cha 13

Base Atk +2; CMB +5; CMD 18

Feats Dodge, Improved Initiative, Lunge^B, Run^B

Skills Perception +10, Stealth +8; Racial Modifiers +4 Perception

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Stampede (Ex)

A stampede occurs if three or more creatures with the stampede ability make a trample attack while remaining adjacent to each other.  While stampeding, the creatures can trample foes of their size or smaller, and the trample’s save DC increases by +2. 

ECOLOGY

Environment any warm or temperate

Organization solitary, pair, flock (3-24)

Treasure none

This long-necked dinosaur has a body the size of a horse but with a long, straight tail and two swift legs

Dinosaur, Gallimimus   CR 3

XP 800

N Large animal

Init +6; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +11

DEFENSE

AC 15, touch 14, flat-footed 11 (+1 dodge, +2 Dex, +3 natural, -1 size)

hp 32 (5d8+10)

Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +3

OFFENSE

Speed 50 ft.

Melee bite +7 (1d6+4), claw +7 (1d8+4)

Special Attacks stampede, trample (1d8+6, DC 16)

STATISTICS

Str 19, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 1, Wis 15, Cha 13

Base Atk +3; CMB +8; CMD 20

Feats Dodge, Endurance, Improved Initiative, Lunge^B, Run^B

Skills Perception +11, Stealth +5; Racial Modifiers +4 Perception

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Stampede (Ex)

A stampede occurs if three or more creatures with the stampede ability make a trample attack while remaining adjacent to each other.  While stampeding, the creatures can trample foes of their size or smaller, and the trample’s save DC increases by +2. 

   Gallimimus Companions

Starting Statistics: Size Medium; Speed 50 ft.; Attack bite (1d4), claw (1d6); Ability Scores Str 13, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 13; Special Qualities: low-light vision, lunge, run, scent.

   7^th-Level Advancement: Size Large; Attack bite (1d6), claw (1d8); Ability Scores Str +2, Dex -2, Con +2; Special Qualities stampede, trample

ECOLOGY

Environment any warm or temperate

Organization solitary, pair, flock (3-24)

Treasure none

Ornithomimus and its larger cousin, gallimimus, are fast-moving, ostrich-like dinosaurs.  They have slender bodies, long thin necks topped with small heads, and a pair of long legs built for sprinting.  Their arms end in three-clawed hands with a limited range of motion that makes them unwieldy for self-defense but excellent for maintaining balance while running or grabbing tree-branches to strip them of soft buds and leaves.  When threatened, these feathered dinosaurs make use of their excellent legs and run away.  If cornered or defending their young, they bite with their sharp, toothless beaks and lash out with their powerful legs.  Ornithomimus can reach 7 feet tall and 12 feet long (including its tail, which makes up roughly half the creature’s length), while the larger gallimimus can be 9 feet tall and 26 feet long.  These dinosaurs are omnivorous, subsisting mainly on plants but also eating insects, small animals, and shellfish when they are available. 

   Although difficult to train, these swift dinosaurs make prized mounts in some parts of the world.

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-your coelurosaur d20 despot