Jab's Dinosaur Builds!: Prosauropods! Plateosaurus!

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Tiny Seabirds

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

Tern.

TINY SEABIRDS
Role:
Shorebirds
PL 0 (18)- Minion Rank 2, Sidekick Rank 4
Normal Version:
PL 0
STRENGTH -5 STAMINA -5 AGILITY -2
FIGHTING -2 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -4 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE -3

Skills:
Athletics 10 (+5)
Close Combat (Beaky Bite) 2 (+4)
Expertise (Survival) 4 (+5)
Perception 4 (+5)

Advantages:
Close Attack 2, Great Endurance, Improved Initiative

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 3 (Extended Scent, Low-Light & Extended Vision) [3]
Flight 4 (30 mph) (Flaws: Winged) [4]
"Spearing Beak" Strength-Damage +1 [1]

"Fun Size" Shrinking 12 (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) -- (6 inches) [25]
(-3 Strength, +6 Defenses, +12 Stealth, -6 Intimidation, -1 Speed)

Offense:
Unarmed +4 (-5 Damage, DC 10)
Beak +4 (-4 Damage, DC 11)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +4 (DC 14), Parry +4 (DC 14), Toughness -5, Fortitude +0, Will +0

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Birds cannot speak to humans, nor use their wings & beaks to easily manipulate objects.
Weakness (Small Size)- At their natural size, Small Birds are vulnerable to large creatures- even without good accuracy. Anything of Size Rank -2 or more (human size and up) using a melee attack on a Bird of this scale effectively strike with Burst Area Damage at their strength rank naturally.

Total: Abilities: -34 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 33 / Defenses: 5 (18)

Era: Modern Day
Range: Anywhere there are people.
Stereotypes: Inquisitive.
Colouring: Any Possible Colour.
Size: Up to 18 inches long (1 ounce to 2 lbs.)
Encounter Groups: Hordes of 2-200
Diet: Fish, shrimp.
Tactics: Flee rapidly, occasionally batter with pointy beak.

-These are the smallest Charadriiformes, being less than a pound for the most part.

Tiny Seabirds:
TERNS: There are 20+ species, mostly white or slate colored. They are similar to Waders, but lack Aquatic (they rarely swim) and have Great Endurance and greater flight speed.
NODDIES: Named for their tendency to "nod" their heads during mating displays. Hunt fish on the wing by dipping their heads down into the water. Five species.

Image

SKIMMERS: Named for "skimming" the water with their bills to find food. Distinctive "scissor"-like bills which have a far longer lower half to enable a better grip on the fly. Three species.

Image

SKUAS: 1-3 lb egg-eaters- famed for eating Penguin eggs in particular. Seven species.
SMALL GULLS: Many gulls are only 14 ounces to 2 lbs.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Gulls

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

GULLS
Role:
Shorebirds
PL 0 (23)- Minion Rank 2, Sidekick Rank 5
Normal Version:
PL 0
STRENGTH -5 STAMINA -4 AGILITY -2
FIGHTING -2 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -4 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE -3

Skills:
Athletics 10 (+5)
Close Combat (Beaky Bite) 2 (+4)
Expertise (Survival) 4 (+5)
Intimidation 8 (-1 Size)
Perception 4 (+5)

Advantages:
Close Attack 2, Great Endurance, Improved Initiative

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 3 (Extended Scent, Low-Light & Extended Vision) [3]
Flight 4 (30 mph) (Flaws: Winged) [4]
"Spearing Beak" Strength-Damage +1 [1]

"Fun Size" Shrinking 12 (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) -- (6 inches) [25]
(-3 Strength, +6 Defenses, +12 Stealth, -6 Intimidation, -1 Speed)

Offense:
Unarmed +4 (-5 Damage, DC 10)
Beak +4 (-4 Damage, DC 11)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +4 (DC 14), Parry +4 (DC 14), Toughness -4, Fortitude +0, Will +0

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Birds cannot speak to humans, nor use their wings & beaks to easily manipulate objects.

Total: Abilities: -32 / Skills: 28--14 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 33 / Defenses: 4 (23)

Era: Modern Day
Range: Anywhere there are people.
Stereotypes: Noisy, stupid, obnoxious, filthy, greedy ("MINE? MINE?").
Colouring: Mostly white with some dark bits.
Size: Up to 2 feet long (2-4 lbs.)
Encounter Groups: Hordes of thousands.
Diet: Fish, nearly anything.
Tactics: Flee rapidly, occasionally batter with pointy beak.

-These are the largest type of Charadriiformes, and contain some of the world's most commonly-seen birds. Most Gulls are kleptoparasites with varied diets, making them very adaptable, which is why seagulls are found far, far inland into huge continents- they can readily find and eat humanity's garbage. Some have even been found to feed on living whales; waiting aloft for the whales to surface, then landing on them to pick off pieces of flesh. They can migrate for hundreds of miles on extremely long wings. There are 54 species in total- among the most common is the Herring Gull, who's long "KEAAAAHHHHH!" call is symbolic of the seaside over much of its range. These gulls are a huge nuisance in many cities, and are resistant to many bird-scaring properties- quickly realizing that "Bird Statues" are fakes, having feet leathery enough to avoid anti-perching spikes, and having enough size and aggression to fend of even Birds of Prey.

-Gulls are hardly powerhouses, but are pretty tough for 2-4 lbs. animals. Though individually they aren't a match for an Eagle or something, they fight in large groups that can scare off many predators (still actually -1 to Intimidation since even a normal human is scarier... but that's pretty good for a small bird).
User avatar
Davies
Posts: 5080
Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2017 10:37 pm
Location: Edmonton, AB

Re: Jab's Animal Builds (Swans! Boobies! Cormorants! Pelicans!)

Post by Davies »

Gull can also be a verb that means "to deceive", and a noun which means "one easily deceived". (This is the use in Alan Moore's graphic essay "Dance of the Gull-Catchers" at the end of From Hell.) I'm not sure if these terms have anything to do with the bird's name ...
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
User avatar
catsi563
Posts: 4127
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 10:29 pm
Location: Dark Side of the Moon
Contact:

Re: Jab's Animal Builds (Swans! Boobies! Cormorants! Pelicans!)

Post by catsi563 »

Dr. Silverback has wryly observed that this is like trying to teach lolcats about Shakespeare

Showdown at the Litterbox

Catsi stories
User avatar
Ken
Posts: 3460
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 10:40 pm
Location: Sycalb, Madiganistan

Re: Jab's Animal Builds (Swans! Boobies! Cormorants! Pelicans!)

Post by Ken »

I'm still surprised that boobies and tits aren't that related.
My Amazing Woman: a super-hero romantic comedy podcast.

When the most powerful super hero on Earth marries an ordinary man, hilarity ensues.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Tiny Petrels

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

TINY PETRELS
Role:
Small Seabirds
PL 0 (18)- Minion Rank 2, Sidekick Rank 4
Normal Version:
PL 0
STRENGTH -5 STAMINA -5 AGILITY -2
FIGHTING -2 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -4 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE -3

Skills:
Athletics 10 (+5)
Close Combat (Beaky Bite) 2 (+4)
Expertise (Survival) 4 (+5)
Perception 4 (+5)

Advantages:
Close Attack 2, Great Endurance, Improved Initiative

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 3 (Extended Scent, Low-Light & Extended Vision) [3]
Flight 4 (30 mph) (Flaws: Winged) [4]
"Spearing Beak" Strength-Damage +1 [1]

"Fun Size" Shrinking 12 (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) -- (6 inches) [25]
(-3 Strength, +6 Defenses, +12 Stealth, -6 Intimidation, -1 Speed)

Offense:
Unarmed +4 (-5 Damage, DC 10)
Beak +4 (-4 Damage, DC 11)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +4 (DC 14), Parry +4 (DC 14), Toughness -5, Fortitude +0, Will +0

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Birds cannot speak to humans, nor use their wings & beaks to easily manipulate objects.
Disabled (Non-Terrestrial)- Petrels typically have weak legs set very far back, and so are very poorly mobile on land. They will often just lean their breast against the ground and push themselves using their wings.
Weakness (Small Size)- At their natural size, Small Birds are vulnerable to large creatures- even without good accuracy. Anything of Size Rank -2 or more (human size and up) using a melee attack on a Bird of this scale effectively strike with Burst Area Damage at their strength rank naturally.

Total: Abilities: -34 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 33 / Defenses: 5 (18)

Era: Modern Day
Range: All the world's oceans & most of the seas.
Stereotypes: Inquisitive.
Colouring: Usually white/black.
Size: Up to 13 inches long (1 ounce to 1.5 lbs.)
Encounter Groups: Hordes of 2-200
Diet: Fish, shrimp.
Tactics: Flee rapidly, occasionally batter with pointy beak.

-The Petrels include creatures both large and small- some are not even a foot long. Their name is derived from St. Peter, who was said to walk on water- Petrels appear to run on it before taking off. The group includes the Diving Petrels, Storm Petrels, three Bulweria species, Prions, the Antarctic Petrel, Cape Petrel, and the all-white Snow Petrel. Most of them eat small crustaceans, especially Krill, flying for miles before returning to their nests. Petrels are very dependent on air and water; they are barely mobile on land.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Medium-Sized Petrels

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

Black Petrel & Shearwater.

MEDIUM-SIZED PETRELS
Role:
Small Seabirds
PL 0 (19)- Minion Rank 2, Sidekick Rank 4
Normal Version:
PL 0
STRENGTH -5 STAMINA -4 AGILITY -2
FIGHTING -2 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -4 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE -3

Skills:
Athletics 10 (+5)
Close Combat (Beaky Bite) 2 (+4)
Expertise (Survival) 4 (+5)
Perception 4 (+5)

Advantages:
Close Attack 2, Great Endurance, Improved Initiative

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 3 (Extended Scent, Low-Light & Extended Vision) [3]
Flight 4 (30 mph) (Flaws: Winged) [4]
"Spearing Beak" Strength-Damage +1 [1]

"Fun Size" Shrinking 12 (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) -- (6 inches) [25]
(-3 Strength, +6 Defenses, +12 Stealth, -6 Intimidation, -1 Speed)

Offense:
Unarmed +4 (-5 Damage, DC 10)
Beak +4 (-4 Damage, DC 11)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +4 (DC 14), Parry +4 (DC 14), Toughness -4, Fortitude +0, Will +0

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Birds cannot speak to humans, nor use their wings & beaks to easily manipulate objects.
Disabled (Non-Terrestrial)- Petrels typically have weak legs set very far back, and so are very poorly mobile on land. They will often just lean their breast against the ground and push themselves using their wings.
Weakness (Small Size)- At their natural size, Small Birds are vulnerable to large creatures- even without good accuracy. Anything of Size Rank -2 or more (human size and up) using a melee attack on a Bird of this scale effectively strike with Burst Area Damage at their strength rank naturally.

Total: Abilities: -32 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 33 / Defenses: 6 (19)

Era: Modern Day
Range: All the world's oceans & most of the seas.
Stereotypes: Inquisitive.
Colouring: Usually white/black.
Size: Up to 24 inches long (0.5-3 lbs.)
Encounter Groups: Hordes of 2-200
Diet: Fish, shrimp.
Tactics: Flee rapidly, occasionally batter with pointy beak.

-This Petrels include the medium-sized Grey Petrel, Black Petrel and more. Also included are the Northern & Southern Fulmar, and the Shearwaters, which are of similar size, but are named for their tendency to fly very close to the water and "shear" the waves with their wingtips- this gives them extra lift and minimizes active flight. They can also dive up to 230 feet in search of prey. There are 30 species of Shearwater.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Giant Petrel

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

GIANT PETREL
Role:
Large Seabirds
PL 1 (25)- Minion Rank 2, Sidekick Rank 5
Normal Version:
PL 0
STRENGTH -4 STAMINA -3 AGILITY -2
FIGHTING -1 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -4 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE -3

Skills:
Athletics 10 (+5)
Close Combat (Beaky Bite) 2 (+4)
Expertise (Survival) 4 (+5)
Perception 4 (+5)

Advantages:
Close Attack 2, Great Endurance, Improved Initiative

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 3 (Extended Scent, Low-Light & Extended Vision) [3]
Flight 4 (30 mph) (Flaws: Winged) [4]
"Spearing Beak" Strength-Damage +1 [1]

"Fun Size" Shrinking 12 (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) -- (6 inches) [25]
(-3 Strength, +6 Defenses, +12 Stealth, -6 Intimidation, -1 Speed)

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (-4 Damage, DC 11)
Beak +5 (-3 Damage, DC 12)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +4 (DC 14), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness -3, Fortitude +1, Will +0

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Birds cannot speak to humans, nor use their wings & beaks to easily manipulate objects.
Disabled (Non-Terrestrial)- Petrels typically have weak legs set very far back, and so are very poorly mobile on land. They will often just lean their breast against the ground and push themselves using their wings.

Total: Abilities: -26 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 33 / Defenses: 6 (25)

Era: Modern Day
Range: Southern Hemisphere.
Stereotypes: Inquisitive.
Colouring: White/grey.
Size: Up to 3 feet long (5-17 lbs.)
Encounter Groups: Hordes of 2-200
Diet: Fish, shrimp.
Tactics: Flee rapidly, occasionally batter with pointy beak.

-The huge Giant Petrels (Northern & Southern) are nearly as big as their cousins, the Albatrosses. Their frightening hooked beaks are actually made up of 7-9 bony plates, and are used to scavenge carcasses- unusual among this group, they eat most of their food on coastlines, harvesting the dead from Penguin & Seal colonies. They are extremely aggressive and will fend off interlopers readily.

-A Giant Petrel is much larger than its fellows, and a PL 1 bird overall.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Albatrosses

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

ALBATROSSES
Role:
Large Seabirds
PL 1 (25)- Minion Rank 2, Sidekick Rank 5
Normal Version:
PL 0
STRENGTH -4 STAMINA -3 AGILITY -2
FIGHTING -1 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -4 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE -3

Skills:
Athletics 10 (+5)
Close Combat (Beaky Bite) 2 (+4)
Expertise (Survival) 4 (+5)
Perception 4 (+5)

Advantages:
Close Attack 2, Great Endurance, Improved Initiative

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 3 (Extended Scent, Low-Light & Extended Vision) [3]
Flight 4 (30 mph) (Flaws: Winged) [4]
"Spearing Beak" Strength-Damage +1 [1]

"Fun Size" Shrinking 12 (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) -- (6 inches) [25]
(-3 Strength, +6 Defenses, +12 Stealth, -6 Intimidation, -1 Speed)

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (-4 Damage, DC 11)
Beak +5 (-3 Damage, DC 12)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +4 (DC 14), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness -3, Fortitude +1, Will +0

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Birds cannot speak to humans, nor use their wings & beaks to easily manipulate objects.
Disabled (Non-Terrestrial)- Petrels typically have weak legs set very far back, and so are very poorly mobile on land. They will often just lean their breast against the ground and push themselves using their wings.

Total: Abilities: -26 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 33 / Defenses: 6 (25)

Era: Modern Day
Range: Worldwide.
Stereotypes: Regal, proud.
Colouring: White with brown.
Size: Up to 3 feet long (5-25 lbs.), 8-12 foot wingspans.
Encounter Groups: Hordes of 2-200
Diet: Fish, shrimp.
Tactics: Flee rapidly, occasionally batter with pointy beak.

-Famously the birds with the largest wingspan, Albatross wings are up to twelve feet across. They can shoulder-lock their huge wings, allowing them to soar for hours without ever needing to flap their wings, meaning that the only parts of flight that cost them any energy is the take-off and landing. They hunt by smell, finding either carrion or diving for prey (up to 16-40 feet). There are 22 species known, all listed with some kind of concern. Their sheer size and gliding ability has made them very well-known to mariners, and a lot of mythology sprouted up around them- The Rime of the Ancient Mariner talks of the perils that befall sailors who kill an albatross (said to be the reborn souls of lost sailors), and the punishment of one who did so leads to the phrase "an albatross around their neck" as a metaphor for a huge obstacle. That said, some sailors definitely killed and ate them.

-Sizes can vary a bit. The Sooty Albatross is 4-7 lbs (closer to a Giant Petrel), while the largest, the Wandering Albatross, hits 17-35 lbs.
Gamebook
Posts: 119
Joined: Mon Nov 07, 2016 7:34 am

Re: Jab's Animal Builds (Pelicans! Seabirds! Petrels! Albatross!)

Post by Gamebook »

Something that seems to be less well-known about albatrosses is that they attack and scavenge on people in the water. There are many reported incidents of sailors left in the sea after losing a naval battle and albatrosses turning up to attack the dead and the living, such as the Battle of the Falklands in 1915 when the Royal Navy sank a squadron of German cruisers and the birds were attacking the survivors while the British were trying to rescue them. This is mainly a danger in southern waters where they are most common.
Last edited by Gamebook on Sun Oct 03, 2021 3:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
CaptainKaulu
Posts: 547
Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2018 3:03 pm

Re: Jab's Animal Builds (Pelicans! Seabirds! Petrels! Albatross!)

Post by CaptainKaulu »

I think my first supervillain in my upcoming series will be a mind controller who enslaves ordinary animals and sends them to attack innocents. Depending where in the world my players choose to explore, I could be relying heavily on this thread!
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Small Albatrosses

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

SMALL ALBATROSSES
Role:
Medium-Sized Seabirds
PL 0 (19)- Minion Rank 2, Sidekick Rank 4
Normal Version:
PL 0
STRENGTH -5 STAMINA -4 AGILITY -2
FIGHTING -2 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -4 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE -3

Skills:
Athletics 10 (+5)
Close Combat (Beaky Bite) 2 (+4)
Expertise (Survival) 4 (+5)
Perception 4 (+5)

Advantages:
Close Attack 2, Great Endurance, Improved Initiative

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 3 (Extended Scent, Low-Light & Extended Vision) [3]
Flight 4 (30 mph) (Flaws: Winged) [4]
"Spearing Beak" Strength-Damage +1 [1]

"Fun Size" Shrinking 12 (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) -- (6 inches) [25]
(-3 Strength, +6 Defenses, +12 Stealth, -6 Intimidation, -1 Speed)

Offense:
Unarmed +4 (-5 Damage, DC 10)
Beak +4 (-4 Damage, DC 11)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +4 (DC 14), Parry +4 (DC 14), Toughness -4, Fortitude +0, Will +0

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Birds cannot speak to humans, nor use their wings & beaks to easily manipulate objects.
Disabled (Non-Terrestrial)- Petrels typically have weak legs set very far back, and so are very poorly mobile on land. They will often just lean their breast against the ground and push themselves using their wings.
Weakness (Small Size)- At their natural size, Small Birds are vulnerable to large creatures- even without good accuracy. Anything of Size Rank -2 or more (human size and up) using a melee attack on a Bird of this scale effectively strike with Burst Area Damage at their strength rank naturally.

Total: Abilities: -32 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 33 / Defenses: 6 (19)

Era: Modern Day
Range: All the world's oceans & most of the seas.
Stereotypes: Inquisitive.
Colouring: Usually white/black.
Size: Up to 24 inches long (0.5-3 lbs.)
Encounter Groups: Hordes of 2-200
Diet: Fish, shrimp.
Tactics: Flee rapidly, occasionally batter with pointy beak.

-These Albatrosses are a fair bit smaller. It includes the Sooty Albatross, the grey Black-Footed Albatross, the Mollymawks (a family that includes the Shy & White-Capped Albatross), and a couple of others. I just used the Medium-Sized Petrels build.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Jab's Animal Builds (Pelicans! Seabirds! Petrels! Albatross!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Gamebook wrote: Sun Oct 03, 2021 8:01 am Something that seems to be less well-known about albatrosses is that they attack and scavenge on people in the water. There are many reported incidents of sailors left in the sea after losing a naval battle and albatrosses turning up to attack the dead and the living, such as the Battle of the Falklands in 1915 when the Royal Navy sank a squadron of German cruisers and the birds were attacking the survivors while the British were trying to rescue them. This is mainly a danger in southern waters where they are most common.
I know I’ve heard of gulls doing that. Since it’s the same order, that makes sense. Gulls were especially bad during a few plane crashes in history. Rescuers/recovery people were horrified to see the birds actually consuming corpses while the men were trying to recover them.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Puffins

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

PUFFINS
Role:
Small Seabirds
PL 0 (21)- Minion Rank 2, Sidekick Rank 5
Normal Version:
PL 0
STRENGTH -5 STAMINA -5 AGILITY -2
FIGHTING -2 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -4 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE -3

Skills:
Athletics 10 (+5)
Close Combat (Beaky Bite) 2 (+4)
Expertise (Survival) 4 (+5)
Perception 4 (+5)

Advantages:
Close Attack 2, Great Endurance, Improved Initiative

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 3 (Extended Scent, Low-Light & Extended Vision) [3]
Movement 1 (Environmental Adaptation- Arctic) [2]

Swimming 5 (5) -- [6]
  • AE: Flight 3 (16 mph) (Flaws: Winged) (3)
"Fun Size" Shrinking 12 (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) -- (6 inches) [25]
(-3 Strength, +6 Defenses, +12 Stealth, -6 Intimidation, -1 Speed)

Offense:
Unarmed +4 (-5 Damage, DC 10)
Beak +4 (-4 Damage, DC 11)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +4 (DC 14), Parry +4 (DC 14), Toughness -5, Fortitude +0, Will +0

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Birds cannot speak to humans, nor use their wings & beaks to easily manipulate objects.
Disabled (Non-Terrestrial)- Petrels typically have weak legs set very far back, and so are very poorly mobile on land. They will often just lean their breast against the ground and push themselves using their wings.
Weakness (Small Size)- At their natural size, Small Birds are vulnerable to large creatures- even without good accuracy. Anything of Size Rank -2 or more (human size and up) using a melee attack on a Bird of this scale effectively strike with Burst Area Damage at their strength rank naturally.

Total: Abilities: -34 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 36 / Defenses: 5 (21)

Era: Modern Day
Range: Northern oceans.
Stereotypes: Inquisitive.
Colouring: Black & white.
Size: Up to 13 inches long (less than a pound)
Encounter Groups: Colonies of thousands.
Diet: Fish, shrimp.
Tactics: Flee rapidly, occasionally batter with pointy beak.

-The distinctive, somewhat iconic Puffins are the smallest of the Auks, being less than a pound in general. They are very penguin-like, having evolved similar coloring and an aquatic nature, but they are in fact flying seabirds that merely focus on swimming instead. Puffin beaks are so huge that more than fifty tiny fish can be trapped in a single beak. They are often studied on land (living around Europe and Eastern Canada, they are close to people), but not in the water, where they spend most of the winter, bobbing up and down like a cork and propelling themselves with webbed feet. There are three kinds of Puffin- the Atlantic (the one everyone recognizes, with the big, broad beak), Horned, and Tufted Puffins. The Atlantic is the one most people would recognize.

-Puffins will vigorously defend themselves, but are still only tiny birds, unable to take on even large Gulls.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Auks

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

AUKS
Role:
Small Seabirds
PL 0 (21)- Minion Rank 2, Sidekick Rank 5
Normal Version:
PL 0
STRENGTH -5 STAMINA -5 AGILITY -2
FIGHTING -2 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -4 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE -3

Skills:
Athletics 10 (+5)
Close Combat (Beaky Bite) 2 (+4)
Expertise (Survival) 4 (+5)
Perception 4 (+5)

Advantages:
Close Attack 2, Great Endurance, Improved Initiative

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 3 (Extended Scent, Low-Light & Extended Vision) [3]
Movement 1 (Environmental Adaptation- Arctic) [2]

Swimming 5 (5) -- [6]
AE: Flight 4 (30 mph) (Flaws: Winged) (4)

"Fun Size" Shrinking 12 (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) -- (6 inches) [25]
(-3 Strength, +6 Defenses, +12 Stealth, -6 Intimidation, -1 Speed)

Offense:
Unarmed +4 (-5 Damage, DC 10)
Beak +4 (-4 Damage, DC 11)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +4 (DC 14), Parry +4 (DC 14), Toughness -5, Fortitude +0, Will +0

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Birds cannot speak to humans, nor use their wings & beaks to easily manipulate objects.
Disabled (Non-Terrestrial)- Petrels typically have weak legs set very far back, and so are very poorly mobile on land. They will often just lean their breast against the ground and push themselves using their wings.
Weakness (Small Size)- At their natural size, Small Birds are vulnerable to large creatures- even without good accuracy. Anything of Size Rank -2 or more (human size and up) using a melee attack on a Bird of this scale effectively strike with Burst Area Damage at their strength rank naturally.

Total: Abilities: -34 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 36 / Defenses: 5 (21)

Era: Modern Day
Range: Northern oceans.
Stereotypes: Inquisitive.
Colouring: Black & white.
Size: Up to 13 inches long (3 ounces-2 lbs.)
Encounter Groups: Colonies of thousands.
Diet: Fish, shrimp.
Tactics: Flee rapidly, occasionally batter with pointy beak.

-Named for the Norse/Germanic word for seabirds, Auks are penguin-like creatures in general, ranging from 3 ounces to 2.2 lbs. The most famous by far are the Puffins, but here's the rest of them. They are all mostly oceanic swimmers (and little-studied when doing so), but will nest on land. Pursuit divers, some Auks will dive as far as 330 feet beneath the surface in search of prey. They are separated into thick-billed (Puffins & Auklets) and slender-billed breeds (the other types).

Types of Auks:

Image

RAZORBILL: Related to the extinct Great Auk- named for its large, sharp-edged beak.
LITTLE AUK: About half the size of a Puffin. Very short, pointy beak, used to eat primarily crustaceans.

Image

AUKLETS: Closely related to the Puffins. Five species of tiny birds with bright orange beaks.

Image

RHINOCEROS AUKLET: Named for the odd horn that crows on the beak every year before being shed off- it likely has display purposes, as it has fluorescent qualities.

Image

MURRES: Raise colonies on cliff edges. Very pointy beaks. Two species- the Common & Thick-Billed Murre (also called Guillemotes). With the Great Auk extinct, these are the largest living members of the Alcidae family- up to 2 lbs.

GUILLEMOTES: Nest on rocky coasts. Long, pointy bills. The most capable aquatic Auks.
MURRELETS: Eight species with small, pointy bills. Hail from the Pacific regions, including Japan & California, and are more vulnerable & Endangered than other Auks. One group nests primarily in forests, unlike any other Auks.
Post Reply