Jab's Dinosaur Builds!: Prosauropods! Plateosaurus!

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab's Animal Builds (Manatee! Steller's Sea Cow! Mice!)

Post by Jabroniville »

So of course the trick with the Rodents is that it's largely near-identical builds, but I still had to research all the different kinds, lol. So expect this group to be posted a LITTLE more quickly, because I don't want to be statting PL 0-2 creatures for like a month.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Rats

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image
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A brown rat, a horde of rats drinking from a milk fountain in India, and a mummified set of corpses known as a "Rat King".

BROWN RAT (Rattus norvegicus)
Role:
Horde Animal, Urban Pest
PL 0 (15)- Minion Rank 1, Sidekick Rank 3
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 (Bite) 2 (+4)
Expertise (Survival) 4 (+5)
Perception 4 (+5)

Advantages:
Close Attack 5

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 3 (Acute & Extended Scent, Low-Light Vision) [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 +3 (-5 Damage, DC 10)
Bite +5 (-5 Damage, DC 10)
Initiative -2

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

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Rats cannot speak to humans, nor use their paws to easily manipulate objects.
Reputation (Pest)- Rats are notoriously prone to disease, and are exterminated wherever they are seen in the civilized world. Many people are naturally frightened of them just by their appearance- they don't even have to do anything.
Weakness (Small Size)- At their natural size, Rats 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 Rat effectively strike with Burst Area Damage at their strength rank naturally.

Total: Abilities: -32 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 28 / Defenses: 4 (15)

Era: Modern Day
Range: Anywhere there are people.
Stereotypes: Evil, diseased plague-hordes.
Colouring: White, grey, brown, black
Size: Up to 18 inches long (less than a pound)
Encounter Groups: Hordes of 2-200
Diet: ANYTHING.
Tactics: Flee at all costs, rarely biting savagely with rodent teeth.

-RATS. Barely anybody likes rats. While many rodents (particularly hamsters) can be cute, rats are known as a scourge on humanity, a depraved, diseased filth-race of garbage-eating pests. It's kinda funny- humans like all sorts of crap that's going extinct of its own volition (the Panda Bear, an animal species so suicidal that they actively avoid boning each other in the wild to make more babies), but an animal that we've TRIED to exterminate, yet is utterly able to live in any conditions (especially ones WE CREATE), last in any kind of weather, and has prospered both in spite of AND because of us. Even if they are gross and/or ugly, you've just gotta respect them.

-Thankfully, I live in Alberta, which is the largest Rat-free area in the human world. Despite being enormous, Alberta has the advantage of being land-locked and having well-guarded borders, and there are Rat Patrols everywhere searching them out if they get any reports (they can still end up in dumps and the like, travelling in on trucks). Essentially, if rats pop up, these groups hunt them down and exterminate them before they can breed too much. Seriously, the only time I have EVER seen a rat is when I went to New York this past year- I saw one poke its little rat head out of a sewer grating as I was walking- if I hadn't seen it, I would have crushed its little head. I actually thought it was a mouse at first, never having seen a rat in person before- took me a second to realize that this "large mouse" was a bit different.

-The rat obviously isn't that tough. It doesn't do any kind of damage (it's bite is painful, but hardly fatal unless its diseased- if you want Diseased Rats, feel free to have status-affecting diseases strike your characters), it can't reach many adversaries (it's so naturally small that it could only "attack" your feet), it's slow, small and will be squished in an instant by anyone who manages a hit (vs) DC 14. However, they're wise as animals go, and are experts at stealth, survival (in any conditions), etc. And you have to go with negative Stamina to make low-Toughness creatures thanks to the new Size rules, and then boost up Fortitude manually, though I don't think that's a major issue.

-A note on "Hordes"- Rats, and many other small animals, can often form a "Horde". These are variable masses of creature that can fill almost any space, but squish to fit through openings the size of the animal, and do more damage thanks to multiple mouths. Treat their Damage as a Burst or Shapeable-Area Damage (ranked up to the size of the Horde) effect at +2 damage, possibly more if it's a particularly dangerous creature.
Jabroniville
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Rodents (Rat-Sized)

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

Guinea Pig.

RAT-SIZED RODENTS
Role:
Horde Animal, Urban Pest
PL 0 (15)- Minion Rank 1, Sidekick Rank 3
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 (Bite) 2 (+4)
Expertise (Survival) 4 (+5)
Perception 4 (+5)

Advantages:
Close Attack 5

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 3 (Acute & Extended Scent, Low-Light Vision) [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 +3 (-5 Damage, DC 10)
Bite +5 (-5 Damage, DC 10)
Initiative -2

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

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Rodents cannot speak to humans, nor use their paws to easily manipulate objects.
Reputation (Pest)- Rodents are notoriously prone to disease, and are exterminated wherever they are seen in the civilized world. Many people are naturally frightened of them just by their appearance- they don't even have to do anything.
Weakness (Small Size)- At their natural size, these rodents 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 Rat effectively strike with Burst Area Damage at their strength rank naturally.

Total: Abilities: -32 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 28 / Defenses: 4 (15)

-The notion of statting up the 400+ species of Rodents is a bit beyond even me, but here are some similar animals to the Rat:

GUINEA PIG: Another popular pet, being fairly-large for rodents (they are closely related to the giant Capybara), and also packing the Hamster-like tails. Edmonton Valley Zoo had a TON of them in a massive horde, for one of the most unique Zoo enclosures I've ever seen, but some douchebag climbed over the fence and poisoned a bunch of them, and the zoo took them away (why they targetted ONLY the Guinea Pigs is beyond me, but they were the closest animals to the entrance).
CAVY: South American rodents that give their name to the family that includes the Guinea Pig & Capybara. They typically look like square-headed, light-brown Capybaras, but miniature.

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PRAIRIE DOG: Famous for the "Dramatic Prairie Dog" internet meme. Common in Canada and other places, and named for their doglike "yips" and hole-digging abilities.

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GOPHER: Funny little burrowers. Talks with a unique lisp in Winnie the Pooh. 36 species are known, all famous for digging holes.
WOODCHUCK: 11-lb. large rodents, also called Groundhogs (actually, I didn't know that).

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MARMOT: Pretty common in Western Canada, they look like narrower Groundhogs. Which actually ARE Marmots, so there you go.

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CHINCHILLA: Famously-soft South American creatures, popular as pets.

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VISCACHA: Closely related to Chinchillas, these are brownish and have very long ears, greatly resembling rabbits.

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SPINY RAT: This family resembles rats, but are more closely related to Chinchillas, and hail from South America. Many are burrowing,
terrestrial or arboreal, depending. Some can break off their tails to deter predators, but unlike lizards, this tactic can only be used once, as the tail will not regenerate.
ACOUCHI: Related to Agoutis, these weigh only 2 lbs. and eat fruit dropped from trees.
LAOTIAN ROCK RAT: Known from only a single species and discovered only in the 2000s, this is the last survivor of a genus previously only known from fossils. They have a duck-like gait that sucks over open ground, but is ideal for composure among their uneven, rocky habitat.
Jabroniville
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Springhare

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

SPRINGHARE
Role:
Desert Rodent, Fast Jumper
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 12 (+7)
Close Combat (Bite) 2 (+4)
Expertise (Survival) 4 (+5)
Perception 4 (+5)

Advantages:
Close Attack 5, Improved Initiative

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 3 (Acute & Extended Scent, Low-Light Vision) [3]
Movement 1 (Environmental Adaptation- Desert) [2]
Speed 3 (8 mph) [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 +3 (-5 Damage, DC 10)
Bite +5 (-5 Damage, DC 10)
Initiative -2

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

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Jerboas cannot speak to humans, nor use their paws to easily manipulate objects.
Weakness (Small Size)- At their natural size, Jerboas 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 rodent effectively strike with Burst Area Damage at their strength rank naturally.

Total: Abilities: -32 / Skills: 22--11 / Advantages: 6 / Powers: 33 / Defenses: 5 (23)

-An odd rat-sized rodent, with higher Athletics- taking TITANIC leaps of six feet (which is a lot for a 16-inch animal). They barely look like rodents at all, sporting a fuzzy coat and extremely long legs.
Jabroniville
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Arboareal Rodents

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

ARBOREAL RODENTS
Role:
The Cute Rodents
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 14 (+9)
Close Combat (Bite) 2 (+4)
Expertise (Survival) 4 (+5)
Perception 4 (+5)

Advantages:
Close Attack 5

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

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

Offense:
Unarmed +3 (-5 Damage, DC 10)
Bite +5 (-5 Damage, DC 10)
Initiative -2

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

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Rats cannot speak to humans, nor use their paws to easily manipulate objects.
Reputation (Pest)- Rats are notoriously prone to disease, and are exterminated wherever they are seen in the civilized world. Many people are naturally frightened of them just by their appearance- they don't even have to do anything.
Weakness (Small Size)- At their natural size, Rats 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 Rat effectively strike with Burst Area Damage at their strength rank naturally.

Total: Abilities: -34 / Skills: 24--12 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 30 / Defenses: 5 (18)

Era: Modern Day
Range: Anywhere there are people.
Stereotypes: Cute, friendly forest critters.
Colouring: White, grey, brown, black
Size: Up to 18 inches long (less than a pound)
Encounter Groups: Small groups.
Diet: Nuts, fruit, leaves.
Tactics: Flee at all costs, rarely biting savagely with rodent teeth.

-Arboreal Rodents are typically the only ones humans find cute- things like Chipmunks and Squirrels. These are easily the most acrobatic of rodents, able to right themselves with speed superior to even most cats- they're fast, clever and problem-solving as well, which explains why they are now so common in human cities.

Arboreal Rodents:
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CHIPMUNK: Tiny, with cute little "nub" tails. They can scale trees with great ease. Also super-cute, with tiny little stripes on their tiny little backs.
SQUIRREL: Related to Beavers, Marmots & Dormice, these are extremely fast and agile.

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DORMOUSE: Dormice are known throughout Europe, but the Hazel Dormouse is the only one known in England, where it's just called the "Dormouse". They are known for their extremely long hibernation spells, as well as the fact that they were a delicacy dessert in Ancient Rome, being dipped in honey (JESUS!)- this gives that species the official name "Edible Dormouse" (really).
Spectrum
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Re: Jab's Animal Builds (Rats! Desert Rodents! Squirrels!)

Post by Spectrum »

I've been working on an owner's build for guinea pigs. I should have it ready in a year or two.
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Spectrum
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Re: Jab's Animal Builds (Rats! Desert Rodents! Squirrels!)

Post by Spectrum »

We have squirrels in this area. Lots and lots of squirrels. They're stupid. In game terms, -5 int may be too high.

They are really bad about running in front of cars, running half way, running back and just generally being suicidal.

Years ago, I even hit one with my car. Not from them running across the road before me, but by (presumably derping and) falling out of a tree and landing on my fender.

And then I come across this video of a squirrel obstacle course. I am left wondering if there is just something in the acorns here.

Edit: more on fenders when we get to armadillos
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Gamebook
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Re: Jab's Animal Builds (Rats! Desert Rodents! Squirrels!)

Post by Gamebook »

Mammals in general seem really bad about keeping out of the way of traffic (that includes us humans). Oddly enough birds seem to be extraordinarily good at dodging vehicles. I have seen pigeons take to the air to go over the top of an oncoming car, clearing it by inches, then settling right back where they were. Crows expertly hop out of the way, apparently easily able to judge speed and distance. Maybe it's a side effect of the faculties they have for their power of flight.
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Re: Jab's Animal Builds (Rats! Desert Rodents! Squirrels!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Gamebook wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 9:39 pm Mammals in general seem really bad about keeping out of the way of traffic (that includes us humans). Oddly enough birds seem to be extraordinarily good at dodging vehicles. I have seen pigeons take to the air to go over the top of an oncoming car, clearing it by inches, then settling right back where they were. Crows expertly hop out of the way, apparently easily able to judge speed and distance. Maybe it's a side effect of the faculties they have for their power of flight.
Homeless people constantly get struck by cars here, because they just walk without checking- a general carelessness that might be part of a root cause for their situation.

Cars move so quickly for something their size that I think many animals just don’t think they’ll be on top of them that quickly. Evolutionarily speaking, there’s not a close comparison for many of these animals, especially at highway speed.
Spectrum
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Re: Jab's Animal Builds (Rats! Desert Rodents! Squirrels!)

Post by Spectrum »

Well, this is suburban residential streets, so maybe, maybe going 20 mph? 32kph?

And if they just ran across, the squlls would be safe, but they end up crossing back and forth a couple of times being indecisive.

Even coming to a stop to let them figure it out isn't entirely successful.
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Jabroniville
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Giant Squirrels

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

GIANT SQUIRRELS
Role:
The Cute Rodents
PL 0 (18)- 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 12 (+7)
Close Combat (Bite) 2 (+4)
Expertise (Survival) 4 (+5)
Perception 4 (+5)

Advantages:
Close Attack 5

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

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

Offense:
Unarmed +3 (-5 Damage, DC 10)
Bite +5 (-5 Damage, DC 10)
Initiative -2

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

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Rats cannot speak to humans, nor use their paws to easily manipulate objects.
Reputation (Pest)- Rats are notoriously prone to disease, and are exterminated wherever they are seen in the civilized world. Many people are naturally frightened of them just by their appearance- they don't even have to do anything.
Weakness (Small Size)- At their natural size, Rats 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 Rat effectively strike with Burst Area Damage at their strength rank naturally.

Total: Abilities: -32 / Skills: 22--11 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 30 / Defenses: 4 (18)

-Not very famous are the Giant Squirrels- a tye of squirrel that can reach 3-8 lbs., and mostly live in Asia. They largely just change the Toughness and aren't as athletic.
Spectrum
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Re: Giant Squirrels

Post by Spectrum »

Jabroniville wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 10:23 am Weakness (Small Size)- At their natural size, Rats 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 Rat effectively strike with Burst Area Damage at their strength rank naturally.
While I understand the idea of this, great big weapon trying to smack down on a small target gets more coverage I'm having trouble with matching it to reality. Rodents tend to be a lot harder to swat down than the rules should dictate. Maybe the entire group should get two levels of Evasion to reflect their speed and relatively small size?
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Re: Jab's Animal Builds (Rats! Desert Rodents! Squirrels!)

Post by catsi563 »

:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: eeeeeee BOINGY FLOOFS!!
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Jabroniville
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Mid-Sized Rodents

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

Cane rat.

MID-SIZED RODENT
Role:
Mid-Sized Rodent
PL 0 (16)- Minion Rank 2, Sidekick Rank 4
Normal Version:
PL 0
STRENGTH -4 STAMINA -3 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING -2 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -4 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE -3

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

Advantages:
Close Attack 5

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 3 (Acute & Extended Scent, Low-Light Vision) [3]
"Natural Weapons- Teeth" Strength-Damage +2 [2]

"Tiny Size" Shrinking 8 (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) -- (1 foot) [17]
(-2 Strength, +4 Defenses, +8 Stealth, -4 Intimidation, -1 Speed)

Offense:
Unarmed +3 (-5 Damage, DC 5)
Bite +5 (-5 Damage, DC 5)
Initiative +0

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

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Rodents cannot speak to humans, nor use their paws to easily manipulate objects.

Total: Abilities: -26 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 22 / Defenses: 5 (16)

-A surprising number or rodents make up this "middle tier", being much larger than Rats, but smaller than Capybaras. Most are from South America.

Existing Animals:
CANE RAT: Cane Rats are huge 25-lb. African rats that are often used as a source of bushmeat, as they produce lean, tender meat. This makes them suitable as good "mini-livestock" animals. They are also known to be pests in sugar cane fields, hence their name.

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PACARANA: Rare, slow-moving rodents, named for a similarity to the Paca, a different rodent. They weigh about 33 lbs.

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HUTIA: 10-18-lb. rodents from South & Central America. Some may have Prehensile tails.

Image

AGOUTI: Long-legged, 8-lb. rodents from South America.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Oct 13, 2020 1:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Mara

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

MARA
Role:
Mid-Sized Rodent, Long-Legged Rodents
PL 0 (19)- Minion Rank 2, Sidekick Rank 4
Normal Version:
PL 0
STRENGTH -4 STAMINA -3 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING -2 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -4 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE -3

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

Advantages:
Close Attack 5

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 3 (Acute & Extended Scent, Low-Light Vision) [3]
"Natural Weapons- Teeth" Strength-Damage +2 [2]
Speed 3 (8 mph) [3]

"Tiny Size" Shrinking 8 (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) -- (1 foot) [17]
(-2 Strength, +4 Defenses, +8 Stealth, -4 Intimidation, -1 Speed)

Offense:
Unarmed +3 (-5 Damage, DC 5)
Bite +5 (-5 Damage, DC 5)
Initiative +0

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

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Rodents cannot speak to humans, nor use their paws to easily manipulate objects.

Total: Abilities: -26 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 25 / Defenses: 5 (19)

-Similar to the Cavies, Maras are brown, square-shaped rodents with good size (18-35 lbs.), but are EXTREMELY fast, having bizarrely long legs (looking almost ungainly, like somebody stuck a guinea pig on top of a deer). There are two remaining types of Mara, both about the same.
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