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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Starfinder RPG

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Creating Megafauna

Source Pathfinder #176: Lost Mammoth Valley pg. 72
There have been countless megafauna, dinosaurs, and giant animals going back through the history of our world, and countless more that can be created for a fantasy world. Creating custom megafauna for your game world enables you, as a GM, to tailor the stories and experiences of your players, further flesh out environments your players explore, and meet player expectations, which is especially important with creatures that have clear ties to the real world but remain in the realm of imagination. Whether you want to create a little-known dinosaur, like the amargasaurus or kosmoceratops, from scratch, reskin a creature into a completely unique megafauna, or increase the size and difficulty of a mundane animal to represent a giant counterpart, the ability to create and mold the game world is at your fingertips. Creating custom megafauna follows the same steps as creating any other creatures. Further guidance is below.

Concept

Source Pathfinder #176: Lost Mammoth Valley pg. 72
As with any creature, the first step in creating megafauna is the concept. If you hope to bring a creature from real life prehistory into your gaming world, most of the work is done for you. A quick bit of research can often get you everything you need to know to bring your creature to life. Likewise, if you hope to make a giant version of any mundane animal, crafting a concept is simple. Creating megafauna from scratch, though, is considerably more difficult.

Whatever your intent, the creature you're creating needs a concept. Consider the unique and interesting features of your creature. Perhaps it has the horns and crest of the aforementioned kosmoceratops, the spines of an amargasaurus, or the odor of a megafauna scavenger that consumes the dead. Decide what you'd like to emphasize.

Then consider the role this creature serves. Is it a solitary hunter, pack hunter, or herd animal? Does it attack in the open or from hiding? Is it easily scared or stubborn? Even if you're basing your concept on a real-world extinct animal, fossil records are sparse about habits and behavior, so many of these decisions are yours to make.

Consider the forms of attack your creature might have. How does it defend itself? Does it have claws, jaws, tentacles, tusks, or horns? Does it charge headfirst into battle or is it skittish? Does it display complex tactics or use the terrain to its advantage?

Once your concept is solidified, it's time to select the method you'll use to create your megafauna.

Method

Source Pathfinder #176: Lost Mammoth Valley pg. 72
There are three primary methods you might use to create game statistics for new megafauna: reskinning an existing creature with similar abilities; adapting an existing creature with similar abilities by changing size, level, and perhaps even an ability or two; or creating megafauna from scratch.

Reskinning

Source Pathfinder #176: Lost Mammoth Valley pg. 72
Reskinning is the easiest method to create new megafauna. First, search the Bestiary, Bestiary 2, Bestiary 3, and other creature sources until you find a creature with similar abilities, attack methods, or attack forms to the creature you intend to create, in an appropriate level range for your players. Once you find a suitable creature, simply change the creature's description to one that matches your new megafauna and, if necessary, alter a few mechanical details, such as changing a jaws Strike to a tail Strike, adding a climb Speed, or adding appropriate abilities like Grab, Trample, or Swallow Whole.

Adapting

Source Pathfinder #176: Lost Mammoth Valley pg. 72
Adapting is slightly more difficult than reskinning, but still a simple process. It begins much the same: search for an appropriate stat block to use as a jumping-off point. Depending upon your megafauna concept, this may be a creature with the appropriate level, size, strength, Strikes, or tactics.

Once you have your base creature, you'll begin to make changes, likely to the level and associated statistics of the creature, or by removing abilities and creating entirely new ones to better suit your megafauna. Advice for creating unique abilities is under Design Abilities, while the rules for selecting your creature's statistics begin with Abilitiy Modifiers under the Building Creatures rules.

Alternatively, you can tweak a base creature with the elite or weak adjustments to increase or decrease the level and difficulty of a creature to better suit your concept. This is especially useful when creating a giant version of an animal, which can easily be representing by taking the base creature and adding the elite adjustment.

Sometimes, you can take two stat blocks similar to that of your intended creature and combine them, using the statistical chassis of a creature of the appropriate level range, cutting the base creature's abilities, and adding on the abilities of a creature with appropriate Strikes, abilities, or tactics. For example, you might decide that your new desert-dwelling megafauna has the size and statistics of a brontosaurus but can burrow and leap like a bulette. The resulting hybrid creature will be a unique twist on familiar creatures, created with minimal effort and difficulty.

Creating

Source Pathfinder #176: Lost Mammoth Valley pg. 73
Creating a megafauna from scratch is the most difficult method, following all the standard steps of building creatures described in the Gamemastery Guide.

Megafauna Features

Source Pathfinder #176: Lost Mammoth Valley pg. 73
Whatever megafauna you intend to create and whatever method you choose to utilize, megafauna have numerous similarities and key features, including the following statistics.

Alignment: Megafauna are neutral in alignment.

Intelligence: Megafauna have Intelligence scores of –4 or –5.

Senses: Most megafauna have either low-light vision or darkvision. Other common senses megafauna might have include echolocation (as a precise sense) and scent or tremorsense (as imprecise senses).

Special Defenses: Although not impossible, it's rare for megafauna to have special defenses such as regeneration, immunities, resistances, or weaknesses. Include them only if they are key to your concept.

Skills: Megafauna have only a few skills, which are focused on their physical abilities and methods of survival. These are usually Acrobatics, Athletics, Stealth, or Survival.
Traits: Megafauna have the animal trait. Dinosaurs have the dinosaur trait, and creatures that live in the water might have the aquatic or amphibious traits.

Omissions: Megafauna don't have languages, items, or spells. They almost never have magical abilities.

Abilities

Source Pathfinder #176: Lost Mammoth Valley pg. 73
Megafauna, like most animals, are made special by their unique features, which can be expressed through their modes of movement, Strikes, and abilities. As you create these abilities, take into account where your megafauna lives—is this a harsh environment? If so, how has this creature adapted to survive? Consider how it interacts with its environment—does it blend in, trample it down, alter it, or adapt to suit it? Consider what your megafauna eats—does it actively hunt, lay in wait, or forage? Finally, consider how your megafauna defends itself. Embracing your megafauna's unique features can make for interesting creatures, exciting encounters, and variety at the gaming table.

Review

Source Pathfinder #176: Lost Mammoth Valley pg. 73
As with all creatures, the final step in creating megafauna is to compare your creature to others of a similar level. Additionally, test your creature to see how it functions at the table. Pay close attention to the numbers—can it be hit, does it endure as intended, and are its Strikes fair—as well as the abilities, feel, and pace of the combat. Most importantly, do the creature's abilities reflect the megafauna you intended to create? If not, do some tweaking and give it another test. In the end, your megafauna will be better for it.

Related Rules

Building Creatures (Source Gamemastery Guide pg. 56)