HYPERBOREA / What About Glyptodonts?

**Posted by Spider of Leng** 8/18/2020 11:18 pm

Inspired by a discussion we had here a few months ago, I went on ebay and bought a bunch of Marx toy dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures for my son (sort of). Of course I can also use many of these creatures as minis for my games. But I've realized that somehow none of the OSR games or original D&D have stats for the spike-tailed glyptodonts. What's up with that? It will be easy enough to do of course, but given how most of the other megafauna are statted up, I found this odd. Maybe they did it in 2e? I've sold most of my 2e stuff and can't recall. Just curious. I'm going to stat up all these toys, including sphenacadon, cynognathus, and moschops.

**Posted by Jimm.Iblis** 8/19/2020 11:15 pm

Glyptodon | ×App 1-4 | AC 1 | MV 20 | HD 7 (hp 28) | ATT tail strike (2d6 plus stun) | SA/D: Shell; stun | SV 13 | ML 8 | INT animal | DX 4 | SZ L | TC - | XP 510
This armored creature has a bony, turtle-like shell from which protrude short limbs, a blunt head, and a short spiky tail.

Stun for 1-3 rounds on a natural roll of 20 (save neg).

This 9'-long Pleistocene ground sloth was similar in shape to an armadillo, although it was very large and had a long tail. The end of the tail had a heavy ball set with spikes, much like the head of a morning star. In addition, this beast's body was heavily armored with a shell like a turtle's. A peaceful herbivore, Glyptodon was still dangerous to provoke.
~ Conversion from Dragon 137, "Into the Age of Mammals"

Last edited by Jimm.Iblis (8/19/2020 11:29 pm)

**Posted by Jimm.Iblis** 8/19/2020 11:23 pm

Cynognathus | ×App 2-12 | AC 7 | MV 40 | HD 2 (hp 8) | ATT bite (1d6 +overbear), 2 claws (1d4 +rake) | SA/D: overbear; leaping pounce; rake | SV 16 | ML 7 | INT animal | DX 9 | SZ M | TC - | XP 36
This is a five foot long, two foot tall quadrupedal reptile with a furry, wolflike head, a flickering forked tongue and lots of teeth. It reminds you of a cross between a wolf and a giant lizard.

Can use all its natural weapons (and possibly rake) at the end of a charge if it jumps the last 10 ft. of movement.
If the front claws both hit the same target, the animal automatically rakes with its rear claws for 2d4 damage.
A successful bite attack forces an avoidance save to avoid becoming prone (−4 AC). Creatures get a bonus to save of +1/leg they have over two. Creatures with no legs cannot be overborne.

It is a five foot long, two foot tall quadrupedal reptile with a somewhat wolflike head and lots of teeth. It should remind you of a cross between a wolf and a giant lizard. It may be found anywhere with lots of available food. Since it is exclusively a meat-eater, there must be lots of small animals around for it to eat. From 2-12 are found in a typical pack if game is plentiful, otherwise in ones and twos.

Also see Dragon 176 "Playing in the Paleozoic"

Last edited by Jimm.Iblis (8/19/2020 11:54 pm)

**Posted by mabon5127** 8/20/2020 12:30 pm

I love these boards.

"I need a Glyptodont."

"Wait a sec here's one."

**Posted by Spider of Leng** 8/20/2020 4:01 pm

Cool stuff, though the glyptodonts are in fact a type of armadillo. When their bones were first discovered, they were thought to be megatherium. And the two species lived in the same areas and are found in the same Marx toy sets!

Interesting stats; I was thinking about the same for glyptodonts (AC: 2; 6 HD; 2-12 damage plus stun), though I was going a little tougher with cynognathus (4 HD), though this will play, for sure.
Moschops will be 5-6 HD; Sphenecodon around 6 HD; and maybe 8 HD for Macrauchenia.

**Posted by Spider of Leng** 8/20/2020 4:18 pm

So the concept I'm working with sort of mashes up "Bone Tomahawk," "Valley of the Gwangi," "Cannibal Holocaust," and Incan worship practices.

A bunch of miners and their families in remote communities have gone missing. In most cases the men are slain, but the women and children disappear, presumably taken captive. The rumors suggest debased humans from a legendary place known as the Valley of the Kwangsi are the culprits. The PCs are hired to follow the trail, solve the mystery and bring back any survivors.

When they get there, they find a huge hidden valley full of megafauna, a few giant reptiles, and our debased cannibals, none other than the Kwangsi. The Kwangsi use trained phororhacos as guards and practice cannibalism. They worship stunted mummies that they claim are their ancestors from beyond the stars. The mummies are stored in tombs but brought out for important ceremonies. They believe that the descendants of these people will be coming soon so they are preparing a special feast for them.

Sound interesting?

Last edited by Spider of Leng (8/20/2020 4:19 pm)

**Posted by rhialto** 8/21/2020 7:27 pm

mabon5127 wrote:
I love these boards.

"I need a Glyptodont."

"Wait a sec here's one."

Also a testament to the solid bones of the AS&SH rules...pun possibly purposeful.

**Posted by rhialto** 8/21/2020 7:29 pm

Spider of Leng wrote:
So the concept I'm working with sort of mashes up "Bone Tomahawk," "Valley of the Gwangi," "Cannibal Holocaust," and Incan worship practices.

A bunch of miners and their families in remote communities have gone missing. In most cases the men are slain, but the women and children disappear, presumably taken captive. The rumors suggest debased humans from a legendary place known as the Valley of the Kwangsi are the culprits. The PCs are hired to follow the trail, solve the mystery and bring back any survivors.

When they get there, they find a huge hidden valley full of megafauna, a few giant reptiles, and our debased cannibals, none other than the Kwangsi. The Kwangsi use trained phororhacos as guards and practice cannibalism. They worship stunted mummies that they claim are their ancestors from beyond the stars. The mummies are stored in tombs but brought out for important ceremonies. They believe that the descendants of these people will be coming soon so they are preparing a special feast for them.

Sound interesting?

Yes, especially if the mummies just happen to animate when the PCs are around; or maybe their ancestors return?

**Posted by Spider of Leng** 8/21/2020 9:45 pm

Oh yes, the mummies will animate; just haven't figured out when or how. Still brainstorming the basic outline, then I'll work up some more monster stat blocks, then sketch out my map of the valley. Right now I know there will be cave cliff dwellings, hot springs, and a tar pit, in addition to open areas for the big herd animals. So it's going to be pretty sizeable.

**Posted by rhialto** 8/22/2020 5:51 am

Yes, sounds very intriguing: look forward to the developments.

**Posted by Doctor_Rob** 8/27/2020 5:01 am

This is great! Please keep us posted as to how this develops.

**Posted by Doctor_Rob** 8/27/2020 10:42 am

If you're looking for a good Allosaurus mini for your game, Papo do a really great toy - so good I got one for myself

Picture here on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Papo-55078-55078-Allosaurus-Multicolour/dp/B07N3YP6TM/ref=sr_1_1?crid=G62WIM1IYNNG&dchild=1&keywords=papo+allosaurus&qid=1598542682&sprefix=papo+all%2Caps%2C153&sr=8-1

**Posted by Spider of Leng** 8/27/2020 11:41 am

That is a cool figure. My son has a few more realistic ones like that, but in this game we're going with the vintage toys, which include a pot-bellied allosaurus. I also have those old Chinasaurs with the rust monster and bulette, so I may try to work those in too...though rust monsters probably starve in stone age settings

**Posted by Monkeydono** 8/28/2020 3:41 am

Spider of Leng wrote:
Cool stuff, though the glyptodonts are in fact a type of armadillo. When their bones were first discovered, they were thought to be megatherium. And the two species lived in the same areas and are found in the same Marx toy sets!

Interesting stats; I was thinking about the same for glyptodonts (AC: 2; 6 HD; 2-12 damage plus stun), though I was going a little tougher with cynognathus (4 HD), though this will play, for sure.
Moschops will be 5-6 HD; Sphenecodon around 6 HD; and maybe 8 HD for Macrauchenia.

Jimm.Iblis wrote:
Glyptodon | ×App 1-4 | AC 1 | MV 20 | HD 7 (hp 28) | ATT tail strike (2d6 plus stun) | SA/D: Shell; stun | SV 13 | ML 8 | INT animal | DX 4 | SZ L | TC - | XP 510
This armored creature has a bony, turtle-like shell from which protrude short limbs, a blunt head, and a short spiky tail.

Stun for 1-3 rounds on a natural roll of 20 (save neg).

This 9'-long Pleistocene ground sloth was similar in shape to an armadillo, although it was very large and had a long tail. The end of the tail had a heavy ball set with spikes, much like the head of a morning star. In addition, this beast's body was heavily armored with a shell like a turtle's. A peaceful herbivore, Glyptodon was still dangerous to provoke.
~ Conversion from Dragon 137, "Into the Age of Mammals"

Nice execution on the stats (I was working on this idea a few years ago then I became a PC for the adventure instead of the DM), I’d love to get back to noodling around with this niche...

Left off here:

Ixpats:
Scythian expatriates on the lam have oft sought safe havens or to obfuscate discovery through disguise or even disfigurement, only brutal wilds offer much reprieve to the patient and persistent Ixians. Many fleeing Scythian have sought solace in the desolate diamond dunes, few lived to see seasonal change, for most luck and life expired soon after the last drops from their water skins, yet some did persevere...

Think Inuit cum Bedouin, riding giant armadillos (Glyptodons) each towing on skids an empty shell.

Total Ixpat population: c. 800 scattered and roving.

Roughly 60 to 90 family groups, limited in their size by the number of dominated Glyptodons they husband. Each Glyptodon towing a shell which may easily house six adults yet twelve is possible in emergencies (think clown car packed). Thus, many families are about six members per armadillo with a three shell family seemingly the goal and the practical maximum since families greater than twenty ofttimes split thru rightful and occurring rites.

**Posted by Spider of Leng** 9/01/2020 10:47 pm

So going back to Jimm's post, I finally decided to track down that issue of Dragon. Upon seeing its cover image, I thought it looked familiar. So I delved into a box in a closet containing a few random roleplaying things, including the few old Dragon mags I accumulated, though I never had a subscription. Sure enough, I own that issue! And they even have stats for unitatherium and maucrechnia, two other toys in my collection.
Score!

Last edited by Spider of Leng (9/01/2020 10:48 pm)