FREQUENCY: Common
NO. APPEARING: 1-20
ARMOR CLASS: 10
MOVE: 3?/24?
HIT DICE: 1 hp to 4 HD
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 (bite)
DAMAGE/ATTACK: Nil to 2-12
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Dive
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
INTELLIGENCE: Animal
SIZE: S to M (up to 40? wingspan)
Pterosaurs are flying archosaurs, the first
group to take to the
air (the second set were the ancestors
of the birds). They may be
found in Jurassic and Cretaceous settings,
filling many of the roles
that birds do in modern settings. Pterosaurs
have membranous
wings, like those of bats, though the
outer parts of the wing are
supported by a single finger along its
leading edge rather than by
a spray of fingers. Also like bats, pterosaurs
have a hairy covering,
though pterosaurs have insulation on the
wing as well as the body,
so that the wings don?t appear bare. Like
birds, pterosaurs have
good vision and are most active by day.
Like albatrosses or swifts,
pterosaurs spend most of their time in
the air, since they are
clumsy afoot and may have difficulty taking
off again. Since their
wing membranes are quite vulnerable to
injury, they won?t usually
risk an encounter that might end in a
grounding, which would
almost certainly be fatal. If disturbed
near their nesting grounds,
though, they dive at the intruders, gaining
surprise on a 1-4, and
retreat to the skies after a single strike.
Pterosaurs vary with size
as follows:
| HIT DICE: | 1 hp | 1/4 | 1/2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| DAMAGE: | Nil | 1 | 1-2 | 1-4 | 1-6 | 2-8 | 2-12 |
| SIZE: | S(to 10) | S(11-15) | S(16-20) | S(21-25) | M(26-30) | M(31-35) | M(36-40) |
A pterosaur's size, based upon wingspan,
is deceptive; even
those with huge spans are not very massive.
Pterosaurs can carry
up to half their own weight over very
short distances. The 4 ND
pterosaurs may carry 700 gp, 3 HD ones
may carry 500 gp, 2 HD
ones may carry 300 gp, 1 HD individuals
may carry 200 gp, and l/2
HD pterosaurs may carry 100 gp weight.
If a carried item is near
the weight limit or if it struggles, the
pterosaur may drop it and
then return to see the result. Pterosaurs
with but a single hit point
are class B fliers; those with 1 HD or
less are class C fliers, and
those with 2 HD or more are class D fliers.
There are two subtypes of pterosaur:
Rhamphorhynchoids are Jurassic
pterosaurs, all being small and
having no more than a single hit point.
They have long tails and
short necks, and their mouths are full
of needle-shaped teeth.
They prey on small animals and fish.
Pterodactyloids are from the
Jurassic and Cretaceous, though
those with more than ¼ HD are unique
to Cretaceous settings.
They include large scavengers. A pterosaur
has a long neck and
practically no tail, and the teeth are
reduced or absent, being
replaced by a beak. Pteranodon,
a fish-eating variety, is an exampie of one of the larger forms.