Giant Riding Lizards - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 reginhild Jan 04, 2009 7:30:59	Lizards are part of the reptile family, meaning that they have no inner means of achieving homeostasis. As a result, they must keep careful watch of their body temperature. This need requires lizards to live in areas with consistently high temperatures. Lizards are rarely seen in the upper half of the United States and most European countries.
#2 scrat75 Jan 04, 2009 7:38:46	I have played in a game where there where riding lizards,Bithright had them.and instead of scales they where covered with a thick white furry hide and lived in the colder climites.So I don't see them as a problem for a mount if the game can use them.
#3 lord_karsus Jan 04, 2009 12:59:15	-Being as that Giant Riding Lizards are traditionally from the Underdark, the need to raise their body temperature by sunning themselves seemingly does not apply.
#4 harpyja_dup Jan 04, 2009 15:51:29	One way to possibly solve the scale problem is for the scales to be extremely small and flexible around the region of the stomach, similar to the scales of a Green Iguana. If you pet them, it feels extremely smooth. Even going against the grain isn't that rough. The passage is most likely speaking of small lizards. Larger reptiles don't necessarily have the same behavior - I don't imagine that a komodo dragon would run for a crevice, for example.
#5 wyld_mutation Jan 04, 2009 17:51:20	How bout a saltwater crocodile? I don't see them EVER hiding from a threat. I see thhem taking bites out of large fish (read "sharks") when they get too close.
#6 yrogerg Jan 05, 2009 5:29:34	One way to possibly solve the scale problem is for the scales to be extremely small and flexible around the region of the stomach, similar to the scales of a Green Iguana. If you pet them, it feels extremely smooth. Even going against the grain isn't that rough. The passage is most likely speaking of small lizards. Larger reptiles don't necessarily have the same behavior - I don't imagine that a komodo dragon would run for a crevice, for example. Well, yeah. Larger reptiles tend to have a much easier time conserving body heat, thanks to Gigantothermy. But then again, this post seems to be more a response to some ongoing argument than anything; a little context would be nice. OP, are you trying to argue that Giant Riding Lizards aren't "realistic" for your tastes, or that they're not broken because the should be played as disruptingly unridable by the DM?
#7 reginhild Jan 07, 2009 8:52:32	.... or that they're not broken because the should be played as disruptingly unridable by the DM? Someone got it! Well, almost unridable. They could be played per the rules but with some of the disadvantages that are not mentioned.
#8 yrogerg Jan 07, 2009 13:04:22	Someone got it! Well, almost unridable. They could be played per the rules but with some of the disadvantages that are not mentioned. Again, though, you're generalizing a lot from the behavior of tiny wild reptiles, not gigantothermic megafauna like alligators or hypothetical giant lizards that were trained for riding into combat. Which, one would expect, probably don't have quite the same issues. Oh, and ridiculous houseruled restrictions that make something practically unplayable doesn't mean that it's not broken; in fact, the fact that it needs to be made practically unplayable to seem "balanced" suggests that it is horribly, horribly broken.
#9 wyld_mutation Jan 07, 2009 19:04:23	Wait... Why would te lizard be broken?
#10 koesherbacon Jan 14, 2009 16:51:11	My character just bought on off a ship that had captured it elsewhere. Balanced or unbalanced, I imagine just riding a giant lizard is just an awesome character feature. What makes your character unique? Oh not much, except he's a warlord riding a giant frikkin' lizard! Boo yah!
#11 thegreatgalstaff Jan 15, 2009 10:36:45	Wait... Why would te lizard be broken? because they do 2D6+5 on a hit, their ability says when ever you attack with a melee attack the mount may attack as a free action. so if you are a ranger or fighter using two weapons and you use twin stike your mount may attack 2 times giving a longsword fighter a chance to do 2D8+4D6+20+ enhancement 2X. and if you use a action point you can do up to 4D8+8D6+40+ enhancement 4X. some epic characters have trouble doing this much damage!!! if you use close burst weapon attacks (especially some with the polearm powers) you mount gets attacks on all of the people you attacked to so that up to 9 people thats 18D6+45 just from the mount! that's why some people feel they are broken...But they are not because once you get to level 10 they cant hit anything anymore since they don't level and that's how wizards balance them.
#12 mufflon Jan 15, 2009 18:48:58	It's fantasy. There are dragons flying across the skies. There are people throwing balls of fire at each other. What you read about lizards on wikipedia doesn't really apply. When threatened, they will run for cover and wedge themselves in rocky crevices. The same is true of horses (well, except for the crevice part, but then again a lizard as big as a horse probably wouldn't do that either), but that doesn't mean they can't be trained for combat.

Post/Author/DateTime

Post

reginhild

Jan 04, 2009 7:30:59

Lizards are part of the reptile family, meaning that they have no inner means of achieving homeostasis. As a result, they must keep careful watch of their body temperature. This need requires lizards to live in areas with consistently high temperatures. Lizards are rarely seen in the upper half of the United States and most European countries.

scrat75

Jan 04, 2009 7:38:46

I have played in a game where there where riding lizards,Bithright had them.and instead of scales they where covered with a thick white furry hide and lived in the colder climites.So I don't see them as a problem for a mount if the game can use them.

lord_karsus

Jan 04, 2009 12:59:15

-Being as that Giant Riding Lizards are traditionally from the Underdark, the need to raise their body temperature by sunning themselves seemingly does not apply.

harpyja_dup

Jan 04, 2009 15:51:29

One way to possibly solve the scale problem is for the scales to be extremely small and flexible around the region of the stomach, similar to the scales of a Green Iguana. If you pet them, it feels extremely smooth. Even going against the grain isn't that rough.

The passage is most likely speaking of small lizards. Larger reptiles don't necessarily have the same behavior - I don't imagine that a komodo dragon would run for a crevice, for example.

wyld_mutation

Jan 04, 2009 17:51:20

How bout a saltwater crocodile? I don't see them EVER hiding from a threat.

I see thhem taking bites out of large fish (read "sharks") when they get too close.

yrogerg

Jan 05, 2009 5:29:34

One way to possibly solve the scale problem is for the scales to be extremely small and flexible around the region of the stomach, similar to the scales of a Green Iguana. If you pet them, it feels extremely smooth. Even going against the grain isn't that rough.

The passage is most likely speaking of small lizards. Larger reptiles don't necessarily have the same behavior - I don't imagine that a komodo dragon would run for a crevice, for example.

Well, yeah. Larger reptiles tend to have a much easier time conserving body heat, thanks to Gigantothermy.

But then again, this post seems to be more a response to some ongoing argument than anything; a little context would be nice. OP, are you trying to argue that Giant Riding Lizards aren't "realistic" for your tastes, or that they're not broken because the should be played as disruptingly unridable by the DM?

reginhild

Jan 07, 2009 8:52:32

.... or that they're not broken because the should be played as disruptingly unridable by the DM?

Someone got it! Well, almost unridable. They could be played per the rules but with some of the disadvantages that are not mentioned.

yrogerg

Jan 07, 2009 13:04:22

Someone got it! Well, almost unridable. They could be played per the rules but with some of the disadvantages that are not mentioned.

Again, though, you're generalizing a lot from the behavior of tiny wild reptiles, not gigantothermic megafauna like alligators or hypothetical giant lizards that were trained for riding into combat. Which, one would expect, probably don't have quite the same issues.

Oh, and ridiculous houseruled restrictions that make something practically unplayable doesn't mean that it's not broken; in fact, the fact that it needs to be made practically unplayable to seem "balanced" suggests that it *is* horribly, horribly broken.

wyld_mutation

Jan 07, 2009 19:04:23

Wait... Why would te lizard be broken?

#10

koesherbacon

Jan 14, 2009 16:51:11

My character just bought on off a ship that had captured it elsewhere.

Balanced or unbalanced, I imagine just riding a giant lizard is just an awesome character feature.

What makes your character unique? Oh not much, except he's a warlord riding a giant frikkin' lizard! Boo yah!

#11

thegreatgalstaff

Jan 15, 2009 10:36:45

Wait... Why would te lizard be broken?

because they do 2D6+5 on a hit,

their ability says when ever you attack with a melee attack the mount may attack as a free action.

so if you are a ranger or fighter using two weapons and you use twin stike your mount may attack 2 times giving a longsword fighter a chance to do 2D8+4D6+20+ enhancement 2X. and if you use a action point you can do up to 4D8+8D6+40+ enhancement 4X. some epic characters have trouble doing this much damage!!!

if you use close burst weapon attacks (especially some with the polearm powers) you mount gets attacks on all of the people you attacked to so that up to 9 people thats 18D6+45 just from the mount!

that's why some people feel they are broken...But

they are not because once you get to level 10 they cant hit anything anymore since they don't level and that's how wizards balance them.

#12

mufflon

Jan 15, 2009 18:48:58

It's fantasy. There are dragons flying across the skies. There are people throwing balls of fire at each other. What you read about lizards on wikipedia doesn't really apply.

When threatened, they will run for cover and wedge themselves in rocky crevices.

The same is true of horses (well, except for the crevice part, but then again a lizard as big as a horse probably wouldn't do that either), but that doesn't mean they can't be trained for combat.