REAL WORLD CREATURES
KOMODO DRAGON
(Varanus komodoensis)
Val CHA Cost Roll Notes 20 STR 10 13- Lift 400 kg; 4d6 HTH Damage [2] 12 DEX 4 11- 18 CON 8 13- 8 INT -2 11- PER Roll 11-/14- 5 EGO -5 10- 18 PRE 8 13- PRE Attack: 3 ½d6 4 OCV 5 4 DCV 5 2 OMCV -3 2 DMCV -3 2 SPD 0 Phases: 6, 12 10 PD 6 Total: 10 PD (2 rPD) 9 ED 5 Total: 9 ED (2 rED) 8 REC 4 36 END 4 13 BODY 3 32 STUN 6 Total Characteristic Cost: 51 Movement: Running: 10m/20m Leaping: 0m Swimming: 8m/16m Tunneling: 2m/4m Cost Powers & Skills 20 Bite: HKA 1d6+1 (2d6+1 w/STR), +1 Increased STUN Multiplier (+¼); Reduced Penetration (-¼), END 2 8 Claws: HKA ½d6 (2d6 w/STR); Reduced Penetration (-¼), END 1 18 Infectious Bite: Drain CON 1d6, NND (defense is appropriate LS [Immunity]; +0), Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Week; +2 ½), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); Damage Over Time, (5 increments, one per Day for 5 days, defense only applies once, cannot be used again on same victim until all increment accrue, can be negated by application of proper antibiotics; -3), HKA Must Do Body (-½), Linked (HKA; -½) plus HKA 1d6, NND (defense is appropriate LS [Immunity]; +1), Does BODY (+1), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); Damage Over Time, (5 increments, one per Day for 5 days, defense only applies once, cannot be used again on same victim until all increment accrue, can be negated by application of proper antibiotics; -3), No Range (-½), HKA Bite Must Do Body (-½), Linked (Bite; -¼) 2 Heavy: Knockback Resistance -2m 6 Tough Hide: Resistant Protection (2 PD/2 ED) 0 Can't Leap: Leaping -4m (total 0m) 5 Immune To Snake Venom: Life Support (Immunity: Zootoxins) 0 Sluggish: Running -2m (total 10m) -3 Sluggish: Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -½) applied to Running 2 Taking To The Water: Swimming +4m (8m total), END 1 2 Digging Out A Burrow: Tunneling 2m through 2 PD material; Extra Time (1 Turn Character May Take No Other Actions, -1 ½), Limited Medium (dirt and soil; -½), END 1 6 Sharp Sense of Smell: +3 PER with Smell/Taste Group 5 Sharp Sense of Smell: Discriminatory with Normal Smell 5 Sharp Sense of Smell: Tracking with Normal Smell Skills 4 +2 OCV with Bite 9 Concealment 15-; Self Only (-1/2) 11 Tracking 14- Total Powers & Skill Cost: 99 Total Cost: 149 175+ Matching Complications (50) 20 Physical Complication: Animal Intelligence (Frequently; Greatly Impairing) 20 Physical Complication: Cold-Blooded (Frequently; Greatly Impairing) 15 Physical Complication: Large (roughly 3m long, 165 kg, +2 OCV to hit, +2 to others PER Rolls to Perceive) (Frequently; Slightly Impairing) 15 Physical Complication: Poor eyesight (Sight Group PER roll of 7-) (Frequently; Slightly Impairing) 20 Physical Complication: Very Limited Manipulation (Frequently; Greatly Impairing) 10 Psychological Complication: Aggressive Around Food Items (Common; Moderate) Total Complications Points: 50
Ecology: Komodo dragons live in Indonesia, in the Lesser Sunda island chain. Their main home is the island of Komodo, although they also dwell on the islands of Padar, Rinca, and the very western tip of the island of Flores. As dragons are excellent swimmers, travel between these islands is not a problem for them.
Young dragons are tree dwellers, which keeps them out of the reach of the cannibalistic adults. While in the trees, they eat birds, insects, and lizards. Larger dragons live on the forest floor, and hunt birds, rats, and snakes. Really big dragons will take buffalo, deer, and pigs.
Dragons are solitary, sleeping at night and hunting by day. They dwell in burrows they dig themselves, and enter such a deep sleep that one can handle them safely without fear the dragon will awake. During the day, the dragons will lay in the sun and the shade, regulating their body temperature.
Personality/Motivation: Typical animal motivations. Dragons have fairly simple brains, and are driven mainly by a desire to eat.
Powers/Tactics: Dragons are sluggish and slow, and any reasonably healthy person can outrun one on flat and open ground. Their hunting tactic is one of surprise. They will lay motionless amid the debris of the forest, hidden by shadows and then lunge out to ambush prey. This ambush is often performed as a form of Move-Through, in which the dragon bites its prey and knocks it to the ground. Death comes from bleeding and shock (hence the Increased STUN Multiplier), at which point the dragon tears the body apart into chunks it can swallow.
Prey that survives this initial attack and flee, often do so leaving a trail of blood. The dragon, which has an excellent sense of smell, will then track the wounded animal, often finding it crippled (or dead) due to loss of blood.
The saliva of a dragon is full of bacteria, which will rapidly infect any wound resulting form a dragon's bite. The Infected Bite included here is meant to be a generic form of blood poisoning. Due to its infectious bite, injuries inflicted by a dragon take a long time to heal and will scar. Recent research indicates it’s possible the dragons have venom sacks in their mouths, meaning they might inject a weak venom into their prey when they bite. Game Masters might want to exchange the Infected Bite power with a Venom Template; the dragon’s venom shouldn’t exceed Average.
Appearance: The Komodo dragon is a huge lizard belonging to the monitor family. It is the world's heaviest lizard, weighing on average 110 pounds, with the largest reaching 365 pounds and lengths of over 10 feet. They have rough, pebbly hides and are black in color. It has a mouth full of serrated teeth, large claws and a long forked tongue that it uses to "taste" the air.
Designer's Notes: First reported in the early 20th century, the dragons of Komodo are the world's heaviest lizard (But not the largest/longest, that honor belongs to the Salvadori monitor of Papua New Guinea.). There are about 5,000 of them in the wild, with more than half dwelling on the island of Komodo. They are the largest meat eaters on the islands, and their great size seems to be due to a lack of competition. To give an idea of the power of a Komodo dragon, they are known to have brought down 1,600 pound water buffalo, and one dragon consumed a 90 lb pig in 17 minutes. This is all the more impressive when one realizes the dragon itself only weighed around 100 lbs.
The Komodo dragon is known to have killed upwards of 12 people. In 1989 a tourist wandered off of the forest trail and vanished. All that was found was his glasses and his camera. Sleeping on the forest floor on the island of Komodo is not a good idea.
Recommended Reading: Matthews, Richard. Nightmares of Nature. London: HarperCollins, 1995. Print.
Komodo Dragon Hero Designer File
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