Dinosaur, Compsognathus

Compsognathus Creature-1

N Tiny Animal Dinosaur

Senses Perception +5; low-light vision, scent (imprecise) 30 feet

Skills Acrobatics +6, Stealth +6

Str +0, Dex +3, Con +2, Int -4, Wis +2, Cha -2

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AC 15; Fort +4, Ref +7, Will +4

HP 8

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Speed 30 feet, swim 15 feet

Melee [one-action] jaws +7 (agile, finesse), Damage 1d6 piercing plus compsognathus venom

Compsognathus Venom (poison) Saving Throw DC 16 Fortitude; Maximum Duration 4 rounds; Stage 1 1d6 poison damage and enfeebled 1 (1 round); Stage 2 1d8 poison damage and enfeebled 1 (1 round)

About

The compsognathus is a small bipedal dinosaur that moves in swift, darting motions. Its bite injects a venom that causes numbness and weakness, a trait that the animal uses to bring down larger prey, although it prefers to scavenge food or snatch up insects and other smaller creatures for its meals. The compsognathus is curious to a fault; most encounters that result in combat with these diminutive dinosaurs result not from the creatures’ hunger but from frightened defensive reactions when the dinosaurs’ inquisitive natures compel them to enter into situations (such as wagons or bedrolls) that inadvertently put them at odds with surprised adventurers.

A compsognathus measures 3 feet long from its head to the tip of its tail and weighs 15 pounds. It is small enough to serve as a house pet or even as a familiar for a spellcaster. In cases where magical links aren’t involved, however, those encountering or keeping the creatures would be well-advised to treat them with the same caution one might extend to a pet viper or other poisonous reptile, as they are at best partly tame.

Compsognathus Familiars

Appropriate familiar abilities for a compsognathus familiar include climber, damage avoidance, fast movement, kinspeech, manual dexterity, scent, or speech. A compsognathus familiar who can talk tends to do so in a rapid voice, with plenty of questions as a result of its eager curiosity. Note that while dinosaurs aren’t technically all the same species, you should consider allowing a compsognathus with kinspeech the ability to speak to any dinosaur rather than limiting it to only fellow compsognathuses.