Cover blurb
Have you ever wanted more interesting dinosaurs in your roleplaying games with realistic artwork? Ever dreamed of your roleplaying worlds being populated by entire ecosystems of dinosaurs? Do you think it would be awesome if they were accompanied by realistic behaviour tables, evolution mutation tables, taming rules, and optional magical rules? Well, we have the book for you. Designed and written by palaeontologists, Dr. Dhrolin’s Dictionary of Dinosaurs brings a whole host of Mesozoic creatures (dinosaurs, pterosaurs, marine reptiles, etc.) to your tabletop, along with new palaeontology-themed playable races, subclasses, backgrounds, feats, and supplementary rules. Illustrated by world-famous palaeoartist Dr. Mark Witton, this book provides everything you’ll need to bring palaeontology into your gaming world. Not only will you find great gaming content inside, but also heaps of factual scientific information about our ancient past.
My thoughts
Dinosaurs have been a part of tabletop roleplaying games since the beginning of the hobby, with the earliest editions of Dungeons & Dragons including monster stats for dinosaurs alongside mythological beasts like griffons and goblins. Still, the terrible reptiles rarely take center stage, usually serving random encounters in a prehistoric wilderness hidden in some distant corner of a fantasy world, or under it. And often dinosaurs are depicted either as powerful but sluggish behemoths or, since Jurassic Park, as active but scaly predators. Dr. Dhrolin’s Dictionary of Dinosaurs is an attempt to inject modern science into D&D’s depictions of the animals, although with optional magic rules for players who want their hadrosaurs to hurl spells. It also is the only gaming supplement written by actual paleontologists, so there is a lot of information about the science itself and our current understanding of the animals.
A quick note: This is not a review of the game mechanics found in the book. Dr. Dhrolin’s Dictionary of Dinosaurs was written for fifth edition D&D, which is being phased out for One D&D, which uses most of the same mechanics as fifth edition. I don’t play many RPGs, and when I do, I usually play solo and with other systems. I’m sharing my thoughts on the text, art, and how useful gamers will find the book, no matter what system they use.
Dr. Dhrolin’s Dictionary of Dinosaurs opens with a short introduction to the science of paleontology, explaining basic concepts such as how fossils form and the level of training needed to pursue a career in the profession. The book then lists four plot hooks for introducing paleontological elements into fantasy settings, including a fantasy version of Jurassic Park where a cult of necromancers has resurrected dinosaurs on an isolated island for mysterious purposes. (The text is accompanied by an illustration of an orcish John Hammond.) We are also introduced to Dr. Reginald Dhrolin, a dwarven scientist and associate professor in paleontology at the “University of Urgleshire.” Dr. Dhrolin has been transported to the prehistoric past by a time-traveling wizard, and his account of that adventure provides the flavor text accompanying the descriptions of the various dinosaurs and other Mesozoic creatures featured in the book.
The authors next provide four real-world prehistoric environments along with a selection of extinct plants and animals found in each setting. One that stood out for me is the Yixian Formation in China, which introduces volcanic, snow-covered highlands that are a welcome alternative to the steamy tropical jungles that are home to most dinosaurs in RPGs. Next is an alphabetized bestiary, with the authors focusing on more obscure dinosaurs and related animals not found in other RPG supplements. Each entry provides short descriptions of the real-world environment the animal lived in, informed speculation about its behavior, details about its physiology, and optional magical rules. There are also entries provided by the Kickstarter backers of the book. (This section included my favorite optional magical rule: Dilophosaurus is so annoyed by the inaccurate Jurassic Park depiction of it spitting venom that it is now magically resistant to all ranged and poison attacks.)
The final sections of the book contain randomization tables for modeling dinosaur behavior and introducing magical mutations; six playable, sapient species based on real-life dinosaurs and pterosaurs; player character subclasses and backgrounds appropriate for fantasy settings with dinosaurs; and a small section on magical items with a paleontological bent. A sampling of entries from these sections: A playable species named the Pluveen, which are Dromaeosaurs (aka “raptors”) that live like Hobbits, except that as strict carnivores, they partake in bloody ritual hunts of the livestock they raise; a druid subclass with a focus on evolution and deep time; and rules for paleontologist characters.
The text is only half of Dr. Dhrolin’s Dictionary of Dinosaurs. The book is heavily illustrated, with paleontologist and paleoartist Dr. Mark Witton providing most of the art. There are a few scenes with fantasy elements, such as the cover where a group of Utahraptors are attacking an adventuring party, but most of Witton’s illustrations depict the animals as they would have appeared in life. Pretty much every animal entry is accompanied by a full-page illustration, with some animals getting a full two-page spread. This makes the book one of the better-looking roleplaying aids I’ve seen recently.
As I stated earlier, I don’t play D&D so can’t comment on how well the mechanics for each animal play out on the tabletop, but I think this is a book even non-gamers would enjoy. For starters, the art is worth the cover price alone. I was also surprised by how much I learned about the species depicted and the environments they lived in, with Burling and O’Sullivan using their paleontological training to get the science right. As for the usefulness of this book for gamers, there are a lot of tables and ideas here they can incorporate into their games, but I do have a couple of nitpicks. First, it would have been helpful if the entries were accompanied by illustrated size guides showing the animal next to an average-sized human, especially since so many of the creatures depicted would be new to most readers. This would help game masters in describing the animals to their players. Second, I wish there had been more guidance provided on how to incorporate paleontological elements into established fantasy worlds given so many RPG settings are the result of divine creation rather than natural processes. After all, what use is a paleontologist player character if the world of the game is only a few thousand years old? (Such as in D&D’s default setting, “Forgotten Realms.”)
Again, my complaints are nitpicks and I’m sure gamers can come up with simple workarounds. If you love dinosaurs and tabletop roleplaying games, Dr. Dhrolin’s Dictionary of Dinosaurs is a no-brainer even if fifth edition D&D isn’t your system of choice. There are online tools to convert fifth edition into other systems, and the tables and descriptions are useful no matter what system you use. If you love dinosaurs but don’t play RPGs, then you still might want to give the book a try. Maybe it will even inspire you to visit your local hobby store and buy some polyhedral dice.
Trivia
- The book can be ordered through the publisher’s website, Palaeogames.com.
- Illustrator Mark Witton’s website is markwitton.co.uk, where he maintains a gallery of his paleoart and blogs about the science of paleontology.
Reviews
- None
Prehistoric Pulp 