Azdarchids get left out in D&D rather, with lots of takes on pterodactyls but nothing on quetzalcoatlus. But the fossil record is really getting quite exciting for these beasts, especially with the various trace fossils and studies on how they could move telling us that they were able to function so well on the ground. For example
But also the same, colossal scale of them. Meet the Dracula azdarchid.
Now I -love- the takes on dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures from classic D&D products. But I also love the more realistic appraisals we have from modern palaeontology. I'll post some more of these as I go on.
Also, as a complete aside, I asked a friend what to get their kid as a gift, was told he liked pterosaurs. So I went into a toy shop here in Cambridge and asked, and was told "No, we don't have that in our range, but I can order you a quetzalcoatlus". Fair enough, I thought, so I went out to ToysRUs on the retail park. Shop assistant asked if he could help as he saw me rummaging in the big hopper of dinosaurs, and I said I was looking for a pterodactyl. "Ahh, well they're not actually dinosaurs. But no, we haven't got any...". I kind of love living in Cambridge, its not like other towns.
Quetzalcoatlus
by Cab Davidson
| Stat | Quetzalcoatlus |
| AC: | 4 |
| HD: | 15 |
| Movement (flying): | 240’ (80’) |
| Movement (walking): | 120’ (40’) |
| Attacks: | 1 bite/1 trample |
| Damage: | 5d6/2d6 |
| Number Appearing: | 0 (1d4) |
| Save As: | F8 |
| Morale: | 9 |
| Treasure Type: | Nil |
| Intelligence: | 2 |
| Alignment: | Neutral |
| XP Value: | 1650 |
Among the largest of the azdarchid pterosaurs, quetzalcoatlus is a terrifying winged predator with a wingspan of up to 50’, and a similar body length, of which up to a quarter is its massive, sharply beaked head. It is powerful both in flight and on the ground, where its quadrupedal motion using toughened wing joints alongside powerful rear legs allows it both to run down slower prey or spring, using all four limbs, into flight. While its leathery wings are quite bare, the body of the animal is covered in downy, hair like feathers that catch and turn attacks away before hitting its hard skin, providing a surprisingly good armour class.
Their preferred method of hunting is to land and stalk prey in undergrowth, snapping from above at smaller prey. A smaller than halfling sized creature is swallowed on an attack roll of 15 or above, a halfling on an 18, and a human on a 19-20. Their massive, beaked heads sit at the end of powerful, muscled necks that can snap at targets either side of them and in front, enabling them to attack any target in a broad area in front of them. They may also trample a different target of man size or smaller, and a trampled target must make a saving throw vs. paralysis or be pinned on the ground, allowing the quetzalcoatlus to attack the following round with a +3 bonus to hit (which is applicable to whether the target is swallowed).