User:Emptylord/Custom creatures/Harpagornis

Harpagornis
File:3mptylord Harpagornis.jpg
Dossier
Common Name	Harpagornis
Species	Harpagornis xxxxxx
Time	Late Pleistocene / Holocene
Group	Bird
Habitat	Aerial
Diet	Carnivore
Temperament	Aggressive
Aggro Radius	Day: Exceptional Night: Minimal
Domestication
Tameable	Rideable	Breedable
Yes	Yes	Egg
Land Mount	Flying Mount	Water Mount
Yes	Yes	No
Taming Method	Knockout
Preferred Kibble	Kibble (Gallimimus Egg)
Preferred Food	Raw Prime Meat
Saddle	Yes
Platform Saddle	No
Rider Weaponry	No
Humans Can Carry	No
Can Carry Creatures	Yes
Wears Equipment	No
Data
Spawn Regions	High Skies
Drops	Raw Prime Meat  Raw Meat  Pelt
Special Loot	Argentavis Talon
Loot Chance	100%
Feces Size	Medium
Drag Weight	150
Carryable By	Megalosaurus

The sky's only aggressive predator is the argentavis, followed closely by the defensive dimorphodon, and then a plethora of skittish birds and flying reptiles (ignoring the occasional Onyc that escapes a cave). The skies are just too passive! I'm also opposed to changing the argentavis for two reasons, (1) the argentavis is already well established as a pack mule/carrier; and (2) the argentavis was believed to be a teratorn - i.e. a vulture - and I would rather the argentavis got reworked in that direction rather than made into a bird of prey (considering it featured poor aerodynamics, an elongated neck and hooked beak, and was believed to be built for high-endurance scavenging.)

Basic Info

Appearance

If the argentavis were upgraded to more-resemble a vulture, the harpagornis could get away with re-using the existing argentavis model with only minor modifications.

Encounter

Harpagornis have an exceptional aggression radius during the day, and will likely see you before you see them, but have a noticeably reduced aggression radius at night, which is the only time of day they will land.

Harpagornis are naturally aggressive toward skittish creatures (e.g. gallimimus or pteranodon) and unmounted humans, but will also become aggressive toward defensive herbivores and small-medium sized carnivores if they are isolated or wounded. While not immediately aggressive to most creatures, they will often lock on and follow creatures around for an extended length of time.

Mounted humans will be tracked based on the status of their mount.

Their attacks rend, preventing the target from sprinting for a short duration and enabling them to stay in range.

Domestication

Stats

• Combat - Similar stat distribution to the Argent.
  • Offense: Moderate base damage and attack speed.
  • Defense: Moderate health and moderate armor.
• Carry Weight: Moderate-to-high.
• Flying: Comparable flying and sprinting speed to the Argent. Sprinting endurance is very poor.

Usage

• W Movement - Capable of moving forward. Turns using facing directly, with a turn rate slightly better than the argentavis.
• - Wounding Talons. The powerful talons of the Harpagornis wound its attacker, preventing them from sprinting and jumping for short duration (similar to the Araneo's spit).
• - Dive. Similar to the Rhino, the Harpagornis can charge in a given direction (minimal turning capability while active). The movement speed and damage of this ability rapidly increase over the first few seconds. Stamina is only used to activate, and does not continue to drain while active. Can only be used in a downward direction.
• C - Grab. Same limitations as the Argentavis.

Roles

• Dive Bomb - Capable of dealing Rhino-tier damage from the skies.
• Aerial Mobility - While limited to a downward direction, Dive can be used to move from A to B much faster than sprinting with an argent.
• Meat Gatherer - While not as effective as the Argentavis, it is more efficient than the pteranodon for harvesting corpses.

Gathers

The following are relative to those found on the Argentavis' article:

Resource	Efficiency
Raw Prime Meat	★★★☆☆
Raw Meat	★★★☆☆
Pelt	★★☆☆☆
Hide	★★☆☆☆

Notes

As mentioned above, I desire to rework the argentavis to better fill its niche as a soaring pack mule.

Visual Rework

• Remodelled to have a longer, more crooked neck.
• Leaner body.
• Smaller skull with a small, hooked beak.

Encounter

• Natural aggression type changed to Opportunist/Reactive from Short-Tempered. This is similar to Meganeura or Vultures, in the sense that Argentavis become "interested" in creatures that are in-combat (although they do not become aggressive). The longer the engagement, the more argentavis will be drawn in. Once one of the creatures dies, the argentavis will swarm the corpse - favouring the meal over competing feeders (by contrast to meganeura, who prioritise the competition).
• If engaged directly, they will defend themselves or their claim unless they think they would lose - in which case they will happily flee and not look back.

Combat / Domestication

• Talon attack [LMB, Flying] damage reduced to 15 from 20.
• New Beak attack [LMB, Ground] that deals 25 damage. This attack has bonuses to corpse harvesting.
• Base flying speed reduced to 450 from 600.
• Base flying no longer consumes stamina, and will regenerate stamina if not performing stamina-consuming actions (similar to aquatic tames in the sea).
• Sprinting speed unchanged and still consumes stamina.
• Can now consume Spoiled Meat.