MIKE’S FREE

ENCOUNTER #75
NECROSAURUS

MICHAEL LABOSSIERE
CREDITS Template: Simple Microsoft Word Template by Laura Hirsbrunner
Cover Image/Art: Michael LaBossiere, Midjourney

Designer: Dr. Michael LaBossiere

Cartographer: Dr. Michael LaBossiere

Contents
Credits..................................................................................................1
Contents................................................................................................1
Introduction.........................................................................................2
History/Background............................................................................2
Getting the PCs Involved.....................................................................2
Map.......................................................................................................2
Encounter.............................................................................................2
Conclusion............................................................................................3
Hooks?..................................................................................................3
Free Stuff!..............................................................................................4
Free Map Collections...........................................................................4
Free Rules.............................................................................................4
Free Encounters...................................................................................4
Free Encounters Collections................................................................4
Free Character Options.......................................................................4
Stuff to Buy!.........................................................................................4
Adventures...........................................................................................4
Class & Character Options.................................................................5
Karabeth Series....................................................................................5
About the Author.................................................................................6
Map.......................................................................................................7

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This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used with permission under the Community Content Agreement for
Dungeon Masters Guild.

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INTRODUCTION
locals, who will report it to the authorities or tell their tale at a tavern.
The person who saw it might, perhaps, have a reputation for seeing
This is the 75th in an ongoing series aimed to provide the overworked things and not be believed by those in authority—but the PCs might
DM with ready-to run encounters. The PCs face the pre-historic horror overhear them talking at a tavern or inn. Or the witness could be
of the necrosaurus. credible, and the authorities will decide to send the PCs to investigate,
A single necrosaurus is CR 8. The encounter can easily be modified perhaps with the promise of a reward.
by increasing the number of foes.
It includes a history/background for the encounter, a map, and
monster stats. The companion ZIP file contains JPEG versions of the MAP
maps (with and without grid), the Word file of the encounter, and a
Fantasy Grounds Unity Module file.

HISTORY/BACKGROUND
In many realities, the Dersatti arose as the first mortal people. Unlike
most other people, they were purely material beings. As such, the death
of the body was a permanent end to their existence. At first this was not
of great concern: the Dersatti were exceptional in their power and
longevity. But they were not immortal, and time slowly eroded them,
like drops of water wearing down a great stone.
Seeing the problem they faced, their wizards and scientists attempted
many solutions, ranging from creating their own souls to replacing their
failing flesh with construct components. But none of these would work
forever.
The greatest of the Dersatti, Dur-A-Akor, was deceived by the
cleverest of fallen angels and tricked into offering undeath as a solution
to his people. In the process of his transformation, he was infused with
demonic essence. While this warped his thoughts, it also increased his
already considerable might. He set out with the best of intentions to save
his people but caused the civil war that destroyed their civilization.
During the war, Dur-A-Akor’s side weaponized undeath to a
horrifying degree. His necromancers worked tirelessly to create new
types of undead, using whatever formerly living resources they could
The map shows the eroded area where the necrosaurus has been released
acquire. While the early undead were created from the living or recently by the hand of nature. The stream was recently swollen with heavy rains
slain, as the war progressed the necromancers found ways to create and this is what freed the necrosaur. It is 2-3 feet deep. The eroded
powerful undead from long dead remains. Among these undead were the banks are about ten feet above the stream.
necrosaurs, undead created from the bones of tyrannosaurus rexes and
other predatorial dinosaurs. These creatures were not mere animated
bones but were infused with necrotic fire and proved very effective as
weapons.
The civil war ended differently in different realities but in most of ENCOUNTER
them at least a few necrosaurs survived, often buried, or sealed away in A necrosaurus has intelligence on par with the living dinosaur they
ancient dungeons. were created from, although they are driven by the instincts and needs of
In some realities, the laws of magic treat fossilized remains as undeath.
suitable for transformation into undead. In such worlds, necromancers Unless commanded by a suitable master, a necrosaurus will attack
can create new necrosaurs using these fossils. In other realities, the laws living creatures it sees until they are slain or escape. If nothing worth
are different, and the fossils are merely stone in the shape of once living killing is withing sight, a necrosaurus will usually wait in place for new
matter. Of course, in some realities dinosaurs never died out, allowing victims. Because of this trait, they have sometimes been slowly buried
under the accumulation of earth or ended up underwater due to flooding.
for the creation of newnecrosaurs from fresh bones.
When the PCs see the necrosaurus, it might still be partially buried or
it might have moved upon sighting a living creature (they will go after
animals that are small or larger). If it sees the PCs, it will rush to attack.

Necrosaurus
GETTING THE PCS Huge undead, chaotic evil

INVOLVED Armor Class 15 (natural armor)

There are a variety of ways the PCs can encounter a necrosaur. Being Hit Points 136 (13d12 + 52)
undead, a necrosaur can exist indefinitely in such places as ancient
dungeons or simply buried in the earth. As such, the PCs could
Speed 50 ft.
encounter one in a dungeon or cavern. Or one could be dug up or
released from the soil by erosion. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
In this specific encounter, a necrosaur has remained buried at the site 25 (+7) 10 (+0) 19 (+4) 2 (-4) 12 (+1) 9 (-1)
of an ancient battlefield along with the bones of its fallen enemies and
allies. Erosion has worn the earth down to these bones, freeing the Skills Perception +4
necrosaur.
The PCs might simply run across it while on their way to an
Senses passive Perception 14
adventure. Alternatively, the creature might have been seen by some Languages --
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Challenge 8 (3,900 XP)

Proficiency Bonus +. roficiency Bonus +3

ACTIONS
Multiattack. The necrosaurus makes two attacks. one
with its bite and one with its tail. It can't make both
attacks against the same target.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 10 ft., one

target. Hit: 33 (4d12 + 7) piercing damage plus 2d6
necrotic damage. If the target is a Medium or smaller
creature, it is grappled (escape DC 17). Until this grapple
ends, the target is restrained, and the necrosaurus can't
bite another target.

Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 10 ft., one

target. Hit: 20 (3d8 + 7) bludgeoning damage plus 2d6
necrotic damage.

Necrotic Fire. A creature that touches the necrosaurus or

hits it with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it takes
10 (3d6) necrotic damage.

Description: A necrosaurus is an undead predator

created by infusing the bones of a suitable dinosaur with
necrotic fire. The originals were used as terror weapons
during the Dersatti civil war; the humanoids allied with
the living Dersatti found them terrifying.

CONCLUSION
The encounter ends when the PCs resolve their interaction with the
necrosaur. If they win, they will get any promised rewards. If they flee,
they can return and try again. If they are killed, it is time for new
characters or raise dead.

HOOKS?
This encounter could lead to additional adventure. There might be
other undead buried nearby, perhaps with ancient treasure. There might
also be surviving buried structures, perhaps a complete dungeon nearby.

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FREE STUFF! Mike’s Free Encounter #35: Windchime
Mike’s Free Encounter #36: Molodus
I regularly make free D&D stuff available, including map
Mike’s Free Encounter #37: The Pool of Pelthonus
collections and encounters.
Mike’s Free Encounter #38: Sea Tiger Island
Mike’s Free Encounter #39: Sanguinem Volant
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Mike's Free Maps Collection #1 Mike’s Free Encounter #41: A Princess Met on the Road
Mike's Free Maps Collection #2 Mike’s Free Encounter #42: College of the Damned
Mike's Free Maps Collection #3 Mike’s Free Encounter #43: Necrokyrie
Mike's Free Maps Collection #4 Mike’s Free Encounter #44: Cornu Umbra
Mike's Free Maps Collection #5 Mike’s Free Enounter #45 Serutani Tomb
Mike’s Free Maps Collection #6 Mike’s Free Encounter #46: Tiger Canon
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Mike’s Free Maps Collection #8 Mike’s Free Encounter #48: Druid of the Moonlit Web
Mike’s Free Maps Collection #9 Mike’s Free Encounter #49: Quillbones
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Mike’s Free Maps Collection #12 Mike’s Free Encounter #52: Osfranger
Mike’s Free Maps Collection #13 Mike’s Free Encounter #53 Cross Cat
Mike’s Free Maps Collection #14 Mike's Free Encounter #54: Musiksalskare
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Mike’s Free Maps Collection #16 Mike’s Free Encounter #56: Warewolf
Mike’s Free Encounter #57 Ghost of Water
Mike’s Free Encounter #58 Bone Shaper
FREE RULES Mike’s Free Encounter #59 Legacy of Medusa
Mob Rules Mike’s Free Ecounter #60: Calsh Stoneworks
Interrogation Mike’s Free Encounter #61: Sleeper in the Well
Mike’s Free Encounter #62: Krympt Jätte
Mike’s Free Encounter #63: Ghost Tears
FREE ENCOUNTERS Mike’s Free Encounter #64: Rebel Mummy
Mike’s Free Encounter #65: Dealing Doppelganger
Mike’s Free Encounter #66: Of Sheers, Weagles and Spakes
Mike's Free Encounter #1: Necromancer's Stash
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Mike’s Free Encounter #10: The Bog Witch
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 Broken Mine 5E
Dragon Hunt
Tower of Zakelana

CLASS & CHARACTER

OPTIONS
Boot Dagger Booter (pay what you want)
Circle of Ash (pay what you want)
Flame Touched (pay what you want)
Legacy of the Frostcursed (pay what you want)

KARABETH SERIES
K1 Trip to Town (pay what you want)
K1.5 Where the Dead Speak (pay what you want)
K2 Lelathon Village (Pay what you want)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Michael LaBossiere is a gamer/runner from Maine who went to
school in Ohio and ended up a philosophy professor in Florida.
While acquiring his doctorate in philosophy at Ohio State University,
he earned his ramen noodle money by writing for Chaosium, GDW, R.
Talsorian Games, and TSR. After graduate school, he became a
philosophy professor at Florida
A&M University. His first
philosophy book, What Don't
You Know?, was published in
2008. He continues to write
philosophy and gaming material.
He is also a blogger, but these
days who isn't?
When not writing, he enjoys
running, gaming and the martial
arts. Thanks to a quadriceps
tendon tear in 2009, he was out
of running for a while, but
returned to the trails and wrote a book about it, Of Tendon & Trail. He
can be contacted at ontologist@aol.com.

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MAP

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 MIKE’S FREE ENCOUNTER
#75: NECROSAURUS
T HIS IS THE 75 TH IN AN ONGOING SERIES AIMED
TO PROVIDE THE OVERWORKED DM WITH READY -

TO RUN ENCOUNTERS . T HE PC S FACE THE PRE -

HISTORIC HORROR OF THE NECROSAURUS .

A SINGLE NECROSAURUS IS CR 8. T HE
ENCOUNTER CAN EASILY BE MODIFIED BY

INCREASING THE NUMBER OF FOES .

I T INCLUDES A HISTORY / BACKGROUND FOR THE

ENCOUNTER , A MAP , AND MONSTER STATS . T HE

COMPANION ZIP FILE CONTAINS JPEG VERSIONS

OF THE MAPS ( WITH AND WITHOUT GRID ), THE

W ORD FILE OF THE ENCOUNTER , AND A F ANTASY

G ROUNDS U NITY M ODULE FILE .