Monster Monday - Indominus Rex

The wizard gripped her staff a little tighter as the party forged through the jungle, reliably led by the weathered fighter. Despite her nature as as an elf, previous scenes of animalistic carnage had left them all on edge, but despite the party's vigilance, none noticed the danger until a drop of blood dropped splattered mere inches from the wizard's boot. Immediately stopping in her tracks, she blinked at the sight before lifting her gaze upward and snapping them between the trees. A cry emerged from her as she saw the creature perfectly blended to the dark foliage - save for a bloodied maw. Its ruse ruined, the looming dinosaur unleashed a bone-chilling roar and bounded forward in a violent rush.

Indominus Rex from Jurassic WOrld

Incensed indignation incarnate, the indomitable indominus intends to intercept, impair, and incapacitate any intruders or interlopers it interrupts in its irreverent annihilation.

Before we get into it, there's two things to talk about. Firstly, I'm headed out on vacation next week and will be back with a new Monster Monday on July 14th. Secondly, I'd appreciate you checking out the video for the design if that's more your style.

In part to fulfill a request and in part anticipation for the newest Jurassic World movie releasing this week, I present to you all, a build for the Indominus Rex! This is a somewhat simple creature whose design is as piecemeal as its genome. Within its lore, the I. rex uses the basis of a Tyrannosaurus rex and has about eleven other dinosaurs mixed in its design as well as at least three modern animals. Overall, the indominus is built as a bit of a brute and includes some physical resistance based on its ability to tank gunfire without too much trouble. Its attacks mostly use a moderate attack bonus with high or extreme damage though it does have a high attack bonus on its foot, which only deals moderate damage.

As for its actual abilities, most of them come from other dinosaurs in Pathfinder 2e, just like how its DNA comes from other dinosaurs. However, I did design at least a few unique abilities for the indominus. The first of these is Dinosaur Dominance, a passive effect that makes it difficult for other dinosaurs to stand against the indominus, at least until their lives are on the line. If the players need to lead their dinosaurs in an attack on the indominus, they'll need to succeed at a Nature check with a high DC. Additionally, the inclusion of cuttlefish DNA in its make-up has granted the Indominus Rex with Chromatophore Cells, which allow it to perfectly blend with its environment as we saw it do in the movie. This is a short-lived action and something that the indominus will have to keep up if it wants to remain hidden, which I think is a solid way to balance a pretty powerful effect.

As I said, the indominus uses the baseline of a Tyrannosaurus rex and I included several abilities from it, such as Pin Prey, Fling, Swallow Whole, and Trample. The Trample provides some extra usage for the foot attack, and might be the sole reason that the monster has it in Pathfinder. I did try to make it a little more useful here though Pin Prey is also handy. I want to give a quick mention to Swallow Whole. The T. rex is the same size as the indominus but can only Swallow Whole creatures of Large size or smaller. The indominus can do so to Huge creatures due to pit viper in its DNA allowing it to unhinge its jaws. Additionally, it has a few parts from other dinosaurs incorporated into it though for the baseline, I did keep to wants that were specifically referenced in its make-up. For example, the Leaping Charge comes from the velociraptor and Swiping Claws is inherited from the therizinosaurus, a dinosaur that was specifically used to give the indominus some stronger and more intimidating forelimbs. As noted in the sidebar, I wholly encourage you to add other abilities from other dinosaurs at your discretion and want to give a special shout-out to Rip and Tear, which is something we see it doing periodically throughout the movie.

Pathfinder 2e Indominus Rex

D&D5e Indominus Rex, Built by Blue

ENCOUNTER HOOKS

Saurian Stampede: An Indominus rex has expanded the usage of its dinosaur dominance to outright command others of its type. This becomes apparent when the heroes are beset by dinosaurs while traveling through its domain, and find the creatures strangely unwilling to retreat. Once the targets have been softened up a bit, the indominus itself will emerge to attack them - with a few other dinosaurs as fodder. If the players can slay the indominus, the remaining dinosaurs will likely flee.

Day of the Dinosaur: An idyllic visit to a zoo populated by a host of exotic beasts and run by a foolhardy wizard who never asked whether he should is ruined by the latest star attraction - the Indominus rex - breaks free. As the most equipped to deal with this monster, the players find themselves pressed to fight against it. This could be done in a variety of habitats depending on what exhibit it has gone crashing through.

If you're interested in joining the discussion on what creatures/builds I'm working on or just discussing your own homebrew works, check out our Discord! If you want to get some teasers or help us get to our yet unlisted milestones for extra content, check out the Twitter.

Have a monstrous Monday and see you in two weeks!