This came about because I started wondering what different animal sizes from assorted games meant compared to each other, and to real creatures. It’s the sort of table I think will be very useful, spend ages working out, and then never actually use, because the act of working it out gives me enough of a feel to wing it during games. The sort of player questions it was intended to help me answer are:
- “How much does that dire wolf carcass weigh? Can we fit it in the back of the cart?”
- “How big is a 30-ton pouncer, anyway?”
- “How many kangaroos do we need on the other side of the scales to balance his character?”
| Classic Traveller | Savage Worlds | d20, D&D etc | Real World Examples | CT Examples |
| - | - | Fine | Insect | |
| - | - | Diminutive | Bat | |
| - | - | Tiny | Rat, Weasel | |
| 1 kg | - | Tiny | Hawk | |
| 3 kg | -2 | Tiny | Cat, Monkey | Anola, Beaked Monkey |
| 6 kg | -2 | Small | Eagle, Terrier | Tree Kraken |
| 12 kg | -2 | Small | Badger | |
| 25 kg | -2 | Small | Small Dog | Chamax Juvenile, Chimearoc, Sea Bear |
| 50 kg | -1 | Medium | Baboon, Kangaroo, Labrador, Wolf | Bush Runner, Chamax Hunter |
| 100 kg | +0, +1 | Medium | Human, Dire Wolf | Groat, Snowcat |
| 200 kg | +2 | Large | Gorilla, Lion, Tiger | Thingvellir’s Crested Trapper |
| 400 kg | +2 | Large | Cow, Horse | |
| 800 kg | +3 | Large | Brown Bear, Bison | |
| 1600 kg | +4 | Huge | Hippo, Great White Shark | |
| 3200 kg | +4, +5 | Huge | Small elephant, Orca, Rhinoceros | Small Daghshark |
| 6000 kg | +6, +7 | Huge | Large elephant, small Triceratops, T. Rex | Chamax Maternal, Nobble |
| 12000 kg | Huge | Large Triceratops | ||
| 18000 kg | ||||
| 24000 kg | ||||
| 30000 kg | Gargantuan | Brontosaurus | ||
| 36000 kg | Gargantuan | |||
| 40000 kg | Gargantuan | Humpback Whale | ||
| 44000 kg | Gargantuan | Large Daghshark | ||
| - | +9 | Colossal | Blue Whale (150 tons) | |
| - | +10 | Colossal | No known examples |
Have I got any of this wrong? Can you fill in any of the gaps? Let me know!
Based on a premise that you’re only talking about adults, you’re roughly right. An adult mle Red Kangaroo will be around 85kg, and really big ones can make 2m.
On a different tangent. If you put this stuff into a Google Doc or a free wiki, you may find that people will add to it for you.
Yes, I was thinking about adults. It got too complicated when I starting putting young in as well.
I hadn’t thought about a Google Doc or a wiki – thanks.
Very nice table.
Why not add a column with the animals from the bestiary in the old JTAS.
Thanks. I’ll do that with a few and see how it works.
Great!