When a druid takes on the form of a Pteranodon can he carry his allies on it's back? And if so how many allies and what is the weight limit (would it be whatever your Strength score encumbrance allows you to carry at a medium load)?
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When a druid takes on the form of a Pteranodon can he carry his allies on it's back? And if so how many allies
Up to the GM whether it's shaped right for that (but this is Pathfinder, so probably) and if so how many of a certain size would fit (it's Large, so one Medium creature can ride it, but the rules are silent on what happens if you try to pile more riders-who-aren't-really-riding on).
and what is the weight limit (would it be whatever your Strength score encumbrance allows you to carry at a medium load)?
The encumbrance rules make little distinction among movement modes, so up to light load for its Str at full speed or medium/heavy load at reduced speed. The usual max dex cap and penalties for bearing a medium/heavy load do apply.
(There is a special rule for armor encumbrance for flying mounts---they can't fly in medium/heavy barding. It is unclear to me whether this holds if they're not actually mounted. A creature wearing any barding can carry one rider, normal saddle/saddlebags, and nothing else.)
If the druid does this a lot (at least with a single rider) his party may want to carry an exotic (made for pteranodons) military saddle around to put on him to make it harder to fall off.
Where would you put the saddle? There's no place to put one except on the neck and then the crest would keep slapping you in the face every time it turned it's head. And a Pteranodon's body size was only a little larger than a turkey's.
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Where would you put the saddle? There's no place to put one except on the neck and then the crest would keep slapping you in the face every time it turned it's head. And a Pteranodon's body size was only a little larger than a turkey's.
Nobody said it would be comfortable.
I usually have my druid 'carry them' in the talons. But if believe you must stay at light load or lower, because otherwise than you can't fly. Thats why i keep a muleback cord in my backpack
I happen to be the GM so I'm trying to figure out what to do
This is no longer a rules question, but since Pathfinder says they're Large (wingspan 30'!) but only weigh 40 lbs.... and since this is probably high fantasy... and for simplicity... I recommend saying it can fit exactly one Medium rider (w/wo custom-made exotic saddle) or two Small passengers. And tell them it's awfully uncomfortable ;)
Aren't there several different sizes of Pteranodons I read somewhere there was one that was the size of a large horse with a wingspan of 30+ feet but on the other hand there are others the size of small house cats. I guess it all depends on which one of these creatures are the ones they used for the games stats. Of course there are always the giant simple and young template so one could create one of the larger or smaller versions. As said above though, this would all be up to the GM.
I believe you're thinking of pterosaurs in general. Pteranodons were just one group of a very large and diverse group of animals. The largest estimated wing span today is thought to be about 23 feet for Pteranodons. Some of the azhdarchid pterosaurs could be as tall as a giraffe with wing spans estimated to be between 35 and 40 feet.
For the record, I'm not trying to be snarky. I've been an armchair/amateur paleontologist most of my life and when I see something mentioned in this field I can't help myself from talking about it.
I'm trying to figure out which animal one of my players could have his allies ride.