General Rules: Monsters - Gore Mole

Gore Mole (from Hammer & Helm: A Guidebook to Dwarves)
Large Magical Beast (Earth)

Hit Dice: 4d10+16 (38 hit points)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 40 feet, burrow 20 feet
Armor Class: 18 (-1 size, +9 natural); touch 9, flat-footed 18
BAB/Grapple: +4/+13

Attack: Gore +8 melee (1d8+5, piercing, 20 x2)

Full Attack: Gore +8 melee (1d8+5, piercing, 20 x2) and 2 claws +3 melee (1d6+2, piercing and slashing, 20 x2)

Space/Reach: 5 feet by 10 feet/5 feet
Special Attacks: Toss
Special Qualities: Darkvision 90 feet, tremorsense 60 feet, wall of stone
Saves: Fortitude +8, Reflex +4, Will +2
Abilities: Str 20, Int 2, Wis 12, Dex 10, Con 18, Cha 10
Skills: Listen +6, Spot +6
Feats: Skill Augmentation (Listen and Spot)
Environment: Any underground
Organization: Solitary or pair
Challenge Rating: 4
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 5 - 16 Hit Dice (Huge)

Gore moles are burrowing monsters often trained by dwarves as steeds for elite cavalry units. Their brutal horns and keen senses make them powerful underground predators.

A gore mole looks like a giant mole with two deadly horns protruding from its snout and heavy claws that resemble those of a badger. its tough hide has a stony texture.

Wild gore moles stalk their prey using tremorsense and them ambush them from beneath. They are seldom intimidated by large groups. When used as cavalry, they are even more dangerous. Dwarves seldom stint when it comes to equipping their mounts and gore mole riders usually enhance the beasts' natural abilities without slowing or encumbering them.

Combat
Although of only animal intelligence, gore moles are well practiced in their hunting technique. Typically one bursts through a thin section of cavern floor to catch a group unaware, tosses a victim back into the ambush tunnel that it burrowed, and then retreats behind a wall of stone.

Even small groups of gore mole cavalry can easily control large battles, using their mounts to burrow trenches, set ambushes, and lead fearsome charges. Gore moles used as war mounts are often equipped with bladed claw bracers and studded leather barding. A gore mole so equipped has Armor Class 21 and deals 1d8+2 slashing damage with each claw.

Toss (Ex): A gore mole that makes a successful charge attack can attempt to trip the opponent as a free action without making a touch attack or provoking an attack of opportunity. If the gore mole wins the opposed trip check, instead of knocking the opponent prone, it tosses the opponent into the air to fall prone into any space that the gore mole threatens. This deals 1d6 points of falling damage in addition to the damage dealt by the initial charge attack. Characters with ranks in Tumble who are not flat-footed can make a DC 15 Tumble check to avoid this additional damage and land on their feet.

Tremorsense (Ex): Gore moles can sense the location of anything within 60 feet that is in contact with the ground.

Wall of Stone (Sp): Once per day, a gore mole can create a wall of stone as the spell cast by a 12^th level sorcerer.

Training a Gore Mole
Even though it is a magical beast, it is possible to train a gore mole like an animal. Training a gore mole as a mount requires a successful Handle Animal check: DC 24 for a young creature, or DC 29 for an adult. A gore mole can be trained to toss and opponent backwards along its length to land behind it, provoking an attack of opportunity against the foe by its rider. This takes one of the gore mole's possible trick slots and requires a special DC 25 Handle Animal check to train. Gore mole young are worth 3,000 shillings each. Professional trainers charge 1,000 shillings to train a gore mole, and riding one requires an exotic saddle unless the gore mole never uses its burrow speed.

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