War Elephant (modified for rules compliance from
Mercenaries)
Huge Animal
Hit Dice: 11d8+55 (104 hit points)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 40 feet
Armor Class: 15 (-2 size, +7 natural); touch 8, flat-footed 15
BAB/Grapple: +7/+25
Attack: Slam +16 melee (2d6+10, bludgeoning, 20 x2)
Full Attack: Slam +16 melee (2d6+10, bludgeoning, 20 x2) and 2 stamps +13 melee (2d6+5, bludgeoning, 20 x2) and gore +13 melee (2d8+5, piercing, 20 x2)
Space/Reach: 10 feet by 20 feet/10 feet
Special Attacks: Trample
Special Qualities: Panic
Saves: Fortitude +13, Reflex +7, Will +4
Abilities: Str 30, Int 2, Wis 13, Dex 10, Con 21, Cha 7
Skills: Listen +8, Spot +7
Feats: Power Attack, Multiattack, Skill Augmentation (Listen and Spot), Weapon Focus (Slam)
Environment: Warm forest, plains, and jungle
Organization: Solitary or herd (6 - 30)
Challenge Rating: 7
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 12 - 22 HD (Large)
Every advanced civilization that has existed in close proximity to elephants has used them in war. Typically, they capture elephants from the wild and run them through a careful, but intense process of training them to obey their handlers. On a battlefield, they can sow panic in a foe by trampling them as well as protect their riders by elevating themabove the reach of melee weapons. War elephants typically go into battle carrying an open compartment on their backs large enough to hold the Medium creatures (typically a handler and two soldiers) plust missile weapons.
War elephants can drive their foes before them in fear, but they are also unreliable under duress. They can become absolutely impossible to handle when wounded, and experienced armies always make sure that their war elephant handlers carry a mallet and a spike to drive through the beast's skull if it rampages among friendly troops.
Mercenary companies that liek to use war elephants must maintain a working business partnership with one of the rare establishments that capture and train elephants for domestic and military use. Needless to say, they are both expensive and hard to find.
Combat
Armies that employ war elephants must balance their benefits against their drawbacks. On the one hand, a mass elephant attack can wreak havok on a foe that lacks the nerve to stand up to them. On the other, elephants don't take kindly to being stabbed and hacked, and after they have been in the heat of battle for a while, they may ignore their handlers and run amok. That is when the trouble (or fun, depending on how you look at it) really starts.
Trample (Ex): A war elephant can make a special trample attack against any Medium or smaller creature. This attack is a free action and it automatically causes gore damage to the target. Opponents can forego their attacks of opportunity against the war elephant in order to attempt a DC 20 Reflex save for half damage.
Panic (Ex): When a war elephant is reduced to less than half its hit points, it may panic and run amok. The elephant must make a successful DC 17 Will saving throw to remain under control. If it fails, it must execute a double move in a random direction.
An amok war elephant executes its trample attack against any eligible creature in its path. It continues to move in this fashion until either it is killed or its handler regains control of it. If it makes the above saving throw, it must make another identical saving throw for every minute that it remains damaged to less than half its hit points.
A handler may regain control of an amok war elephant for one round by making a successful DC 30 Ride check. The next round, the elephant must make a Will saving throw to see if it goes crazy all over again.
The handler may also choose to kill the elephant before it causes any more harm. If he is equipped with a mallet and stake with such a contingency in mind, he may make a special melee attack against an Armor Class of 7 (relfecting the elephant's vulnerability in this situation). If he succeeds, he has driven the stake through the elephant's skull, killing it instantly.
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