Mephibosheth
2010-10-27, 03:46 PM
Elephants have long played a significant role in warfare, particularly in Asia and the southern Mediterranean. Formidable heavy cavalry, elephants terrified opposing armies (particularly horses) and crashed bodily through pike lines that would stop smaller beasts. Martial traditions of India are particularly rich in their depictions of elephants as cavalry; the strength of a "traditional" Indian army was often described according to how many elephants it could field.
Despite this rich tradition (not to mention the awesome imagery that war elephants conjure), the D&D literature is, to the extent of my knowledge, fairly sparse when it comes to rules for the use of elephants. I can think of a number of reasons why this might be the case, but the idea is just too cool to pass up.
Incidentally, most of my ideas are, so far, not particularly fanciful. If anyone has anything to suggest by way of new ideas or things I've missed, please let me know. Now, with that out of the way, I present...
Elephants in Fantasy Warfare!
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/War-elephant-illustrated-london-news.jpg
Creature Variant: Baby War Elephant
{table]
Size/Type:|Medium Animal
HD:|2d8+4 (13 HP)
Speed:|30 ft. (6 squares)
Init:|+2
AC:|14 (+2 Dex, +2 natural); touch 12; flat-footed 12
Base Attack/Grapple:|+2/+4
Attack:|Slam +4 (1d6+2)
Full-Attack:|Slam +4 (1d6+2)
Space/Reach: 5 ft/5 ft.
Special Attacks:|--
Special Qualities:|Low-light vision, scent
Saves:|Fort +4 Ref +5 Will +2
Abilities:|Str 14, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 15, Cha 7
Skills:|Balance +4, Listen +2, Spot +2
Feats:|Improved Toughness
Environment:|Warm plains and forests
Organization:|Solitary or herd (6-30)
Challenge Rating:|1
Alignment:|Always neutral
Advancement:|3-5 HD (Medium), 6-10 HD (Large), 11+ (Huge)
Level Adjustment:|--[/table]
A younger version of the elephant as presented in the Monster Manual, baby war elephants are almost always found under the tutelage of a mahout. They grow as their mahout gains experience. A 1st level druid can select a baby elephant as her animal companion.
Notes:
This variant was constructed almost entirely by reducing the hit dice of the standard elephant and sizing it down to medium. It's stats reflect the changes associated with these modifications. I used the variant for the smaller but more-commonly trained Indian elephant suggested in the Monster Manual.
Alternate Class Feature: Mahout
You have been raised from childhood to train, care for, and direct elephants in battle.
Prerequisite: Fighter, Ranger or Barbarian level 1, Handle Animal 4 ranks
Replaces:
Fighter: If you take this alternate class feature as a fighter, you lose your 1st level bonus feat and your proficiency with heavy armor. Additionally, you are only proficient with the following weapons: all simple weapons, short sword, scimitar, glaive, guisarm, halberd, lance, ranseur and shortbow.
Ranger: If you take this alternate class feature as a ranger, you lose your 1st level favored enemy (though you continue to progress this ability at later levels). Additionally, you are limited to a ranged combat style.
Barbarian: If you take this alternate class feature as a barbarian, you lose your fast movement and uncanny dodge abilities.
Benefit: You gain a baby war elephant as an animal cohort. This elephant has been your companion since its birth and is generally friendly toward you and willing to follow you as you travel and adventure.
You can use the Handle Animal skill to handle your elephant as a free action rather than a move action and to “push” your elephant as a move action rather than a standard action. You gain a +2 bonus on all Handle Animal checks made to direct or influence your elephant. If you are able to ride your elephant (or gain that ability as your elephant grows), you gain a +2 bonus on all Ride checks while mounted on your elephant.
Your elephant grows alongside you as you age, gain skill, and continue its training. For every level you gain, your elephant gains one hit die, including the accompanying feats, skill points, and ability score increases. It also gains special abilities as shown on the following chart:
{table=head]Character Level|Bonus Tricks|Special Abilities
1st-2nd|1|--
3rd-5th|2|DR 5/-
6th-8th|3|Stamp, Trample 1d8
9th-11th|4|Combat Mount, DR 10/-
12th-14th|5|Gore
15th-17th|6|DR 15/-
18th-20th|7|Trample 2d8[/table]
If your elephant is killed, you may acquire another by capturing it from the wild and training it to be a war elephant. You can train an elephant with hit dice less than or equal to your character level plus 1. If your new elephant has fewer hit dice than you can train, it gains two hit dice for every level you gain (instead of one, as normal) until its hit dice equal your character level plus 1.
Elephant Special Abilities
Damage Reduction – An elephant’s skin is thick and tough, able to shrug off attacks that would wound or kill smaller creatures. Your elephant gains damage reduction as shown on the above table. This damage reduction increases at 9th and 15th levels, as shown above.
Stamp – Your elephant gains two stamp attacks it can use on a full attack. These are considered secondary natural attacks, are made at a -5 penalty on attack rolls, and only add half the elephant’s strength modifier to damage rolls. Your elephant’s stamp attacks deal 1d8 damage at 6th level and 2d6 damage at 11th level.
Trample – Your elephant gains the trample ability, dealing 1d8 points of damage plus 1.5 times its strength modifier. Reflex half, DC 10 + half your elephant’s hit dice + your elephant’s strength modifier. At 16th level, your elephant deals 2d8 points of damage plus 1.5 times its strength modifier when trampling.
Combat Mount – Accustomed to being ridden in battle, your elephant responds almost instantly to your commands. Once per encounter, you can grant your elephant a re-roll on a single saving throw using your saving throw modifier instead of its own. You must use this ability before learning the result of the original saving throw.
Gore – Your elephant gains a natural gore attack it can use as a full-round action. This gore attack deals 2d8 points of damage plus 1.5 times your elephant’s strength modifier.
Alternate Class Feature: Blessed Mahout
Raised from childhood to train, care for, and direct elephants in battle, you have an edge over other mahouts; a powerful magical connection with the elephant in your care.
Prerequisite: Fighter, Ranger or Barbarian level 1, Handle Animal 4 ranks
Replaces:
Fighter: If you take this alternate class feature as a fighter, you lose your 1st level bonus feat and your proficiency with medium and heavy armor. Additionally, you are only proficient with the following weapons: all simple weapons, short sword, scimitar, glaive, guisarm, halberd, lance, ranseur and shortbow.
Ranger: If you take this alternate class feature as a ranger, you lose your 1st level favored enemy (though you continue to progress this ability at later levels). Additionally, you are limited to a ranged combat style.
Barbarian: If you take this alternate class feature as a barbarian, you lose your fast movement and uncanny abilities.
Benefit: You gain a baby war elephant as an animal cohort. This elephant has been your companion since its birth and is generally friendly toward you and willing to follow you as you travel and adventure.
You can use the Handle Animal skill to handle your elephant as a free action rather than a move action and to “push” your elephant as a move action rather than a standard action and you gain a +2 bonus on all Handle Animal checks made to direct or influence your elephant. If you are able to ride your elephant (or gain that ability as your elephant grows), you gain a +2 bonus on all Ride checks while mounted on your elephant.
Your elephant grows alongside you as you age, gain skill, and continue its training. For every level you gain except levels 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, and 19, your elephant gains one hit dice, including the associated feats, skill points, and ability score increases. You and your elephant also gain special abilities as shown on the following chart:
{table=head]Character Level|Bonus Tricks|Elephant Abilities|Mahout Abilities
1st-6th|1|--|Speak with Animals
7th-11th|3|Stamp|Barkskin
12th-16th|5|Combat Mount, Gore|Greater Magic Fang
17th-20th|7|--|Animal Growth[/table]
If your elephant is killed, you may acquire another by capturing it from the wild and training it to be a war elephant. You can train an elephant with hit dice less than or equal to your character level plus 1. If your new elephant has fewer hit dice than you can train, it gains two hit dice for every level you gain (instead of one, as normal) until its hit dice equal your character level plus 1.
Elephant Special Abilities
Stamp – Your elephant gains two stamp attacks it can use on a full attack. These are considered secondary natural attacks, are made at a -5 penalty on attack rolls, and only add half the elephant’s strength modifier to damage rolls. Your elephant’s stamp attacks deal 1d8 damage at 6th level and 2d6 damage at 11th level.
Combat Mount – Accustomed to being ridden in battle, your elephant responds almost instantly to your commands. Once per encounter, you can grant your elephant a re-roll on a single saving throw using your saving throw modifier instead of its own. You must use this ability before learning the result of the original saving throw.
Gore – Your elephant gains a natural gore attack it can use as a full-round action. This gore attack deals 2d8 points of damage plus 1.5 times your elephant’s strength modifier.
Mahout Special Abilities
Speak with Animals – You are constantly under the effect of the Speak with Animals spell, but can only use this ability to speak with your elephant.
Barkskin – You gain the ability to use Barkskin as a spell-like ability thrice per day. However, you can only use this ability on yourself or your elephant. Your caster level is equal to your character level for the purpose of adjudicating this effect.
Greater Magic Fang – You gain the ability to use Greater Magic Fang as a spell-like ability thrice per day. You can only use this ability on yourself or your elephant. Your caster level is equal to your character level for the purpose of adjudicating this effect.
Animal Growth – You gain the ability to use Animal Growth as a spell-like ability thrice per day. You can only use this ability on your elephant. Your caster level is equal to your character level for the purpose of adjudicating this effect.
Despite this rich tradition (not to mention the awesome imagery that war elephants conjure), the D&D literature is, to the extent of my knowledge, fairly sparse when it comes to rules for the use of elephants. I can think of a number of reasons why this might be the case, but the idea is just too cool to pass up.
Incidentally, most of my ideas are, so far, not particularly fanciful. If anyone has anything to suggest by way of new ideas or things I've missed, please let me know. Now, with that out of the way, I present...
Elephants in Fantasy Warfare!
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/War-elephant-illustrated-london-news.jpg
Creature Variant: Baby War Elephant
{table]
Size/Type:|Medium Animal
HD:|2d8+4 (13 HP)
Speed:|30 ft. (6 squares)
Init:|+2
AC:|14 (+2 Dex, +2 natural); touch 12; flat-footed 12
Base Attack/Grapple:|+2/+4
Attack:|Slam +4 (1d6+2)
Full-Attack:|Slam +4 (1d6+2)
Space/Reach: 5 ft/5 ft.
Special Attacks:|--
Special Qualities:|Low-light vision, scent
Saves:|Fort +4 Ref +5 Will +2
Abilities:|Str 14, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 15, Cha 7
Skills:|Balance +4, Listen +2, Spot +2
Feats:|Improved Toughness
Environment:|Warm plains and forests
Organization:|Solitary or herd (6-30)
Challenge Rating:|1
Alignment:|Always neutral
Advancement:|3-5 HD (Medium), 6-10 HD (Large), 11+ (Huge)
Level Adjustment:|--[/table]
A younger version of the elephant as presented in the Monster Manual, baby war elephants are almost always found under the tutelage of a mahout. They grow as their mahout gains experience. A 1st level druid can select a baby elephant as her animal companion.
Notes:
This variant was constructed almost entirely by reducing the hit dice of the standard elephant and sizing it down to medium. It's stats reflect the changes associated with these modifications. I used the variant for the smaller but more-commonly trained Indian elephant suggested in the Monster Manual.
Alternate Class Feature: Mahout
You have been raised from childhood to train, care for, and direct elephants in battle.
Prerequisite: Fighter, Ranger or Barbarian level 1, Handle Animal 4 ranks
Replaces:
Fighter: If you take this alternate class feature as a fighter, you lose your 1st level bonus feat and your proficiency with heavy armor. Additionally, you are only proficient with the following weapons: all simple weapons, short sword, scimitar, glaive, guisarm, halberd, lance, ranseur and shortbow.
Ranger: If you take this alternate class feature as a ranger, you lose your 1st level favored enemy (though you continue to progress this ability at later levels). Additionally, you are limited to a ranged combat style.
Barbarian: If you take this alternate class feature as a barbarian, you lose your fast movement and uncanny dodge abilities.
Benefit: You gain a baby war elephant as an animal cohort. This elephant has been your companion since its birth and is generally friendly toward you and willing to follow you as you travel and adventure.
You can use the Handle Animal skill to handle your elephant as a free action rather than a move action and to “push” your elephant as a move action rather than a standard action. You gain a +2 bonus on all Handle Animal checks made to direct or influence your elephant. If you are able to ride your elephant (or gain that ability as your elephant grows), you gain a +2 bonus on all Ride checks while mounted on your elephant.
Your elephant grows alongside you as you age, gain skill, and continue its training. For every level you gain, your elephant gains one hit die, including the accompanying feats, skill points, and ability score increases. It also gains special abilities as shown on the following chart:
{table=head]Character Level|Bonus Tricks|Special Abilities
1st-2nd|1|--
3rd-5th|2|DR 5/-
6th-8th|3|Stamp, Trample 1d8
9th-11th|4|Combat Mount, DR 10/-
12th-14th|5|Gore
15th-17th|6|DR 15/-
18th-20th|7|Trample 2d8[/table]
If your elephant is killed, you may acquire another by capturing it from the wild and training it to be a war elephant. You can train an elephant with hit dice less than or equal to your character level plus 1. If your new elephant has fewer hit dice than you can train, it gains two hit dice for every level you gain (instead of one, as normal) until its hit dice equal your character level plus 1.
Elephant Special Abilities
Damage Reduction – An elephant’s skin is thick and tough, able to shrug off attacks that would wound or kill smaller creatures. Your elephant gains damage reduction as shown on the above table. This damage reduction increases at 9th and 15th levels, as shown above.
Stamp – Your elephant gains two stamp attacks it can use on a full attack. These are considered secondary natural attacks, are made at a -5 penalty on attack rolls, and only add half the elephant’s strength modifier to damage rolls. Your elephant’s stamp attacks deal 1d8 damage at 6th level and 2d6 damage at 11th level.
Trample – Your elephant gains the trample ability, dealing 1d8 points of damage plus 1.5 times its strength modifier. Reflex half, DC 10 + half your elephant’s hit dice + your elephant’s strength modifier. At 16th level, your elephant deals 2d8 points of damage plus 1.5 times its strength modifier when trampling.
Combat Mount – Accustomed to being ridden in battle, your elephant responds almost instantly to your commands. Once per encounter, you can grant your elephant a re-roll on a single saving throw using your saving throw modifier instead of its own. You must use this ability before learning the result of the original saving throw.
Gore – Your elephant gains a natural gore attack it can use as a full-round action. This gore attack deals 2d8 points of damage plus 1.5 times your elephant’s strength modifier.
Alternate Class Feature: Blessed Mahout
Raised from childhood to train, care for, and direct elephants in battle, you have an edge over other mahouts; a powerful magical connection with the elephant in your care.
Prerequisite: Fighter, Ranger or Barbarian level 1, Handle Animal 4 ranks
Replaces:
Fighter: If you take this alternate class feature as a fighter, you lose your 1st level bonus feat and your proficiency with medium and heavy armor. Additionally, you are only proficient with the following weapons: all simple weapons, short sword, scimitar, glaive, guisarm, halberd, lance, ranseur and shortbow.
Ranger: If you take this alternate class feature as a ranger, you lose your 1st level favored enemy (though you continue to progress this ability at later levels). Additionally, you are limited to a ranged combat style.
Barbarian: If you take this alternate class feature as a barbarian, you lose your fast movement and uncanny abilities.
Benefit: You gain a baby war elephant as an animal cohort. This elephant has been your companion since its birth and is generally friendly toward you and willing to follow you as you travel and adventure.
You can use the Handle Animal skill to handle your elephant as a free action rather than a move action and to “push” your elephant as a move action rather than a standard action and you gain a +2 bonus on all Handle Animal checks made to direct or influence your elephant. If you are able to ride your elephant (or gain that ability as your elephant grows), you gain a +2 bonus on all Ride checks while mounted on your elephant.
Your elephant grows alongside you as you age, gain skill, and continue its training. For every level you gain except levels 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, and 19, your elephant gains one hit dice, including the associated feats, skill points, and ability score increases. You and your elephant also gain special abilities as shown on the following chart:
{table=head]Character Level|Bonus Tricks|Elephant Abilities|Mahout Abilities
1st-6th|1|--|Speak with Animals
7th-11th|3|Stamp|Barkskin
12th-16th|5|Combat Mount, Gore|Greater Magic Fang
17th-20th|7|--|Animal Growth[/table]
If your elephant is killed, you may acquire another by capturing it from the wild and training it to be a war elephant. You can train an elephant with hit dice less than or equal to your character level plus 1. If your new elephant has fewer hit dice than you can train, it gains two hit dice for every level you gain (instead of one, as normal) until its hit dice equal your character level plus 1.
Elephant Special Abilities
Stamp – Your elephant gains two stamp attacks it can use on a full attack. These are considered secondary natural attacks, are made at a -5 penalty on attack rolls, and only add half the elephant’s strength modifier to damage rolls. Your elephant’s stamp attacks deal 1d8 damage at 6th level and 2d6 damage at 11th level.
Combat Mount – Accustomed to being ridden in battle, your elephant responds almost instantly to your commands. Once per encounter, you can grant your elephant a re-roll on a single saving throw using your saving throw modifier instead of its own. You must use this ability before learning the result of the original saving throw.
Gore – Your elephant gains a natural gore attack it can use as a full-round action. This gore attack deals 2d8 points of damage plus 1.5 times your elephant’s strength modifier.
Mahout Special Abilities
Speak with Animals – You are constantly under the effect of the Speak with Animals spell, but can only use this ability to speak with your elephant.
Barkskin – You gain the ability to use Barkskin as a spell-like ability thrice per day. However, you can only use this ability on yourself or your elephant. Your caster level is equal to your character level for the purpose of adjudicating this effect.
Greater Magic Fang – You gain the ability to use Greater Magic Fang as a spell-like ability thrice per day. You can only use this ability on yourself or your elephant. Your caster level is equal to your character level for the purpose of adjudicating this effect.
Animal Growth – You gain the ability to use Animal Growth as a spell-like ability thrice per day. You can only use this ability on your elephant. Your caster level is equal to your character level for the purpose of adjudicating this effect.