Elephant, Mastodon (3pp)

ECOLOGY

Environment cold forests
Organization solitary or herd (5–20 plus 7–30 calves)
Treasure none

The great mastodon is a distant relative of the common elephant and is linked to that creature through the woolly mammoth. It is an herbivore and is found primarily in forested areas. Its teeth are rounded and pointed and make excellent “tools” for clipping leaves, branches, and twigs, though its diet also includes things such as grasses, fruits, berries, and nuts. A typical mastodon consumes 400 pounds of food and 50 gallons of water each day. Mastodons generally deplete an area of its food supply before moving on, traveling in large herds with the young in the center, surrounded by the adults of the herd.

The mastodon does not have any particular season for reproducing, though most births seem to occur in the winter. Young are born with short thick fur and weigh around 240 pounds. A young mastodon reaches maturity at about age ten.

The mastodon has three natural occurring predators; the dire wolf, the smilodon, and man. The latter often hunts the great mastodon for its meat, fur, and the ivory of its tusks. Young mastodons are often captured alive and taken into captivity and trained as mounts of beasts of burden.

The mastodon is a distant relative to the elephant though it is slightly longer and lower to the ground, with shorter and thicker legs than the common elephant. Its head is slightly longer and taller than an elephant’s and the mastodon’s entire body is covered in thick fur of brown, gray, reddish-brown, yellowish-brown, or black. Its long, upward curving tusks are formed of ivory and are white or yellowish-white in color. Its eyes range from gray to brown to green. An average mastodon stands 20 feet tall.

Training a mastodon

A mastodon must be trained before it can bear a rider in combat. To be trained, a mastodon must have a friendly attitude toward the trainer (this can be achieved through a successful Diplomacy check). Training a friendly mastodon requires six weeks of work and a successful Handle Animal check (DC 25). Riding a mastodon requires an exotic saddle. A mastodon can fight while carrying a rider, but the rider cannot also attack unless he or she makes a successful Ride check.

Mastodon young are worth 16,000 gp each on the open market. Professional trainers charge up to 2,500 gp to rear or train a mastodon.

Carrying Capacity: A light load for a mammoth is up to 5,592 pounds; a medium load, 5,593 to 11,184 pounds; and a heavy load, 11,185 to 16,800 pounds. A mammoth can drag 84,000 pounds.