Montaphant

Montaphant CR 10

XP 9,600
N Huge magical beast
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +20

DEFENSE

AC 21, touch 10, flat-footed 19 (+2 Dex, +11 natural, –2 size)
hp 147 (14d10+70)
Fort +14; Ref +11; Will +7
Resist cold 5

DEFENSE

Speed 40 ft., fly 30 ft. (clumsy)
Melee gore +24 (2d8+11), slam +23 (2d6+11)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft.
Special Attacks regurgitated spray, trample (2d6+16, DC 28)

STATISTICS

Str 32, Dex 14, Con 21, Int 6, Wis 13, Cha 7
Base Atk +14; CMB +27 (+29 bull rush); CMD 39 (41 vs bull rush, 43 vs. trip)
Feats Endurance, Improved Bull Rush, Iron Will, Outflank, Power Attack, Skill Focus (Perception), Weapon Focus (gore)
Skills Fly –3, Perception +20
Languages Common (cannot speak)
SQ glide, never forget

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Glide (Ex)

A montaphant cannot use its fly speed to hover. When a montaphant begins its movement already airborne, it must end its movement at least 5 feet lower in elevation than where it started.

Never Forget (Ex)

The montaphant never forgets a foe. It may make Knowledge checks untrained to identify monsters and their special powers. If the montaphant has faced that specific creature previously, it gains a bonus on its Knowledge check equal to its Hit Dice.

Regurgitated Spray (Ex)

Once every 10 minutes, a montaphant can expel a 30-foot cone of digestive juices from its trunk. Creatures caught in the blast take 8d6 points of acid damage. A successful DC 22 Reflex save halves the damage. The save DC is Constitution-based.

ECOLOGY

Environment cold forests and plains
Organization solitary, pair or herd (3–20)
Treasure none

Four mighty, squat legs support the weight of an enormous, yet very lean pachyderm with immense, droopy ears and coarse, olive-colored fur. Two ivory tusks and a long, flexible trunk protrude from its elephantine head, while a large, prehensile tail dangles from its backside.

History and legend are replete with tales where a precisely timed and strategically located cavalry charge won the day on the battlefield. In most instances, daring soldiers mounted atop majestic horses barreled across an open field and overran a frightened and overmatched column of infantry troops. A man and an animal working in tandem are an exponentially more powerful weapon than the sum of their parts. With this equation in mind, the brilliant tactician Baalcar Haggo attempted the impossible — to march a herd of combat-trained elephants across the frigid tundra and launch a massive, surprise offensive against his bewildered enemies. The bold plan nearly succeeded, but the brutal weather conditions, lack of provisions, and bad luck conspired against the skilled general and his determined animals. The forces of nature bested Baalcar, forcing him to abandon his dreams along with his small band of surviving elephants in the middle of a desolate, frozen landscape. However, the resourceful animals refused to yield and accept defeat like the human general who led them there. The beasts endured and over many generations, they adapted to their surreptitious, new home.

The new species of beasts known as montaphants still resemble their elephant ancestors in many ways. They share the same body type, though the montaphant is slightly taller and significantly leaner than their cousins. In order to compensate for the loss of body fat, the huge beast developed a dense coat of drab, green fur offering protection against the cold weather and ferocious winds buffeting the bleak tundra. The montaphant’s inwardly curved ivory tusks remain a formidable weapon, while it uses its strong yet nimble trunk to dig through the permafrost as well as spray its corrosive, digestive juices at creatures who stray too close to the belligerent monster. The creature’s greatest evolutionary deviation is its grotesquely oversized ears. Its partially retractable, membranous outer ears function as rudimentary wings. Though they cannot generate enough lift to get the huge beast airborne, they are strong enough to allow the montaphant to glide from higher elevations to lower ones. The monster’s large tail acts as a crude rudder during flight.

Montaphants are herbivores found predominately across the tundra, though they are making steady inroads into the neighboring taigas where they compete with their distant cousins the woolly mammoth and mastodon for the biomes’ scant resources. When grazing, the mighty beasts typically rip out large patches of frozen soil and devour them whole, letting their sophisticated digestive systems separate inorganic matter from the vegetation hiding within the partly solidified earth. This adaptation increases their likelihood of encountering edible food in their barren home as well as provide the source for their caustic digestive spray. Like their ancestors, montaphants are herd animals. They playfully interact with other family members and are fiercely loyal to their kin. However, montaphants descend from aggressive elephants born and bred for war. In the company of others, they are ornery creatures with long memories and short tempers. Montaphants obviously despise ivory hunters, so they always keep a wary eye on humanoids who cross their path. All it takes is a brief glimpse of a weapon or harvested ivory to set these ill-mannered monsters off and cause them to charge the offenders.

Montaphants never back down from a fight even in the face of obviously superior opposition.

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