Astrapotherium magnum
Astrapotherium magnum dmitrchel@mail.ru 2007
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Astrapotherium magnum ("Great Lightning Beast") was an extinct South American mammal which vaguely resembled a cross between a small elephant, and a very large tapir. It may have fed on marsh plants. This peculiar-looking animal was unrelated to modern elephants, and was, instead, related to another extinct South American elephant-like ungulate, Pyrotherium.
Astrapotherium had an elongated body, with a total length of about 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) and relatively short limbs. It had small, plantigrade, feet, and the hind limbs were significantly weaker than the fore limbs. Its four canine teeth were elongated to form short tusks, and it had broad protruding lower incisors, which likely ground against a horny pad in the upper jaw, as in many modern ruminants.
The nostrils were placed high on the head, which might indicate the presence of a trunk, but could equally be due to other reasons, such as an inflatable nasal cavity. The animal was probably at least partially aquatic, living in shallow water and feeding on plants in a similar manner to a modern hippopotamus
Roleplaying
Originally Posted by
Shade of the En World forums.
Astrapotherium
| Astrapotherium | |
| Large Animal | |
| Hit Dice | 6d8+24 (51 hp) |
| Initiative | +0 |
| Speed | 30 ft. (6 squares) |
| Armor Class | 17 (-1 size, +8 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 17 |
| Base Attack/Grapple | +4/+14 |
| Attack | Gore +9 melee (1d8+6) |
| Full Attack | Gore +9 melee (1d8+6) and 2 stamps +7 melee (1d6+3) |
| Space/Reach | 10 ft./5 ft. |
| Special Attacks | — |
| Special Qualities | Hold breath, low-light vision, scent |
| Saves | Fort +9, Ref +5, Will +3 |
| Abilities | Str 23, Dex 10, Con 19, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 4 |
| Skills | Listen +8, Spot +7, Swim +10 |
| Feats | Alertness, Endurance, Multiattack |
| Environment | Temperate and warm forests |
| Organization | Solitary or herd (2–12) |
| Challenge Rating | 4 |
| Treasure | None |
| Alignment | Always neutral |
| Advancement | 7-9 HD (Large) |
| Level Adjustment | — |
This creature resembles a large tapir with a short prehensile trunk. Two pairs of curved tusks grow from its mouth.
A xenungulate, Astrapotherium is a member of an odd lineage of herbivorous mammals. Despite their superficial resemblance to tapirs and elephants, they are not closely related to either. Astrapotheres are hippo-like in their behavior, wallowing in mudholes and swimming in rivers in order to graze on plants growing from the bottom.
An astrapotherium is over 8 feet long and weighs 500 to 600 pounds.
COMBAT
Astrapotherium are generally docile, but are quite capable of defending themselves with tusks and hooves.
Hold Breath (Ex): An astrapotherium can hold its breath for a number of rounds equal to 4 x its Constitution score before it risks drowning.
Skills: Astrapotheriums have a +4 racial bonus on Swim checks.
Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #137 (1988).
The Worlds of Mankind is owned and created by Mark John Goodwin
The text on this page is Open Game Content, and is licensed for public use under the terms of the Open Game License v1.0a.
‘d20
System’ and the ‘d20 System’ logo are trademarks of Wizards of
the Coast, Inc.
and are used according to the terms of the d20 System License version 6.0.
A copy of this License can be found at www.wizards.com/d20.