Wednesday 1 March 2023

Hex Crawl 23 #60: Wild Rhinos!

 Two hexes northeast, two north of Alakran.

 

In 5th edition D&D, rhinos are among the toughest natural beasts from historical times, at challenge rating 2 - harder than a lion and equal to an ogre! It may seem odd to find them in such a dry place, but this species (C. simum, the mislabeled "white" rhino) once ranged the Namibian desert. And in this hex, the "crash" (herd) of rhinos has found a greener valley filled with grasses and shrubs to eat.

The dominant bull, solitary and with 1.5 times the average hit points, is encountered 2/3 of the time at a range of 1 and 1/3 in the home hex. At the longer range he patrols the boundary of the territory, marking it with enormous dung heaps (see hex #59), urine sprays, or simply by scraping his horn in the ground or on bushes. The rest of the herd will otherwise be encountered, made up of 8 females and 4 junior males, and 2 calves.

The bull can be quite aggressive, but the mass of the herd will defend itself as well, especially if surprised. There is folklore that rhinos are not afraid of fire, but who is brave enough to put it to the test?

2 comments:

  1. Alchemists and apothecaries looking for that horn ... Could be. I might have thought it too sad an aspect of the real world to put into the game.

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