Herd Mammals II

Wild aurochs, oxen and yaks all fall here. A bull is large and semi-intelligent, roughly 5 feet tall, and quick to anger: anyone within 80 yards faces a 75% chance of attack. After a charge of 30 yards or more it deals 3d4 plus 1d4 trampling. Herds always have several bulls on guard.

Stag-like grazers of subarctic steppe and tundra, 4 to 5 feet tall and about 700 pounds, in herds of up to 100. Northern tribes depend on them: a full winter suit or a kayak takes about 12 skins, a sleeping roll 5 or 6. Fat fuels lamps, and antlers become tent pegs, tool handles and chair frames.

Shy hill-country grazers, semi-intelligent and at least 5 feet at the shoulder. Past seven in a group, the extras are young. They fight back hard against any threat with a single horn butt, adding +4 damage after charging 30 yards or more. A few have been tamed as mounts.

Big tropical river and lake grazers that guard their territory aggressively. A bull's powerful bite deals 3d6. Each herd has one bull per 4 animals, 1 to 4 in all. When a canoe or boat crosses submerged hippos, there is a 50% chance a bull rises beneath it and flips it. They can stay under for 15 minutes, running along the bottom at movement 12.

Surefooted mountain pack animals, about 4 1/2 feet at the shoulder and 300 pounds. Annoyed, they bite or spit like camels (50% chance; the target is blinded 1d3 rounds). They balk at loads heavier than 50 pounds.

Six-foot wild sheep of hills and mountains. A flock is one ram, four ewes and lambs; every adult uses the standard statistics. A charging male butts for double damage. Rarely aggressive, they defend the flock to the death once they sense a threat.

Savannah grazers with weak eyes but sharp ears and noses. A few kinds bolt when threatened, but most charge, and one that fails a morale check charges half the time anyway. A charge doubles damage, and the rhino can then trample a low enough target, stamping twice with its forefeet for 2d4 each. If more than half the maximum number appear, 1 or 2 are young.

Stags are the belligerent males of herds in temperate woods and meadows; the herd holds 4 to 8 times as many animals as there are stags. They protect the herd from all but the most dreadful foes, goring with branched antlers or striking with sharp forehooves. A giant stag is just a huge one, some 7 feet tall and over 1,500 pounds.