Wanderhaven Sourcebook: The Fire-Breathing Elephant

My daughter Emma drew me a picture while I was in the hospital.  Now that I'm out, I feel like that picture needs stats*.

The Fire-Breathing Elephant
Huge Magical Beast, Unaligned

The Fire-Breathing Elephant

Armor Class  13 (natural armor, augmented by flaming skin)

Hit Points  101 (10d12 + 36)

Speed  45 feet; Swim 20 feet

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
22 (+6)	11 (-)	16 (+3)	6 (-2)	9 (-1)	10 (-)

Senses  Passive Perception 9

Damage Resistances  Non-magical, non-silvered weapons

Damage Immunities  Fire

Languages  Understands but cannot speak the language of the Fire Elves

Challenge Rating  6 (2,300 xp)

Innate Heat  The area immediately around a Fire-Breathing Elephant is uncomfortably warm to most warm-blooded creatures.  Creatures that are not Resistant or Immune to Fire damage who spend more than 8 hours in close proximity to a Fire-Breathing Elephant must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or gain one level of Exhaustion.

Trampling Charge  If the Fire-Breathing Elephant moves at least 20 feet in a straight line and then hits its target with a Gore attack on the same turn, the target must succeed on a DC 13 Strength or Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone.  If the target is knocked prone, the Fire-Breathing Elephant can make two Stomp attacks against it as a single bonus action and then continue its move if it has movement remaining.  

Actions

Multiple Attack.  The Fire-Breathing Elephant can make two Gore attacks against a single target.

Gore.  Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit; reach 5 feet; one target.  Hit: 19 (3d8 + 6 piercing damage) plus 3 (1d6) fire damage.

Stomp.  Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit; reach 5 feet; one target.  Hit: 22 (3d10 + 6 bludgeoning damage).

Fire Breath (Recharge 5-6).   The Fire-Breathing Elephant uses its trunk to exhale fire in a 20 foot cone, originating from any point within 5 feet of its head.  Any creature in that area must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or take 35 (10d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful save.

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Fire-Breathing Elephants are slightly larger, smarter, and nimbler than their more common jungle counterparts.  The creatures are native to the Fire Islands, though scholars disagree as to their origins.  Given their innate fire magic, it seems unlikely that the creatures evolved naturally, though whether they were created by some mad fire elf mage in times long past or were perhaps unleashed from Hephaestus's fiery realm by the god himself is unknown.

In addition to their more obvious differences, Fire-Breathing Elephants differ from regular elephants in that they have more tusks.  Fire-Breathing Elephants have fours tusks instead of two, with a pair of tusks mounted vertically on either side of their mouths.  This makes them much more dangerous in close combat because each time they gore, they send more points towards an opponent's heart.

Fire-Breathing Elephants are much prized as war mounts amongst the peoples of the Southern Continent, especially legartos mercenaries.  Since legartos are cold-blooded, the Fire-Breathing Elephants' innate heat allows them to travel into normally inhospitable climates and function normally.  In fact, most legartos find the act of riding a Fire-Breathing Elephant to be extremely pleasurable, though this is untrue of nearly everyone else in the Known World.  For most creatures, the elephants' innate heat makes being around them an uncomfortable chore at best and actively dangerous as a cause of heat-exhaustion or heat-stroke at worst.

The tusks of a Fire-Breathing Elephant are quite valuable.  They can be used for various medicinal purposes, or they can be enchanted to hold exceptionally powerful fire dweomers.  They are also much-prized for jewelry amongst the peoples of the Southern Continent, particularly legartos.  For this reason, adventurers from the Sentralian mainland have been known to organize Fire-Breathing Elephant hunts in the Fire Islands, though these hunts can be dangerous in the extreme.  Fire Elf religion teaches that Fire-Breathing elephants are sacred to Hephaestus, the elves' dread Volcano God.  Outsiders caught poaching Fire-Breathing Elephant tusks can expect to be sacrificed to Hephaestus within a fortnight of their capture.

Depending on their size, the buyer, and local economic conditions, each Fire-Breathing Elephant tusk is worth between 200 and 400 gold crowns each.

Fire-Breathing Elephants travel in small herds of up to a dozen or more animals, including females and young.  When threatened, the herd will attempt to escape while some number of males (1d4+1) turn to confront the threat.  The male elephant tusks are larger and more valuable than the other, small elephants' tusks, so this behavior--while dangerous--is convenient for hunting parties.

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* I have no idea what design basis underlies D&D's new monster math.  I've guessed at everything here based on stuff that's in the free online DM's Guide.