Elephant, Undead War (CR 5)
Huge Undead
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Initiative: +0; Senses: Listen +13 and Spot +13
AC: 17 (-2 size, +9 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 17 or 27 (-2 size, +9 natural, +10 extreme half-plate barding), touch 8, flat-footed 27
Hit Dice: 11d12 (71 hp)
Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +8
Speed: 50 ft. (30 ft. with extreme halfplate barding)
Space: 10 ft./15 ft.
Base Attack +12; Grapple +20
Attack: 1 slam +12 melee, 2 stamps +7 melee, or gore +12 melee
Full Attack: 1 slam +12 melee, 2 stamps +7 melee, or gore +12 melee
Damage: Slam 2d6+7, stamp 2d6+3, gore 2d8+10
Special Attacks/Actions: Fiery feet, trample 2d8+10 (+5 fire)
Abilities: Str 25, Dex 10, Con -, Int 4, Wis 13, Cha 9
Special Qualities: Undead, provide cover
Feats: Cleave; Power Attack
Skills: Intimidate +11, Listen +13, and Spot +13
Advancement: 12-33 HD (Gargantuan)
Climate/Terrain: Any land
Organization: Solitary or herd (6-24)
Treasure/Possessions: None
Source:
Dragon Annual 5
Fiery Feet (Su): In life, elephants fear fire - this fact is used to drive them off the battlefield. In undeath, this fear disappears, replaced with the ability to set everything they trample on fire. Undead war elephants confer an additional 5 points of damage to trample victims. Their fiery feet set combustible materials alight.
Trample (Ex): An undead war elephant can trample Medium-size or smaller creatures for automatic damage. Opponents who do not make attacks of opportunity against the undead war elephant can attempt a Reflex save (DC 22) to halve the damage.
Provide Cover (Ex): An undead war elephant is large enough to provide cover to creatures sheltering in its ribcage or howdah. Treat this cover as 75% for the howdah; for the ribcage, the undead war elephant provides 90% cover when fitted with half-plate barding, and just 50% cover when only its bones and leathery skin protect the occupants.
War elephants are relatively clever for undead mounts; they can think and act on their own when necessary, though their typical reaction to any attack is a blindingly furious assault. In herds, however, undead war elephants have been known to encircle, stampede, or even ambush their foes.
Undead war elephants are enormous undead raised from the bones of a mammoth, mastodon, or elephant killed in battle or during a sacrifice to the gods of death. The thick hide of these elephants is covered with necromantic sigils and tattoos; their ivory tusks are blackened, as if by extreme age. Their eye sockets glow as if lit from within by fiery lanterns, and their flopping ears are often little more than shredded leather.
Their spirits are angry at being trapped in a dead body, and they sometimes seek to wander off to the Elephant's Graveyard if not carefully controlled by their makers. More often, though, they are titanic centerpoints of undead armies, or command posts and observation platforms for generals commanding undead cavalry. While they are not quite as fast as undead warhorses or ghost horses, they are virtually impregnable when fitted with full armor.
The bone ribcage of an undead war elephant is sometimes used by lesser undead as a strange chariot, and a howdah made of wood and covered in green leather is often set on top of the undead war elephant. Truly wealthy undead generals often commission barding for their undead war elephants; this amounts to a wall of iron plating that makes the elephant a battering ram.