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A druid could potentially have a rhinoceros [[animal companion]],<ref>{{Cite book/Player's Handbook v.3.5|36}}</ref> such as those who lived in deserts.<ref>{{Cite book/Sandstorm: Mastering the Perils of Fire and Sand|48}}</ref>
  
A druid could potentially have a rhinoceros [[animal companion]],<ref>{{Cite book/Player's Handbook v.3.5|36}}</ref> such as those who lived in deserts.<ref>{{Cite book/Sandstorm: Mastering the Perils of Fire and Sand|48}}</ref>
   
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A rhinoceros ally could be summoned with the [[spell]] ''[[summon nature's ally|summon nature's ally V]]''<ref>{{Cite book/Player's Handbook v.3.5|288}}</ref> or ''[[summon desert ally VI]]'',<ref>{{Cite book/Sandstorm: Mastering the Perils of Fire and Sand|122}}</ref> while a [[fiendish]] rhinoceros could be summoned with ''[[summon monster VI]]''.<ref>{{Cite book/Player's Handbook v.3.5|36}}</ref> ''[[Find greater steed]]'' summoned a [[celestial]], [[fey]], or [[fiend]]ish spirit to assume the form of a beast that would serve as a mount, including a rhinoceros.<ref>{{Cite book/Xanathar's Guide to Everything|156}}</ref> A wild rhinoceros might even appear from a ''[[wand of wonder]]''<ref>{{Cite book/Dungeon Master's Guide 5th edition|212}}</ref>
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A rhinoceros ally could be summoned with the [[spell]] ''[[summon nature's ally|summon nature's ally V]]''<ref>{{Cite book/Player's Handbook v.3.5|288}}</ref> or ''[[summon desert ally VI]]'',<ref>{{Cite book/Sandstorm: Mastering the Perils of Fire and Sand|122}}</ref> while a [[fiendish]] rhinoceros could be summoned with ''[[summon monster VI]]''.<ref>{{Cite book/Player's Handbook v.3.5|287}}</ref> ''[[Find greater steed]]'' summoned a [[celestial]], [[fey]], or [[fiend]]ish spirit to assume the form of a beast that would serve as a mount, including a rhinoceros.<ref>{{Cite book/Xanathar's Guide to Everything|156}}</ref> A wild rhinoceros might even appear from a ''[[wand of wonder]]''<ref>{{Cite book/Dungeon Master's Guide 5th edition|212}}</ref>
   
 
A piece of rhinoceros hide, swallowed by the caster, was a [[material component]] for the ''[[metal skin]]'' [[spell]].<ref>{{Cite book/Oriental Adventures|88-89}}</ref>
  
A piece of rhinoceros hide, swallowed by the caster, was a [[material component]] for the ''[[metal skin]]'' [[spell]].<ref>{{Cite book/Oriental Adventures|88-89}}</ref>

Revision as of 09:24, 18 January 2021

A rhinoceros (also called a rhino for short[1]) was an aggressive herbivorous animal known for having a horn on its snout.[6][5][4][3][2]

Description

Rhinoceroses ranged in size, from 6​ to ​14 feet (1.8​ to ​4.3 meters) in length and 3​ to ​6 feet (0.91​ to ​1.8 meters) in height at the shoulder. They could weigh as much as 6,000 pounds (2,700 kilograms).[4][note 1] Depending on species, they could have one or two horns on their snouts.[6] Their upper lips were almost prehensile, an ability they used for feeding.[7]

Behavior

These creatures were known to be bad tempered and to attack anything they perceived as a threat, intruder, or annoyance.[6][5][4] Some species were less aggressive and more likely to flee.[6][5]

Their senses of smell and hearing were sharp, but their eyesight was limited,[6][5] though some possessed low-light vision.[4]

On the Steaming Isles where all beasts were intelligent and capable of speech, the black rhinoceroses spoke little and thought of the birds (which often sat on their backs) as ceaseless, irritating gossips. The rhinoceroses were loyal to the Law of the Loregiver, yet had no interest in the affairs of the ruling pashas.[8]

Ecology

They were encountered alone[6][5][4] or in herds of up to six[6][5] or twelve specimens,[4] including a few young.[6][5]

Tactics

Rhinoceros

A rhinoceros charging through two warriors.

Faced with threats or intruders, a rhinoceros charged them, lowering its head to gore them with its horn in a devastating assault.[6][5][4][3][2] The force could knock a target down.[2] Afterward, it might trample them with its forelegs.[6][5]

Habitats

They lived on tropical savannahs[5] and other warm plains.[4]

In Faerûn, they were found in the southern grasslands,[9] such as in Chult, where they were common;[1] on the warm plains of the Shaar; in the hills around the Great Rift; and in Halruaa and the Shining Lands.[10]

In Kara-Tur, rhinoceroses lived in subtropical forest areas.[11]

In Zakhara, black rhinoceroses were found on the Steaming Isles, though these ones were also intelligent.[8]

Significance

Wild dwarf priests of Thard Harr wore the skulls of big jungle beasts like rhinoceroses as helms.[12][13]

The human Rhinoceros Tribe of the Shaar based both their name and their charging combat style on the beasts they shared the plains with.[14]

Uses

Rhinoceros-WarBeast-3e

An orc riding on a rhinoceros warbeast wearing partial scale barding.

A rhinoceros could potentially be mounted and ridden into battle,[3][15] such as when trained as a dedicated warbeast.[16] A young rhinoceros could cost 200 gp, and 50 gp more to train,[7] a rhinoceros warbeast could cost 775 gp,[16] and a mature mount as much as 2,600 gp.[3] Compared to horses and the like, they cost 10 gp per day more to feed and maintain. Despite the cost, their willingness to charge foes in battle, as well as their ability to carry even fragile things with their lips with training, made them rather useful. Dwarves and ogres preferred a war rhinoceros.[7]

Rhinoceroses, or just their horns, were traded in caravans across the Hordelands in the mid–14th century DR. Usually, only one or two of the animals were transported in a wagon with a dedicated handler.[17]

Rhinoceros hide, like elephant hide, could be used to make a suit of hide armor; its greater thickness gave greater protection than leather armor.[18] In the mid–14th century DR, such armors were worn by General Batu Min Ho of Shou Lung[19] and the druid Thurghom as far north as the Frozen Wastes.[20]

Magic

A druid could potentially have a rhinoceros animal companion,[21] such as those who lived in deserts.[22]

A rhinoceros ally could be summoned with the spell summon nature's ally V[23] or summon desert ally VI,[24] while a fiendish rhinoceros could be summoned with summon monster VI.[25] Find greater steed summoned a celestial, fey, or fiendish spirit to assume the form of a beast that would serve as a mount, including a rhinoceros.[26] A wild rhinoceros might even appear from a wand of wonder[27]

A piece of rhinoceros hide, swallowed by the caster, was a material component for the metal skin spell.[28]

The spell rhino's rush gave one the charging power of a rhinoceros.[29][30]

History

A rhinoceros was one of the exhibits in the menagerie of the Sea Maidens Faire in Waterdeep in 1492 DR.[note 2] It was kept in a pen on the Heartbreaker with the other beasts.[31]

Appendix

Notes

  1. ↑ Specifically, a black rhinoceros was the basis for these measurements and statistics in Monster Manual v.3.5, but they also stated to be applicable to any similar beast.
  2. ↑ Canon material does not provide a year for the events described in Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, but Christopher Perkins answered a question via Twitter and stated the year was 1492 DR. Corroborating this, Dragon Heist page 20 refers to events of Death Masks (set in 1491 DR) as being "last year". Unless a canon source contradicts this assertion, this wiki will use 1492 DR for events related to this sourcebook and Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage (which is referenced on pages 5 and 98 of Dragon Heist).

See Also

External Links

Appearances

Novels

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 James Lowder, Jean Rabe (1993). The Jungles of Chult. (TSR, Inc), p. 8. ISBN 1-5607-6605-0.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins (2014-09-30). Monster Manual 5th edition. Edited by Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 336. ISBN 978-0786965614.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Logan Bonner, Eytan Bernstein, & Chris Sims (September 2008). Adventurer's Vault: Arms and Equipment for All Character Classes. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 11, 13. ISBN 978-07869-4978-6.
  4. ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook (July 2003). Monster Manual v.3.5. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 278–279. ISBN 0-7869-2893-X.
  5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 Jon Pickens ed. (1995). Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two. (TSR, Inc.), p. 86. ISBN 0-7869-0199-3.
  6. ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 Gary Gygax (December 1977). Monster Manual, 1st edition. (TSR, Inc), p. 82. ISBN 0-935696-00-8.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Eric Cagle, Jesse Decker, Jeff Quick, and James Wyatt (March 2003). Arms and Equipment Guide 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 72, 81. ISBN 978-0-7869-2649-7.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 David Cook (October 1992). “The Steaming Isles”. In Bill Slavicsek ed. Golden Voyages (TSR, Inc.), pp. 5, 6. ISBN 978-1560763314.
  9. ↑ Skip Williams and Duane Maxwell (February, 2002). Encounters in Faerûn. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 11, 17.
  10. ↑ Thomas Reid (October 2004). Shining South. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 82–83, 85, 88. ISBN 0-7869-3492-1.
  11. ↑ Gary Gygax, David Cook, and François Marcela-Froideval (1985). Oriental Adventures. (TSR, Inc), p. 115. ISBN 0-8803-8099-3.
  12. ↑ Ed Greenwood (October 1990). Dwarves Deep. (TSR, Inc.), p. 34. ISBN 0-88038-880-3.
  13. ↑ Eric L. Boyd (November 1998). Demihuman Deities. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 87. ISBN 0-7869-1239-1.
  14. ↑ Thomas Reid (October 2004). Shining South. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 21, 164. ISBN 0-7869-3492-1.
  15. ↑ Julia Martin, Eric L. Boyd (March 1996). Faiths & Avatars. (TSR, Inc.), p. 108. ISBN 978-0786903849.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Ed Bonny, Jeff Grubb, Rich Redman, Skip Williams, and Steve Winter (September 2002). Monster Manual II 3rd edition. (TSR, Inc), p. 219. ISBN 07-8692-873-5.
  17. ↑ David Cook (August 1990). The Horde. Edited by Steve Winter. (TSR, Inc.). ISBN 0-88038-868-4.
  18. ↑ Gary Gygax, David Cook, and François Marcela-Froideval (1985). Oriental Adventures. (TSR, Inc), p. 49. ISBN 0-8803-8099-3.
  19. ↑ Troy Denning (August 1990). Dragonwall. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 2, 16. ISBN 0-8803-8919-2.
  20. ↑ James Wyatt (2002-06-19). “Portals of the Frozen Wastes: Thurghom”. Perilous Gateways. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2004-03-02. Retrieved on 2016-11-19.
  21. ↑ Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams (July 2003). Player's Handbook v.3.5. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 36. ISBN 0-7869-2886-7.
  22. ↑ Jennifer Clarke-Wilkes, Bruce R. Cordell and JD Wiker (March 2005). Sandstorm. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 48. ISBN 0-7869-3655-X.
  23. ↑ Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams (July 2003). Player's Handbook v.3.5. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 288. ISBN 0-7869-2886-7.
  24. ↑ Jennifer Clarke-Wilkes, Bruce R. Cordell and JD Wiker (March 2005). Sandstorm. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 122. ISBN 0-7869-3655-X.
  25. ↑ Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams (July 2003). Player's Handbook v.3.5. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 287. ISBN 0-7869-2886-7.
  26. ↑ Jeremy Crawford, Mike Mearls, Robert J. Schwalb, Adam Lee, Christopher Perkins, Matt Sernett (November 2017). Xanathar's Guide to Everything. Edited by Kim Mohan. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 156. ISBN 978-0-7869-6612-7.
  27. ↑ Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins, James Wyatt (2014). Dungeon Master's Guide 5th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 212. ISBN 978-0786965622.
  28. ↑ Gary Gygax, David Cook, and François Marcela-Froideval (1985). Oriental Adventures. (TSR, Inc), pp. 88–89. ISBN 0-8803-8099-3.
  29. ↑ Matthew Sernett, Jeff Grubb, Mike McArtor (Dec 2005). Spell Compendium. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 176–177. ISBN 0-7869-3702-5.
  30. ↑ Hal Maclean (September 2004). “Seven Deadly Domains”. In Matthew Sernett ed. Dragon #323 (Paizo Publishing, LLC), p. 65.
  31. ↑ Christopher Perkins, James Haeck, James Introcaso, Adam Lee, Matthew Sernett (September 2018). Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. Edited by Jeremy Crawford. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 137. ISBN 978-0-7869-6625-7.
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