Epigaulus — Horned Gopher of the Old Earth

Epigaulus, the horned old-earth burrowing rodent — Epigaulus, the horned burrower of the Old Earth.

Epigaulus is a squat, horned burrowing rodent of the Old Earth, little more than a foot long but powerfully built for digging. Colonies undermine grasslands with shallow runs and concealed chambers, while sentries defend burrow mouths with abrupt upward strikes of their paired nasal horns.

Most flee underground at the first alarm. An Epigaulus fights only when cornered, when young are threatened, or when a predator reaches into an occupied burrow.

Size: Tiny; about 1 ft. (30 cm) long
Type: Animal / Beast
Temperament: Wary, defensive and burrow-bound
Diet: Grasses, roots, shoots, seeds and low scrub
Habitat: Prairie, badlands, dry scrub and loose-earth grasslands
Range: North American interior and Hollow Earth refuges

Epigaulus Game Statistics

D&D 5.5e / 2024 Pathfinder 1e D&D 3.5e

Epigaulus — D&D 5.5e / 2024

Tiny Beast, Unaligned

AC 12

Initiative +1 (11)

HP 4 (1d4 + 2)

Speed 20 ft., Burrow 10 ft.

PB +2

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
10 (+0)	12 (+1)	14 (+2)	2 (−4)	12 (+1)	5 (−3)

Skills Perception +3, Stealth +3

Senses Passive Perception 13

Languages —

CR 0 (XP 10; PB +2)

Traits

Burrower. The Epigaulus can burrow through loose earth and ordinary soil but not solid rock. Its normal tunnels are large enough for Tiny creatures; larger creatures require excavation rather than simply following it underground.

Actions

Nasal Horn. Melee Attack Roll: +2, reach 5 ft. Hit: 1 Piercing damage.

Reactions

Defensive Horn-Flick. Trigger: A creature within 5 feet misses the Epigaulus with a melee attack while the Epigaulus is within 5 feet of one of its burrow entrances. Response: The Epigaulus makes one Nasal Horn attack against that creature and may then move up to 5 feet into the burrow without provoking an Opportunity Attack.

Epigaulus Burrow Field — 5.5e Environmental Hazard

An active colony turns apparently ordinary grassland into a network of shallow runs, hidden roofed tunnels and narrow openings. The animals are not laying traps; the hazard is simply what their colony does to the ground.

Spotting the Field. A creature examining the area can identify the burrow field with a successful DC 12 Wisdom (Perception or Survival) check. Obvious mounds, whistles or visible Epigauli remove the need for the check.

Crossing Safely. A creature that knows the field is present can cross safely by treating the area as Difficult Terrain.

Hidden Burrow. The first time on a turn that a Medium or larger ground creature moves more than 10 feet through an unrecognised burrow field without treating it as Difficult Terrain, it must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, its movement ends and it has the Prone condition. Large or larger creatures make this save with Disadvantage.

Mounted Crossing. A mount makes the Hidden Burrow saving throw rather than its rider. On a failure, the mount’s Speed becomes 0 until the end of the current turn. If the save fails by 5 or more, the mount also has the Prone condition and the rider must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or fall Prone in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the mount.

Alarm Whistles. Once a creature disturbs the field, Epigauli within roughly 120 feet become aware of the direction of the disturbance and usually retreat toward deeper tunnels rather than fighting.

Epigaulus — Pathfinder 1e

CR 1/4 XP 100

N Tiny animal

Init +1; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +5

Defense

AC 14, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+1 Dex, +1 natural, +2 size)

hp 5 (1d8+1)

Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +1

Offense

Speed 20 ft., burrow 10 ft.

Melee gore +3 (1d3−1)

Space 2-1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.

Special Attacks defensive horn-flick

Statistics

Str 8, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 5

Base Atk +0; CMB −3; CMD 8

Feats Weapon Finesse

Skills Perception +5, Stealth +9

Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth in dry grass, scrub, badlands or loose earth

Ecology

Environment temperate or warm plains, badlands, scrublands, Hollow Earth grasslands

Organization solitary, pair, watch-post (3–6), or colony (8–40)

Treasure none

Special Abilities

Defensive Horn-Flick (Ex). Once per round, when a creature within 5 feet misses the Epigaulus with a melee attack while the Epigaulus is adjacent to a burrow entrance, it may make one gore attack as an immediate action. For this attack only, treat its reach as 5 feet. After the attack it may move 5 feet into its burrow without provoking attacks of opportunity.

Epigaulus Burrow Field — Pathfinder 1e Environmental Hazard

Detection. A DC 12 Perception or Survival check identifies the field before a creature enters it. Once detected, Medium or larger ground creatures treat the area as difficult terrain. Tiny and Small creatures may move normally unless the GM decides a particular section has collapsed or been churned up.

Unseen Burrow Roofs. A Medium or larger creature that crosses an undetected field at more than half speed must attempt a DC 12 Reflex save the first time each round it moves through the hazard. Failure ends its movement and leaves it prone. Large or larger creatures take a −2 penalty on this save.

Running and Charging. Once the field is recognised as difficult terrain, creatures cannot run or charge through it under the normal Pathfinder movement rules.

Mounted Crossing. The mount makes the Reflex save. On a failure, its movement ends. If it fails by 5 or more, the mount also falls prone and the rider must succeed on a DC 12 Ride check or fall prone in an adjacent square.

Alarm Whistles. Disturbing the field alerts the colony. Epigauli that can hear the warning normally withdraw underground; the whistles are not a supernatural alarm and do not reveal intruders to unrelated creatures.

Epigaulus — D&D 3.5e

Tiny Animal, Neutral

Hit Dice 1d8+1 (5 hp)

Initiative +1

Speed 20 ft., burrow 10 ft.

Armor Class 14 (+2 size, +1 Dex, +1 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 13

Base Attack/Grapple +0/−9

Attack Gore +3 melee (1d3−1)

Full Attack Gore +3 melee (1d3−1)

Space/Reach 2-1/2 ft./0 ft.

Special Attacks Defensive horn-flick

Special Qualities Low-light vision, scent

Saves Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +1

Abilities Str 8, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 5

Skills Hide +13 in native terrain, Listen +3, Spot +3

Feats Weapon Finesse

Environment temperate or warm plains and badlands

Organization solitary, pair, or colony (3–18)

Challenge Rating 1/4

Treasure none

Alignment always neutral

Special Ability

Defensive Horn-Flick (Ex). Once per round, when a creature within 5 feet misses the Epigaulus with a melee attack while the animal is adjacent to a burrow entrance, the Epigaulus may make an attack of opportunity with its gore. For this attack only, treat its reach as 5 feet. After the attack it may immediately move 5 feet into an adjacent burrow without provoking an attack of opportunity.

Epigaulus Burrow Field — D&D 3.5e Environmental Hazard

Detection. A DC 12 Spot or Survival check identifies the burrow field before entry. Once recognised, Medium or larger ground creatures treat it as difficult terrain.

Unseen Burrow Roofs. A Medium or larger creature crossing an undetected field at more than half speed must make a DC 12 Reflex save the first time each round it moves through the hazard. Failure ends its movement and knocks it prone. Large or larger creatures take a −2 penalty on the save.

Running and Charging. Once the terrain is recognised, the normal 3.5e difficult-terrain rules prevent running or charging across it.

Mounted Crossing. The mount makes the Reflex save. On a failure, its movement ends. If the mount fails by 5 or more, it falls prone and its rider must succeed on a DC 12 Ride check or fall prone in an adjacent square.

Alarm Whistles. Once disturbed, the colony passes warning calls from burrow to burrow and withdraws underground unless fire, flooding, excavation or another threat blocks retreat.

Description

An Epigaulus has a broad, blunt head, small eyes, short legs and heavy digging forelimbs. A matched pair of horns rises from the nose. The horns are short, stout and forward-set rather than antler-like, giving the animal a distinctive wedge-shaped profile.

Adults are usually about 1 foot (30 cm) long and weigh only a few pounds. Their dense bodies, powerful shoulders and low stance make them look heavier than they are.

Epigaulus horned burrowing rodent at the mouth of its burrow — An Epigaulus at the mouth of its burrow.

Combat

Epigauli avoid open combat. A threatened animal backs toward the nearest burrow entrance, gives a sharp whistle and keeps its horned head toward the attacker. If a predator lunges, it snaps its head upward and retreats underground immediately afterward.

A colony rarely swarms an intruder. Its real defence is the ground itself: broken turf, concealed tunnel roofs and narrow entrances that make a careless charge or mounted crossing dangerous.

Habitat and Ecology

Epigauli live in dry grasslands, badlands, scrub and loose-earth plains. Surface populations are strongest in North America, while older and more stable colonies survive in Hollow Earth grasslands.

They feed on grasses, roots, shoots, seeds and low scrub. Abandoned tunnels shelter insects, snakes and small mammals, while foxes, owls and other predators hunt along colony edges.

Epigaulus horned burrowing rodent in North American badlands habitat — Epigaulus in dry badlands habitat.

Burrows and Colonies

A colony is usually visible only as low mounds, clipped vegetation and scattered openings. Beneath the surface lies a network of feeding runs, sleeping chambers and escape tunnels. Sentries whistle when they detect danger, and nearby animals vanish underground within moments.

Active colonies can turn apparently safe ground into a serious obstacle for horses, carts and running travellers. The environmental rules in each edition tab represent this burrow field.

Epigaulus in 1454

Rare colonies survive in isolated prehistoric refuges, especially across the North American interior and in Hollow Earth. Their presence often marks a wider pocket of Old Earth life: exposed fossil beds, surviving prehistoric plants, unusual predators or hidden passages into deeper refuges.

Adventure Hooks

The Grass That Watches

Travellers enter an apparently empty meadow. Horned heads rise above the grass, a line of warning whistles passes across the slope, and the first horse puts a hoof through a hidden run.

The Exposed Bed

Heavy rain drives a colony into a pale sediment layer filled with fossil bone and shell. Fresh mounds now contain teeth, horn cores and fragments from an older age, drawing scholars, relic hunters and something that has been waiting deeper down.

The Burrowed Mound

A burial mound is slowly collapsing because an Epigaulus colony has tunnelled into its sides. Beads, old bronze, finger bones and carved stones appear around the entrances. The animals are not the threat; they are exposing what the mound was built to contain.

Treasure and Remains

Epigauli carry no treasure, but intact remains are valuable to natural philosophers, collectors and apothecaries.

Nasal horns: 5 sp–2 gp each; 3–5 gp for a clean matched pair.
Complete skull: 10–25 gp.
Claws: 2–8 sp for a cleaned set.
Hide: 1–4 gp.
Living specimen: 10–30 gp where a buyer specifically wants one.

Video

Related SpiralWorlds

Animals — the broader SpiralWorlds animal bestiary.

North American Bestiary — creatures associated with the Epigaulus’s strongest surface range.

Lost World / Hollow Earth Bestiary — other creatures surviving in old-earth refuges.

North America — campaign geography for its main surface populations.

Hollow Earth — the principal deep refuge for stable prehistoric populations.

Sources and Natural History

The fossil animal historically called Epigaulus is now generally placed in Ceratogaulus. Its size, burrowing build and paired nasal horns inform the creature presented here.

Rules and Licensing

D&D 5.5e / 2024

This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 (“SRD 5.2.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available from D&D Beyond. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e

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