Platybelodon — Shovel-Tusked Prehistoric Beast
Prehistoric mammal · Shovel-tusked proboscidean · Herd encounter
At a Glance
| Creature | Platybelodon, a huge prehistoric relative of elephants |
|---|---|
| Campaign role | Territorial herd, living obstacle, dangerous but usually non-aggressive herbivore |
| Temperament | Neutral; especially defensive of calves and access to water |
| Original 3.5e version | Huge Animal, 9 HD, CR 4 |
| Habitat | Riverside scrub, wooded grassland and floodplain margins |
| Signature features | Broad, flattened lower tusks; powerful pushing charge; herd defence |
A muddy track descends to the only ford for miles. A herd of shovel-tusked giants stands across it, lifting branches with their trunks and stripping vegetation between their lower tusks. The matriarch turns when a calf cries; a journey that looked harmless is suddenly an encounter with six tonnes of angry prehistoric muscle.
Shovel-Tuskers of the Floodplain
Platybelodon was a genuine Miocene proboscidean, not a dinosaur. Its broad lower incisors gave it the familiar shovel-tusked profile. Early illustrations often depicted it using its jaw to scoop aquatic plants from swamps, but dental-microwear research on Platybelodon grangeri instead supports a diet of leaves and twigs and does not support routine shovelling with the lower tusks. In play, these browsers strip branches, break undergrowth and compete for the finest riverside feeding grounds.
They do not attack adventurers for treasure. Their danger is displacement: a startled herd can crush pack animals, overturn an improvised bridge or drive frightened people into deep water. The wounded and the young make the matriarch especially difficult to turn aside. Older animals can stand in the ford and refuse passage long after the party has exhausted its patience.
Rules by Edition
Platybelodon — D&D 2024
Original campaign adaptation — not an official Monster Manual entry.
Huge Beast, Unaligned
AC: 15 (Natural Armor) · Initiative: +0 (10)
HP: 85 (9d12 + 27) · Speed: 30 ft.
STR 20 (+5) · DEX 10 (+0) · CON 16 (+3) · INT 2 (−4) · WIS 10 (+0) · CHA 7 (−2)
Saving Throws: Str +7, Con +5 · Skills: Perception +2
Senses: Passive Perception 12 · Languages: None
CR: 4 (1,100 XP; PB +2)
Traits — Powerful Charge. If the platybelodon moves at least 20 feet straight toward a creature immediately before hitting it with Tusk Sweep on the same turn, the target takes an extra 9 (2d8) Bludgeoning damage.
Actions — Multiattack. The platybelodon makes two Stomp attacks.
Stomp. Melee Attack Roll: +7, reach 10 ft. Hit: 10 (1d10 + 5) Bludgeoning damage.
Tusk Sweep. Melee Attack Roll: +7, reach 10 ft. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 5) Bludgeoning damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or have the Prone condition.
Encounter example: A calf panics at a torch. The matriarch charges the torchbearer, making a Tusk Sweep rather than both Stomp attacks; the calf then tries to escape toward the river.
Platybelodon — D&D 2014
Original campaign adaptation — not an official Monster Manual entry.
Huge beast, unaligned
Armor Class: 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points: 85 (9d12 + 27) · Speed: 30 ft.
STR 20 (+5) · DEX 10 (+0) · CON 16 (+3) · INT 2 (−4) · WIS 10 (+0) · CHA 7 (−2)
Skills: Perception +2 · Senses: passive Perception 12
Languages: — · Challenge: 4 (1,100 XP; proficiency bonus +2)
Traits — Powerful Charge. If the creature moves at least 20 feet in a straight line toward a target and then hits with Tusk Sweep during the same turn, the attack deals an extra 9 (2d8) bludgeoning damage.
Actions — Multiattack. The platybelodon makes two Stomp attacks.
Stomp. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (1d10 + 5) bludgeoning damage.
Tusk Sweep. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 5) bludgeoning damage. The target must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
Encounter example: A ranger may divert the herd using food or quiet movement before combat begins. The monster’s statistics do not require it to fight to the death.
Platybelodon — Pathfinder 1e
Adaptation of the archived community d20 creature; not an official Paizo creature.
XP: 1,200 · CR: 4
Huge animal, N
Init: +0 · Senses: low-light vision, scent; Perception +2
AC: 15, touch 8, flat-footed 15 (−2 size, +7 natural)
hp: 67 (9d8 + 27)
Fort: +9 · Ref: +6 · Will: +3
Speed: 30 ft. · Space: 15 ft. · Reach: 10 ft.
Melee: bite +9 (2d6+5) or 2 stamps +9 (1d8+5)
Str: 20 · Dex: 10 · Con: 16 · Int: 2 · Wis: 10 · Cha: 7
Base Atk: +6 · CMB: +13 (+15 bull rush) · CMD: 23 (25 vs. bull rush)
Feats: Endurance, Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack, Run
Skills: Perception +2, Survival +3, Swim +9
Powerful Charge (Ex): In this playable conversion, its bite deals 4d6+5 damage after a charge instead of its normal 2d6+5. This extra-charge damage is a campaign ruling for an ability that the archived table only names.
Encounter example: A matriarch blocks the ford while the herd crosses. A player can avoid a dangerous charge by keeping the group’s movement slow and leaving the calf an escape route.
Platybelodon — D&D 3.5e
Archived Wizards Community creature, credited to Rappy; not an official SRD monster.
Huge Animal; Usually Neutral; CR 4
Hit Dice: 9d8+27 (67 hp) · Initiative: +0
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
AC: 15 (−2 size, +7 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 15
BAB/Grapple: +6/+19
Attack: bite +9 melee (2d6+5) or stamp +9 melee (1d8+5)
Full Attack: bite +9 melee (2d6+5) or 2 stamps +9 melee (1d8+5)
Space/Reach: 15 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: powerful charge
Special Qualities: low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +9, Ref +6, Will +3
Abilities: Str 20, Dex 10, Con 16, Int 2, Wis 10, Cha 7
Skills: Listen +3, Spot +2, Survival +3, Swim +9
Feats: Endurance, Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack, Run
Environment: Warm plains and marshes
Organization: Solitary or herd (5–10 and matriarch)
Treasure: None · Advancement: 10–14 HD Huge; 15–20 HD Gargantuan · Level Adjustment: —
Powerful Charge (Ex): The archived community table names the special attack without describing its damage. For this playable entry, a charging bite deals 4d6+5 instead of 2d6+5; this clarification is an original campaign rule, not a quotation from the source.
Encounter example: A mounted party enters a herd’s feeding ground. The beasts are not evil; combat begins only when the panicked mounts scatter into the calves.
What Is Happening Right Now?
The settlement’s floodplain road is blocked by eight Platybelodon, including two young. A merchant wagon is trapped between the herd and a river channel rising after heavy rain. The adventurers can lead the wagons around the feeding ground, help a wounded calf, or endure a charge while clearing the ford.
Places and Behaviour
Use Platybelodon where a route meets water and green browse: warm river valleys, marsh-edge grasslands and open woods. It is a large browsing mammal. A herd generally follows fresh leaves and water, and its route may destroy fragile fences or threaten roads that were never built to bear its weight. Tusks and trunks are useful tools; a cow can overturn a light cart but will ordinarily prefer to move the threat away from her calf rather than hunt it down.
Adventure Hooks
The Shattered Bridge
An unseasonal flood drives the herd into a valley crossing. The bridge fails beneath a fleeing beast, and the only route to a threatened village lies under the fallen timbers.
The Matriarch’s Wound
A poacher has left an iron spear in the matriarch’s shoulder. The herd now attacks anyone approaching on horseback. Removing the weapon requires patience, not a battle.
Tracks into the Old Valley
A herd has begun avoiding its ancestral feeding ground. The characters find uprooted trees and broken tusk marks around a cave entrance that has opened since the last rains.
Related Creatures and Places
Explore other wildlife at Animals — Wildlife and Prehistoric Creatures, and creatures from earlier ages in the Lost World Bestiary. Platybelodon is a Miocene proboscidean, not a dinosaur: keep its natural-history origin distinct from the much older dinosaur encounters.
Sources and Artwork
Archived game statistics: Rappy, Wizards Community forum (original discussion link unavailable). Modern-edition stat blocks and encounters on this page are explicitly original campaign adaptations, not official monster entries. Scientific background: Dental microwear and diet of Platybelodon grangeri, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology (2016). Existing historical Platybelodon illustration by Margret Flinsch, public domain, reproduced via Wikimedia Commons. This illustration remains credited until a unique original painted hero is ready.
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