Hungry hungry HIPPOHOG!

 HIPPOHOG (#19/31, #293/365) [OOTP IV]

SKILL: 9

STAMINA: 8

ATTACKS: 2

WEAPON: Very Large Bite or Trample (as per Very Large Bite)

ARMOUR: Light

DAMAGE MODIFIER: +1 to Damage Roll

HABITAT: Marshes, Rivers, Lakes

NUMBER ENCOUNTERED: 1-6

TYPE: Animal

REACTION: Unfriendly-Hostile

INTELLIGENCE: Average

Picture the scene - a muddy Allansian river-bank at dusk, where a herd of large ungulate mammals wallow in the shallows, flicking their ears and tails. Suddenly, there is a loud squelching noise breaking the reverie, causing nearby waterbirds to take wing, followed by the arrival of a hideous stench. Ah, yes, this is the HIPPOHOG! Appearing, as its name suggests, as a strange hybrid of pig and hippopotamus, with a huge head and an enormous tusked mouth, wide snout, tiny eyes and ears, and a thick-set neck that joins its head to its bulbous body covered with a thick grey to black hide. When angered or hungry, both of which happen often, the Hippohog will charge at its enemies on its four stumpy legs, making snuffling sounds that get louder and louder.

Although usually herbivorous, eating huge amounts of riverweed, the Hippohog has been known to supplement its diet with fresh meat. Using its keen sense of smell, the creature will look for its evening meal, attacking anything horse-sized or smaller. On seeing its opponent, the Hippohog breaks wind, releasing a stench that is so rancid that it makes its victim retch and feel light-headed. Hippohogs overcome their enemies by first disabling them with their acrid intestinal gas before trampling them underfoot. All opponents must reduce their SKILL by 3 points for the battle, except for those who may be equipped with Nose Plugs or Nose Filters. Interestingly, Hippohogs can be kept at bay with burning branch of flame, but no one has yet investigated the flammable properties of Hippohog gut gas. This is surely a profitable line of inquiry for any alchemist keen to make their name!

The legendary Orcish ale, Grundel's Speshul Ree-Zerv (see Citadel of Chaos, p. 24), is matured for a minimum of eighteen days in a Hippohog's stomach. Whether the animal is alive or dead is not specified. Orcs in southern lands, such as Swamp Orcs from Silur Cha, have been known to use the Hippohog as a cavalry steed. Units of them are deployed in battle by the Lizard Man Empire, but obviously isolated out on a flank somewhere, for even the reptilian overlords have a sense of smell! That being said, the force of a herd of stampeding Hippohogs  crashing into enemy units more than makes their presence worthwhile on the battlefield. They were also venerated by both the ancient Djaratians and the modern Arantians, for vast herds of them dwell in the turgid brown waters of the river Eltus.