What is this?

[killem2]

The thing on the elephant called, and is there an item in d&d (any edition or any source).

http://img-nex.theonering.net/images/ttt_promo/oliphaunts_small.jpg

[Diarmuid]

Its called a Howdah, and I've never seen one in a D&D book.

[SouthpawSoldier]

Howdah. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howdah

At work, so I can't check the SRD for DnD/PF rules.

*Ninja'd!*

Paizo has some minature sets that include elephants with howdahs. Dunno about stats though.

[killem2]

Thanks!

And it is in d&d!

HOWDAH
A howdah is a seat or box, usually with a canopy and railing, placed on the back of a Huge or larger creature.

Four Medium-size riders can fit on a howdah.

Ornate howdahs are status symbols for rich or noble people, but open-air versions also make excellent fighting platforms.

In addition to placing occupants out of the reach of most infantry, a howdah provides one-half cover.
Cost: 200 gp; Weight: 100 lb.


Arms and Equipment Guide

Woot! Thanks, I didn't know the name!

[The Trickster]

Oriental Adventures, page 77-78. Not a whole lot of info on it though.


Elephant: In some lands of Oriental Adventures, members of the noble classes commonly ride elephants (the smaller Indian variety) and train them for war. A work elephant (suitable for riding and carrying heavy loads, either on its back or in its tusks) costs 2,000 gp, while a war elephant costs 4,000 gp.

Since elephants are Huge, barding for an elephant costs eight times what a human’s armor costs and weighs five times as much. An elephant in medium or heavy barding moves at a speed of 30 feet; in heavy barding it moves at only triple normal rate when running instead of quadruple.
A howdah (a platform for riders on an elephant’s back) costs 200 gp and weighs 100 pounds. Four Medium-size riders can fit on a howdah. This typically includes a noncombatant animal handler.

Edit: Aaaaand double swordsage'd

[killem2]

Oriental Adventures, page 77-78. Not a whole lot of info on it though.



Edit: Aaaaand double swordsage'd

This is good info to know too! Thanks!

[MonochromeTiger]

awwww... I showed up too late to say "tusks"..

[Iamyourking]

There are also Haradrim.

[MonochromeTiger]

There are also Haradrim.

ooh and elephant ears. also a trunk.

[SouthpawSoldier]

I see grass and trees in OP's pic.....Nat 20 on spotcheck.

[GoblinArchmage]

Hi, everybody. Howdah you do?

[Ruethgar]

I see grass and trees in OP's pic.....Nat 20 on spotcheck.

I don't see anything I could definitively call grass, plenty of trees, bushes and small plants though.

[Malimar]

I only know what they're called because of Age of Empires.

[SouthpawSoldier]

I don't see anything I could definitively call grass, plenty of trees, bushes and small plants though.

Nat 20 on spot.....Knowledge (Nature)? Not so much.

[nedz]

Since elephants are Huge, barding for an elephant costs eight times what a human’s armor costs and weighs five times as much. An elephant in medium or heavy barding moves at a speed of 30 feet; in heavy barding it moves at only triple normal rate when running instead of quadruple.
A howdah (a platform for riders on an elephant’s back) costs 200 gp and weighs 100 pounds. Four Medium-size riders can fit on a howdah. This typically includes a noncombatant animal handler.

Biologically: Elephants can't run. They're just too heavy for their legs to support the stresses. Another Rules dysfunction ?

[Joe the Rat]

Hi, everybody. Howdah you do?

Fine, howdah you?

[MonochromeTiger]

Biologically: Elephants can't run. They're just too heavy for their legs to support the stresses. Another Rules dysfunction ?
it's more a public knowledge issue I think, sure logic dictates a large enough animal may have more issues moving on land because of the weight of their own bodies (such as elephants) but public opinion is that elephants are not only capable of running at a fair speed but do so often.


Nat 20 on spot.....Knowledge (Nature)? Not so much.
I rolled a 2...it's some kind of bird right? cause I think it's a bird.

[IAmTehDave]

Biologically: Elephants can't run. They're just too heavy for their legs to support the stresses. Another Rules dysfunction ?


I love that you're pointing this out, with your sig.

In other news: How(dah) many more occupants could fit into a howdah strapped to a Gargantuan or Colossal (or Colossal+) Elephant? How(dah) about a Tarrasque with a howdah full of spellcasters?

[SouthpawSoldier]

Pretty sure bull elephants are known for charging safari hunters, touring vehicles, etc.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100212092308.htm

well, I guess they just walk REALLY fast. Kind of. Or trot. *shrug*

[MonochromeTiger]

Pretty sure bull elephants are known for charging safari hunters, touring vehicles, etc.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100212092308.htm

well, I guess they just walk REALLY fast. Kind of. Or trot. *shrug*

it is kind of a fast walk rather than a full out run (albeit it could be argued that a fast walk IS a run for them). also to dave the number of occupants a howdah can have seems like it would depend on a few factors, 1: what is the structure of the howdah being used, is there more than one stable platform on which people can stand? does it have open space or are parts of it closed off? 2: what are the size of the riders and how much space is needed for them to carry out their task, can they even see clearly from the howdah to do their task? you may very well be able to pack 50 small sized casters into it if they don't mind being cramped but that doesn't mean they have enough line of sight to be useful, or you can fit a much smaller number of large sized casters and lose on firepower but have more opportune vantage points to attack from.

[Mando Knight]

Pretty sure bull elephants are known for charging safari hunters, touring vehicles, etc.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100212092308.htm

well, I guess they just walk REALLY fast. Kind of. Or trot. *shrug*

Powerwalking elephants!

[Rubik]

Powerwalking elephants!I'm not an elephant, but I find that I can move at a near-running speed and not run at all.

It's surprising just how fast you can "walk." It's easier on the joints and is easier to keep going, because you don't expend as much energy on bouncing.

[MonochromeTiger]

I'm not an elephant, but I find that I can move at a near-running speed and not run at all.

I'm not always an elephant, but when I am I move at a rapid but steady and comfortable pace, stay pachyderm my friends.

[SouthpawSoldier]

Normally I get grumpy at thread derailment, but this one? Full of Win. Cookies for everybodiez.

[MonochromeTiger]

back on topic, if you have a howdah of the size shown in that picture the number of riders shown there is fairly fitting (2 per side on the bottom platform with 6 available sides, 1 per side on middle and top platform with 4 available sides, grand total of 20 riders on each). if you want to scale down however it gets harder to judge as you still need to take available space and structure into account, if the back of the platform is blocked off you can only use the front portion and thus fewer available riders, so on and so forth.

[killem2]

My plan was this.

I wanted to get a Warbeast Dire Elephant. And get this, so I could carry the party around.

I then wanted to use a Shrink Collar, but I don't know if all the stuff that comes with him is shrunk as well. If it is, perfect, if it isn't , that's a problem. Because a small creature with 43 str and a pack saddle is incredibly perfect at hauling stuff. I did have a mule but he died lol.

[MonochromeTiger]

My plan was this.

I wanted to get a Warbeast Dire Elephant. And get this, so I could carry the party around.

I then wanted to use a Shrink Collar, but I don't know if all the stuff that comes with him is shrunk as well. If it is, perfect, if it isn't , that's a problem. Because a small creature with 43 str and a pack saddle is incredibly perfect at hauling stuff. I did have a mule but he died lol.

well... I don't really know about that item in particular (any chance of a link or description?) but most clothing or equipped magic items that affect creature size or form don't seem to do anything to carried items and in fact some effects intentionally state that worn or carried items that don't work with the altered shape fall to the ground around the affected creature. one thing I'd worry about there is if it's how I think it is (it might not be I don't know for sure) putting something on the elephant that shrinks it will wind up with it losing some of its strength bonus from size and getting crushed under a howdah.

[killem2]

SHRINK COLLAR
Rather than resizing to fit its wearer, as most wearable
magic items do, this half-inch-wide metal collar studded
with tiny jewels resizes its wearer.
When worn, the collar grows to 2 inches wide, and the
jewels enlarge to cover most of its surface.
Regardless of his or her original size, the wearer shrinks to Small size, becoming around 3 feet in height and weighing no more than 60 pounds.

None of the creature’s other attributes change.

Unwilling targets get a Fortitude save (DC 11) to resist.

If the save is successful, the collar snaps and is ruined. A creature with Intelligence 2 or lower must succeed on a Will save (DC 11) or become panicked by the transformation.

Animal companions do not have to make this save, nor do creatures that have the effect of the collar explained to them beforehand somehow, such as through telepathy or speak with animals.

Caster Level: 5th; Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item, reduce; Market Price: 10,000 gp; Weight: 1 lb.

[MonochromeTiger]

well..no mention of resizing equipment so I'm relatively confident in holding on to my belief that you'd have to remove the howdah before using it or risk crushing your new equipment carrier.

[Xuldarinar]

Im either failing my spot check, or there has been no mention of the fact that no one has brought up there are no elephants in the picture above.

Those are mûmakil, otherwise known as oliphaunts.

[MonochromeTiger]

Im either failing my spot check, or there has been no mention of the fact that no one has brought up there are no elephants in the picture above.

Those are mûmakil, otherwise known as oliphaunts.

we're purposefully ignoring the correct name in favor of the more general term "elephants" which is more applicable to the creatures we're currently talking about (because they're dire elephants (that are being magically shrunken down to pygmy elephants)).

[killem2]

Perhaps

Issue is, collar is made with the spell Reduce, which is a 3.0 core spell, that I believe was replaced with reduce person.

REDUCE
Transmutation
Level: Sor/Wiz 1
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One creature or object of up to 10 cu. ft./caster
level
Duration: 1 minute/level
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates (object)
Spell Resistance: Yes (object)
This spell causes instant diminution of a creature or object, decreasing its size and weight.
Its height shrinks by up to 10% per caster level, to a maximum reduction of 50%.
The reduced weight is proportional to the cube of the new height, as follows:

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i168/ica171/Brandon%20Misc/SPELLBIBLE_zpsa27568d6.jpg

All equipment worn or carried by a creature is reduced by the spell. Magical properties are not decreased by this spell—a smaller +3 sword is still +3, a smaller wand is still capable of its normal functions, and a smaller dose of a potion still has its normal effects.

Weight, mass, and strength are affected, though. Thus, a hurled stone would have less mass (and cause less damage), chains would be easier to burst, a rope made thinner and easier to sever, and so on. A creature’s hit points, Armor Class, and attack rolls do not
change, but Strength decreases with size. For every 10% of reduction, a creature’s Strength score suffers an enlargement penalty of –1, to a minimum score of 1.
A shrinking object may damage weaker materials affixed to it, but a reduced object shrinks only as long as the object itself is not damaged. Multiple magical effects that reduce size do not stack. Reduce counters and dispels enlarge. Material Component: A pinch of powdered iron.



I don't know if that matters or what.

[MonochromeTiger]

huh...actually that may, arguably if the spell is involved in the workings of the item then the item is merely a conduit for the spell's effect. if that's the case then the elephant's carried and worn equipment would actually shrink as per the reduce or reduce person spells and the howdah the elephant carries would get smaller in proportion to the elephant's change. you'd have to do a bit of additional math on that but aside from that minor issue I could see it working.

[GoblinArchmage]

Fine, howdah you?

Pretty well, thank you.


I love that you're pointing this out, with your sig.

In other news: How(dah) many more occupants could fit into a howdah strapped to a Gargantuan or Colossal (or Colossal+) Elephant? How(dah) about a Tarrasque with a howdah full of spellcasters?

Howdah you come up with stuff like this?

[MonochromeTiger]

Pretty well, thank you.



Howdah you come up with stuff like this?

howdah bout those puns you're making?