Did we determine the following was too similar to the dire hippo in Sandstorm? Or is it worth a quick conversion?
Hippopotamus, giant
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Tropical lakes and rivers
FREQUENCY: Rare
ORGANIZATION: Family group
DIET: Herbivore
NO. APPEARING: 1-4
ARMOR CLASS: 4
MOVEMENT: 6; SW 12
HIT DICE: 10 +5
THAC0: 9
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACKS: 5-20 or 4-16
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Surprise
SIZE: L (12. long)
MORALE: Unsteady (7)
XP VALUE: 2,000 (males), 1,400 (females)
This massive animal is the direct ancestor of the behemoth (AD&D 1st Edition Monster Manual II) but has two differences, detailed below.
Combat: First, the giant hippo has smaller tusks than the behemoth, doing only 5-20 hp damage (4-16 for females). Second, the giant hippo has eyes that stick up above the skull like periscopes. Thus, it can hide its entire body below the water, with only its eyes above the surface. This gives it a -2 modifier to surprise rolls against swimmers and boats.
Habitat/Society: When a group is encountered, it will typically be one male (bull) and 1-3 females (cows). Only the young are subject to attack, and only by the largest predators.
Originally appeared in Dragon #167 (1991).