BX Monsters A to Z: Antelope

 Next, we jump to the Expert Rules for the next creature listing in alphabetical order: Antelope (Herd Animal). It strikes me a bit odd that the author/editors chose to list it as "Antelope (Herd Animal) rather than "Animal, Herd" as Frank Mentzer did in BECMI, since the listing is essentially a catch-all for large grazing mammals living in herds. According to the description, it encompasses goats, deer, elk, wild oxen, moose, and caribou in addition to the titular antelopes. We might easily throw in such beasts as buffalo, bison, wildebeests, wild sheep, llamas, and alpacas as well. 

The entry gives variable Hit Dice, from 1 to 4 depending on size, and variable damage ranges from 1d4 to 1d8 to go with them. Only one in four of any group will be males, who defend the herd; the remainder are non-combatant females and young. Movement rate is a blazing 240'(80') for all types, as fast as a riding horse. That might make sense for the slimmer, nimbler antelopes such as gazelles, but I'm having trouble imagining an elk or ox sprinting to match a fast horse. Morale is only 5, which makes sense for nonaggressive herbivores who have literally nothing to gain by fighting when they could flee instead. 

Clearly these creatures are not intended to be major or even minor adversaries for adventuring parties. The smaller ones are barely a threat to any serious adventurers, though even a d4 of damage might be enough to knock off a fragile 1st level character if a party chooses to pick a fight. (Imagine the ignominy of having your PC killed by a random encounter with wild goats!) The larger ones could be moderately dangerous, and perhaps exciting foes in a hunting scenario for low-level parties. Their main purpose in the game is to serve as color in overland and wilderness adventures, and as game for parties to hunt for food while on such an expedition. (Something that's missing from the rules is how many days of rations can be gleaned from butchering such animals.)

If I were to change anything, it would probably be the movement rate, maybe to 180'(60') or so. Also, 4 HD seems a bit paltry for moose, but then again, it's not like PCs are going to be fighting a lot of moose, so it's not a huge deal. 

All in all, not a terribly exciting entry in the B/X bestiary, but a potentially useful one for any group doing any wilderness adventuring. 

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