Stripe-Horned and Airborne: Wooly Air Rhinos
Stripe-Horned and Airborne: Wooly Air Rhinos
By Anthony Alipio
Image: Wooly Rhino, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
As comfortable on the Elemental Plane of Air as on the Material Plane, wooly air rhinos are most often found above the tree line, flying past snow-tipped mountain peaks and using their horns to dig through ice to forage. A favorite of airborn Elementaari, wooly air rhinos can be domesticated for travel and transport.
Wooly Air Rhinos
At nearly twice the size of their warmer weather cousins, wooly air rhinos might at first glance be mistaken for mammoths. But the two striped horns centered on their forehead are easy giveaways for proper identification.
Hardy Pachyderms. Wooly air rhinos are typically gentle creatures. They travel in small herds, grazing on grasses and shrubs of the tundra and steppes. With their thick fur and blubber, they can withstand the colder climes of the tundra and frozen steppes.
Have Wool, Will Travel. Sharing an affinity for the element of air, wooly air rhinos and airborn Elementaari have developed a mutually beneficial relationship. The Elementaari help feed and protect the rhinos, and the rhinos provide transport via large palanquins.
Tough Defenders. In the wild, wooly air rhinos migrate with the availability of food and water. As a herd, they use their huge bulk and pointed horns to protect their young and weak. When domesticated, they consider their Elementaari riders as an extension of their herd.
WOOLY AIR RHINO CHALLENGE 5
HUGE BEAST 1,800 XP
AC 13 (natural armor)
HP 84 (8d12 + 32; bloodied 42)
Speed 40 ft., fly (hover) 50 ft.
Initiative Dex –1 (9), Insight +1 (11), Perception +1 (11)
STR: 22 (+6) DEX: 8 (–1) CON: 18 (+4)
INT: 4 (–3) WIS: 12 (+1) CHA: 4 (–3)
Proficiency +3; Maneuver DC 17
Saving Throws Str +6, Dex –1, Con +4, Int –3, Wis +1, Cha –3
Damage Resistances cold
Senses passive Perception 11
Languages —
ACTIONS
Gore. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 19 (3d8+6) piercing damage. If the rhino moves at least 20 feet straight towards the target before the attack, the target makes a DC 17 Strength saving throw, falling prone on a failure.
Stomp. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 22 (3d10+6) bludgeoning damage.
BONUS ACTIONS
Trample. The rhino makes a stomp attack against a prone creature.
Horn Toss. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d6+6) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a Large or smaller creature, it is pushed 10 feet away from the rhino and knocked prone.
REACTIONS
Flying Dodge (Recharge 6). When a creature makes an attack against the rhino, the rhino takes the Dodge action.
YOUNG WOOLY AIR RHINO CHALLENGE 2
LARGE BEAST 450 XP
AC 12 (natural armor)
HP 39 (5d10+12; bloodied 19)
Speed 30 ft., fly (hover) 40 ft.
Initiative Dex –1 (9), Insight +1 (11), Perception +1 (11)
STR: 19 (+4) DEX: 10 (+0) CON: 14 (+4)
INT: 3 (–4) WIS: 12 (+1) CHA: 4 (–3)
Proficiency +2; Maneuver DC 14
Saving Throws Str +4, Dex –1, Con +2, Int –4, Wis +1, Cha –3
Damage Resistances cold
Senses passive Perception 11
Languages —
ACTIONS
Gore. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8+5) bludgeoning damage. If the rhinoceros moves at least 20 feet straight towards the target before the attack, the attack deals an extra 4 (1d8) bludgeoning damage, and the target makes a DC 14 Strength saving throw, falling prone on a failure.
REACTIONS
Flying Dodge (Recharge 6). When a creature makes an attack against the rhino, the rhino takes the Dodge action.
Combat
Wooly air rhinos form a protective phalanx around their young and vulnerable, using their Stomp and Horn Toss attacks against melee assailants. A rhino will charge at creatures attacking from a distance, looking to Gore and knock them prone, Trample, then return to their ranks when the threat is eliminated. Unless cornered or surrounded, wooly air rhinos will look for an opportunity to flee, taking to the air with the adults covering the retreat.
VARIANT: DOMESTICATED WOOLY AIR RHINO
An air rhino raised by airborn Elementaari is a domesticated wooly air rhino.
The domesticated wooly air rhino is CR 5, or CR 2 if young. It is proficient in Acrobatics and has the following trait:
Aerobatic Flight (1/turn). While flying, the rhino can recharge its Flying Dodge by making a successful DC 16 Acrobatics check.
Authors Note: The wooly air rhino is a fun little take on the Avatar’s sky bison, but also draws inspiration from real-life rhinoceroses and their extinct prehistoric predecessor, the woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis). Plus if you’re ever in need of a statblock for a sky bison, a few simple text edits (changing “Gore” to “Slam” and “Horn Toss” to “Tail Slap”) should do the trick!
The wooly air rhino is just the first entry in what I hope will be a series of monthly monsters, and is part of my plan to update the format and cadence of my blog. My goal is to publish 4 posts a month: 1 monster, 1 magic item, 1 bit of lore from Somna the Cursed Lands, and 1 marketing preview of upcoming VSR Ink releases. Every once in a while I’ll probably still throw in a design blog documenting my random thoughts and divergent processes, but inspiration for those seems to only strike once every few months, and I want to start delivering more content more frequently and for more audiences. And if you’re hoping for content other than what I’ve listed, feel free to drop a comment below. I can’t promise I’ll be able to deliver on every request, but I’ll certainly read each one and take it into consideration. Looking forward to a great 2026 with everyone!
-Anthony
