Ghlanos (5e Creature)

Huge beast, unaligned

Armor Class 13 (natural armor)
Hit Points 148 (11d12 + 77)
Speed 45 ft.

Skills Perception +3
Senses passive Perception 13
Languages —
Challenge 9 (5,000 XP)

Pack Tactics. The ghlanos has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the ghlanos's allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn't incapacitated.

Grassland Camouflage. The ghlanos has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made in grasslands, savannas, or other non-desert terrain that is mostly open spaces.

Of the many beast of Kaimere's Houze Prairie, one of the most recognized and awe inspiring is the ghlanos: these chalicotheres^[1] sport golden yellow pelts and are some of the largest mammals of Kaimere along with being the largest, terrestrial ungulate after paraceratherium, with mares weighing between four and seven tons and males being more robust at nine or twelve tons, although the most exceptional stallions weigh upwards of seventeen. This makes them all the more imposing when taken along side their meter-long, retractable claws on the forefoot, used for digging and manipulating tree branches but also in combat against other ghlanos and predators.
Humble Origins. The Ghlanos can trace their origins of Kaimere back to the harvests of the Miocene, which collected chalicotheres of both subfamilies; chalicotherinae^[2] and schizotheriinae.^[3] The Great Portal introduced them in the aftermath of the Dynastic Extinction and both groups found success, but while chalicotherines struggled to adapt as specialists of closed canopy rainforests with selective diets, the schizotheriines thrived with their adaptable ranges and flexible diets. This even allowed them to claim the throne once held by titanosaurs as engineers of woodland habitats for about 2 million years before the titanosaurs returned to the Known World. Once they did return, these giants were pushed to the fringes of the Known World, but their great size allowed them to be efficient travelers over long distances, allowing them to migrate to the northern peninsula of Ni'Khar and cross the scattered land bridge to the eastern continent Kairul about 10-8 million years ago. Here they adapted in the shadows of the resident titanosaurs and became hardy creatures that could battle against the dominant predators of this hostile continent.
About 5 million years ago, robust monarch megaraptorans came to Kairul the same way the chalicotheres did and pushed the resident predators to the fringes, which was followed shortly afterwards by the evolution of Houze grass, a hardy plant that is extremely adapted for dry conditions and quickly destroyed the ecosystem of fern prairies. The giant chalicotheres were among the first large mammals to acclimate to the changing habitat, as their hindgut fermentations and bulk feeding specializations allowed them to handle the toxins of Houze grass quite well, serving well alongside the prairie maples whose leaves and twigs they also fed on. From there a species of megaraptoran branched off and became specialized in taking the ungulates of the prairie, with an interest in the chalicotheres as prey. These giants evolved alongside each other until they became the modern day ghlanos and uktan respectively and their success only continued when a million years ago the fern prairies and grass scrub of Ni'Khar was outcompeted by the incoming Houze grass, with both chalicothere and megaraptoran quick to follow.
Giant on the Prairie. To this day, the ghlanos is the dominant large mammal of the prairies of the eastern continent and the Houze Prairie of the Known World, no doubt because of the defensive adaptations they have evolved in response to the uktan that other herbivores have failed to on their own. Most notable among them is their sociality: unlike other chalicotheres which are solitary, ghlanos live in close knit herds that, when faced with a threat such as an uktan, encircle the offspring and faces their sharp claws out at the predators, swinging at anything that gets too close with reckless abandon. These herds consists of five and a dozen related females and their offspring, lead across the prairie by an aged matriarch and defended by a single stallion.
As is typical of mammals of this size, pregnancy is tremendously long, lasting about two and a half years at which point the mare gives birth to a single foal, about six months after which they mate again, typically with the onset of the dry season so the foal will be born in times of plenty. While mares are highly attentive of their young during the interbirth period, their focus quickly shifts to the new foal and by 3 years of age the juvenile is independent but remains with the herd for protection from predators. While fillies reach maturity and full adult size at ten years of age, colts don't reach adult size until 15-20 years of age and by the age of 8 the stallion drives them off, although they may be tolerated a few years longer if they are his own son. Colts at driven from the herd often form bachelor herds amongst themselves for practice fighting with each other and for protection against uktan, as this point in their lives is when males have the highest mortality rate.
Usually, a stallion is not ready to muscle his way into a herd until he is about 20, since stallions continue to grow throughout their lives and established males often have the size advantage, but once established a stallion may retain his title amongst that herd for a decade or more. Stallions are extremely combative amongst each other, brutally slashing their necks and faces with their claws, and contests for herds can often be lethal, be it from battle wounds or the predators that gathered around as the 12-17 ton stallions size each other up and wait as the loser is an easy meal. Due to this bloody lifestyle, stallions rarely live past thirty, but mares can be double this lifespan with estrus continuing into 60-70 years of age and some mares living past 100, being the most expert navigators of the prairie and knowledgeable of all the resources and reserves that could mean all the difference for the herd in times of drought or famine. Ghlanos have held tremendous success and are keystone species of the prairie, as well as being held in great respect by the peoples of Kaimere which is more than deserved.