Repost: New Oe/BX/1E D&D Monster: White Elephant

This is a repost of last year's Christmas Eve post. As part of my mother-in-law's over the top Christmas festivities, we all participate in a white elephant gift exchange. The fact that she gets so adamant about our participation, and the demand to out-do one another, often feels like the burden of the namesake creature. It just had me thinking about this new monster from last year, and how I like the idea of having to role-play around owning one.

WHITE ELEPHANT

Oe/1E STATS FREQUENCY: Very Rare NO. APPEARING: 1 ARMOR CLASS: 3 MOVE: 12" HIT DICE: 6 % IN LAIR: 30% TREASURE TYPE: F NO. OF ATTACKS: 3 DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-12/2-12/4-32 SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below MAGIC RESISTANCE: 40% INTELLIGENCE: Exceptional ALIGNMENT: Lawful (neutral) SIZE: L (10' tall) PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil Attack/Defense Modes: Nil

BX STATS ARMOR CLASS: 3 HIT DICE: 6** MOVE: 120' ATTACKS: 2 tusks or 1 trample or special DAMAGE: 2-12/2-12 or 4-32 or see below NO. APPEARING: 1 SAVE AS: Fighter: 6 MORALE: 7 TREASURE TYPE: F ALIGNMENT: Lawful

It is said that when the gods and demons churned the seas to produce the nectar of life that would make them immortal, nine jewels surfaced. Among those nine were the elephant, a jewel to be preserved and protected. The most precious variety of that particular jewel is the white elephant, a pachyderm that bears both the boon of sacred powers and the burden of responsibility. Too divine to be worked, anyone owning a white elephant must cater to them as royalty. While some see this as a blessing, others see it as a hardship, considering the white elephant typically lives to be 500 plus years old.

A white elephant is able to use the following spells once a day: detect evil, protection from evil, bless, hold persons, speak with animals, cure disease, prayer, remove curse, and dispel evil. A white elephant may consider using those spells for the benefit of others, but only if the person wishing to engage the services of the elephant has first made some sort of offering, and doesn't "ask" the creature directly for his assistance; instead, the "petitioner" must present his/her situation and speak of the benefits of the elephant's assistance if it were to be offered.

If attacked, or if its owner attempts to draw it into service, a white elephant will become ethereal, susceptible only to others in ethereal form (e.g., through oil of etherealness or armor of etherealness. Furthermore, white elephants are immune to the phase door spell.

At its moment of death, a white elephant is capable of granting one wish to its current owner, assuming 1) the owner has taken good care of the elephant while in his charge, 2) makes the elephant as comfortable and cared for as possible during its dying moments, and 3) does not ask the creature directly for the wish.