Dire Walrus in GURPS

The dire walrus, Dinodobenus atrox , also known as the tigrishvalur (“tiger-whale”) and sverðkattfiskur (“sword-cat-fish”) is a pinniped of the Odobenidae family. It resembles a cross between a leopard seal and a walrus, but is larger than both. The canine teeth of the upper jaw are extremely long, although not quite as large as those of a true walrus. Unlike walruses, it is an active hunter and uses its fangs like those of other sabre-toothed predators, to make precise bites into large prey.

It is considered a creature of ill-omen, and there are many superstitions about it. It is said that to name it while at sea draws its attention, that it will relentlessly pursue anyone who escapes from it, and that its flesh will disappear from any cooking pot.

Dire Walrus

ST 33; DX 10; IQ 4; HT 12.
HP 33; Will 10; Per 10; FP 12; Speed 5.50; Dodge 8; Move 1 (land), 6 (water).
SM +3 (4 hexes), 4,500 lbs.

Bite (12): 3d+4 imp. Reach C, 1.
Slam (12): 3d+3 cr. at 1 yard per second. See GURPS Basic Set, p. 371.
Trample (12): 3d+5 cr. Only against SM +1 or less (SM +2 if prone). Automatic hit for half damage on overrun. See GURPS Basic Set, p. 404.

Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Bad Temper (15); Bloodlust (12); Breath Holding 6; DR (Tough Skin) 6; High Pain Threshold; Night Vision 2; No Fine Manipulators; No Legs (Semi-Aquatic); Peripheral Vision; Temperature Tolerance 25 (Cold); Vibration Sense (Air; Short Range 1); Vibration Sense (Water); Wild Animal.
Skills: Brawling-12; Survival (Island/Beach and Salt-Water Sea)-12; Swimming-16.

Trogontherium in GURPS

Although part of the beaver family, Trogontherium lacked the distinctive features of modern beavers such as webbed feet and a flattened tail, looking more like a chunky, giant rat. It seems to have preferred wetlands and probably lived in burrows, eating tree bark and roots. It evolved in Europe during the late Pliocene and spread as far as Siberia by the start of the Pleistocene. It went extinct in Europe in the middle Pleistocene, but survived in the east until the late Pleistocene.

Trogontherium

ST 11; DX 11; IQ 3; HT 12.
HP 11; Will 11; Per 12; FP 12; Speed 5.75; Dodge 8; Move 5.
SM 0 (2 hexes), 170 lbs.

Bite (11): 1d−2 cut. Reach C.

Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Born Biter 1; Breath Holding 3; Discriminatory Smell; DR 1 (Tough Skin); Enhanced Move 1 (Ground speed 10); Night Vision 1; Peripheral Vision; Quadruped; Temperature Tolerance 2 (Cold); Terrain Adaptation (Mud); Vibration Sense (Air; Short-Range 1); Wild Animal.
Skills: Stealth-12; Survival (Swampland)-12; Swimming-12.

Trogontherium is a fairly close match to many fictional monstrous rodents, such as the R.O.U.S. from The Princess Bride, or the giant rats of Dungeon Fantasy. Add Bad Temper (12) and Brawling-13 (raising bite damage to 1d−1) for such creatures.

Irish Elk in GURPS

The Irish Elk, Megaloceros giganteus, was neither closely related to elk, nor confined to Ireland. It actually inhabited the open forests bordering the mammoth steppe all the way from Ireland to Siberia. It was a huge deer, comparable in size to moose, with the largest known antlers of all time, robustly built, with a distinct hump on the shoulder. Cave paintings show it with a dark face and stripes running diagonally forwards and backwards from the hump, and another forming a ‘chinstrap’ under its jaw. The broad feet seem to have been well suited to soft ground, or swimming.

Irish Elk

ST 22; DX 11; IQ 4; HT 12.
HP 12; Will 11; Per 12; FP 12; Speed 5.75; Dodge 8; Move 6.
SM +2 (3 hexes), 1,300 lbs.

Antlers (11): 2d+2 imp. Reach C-2. May substitute slam damage at +1 per die during Move and Attack. Parry 8.
Slam (11): 1d−3 cr at Move 1, 1d−2 at Move 2, 1d−1 at Move 3-4, 1d at Move 5-6, 2d at Move 7-11, 3d cr at Move 12-15, 4d cr at Move 16-20, 5d cr at Move 21-24. See GURPS Basic Set, p. 371.
Trample (11): 2d+2 cr. Only against SM 0 or less (SM +1 or less if prone). Automatic hit for half damage on overrun. See GURPS Basic Set, p. 404.

Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Discriminatory Smell; DR 2 (Tough Skin); DR 2 (Partial, skull); Enhanced Move 2 (Ground speed 24); Night Vision 2; Parabolic Hearing 2; Peripheral Vision; Quadruped; Temperature Tolerance 2 (Cold); Terrain Adaptation (Mud and Snow); Wild Animal.
Skills: Survival (Woodlands)-12; Swimming-12.

After shedding antlers, remove antlers attack. For partially grown antlers, substitute the following:
Antlers (11): 2d cr. Reach C-1. May substitute slam damage during move and attack. Parry 8.

The above profile is for a stag. For a doe (1,000 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 20. Remove antlers attack. Trample becomes 2d+1. Slam damage becomes 1d−3 at Move 1, 1d−2 at Move 2, 1d−1 at Move 3-4, 1d at Move 5-7, 2d at Move 8-12, 3d cr at Move 13-17, 4d cr at Move 18-22, 5d cr at Move 23-24.

Extinct Bovini in GURPS

The Bovini include many familiar animals, such as bison, buffalo, and cows. Their extinct relatives didn’t look all that different, being (mostly) large, heavyset animals with skinny legs, thick necks, and horns which stuck out sideways. It’s likely that most of them lived in single-sex herds, coming together only in mating season, and used coordinated aggression against perceived threats.

The Aurochs, Bos primigenius, was the ancestor of domestic cattle, bigger and hairier than most of their descendants. They seem to have been less social than other Bovini, living alone in summer and gathering in small herds the rest of the year. Aurochs evolved in the middle Pleistocene and were last seen in the 17th century.

The Bubalus genus includes several species of living Asian water buffalo. Bubalus cebuensis was an exceptionally small example, from the island of Cebu in the Philippines during the Pleistocene.

The American bison and European wisent are both descended from the steppe bison, Bison priscus, living in the middle Pleistocene mammoth steppe, which stretched across northern Eurasia and into North America. In North America, it evolved first into the late Pleistocene long-horned bison, Bison latifrons, and then into Bison antiquus, the direct ancestor of modern bison.

Pelorovis lived in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula during the middle Pleistocene. It had horns which curved like those of sheep (hence the name, which means “monstrous sheep”). The closely related genus Syncerus includes the living African buffalo as well as the giant long-horned buffalo S. antiquus.

Aurochs

ST 30; DX 9; IQ 3; HT 12.
HP 30; Will 11; Per 11; FP 12; Speed 5.25; Dodge 8; Move 5.
SM +2 (3 hexes), 3,300 lbs.

Horns (9): 3d+3 imp. Reach C, 1.
Slam (9): 1d−2 cr at Move 1, 1d−1 at Move 2-3, 1d at Move 4, 2d at Move 5-8, 3d cr at Move 9-10. See GURPS Basic Set, p. 371.
Trample (9): 3d+3 cr. Only against SM 0 or less (SM +1 or less if prone). Automatic hit for half damage on overrun. See GURPS Basic Set, p. 404.

Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Bad Temper (12); Discriminatory Smell; DR 2 (Tough Skin); DR 5 (Partial, skull); Night Vision 1; Peripheral Vision; Quadruped; Temperature Tolerance 3 (Cold); Ultrahearing; Wild Animal.
Skills: Survival (Plains)-12.

The above profile is for a bull Aurochs. For a cow (2,200 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 26 and remove Bad Temper. Damage with horns or trample becomes 2d+4. Slam damage becomes 1d−2 at Move 1, 1d−1 at Move 2-3, 1d at Move 4-5, 2d at Move 6-9, 3d at Move 10.

As Aurochs became more scarce, they retreated into forest refuges. Change Survival specialty to (Woodlands) in the Holocene.

For Bubalus cebuensis (340 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 14, SM to 0, DR (Tough Skin) to 1, DR (Partial, skull) to 3. Change Survival specialty to (Jungle). Damage with horns or trample becomes 1d+1. Slam damage becomes 1d−3 at Move 1, 1d−2 at Move 2-3, 1d−1 at Move 4-7, 1d at Move 8-10.

For a Bison priscus bull (2,200 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 26. Damage with horns or trample becomes 2d+4. Slam damage becomes 1d−2 at Move 1, 1d−1 at Move 2-3, 1d at Move 4-5, 2d at Move 6-9, 3d at Move 10. A cow (1,500 lbs.) reduces ST and HP to 23, SM to +1 (2 hexes), DR to 1, skull DR to 4, and loses Bad Temper. Damage with horns or trample becomes 2d+3. Slam damage becomes 1d−3 at Move 1, 1d−2 at Move 2, 1d−1 at Move 3-4, 1d at Move 5-6, 2d at Move 7-10.

Bison latifrons use the same profiles as Aurochs, except their horns are Reach 2.

Bison antiquus use the same profiles as Aurochs.

For a Pelorovis bull (1,600 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 23, SM to +1 (2 hexes), and DR (Tough Skin) to 1. Bad Temper self control roll is lowered to (9), remove Temperature Tolerance; Damage with horns or trample becomes 2d+3 cr. Slam damage becomes 1d−3 at Move 1, 1d−2 at Move 2, 1d−1 at Move 3-4, 1d at Move 5-6, 2d at Move 7-10. A cow (1,300 lbs.) reduces ST and HP to 22, SM to +1 (2 hexes), and DR (Tough Skin) to 1. Remove Temperature Tolerance. Damage with horns or trample becomes 2d+2 cr. Slam damage becomes 1d−3 at Move 1, 1d−2 at Move 2, 1d−1 at Move 3-4, 1d at Move 5-6, 2d at Move 7-10.

For a Syncerus antiquus bull (4,400 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 33. Reach with horns becomes 2. Bad Temper self control roll is lowered to (9), remove Temperature Tolerance; Damage with horns or trample becomes 3d+5. Slam damage becomes 1d−2 at Move 1, 1d−1 at Move 2-3, 1d at Move 4, 2d at Move 5-7, 3d at Move 8-10. A cow (1,500 lbs.) reduces ST and HP to 28. Reach with horns becomes 2. Remove Temperature Tolerance. Damage with horns or trample becomes 3d+2. Slam damage becomes 1d−2 at Move 1, 1d−1 at Move 2-3, 1d at Move 4-5, 2d at Move 6-8, 3d at Move 9-10.

Extinct Hyaenids in GURPS

The earliest Hyaenids were small, civet-like omnivores, which lived in the forests of Eurasia during the middle to late Miocene. Ictitherium was a little larger and more widespread than most, with some adaptations for crushing bone, while Plioviverrops was smaller and found only in Europe.

As the family grew and diversified in the late Miocene, some developed powerful bone-crushing jaws, while another branch (possibly descended from Plioviverops) became long-legged pursuit predators, showing parallel evolution with canines. The most successful and widespread genus of these “dog-like hyenas” was Chasmaporthetes, the “running hyena”. It emerged on the grasslands of central Asia during the late Miocene, from there spreading across Eurasia and Africa, reaching North America by the late Pliocene, where it survived until the early Pleistocene, long after going extinct elsewhere (except for an isolated population in Italy). Ikelohyena was another dog-like genus from early Pliocene Africa.

Percrocuta came from a lineage which split from the Hyaenids early and is subject to debate about whether it should be included within them or classed in its own family along with its close relative Dinocrocuta, the “dire hyena”. Both were large predators, with bone-crushing jaws, and lived throughout Africa and Eurasia during the Miocene.

Another group with bone-cracking jaws includes the ancestors of living hyenas (excluding the Aardwolf, which is descended from dog-like Hyaenids). Belbus was an early example from late Miocene Africa and south-eastern Europe, showing only moderate adaptations for biting through bone. Adcrocuta, from Eurasia around the same time, was larger and had stronger jaws. Pliocrocuta was a little smaller than Adcrocuta, but had a more powerful bite, and lived in Eurasia from the middle Pliocene to the early Pleistocene. Its range was inherited by Pachycrocuta, the “giant short-faced hyena”, which was extremely well suited to breaking strong bones and survived until the late Pleistocene.

Crocuta (which includes the spotted hyena, C. crocuta), evolved (probably from an ancestor shared with Adcrocuta) in Africa during the middle Pliocene. They were probably the first hyenas to hunt in packs. The earliest species, C. dietrichi, was slightly smaller than C. crocuta, but the Pleistocene “cave hyenas” C. spelaea (from Europe) and C. ultima (Asia) were much larger.

Ictitherium

ST 6; DX 13; IQ 4; HT 11.
HP 6; Will 10; Per 12; FP 11; Speed 6.00; Dodge 10; Move 9.
SM −2, 30 lbs.

Bite or Claw (13): 1d−4 cutting. Reach C.

Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Born Biter 1; Combat Reflexes; Discriminatory Smell; Night Vision 2; Parabolic Hearing 1; Quadruped; Strikine ST 1 (Bite only); Ultrahearing; Vibration Sense (Air; Short-Ranged 1); Wild Animal.
Skills: Climbing-15; Stealth-14; Survival (Woodlands)-12.

For Plioviverrops (10 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 4, SM to −3, and remove Striking ST. Damage with bite or claw drops to 1d−6.

Chasmaporthestes

ST 8; DX 12; IQ 4; HT 12.
HP 8; Will 11; Per 12; FP 12; Speed 6.00; Dodge 10; Move 10.
SM −1, 60 lbs.

Bite (14): 1d−2 cutting. Reach C.

Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Born Biter 2; Combat Reflexes; Discriminatory Smell; Enhanced Move (Ground Speed 20); Parabolic Hearing 1; Reduced Consumption 2 (Cast-Iron Stomach); Quadruped; Striking ST 1 (Bite only); Ultrahearing; Wild Animal.
Skills: Running-13; Stealth-12; Survival (Plains)-12; Tracking-15.

Use the same profile for Ikelohyena.

Percrocuta

ST 11; DX 11; IQ 4; HT 13.
HP 11; Will 12; Per 12; FP 13; Speed 6.00; Dodge 9; Move 6.
SM 0 (2 hexes), 150 lbs.

Bite (13): 1d cutting. Reach C, 1.

Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Born Biter 2; Combat Reflexes; Discriminatory Smell; DR 1 (Tough Skin); Long Neck 1*; Night Vision 3; Parabolic Hearing 1; Reduced Consumption 2 (Cast-Iron Stomach); Quadruped; Striking ST 2 (Bite only); Ultrahearing; Wild Animal.
Skills: Brawling-13; Intimidation-13; Stealth-13; Survival (Plains)-12; Tracking-15.

* see GURPS Furries, p. 12.

This represents the larger species of Percrocuta. For smaller ones such as P. xixiaensis (80 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 9, and bite damage to 1d−1.

For Dinocrocuta (440 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 15, SM to +1 (2 hexes), DR to 2, Striking ST to 4, and bite damage to 2d.

For Belbus (90 lbs.) decrease ST and HP to 9, and bite damage to 1d−1. Survival specialty becomes (Woodlands).

For Adcrocuta (140 lbs.) or Pliocrocuta (120 lbs.) decrease ST and HP to 10, and increase Striking ST to 3. Bite damage becomes 1d.

For Pachycrocuta (240 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 12, and Striking ST to 5. Reduce Born Biter to 1. Bite damage becomes 1d+2.

Crocuta dietrichi

ST 9; DX 12; IQ 4; HT 12.
HP 9; Will 12; Per 12; FP 12; Speed 6.00; Dodge 10; Move 8.
SM 0 (2 hexes), 150 lbs.

Bite (14): 1d cutting. Reach C, 1.

Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Born Biter 2; Chummy; Combat Reflexes; Discriminatory Smell; DR 1 (Tough Skin); Long Neck 1*; Night Vision 3; Parabolic Hearing 1; Reduced Consumption 2 (Cast-Iron Stomach); Reduced Consumption 1 (Water only); Quadruped; Striking ST 2 (Bite only); Ultrahearing; Wild Animal.
Skills: Brawling-14; Intimidation-12; Stealth-12; Survival (Plains)-12; Tactics-6; Tracking-15.

* see GURPS Furries, p. 12.

For C. spelaea or C. ultima (200 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 12, and Striking ST to 3. Add Temperature Tolerance 4 (Cold). Bite damage becomes 1d+1.

Entelodonts in GURPS

Nicknamed ‘terminator hogs’ or ‘hell pigs’, entelodonts superficially resembled long-legged wild boar or warthogs, but were actually more closely related to hippos and cetaceans. Their long jaws were capable of both gaping wide and biting with extreme force. They are believed to have been omnivores, favoring nuts, fruit, roots, and carrion, but able and willing to take live prey when the opportunity arose. Wounds apparently inflicted by others of their kind indicate considerable social competition, suggesting they lived in groups.

Early Enteleodonts were fairly small. Brachyhyops was a pig-sized animal which emerged in South Asia during the middle Eocene and spread from there across Asia and into North America by the late Eocene. In North America, it may have evolved into Archaeotherium, which varied in size by species and lived from the late Eocene to the early Oligocene. A. mortoni was no larger than most deer, but A. zygomaticus was the size of a moose.

Entelodon thrived throughout Eurasia from the late Eocene to the early Oligocene. Most species within the genus were donkey-sized, but E. major and E. gobiensis from east Asia were the size of horses.

As the Oligocene climate cooled, even larger genera evolved, including the giant Paraentolodon of Central Asia and its slightly smaller North American relative Daeodon. The latter managed to survive into the early Miocene, while the Eurasian lineages were all extinct by the end of the Oligocene.

Brachyhyops

ST 10; DX 12; IQ 3; HT 12.
HP 10; Will 10; Per 12; FP 12; Speed 6.00; Dodge 9; Move 8.
SM 0, 140 lbs.

Bite (14): 1d−1 cutting. Reach C.

Traits: Acute Smell 3; Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Born Biter 3; Chummy; Discriminatory Smell; DR 1 (Tough Skin); Night Vision 1; Parabolic Hearing 1; Reduced Consumption 2 (Cast-Iron Stomach); Striking ST 1 (Bite Only); Quadruped; Wild Animal.
Skills: Brawling-14; Stealth-13; Survival (Woodlands)-13.

Entelodon

ST 16; DX 11; IQ 3; HT 11.
HP 16; Will 12; Per 11; FP 11; Speed 5.50; Dodge 8; Move 6.
SM 0 (2 hexes), 500 lbs.

Bite (13): 2d cutting. Reach C.
Trample (11): 1d+3 / 1d−1 crushing. See GURPS Basic Set, p. 404.

Traits: Acute Smell 3; Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Born Biter 3; Chummy; Discriminatory Smell; DR 2 (Tough Skin); Enhanced Move 1 (Ground Speed 12); Night Vision 1; Parabolic Hearing 1; Reduced Consumption 2 (Cast-Iron Stomach); Striking ST 3 (Bite Only); Quadruped; Wild Animal.
Skills: Brawling-13; Survival (Woodlands)-12.

For E. major (1,000 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 20, SM to +1 (3 hexes), and DR to 3. Damage increases to 2d+2 with a bite, 2d+3 / 1d with a trample. E. gobiensis (1,400 lbs.) increases ST and HP to 22, SM to +1 (3 hexes), and DR to 3. Damage increases to 2d+3 with a bite, 2d+4 / 1d+1 with a trample.

For Archaeotherium mortoni (330 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 14, dropping damage to 1d+2 with a bite, 1d+2 / 1d−1 with a trample. A. zygomaticus (1,100 lbs.) increases ST and HP to 21, SM to +1 (3 hexes), and DR to 3. Damage increases to 2d+3 with a bite, 2d+4 / 1d with a trample.

For Paraentelodon (2,000 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 25, SM to +2 (4 hexes), DR and Striking ST to 4. Damage increases to 3d+2 with a bite (which has Reach C, 1), 2d+6 / 1d+1 with a trample.

For Daeodon (1,500 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 23, SM to +2 (4 hexes), DR and Striking ST to 4. Damage increases to 3d+1 with a bite (which has Reach C, 1), 2d+5 / 1d+1 with a trample. Change Survival specialty to (Plains).

Cave Lions in GURPS

The lineage of these big cats split from that of modern lions (Panthera leo) at the start of the middle Pleistocene. The first species to emerge after the split was the colossal Panthera fossilis, which rapidly became the dominant apex predator throughout Eurasia. By the late Pleistocene, it had evolved into two smaller species, the Steppe Lion, P. spelaea, which lived in Eurasia and Alaska and the American Lion, P. atrox, which claimed the warmer parts of North America. P. spelaea continued to shrink over time, eventually becoming smaller than P. leo. Both species went extinct during the end Pleistocene extinction event.

Cave art shows that P. spelaea males had no mane and hair samples indicate they were a little paler than P. leo. Remains attributed to P. atrox show reddish fur. Their social behaviour is unknown, but some evidence suggests that P. atrox lived in prides, while P. spelaea was either solitary or lived as breeding pairs with their cubs.

Panthera fossilis

ST 20; DX 13; IQ 4; HT 11.
HP 20; Will 11; Per 12; FP 10; Speed 6.00; Dodge 10; Move 8.
SM +1 (three hexes), 1,000 lbs.

Bite (15): 2d cutting. Reach C.
Claw (15): 2d cutting. Reach C-1.

Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Born Biter 2; Catfall; Combat Reflexes; Discriminatory Smell; DR 2 (Tough Skin); Enhanced Move 1 (Ground Speed 16; Costs Fatigue, 1 FP/second); Flexibility; Night Vision 2; Parabolic Hearing 1; Penetrating Voice; Quadruped; Silence 1; Temperature Tolerance 2 (Cold); Ultrahearing; Vibration Sense (Air); Wild Animal.
Skills: Brawling-15; Running- 14; Stealth-13; Survival (Plains)-12.

The above profile is for a male. Females (700 lbs.) have ST and HP 18 and do 1d+2 damage with a bite or claw.

P. atrox males (550 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 16, DR and Temperature Tolerance to 1. Females reduce ST and HP to 16, DR and Temperature Tolerance to 1. Both do 1d+1 damage with a bite or claw.

Early P. spelaea use the same profiles as P. atrox, except their Temperature Tolerance remains at 2. Later P. spelaea males (200 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 12, SM to 0, DR and Temperature Tolerance to 1. Females (150 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 11, SM to 0, DR and Temperature Tolerance to 1. Both do 1d−1 damage with a bite or claw, which have reach C.

Prehistoric bears in GURPS

Bears first emerged as a distinct family in early Miocene Europe. The earliest recognised species, Ursavus elmensis (sometimes assigned to the genus Ballusia), was tiny in comparison to its living relatives, resembling a wolverine. Other species of Ursavus lived throughout Eurasia and ranged from the size of a cat to that of a wolf.

The first major split in the family was between the ailuropodines and other bears. Although the only surviving ailuropodine is the herbivorous giant panda, the sub-family once included ferocious predators. Indarctos was a mid-sized omnivore with a wide distribution, found in Eurasia, North Africa, and North America from the middle to late Miocene. Its giant relative Agriotherium had long limbs and short, powerful jaws, suitable for grinding tough plants and bone. It lived in Africa and Eurasia during the late Miocene. Huracan was another large, long-legged ailuropodine with a strong bite, which lived in East Asia and North America from the late Miocene to early Pleistocene.

The next division was between the ursine bears and the tremarctine or short-faced bears of the Americas. The latter sub-family include the living Tremarctos ornatus, the spectacled bear, and its extinct relative T. floridanus, the Florida spectacled bear, which lived in the southern United States and northern Mexico during the late Pleistocene. They evolved from Plionarctus, which lived in the United States from the late Miocene to the early Pleistocene. Another of its descendants, Arctodus pristinus, the ‘lesser short-faced bear’ was about the size of a modern brown bear and lived in the grasslands and flatwoods of the eastern United States during the early Pleistocene. A trend towards greater size led to the evolution of the ‘greater short-faced bear’ A. simus which spread through North America during the middle Pleistocene, lasting until the late Pleistocene. In South America, Arcototherium followed an opposite trend, starting with the huge and highly predatory A. angustidens from the ‘southern cone’ of South America in the middle Pleistocene, and culminating in the smaller and more herbivorous A. wingei, which survived in northern South America and Central America until the early Holocene. Despite the name, the jaws of short-faced bears were just as long as those of other bears, but appear shorter due to being relatively deep.

The earliest known ursine was the small Aurorarctos, the ‘dawn bear’ (a name also sometimes used for Ursavus elmensis), from the Midwestern United States during the middle Miocene. It gave rise to Protarctos, a larger bear which spread across North America and Eurasia during the Pliocene and early Pleistocene. Protarctos evolved into Ursus minimus, the Auvergne bear, in Europe. U. minumus in turn evolved into the middle Pleistocene Etruscan bear, U. etruscus, which thrived throughout Eurasia. U. etruscus was the ancestor of the modern brown bear (U. arctos), polar bear (U. maritimus), and late Pleistocene cave bears, U. spelaeus (sometimes interpreted as a species complex, adding U. rossicus, U. ingressus, U. kanivets, U. kudarensis, and U. eremus to the mix). These latter lived in Europe and were generally larger than modern bears. However, brown bears also attained larger sizes in the ice age, such as the ‘steppe brown bear’, U. arctos priscus, of central Europe. A single fragmentary bone from late Pleistocene England has been interpreted as a giant subspecies of polar bear, U. maritimus tyrannus, although it could also be from a huge brown bear.

Ursavus elmensis

ST 7; DX 12; IQ 4; HT 12.
HP 7; Will 11; Per 11; FP 12; Speed 6.00; Dodge 10; Move 6.
SM −1, 40 lbs.

Bite or Claw (14): 1d−3 cutting. Reach C.

Traits: Acute Smell 2; Born Biter 1; Combat Reflexes; Discriminatory Smell; DR 1 (Tough Skin); Night Vision 2; No Fine Manipulators; Semi-Upright; Temperature Tolerance 1; Ultrahearing; Wild Animal.
Skills: Brawling-14; Climbing-15; Stealth-13; Survival (Woodlands)-12.

This profile works without modification for Aurorarctos. For larger species of Ursavus, like U. tedfordi (90 lbs.), raise ST and HP to 9, SM to 0, and damage to 1d−2. Small species, like U. orientalis (10 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 4, SM to −4, and damage to 1d−5.

Ursus spelaeus

ST 20; DX 11; IQ 4; HT 13.
HP 20; Will 11; Per 11; FP 13; Speed 6.00; Dodge 9; Move 8.
SM +1 (2 hexes), 1,000 lbs.

Bite (13): 2d cutting. Reach C.
Claw (13): 2d cutting. Reach C-1.

Traits: Acute Smell 2; Born Biter 1; Discriminatory Smell; DR 3 (Tough Skin); Enhaced Move 1 (Ground Speed 16); Night Vision 2; No Fine Manipulators; Semi-Upright; Temperature Tolerance 3; Ultrahearing; Wild Animal.
Skills: Brawling-13; Intimidation-12; Stealth-11; Survival (Plains)-12.

This profile represents a male. For a female (500 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 16, DR to 2, and damage with both bite and claw to 1d+1.

For a male Indarctos (600 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 17, DR to 2, and damage with both bite and claw to 1d+2. For a female (300 lbs) reduce ST and HP to 13, SM to 0, DR to 2, and damage with both bite and claw to 1d. Claw reach becomes C.

For a male Agriotherium (1,400 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 22 and damage with both bite and claw to 2d+1. Use the male U. spelaeus profile without modification for a female Agriotherium.

For a male Huracan (1,100 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 21 and damage with both bite and claw to 2d+1. For a female (900 lbs) reduce ST and HP to 19.

For a male Tremarctos floridanus (450 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 15, DR to 2, and damage with both bite and claw to 1d+1. For a female (350 lbs) reduce ST and HP to 14, SM to 0, DR to 2, and damage with both bite and claw to 1d. Claw reach becomes C.

For a male Plionarctus (320 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 14, SM to 0, DR to 2, and damage with both bite and claw to 1d. For a female (220 lbs) reduce ST and HP to 12, SM to 0, DR to 2, and damage with both bite and claw to 1d−1. Both have claw reach C, and change Survival specialty to (Woodlands).

For a male Arctodus pristinus (700 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 18 and damage with both bite and claw to 1d+2. For a female (500 lbs) reduce ST and HP to 16, and damage with both bite and claw to 1d+1.

For a male Arctodus simus (1,800 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 24, SM to +2 (3 hexes), DR to 4, and damage with both bite and claw to 2d+2. For a female (1,100 lbs) increase ST and HP to 21.

For a male Arctotherium angustidens (2,100 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 26, SM to +2, DR to 4, and damage with both bite and claw to 2d+3. For a female (1,500 lbs) increase ST and HP to 23, SM to +2 (3 hexes), and damage with both bite and claw to 2d+2.

For a male Arctotherium wingei (260 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 13, SM to 0, DR to 2, and damage with both bite and claw to 1d. For a female (180 lbs) reduce ST and HP to 11, SM to 0, DR to 1, and damage with both bite and claw to 1d−1. Claw reach for both becomes C.

For a male Protarctos or Ursus minimus (280 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 13, SM to 0, DR to 2, and damage with both bite and claw to 1d. For a female (200 lbs) reduce ST and HP to 12, SM to 0, DR to 2, and damage with both bite and claw to 1d−1. Claw reach becomes C for all.

Use the Ursus spelaeus profiles for U. etruscus.

For a male Ursus arctus priscus (1,600 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 23, SM to +2, and damage with both bite and claw to 2d+2. For a female (800 lbs) reduce ST and HP to 19. Use these profiles for Ursus maritimus tyrannus if interpreted as a large brown bear. For a polar bear, increase Temperature Tolerance to 4, change Survival specialty to (Arctic), and add Swimming-13 to skills.

Macroeuphractus in GURPS

While most armadillos will eat small vertebrates and scavenge carrion, Macroeuphractus' teeth suggest it was a more aggressive predator, capable of taking relatively large prey. It lived in Argentina and Boliva from the late Miocene to the late Pliocene. Like its living relatives, it had sturdy claws for digging and was protected by bands of scaly armour.

Macroeuphractus

ST 8; DX 10; IQ 3; HT 10.
HP 8; Will 11; Per 11; FP 10; Speed 5.00; Dodge 8; Move 5.
SM −1, 70 lbs.

Bite (12): 1d−3 cutting. Reach C.
Claw (12): 1d−2 crushing. Reach C.

Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Discriminatory Smell; DR 4 (Directional, Back); Enhanced Move 1 (Ground Speed 10; Costs Fatigue, 1 FP/Second); Night Vision 2; Parabolic Hearing 1; Peripheral Vision; Quadruped; Wild Animal.
Skills: Brawling-12; Survival (Plains)-12.

This represents a modest size estimate. Some have suggested a weight of up to 220 lbs. Such a creature would have ST and HP 12, SM 0, DR 6, and do 1d−1 damage with a bite, or 1d with a claw.

Extinct hippos in GURPS

There are several known extinct species of Hippopotamus, in addition to the living H. amphibias. H. antiquus lived from the early to middle Pleistocene, with a range covering most of Europe, reaching as far into Asia as Georgia. It seems to have spent even more time in the water than its relatives. By contrast, its small descendant, the Cretan dwarf hippo, H. creutzburgi, was mostly terrestrial. During the same period, H. gorgops inhabited the rivers of East and North Africa, and the Levant.

In the middle to late Pleistocene H. melitensis lived on Malta, while H. pentlandi occupied Sicily. Although both were 'dwarf' species, they weren't much smaller than modern hippos. The Cypriot dwarf hippo H. minor, however, was quite diminutive and survived into the early Holocene. On Madagascar, another dwarf species, H. lemerlei, lasted until around 1,000 years ago.

Hippopotamus antiquus

ST 38; DX 9; IQ 3; HT 13.
HP 38; Will 11; Per 11; FP 13; Speed 4.00; Dodge 7; Move 4.
SM +3 (14 hexes), 7,000 lbs.

Bite (12): 4d+3 impaling. Reach C.
Trample (12): 4d+4 crushing.

Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Born Biter 3; Breath Holding 2; DR 4; Enhanced Move 1 (Ground Speed 8); Night Vision 2; Parabolic Hearing 2; Peripheral Vision; Quadruped; Subsonic Hearing; Terrain Adaptation (Mud); Wild Animal.
Skills: Brawling-11; Survival (River/Stream)-12.

For H. creutzburgi (900 lbs.) decrease ST and HP to 19, SM to +1 (2 hexes), and DR to 2. Add half a level of Enhanced Move (Ground Speed 12). Damage becomes 2d with a bite, 2d+1 with a trample.

For H. gorgops (9,000 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 42, which raises damage to 4d+5 with a bite or 4d+6 with a trample.

For H. melitensis or H. pentlandi (both about 2,200 lbs.) decrease ST and HP to 26, SM to +2 (4 hexes), and DR to 3. Damage becomes 2d+3 with a bite, 2d+4 with a trample.

For H. minor (300 lbs.) decrease ST and HP to 12, SM to 0 (2 hexes), and DR to 1. Damage becomes 1d with a bite, 1d+1 with a trample.

For H. lemerlei (1,000 lbs.) decrease ST and HP to 20, SM to +1 (2 hexes), and DR to 2. Damage becomes 2d with a bite, 2d+1 with a trample.

Macroraptorial physeteroid whales in GURPS

These relatives of modern sperm whales were more like orca in their habits, hunting large prey close to the surface. They thrived throughout the Miocene. The largest and most famous was Livyatan, which inhabited the southern Oceans, sharing its habitat with the giant shark Megalodon. Its smaller relatives were Acrophyseter which lived in the south-east Pacific (its remains were found in Peru), Albicetus in the north-east Pacific (California), Brygmophyseter in the north-west Pacific (Japan), Zygophyseter in the Mediterranean (Italy), and Scaldicetus, which may have had a world-wide distribution, or be a 'wastebasket taxon' of multiple only somewhat related whales.

Livyatan

ST 100; DX 10; IQ 5; HT 11.
HP 100; Will 11; Per 11; FP 11; Speed 4.00; Dodge 7; Move 4.
SM +6 (39 hexes), 125,000 lbs.

Bite (12): 11d+10 impaling. Reach C.
Tail (12): 11d+22 crushing. Reach 1-6. Limited Arc, Rear.

Traits: Absolute Direction; Acute Hearing 2; Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Born Biter 3; Colorblindness; Doesn't Breathe (Oxygen Storage ×100; Doesn't Sleep (Temporary Disadvantage, −4 IQ); DR 10; DR 10 (Limited, Crushing; Partial, Skull Only); Enhanced Move 2 (Water Speed 16); Injury Tolerance (No Neck); Nictitating Membrane 1; Night Vision 2; No Depth Perception; No Legs (Aquatic); No Manipulators; Peripheral Vision; Pressure Support 1; Sonar (Water Only; Extended Arc, 240°; Reduced Range, 1,000 yards); Temperature Tolerance 10; Wild Animal.
Skills: Brawling-12; Survival (Open Ocean)-12.

For Albicetus, Brygmophyseter, Zygophyseter, and Scaldicetus (all about 6,000 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 36, SM to +4 (8 hexes), both types of DR to 4, and Temperature Tolerance to 4. Damage becomes 4d+2 with a bite, 4d+7 with the tail, which has Reach 1-3.

For Acrophyseter (1,800 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 24, SM to +2 (5 hexes), both types of DR to 3, and Temperature Tolerance to 3. Damage becomes 2d+2 with a bite, 2d+5 with the tail, which has Reach 1-2.

Dinopithecus and other giant prehistoric monkeys in GURPS

The Papionini include the living baboons, geladas, macaques, mandrills, and mangabeys. Some extinct genera in the family were significantly larger than their living relatives. These were ground-dwelling social animals, living in troops led by a dominant male. The males probably had colourful patches on their faces, chests, and buttocks and were significantly larger than females. They would have eaten a mixed diet of fruit, leaves, seeds, roots, and small prey.

Dinopithecus was the most closely related to baboons, and lived in South Africa during the early Pleistocene. Theropithecus has one surviving species, the gelada of Ethiopia. T. oswaldi was much more widely distributed, occupying much of Africa and south-western Eurasia during the early to middle Pleistocene. T. brumpti is known only from Ethiopia during the late Pliocene. Gorgopithecus lived in South Africa and Tanzania during the Pliocene and early Pleistocene.

Dinopithecus

ST 10; DX 12; IQ 5; HT 11.
HP 10; Will 11; Per 11; FP 11; Speed 6.00; Dodge 9; Move 8.
SM 0, 110 lbs.

Bite (14): 1d−1 impaling. Reach C

Traits: Born Biter 1; Chummy; Extra Arms 2 (Foot Manipulators); Ham-Fisted 1; Semi-Upright; Wild Animal.
Skills: Brawling-14; Climbing-12; Intimidation-12; Survival (Plains)-12.

This profile is for a male. Females (60 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 8, SM to −1, and lose the Brawling and Intimidation skills. Bite damage becomes 1d−3.

Theropithecus brumpti would have the same profiles as Dinopithecus. T. oswaldi males (160 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 11, raising bite damage to 1d. T. oswaldi females (90 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 9, and lose the Brawling and Intimidation skills. Bite damage becomes 1d−2.

Gorgopithecus males (80 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 9. Females (45 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 7, and lose the Brawling and Intimidation skills. Bite damage becomes 1d−3.

Litopterns in GURPS

An order of odd-toed ungulates (distantly related to horses and tapirs) which evolved in South America during the late Paleocene. They thrived in the warm climate of the Paleocene and Eocene, but as global temperatures dropped, their numbers declined. Nevertheless, some survived as late as the Holocene and were hunted by humans.

Theosodon garretorum and Borhyaena tuberata by Charles R. Knight (1913).

Protolipternidae

Early litopterns resembled chevrotains (also known as mouse-deer), with slender legs, short tails, and fang-like canines. Their feet were closer to tapirs’ paws than hooves, however, and they were omnivorous. Protolipterna was a rabbit-sized animal, while its larger relative Asmithwoodwardia was as big as a hare. Both lived in South America during the late Paleocene and early Eocene.

Protolipterna

ST 3; DX 13; IQ 3; HT 11.
HP 3; Will 10; Per 12; FP 11; Speed 6.00; Dodge 9; Move 6.
SM −4, 2 lbs.

Bite (13): 1d−6 impaling. Reach C.

Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Discriminatory Smell; Enhanced Move 1 (Ground Speed 12; Costs Fatigue, 1 FP/Second); Night Vision 2; Quadruped; Wild Animal.
Skills: Stealth-14; Survival (Woodlands)-12.

Asmithwoodwardia (10 lbs.) increases ST and HP to 4, and SM to −3.

Sparnotheriodontidae

A family of browsing herbivores. They are the only litopterns known from outside South America, having crossed the land bridge to Antarctica. Sparnotheriodon (from Argentina) and Victorlemoinea (from Antarctica and South America) are either different names for the same genus, or close relatives. Both were moose-sized animals and lived during the Eocene. Notiolofos was an Antarctic genus, consisting of the large N. arquinotiensis, which lived through the Eocene, and sheep-sized N. regueroi, which is only known from the early Eocene.

Sparnotheriodon

ST 19; DX 11; IQ 3; HT 11.
HP 19; Will 10; Per 12; FP 11; Speed 5.50; Dodge 8; Move 5.
SM +2 (3 hexes), 900 lbs.

Kick (9): 2d+1 crushing. Reach C-2.

Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Discriminatory Smell; DR 1 (Tough Skin); Enhanced Move 1 (Ground Speed 10); Night Vision 1; Quadruped; Wild Animal.
Skills: Stealth-11; Survival (Woodlands)-12.

Use the same profile for Victorlemoinea.

Notiolofos arquinotiensis adds Temperature Tolerance 3 (Cold). N. regueroi (90 lbs.) reduces ST and HP to 9, SM to 0, kick damage to 1d−1, kick reach to C, 1, and adds Temperature Tolerance 2 (Cold).

Macraucheniinae

Macrauchenia by Robert Bruce Horsfall (1913)

The largest litopterns all belonged to this family. Their diet seems to have been a mixture of grazing grasses and browsing from trees and shrubs. They are notable for having nasal openings at the top of their skulls, surrounded by attachment points for some soft tissue structure. This has sometimes been reconstructed as a short trunk, but more recent attempts favour a large nose (such as that of a saiga antelope) and maybe highly mobile lips (like a moose). Otherwise, they seem to have resembled large, heavily-built, hump-less camels with three-toed feet. Despite their size, their simple but strong ankle bones suggest considerable agility.

Macrauchenia inhabited the arid scrublands of Patagonia throughout the Pleistocene, while Windhauseria occupied even drier regions of Argentina. Their earlier and smaller relative Huayqueriana lived in the mountains of Western Argentina during the late Miocene. Xenorhinotherium lived later and further north, surviving in the temperate forests of Brazil until the early Holocene.

Macrauchenia

ST 26; DX 12; IQ 3; HT 11.
HP 26; Will 10; Per 12; FP 11; Speed 5.75; Dodge 8; Move 5.
SM +2 (3 hexes), 2,200 lbs.

Kick (9): 2d+4 crushing. Reach C-2.

Traits: Acute Taste and Smell 2; Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Discriminatory Smell; DR 2 (Tough Skin); Enhanced Move 1 (Ground Speed 10; Costs Fatigue, 1FP/Second); Night Vision 1; Reduced Consumption 1 (Water Only); Penetrating Voice; Temperature Tolerance 1 (Cold); Quadruped; Wild Animal.
Skills: Survival (Plains)-12.

This profile assumes a relatively small and immobile snout. To represent a trunk, remove Acute Taste and Smell, Penetrating Voice, and Quadruped, then add Extra Legs (Four Legs), One Arm, and Ham-Fisted 2.

For Windhausenia (2,000 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 25, increase Reduced Consumption to 2, and change Survival speciality to (Desert).

For Xenorhinotherium (2,000 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 25, remove Reduced Consumption, and change Survival speciality to (Woodlands).

For Huayqueriana (550 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 16, SM to +1 (2 hexes), DR to 1, kick damage to 1d+2, kick reach to C, 1, and change Survival speciality to (Mountain).

Proterotheriidae

This family was characterised by bearing their weight on a single hoof on each foot, like horses. Unlike horses, they used a rotary gait to run, in the manner of dogs and pronghorns. Most seem to have been herbivores, but had tusk-like teeth which could deliver a nasty bite.

The sheep-sized Diadiaphorus lived in the mountains of Argentina and Bolivia during the Miocene, while the smaller Tetramerorhinus was found further north and west in Argentina and Peru. The tiny early Miocene Thoatherium also lived in the mountains of Argentina and had only a single toe, lacking even vestigial traces of others. From the late Miocene to the early Pliocene the large Displasiotherium lived near Buenos Aires. Megadolodus, from Miocene Columbia, was more pig-like in its habits and possibly an omnivore. Neolicaphrium, the last survivor of the family, lived in northern Argentina and Uruguay from the late Pliocene to the late Pleistocene. It seems to have adapted from living in grasslands to retreating into forested habitats.

Diadiaphorus by Charles R. Knight (1913)

Diadiaphorus

ST 11; DX 12; IQ 4; HT 12.
HP 11; Will 10; Per 12; FP 12; Speed 6.00; Dodge 9; Move 6.
SM 0, 150 lbs.

Bite (9): 1d−2 cutting. Reach C.

Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Discriminatory Smell; DR 1 (Tough Skin); Enhanced Move 1 (Ground Speed 12); Night Vision 1; Quadruped; Wild Animal.
Skills: Survival (Mountain)-12.

For Tetramerorhinus (90 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 9, and bite damage to 1d−3.

For Thoatherium (30 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 6, SM to −1, bite damage to 1d−4, and remove DR.

Thoatherium minusculum by Charles R. Knight (1913)

For Displasiotherium (900 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 19, SM to +1 (2 yards), bite damage to 2d−1, bite reach to C, 1, and DR to 2. Change Survival speciality to (Plains).

For Megadolodus (160 lbs.) change Survival speciality to (Jungle).

For Neolicaphrium (60 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 8, bite damage to 1d−3, and remove DR. Change Survival speciality to (Plains) or (Woodlands).

Extinct rhinos in GURPS

The extinct relatives of rhinoceroses were similar to those we know today; heavyweight, thick-skinned herbivores. Many of them had ‘horns’ made of compressed hair, or tusk-like incisors on their lower jaw. Most were probably solitary animals which relied on a combination of size and aggression to fend off predators.

Aceratherium

A hornless rhino, with chisel-like lower incisors, which lived throughout Eurasia from the early to late Miocene.

Aceratherium by Heinrich Harder (1920).

Its relatives include Plesiaceratherium which lived also lived in Eurasia at the same time, and Aphelops from North America during the middle Miocene to early Pliocene. Chilotherium lived in Africa and Eurasia from the middle Miocene to late Pliocene and had long, sharp tusks.

Aceratherium

ST 25; DX 10; IQ 3; HT 11.
HP 25; Will 10; Per 10; FP 11; Speed 5.00; Dodge 8; Move 7.
SM +2 (3 hexes), 2,000 lbs.

Bite (12): 2d cutting. Reach C.
Trample (12): 2d+4 crushing.

Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Discriminatory Smell; DR 3 (Tough Skin); Enhanced Move 1 (Ground Speed 14; Costs Fatigue, 1 FP/Second); Parabolic Hearing 1; Peripheral Vision; Quadruped; Weak Bite; Wild Animal.
Skills: Brawling-12; Survival (Plains)-12.

This profile is also suitable for the smaller species of Aphelops. For larger species of Aphelops or Plesiaceratherium (2,600 to 2,800 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 28 (damage 3d−4 with bite, 3d+2 with trample).

For the smaller species of Chilotherium (2,000 lbs.), exchange ‘bite’ with ‘gore’ (damage 2d+4 cutting). Larger ones (5,000 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 34 (damage 3d+5 with gore or trample) and SM to +3 (4 hexes).

Coleodonta

The ‘woolly rhino’, Coleodonta antiquitatis, lived in the ‘mammoth steppe’ of Eurasia from the middle Pliocene to the late Pleistocene. Its legs were short, and its body long, with a large fatty hump above the shoulder. It was insulated not just with a thick pelt of hair, but also a substantial layer of fat, making it very bulky. Frozen remains show their fur was pale brown in youth but darkened with age, and cave paintings seem to show a darker band around the belly. Like many cold-adapted animals, it had small ears and a short tail. The head sported two horns, one behind the other, the front one being larger and flattened into a blade-like shape.

Stephanorhinus was a close relative of the woolly rhino which was better adapted to temperate conditions. The ‘Etruscan rhino’, S. etruscus, inhabited Europe from the early to middle Pleistocene. The ‘forest rhino’, S. kirchbergensis, lived throughout Eurasia from the early to late Pleistocene, while the smaller ‘steppe rhino’, S. hemitoechus, lived in Europe and the Middle east from the middle to late Pleistocene.

Coleodonta

ST 33; DX 9; IQ 3; HT 11.
HP 33; Will 10; Per 10; FP 11; Speed 5.00; Dodge 8; Move 3.
SM +3 (4 hexes), 4,500 lbs.

Horn (11): 3d+8 impaling. Reach 1.
Trample (11): 3d+5 crushing.

Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Bad Temper (15); Discriminatory Smell; DR 3 (Tough Skin); Enhanced Move 2 (Ground Speed 12; Costs Fatigue, 1 FP/Second); Loner; Parabolic Hearing 1; Peripheral Vision; Quadruped; Temperature Tolerance 5 (Cold); Weak Bite; Wild Animal.
Skills: Brawling-11; Survival (Plains)-12.

Stephanorhinus etruscus (2,000 lbs.) reduces ST and HP to 25 (damage 2d+6 with horn, 2d+4 with trample) and SM to +2 (3 hexes). S. hemitoechus (3,300 lbs.) reduces ST and HP to 30 (damage 3d+6 with horn, 3d+3 with trample). S. kirchbergensis (5,000 lbs.) increases ST and HP to 34. All increase Move to 4 (Ground Speed 16 with Enhanced Move), reduce Temperature Tolerance to 2, and change Survival speciality to (Woodlands).

Diceratherium

This North American rhino had two small horns, set side-by-side on its nose. It lived from the early Oligocene to late Miocene. Its smaller relative Menoceras lived in roughly the same place and time.

Diceratherium

ST 26; DX 9; IQ 3; HT 11.
HP 26; Will 10; Per 10; FP 11; Speed 5.00; Dodge 8; Move 5.
SM +2 (2 hexes), 2,200 lbs.

Horns (11): 2d+6 crushing. Reach C.
Trample (11): 2d+4 crushing.

Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Discriminatory Smell; DR 3 (Tough Skin); Enhanced Move 1 (Ground Speed 10; Costs Fatigue, 1 FP/Second); Parabolic Hearing 1; Peripheral Vision; Quadruped; Weak Bite; Wild Animal.
Skills: Brawling-11; Survival (Woodlands)-12.

Menoceras (700 lbs.) reduces ST and HP to 18 (damage 1d+4 with horns, 1d+3 with trample), SM to +1 (2 hexes), and DR to 2.

Elasmotherium

The ‘giant rhino’ was the size of a modern elephant and had a broad base for its single horn on the forehead. The exact dimensions of the horn are unknown, but it is usually assumed to be very long. Despite being the heaviest member of its family, it was relatively slender and long-legged.

Elasmotherium lived in Eastern Europe and Central Asia from the late Miocene to the late Pleistocene.

Elasmotherium by Heinrich Harder (1920).

Elasmotherium

ST 43; DX 10; IQ 3; HT 11.
HP 43; Will 10; Per 10; FP 11; Speed 5.00; Dodge 8; Move 4.
SM +4 (6 hexes), 10,000 lbs.

Horn (12): 3d+8 impaling. Reach 2.
Trample (12): 3d+5 crushing.

Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Discriminatory Smell; DR 4 (Tough Skin); Enhanced Move 2 (Ground Speed 16); Loner; Parabolic Hearing 1; Peripheral Vision; Quadruped; Temperature Tolerance 5 (Cold); Weak Bite; Wild Animal.
Skills: Brawling-12; Survival (Plains)-12.

Teleoceras

A short-legged hippo-like rhino from North America. They lived from the early Miocene to the middle Pliocene. Like hippos, they grazed on grasses but may have spent a lot of time in water. They were highly sexually dimorphic and lived in herds, apparently led by a dominant male. Younger males may have lived alone or in separate bachelor herds. Some species had very small horns, while others had none at all.

Teleoceras by Robert Bruce Horsfall (1912).

Teleoceras (male)

ST 26; DX 10; IQ 3; HT 11.
HP 26; Will 10; Per 10; FP 11; Speed 5.00; Dodge 8; Move 3.
SM +3 (4 hexes), 2,200 lbs.

Bite (12): 2d cutting. Reach C.
Trample (12): 2d+4 crushing.

Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Discriminatory Smell; DR 3 (Tough Skin); Parabolic Hearing 1; Peripheral Vision; Quadruped; Terrain Adaptation (Mud); Weak Bite; Wild Animal.
Skills: Brawling-12; Survival (Plains)-12; Swimming-12.

Females (1,800 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 24 (damage 2d−3 with bite, 2d+1 with trample), DR to 2, and have no Brawling skill.

Extinct elephantimorphs in GURPS

The ancestors and relatives of modern elephants all had a similar body plan: a rotund torso, four pillar-like legs, a relatively small tail, and a large head with a flexible trunk. Most of them were more heavily built than elephants. They varied in size and preferred habitat, but the most obvious difference between them were in their teeth. Although palaeontologists tend to concentrate on the molars, what stands out to the layman is the often bizarre forms of their tusks (enlarged incisors which project forward from the mouth).

Mastodon by Charles R. Knight (1897).

Although it is difficult to be sure about the behaviour of long-extinct animals, most experts believe that they had similar lifestyles to elephants. That means they were intelligent, social animals which gathered in family groups or herds, wandered long distances without claiming territory, and ate a wide variety of plants. Modern elephants herds are generally single-sex, although female herds include young males and may have an 'attached' adult male who travels with them for a time, and bulls are sometimes solitary. Older elephants take leadership roles, with female herds usually led by a matriarch, while male ones have a somewhat looser structure. These details are likely to have been different in at least some extinct species, but it is impossible to tell for sure.

Sexual Dimorphism

Male elephants grow significantly larger than females, and have proportionately bigger tusks. It is assumed that their extinct relatives had similar differences, although it is often hard to confirm this from their remains. The full profiles below represent males, with rules for females presented in the options below.

Mature bull elephants periodically experience a state known as musth, where their levels of testosterone rise dramatically. In GURPS terms, this would result in them occasionally suffering from Bad Temper and Lecherousness. It isn't clear exactly when musth evolved, but hormones preserved in mammoth tusks indicate they had it, and it may have affected the entire proboscidean order.

Gomphotheres

One of the earliest members of its group, Gomphotherium had four tusks, with the lower ones growing close together and the upper ones curving away from each other. It evolved in Africa around the start of the Miocene. From there it spread through Eurasia, reaching North America by the middle Miocene. It went extinct in Europe by the late Miocene, but survived in North America until the start of the Pliocene. The genus includes numerous species, most of them fairly similar, although the Eurasian species G. steinheimense was notably larger than others.

Gomphotherium by Charles R. Knight (1901).

Some later gomphotheres lost their lower tusks while the upper ones got larger. Stegomastodon had strongly curved tusks and lived in North America from the middle Pliocene to the early Pleistocene. Cuvieronius had long tusks and lived in the Americas during the Pleistocene. Notiomastodon had short tusks and lived in South America from the middle Pleistocene to the early Holocene. Anancus had very long, straight tusks and lived in Africa and Eurasia from the late Miocene to the early Pleistocene.

Others evolved flat, shovel-shaped lower tusks, which appear to have been used for digging, scraping, and scooping up water plants. Tetralophodon lived in Africa and Eurasia during the Miocene and may have been the ancestor of Anancus. It had long upper tusks and short lower ones. The Ambelodontid family all had short upper tusks and large, flat lower ones. Amebelodon fricki lived in the Great Plains of North America during the late Miocene. It was preceded by the smaller A. floridanus, which lived along the Gulf Coast. The closely related Konobelodon also lived during the late Miocene, with a range stretching from North America, across Eurasia, and into North Africa. Another shovel-tusker, Platybelodon, lived in Eurasia during the middle Miocene and had a spoon-shaped lower jaw.

Gomphotherium angustidens

ST 43; DX 11; IQ 5; HT 12.
HP 43; Will 10; Per 10; FP 12; Speed 5.00; Dodge 8; Move 4.
SM +3 (4 hexes), 10,000 lbs.

Trample (11): 5d−1 crushing. Against SM +1 or less.
Trunk (11): 2d−1 crushing. Reach C-2.
Tusks (11): 5d+4 crushing. Reach 1. Front only.

Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Discriminatory Smell; DR 4 (Tough Skin); Enhanced Move 1 (Ground Speed 8); Extra-Flexible Arm; Extra Legs (Four Legs); Ham-Fisted 2; Night Vision 2; No Depth Perception; One Arm; Peripheral Vision; Subsonic Hearing; Weak Arm (½ ST); Wild Animal.
Skills: Navigation (Land)-12; Survival (Woodlands)-12; Swimming-12.

Female G. angustidens (6,000 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 36 (damage 4d with trample, 1d+1 with trunk, 4d+4 with tusks). G. steinheimense males (15,000 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 49 (damage 5d+2 with trample, 2d+1 with trunk, 5d+7 with tusks), SM to +4 (9 hexes), trunk reach to C-3, and DR to 5. Females (9,000 lbs.) decrease ST and HP to 42 (damage 4d+2 with trample, 2d−1 with trunk, 4d+6 with tusks).

Stegomastodon uses the same profile as G. angustidens.

Cuvieronius males (7,500 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 39 (damage 4d+1 with trample, 2d−2 with trunk, 4d+5 with tusks) and increase tusk reach to 1, 2. Females (4,500 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 33 (damage 3d+2 with trample, 1d+1 with trunk, 3d+5 with tusks) and DR to 3.

Notiomastodon males (14,000 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 48 (damage 5d+1 with trample, 2d with trunk, 5d+6 with tusks) and DR to 5. Females (8,500 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 41 (damage 4d+2 with trample, 2d−1 with trunk, 4d+6 with tusks).

Anancus males (12,000 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 46 (damage 5d with trample, 2d with trunk, 5d+5 with tusks), tusk reach to 1-3, and DR to 5. Females (7,500 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 39 (damage 4d+1 with trample, 2d−2 with trunk, 4d+5 with tusks) and increase tusk reach to 1, 2.

Tetralophodon males (22,000 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 56 (damage 6d+1 with trample, 3d−2 with trunk, 6d+7 with tusks), SM to +4 (10 hexes), tusk reach to 1, 2. and DR to 6. Females (13,000 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 47 (damage 5d+1 with trample, 2d with trunk, 5d+6 with tusks). and DR to 5.

Amebelodon fricki males (18,000 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 52 (damage 6d−1 with trample, 2d+1 with trunk, 6d+5 with tusks), SM to +4 (9 hexes), trunk reach to C-3, and DR to 5. Females (11,000 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 44 (damage 5d−1 with trample, 2d−1 with trunk, 5d+4 with tusks). A. floridanus males (5,000 lbs.) decrease ST and HP to 34 (damage 3d+2 with trample, 1d+1 with trunk, 3d+5 with tusks) and DR to 3. Females (3,000 lbs.) decrease ST and HP to 29 (damage 3d with trample, 1d with trunk, 3d+3 with tusks), SM to +2 (3 hexes), trunk reach to C, 1, and DR to 3.

Konobelodon males (16,000 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 50 (damage 5d+2 with trample, 2d+1 with trunk, 5d+7 with tusks), SM to +4 (9 hexes), trunk reach to C-3, and DR to 5. Females (10,000 lbs.) use the same profile as male G. angustidens.

Platybelodon males (8,000 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 40 (damage 4d+1 with trample, 2d−2 with trunk, 4d+5 with tusks). Females (5,000 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 34 (damage 3d+2 with trample, 1d+1 with trunk, 3d+5 with tusks), SM to +2 (3 hexes), and DR to 3.

Mammoths

The woolly mammoth, Mammuthus primigenius, is among the most famous of ice-age animals. It resembled its living relative, the Asian elephant, in general outline, although it was larger and had proportionately smaller ears, shorter legs and tail, and much larger and more curved tusks. The bulge on top of its head was more pronounced, as was the hump above its shoulders which made the back slope down towards the hindquarters. Of course, the most obvious difference was the one which led to its popular name; the heavy coat of fur.

Mammoths by Charles R. Knight (1916).

M. primigenius roamed the mammoth steppe which stretched across Europe and Northern Asia during the middle Pleistocene. During the late Pleistocene they crossed the Bering land bridge into North America. Their population began to decline at the end of the Pleistocene, disappearing from Europe by the early Holocene and dwindling to a few isolated populations in Alaska and Siberia which eventually disappeared in the middle Holocene. These last mammoths were stunted and inbred due to being trapped on islands too small to maintain a healthy population.

The first mammoth was M. subplanifrons which emerged in South-East Africa in the late Miocene. These were probably no more hairy than elephants. By the late Pliocene, the only African mammoths were M. africanavus from the North of the continent, which died out in the early Pleistocene. However, mammoths had crossed the Sinai peninsula and the species M. rumanus spread through Europe and Asia during the late Pliocene. They evolved into the Southern mammoth, M. meridionalis. An isolated population of Southern mammoths on the island of Crete evolved into a dwarf species, M. creticus during the early to middle Pleistocene.

The ‘steppe mammoth’ M. trogontherii appeared in East Asia during the early Pleistocene and gradually spread across Eurasia and into North America, replacing the Southern mammoth by the middle Pleistocene. The steppe mammoth was the first mammoth adapted to cold climates and probably the first to be covered in thick fur. It evolved into the woolly mammoth, the late Pleistocene Sardinian dwarf mammoth, M. lamarmorai, and the Columbian mammoth, M. columbi, which inhabited North America from the middle Pleistocene until the end of the Pleistocene. They occupied warmer regions and were probably less hairy than woolly mammoths. An isolated population of Columbian mammoths on the California channel islands evolved into pygmy mammoths, M. exillis, which also went extinct at the end of the Pleistocene.

Mammuthus primigenius

ST 47; DX 11; IQ 5; HT 12.
HP 47; Will 10; Per 10; FP 12; Speed 5.00; Dodge 8; Move 4.
SM +3 (4 hexes), 13,000 lbs.

Trample (11): 5d+1 crushing. Against SM +2 or less.
Trunk (11): 2d crushing. Reach C-3.
Tusks (11): 5d+6 crushing. Reach 1-2. Front only.

Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Discriminatory Smell; DR 5 (Tough Skin); Enhanced Move 1 (Ground Speed 8); Extra-Flexible Arm; Extra Legs (Four Legs); Ham-Fisted 1; Night Vision 2; No Depth Perception; One Arm; Peripheral Vision; Subsonic Hearing; Temperature Tolerance 5 (Cold); Weak Arm (½ ST); Wild Animal.
Skills: Navigation (Land)-12; Survival (Plains)-12.

Female M. primigenius (8,000 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 40 (damage 4d+1 with trample, 2d−2 with trunk, 4d+5 with tusks), and DR to 4. Middle holocene males (10,000 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 43 (damage 5d−1 with trample, 2d−1 with trunk, 5d+4 with tusks), HT to 10, and DR to 4. Middle holocene females (6,000) reduce ST and HP to 36 (damage 4d−1 with trample, 1d+1 with trunk, 4d+3 with tusks), HT to 10, SM to +2 (3 hexes), maximum reach with trunk or tusks to 1, and DR to 4.

Male M. subplanifrons or M. africanavus (18,000 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 52 (damage 6d−1 with trample, 2d+1 with trunk, 6d+5 with tusks). Females (11,000 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 44 (damage 5d−1 with trample, 2d−1 with trunk, 5d+4 with tusks) and DR to 4. All remove Temperature Tolerance (Comfort Zone 55°F to 110°F).

Male M. rumanus and M. meridionalis (23,000 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 57 (damage 6d+2 with trample, 3d−1 with trunk, 6d+8 with tusks), SM to +4 (9 hexes), and DR to 6. Females (14,000 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 48 (damage 5d+1 with trample, 2d with trunk, 5d+6 with tusks). All remove Temperature Tolerance.

Male M. creticus (550 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 16 (damage 1d+1 with trample, 1d−4 with trunk, 1d+2 with tusks) and DR to 2. Females (330 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 14 (damage 1d with trample, 1d−4 with trunk, 1d+1 with tusks) and DR to 1. Both reduce SM to +0, maximum reach with trunk or tusks to 1, and remove Temperature Tolerance.

Male M. trogontherii (24,000 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 58 (damage 6d+2 with trample, 3d−1 with trunk, 6d+8 with tusks) and DR to 6. Females (14,000 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 48 (damage 5d+1 with trample, 2d with trunk, 5d+6 with tusks).

Male M. lamarmorai or M. exillis (2,500 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 27 (damage 3d−1 with trample, 1d−1 with trunk, 3d+2 with tusks) and DR to 3. Females (1,500 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 23 (damage 2d+1 with trample, 1d−2 with trunk, 2d+3 with tusks) and DR to 2. All reduce SM to +1 (2 hexes), maximum reach with trunk or tusks to 1, and remove Temperature Tolerance.

Male M. columbi (21,000 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 55 (damage 6d+1 with trample, 3d−2 with trunk, 6d+7 with tusks), SM to +4 (9 hexes), and DR to 6. Females (13,000 lbs.) use the same profile as M. primigenius males. Both reduce Temperature Tolerance to 2.

Mammutids

Mastodons had extremely stout builds, huge tusks on the upper jaw, and flat skulls. Their pelvis was very broad and their leg bones very thick. Although often pictured as hairy, there is little evidence to support this, and they may have had elephant-like skin with sparse hairs. The type species, Mammut americanum, was found throughout North America from the middle Pliocene to the late Pleistocene. During warm interglacial periods it lived as far north as Alaska and Greenland, but otherwise kept to the warmer south. Its ancestor M. raki was somewhat smaller and inhabited a similar area from the late Miocene to the early Pliocene. Several other species of mastodon lived in various regions of the continent until the late Pleistocene, most of them around the same size as M. raki. M. borsoni was a much larger animal which was found throughout Eurasia from the late Miocene to early Pleistocene. It isn’t clear whether it is actually a member of the mastodon genus, or a separate descendant of Zyglophodon. It had very small lower tusks as well as extremely long upper ones.

Mastodon by Heinrich Harder (1920).

Zyglophodon emerged in North Africa in the early Miocene, and spread into Eurasia and North America, before disappearing in the late Miocene. It had long upper tusks, small lower ones, and was probably the direct ancestor of the mastodon.

Mammut americanum

ST 52; DX 10; IQ 5; HT 13.
HP 52; Will 10; Per 10; FP 12; Speed 4.00; Dodge 7; Move 3.
SM +4 (9 hexes), 18,000 lbs.

Trample (10): 6d−1 crushing. Against SM +2 or less.
Trunk (10): 2d+1 crushing. Reach C-2.
Tusks (10): 6d+5 crushing. Reach 1-2. Front only.

Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Discriminatory Smell; DR 5 (Tough Skin); Enhanced Move 1 (Ground Speed 6); Extra-Flexible Arm; Extra Legs (Four Legs); Ham-Fisted 1; Night Vision 2; No Depth Perception; One Arm; Peripheral Vision; Subsonic Hearing; Temperature Tolerance 2; Weak Arm (½ ST); Wild Animal.
Skills: Navigation (Land)-12; Survival (Woodlands)-12.

Female M. americanum (11,000 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 44 (damage 5d−1 with trample, 2d−1 with trunk, 5d+4 with tusks), SM to +3 (4 hexes), and DR to 4.

Male M. raki and similar species (15,000 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 49 (damage 5d+2 with trample, 2d+1 with trunk, 5d+7 with tusks) and SM to +3 (9 hexes). Females (9,000 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 42 (damage 4d+2 with trample, 2d−1 with trunk, 4d+6 with tusks), SM to +3 (4 hexes), and DR to 4.

Male M. borsoni (35,000 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 65 (damage 7d+1 with trample, 3d+1 with trunk, 7d+8 with tusks), SM to +4 (12 hexes), trunk reach to C-4, tusk reach to 1-5, and DR to 7. Females (21,000 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 55 (damage 6d+1 with trample, 3d−2 with trunk, 6d+7 with tusks) and DR to 6. Both reduce IQ to 4.

Male Zyglophodon (18,000 lbs.) reduce IQ to 4. Females (11,000 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 44 (damage 5d−1 with trample, 2d−1 with trunk, 5d+4 with tusks), IQ to 4, SM to +3 (4 hexes), and DR to 4.

Palaeoloxodon

Closely related to elephants and mammoths, this genus contains some of the largest and smallest species in the proboscidean order. All of them had two long straight tusks in their upper jaws and resembled bald mammoths or Asian elephants with sloping backs. Their heads were large and had a prominent brow crest which served to anchor the muscles needed to support them.

The first species was Palaeloxodon recki which lived in East Africa during the early pleistocene. From Africa, they spread into Europe and western Asia during the middle Pleistocene as P. antiquus 'the straight-tusked elephant', which lasted until the late Pleistocene on the mainland. Several dwarf species evolved on various mediterranean islands, such as P. xylophagou and P. falconeri on Sicily and Malta, P. cypriotes on Cyprus, and P. tiliensis on the Greek island of Tilos. Some of these survived into the Holocene. P. namadicus grew to immense size in the Indian subcontinent from the middle to late Pleistocene. P. turkmenicus lived in central Asia in the middle Pleistocene, while P. huaihoensis inhabited China from the middle to late Pleistocene. P. naumanni colonised Japan and shrank to fit into the island ecosystem.

Palaeoloxodon antiquus

ST 61; DX 11; IQ 5; HT 12.
HP 61; Will 10; Per 10; FP 12; Speed 5.00; Dodge 8; Move 4.
SM +4 (10 hexes), 29,000 lbs.

Trample (12): 7d crushing.
Trunk (12): 3d crushing. Reach C-3.
Tusks (12): 7d+7 crushing. Reach 1-4. Front only.

Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Discriminatory Smell; DR 6 (Tough Skin); Extra-Flexible Arm; Enhanced Move 1 (Ground Speed 8); Extra Legs (Four Legs); Ham-Fisted 1; Night Vision 2; No Depth Perception; One Arm; Peripheral Vision; Short Arm; Subsonic Hearing; Weak Arm (½ ST); Weak Bite; Wild Animal.
Skills: Survival (Plains)-12; Swimming-12.

Females (17,000 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 51 (damage 6d−1 with trample, 2d+1 with trunk, 6d+5 with tusks), SM to +3 (9 hexes), maximum tusk reach to 3, and DR to 5.

P. recki, P. turkmenicus, and P. huaihoensis all use the same profile as P. antiquus.

Male P. namadicus (40,000 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 68 (damage 8d−1 with trample, 3d+1 with trunk, 8d+7 with tusks), SM to +5 (15 hexes), maximum trunk reach to 4, and DR to 7. Females (24,000 lbs.) decrease ST and HP to 58 (damage 6d+2 with trample, 3d−1 with trunk, 6d+8 with tusks).

P. creutzburgi and P. naumanni males (8,000 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 40 (damage 4d+1 with trample, 2d−2 with trunk, 4d+5 with tusks), SM to +3 (3 hexes), maximum reach with trunk or tusks to 2, and DR to 4. Females (5,000 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 34 (damage 3d+2 with trample, 1d+1 with trunk, 3d+5 with tusks), SM to +2 (3 hexes), maximum reach with trunk or tusks to 1, and DR to 3.

Male P. xylophagou (2,000 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 25 (damage 2d+2 with trample, 1d−1 with trunk, 2d+4 with tusks), SM to +1 (2 hexes), maximum reach with trunk or tusks to 1, and DR to 3. Females (1,200 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 21 (damage 2d with trample, 1d−2 with trunk, 2d+2 with tusks), SM to +1 (2 hexes), maximum reach with trunk or tusks to 1, and DR to 2.

Male P. cypriotes, P. falconeri, and P. tiliensis (550 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 16 (damage 1d+1 with trample, 1d−4 with trunk, 1d+2 with tusks), SM to +0, maximum reach with trunk or tusks to 1, and DR to 2. Females (330 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 14 (damage 1d with trample, 1d−4 with trunk, 1d+1 with tusks), SM to +0, maximum reach with trunk or tusks to 1, and DR to 1.

Palaeomastodon

One of the earliest elephantimorphs, possibly an ancestor of the gomphotheres, the mammutids, or both. It lived in north-east Africa during the early Oligocene. It had a short trunk, sharp fang-like upper tusks, and scoop-like lower ones. Phiomia was a similar creature which inhabited the same region from the late Eocene to the early Oligocene.

Palaeomastodon by Heinrich Harder (1920).

Palaeomastodon

ST 37; DX 11; IQ 4; HT 12.
HP 37; Will 10; Per 10; FP 12; Speed 5.00; Dodge 8; Move 6.
SM +3 (4 hexes), 6,500 lbs.

Fangs (11): 4d−9 impaling. Reach C.

Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Discriminatory Smell; DR 4 (Tough Skin); Extra-Flexible Arm; Extra Legs (Four Legs); Ham-Fisted 2; Night Vision 2; No Depth Perception; One Arm; Peripheral Vision; Short Arm; Subsonic Hearing; Weak Arm (½ ST); Weak Bite; Wild Animal.
Skills: Survival (Swampland)-12.

Female Palaeomastodon (4,500 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 33 (bite damage 3d−5), SM to +2 (3 hexes) and DR to 3.

Male Phiomia (1,500 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 23 (bite damage 2d−4). Females (1,000 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 20 (bite damage 2d−6). Both reduce SM to +1 (2 hexes), and DR to 2.

Stegodontids

A small family which diverged from the gomphotheres during the early Miocene and showed parallel evolution with elephants.

Stegodon had two long tusks projecting from its upper jaw which grew so close together that the trunk could not fit between them. They emerged in Asia during the late Miocene and lasted until the late Pleistocene. Mainland species such as S. zdanskyi, from China, and S. ganesa, from India, were large. Island species, such as S. aurorae, from Japan, S. florensis and S. sondaari, from Indonesia, tended to be smaller.

Stegodon zdanskyi

ST 61; DX 12; IQ 5; HT 12.
HP 61; Will 10; Per 10; FP 12; Speed 5.00; Dodge 8; Move 4.
SM +4 (10 hexes), 28,000 lbs.

Trample (12): 7d crushing.
Trunk (12): 3d crushing. Reach C-3.
Tusks (12): 7d+7 crushing. Reach 1-3. Front only.

Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Discriminatory Smell; DR 6 (Tough Skin); Extra-Flexible Arm; Enhanced Move 1 (Ground Speed 8); Extra Legs (Four Legs); Ham-Fisted 1; Night Vision 2; No Depth Perception; One Arm; Peripheral Vision; Short Arm; Subsonic Hearing; Weak Arm (½ ST); Weak Bite; Wild Animal.
Skills: Survival (Plains)-12; Swimming-12.

Female S. zdanskyi (17,000 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 51 (damage 6d−1 with trample, 2d+1 with trunk, 6d+5 with tusks) and DR to 5.

Male S. ganesa (14,000 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 48 (damage 5d+1 with trample, 2d with trunk, 5d+6 with tusks), SM to +3 (9 hexes), and DR to 5. Females (9,000 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 42 (damage 4d+2 with trample, 2d−1 with trunk, 4d+6 with tusks), SM to +3 (4 hexes), maximum reach with trunk and tusks to 2, and DR to 4.

Male S. aurorae (6,000 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 36 (damage 4d−1 with trample, 1d+1 with trunk, 4d+3 with tusks), SM to +3 (3 hexes), maximum reach with trunk and tusks to 1, and DR to 4. Females (3,500 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 30 (damage 3d with trample, 1d with trunk, 3d+3 with tusks), SM to +2 (3 hexes), maximum reach with trunk and tusks to 1, and DR to 3.

Male S. florensis (4,000 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 32 (damage 3d+1 with trample, 1d with trunk, 3d+4 with tusks) Females (2,500 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 27 (damage 3d−1 with trample, 1d−1 with trunk, 3d+2 with tusks). Both reduce SM to +2 (3 hexes), maximum reach with trunk and tusks to 1, and DR to 3.

Male S. sondaari (850 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 19 (damage 2d−1 with trample, 1d−3 with trunk, 2d+1 with tusks). Females (500 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 16 (damage 1d+1 with trample, 1d−4 with trunk, 1d+2 with tusks). Both reduce SM to +1 (2 hexes), maximum reach with trunk and tusks to 1, and DR to 2.

Stegotetrabelodon

A possible descendant of the gomphophere Tetralophodon and ancestor of elephants and mammoths. It had four extremely long, straight tusks, two closely spaced on the lower jaw, and two diverging on the upper. It emerged in the Arabian Peninsula during the late Miocene, from there it spread into east and north Africa and survived until the early Pliocene.

Stegotetrabelodon

ST 58; DX 11; IQ 5; HT 12.
HP 58; Will 10; Per 10; FP 12; Speed 5.00; Dodge 8; Move 4.
SM +4 (10 hexes), 24,000 lbs.

Trample (12): 6d+2 crushing.
Trunk (12): 3d−1 crushing. Reach C-3.
Tusks (12): 6d+8 crushing. Reach 1-3. Front only.

Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Discriminatory Smell; DR 6 (Tough Skin); Extra-Flexible Arm; Enhanced Move 1 (Ground Speed 8); Extra Legs (Four Legs); Ham-Fisted 1; Night Vision 2; No Depth Perception; One Arm; Peripheral Vision; Short Arm; Subsonic Hearing; Weak Arm (½ ST); Weak Bite; Wild Animal.
Skills: Survival (Jungle)-12; Swimming-12.

Females (14,000 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 48 (damage 5d+1 with trample, 2d with trunk, 5d+6 with tusks), SM to +3 (9 hexes), and DR to 5.

Gigantopithecus in GURPS

Although known only from teeth and a few jaw fragments, this giant ape has attracted a great deal of speculation. Some even believed it was a human ancestor, although it is now generally accepted as being closer to orangutans. It lived in East Asia from the early to middle Pleistocene.

It seems to have been ground dwelling, like a gorilla, but had a more varied diet including fruit and bamboo. The exact size has been subject to much debate, but it was certainly larger than a gorilla and seems to have had significant sexual dimorphism, with males potentially being more than twice the weight of females. This suggests that they had a harem social structure where a dominant male established mating rights with several females.

Gigantopithecus blacki

ST 19; DX 12; IQ 6; HT 12.
HP 19; Will 10; Per 10; FP 12; Speed 6.00; Dodge 9; Move 7.
SM +1, 800 lbs.

Bite (14): 2d cutting. Reach C
Punch (14): 2d+2 crushing. Reach C, 1.

Traits: Arm ST 4; Born Biter 1; DR 1 (Tough Skin); Extra Arms 2 (Foot Manipulators); Ham-Fisted 1; Semi-Upright; Wild Animal.
Skills: Brawling-14; Intimidation-12; Survival (Jungle)-12.

Females (300 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 13, SM to 0, Arm ST to 3, and lose Brawling and Intimidation skill. Damage becomes 1d−1 with a bite, 1d with a punch, and punch reach drops to C.

Alternative Interpretations

Reconstructed as a collosal Australopithecine, Gigantopithecus would have stood up to 12' tall. Combined with a brain barely larger than a scaled-up chimpanzee, the result is close to the Ogres from Banestorm or Dungeon Fantasy.

Gigantopithecus (Australopithecine)

ST 20; DX 10; IQ 7; HT 12.
HP 20; Will 10; Per 10; FP 12; Speed 5.00; Dodge 8; Move 5.
SM +2, 1,000 lbs.

Bite (12): 2d cutting. Reach C
Knobbed Club (10): 4d+2 crushing. Reach 2-3. Parry 8. Cheap quality, scaled for SM +2, 12.5 lbs.
Punch (12): 2d+1 crushing. Reach C, 1.

Traits: Arm ST 1; Disturbing Voice; DR 1 (Tough Skin); Dyslexia; Innumerate; Non-Iconographic; Social Stigma (Monster); Ugly.
Skills: Axe/Mace-10; Brawling-12; Intimidation-12; Survival (Jungle)-12.

Deinotheres in GURPS

Although deinotheres separated from elephants early in their evolutionary history, the two branches of proboscideans evolved in parallel towards large body size. The 'terrible beasts' looked much like elephants, although their ears and trunks were somewhat smaller, thier legs and necks longer, their heads flatter, and their tusks curved down from their lower jaws rather than forward from the upper.

Chilgatherium lived in North-East Africa during the late Oligocene. By the early Micene it had been replaced by Prodeinotherium, which spread across the newly-formed land-bridge to the Middle East and then Europe. During the middle Miocene it evolved into Deinotherium, the last and largest of the family. D. giganteum survived to the early Pliocene in Europe, D. indicum in India died off by the late Miocene, and in Africa D. bozasi lasted to the middle Pleistocene.

Deinotherium giganteum

ST 57; DX 11; IQ 4; HT 12.
HP 57; Will 10; Per 10; FP 12; Speed 5.00; Dodge 8; Move 3.
SM +4 (13 hexes), 23,000 lbs.

Trample (11): 6d+2 crushing. Against SM +2 or less.
Trunk (11): 6d+1 crushing. Reach C-2.

Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Discriminatory Smell; DR 6 (Tough Skin); Enhanced Move 2 (Ground Speed 12); Extra-Flexible Arm; Extra Legs (Four Legs); Ham-Fisted 2; Night Vision 2; No Depth Perception; One Arm; Peripheral Vision; Subsonic Hearing; Wild Animal.
Skills: Navigation (Land)-12; Survival (Jungle)-12.

This profile works without modification for D. indicum and most other proposed Deinotherium species. For D. bozasi (20,000 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 54 (6d trampling damage, 6d−1 trunk damage) and DR to 5. For Chilgatherium (3,400 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 30 (3d trampling damage, 3d−1 trunk damage), SM to +2 (7 hexes), trunk reach to C, 1, and DR to 3. For Prodeinotherium (8,000 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 40, SM to +3 (10 hexes), trunk reach to C, 1, and DR to 4.

Sparassodonts in GURPS

Closely related to marsupials, this order of carnivorous metatherians never left South America, dying off before the ‘great American faunal interchange’ that introduced new mammals to the continent. Like marsupials, they gave birth to tiny young which sheltered in a pouch while they developed. Convergent evolution shaped many of them into near copies of placental mammals. Although most of them walked flat on their feet and were poorly suited to running, many could stand upright to grapple prey.

Borhyaena

Borhyaena was a better runner than most of its relatives, although not to the extent seen in some marsupials and placental mammals. It would have still had to rely on ambush and stalking when hunting, and likely supplemented this diet with scavenging. It lived in Argentina and Chile during the middle Miocene.

Australohyaena was a close relative from late Oligocene Argentina which was both bigger and better adapted for crunching bone. Callistoe was about the same size as Borhyaena but even better adapted to running at the expense of losing some range of motion. Dukecynus is known only from fragmentary remains, but appears to have been similar to Australohyaena. It lived in Columbia during the mid Miocene. Lycopis had a wolf-like snout and lived in Argentina and Columbia during the middle Miocene.

Borhyaena

ST 7; DX 11; IQ 2; HT 12.

HP 7; Will 11; Per 11; FP 12; Speed 6.00; Dodge 9; Move 6.

SM −1, 50 lbs.

Bite (13): 1d−3 cutting. Reach C.

Claw (13): 1d−2 crushing. Reach C.

Traits: Bad Grip 1; Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Born Biter 2; Discriminatory Smell; DR 1 (Tough Skin); Flexibility; Ham-Fisted 2; Limited Camouflage; Enhanced Move 1 (Ground Speed 12); Night Vision 2; Parabolic Hearing 1; Reduced Consumption 2 (Cast-Iron Stomach); Semi-Upright; Wild Animal.

Skills: Brawling-13; Stealth-12; Survival (Woodlands)-12; Tracking-15; Wrestling-13.

This profile can also be used for Lycopis. For Australohyaena or Dukecynus (150 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 11, SM to 0, and add Striking ST 2 (Bite Only). Change damage to 1d for both bite and claw. For Callistoe increase Move to 7 (Ground Speed 14 with Enhanced Move), remove Bad Grip, Flexibility, Ham-Fisted, and Semi-Upright, and add Quadruped. 

Proborhyaena

A massive, bear-like animal. Despite its bulk, it was an active predator with impressive fangs. It lived in Bolivia during the late Oligocene.

The closely related Paraborhyaena, also from late Oligocene Boliva, was almost as large. Arminiheringia wasn't closely related, but rivalled Proborhyaena in size and had similar anatomy. It lived in Argentina during the during the early Eocene.

Proborhyaena

ST 14; DX 10; IQ 2; HT 13.

HP 14; Will 12; Per 11; FP 13; Speed 5.00; Dodge 8; Move 5.

SM 0 (2 hexes), 320 lbs.

Bite (12): 1d impaling. Reach C.

Claw (12): 1d+1 crushing. Reach C.

Traits: Bad Grip 1; Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Born Biter 2; Discriminatory Smell; DR 2 (Tough Skin); Ham-Fisted 2; Limited Camouflage; Enhanced Move 1 (Ground Speed 10; Costs Fatigue, 1FP/Second); Night Vision 2; Parabolic Hearing 1; Reduced Consumption 2 (Cast-Iron Stomach); Semi-Upright; Wild Animal.

Skills: Brawling-12; Intimidation-12; Stealth-12; Survival (Jungle)-12; Tracking-15; Wrestling-12.

For Paraborhyaena (250 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 13. For Arminiheringia change bite damage to cutting.

Thylocosmilus

A saber-toothed predator which took it to an even more extreme level than Smilodon. Its mouth could hinge open wide enough to stab its oversized fangs straight into even the largest prey. These huge teeth were rooted above the eye-sockets and wrapped half-way around the skull. The lower jaw had flanges to protect the tips. In overall body plan it mimicked the dirk-toothed cats, with strong fore-legs for grappling. It is known from Northern Argentina during the late Miocene and early Pleistocene.

Anachlysictis was a smaller relative from middle Miocene Columbia.

Thylacosmilus

ST 12; DX 12; IQ 2; HT 12.

HP 12; Will 11; Per 11; FP 12; Speed 6.00; Dodge 9; Move 5.

SM 0 (2 hexes), 200 lbs.

Bite (14): 1d−1 impaling. Reach C.

Claw (14): 1d crushing. Reach C.

Traits: Bad Grip 1; Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Born Biter 2; Discriminatory Smell; DR 1 (Tough Skin); Flexibility; Ham-Fisted 2; Limited Camouflage; Enhanced Move 1 (Ground Speed 10; Costs Fatigue, 1 FP/second); Night Vision 2; Parabolic Hearing 1; Semi-Upright; Wild Animal.

Skills: Brawling-14; Climbing-15; Stealth-12; Survival (Plains)-12; Tracking-15; Wrestling-14.

For Anachlysictis (40 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 7 and SM to −1. Change bite damage to 1d−3 and claw damage to 1d−2.