The frightening but fascinating maelephants guard the Lower Planes. They are large, roughly bipedal creatures with huge pachyderm heads that have a viciously barbed trunk.

Maelephants speak their own language, and many know the common tongue, as well.

Combat: Maelephants are immune to attacks from nonmagical weapons. They are never surprised and have infravision to 240’. Their senses of hearing and smell are double human norm. They regenerate 2 hp per round. When guarding, a maelephant need never roll morale checks. It fights to the death.

Maelephants attack with two claws (1d6 damage) and their trunk-spike (2d6 damage). If both claw attacks hit in the same round, the opponent is held fast (1d3 crushing damage per round and subsequent spike attacks automatically hit). The victim breaks free with a successful Strength check with a -5 penalty, or if the maelephant takes more than 12 hp damage while holding it.

Maelephants can charge into combat. This increases their movement to 18 and gives them +2 on all attack rolls for the first round of combat only.

Three times per day, a maelephant can breath a cloud of noxious vapor 10’ wide and 30’ long. Anyone caught within this cloud must successfully save vs. poison or suffer complete memory loss. The loss lasts until cured by a neutralize poison spell (slow poison has no effect). Because the gas must contact the skin to work anyone wearing clothing that covers at least 50% of the body gains a +2 bonus to the save.

Maelephants have an array of spell-like abilities they can use one a time, once per round: alarm, bind, blade barrier (3 times per day), entangle, gust of wind, light, polymorph other (3 times per day), true seeing, and warp wood.

Habitat/Society: Powerful lower planar creatures strike a bargain with a maelephant to guard an item or area, typically for a 100-year term. Most maelephants adhere with absolute loyalty to the terms of their agreement.

Ecology: Originally, the Dark Eight, the rulers of baator, created maelephants as servants. The Eight considered obedience paramount, and bred it into their behavior more powerfully than all other considerations. How these creatures multiplied and left the exclusive service of the Dark Eight is unknown. In the Lower Planes, when beings of power want something important looked after, they seek a maelephant.