40d:Hippo

Hippos seem to be peaceful, friendly and not very intelligent river creatures with a strong tendency to make loud noises while... reproducing. But this is not quite correct. Every dwarf who was courageous enough to settle near the ever growing colonies of the hippos will soon describe them as the monstrous beasties they are: stealthy, bloodthirsty killers who will assassinate every innocent dwarf on sight!

Bloody Rites of the Hippos

Hippos travel through their territory as a swarm, harmless to most other animals. When they meet similar semi-intelligent groups like immigrants or invaders, suddenly an individual Hippo's blood thirst awakens. After the herd massacres whoever they stumble across, this warlord hippo (who is given a cool name) will fight any humanoid lifeforms to death, actively supported by the brave rest of the herd.

How to fight Hippos

In one word: Don't. Unless you have a strong army of Spear- and Marksdwarves, Hippos will beat the shit out of your dwarves. Just set up long lines of spiked Hippo traps or dig channels around you entrance. The biggest problem is water. Dwarves will drink the pesky stuff if there is no alcohol, making themselves living targets with a "drown me" sign on them.

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Megabeasts	Bronze colossus • Dragon • Hydra • Titan
Nonexistent	Centaur • Chimera • Griffon • Treant • Wizard