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Wild boar
Domesticated "wild" boar?
Myth of the Gargantuan
HMIII Rules

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Wild boar

The wild boar may reach a height of 3 ft. (90 cm) and a length of 5 ft. (150 cm). It has 9-in. (30-cm) tusks and a fierce disposition. In the north a wild boar greatly resembles a domesticated pig, with overgrown tusks. They range in color from black to grey.

Even babies "false charge" like grizzly bears, but the adults use their tusks in a deadly fashion. Their tusks mesh together as they eat becoming as sharp as bridgeheads and continue growing all their possible 27-year life span. Males constantly vie for superiority in vicious battles. The result of slashing at each other is that they develop up to an inch of cartilaginous armor under their hide that protects their vital organs. Wild Boars are territorial animals with short tempers.

The wild boar lives in a family party that has a territory of 10 - 20 sq. KM, but in the autumn, family groups come together to form herds of up to 50 females and youngsters. The group is known as a sounder, led by an older sow, and its members feed, rest and sleep together. The young male forms a bachelor group but the older male remains solitary, joining up with females in the autumn mating season. Once mated, he will once again live alone.

A den is used for resting and sleeping. A boar often makes a shelter by cutting long grass and crawling under it to lift it so that it becomes entangled with the tall herbage around to form canopies. Wild boars communicate with each other using a wide range of grunts, squeaks and chirrups. They grunt a lot when feeding while a single loud grunt is a warning to others.

Wild boars are sexually mature at 18 months of age, but a male will not usually mate until he is about four years old. During the autumn mating season, the male joins a herd of females and fights any male who challenges his position. Fighting boars use their tusks to slash at each other's shoulders. Despite their thick skin and coarse layer of hair on the shoulders, deep wounds are sometimes inflicted. After mating, the boar leaves the herd, taking no part in rearing the young.

After a gestation period of 112 - 115 days a litter of 3 - 12 piglets is born in the spring. The sow prepares for the birth by constructing a nest of grass. The mother has 8 - 14 teats and each piglet has its own teat from which to suckle. The first piglets born choose a teat near their mother's head so that they have a better chance of attracting her attention and are less likely to be trodden on. The piglets are born with stripes and these help to camouflage them in the undergrowth.

The litter stays in the nest for about 10 days and then the family moves off, joining up with previous litters. The young are suckled for about 12 weeks before they are completely weaned onto food that they find while rooting around with their mother. Their coats become a dull, dun color at about 6 months and they will stay with their mother until at least the next litter is born. At one year old their coats are a rich black-brown and they reach full size at 5 - 6 years of age.

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Domesticated "wild" boar?

A few manors, where hunts are popular, feed the boars in their woods throughout winter. All the better for the hunt in the spring. The beasts are still wild, just better fed than most.

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Myth of the Gargantuan

Legends tell of a great beast, a gargantuan beast that tears through huts and eats people whole. Nothing survives its coming. Some have described it as a giant wild boar gone mad. Armored and armed, it is a match for any who dare hunt it.

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HMIII Rules

Wild Boar
Habitat Forest, woodlands
Height 3.5-4.5 ft.
Weight 200-400 lbs
Diet Omnivore
Life span 5-20 years
Group 2-20
Load 400 lbs
Price 100d+
Attributes
18 Str 15 Eye 03 Int 14 End
16 Sta 16 Hrg 04 Aur 30 Mov
14 Agl 20 Sml 15 Wil    
Skills
55 Initiative 52 Awareness
45 Dodge 35 Jumping
50 Gore 5b 60 Stealth
40 Bite 1P 35 Swimming
Armor
  B4 E3 P1 F3
Strike Locations
01-12 Head
13-20 Neck
21-30 • Fore Leg
31-60 • Flank (thorax)
61-75 Abdomen
76-90 • Quarter (hip)
91-98 • Hind Leg
99-00 Tail
• Odd = Left, Even = Right

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