Elk 5e: Stats, the Charge and Using an Elk

An elk is a CR 1/4 Large Beast with AC 10, 50 feet of speed and a Ram that hits at +5 for 6 bludgeoning damage. Its Charge is what makes it dangerous: in the 2014 rules, running 20 feet straight into a target adds 7 (2d6) damage and a DC 13 Strength save against being knocked prone, and a separate Hooves attack deals 8 to anyone already lying down. The 2024 elk (11 HP instead of 13) trades that for a smaller +3 damage and an automatic knockdown, drops Hooves, and gains 60-foot darkvision. Players meet it as often under a saddle as in a fight: it's a Find Steed form in 2014 and a CR 1/4 Wild Shape option in both editions.

Table of Contents

• •Elk Stat Block (2014)
• •The Elk in the 2024 Rules
• •How Elk Fight
• •Elk as Steeds and Wild Shapes
• •Running an Elk Encounter
• •How Players Beat Elk
• •Elk Encounter Ideas
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Elk Stat Block (2014)

Note that the 2014 Charge's extra 7 damage has no damage type in the SRD text. Ram and Hooves are separate actions with no Multiattack, so the elk uses one per turn.

The Elk in the 2024 Rules

How Elk Fight

Every attack is a charge. With 50 feet of speed, an elk can back out of melee and run in again almost every turn. It provokes an opportunity attack when it leaves a character's reach, but it's an animal that would rather hit and leave.

Against AC 16, +5 hits on an 11 or higher, 50% of the time.

The herd combo (2014). One elk can't Ram and use Hooves in the same turn, and a knocked-down character stands up on their own turn. Two elk solve that: the first charges and knocks a character down, and the second, if it acts before that character, tramples them with Advantage. A fighter with Strength save +5 fails the DC 13 save 35% of the time. A wizard at −1 fails 65% of the time.

The 2024 elk's knockdown helps everyone else. Every charging hit leaves a Large or smaller target Prone, which gives Advantage to the next melee attacker. An elk running with wolves or ridden by a goblin sets up the rest of the fight.

Elk flee. An unaligned grazing animal with Wisdom 10 has no reason to fight to the death. Run them away at half hit points unless they're cornered or defending young.

Elk as Steeds and Wild Shapes

Find Steed (2014). The spell lists the elk as one of its forms, alongside the warhorse, pony, camel and mastiff. The steed uses the elk's statistics but is a celestial, fey or fiend, and its Intelligence becomes 6. A Medium paladin on an elk moves 50 feet. A warhorse is faster at 60 feet and tougher, so picking the elk is mostly a flavor choice: antlers instead of a saddle blanket.

Find Steed (2024). The steed can look like an elk, but it uses the spell's Otherworldly Steed stat block, not the elk's.

Wild Shape. CR 1/4 with no fly or swim speed, so a druid can take elk form from level 2. In 2014 you use the elk's 13 hit points; in 2024 you keep your own and gain temporary hit points equal to your druid level. The 2024 elk's darkvision is a real upgrade for a druid without it.

Running an Elk Encounter

An elk is 50 XP. For four level 1 characters under the 2024 rules, four elk are Low (200 XP) and six are Moderate (300 XP). Under the 2014 guidelines our encounter calculator uses, two elk are 100 XP ×1.5 = 150, Easy for that party (Easy 100, Medium 200).

A stampede works better as a hazard than as a fight: a dozen elk running through a camp, each Ram a chance to knock someone down, while the party deals with whatever spooked them. For a bigger version of the same animal, see the giant elk, which is a CR 2 Celestial in the 2024 rules.

How Players Beat Elk

• •Take away the run-up. Trees, rocks and narrow paths stop the 20-foot straight charge. Without it, an elk is a 6-damage animal with AC 10.
• •Ready an attack. An elk charging in from 40 feet away can be met with a Readied attack as it arrives.
• •Calm it. Animal Friendship and Speak with Animals end most elk fights without bloodshed.
• •Hit it once or twice. AC 10 and 11 to 13 hit points means most characters drop an elk in two hits.

Elk Encounter Ideas

The rutting season. A bull elk has claimed the road through a mountain pass and charges every cart that comes through. The locals want it moved, not killed. It's protecting a herd in the meadow just past the bend.

The wrong steed. A paladin NPC's summoned elk keeps vanishing at night. Someone found out it understands Common and is bribing it with apples to lead them, step by step, to its master's camp.

Hunting party. The party joins a village hunt. Halfway through, they realize the elk are fleeing toward them, away from something in the trees.

Frequently Asked Questions

What CR is an elk in 5e?

An elk is CR 1/4 (50 XP) in both the 2014 and 2024 rules, with AC 10. The 2014 elk has 13 hit points and the 2024 elk has 11.

Can you ride an elk in 5e?

Yes. It's Large, so it can carry a Medium or Small rider. In the 2014 rules the elk is one of the forms listed in the Find Steed spell.

Can a druid Wild Shape into an elk?

Yes, from druid level 2 in both editions. It's CR 1/4 with no flying or swimming speed.

What's the difference between an elk and a giant elk?

The elk is a CR 1/4 Large Beast with 13 hit points (11 in 2024). The giant elk is a CR 2 Huge creature with 42 hit points, 10-foot reach and a stronger charge, and in the 2024 rules it's a Celestial rather than a Beast.

Stat blocks: System Reference Document 5.1 (2014) and 5.2.1 (2024), Wizards of the Coast, CC-BY-4.0. Tactics, encounter math and ideas are Loreify's own.