Mammoth 5e: Stats, Trampling Charge and the 2024 Rework

A mammoth is a CR 6 Huge Beast with AC 13, 126 hit points and a +10 Gore with 10-foot reach. Its whole game is the charge: move 20 feet straight at a target, gore it, knock it prone, then crush it as a bonus action for 29 more damage. In the 2014 rules the knockdown needs a DC 18 Strength save. The 2024 rules remove that save, give the mammoth two Gores a turn and 50 feet of speed, and turn the follow-up into a DC 18 Dexterity save. The 2024 mammoth can deal close to 50 damage in one charging turn.

Table of Contents

• •Mammoth Stat Block (2014)
• •The Mammoth in the 2024 Rules
• •How Mammoths Fight
• •Running a Mammoth Encounter
• •How Players Beat a Mammoth
• •Mammoth Encounter Ideas
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Mammoth Stat Block (2014)

Trampling Charge has two steps. If the mammoth moves at least 20 feet straight toward a creature and hits it with a Gore that turn, the target makes a DC 18 Strength save or is knocked prone. If the target is prone, the mammoth can Stomp it as a bonus action: +10, 29 (4d10 + 7) bludgeoning. One Gore per turn is all it gets otherwise; there's no Multiattack.

The Mammoth in the 2024 Rules

CR, AC, hit points and XP are unchanged. The mammoth got much more dangerous anyway.

How Mammoths Fight

Line up the charge. Gore reaches 10 feet but the follow-up only reaches 5. A mammoth that stops 10 feet away can knock a target down and then can't step on it. Charge all the way in.

Damage on a charging turn, against a fighter with AC 16 (+10 hits on a 6 or higher, 75%), Strength save +7 and Dexterity save +0:

Against a wizard with AC 12 and Strength −1, the 2014 mammoth's expected charge climbs to nearly 50, because the Gore almost always hits and the save almost always fails.

Reset the charge. Without a charge, the 2024 mammoth still has two Gores (about 27 expected). The 2014 mammoth drops to a single Gore (about 19), so it gains a lot by backing off and charging again. A 2014 mammoth that walks out of reach provokes opportunity attacks; with 126 hit points, it can usually afford them.

Finish downed characters. An unconscious character is prone. In 2014, a Stomp from within 5 feet against an unconscious character is a critical hit, which counts as two failed death saves. In 2024, an unconscious character automatically fails the Dexterity save against Trample, taking the full 29.

Running a Mammoth Encounter

A mammoth is 2,300 XP.

The 2014 guidelines in our encounter calculator rate one mammoth as Medium for four level 5 characters (2,300 against a 2,000 Medium threshold). Two mammoths against four level 7 characters are 4,600 ×1.5 = 6,900, past the Deadly line of 6,800.

The XP math undersells the 2024 version's charge. Give a level 5 party trees, boulders or a frozen river to break up its straight lines, or expect a downed character in round one.

How Players Beat a Mammoth

• •Deny the straight line. No 20-foot run, no knockdown. Fight among trees, rocks or pillars, or keep a Huge-size obstacle between you.
• •Stay up high. It has no ranged attack. Flying, climbing a cliff or shooting from a wall makes it harmless.
• •Charm it. Its Wisdom is 11 (+0). Animal Friendship charms it for 24 hours on a failed save. Dominate Beast turns it on its handlers, though the save has advantage if you're already fighting it.
• •Don't shove or grapple it. A Medium character can't grapple or shove a Huge creature in either edition (it's more than one size larger), and the 2024 mammoth adds a +10 Strength save on top.
• •Use it. Polymorph can turn an ally of level 6 or higher into a mammoth (its CR must not exceed the target's level). In 2014 the ally takes the mammoth's 126 hit points; in 2024 they keep their own and gain 126 temporary hit points. Animal Shapes can't: it's limited to Large or smaller beasts.

Mammoth Encounter Ideas

The herd crossing. Six mammoths cross a frozen river at the same spot every spring. This year a trading caravan is camped on the far bank. The herd isn't hostile, but it's not stopping either, and the caravan's tents are in its path.

Siege beasts. Frost-giant raiders drive two mammoths with spiked headgear at a palisade gate. Kill or turn the mammoths and the raid stalls. Pair them with a frost giant for a mid-level set piece.

The thawed one. Miners cut a mammoth out of glacier ice. It wasn't dead. It is now very hungry and standing in the only tunnel out.

Frequently Asked Questions

What CR is a mammoth in 5e?

CR 6 (2,300 XP) in both the 2014 and 2024 rules, with AC 13 and 126 hit points.

How does a mammoth's Trampling Charge work?

In 2014, if the mammoth moves 20+ feet straight toward a creature and hits it with Gore, the target makes a DC 18 Strength save or falls prone, and the mammoth can Stomp a prone target as a bonus action for 29 damage. In 2024, the charge knocks a Huge or smaller target prone with no save, and a bonus-action Trample forces a DC 18 Dexterity save for 29 damage, half on a success.

What's the difference between a mammoth and an elephant?

The mammoth is CR 6 with 126 hit points, 10-foot reach and DC 18 effects. The elephant is CR 4 with 76 hit points, 5-foot reach, and a much easier DC 12 Strength save (2014) or DC 16 Dexterity save (2024).

Can a druid Wild Shape into a mammoth?

Not with the SRD Wild Shape rules, which never allow a form above CR 1 (the cap reached at druid level 8). Polymorph can turn a creature of level or CR 6 or higher into one.

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.