A hulking rhinox as depicted in concept art for Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.
Rhinoxen (sing. rhinox) are huge, hairy, horned and especially bad tempered mammalian beasts which inhabit mountainous regions of the Known World, particularly the Mountains of Mourn in the Far East. Most predators and intelligent races give rhinoxen a wide berth, however, they are sometimes used as beasts of burden (such as to pull Ironblasters) and as the mounts for Rhinox Cavalry by Ogres, as well as a source of food or pelts.[2a]
Role[]
Rhinoxen as depicted in Total War: Warhammer III. Here the are serving as mounts for Ogre Rhinox Riders in a unit of Rhinoxen Cavalry.
A rhinox is a powerful and dangerous horned beast that will lower its head and ram anything in its way, even the most massive of other creatures. Rhinoxen can almost always be found living in the mountainous regions of the world of Mallus, where they roam the snowy slopes and thunder through the passes in small, but formidable, herds that are given a wide berth by all but the most ferocious or desperate of predators.[1a]
A herd of rhinoxen will never willingly alter its path for anything -- be it rockfall, weather, or monstrous predator. Some of this has to do with their own tough nature, as thick skin and shaggy, coarse hair protects the rhinox from the elements and all but the most horrendous of damage. Doubtless, some of their fearlessness also stems from the creature's obstinate ways. However, the notoriously bad eyesight of the rhinox certainly factors into its penchant for walking blindly into precarious situations.[1a]
As they live in the extremes of high altitude -- with numbing winds, snow squalls and the ever present threat of blizzards -- visibility is often limited anyway, so the fact that a rhinox cannot see more than a few strides ahead is not nearly as debilitating as it would be for a beast of the plains. To compensate for its near-blindness, the lumbering rhinox has developed a keen sense of smell and has learned to charge anything that doesn't reek like another rhinox. On occasion, they will charge even if its does smell like a rhinox, as the creatures are just that hostile, and the smell really is that bad.[1a]
Powered by thick haunches of purest muscle, a ram from a charging rhinox is devastating and those lucky enough to avoid being gored or skewered by its horns can still be flung airborne by the force of its impact. Dwarf trappers often say that startling a rhinox is the fastest way of getting down a mountain. Rhinox are used as beasts of burden by Ogres, especially to carry huge Ironblaster cannons. They are also ridden into battle as mounts when used as part of a unit of the Ogre Kingdoms' Rhinox Cavalry.[1a]
Miniatures[]
Trivia[]
Rhinoxen may be based on various prehistoric species of rhinoceroses, such as the Elasmotherium (or the "Siberian Unicorn") and the woolly rhinoceros, which lived on the Eurasian Steppe.