The regrowth of horns.

[Joseph Kerr]

Hello,

I was wondering if a character can regrow a lost horn? If my rhinoceros character got his horn broken off, could magic or psionics be used to help him regrow it quickly? How does that factor into his SDC if it is broken? Is it?

Thanks.

[JuliusCreed]

While I am no expert on the subject, my honest opinion, based entirely on a common sense approach, is that a broken horn does indeed continue to grow, like human hair and finger/toenails. As the horn of a rhino is, in actuality, a hyperdense cluster of hair, the same would be true for it as well. The regrowth, from a natural standpoint, would see the horn slowly regrow in a rather blunted state from where it broke off. And, over time, normal wear and tear on the developing growth would see it eventually reshape itself naturally back into its natural horn shape.
The use of magic or psionics to speed this process can go one of a few ways. It could stimulate the regrowth process, but still leave the broken off end blunted so as to be reshaped by natural wear and tear. Conversely, it could completely regenerate it to its original size and shape before being broken off, effectively making it just like new again. Consult with your GM as to exactly what would take place.
As for how your character's SDC would factor into regrowing a lost horn... I would say it's rather inconsequential. Your char's physical SDC is a measurement of how much physical punishment he can take before he starts worying about dying. As a horn is, at least from my viewpoint, the essential equivalent of hair or fingernails, losing one or having one broken off is, while in most cases, probably pretty painful maybe, it is no more life threatening than getting a haircut or a manicure. IMHO if you have a broken horn, you've taken relatively minor damage and, until it grows back, you've lost a natural weapon, or at least had the damage for it reduced significantly.
Good luck and great gaming!

[Joseph Kerr]

Thank you for your opinion!

I looked up the growth process for a Rhino's horn and apparently they will grow back if the root of the horn is undamaged.

In the case of a broken root I'd say magic or psionics could stimulate the regrowth of the root and the rest of the horn.

Sound fair?

[JuliusCreed]

Thank you for your opinion!

I looked up the growth process for a Rhino's horn and apparently they will grow back if the root of the horn is undamaged.

In the case of a broken root I'd say magic or psionics could stimulate the regrowth of the root and the rest of the horn.

Sound fair?

Sounds fair enough to me. It's magic after all! Might want to see if a damaged root can actually heal naturally too. That way you'll know just how powerful of a healing spell you'll need, ie Heal Wounds at 10 PPE if it can be healed naturally, versus Restoration at 750 PPE if it can't be normally healed.

[Joseph Kerr]

Sounds good, thanks. Also found this

The horn will regrow about 2 inches a year. A typical horn on an adult white rhino is about 22 inches.

So that helps get an idea of the rate of growth.

Mostly I made this topic to get an idea if my idea for nefarious money scheme would work. Huzzah!

[drewkitty ~..~]

At first I thought beasts with high healing factor like dragons might regrow horns very quickly...

But with people making the comparison to hair, it might be better to say it grows at normal rates for animals.

Beings that regenerate, like CoM and the SN, will gain back lost bits rather quickly if they are not dead.
The ing topic was about mundane animals not dragons or demons.