Poisoned Shadows - Bestiary

Description: Nightmares are the warhorses of the Unseelie Host, capable of traveling incredible distances over the course of a single evening, never growing tired or hungry. They are a magnificent and disturbing sight—coal black mares and stallions of surpassing strength and beauty, with manes and hooves of living fire and eyes that burn a malevolent red. While they are fearsome to behold, a nightmare is, for all intents and purposes, a horse, and will respond to kindness or mistreatment as would any other equine.

While incapable of flight themselves, any nightmare ridden by a flying creature can take to the air for short periods of time while it is mounted. A nightmare’s fiery hooves allow it to cross any terrain at full speed without fear of tripping or throwing a shoe; a charging nightmare is even capable of running across a small river without slowing down or sinking, though they shy away from larger bodies of water (if the opposite bank is not clearly visible, assume that a nightmare will refuse to cross unless its rider is capable of flying them both across).

A nightmare must be ridden bareback; any attempt to saddle such a creature will cause it to attack immediately. Likewise, no nightmare will ever consent to pulling a carriage or serving as a draft animal in any other capacity.

Special Abilities: A nightmare can cover twice the distance of a regular horse in a single evening, though its rider must make a single TN 20 Riding check or fall from the saddle at some point in the night (any nightmare that loses its rider will charge on without him). A nightmare that is touched by sunlight will instantly dissolve into a pool of blood and soak into the ground. When the sun sets again, the nightmare will erupt from the earth in a cloud of foul-smelling smoke, eager to resume its charge. A TN 15 Animal Training check will allow the Nightmare to be corralled and mounted; barring that, a TN 25 Mounting check will allow a rider to leap onto the creature’s back and bring it under control before it gets away.

A nightmare’s hooves are wickedly pointed and capable of inflicting serious damage with a kick. They inflict an extra Kept Die of fire damage against any target not immune to fire, and flammable objects may continue to burn (at the GM’s option). Anyone trying to track a nightmare receives two free Raises to his or her rolls, as the creature leaves a trail of scorched earth and hoof marks that is difficult to miss.

A nightmare has a Fear Rating of 2 independently of its rider. If its rider also has a Fear Rating, he may add the nightmare’s Fear Rating to his own to increase the Target Number of an enemy’s Fear Check.

Nightmares are capable of carrying twice the normal encumbrance for their Brawn.