Also known as mearas, an unusual breed of wild horses, the largest of which are chosen by a benevolent holy spirit called a luris, or being of light. Thereafter the spirit and the mearas become one, becoming familiar as a paladin’s warhorse. The animal is as intelligent and long-lived as any human or demi-human, and literally exists to serve the paladin once they have achieved sufficient power ~ that is, upon attaining 4th level.
Relationship
At this point the warhorse will present itself, remaining by the paladin’s side, as a companion, mount and protector. The paladin’s warhorse will share an understanding of the paladin’s needs that resembles ESP ~ but while the warhorse will perfectly understand the paladin, the warhorse is only able to communicate with the paladin as would an ordinary horse. Typically, a paladin will therefore speak ordinarily with the warhorse, asking questions to obtain the warhorse’s knowledge or desire.
The warhorse will likewise recognize the value of the paladin’s companions, and will seek to protect them also, if able to do so without abandoning the paladin. The warhorse will allow any rider whom the paladin accepts, and actively take care of such persons to the best of its ability, even if not in the paladin’s company. For example, if the paladin indicated that the warhorse should bear the party’s mage to another land or region, the warhorse would willingly do so, for as long as it took, thereafter returning to the paladin, with inherent success.
The warhorse is almost always a destrier, or great horse, of enormous size, 17 hands tall, with flanks that make for easy riding and a steady, smooth and even bearing, regardless of what particular gait being taken. If the paladin is too small in stature for such an animal, the paladin’s warhorse may be a courser that is 16 hands high and only 1,900 lbs. The other stats as shown on the right hand table, however, are the same.
The warhorse will appear fine and very strong, most commonly in a color that best suits the tastes of the paladin (the player is free to choose) and of a like gender (which may also be chosen). Males will appear as geldings.
The paladin’s warhorse will have powerful hindquarters, so that it is able to easily coil and spring to stop, spin, turn or sprint forward. They have a short back and well-muscled loin, strong bone and a well-arched neck. The mane and tail hair is typically lush and quite long, though it can be trimmed if desired. Overall, the warhorse’s color is startlingly rich, and at night the animal has been seen to shine with a glisten that resembles the surface of frost or rime in moonlight, though no light-source is present.
Advantages
When defending itself without a rider, the warhorse will rear upon its hind legs and kick forward, or kick backwards with its hooves. The warhorse can attack either forward or backward in a given round, but not both. If bearing a rider, the animal will be able to attack with its teeth.
In caretaking a rider, the warhorse doubles the amount of horseback riding knowledge possessed by whichever rider is mounted, when related to horse handling or horse-mounted combat. If the rider has less than 10 points of knowledge, and depends upon assisted riding, the warhorse will gently carry the rider as a passenger.
Other Notes
The warhorse cannot be sold or given to other persons. When its tasks are done, it will always return to its liege paladin. If the horse is deliberately sent away forever, it will wither and die within 60 to 90 days.
See Player Characters
That's what I'm talking about.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteThis is pretty cool.
Upping the intelligence to 16 is interesting, as the horse will be smarter than most player characters (probably smarter than the paladin). That's an interesting choice. I see a lot of "stomp once for yes, stomp twice for no" shenanigans. Why not a form of empathy (like an intelligent sword)? The horse understands the paladin's needs in a way "that resembles ESP" but the paladin doesn't get a vibe off the horse?
I really like the ability of the steed to return "with inherent success" after transporting the paladin's buddy somewhere. That's a useful ability.
Is there a particular reason male horses must be geldings? Who gelds the horse? Isn't it enough to say that the merging of mearas and lurid causes the horse to become sterile (if that is the objective)? To me, gelding implies a procedure taking place, but I'm not sure when this would occur in the process (if it's just a mystery, okay, sure...but I have unpleasant visions of little "gelding faeries" wandering the wilds...).
Finally, just want to make sure I'm reading this right...I infer from the ranges listed that there are places the mearas will NOT appear; is this correct? In such an instance would the 4th level paladin need to get herself to a suitable environment to actually acquire her steed?
I must admit, my mind never went anywhere NEAR gelding fairies. Now I want that as a monster.
ReplyDeleteYes, sterility was the point, to restrain players from trying to breed their warhorse. Besides, the package ruins the majestic appearance of the warhorse. I don't think the operation needs to be "done" ~ it could simply happen. It is a magical game.
I'm surprised you didn't remark on my having stolen the warhorse's intelligence from Middle Earth. I was copying from Shadowfax and Felarof. The word "mearas" is Tolkien's invention.
[incidentally, I'm convinced that the next big girl teen book craze is going to be "castration lit," where a super-innocent young Bella ties an infatuated Edward down to a table, then reaches for ... well, you know. I'm tempted to write one of these novels myself to see if it has reach]
I recognized "mearas" (and remembered Shadowfax) but...and you can take this as a token of respect...after seeing it here I figured Tolkien *must* have taken it from an "earlier source" since Alexis Smolensk would never just blatantly steal from Tolkien.
ReplyDelete; )
I think gelding faeries could enjoy a long and fruitful career as a monster in any campaign.
[as a completely random aside, I'll say that when I watched Patrick Wilson in the Aquaman film, all I could think about was his turn in the film Hard Candy]
*grin* Not the first time I've stolen from Tolkien.
ReplyDeleteIt's impossible to hold oneself sacrosanct in D&D, given that so much of the game clearly follows his inventions (orcs, halflings, etc). So if I want to call the Elven kingdom in America ("the west") Beleriand, that is only natural.
Nice!
ReplyDeleteIt always struck me that if nothing else, the warhorse was supposed to be the paladin's One True Friend. If everyone else can have a henchman, and this was a special class feature, why screw around with it?
"gelding faeries"
ReplyDeleteplease, trying to eat my lunch over here . . .
I'm now picturing every single player sleeping in a cold iron jock strap . . .