Friday, September 6, 2013

Fianyarr Mounts

At least this mount doesn't need to be
food.
(Skyrim)
This article is about a sub-set of creatures for the Fianyarr world.  If you would like to read more about the world or its races and classes you can find more articles here.  Not everything on Fianyarr is predatory toward sentient races, let alone outright cruel and malicious.  The Angelics are those entities that look kindly on at least one of the races of the First which means that what is a Demonic to one may be considered an Angelic by others. All of the mounts mentioned below have the statistics of horses at their base but move at twice the usual speed. At the Storyteller's discretion a mount could have a bear, tiger or other animal at their base though for more powerful mundane creatures it would be wise to charge them experience points as though the mount were one dot higher.

One Dot Mount

One dot Fae Mounts have this speed bonus and gain the ability to come when called (though unlike the merit description they do not materialise out of thin air unless that is the power chosen for them).  These can be giant cats, riding dogs, white buck, a special breed of horse, or even a skeletal mount with a really well-designed saddle for comfort.  For each dot bought beyond the first the mount gains an additional ability that could range from a Toxicity 4 poison, fire-breathing equivalent to the damage dealt by a torch (see World of Darkness core rulebook), walking across water, flying up to Speed 12 and carrying up to 300lbs, or something of similar potency.  All mounts have Wyrd 1, can spend up to one glamour a round (including to activate certain relics) and can hold up to 10 glamour.  Each type of mount has a preferred type of glamour.

Two Dot Mount

White-Winged Pegasi / Giant Eagle / Roc (Giant bird)

There are a number of flying mounts to choose from with the most common being the above.  Each of these has an animal's intellect and can fly up to Speed 12 while carrying up to 300lbs on their backs.  The pegasi is a vegetarian while the other two are carnivores that require a substantial amount of meat to keep themselves happy.

Nandi

The Nandi is a large bull that is tame enough to be ridden though it can be aggressively protective of whomever they choose to be their rider.  Rather than having double the normal Speed it has an extra point in Size and two points in Strength compared to a horse and gains a +2 lethal attack with its horns.

Goldhorn White Buck

This large male buck has the ability to climb walls - even perfectly smoothy vertical walls - by spending a point of Glamour.  It can only be tamed if it is somehow cut from its herd and even then it will only attach itself to an apparently vulnerable rider.

Three Dot Mount


Water Horse

Though these horses are sometimes confused for kepies that are neither as predatory nor as sophisticated.  These horses can run across water or sink into it at will and have the power of speech which allows them to communicate with others.  They can learn multiple languages.

Simurgh

The simurgh is a giant dog-headed copper-colored peacock with the claws of a lion with human breasts and a human face complete with teeth.  It despises snakes of all kinds and prefers to lair in areas near water.  It has an enmity towards snakes and its natural habitat is a place with plenty of water.  It can fly and carry up to six riders.

Sleipneir

This eight-legged horse can spend a point of Glamour to move at twice its usual speed for a round and it has the power of speech and can converse with its rider.  The Sleipneir are vegetarians though they also enjoy sweets and mead.

Four Dot Mount

Unicorn

Unicorns are attracted to innocence and can only be ridden by those with a Morality score of 7 or higher.  Despite myths that unicorns can only be ridden by virginal women, each unicorn has its own rider restriction and it will refuse anyone who doesn't meet that requirement.  A unicorn can touch a person with its horn and spend a glamor to downgrade one point of damage in the target and it may do so thrice per day.  Unicorns can also make themselves emanate a gentle light at will and, should they choose, may spend a point of glamour to create a flash of blinding light that requires a Wits + Composure roll in those nearby to avoid being blinded.  A unicorn's horn is also a +2L weapon.

Silver Winged Pegasi

These pegasi are similar to normal mounts although they tend to have a fairly strong personality and know what they want.  Such pegasi can fly up to Speed 12 and carry up to 300lbs like any winged mount but they also have the power of speech and can release an electrical charge from their hooves when striking an enemy - causing the enemy to have to successfully roll Stamina + Wyrd versus the horse's Resolve + Wyrd to avoid being knocked prone.

Griffin

This carnivorous creature has the body of a lion yet the head, wings and forelegs of an eagle. It can fly, deal +2 lethal damage in a turn, and can make an attack in the middle of a full move mid-flight which only costs them their Defence so they don't have to stop to attack their enemies.

Five Dot Mount

Night Mare

These entities are feared across the realms as they are Demonics who nonetheless come to favor certain mortals whose fates they find particularly impressive.  They tend to prefer riders who hunt down those who are greater and more powerful than themselves - of course, this means they might equally chose a Priest who slays potent entities within the dreamscape or a cruel lord who wishes to take down an entire kingdom.  Night Mares have four abilities.  They can float an inch off the ground and leave no Fire breathing (treat as torch attack on page 180 of WoD), ability to fly at Speed 12 and carry 300lbs, can enter the Dreamscape by spending a point of Glamour and flying into the mind of a sleeping mortal (and can bring a single rider with them), and may spend a point of Glamour to ignore all circumstance penalties from uneven or poor terrain as they float a quarter inch above the ground.

Kelpie

Kelpies are difficult to train but not impossible.  It is a strong and powerful black horse (sometimes a dark green horse with a black mane) that has a constantly dropping mane with soft skin like that of a seal and cold flesh.  They are a carnivorous sort of horse that prefers its victims drowned and sentient - though some can be convinced to avoid doing so since they can become attached to a would-be victim who is witty or interesting enough.   A Kelphy's four abilities are that they can spend a point of glamour to become a water breather (and must do the same to become an air breather), can spend a point of glamour to cause the skin on its back to become adhesive so that the rider can't fall off (or dismount) and must spend another point of glamour to turn this off, has a humanoid intellect and can spend a point of Glamour to turn in a humanoid (normally Nixie, Tiefling or Yuki) who has base mortal statistics and always has damp hair.

Gold Winged Pegasi

The pegasi are similar to normal mounts although they tend to have a fairly strong personality and have the power of speech to tell you everything they want you to know.  They can fly up to Speed 24 and carry up to 300lbs and may occasionally fly at double that simply by spending a point of Glamour - making them one of the fastest creatures in the land.  They may also spend glamour to heal bashing or lethal on a one for one basis or may downgrade a point of aggravated damage to lethal by spending two points of glamour.

No comments:

Post a Comment