The Stable · Chapter 11

Fabled Beasts of the Land

Mounts for worlds that have them. None of these is common anywhere, and most are raised from the cub, the kid, or the egg by the person who will ride them.

Many carry Bonded Only and Meat-Eater. Read both before buying one.

Riding Bear

Battle bear, mountain bear, armoured bear

2 1 16 4 0 / 0 22

4 / 2 / 1 / 3 / 3 / 1 20 5000 Rare Ursine, Heavy Battle-Trained, Climber, Hardy, Bonded Only, Meat-Eater

  • Attacks: Claws (Unarmed; Damage 7; Crit 3; Vicious 2); Bite (Unarmed; Damage 6; Crit 4; Pierce 1)

A great bear raised from a cub by the person who will ride it. It climbs, fights beside its rider without being told, and carries loads a draft horse would refuse. It does not thrive in heat.

Dire Wolf

Warg, great wolf, wolf-mount

2 2 13 2 1 / 0 12

3 / 3 / 1 / 3 / 2 / 1 35 2500 Rare Lupine, Light Battle-Trained, Swift, Tracker, Horse Terror, Meat-Eater, Temper 2

  • Attacks: Bite (Unarmed; Damage 5; Crit 3; Knockdown)

A wolf the size of a pony. It carries a light rider at a horse's speed through forest a horse cannot use, and it follows a trail by scent. It obeys the rider it fears or was raised by.

War Boar

Tusker, great boar, razorback

2 2 18 5 0 / 0 24

4 / 2 / 1 / 2 / 4 / 0 20 6000 Rare Suid, None Battle-Trained, Shock Mount, Armoured Hide, Temper 2

  • Attacks: Tusks (Unarmed; Damage 6; Crit 3; Pierce 2); Stomp (Unarmed; Damage 5; Crit 4; Knockdown)

A boar taller than a warhorse, with tusks banded in iron. It charges through shield walls and is too angry to notice it has been hurt. Armoured Hide: its hide is its armour, and it gains nothing from barding.

Great Ram

Mountain ram, cliff goat, horned steed

2 2 11 2 0 / 1 14

3 / 3 / 1 / 2 / 3 / 1 25 900 Restricted Caprine, Medium Sure-Footed, Climber, Leaper, Hardy

  • Attacks: Horns (Unarmed; Damage 5; Crit 4; Knockdown)

A goat or sheep bred to the size of a pony and beyond. It crosses cliffs. Leaper: once a round it may clear a gap or an obstacle up to Short range across with no check.

Great Elk

Giant stag, forest steed, antlered mount

2 2 13 2 1 / 1 16

3 / 4 / 1 / 3 / 3 / 1 30 2000 Rare Cervine, Light Swift, Forest-Bred, Leaper, Temper 2

  • Attacks: Antlers (Unarmed; Damage 5; Crit 3; Knockdown)

An elk or stag as tall as a draft horse. It ignores the travel penalty for forest, moves through undergrowth in near silence, and will carry a rider it has chosen. Its antlers make a helm impractical.

Riding Lizard

Giant monitor, cave lizard, wall-walker

2 1 15 4 0 / 0 18

3 / 3 / 1 / 3 / 3 / 0 20 1800 Rare Reptile, Medium Climber, Wall-Walker, Cold-Blooded, Meat-Eater, Temper 1

  • Attacks: Bite (Unarmed; Damage 5; Crit 3; Pierce 2); Tail Whip (Unarmed; Damage 4; Crit 4; Knockdown)

A four-legged lizard the length of a wagon. Wall-Walker: it climbs rock walls and cavern roofs at Speed 1 with its rider strapped in. Cold-Blooded: in cold it is Speed 1 and will not fight until it has warmed.

Raptor-Runner

Strider, drake-runner, two-legged runner

2 2 13 3 1 / 1 14

3 / 4 / 1 / 3 / 2 / 1 40 5000 Rare Reptile, Light Racing Gait, Swift, Leaper, Meat-Eater, Temper 2

  • Attacks: Raking Kick (Unarmed; Damage 5; Crit 4); Snap Bite (Unarmed; Damage 4; Crit 4)

A flightless, two-legged reptile built like a running dragon without wings: a long counterbalancing tail, clawed forelimbs held against the chest, and a horned head carried above a horseman's. The saddle sits at the base of the neck. Racing Gait: once a round on open ground it moves three range bands with one maneuver.

Terror Bird

Axebeak, striding bird, moa

2 2 11 1 1 / 1 12

3 / 4 / 1 / 2 / 2 / 1 40 1500 Rare Avian, Light Swift, Sprinter, Temper 2

  • Attacks: Beak (Unarmed; Damage 5; Crit 3; Pierce 1); Kick (Unarmed; Damage 4; Crit 4; Knockdown)

A flightless bird taller than a rider, with a beak like an axe. It is the fastest thing on two legs over open ground and has the sense of a chicken.

Giant Spider

Riding spider, web-strider

2 2 14 3 1 / 1 14

3 / 3 / 1 / 3 / 2 / 0 25 4000 Rare None Wall-Walker, Horse Terror, Bonded Only, Meat-Eater

  • Attacks: Venom Bite (Unarmed; Damage 5; Crit 4; Poison 2); Web Shot (Ranged; Damage 0; Crit —; Short; Ensnare 2)

A spider the size of a horse, ridden in a high-cantled saddle strapped behind the head. It walks up walls and across ceilings. Everything else's mount hates it.

Riding Hare

Giant rabbit, hopper, long-ears

1 2 8 0 1 / 1 6

2 / 4 / 1 / 2 / 1 / 1 30 300 Common None Small Mount, Leaper, Swift, Temper 1

  • Attacks: Kick (Unarmed; Damage 3; Crit 5)

A rabbit the size of a large dog, bred for small riders. It covers ground in long bounds and can be picked up and put in a cart when the road gets bad. It carries no one of ordinary size at all.

Great Cat

Sabre cat, riding panther, war lion

2 2 14 3 1 / 0 14

4 / 4 / 1 / 3 / 3 / 1 25 6000 Rare Feline, Light Battle-Trained, Pounce, Stalker, Horse Terror, Bonded Only, Meat-Eater

  • Attacks: Claws (Unarmed; Damage 6; Crit 3; Vicious 1); Bite (Unarmed; Damage 6; Crit 3; Pierce 1)

A cat the size of a horse. Pounce: when it charges, its rider's charge bonus applies to its own Claws attack as well. Stalker: it moves silently and adds 2 Boon Dice to Stealth checks made while mounted on it at a walk.

Mammoth

Woolly elephant, tundra giant

3 1 26 6 0 / 0 70

5 / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 1 15 15000 Rare Pachyderm, Medium Draft 4, Platform, Cold-Bred, Horse Terror, Panic Stampede

  • Attacks: Tusk Sweep (Unarmed; Damage 8; Crit 3; Knockdown, Blast 3); Trample (Unarmed; Damage 8; Crit 3; against Prone targets)

An elephant of the cold, larger and shaggier, with tusks three metres long. Northern peoples who have them build a house on each one's back.

Rhinoceros

War rhino, horned behemoth

3 2 22 6 0 / 0 30

5 / 2 / 1 / 2 / 3 / 0 20 9000 Rare Pachyderm, Medium Shock Mount, Armoured Hide, Poor Sight, Temper 3

  • Attacks: Horn (Unarmed; Damage 8; Crit 3; Pierce 3, Knockdown)

Two tonnes that charge at what they cannot see properly. It is ridden by very few and stopped by fewer. Poor Sight: add 2 Bane Dice to its rider's ranged attacks and to Perception checks made from its back.

Giant Tortoise

Shell-walker, caravan tortoise

3 1 24 7 0 / 0 80

5 / 1 / 1 / 2 / 3 / 1 8 7000 Rare None Platform, Armoured Hide, Slow, Steady, Enduring, Withdraw

  • Attacks: Bite (Unarmed; Damage 5; Crit 4)

A tortoise the size of a cottage, with a platform or a pavilion bolted to its shell. It is the slowest mount in the book and the safest. Withdraw: as an action it pulls in its head and legs; it cannot move, and attacks against it add 2 Bane Dice.