The Beast-Riders are a unique plains tribe that lives on the southern plains just north of the Shao Yan. In many ways, the Beast-Riders (as they are known by common Alciryans) are very similar to the barbarians of the Sebaste, in fact their lineage is part and parcel, the same. However, the Beast-Riders have adapted to a completely different environment, that of the plains. To do so, the Riders, long ago, developed a special kinship with the horse, a native to the broad expanse of the Alciryan plains. Hundreds of years have passed and the once close bond has turned to something more, a blending of spirits in the physical and spiritual worlds. Beast-Riders rarely interact with ‘normal’ society… they find a special kinship/rivalry with Sebastites (brotherly, they even share the same tradition of tattooing their bodies, though they are different symbols) that brings them as much adversity as it does assistance. With Xanthios, they are beholding to the ages-old tradition of offering up their young women to train the
Templar's Equerries… though their current leader, Fin Protain the Light Bearer, has made it known is no longer pleased with the arrangements.
Role
In his own society, the Beast-Rider is the elite warrior, and he commands a lot of respect among his own kind. Outside his tribal grounds, however, he's very definitely an outsider. His barbarian mannerisms and his obvious and very unusual friendship with his animal set him apart from most societies. Because of this, the Beast-Rider may become especially attached to the other player-characters (if they treat him as an equal and not a freak), even if he'd never admit it to them.
Distinctive Appearance
None
Special Benefits
The Beast-Rider has an amazing rapport with horses. The Beast-Rider gets a +5 positive reaction adjustment whenever dealing with horses. He finds it easy to make friends with them; on a die-roll result of 9 or less (on the "Hostile" column of the Encounter Reactions Table, Dungeon Master's Guide page 103), he can even persuade attacking animals of this sort to leave him and his allies alone.
Additionally, the Beast-Rider begins play in the campaign with a horse as his personal friend and mount. This animal is devoted to him and will risk (or even sacrifice) its own life to save the character; and the character is expected to behave the same way toward his mount.
The Beast-Rider has a telepathic rapport with his horse. When in contact or visual line of sight with his horse, he can tell what the beast is feeling, even thinking if it has some intelligence; he and the animal can communicate with one another without appearing to. When the two are not within line of sight with one another, each will know the other's emotional state and whether or not the other is hurt; each will know the direction to travel to find his friend, and the approximate distance (a hundred yards, an hour's travel, several days' travel, for instance).
If the horse ever dies, the Beast-Rider can choose another horse of the same type as his companion. However, the DM must include this situation as part of the campaign story: The character must seek out another such animal, and may only be satisfied with the healthiest, strongest, greatest horse that can be found, then there must be some sort of bonding ritual between beast and man (for example, a physical combat where the human must be able to saddle and ride the animal in spite of its spirited attempts to throw him). Only then can the character have his new mount.
Special Hindrances
As mentioned earlier, the Beast-Rider is out of place in most societies. He takes a –3 negative reaction adjustment when meeting NPCs from any culture but his own. (The player-characters do not have to be hostile to the Beast-Rider if they do not wish, however.)
Should the Beast-Rider's mount ever die, whether it's in the Beast-Rider's presence or far away, the Beast-Rider immediately takes 2d6 points of damage and must make a saving throw vs. spells. If he fails the saving throw, he behaves as if he were a magic-user hit with feeblemind for the next 2d6 hours. Even if he makes the saving throw, the player should role-play the character's reactions—he's just felt, through their telepathic link, the death of his beloved friend, after all.
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