Mounts & Vehicles

Lightning Rail

Wayfarer Experimental Steam Carriage

Speed: Medium Movement: Normal

Armor: 4/5 Might: 1/5

Value: 5,000 gp

Capacity: Eight Medium-Sized Beings

Abilities: Juggernaut, Temperamental, Animated

Sporting a giant magical boiler, a large cab, and four heavy-duty wheels, the Wayfarer carriage is an experimental fusion of magical and mechanical ingenuity capable of traveling up cliffs, through bogs, and over mountains. The heart of the Wayfarer is a powerful magical engine that grants the carriage its unusual properties, including a rudimentary level of animation that gives it the ability to move on its own and communicate in a language of mechanical squeaks.

This engine can be dangerous and unpredictable if not maintained, but even more troublesome is its tendency to attract imps and fiends, who will sabotage the carriage in order to claim the engine for themselves. These carriages have space for luggage, loot, and equipment, and most experienced Wayfarer drivers make sure to bring along spare parts. The carriage has a reputation for breaking down, refusing to move, or even partially exploding if not maintained. The carriage itself is immune to most non-magical damage, but is terrified of dragons.

Ways to Acquire: Wayfarer carriages can only be built by the most talented and wealthy craft guilds. To acquire one, a customer must bring a qualified guild a large quantity of meteoric metal, which is used to craft the engine.

Abilities:

Juggernaut: This vehicle ignores rough or difficult terrain when calculating the distance traveled. It also has the ability to move up or down cliff faces, mountainsides, and other sheer surfaces, even if gravity would normally cause it to fall. It is immune to most non-magical damage.

Temperamental: If this vehicle’s engine, boiler, or other parts are not cleaned, repaired, or replaced by a qualified craftsperson or mage every 5 days, it may refuse to move, try to escape its owner, or even explode.

Animated: This vehicle is animated, and may move of its own will. It has its own personality, desires, and thoughts, and may try to communicate with others, but its mechanical speech can only be understood by an artificer or equivalent class.