Baneful Steed
Hit Points 25 +2d6
DV1 / DV2 3 / 3
Attack Value 3
# Attacks 1 or 1
Weapon Type Bite or Kick
Damage 1d4 or 1d8
Saving Throws 12+
Speed Walk (2) / Run (6)
A baneful steed is a decaying horse that stands nearly five feet at the shoulder and weighs only 300 pounds. The creature has leprous skin that is rotting on its skeletal frame. Its eyes are dull red. They are capable of carrying two hundred pounds without hindrance. They have undead sight with a 60-foot range.
As undead, these creatures are immune to fear, disease, poison, and mind-affecting spells. They do not require air, sleep, or sustenance. They are mindless, evil, and focused on the destruction of all living things. They can maintain their maximum running speed indefinitely. Exposure to direct sunlight causes a baneful steed 1 point of damage per minute.
A baneful steed can employ one of two attacks per combat minute. First, they can bite a victim standing in front of it. This bite inflicts 1d4 damage and has a 75% chance of inflicting the victim with the disease necromasia. The victim is entitled to a saving throw vs. disease (-1) to avoid the affliction. Or, the monster may choose to kick a creature standing behind it. The kick inflicts 1d8 damage.
Baneful steeds are similar to zombies in that they suffer one-half damage from blunt weapons. They also emit a fetid odor that frightens animals with 15 or fewer hit points, causing them to flee. There is no save against this fear. Humanoids with 15 or fewer hit points are entitled to a saving throw vs. poison or suffer a -1 AV penalty for 1d2 hours.
Baneful steeds are usually the creations of necromancers. They can serve as steeds for lich kings and other powerful undead beings. They thrive in areas of darkness.