The dark horse bears an imposing rider dressed all in black, with a long cloak billowing behind its tall, lean form. The hood pulled over the rider’s ashen face barely shrouds the two hateful eyes burning back at you.
Night-Born Rider CR 3
Night Rider illustration by Russ Nicholson (?) copyright © 1980. Used without permission.
Always LE Medium humanoid (evil, extraplanar, lawful, night-born rider)
Init +3; Senses scent, see in darkness; Listen +2, Spot +7
Aura fear (20 ft., DC 15)
Languages Infernal, Common
AC 17, touch 13, flat-footed 14
(+3 Dex, +4 chainmail shirt)
hp 18 (4 HD)
Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +5
Weakness light sensitivity
Spd 30 ft. (6 squares)
Melee hellcraft heavy mace +5 (1d8+1/hellcraft curse)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +3; Grp +4
Atk Options aligned strike (evil, lawful), hellcraft weapons
Abilities Str 12, Dex 17, Con 11, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 16
Feats Great Fortitude, Mounted Combat, Track b
Skills Intimidate +8, Ride +9, Spot +7, Survival +7
Advancement by character class; Favored Class fighter
Level Adjustment +1
Fear Aura (Su) At the end of each of a night-born rider’s turn, creatures within 20 feet of it must succeed on a DC 15 Will save or be panicked for 7 rounds. The save DC is Charisma-based. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same rider’s aura for 24 hours. Other night-born riders and all devils are immune to the aura.
Hellcraft Weapons (Ex) Each night-born rider is equipped with at least one masterwork weapon (usually a heavy mace or dagger), forged in the Nine Hells and specially attuned to that individual rider. If the weapon deals any damage on a critical hit, a small piece shears off in the wound and embeds beneath the skin. Once per day afterward, the victim must make a successful DC 18 Will saving throw. The DC is determined by the weapon and not the rider. Should the victim fail a save, he will be compelled to seek out and serve the night-born rider who wounded him, as if under the effect of a dominate monster spell (caster level 13th) with permanent duration. Though dispel magic cannot affect this curse, the effect can be broken with a remove curse or break enchantment spell, or if the victim succeeds at a new Will saving throw. Control is also broken if the night-born rider who wounded the victim dies.
Light Sensitivity (Ex) Night-born riders are dazzled in bright sunlight or within the radius of a daylight spell.
See in Darkness (Su) Night-born riders can see perfectly in darkness of any kind, even that created by a deeper darkness spell.
Black-cloaked and-hooded, these grey-skinned humanoids are often accompanied in their quests for dominance by evil humanoids or men who fear the night-born riders more than they fear death itself.
Strategies and Tactics
Night-born riders have eyes that are very sensitive to bright light. If the night-born riders are in bright sunlight or its equivalent, they will try to avoid melee and will prefer to track a party by scent to an area where the lighting is more subdued. Although they are not particularly vulnerable to it, fire is frequently employed by their infernal masters for punishment and conditioning. As such, the night-born riders fear fire and will often retreat before it.
Night-Born Rider Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (the planes) can learn more about night-born riders. When a character makes a successful skill check, the following lore is revealed, including the information from lower DCs.
| DC | Result |
|---|---|
| 13 | This creature is a night-born rider, a humanoid native to the infernal realms. |
| 18 | Night-born riders are servants of the devils and can see in total darkness. |
| 23 | Night-born riders can instill fear in creatures who approach them. |
| 28 | Night-born riders fear fire and are sensitive to bright lights. |
Sample Encounters
When encountered above ground, night-born riders will always have horses with them or close at hand.
Solitary (EL 5): A single mounted night-born rider, accompanied by six hobgoblin guards, hunts for an escaped prisoner.
Band (EL 7 –11): A group of two to nine riders mounted on fiendish heavy warhorses hold a secret council of war deep in a forbidding forest.
Ecology
The riders are said to be descended from an entire race or lineage of men who, in the distant past, were brought by the devils to the Nine Hells—perhaps in fulfillment of an ancient pact or as divine punishment for some great evil. For whatever the original reason, the night-born riders are now specially bred in the Nine Hells as a servitor race.
Environment: Night-born riders are native to the Nine Hells of Baator, though on the Material Plane they dwell in lairs deep in thick forests and will tether their steeds (normally horses or fiendish horses) some distance away. They have been observed underground in tunnel complexes but only very rarely and it seems that they prefer to travel on foot when adventuring underground.
Typical Physical Characteristics: An average night-born rider stands over 6 feet tall and weights over 200 pounds.
Society
Night-bred riders who show promise are dispatched to other planes, where they act as emissaries, messengers, or enforcers to advance the plots of their infernal masters. Night-born riders are not generally given or allowed to have individual names, a purposeful degradation that is part and parcel of the devils’ conditioning regime. Instead, a night-born rider might haltingly refer to itself only as “this servant.”
Alignment: Night-born riders are devoted servants of the Nine Hells and are always lawful evil.
Typical Treasure
Beyond their steeds, armor, and weapon, the riders are not allowed to retain any personal wealth and do not normally keep treasure.
Night-Born Riders as Characters
Night-born rider characters possess the following racial traits.
- +2 Strength, +6 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, +4 Wisdom, +6 Charisma.
- Medium size.
- A night-born rider’s base land speed is 30 feet.
- Racial Hit Dice: A night-born rider begins with four levels of humanoid, which provide 4d8 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +3, and base saving throw bonuses of Fort +1, Ref +1, and Will +3.
- Racial Skills: A night-born rider’s humanoid levels give it skill points equal to 7 x (2 + Int modifier, minimum 1). Its class skills are Intimidate, Ride, Spot, and Survival.
- Racial Feats: A night-born rider’s humanoid levels give it two feats. It also gains Track as a bonus feat.
- Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A night-born rider is automatically proficient with all simple and martial weapons and light armor.
- Attack Options (see above): aligned strike (evil, lawful), fear aura.
- Special Qualities (see above): light sensitivity, scent, see in darkness.
- Automatic Languages: Common, Infernal. Bonus Languages: Goblin, Orc.
- Favored Class: Fighter.
- Level adjustment: +1
Advanced Night-Born Riders
A typical night-born rider champion is detailed below. The champion presented here had the following ability scores before racial adjustments: Str 14, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 14.
Night-Born Champion CR 13
Night-born rider fighter 10
Always LE Medium humanoid (evil, extraplanar, lawful)
Init +6; Senses scent, see in darkness; Listen +1, Spot +8
Aura fear (20 ft, DC 19)
Languages Infernal, Common
AC 22, touch 16, flat-footed 16; Dodge, Mobility
hp 90 (14 HD)
Fort +9, Ref +10, Will +9
Weakness light sensitivity
Spd 30 ft.
Melee +2 hellcraft heavy mace +19/+14/+9 (1d8+7/19-20 hellcraft curse)
Base Atk +13; Grp +16
Atk Options Combat Reflexes, Ride-By Attack, Trample; aligned strike (lawful, evil), hellcraft weapons
Abilities Str 16, Dex 22, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 20
Feats Ability Focus (fear aura), Combat Reflexes b, Dodge, Improved Critical (heavy mace) b, Iron Will, Mobility, Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack b, Track b, Trample b, Weapon Focus (heavy mace) b, Weapon Specialization (heavy mace) b
Skills Handle Animal +15, Intimidate +19, Ride +21, Spot +8, Survival +8
Possessions +2 hellcraft heavy mace, +2 chain shirt