Horseman of Famine
The Horsemen
The Four Horsemen are primeval incarnations of ideas. They are neither celestial nor fiend, neither good nor evil, but serve as inevitable and eternal forces of balance and neutrality throughout the cosmos. Although the carnage and destruction that they bring is often viewed as “evil,” by the casual observer, the wake of conquest, war, famine, and death is often what upsets the systems of privilege and oppression, bringing down the mighty from their thrones, and lifting up the lowly. In fact, it is often by surviving the hardships wrought by a Horseman that some individuals come to know redemption. A Horseman does not discriminate; it does not know mercy, but neither does it not know malice. Whether by intention or by chance, the ravages of the Horsemen are often the closest thing to “justice” that a cruel and sinful world will ever know.
Eternal Enigmas. The Horsemen often appear in the form of humanoid creatures astride mighty steeds; however, these are simply manifestations of ideas, and the true essence of a Horseman is as old and terrible as the idea it represents. The Four Horseman are truly fearsome to behold in combat, and if they ride into battle together, they are a nigh unstoppable force. However, even if one of them is isolated and defeated, its death is not permanent. As long as Conquest, War, Famine, and Death exist in the world, there will always be manifestations of these ideas; there will always be Horsemen.
Servants of the Seals. The Horsemen are magically bound to the Scroll of the Seven Seals. If a creature uses its action to break the seals, the Horsemen are released into the world, they unquestioningly follow the instructions of the creature that released them. Luckily, an ancient prophecy foretells that “only the Son of Man, firstborn of the virgin, who became sin and died by human hands” can open the scroll and read its contents.
Famine
“There was a black horse. It’s rider held a pair of
scales... saying, ‘a quart of wheat for a day’s pay,
and three quarts of barley for a day’s pay...’”
-Revelation 6:5
The Great Equalizer. There is perhaps no greater force of balance than Famine. No nation is immune to its ravages, and the effects of Famine are felt alike by plant and animal, rich and poor, slave and free person. Famine is the smallest of the four Horsemen, usually appearing as a diminutive and unassuming human riding on a small dark horse. Famine appears in fine clothing that is somewhat weathered, with features that are neither male nor female, symbolic of how famine and hardship affect all people, regardless of status or gender. A tattoo of shifting, blue ink covers the right side of Famine’s body, changing to appear in the language of the reader, and always spelling out “A quart of wheat for a day’s pay...”
Famine’s Tactics. Wherever Famine goes, a desolate wasteland follows. Moving calmly and inevitably, Famine travels alone. When engaged in combat, Famine will try to keep enemies at a distance and use spells to bring destruction to large areas at once.
Horseman of Famine
Large Enigma, Neutral
Armor Class: 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points: 238 (19d8 + 152)
Speed: 60 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 (+0) | 11 (+1) | 27 (+8) | 20 (+5) | 25 (+7) | 28 (+9) |
Saving Throws: Con +15, Wis +12, Cha +16
Skills: Insight +14, Nature +12, Survival +14
Damage Resistances: bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities: psychic
Condition Immunities: charmed, exhaustion, frightened, poisoned.
Senses: truesight 120 ft., passive perception 17
Languages: the languages of the creature that possesses the most material wealth within 120 feet.
Challenge: 24 (62,000 XP) Proficiency: +7
Features
Aura of Famine: An aura extends from the Horseman for 240 feet in all directions. All plants in this area with fewer than 10 hit points are instantly killed. All remaining plants have their hit point maximum halved.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day): If the Horseman fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Limited Magical Immunity: Unless it wishes to be affected, the Horseman is immune to spells of 3rd level or lower. It has advantage on saving throws against all other spells and magical effects.
Mounted Rider: The rider and its horse are treated as one creature, and the rider cannot be dismounted against its will. If the horseman chooses to dismount, both the rider and horse continue to share hit points, stats, and a telepathic link.
Relentless: If the Horseman takes 20 damage or less that would reduced it to 0 hit points, it is reduced to 1 hit point instead.
Scales of Famine: The Scales of Famine allow the Horseman to cast more spells than its spell slots would normally allow (included in its Spellcasting ability below)
Actions
Spellcasting: The Horseman is a 20th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Charisma (+15 to hit, DC 23), and it has the following spells prepared.
At will: poison spray, resistance, thorn whip
1st level (4 slots): fog cloud, ray of sickness, shield
2nd level (4 slots): blindness/deafness
3rd level (4 slots): counterspell, dispel magic, fear*
4th level (4 slots): blight, dimension door
5th level (4 slots): contagion, insect plague*
6th level (3 slots): disintegrate, harm, wall of thorns*
7th level (2 slots): fire storm, teleport
8th level (2 slots): control weather*, earthquake
9th level (1 slot): foresight
*This spell requires concentration
Legendary Actions
The Horseman can take 3 Legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The Horseman regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Cantrip: The Horseman casts a cantrip.
Spell (Costs 2 Actions): The Horseman casts a spell of 4th level or lower.
Move (Costs 2 Actions): The Horseman shimmers as though being seen through a heat wave, and may move up to half its speed. While moving in this way, the Horseman does not provoke opportunity attacks, and can move through creatures and objects as though they are difficult terrain.
Reactions
Blighted Rebuke: If the Horseman takes damage from a spell, it immediately summons Twig Blights, which rise from the ground in unoccupied spaces within 10 feet of the Horseman. The number of Twig Blights summoned is equal to the level of the spell that dealt damage to the Horseman. The Twig Blights are hostile to the creature that cast the spell, and indifferent to all other creatures.
Azrael's Guide to the Apocalypse, printed pages 204, 207.