The Strange Bestiary
The Honorary Order of Dlamma Riders is composed mostly of qephilim. Dlamma riders have an adventuring company charter from the Queendom of Hazurrium, though their explorations usually take them far beyond Ardeyn's edges into the dark energy network of the Strange itself.
Dlamma riders sometimes act as couriers, but they're best known for exploration. The horizon has snagged their hearts, and they're not happy unless they're traveling someplace new, searching for a lost qephilim city, a never-before-used beacon in the Chaosphere, or the shattered ruins of some other prime world. In Ardeyn, popular songs describe in haunting stanzas how dlamma riders risk everything just to see what no one has seen before.
Of course, a rider isn't much without her dlamma. For a dlamma to submit to be ridden requires a great bond of trust, which is a rare and precious thing. But once the bond is formed, rider and dlamma act as a single creature while together.
If a rider is knocked from her dlamma mount, she is a level 4 creature with health 12, Armor 1, and a long-range attack that deals 6 points of damage.
Motive: Exploration
Environment (Ardeyn | Magic): In remote regions of Ardeyn or the Strange
Health: 42
Damage Inflicted: Moderate wound (6 points)
Armor: 2
Movement: Short; long while flying
Modifications: Perception, Ardeyn lore, knowledge of the Strange, and Strange navigation as level 7.
Combat: During the same round in which a rider attacks with her melee weapon, the dlamma mount can attack with its hooves, for a total of two attacks; treat them as a single action.
However, most foes never make it that close to a dlamma rider. At the same time that the rider directs long-range attacks at foes with a rune staff that fires bolts of magic lightning (6 points), a dlamma can speak a Word of Smiting, which inflicts a moderate wound (6 points) on up to three targets within long range.
A dlamma rider also benefits from her dlamma's knowledge of other words of power, including words used to heal (for either rider or dlamma, restores 2 points of health each round for one minute), create shelter, and produce other useful effects.
A rider usually has a few useful cyphers in combat.
Interaction: While dlammas encountered alone are famously standoffish, a dlamma rider is more exuberant and talkative, especially if a character has news of a location where the rider has never been.
Use: A dlamma rider, sans her mount, offers an amazing reward to anyone who can help track down her missing dlamma.
Loot: A dlamma rider usually has a couple of cyphers gathered from her explorations.
GM Intrusion: The dlamma utters a Word of Vanishing, and every character within long range who fails an Intellect defense roll becomes unable to sense the dlamma or its rider for one minute.