#heresholl

The closest thing I have to a "regret" regarding a commission was the heresholl, which I had misinterpreted the request. I thought it was supposed to be a riff on the concept of a "hell horse", rather than a conversion of a specific "hell horse" monster from Arduin. I've since made the hell horse as well.

“The Amazon” © Alexandre Chaudret, accessed at his ArtStation here

[Commissioned by @crazytrain48​, from a single sentence in the Arduin Grimoires. It is mentioned that hell maidens ride “hell horses”, and the commissioner requested that I made them undead to distinguish them from nightmares. I found this image while searching for art for that commission, and fell in love with it.

Edit: As explained in the hell horse entry, I had missed that the hell horse actually had statistics in Arduin, and made up my own creature based on the name. So this is “loosely inspired” by Arduin, but I still quite like the critter.]

Heresholl CR 5 LE Undead This hideous creature resembles nothing so much as an oversized skull the size of a small horse, six spindly legs of shadow emerging from its undercarriage.

Giants tend towards the insular and clannish, and evil giants more so than usual. When an evil giant betrays its clan, it may be cursed by the leaders of its tribe and be forced in life to physically support the tribe in a way they did not spiritually or metaphorically. These creatures are heresholls—giants use them as beasts of burden, and fiends use them as mounts. The body of a heresholl atrophies, the skull swells, and a bevy of insect-like legs emerge from the hole left behind by the spinal column. Although they are not naturally native to the Lower Planes, they are often carried there by devils, sahkils or other evil outsiders, who often accept them as payment from giant spellcasters using planar ally and similar spells.

Heresholls are grimly servile to giants, and even a giant without magical gifts can order them around with relative impunity. As such, heresholls enjoy taking their frustrations out on smaller and weaker creatures. Their primary attack is a savagely strong bite, but they can run over enemies with their skittering, clawed legs. Creatures trampled repeatedly are slowly paralyzed, their muscles stiffening—these victims are often left alive to be sacrificed, eaten or otherwise tormented.

Most heresholls seek to leave the service of giants, and they eagerly seek out evil outsiders to whisk them away. They prefer those with lawful temperaments, but are rarely choosy enough to turn down a demon, daemon or sahkil. If left to their own devices, heresholls will collect treasure to remind them of the pleasures they once indulged in in life. Their treasures may be so only to a creature with a giant’s psychology—these may include any odds and ends that might be found in a giant’s bag.