Sandraksiva

__NOTOC__
While accompanying Prince Surtava on his search for enlightenment, Gaumahavi (see her entry) bore a litter of cubs. Like its mother, one of those cubs developed an animal soul and began a series of reincarnations. That cub was Sandiraksiva.
Currently, the cub's enchanted soul inhabits the body of a supernatural black stallion. Unfortunately for Sandiraksiva, this fact has not eluded the Raja of Solon, Ambuchar Devayam. The Raja captured Sandiraksiva and used him to coerce his mother, Gaumahavi, into aiding him in the first war between Solon and Ra-Khati. During that war, Sandiraksiva was captured by the Dalai Lama, who had no idea of the stallion's true nature. Since then, the magnificent horse has remained imprisoned in the Dalai Lama's citadel.
As his great size might suggest, Sandiraksiva is exceptionally strong, and he can carry or pull as much as any two normal draft horses. He is also extremely fast, and can easily outrun even the fleetest riding horse. Unlike most horses, he has split hooves and can climb the rocky environment of the Katakoro Mountains with ease.
==Combat==
Sandiraksiva is not aggressive by nature, but will fight tenaciously for his freedom. In combat, he uses his forehooves to lash out, and will resort to his breath weapon when pressed.
In addition to his great strength, Sandiraksiva has several special abilities. Every other round, he can fly up to 800 yards (then he must pause and rest for a round). His most potent weapon is the fireball he can breathe once per day for 5d6 points of damage (save vs. breath weapon for half damage).
Because of his enchanted nature, Sandiraksiva cannot be hurt by anything short of magic or magical weapons of +1 or better.
==Habitat/Society==
Although he would prefer to graze the high altitude meadows and tundra lands of the Katakoro Mountains, Sandiraksiva has been imprisoned by either the Raja of Solon or the Dalai Lama for the last 50 years.
During most of this adventure, he will be confined to an immense iron cage that has been sealed to prevent tampering. This cage cannot be damaged by anything except magic or magical weapons, has been wizard locked and trapped with a glyph of warding by the Dalai Lama himself, and has been especially enchanted so that the entire structure acts as a ring of spell turning— with the addition that it is 75% likely the entire spell will rebound on the caster (see the description for the ring of spell turning in the Dungeon Master's Guide).
Once out of the cage, Sandiraksiva will attempt to assemble a brood of mares. He will not tolerate the presence of any other stallions in this herd.
==Ecology==
Like most horses, Sandiraksiva eats grass, grains, hay, and the like. However, the Black Courser's supernatural strength, speed, and powers are energized by the light of the moon. If he is not exposed to moonlight for a substantial period each night, he begins to lose his strength. This loss corresponds roughly to the amount of moonlight he missed. For example, a 30% reduction in exposure results in a 30% loss of movement, damage, flight capability, etc. On totally moonless nights he lapses into complete inactivity, but since he knows when they will be, takes precautions beforehand, when possible. Strength is recovered in 1d6 rounds as soon as he returns to full moonlight.
Category:NPCs
Category:Storm Riders NPCs