Shardhoof - A customizable mount that levels with your party! (Patreon)

This is a long overdue reward for hitting $1k/month! We've been working on this for some time, ever since @Cryomancer suggested a fractal horse in the Discord server and it won the subsequent poll. It took a bit to figure out how the leveling system would work for this dynamic companion, and we hope it works well! If you end up using it in your games, please let us know how it plays. All feedback is welcome.

Thank you all so much for your support and thank you to all of the patrons who submitted their mount ideas!

Cheers,
August & Tom, The Dungeon Strugglers

Shardhoof

The shardhoof is the incomplete remnant of an ancient being, brought back to life. Although its body and purpose have been shattered and lost to time, some form of sentience within the shards lingers. The shardhoof is capable of rebuilding itself by assimilating lost shards. Each fragment of its body that is recovered grows the shardhoof’s abilities. Perhaps it is possible to fully rebuild the shardhoof by discovering all of the lost shards…
    Rebuilding the Shardhoof. The shardhoof is able to assimilate lost pieces of itself into its body to regain some of its power and unique abilities. When the shardhoof is within 100 feet of a lost shard, the shard begins to glow and the shardhoof is alerted of its presence and location. It can spend 10 minutes in contact with a shard to integrate it and gain the shard’s unique power. The shardhoof’s incomplete form is not powerful enough to assimilate more than three shards at a time. Any attempt to assimilate a fourth shard fails; the shardhoof must expel a shard first. The fragments of the shardhoof’s body are made from a strange metal that appears to be indestructible, which makes it a mystery as to how the body was shattered.
    Shattered Mind. In its broken state, the shardhoof is not a fully sentient creature. It lacks its memories, purpose, and the full power of its former form. The shardhoof seeks to find and assimilate the lost shards of itself, but it will require the help of adventurous companions to do so. It usually acts in a horse-like manner, and other times it simply obeys orders like a mindless construct. Rarely however, it behaves in a manner that suggests its true nature is something much more than horse or automaton. When it assimilates new shards, unique quirks of its former character may emerge that reflect a fragment of personality contained within the shard.
    Bonded Rider. The shardhoof is receptive to the companionship of other creatures, and will allow a creature that has bonded with it to become its rider. If a creature spends a short rest with the shardhoof and succeeds on a DC 10 Wisdom (Animal Handling) check, the shardhoof will form a bond with that creature. On a failed check, a creature must wait 24 hours before attempting the check again, and the DC increases by 2 each time. The shardhoof will only allow bonded creatures to ride it and will buck any other creature.
    Combat Companion. The shardhoof is friendly to bonded creatures and will obey their commands. When ridden, the shardhoof acts as a controlled mount. It takes its turn simultaneously with its rider and can use any action provided on its stat block or granted to it by shards it has assimilated, in addition to the Dash, Disengage, and Dodge actions. When the shardhoof is not being ridden, it has its own initiative. It can move and use its reaction on its own, but the only action it takes on its turn is the Dodge action, unless a bonded creature that can see or hear the shardhoof takes a bonus action on its turn to command the shardhoof to take another action. The shardhoof follows that command on its next turn.

Usage Guide for GMs

The shardhoof is a companion and mount for your players, as well as an adventure hook generator. It has the capacity to grow and increase in power alongside the player characters. I recommend giving it to the players early in the campaign. The shardhoof grows in power by integrating Shards of Power, lost pieces of itself, into its body. With each additional shard, its statistics dynamically grow based on its proficiency bonus. Each shard is a wondrous item with its own rarity from Uncommon to Legendary. The rarity of each shard is a rough guideline for when to give it to players (1-4 for Uncommon, 5-10 for Rare, 11-16 for Very Rare, 17-20 for Legendary). Of course, you can choose to dole out shards when you deem fit. For example, before the players enter an aquatic region it would be appropriate to receive the Shard of the Hippocamp. How you incorporate the lore of the shardhoof and its shards into your world is your choice. Whether the shards are lost fragments of the shardhoof’s true ancient, powerful form or gradual upgrades by an inventive arcanist, is up to you. Shards can be included in random loot drops such as a dragon’s hoard, created by an inventor ally, gifted by a magical patron, or quested for individually. I recommend including lower-level shards in regular loot drops throughout your campaign, and reserving the legendary shards for unique adventures.

Here are a few quest hook ideas for how you can integrate the lost Shards of Power into your campaign:

1. A horned devil named Zabasuu is using the Shard of the Nightmare as a dagger. The players must venture into hell to retrieve this shard.
2. The Shard of the Kelpie has embedded itself like a splinter into the bare foot of an unwitting villager, turning them into a horrible river-dwelling monster that has been drowning travelers.
3. A powerful wizard is using the Shard of the Unicorn as a wand. He tasks the party with the humiliation of his wizardly rival in exchange for his treasured arcane focus.
4. The Shard of Sleipnir is stuck in the beard of a frost giant.
5. The leader of a tribe of nomadic horse-riding raiders is using the Shard of the Warhorse as the point for his lance. He will relinquish it if he is bested in a duel.
6. The Shard of the Hippocamp is in the hoard of a dragon turtle, deep in an underwater cave system.
7. A poor farmer has been using the Shard of the Mule to empower his old workhorse and carry his produce to market. When worn as a bit, the workhorse can carry much more than usual. Without a reliable workhorse, the farmer won’t be able to support his family.
8. The Shard of the Pegasus is lost in the elemental plane of air. A djinni may be able to help the players find it, for a price.

Khiimori, the Wind Horse. If the players find all 10 Shards of Power, the shardhoof is able to become whole once more. The shardhoof is actually a demigod called Khiimori, the Wind Horse. Khiimori is the king of horses, rider of the winds of fortune, and the celestial steed of Qisma, the god of fate. If Khiimori is reformed, he will remember his time as the shardhoof, as well as his past life, but cannot recall the event that sundered his body and mind. How he treats the player characters once he is reformed will be a reflection of how they treated him when he was broken. Khiimori has a generous spirit and, unless he was used for evil, he will feel indebted to the player characters for repairing him. He is unlikely to allow the players to ride him once he has returned to godhood, unless their bond is great enough, however; he may aid the players as a powerful NPC patron. Khiimori has a new stat block once he is reformed.

Design Notes.
CR calculation at each level of shard assimilation, not including the unique effects of the shards:
0 Shards  | CR ¼ | PB 2 | 30 HP(4d10)   | AC 13 | Hooves: +4 to hit, 7(2d4+2) dmg
1 Shard    | CR 2  | PB 4 | 50 HP(8d10)   | AC 15 | Hooves: +6 to hit, 9(2d4+4) dmg
2 Shards  | CR 3  | PB 6 | 70 HP(12d10) | AC 17 | Hooves: +8 to hit, 11(2d4+6) dmg
3 Shards  | CR 5  | PB 8 | 90 HP(16d10) | AC 19 | Hooves: +10 to hit, 13(2d4+8) dmg

Shards of Power

Each shard of power is a wondrous magic item with a unique rarity. There are ten shards in total. The shardhoof can assimilate up to three shards at a time into its body to gain the shard’s power. The shardhoof can only assimilate one shard of legendary rarity at a time.

Uncommon

Shard of the Mule
Wondrous item, uncommon

While the shardhoof has this shard integrated, it has the following traits:

• Beast of Burden. The shardhoof counts as one size larger when determining its carrying capacity and the weight it can push, drag, or lift.
• Sure-Footed. The shardhoof has advantage on ability checks and saving throws to resist being knocked prone or moved against its will.

Rare

Shard of the Hippocamp
Wondrous item, rare

While the shardhoof has this shard integrated, it has a swimming speed equal to its walking speed and it can take the following bonus action on its turn:

• Confer Breath. The shardhoof grants one bonded creature within 60 feet of it the ability to breathe underwater. This effect ends if the creature moves more than 60 feet from the shardhoof or if this boon is granted to another creature.

Shard of the Kelpie
Wondrous item, rare

While the shardhoof has this shard integrated, it can take the following actions on its turn:

• Confer Charm Resistance. The shardhoof grants advantage on saving throws against being charmed to one bonded creature within 60 feet of it. This effect ends if the creature moves more than 60 feet from the shardhoof or if this boon is granted to another creature.
• Hypnosis (1/day). The shardhoof chooses one creature it can see within 30 feet of it. If the target can see the shardhoof, the target must succeed on a DC 10 + PB Wisdom saving throw or be magically charmed for 1 minute, or until the shardhoof loses its concentration (as if concentrating on a spell). While charmed by this effect, the creature is incapacitated and has a speed of 0. The effect ends for the creature if it takes any damage or if someone else uses an action to shake the creature out of its stupor.

Shard of the Qianlima
Wondrous item, rare

While the shardhoof has this shard integrated, it has a walking speed of 100 feet.

Very Rare

Shard of Barding
Wondrous item, very rare

While the shardhoof has this shard integrated, it has a bonus to its AC equal to half its PB. Additionally, it can take the following bonus action on its turn:

• Confer Protection. The shardhoof grants 1d4 + PB temporary hit points to one creature riding it. The temporary hit points fade if another creature receives this protection, or the creature dismounts.

Shard of the Pegasus
Wondrous item, very rare

While the shardhoof has this shard integrated, it has a flying speed equal to its walking speed.

Shard of the Warhorse
Wondrous item, very rare

While the shardhoof has this shard integrated, it has the following trait:

• Trampling Charge. If the shardhoof moves at least 20 feet straight toward a creature and then hits it with a Hooves attack on the same turn, that target must succeed on a DC 10 + PB Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If the target is prone, the shardhoof can make another attack with its Hooves against it as a bonus action.

Legendary

The shardhoof can only integrate one legendary shard at a time.

Shard of the Nightmare
Wondrous item, legendary

While the shardhoof has this shard integrated, it has the following traits:

• Fire Immunity. The shardhoof is immune to fire damage.
• Confer Fire Resistance. The shardhoof grants resistance to fire damage to anyone riding it.
• Flaming Strikes. The shardhoof’s Hooves attack deals an additional 2d6 fire damage to any target it hits. Additionally, when a creature mounts the shardhoof, it can ignite the creature’s weapons. The creature’s melee weapon attacks deal an additional 1d6 fire damage to any target it hits. This effect ends if the shardhoof grants it to another creature, or the creature dismounts.

Shard of Sleipnir
Wondrous item, legendary

While the shardhoof has this shard integrated, it can take the following actions on its turn:

• Magic Resistance. The shardhoof has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
• Spellcasting. The shardhoof casts one of the following spells, requiring no material components. (spell save DC: 10 + PB):

At will: light, resistance (rider only), spare the dying

1/day each: thunder step, warding bond (rider only, ends if rider dismounts), water walk

Shard of the Unicorn
Wondrous item, legendary

While the shardhoof has this shard integrated, it can take the following actions on its turn:

• Multiattack. The shardhoof makes two attacks: one with its Hooves and one with its Horn.
• Horn. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 plus PB to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d8 plus PB force damage.
• Healing Touch (3/Day). The shardhoof touches another creature with its horn. The target magically regains 2d8 + PB hit points. In addition, the touch removes all diseases and neutralizes all poisons afflicting the target.