Pegasus

This magnificent horse has great bird-like wings upon its back and moves with a quiet and proud grace.

The pegasi are magnificent winged horses that sometimes serves the cause of good. Though highly prized as aerial steeds, pegasi are wild and shy creatures not easily tamed.

Pegasus was a winged horse that was the son of Poseidon, and the Gorgon Medusa. There are two versions of the winged stallion’s birth and his brother the giant, Chrysaor. * One is that they sprang from Medusa’s neck as Perseus beheaded her, a “higher” birth, like the birth of Athena from the head of Zeus.

* Another says that they were born of the Earth as Medusa’s blood spilled onto it, in which case Poseidon would not be their sire. A variation on this story holds that they were formed from the mingling of Medusa’s blood and the sea foam, thus including Poseidon in their making.

Athena caught and tamed Pegasus, and presented him to the Muses at Parnassus. After he became the horse of the Muses, he was at the service of the poets. Pegasus aided the hero Bellerophon, who is a double in some way for Perseus, in his fight against both the Chimera and the Amazons. The hero was told by Polyidus to sleep in the temple of Athena, where the goddess visited him in the night and presented him with a golden bridle. The next morning, still clutching the bridle, he found Pegasus drinking at the Pierian spring. When the steed saw the bridle, he approached Bellerophon and allowed him to ride. Bellerophon slew the Chimaera on Pegasus’ back, and then tried to ride the winged horse to the top of Mount Olympus to see the gods. However, Zeus sent down a gadfly to sting Pegasus, causing Bellerophon to fall all the way back to Earth on the Plain of Aleion (“Wandering”), where he lived out his life in misery as a blinded cripple. Afterward, Pegasus found sanctuary on the sacred mountain, where he carried Zeus‘ thunderbolts and was ridden by Eos, the goddess of dawn. In his later life, Pegasus took a mate, Euippe. This family is the origin of the winged horses. Pegasus was not immortal. On the last day of his life, Zeus transformed him into a constellation.

The pegasus is a magnificent winged horse that sometimes serves the cause of good. Though highly prized as aerial steeds, pegasi are wild and shy creatures not easily befriended. A typical pegasus stands 6 feet high at the shoulder, weighs 1,500 pounds, and has a wingspan of 20 feet. Most pegasi are white, though occasionally one is hatched with conventional horse colors and markings.

Pegasus
Large magical beast
Rarity	Very Rare
Hit Dice	4d10+12 (34 hp)
Initiative	+2
Speed	60 ft. (12 squares), Fly 120 ft. (average)
Armor Class	14 (-1 size, +2 Dexterity, +3 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 12
BaseAttack/Grapple	+4/+12
Attack	Hoof +7 melee (1d6+4)
Full Attack	2 hooves +7 melee (1d6+4) and bite +2 melee (1d3+2)
Space/Reach	10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks	–
Special Qualities	Darkvision 60 ft., Low-Light Vision, Scent, spell-like abilities
Saves	Fort +7, Ref +6, Will +4
Abilities	Strength 18, Dexterity 15, Constitution 16, Intelligence 10, Wisdom 13, Charisma 13
Skills	Diplomacy +3, Listen +8, Sense Motive +9, Spot +8
Feats	Flyby Attack, Iron Will
Environment	Temperate forests
Organization	Solitary, pair, or herd (6-10)
Challenge Rating	3
Treasure	None
Alignment	Usually chaotic good
Advancement	5-8 HD (Large)
Level Adjustment	+2 (cohort)

Combat

Spell-Like Abilities: At will-detect good and detect evil within a 60-foot radius. Caster level 5th.

Skills: Pegasi have a +4 racial bonus on Listen and Spot checks.

Training a Pegasus

The pegasus is, despite its appearance, as intelligent as a human. As such, those who try to train a pegasus to serve as a mount find the pegasus to be recalcitrant and even violent. A pegasus cannot speak, but it understands Common and greatly prefers the company of a good companion. The proper method to convince a pegasus to serve as a mount is to befriend it with Diplomacy, favors, and good deeds. A pegasus is generally indifferent to a good-aligned creature, unfriendly to a neutral one, and hostile to an evil one before a pegasus will serve as a mount, a pegasus must be made helpful via Diplomacy checks or other means. Riding a pegasus requires an exotic saddle or no saddle at all, as a regular saddle’s straps interfere with the creature’s wings. A pegasus can fight while carrying a rider, but the rider cannot also attack unless he or she succeeds on a Ride check. Trained pegasi are not afraid of combat, and the rider does not need to make a Ride check each round merely to control his mount.

Pegasus eggs are worth 2,000 gp each on the open market, while young are worth 3,000 gp per head. Pegasi mature at the same rate as horses. Professional trainers charge 1,000 gp to rear or train a pegasus, which serves a good or neutral master with absolute faithfulness for life. However, as they are intelligent, good-aligned creatures, selling eggs and young is essentially slavery and is looked down on or outlawed in good societies.

Carrying Capacity

A light load for a pegasus is up to 300 pounds; a medium load, 301-600 pounds; and a heavy load, 601-900 pounds.

Ultimate Equipment Guide II

Author Greg Lynch, J. C. Alvarez

Publisher Mongoose Publishing

Publish date 2005

Proud, regal and beautiful, pegasi are highly sought as aerial steeds. They will never serve an evil master, but one who is good or neutral (and treats the beast with kindness and respect) will be rewarded with the pegasus unwavering loyalty for life.

In some pegasi, the blood of a mighty heroic stallion ancestor runs strong. These champions have the lifespan of a human, the advanced template, perfect flight maneuverability, fire resistance 10, a +4 racial bonus on saving throws against poison, and an immunity to petrification attacks. Some are able to speak a few words in Common or Celestial. They are fully aware of their superiority over common horses and pegasi, and need no training to Fly with a rider, but only allow themselves to be ridden by great heroes.