Horses of Diomedes

The Eighth Labour of Heracles

The Mares of Diomedes are man-eating horses. Magnificent, wild, and uncontrollable, they belonged to the giant Diomedes, king of Thrace, a son of Ares and Cyrene who lived on the shores of the Black Sea.

One of the Twelve Labours of Hercules was to steal the Mares. Heracles took the mares and were chased by Diomedes and his men.

Heracles was not aware that the horses were kept tethered to a bronze manger because they were wild, man-eating and uncontrollable, and Heracles left Abderus in charge of them while he fought Diomedes, but Abderus was eaten. In revenge, Heracles fed Diomedes to his own horses, then founded Abdera next to the boy’s tomb.

In another version, Heracles stayed awake so that he didn’t have his throat cut by Diomedes in the night, and cut the chains binding the horses. Having scared the horses onto the high ground of a peninsula, Heracles quickly dug a trench through the peninsula, filling it with water, thus making it an island. When Diomedes arrived, Heracles killed him with an axe (the one used to dig the trench), and fed the body to the horses.

Eating made the horses calmer and Heracles took the opportunity to bind their mouths shut, and easily took them back to King Eurystheus, who dedicated the horses to Hera. In some versions, they were allowed to roam freely around Argos, having become permanently calm, but in others, Eurystheus ordered the horses taken to Olympus to be sacrificed to Zeus, but Zeus refused them, and sent wolves, lions, and bears to kill them

You see four black horses with red manes and eyes. Their hooves sound like the clanging of metal when it strikes the floor. However, what calls your attention the most is the fact they have sharp filed teeth; these are carnivorous horses.

Horse Horror
Large magical beast
Hit Dice	9d10+36 (85 hp)
Initiative	+1
Speed	60 ft. (12 squares)
AC	19 (-1 size, +1 Dexterity, +9 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 18
Base Attack/Grapple	+9/+19
Attack	Bite +14 melee (1d8+6) or hoof +14 melee (1d8+6)
Full Attack	Bite +14 melee (1d8+6) and 2 hooves +9 melee (1d8+3)
Space/Reach	10 ft. /5 ft.
Special Attacks	Rage
Special Qualities	Damage reduction 3/-, Darkvision 60 ft., Low-Light Vision, Scent
Saves	Fort +10, Ref +7, Will +5
Abilities	Strength 22, Dexterity 13, Constitution 19, Intelligence 4, Wisdom 14, Charisma 8
Skills	Listen +12 Spot +12
Feats	Diehard, Endurance, Improved Natural Attack (bite), Run
Environment	Any
Organisation	Solitary, pair, pack (3-6) or herd (7-12)
Challenge Rating	7
Treasure	None
Alignment	Usually neutral evil
Advancement	10-27 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment	+4 (cohort)

These monsters are an evil meat-eating strain of normal horses, bred in the lower planes and then released on the material world to kill and feed on mortals. One of these creatures appears as an especially large horse with long filled teeth and bloodthirsty eyes. A horse horror’s skin is usually black or a near-black shade of blue or red; its mane runs the gamut from maroon to vivid blood red. The beast’s hooves and bones have the strength and consistency of bronze.

Combat

Horse horrors attack potential prey on sight, even if they are not hungry – which is rare anyway.

Rage (Ex): Once per day, a horse horror can enter a rage state, gaining a +4 bonus to its Strength and Constitution scores and suffering a -2 penalty to its Armour Class. This rage state lasts until the horse horror dies or no living enemy remains in sight. The additional hit points the horse horror gains from this Constitution increase are not lost first the way temporary hit points are. A horse horror cannot end a rage voluntarily, nor is it fatigued at the end of a rage.

Skills: The sharp senses of horse horrors give them a +4 racial bonus on all Listen and Spot checks.