Editing Nightmare (section)

==AD&D 1st Edition==
[[File:Nightmare 1e.jpg|right|300px]]
[[File:Nightmare DMR2.jpg|right|300px]]
The nightmare debuted in the [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] 1st edition [[Monster Manual]], which describes it as a gaunt and skeletal hell horse with an oversized head, a jet black coat, and a wild and rugged mane. It has red eyes, and nostrils from which orange flames protrude. Its hooves burn like embers, and sharp fangs protrude from its mouth. Although it doesn't specify which plane they originate from, the Monster Manual notes that nightmares are lower planar creatures often used as mounts by other evil denizens. Unsurprisingly, this has given them the alternative names of "demon horses" and "hell horses". Part of the appeal of such a mount to its rider is likely the nightmare's ability to fly and travel into the ethereal and astral planes.

Even without a rider, a nightmare is a dangerous foe. They are ill-disposed to most forms of life, and will attack without provocation. As well as a bite attack (2-8 damage), and burning hooves (two attacks, each doing 4-10 damage), the nightmare is also able to breathe out a cloud of hot smoke which causes a -2 penalty to attacks and damage if the saving throw is unsuccessful. It has an extremely good armor class (-4), high speed (15" or 36" in flight) and 6+6 hit dice.

Dragon #50 notes that nightmares are carnivorous, and that they particularly enjoy the meat of some lesser demons and devils (particularly manes and lemures). Failing to feed a nightmare its preferred diet may make it hostile to its owner. According to the article Arrrgh!!! in Dragon #118, nightmares have a high pain threshold, being more resilient than griffons, hippogriffs and perytons and similar to wyverns. The 1st Edition Player's Handbook notes that nightmares are not susceptible to invisibility to animals because of their high intelligence.

Nightmares have low-key appearances in a number of 1st Edition adventures, including the drow series (D1-D3). The device of the drow House of Noquar is a bronze nightmare's head and the drow of Erelhei-Cinlu, particularly nobles, keep nightmares as steeds. The affinity of drow for these exotic mounts extends right up to Lolth herself. The Stable of the Nightmare in level two of Q1: Queen of the Demonweb Pits houses Lolth's personal steed, cared for by two manes. Her nightmare is wearing horseshoes of a zephyr, which, given that these allow a steed to travel without touching the ground, seems a little redundant for a flying mount.

Inside one of the burial mounds of Dolem Moor in C5: The Bane of Llywelyn is a lone nightmare, and similarly, the article Grave Encounters in Dragon #114 lists nightmares as potential encounters in evil-enchanted graveyards. In C6: The Official RPGA Tournament Handbook, the nightmare residing in Keep Anelle is an aggressive individual. It viciously attacks any intruders, except, apparently, the hellcat living nearby.

A slightly more unusual nightmare can be found in Dragon #42. The characters in the adventure The Mansion of Mad Professor Ludlow are children on a camping trip. While exploring the mansion, they may come across a motionless nightmare which only reacts if mounted by a character carrying something magical. If that happens, the nightmare animates, and returns back to hell, taking its rider with it.

AD&D had more than one evil version of the paladin, and the nightmare is an obvious choice of potential steed for such a class. The Anti-Paladin NPC in Dragon #39 suggests a 25% chance of an anti-paladin's special warhorse being a nightmare. The arrikan, a neutral-evil paladin variant detailed in A Plethora of Paladins in Dragon #57, also has a chance to call a nightmare as a steed, but this is only 5%, and only a single replacement steed can ever be called if the first one perishes.

For those considering the potential of nightmares as transportation, the article The Ups and Downs of Riding High in Dragon #50 looks at the suitability of the flying creatures in the Monster Manual as steeds. Nightmares are deemed to be suitable primarily for undead riders. The section on a nightmare's carrying capacity is confusing. It declares that the "semi-material" nature of the nightmare means that it can carry only undead on its back, but if it has a rider and is travelling to the ethereal plane, it can carry "up to 6,000 gp of additional weight" for some reason.

The planar nature of the nightmare is explored only peripherally in AD&D. In Deities & Demigods, the nightmare is included on the encounter tables for both the astral and ethereal planes. It is also noted that nightmares are commonly associated with the god Hades. In The Inner Planes in Dragon #42, the nightmare is a rare encounter in the elemental planes of Earth, Water and Fire, as well as being attracted by "warps" into the negative plane. 

The Monster Manual II lists the nightmare as a very rare encounter for a typical abyssal layer. It is also very rarely encountered on the 1st, 8th and 9th layers of Hell, but merely rare on layers 2-7. Finally, the Manual of the Planes clarifies that nightmares can be found on the planes of Tarterus, Hades, and Gehenna. The encounter tables in the Manual of the Planes again confirm that nightmares are visitors to the ethereal plane (alone or in pairs), as well as the astral (in groups of up to four).