Editing Nightmare (section)

==AD&D 2nd Edition==
[[File:Nightmare MC8.jpg|left|300px]]
[[File:Nightmare 2e.png|right|300px]]
There were some notable omissions from the first few volumes of the 2nd Edition Monstrous Compendium. As an (over-)reaction to some of the negative publicity the game had received during the 1980s, TSR decided not to include demons and devils in 2nd Edition. Predictably, all this did was annoy D&D fans, so two years into the release cycle, the lower planar denizens were restored, albeit with the offensive names "demons" and "devils" filed off and replaced with "tanar'ri" and "baatezu". Several other creatures, including the nightmare, were incidental casualties of this policy, and also had to wait until MC8: Monstrous Compendium Outer Planes Appendix was released to see print.

Technically, the nightmare did appear in one 2nd Edition adventure before then. In A Rose for Talakara in Dungeon #25, the villain keeps a nightmare named Blackspike. Despite being a 2nd Edition adventure, the reference given for the nightmare is the 1st Edition Monster Manual. Curiously, the XP value for the nightmare differs from the 1st Edition Dungeon Masters Guide but is consistent with what would eventually appear in the Monstrous Compendium. An entry for morale -- a stat new to 2nd Edition -- is also included, but it is listed as "special" instead of the "elite (13-14)" value which eventually appeared in the Monstrous Compendium entry.

Other than the new XP value and the addition of morale and diet (carnivore), the statistics for the nightmare in the Monstrous Compendium Outer Planes Appendix are unchanged from those in the Monster Manual. The description, however, is greatly expanded, with the nightmare getting a full page to itself.

We get a little bit more about their combat abilities. Their burning hooves will set combustibles on fire, and their cloud of hot smoke has a range of 10 feet and requires a save vs. paralyzation to avoid the penalty. The fact that their flight is a magical ability is spelled out, and we learn that they can understand commands from "evil riders" (why only evil riders?) and that they use "empathy" to communicate with each other, which is regrettably vague.

In 2nd Edition, nightmares have a bit more personality than they did previously. Although they willingly serve as a mount for any mission involving evil, they now have ambitions of their own. Nightmares are compared to magical weapons with large egos -- you can never be entirely sure that they are going to do what you want them to do.

The Monstrous Compendium Outer Planes Appendix is the first time the Gloom Meet is mentioned. This is a gathering of lower planar denizens on the plane of Hades, and takes place one per decade. Nightmares play a key role in spreading the word that the time of Gloom Meet is approaching, and the likelihood of encountering one of the creatures is higher during this time. Once the Gloom Meet begins, the nightmares announce this with a terrifying charge through the planes.

The Monstrous Compendium entry notes that nightmares are unrelated to horses, despite their resemblance. It also clarifies their "carnivore" diet. Although they are in the habit of eating the flesh of fallen opponents, they require neither food nor air to survive. It is suggested that they gain their strength solely through their service to evil.

The 2nd Edition emphasis on nightmares with more personality continued in the Deck of Encounters, Set Two. One of the encounters in the set is with a nightmare who was summoned by an ambitious wizard's apprentice to slay his master. This did not turn out well for the apprentice, as it rebelled against his control and killed him. In another encounter in the same set, a nightmare has no qualms about abandoning her rider if the battle goes against him.

There isn't much additional lore on nightmares in other generic 2nd Edition products, although as we'll see below, they have a significant presence in some of the many campaign settings. We get a brief mention in the article The Demiplane of Shadow in Dragon #213, which includes nightmares on that plane's encounter list, and in the The Complete Book of Necromancers it is noted that a necromancer would need to be at least 18th-level to attract a nightmare as a familiar.

Finally, during the 2nd Edition era, TSR produced the Spellfire collectable card game. The nightmare featured on card #76 of the Birthright expansion, but the card simply recycled the artwork from the Monstrous Manual.