Ghostly Horde

When an army suffers a sudden, catastrophic loss, its soldiers' desperate need to finish their mission can leave a psychic echo behind. Those frightened enough to perceive it see the defeated troops, foot or horse, looking precisely as they did the day they marched out and died, however long ago that was. They make no sound at all. A few accounts describe soldiers still bearing the fresh wounds that killed them.

The horde has no mind of its own; its substance comes entirely from its victims' imaginations. Anyone entering its battlefield sees the phantom army form at the field's edge and must save vs. wands. Success makes the horde fade before it attacks. Failure means the character watches it prepare to charge and must save again. A second failure means fear has won, and the horde attacks.

Though the frightened victim sees hundreds or thousands of foes, only one phantom soldier actually fights that character. Each hit deals 2d8 points of damage, and the victim must save vs. death. On a success the damage is simply taken. On a failure the character collapses, "slain", and wakes 1d4 turns later to discover that only half the damage was real. The rest shows up not as cuts but as a pattern of raised welts.

A character fights a phantom soldier as a normal opponent and deals normal damage; each counts as a 3 Hit Dice creature. Whoever "kills" one never sees the horde on that field again and is immune to it from then on.

A horde lingers only on an abandoned battlefield or in the town or city where its army was destroyed, usually by magic. Some believe they arise only when every soldier of the losing side was deeply devoted to the cause, so that their spirits still fight on against an enemy long gone. Sages hold that they can rest only when that cause finally triumphs.

No two people experience the horde alike. One may feel only vague unease while the companion beside them battles for their life. To onlookers who see nothing, the sudden slashing welts and the abrupt swoon of a "slain" friend can be deeply bewildering.

Places haunted by a horde are strangely empty of insects and small animals. The silence is most striking at dawn and dusk in summer, when not one cricket chirps anywhere on the field.

Scholars and treasure seekers sometimes seek out these battlefields to learn about vanished civilizations. Careful digging can turn up ancient weapons and armor, maps to hidden treasure, and other relics: after 1d4 days of searching there is a 50% chance of a find. The worth of the haul depends on the horde and on what the searchers are after.