This page describes the Moonriders out of Ghenesh as they appeared in the 'Now These Her Princes Are Come Home Again' game. The Moonriders are mentioned only once in the Amber books, in chapter VII of 'Nine Princes in Amber' when Bleys is fighting his way up the stairs to Amber and Corwin compares his fighting performance to that of Benedict when he fought off the Moonriders out of Ghenesh. However no details of them are given, so what is here is entirely out of my own head. But I think it works.
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The Moonriders are the embodied night fears of the inhabitants of Ghenesh, a very old, very real 'shadow' which existed even before the Pattern was drawn and is, in fact, older than Amber itself. Ghenesh is a cold, autumnal world of perpetual twilight and night, with a large, bright moon, and a high level of both reality and magic, running about three time faster than Amber. Most nights were frosty and clear, with many bright stars.
Ghenesh was originally inhabited by a race of humans. The first Moonriders took their substance from the fears of the human populace mixing with the magic, moonlight and shadow of Ghenesh. Their fears gave a little power, which created a rough form of the things they feared; these acted so as to generate more fear in the humans by their actions, which made them more powerful and so the vicious circle began...
Most of the powers and abilities of the Moonriders derive from this. For the same reason they are not at all nice people. They are cold and emotionless, only roughly human beings, and worship the moon. Being essentially fear, embodied, they enjoy making people afraid; it is the only thing which makes them smile.
As creatures of moonlight and shadow they are not made of matter but of some mystical non-material substance - essentially, they are fear. When injured they bleed moonlight, not blood, and if they die their corpses bleed away as moonlight until only shadow is left, which flows into the ground and vanishes.
The Moonriders actually feed on fear, and require it to survive. They also like to have moonlight, which helps to sustain them but which is not actually necessary for them. As long as they have these things, only violent death can kill them.
As they evolved and grew in power they spread to other shadows, first along the shadow paths which led out of Ghenesh, then accidentally as they used and expanded their intrinsic powers. The high level of reality of Ghenesh allowed them to survive and function in other shadows (as magical items Empowered by Amberites can), and also allowed them to move between shadows under their own power. They became night fears elsewhere too, increasing their power still further. After a little while, they began spreading themselves consciously, 'farming' fear to feed their own powers. When they became worshipped as dark gods of the night they had essentially become rulers of those shadows.
Obviously they ruled by fear, using their power over the populace to increase their fear, and their own power, still further. Among other things, they rode as a 'wild hunt'.
Because they need the fear of mortals to sustain and increase their power, they conquered and expanded.
Eventually, as their influence in shadow increased, their sphere of influence came in contact with that of Amber as they began to expand into shadows of the Golden Circle. War was almost inevitable, and when it came was fierce. But in the end, they were defeated by Benedict at the pass above Arden in the darkest day of winter. Once their strength was broken they were hunted down and exterminated by Benedict and his forces, starting with those who could reproduce and carrying on with the rest.
Now a stray thought of Oberon while redrawing the Primal Pattern has brought them back to life, knowing what happened to them, and not happy about it (a side effect of Corwins curse, perhaps, or because when re-drawing the Primal Pattern, Oberon somehow had to recreate them in order for the new multiverse to be correct)...
In appearance all Moonriders look very similar. They are tall, thin and pale-skinned, with Elfin features, night-black hair and silver-pupiled eyes. They are handsome, but sexless - it is impossible by looking to determine what sex they are; to men they look more male, to women they look more female. Under their clothing they have no orifices at all.
They can see at night as well as humans do in daylight, but because of this are almost blind in daylight, and cannot see colours. They wear medieval-style clothing in monochrome colours (black, grey, silver), usually decorated with ornate embroidery.
Their voices are a cold and sepulchral whisper; it is very hard for them to shout.
Physically and mentally they are far superior to normal shadow dwellers, and even non-royal Amberites. However they are, in the main, inferior to the Royal Family of Amber one-for-one. They have the advantage in numbers over the Royal Family, however.
Their native tongue is not a shadow of Thari, and thus not generally understood by Amberites (Benedict may know a little). However, some of them do speak (have learnt) Thari and many shadow tongues as well.
They tend to live in the temples raised to them by their worshippers. These are Grecian-style temples in black stone, with many pillars, usually in at least two layers, to create much criss-crossing of moonlight and shadow. These temples are usually on the edges of leafless, autumnal woods. They would prefer them deep in the woods, but there are limits to what their worshippers will do...
In general they prefer not to kill their foes, only to cause them fear and pain, and conquer and subdue them to their collective will, when they will make suitable worshippers and sources of the fear on which they feed.
They are led by Gorgon (a Mage), and Erebus (a Warrior), the oldest and most powerful of their race. Gorgon is the only Moonrider who really deviates from their racial 'look' - although tall, thin, elfin and pale-skinned, Gorgon actually looks old.
They are also known as 'The Whispering Gods' by the human inhabitants of Ghenesh and other places. ("The Whispering Gods have returned," they say).
All Moonriders have these Basic Abilities, which effectively cost 35 points in total:
NIGHT VISION (0 points) - They see as well in darkness as humans do in daylight, but are almost blind in daylight, and cannot see colours at any time.
SEMI-MATERIAL NATURE (5 points) - Because they are to a large extent not physically real, they are harder to hurt than material, tangible creatures, and harder to hurt than their appearance might indicate (equivalent to the 1 point 'Resistant to Normal Weapons' quality); they do not have vital organs. This aspect of their nature also means that they do not suffer from disease, and do not age. Because of where they are from, they are highly resistant to normal cold. They bleed moonlight, not blood, and if they die their corpses bleed away as moonlight until only shadow is left, which flows into the ground and vanishes.
SUSTAINED BY MOONLIGHT (5 points) - As creatures of moonlight and shadow they cannot eat or breathe normally; instead they are sustained by moonlight and will starve without exposure to it on a regular basis. As a whole, their race is sustained by the fear of those they have subjugated, but this is not something which has a short-term effect. Because of this, and their overall semi-material nature, they do not breathe, and are unaffected by many environments which would be hostile to material beings (e.g. high or low pressures and hard radiation).
HEALED BY MOONLIGHT (5 points) - Likewise, as long as they are exposed to the direct rays of the Moon, they heal much more rapidly than most creatures (equivalent to the 2 point 'Rapid Healing' power).
MOVE THROUGH SHADOW (20 points) - When moving through dappled moonlight and shade fast enough to lose sight of ones surrounding, and for things to blur together, the Moonrider can, though mental exertion similar to using the Pattern, guide themselves through shadow to a desired destination which is similarly dappled with moonlight and shade; this can even be to somewhere inside if the play of dark and light is right. The speed needed to do this can be achieved by sprinting; doing it on horseback is easier. Their speed of shifting through shadow is roughly equal to that using Pattern (for the same Psyche and Endurance), but obviously has a much more limited range of destinations.
Using this power, Moonriders cannot do anything other than move through shadow to a location lit similarly to their starting point. They can ride for a destination with specific properties, as Pattern users can, including ones allowing them to recover things for which they have paid points, but they cannot manipulate probability or anything else which Pattern users can do.
Like the Pattern, this ability will not work any closer to Amber than roughly Forest Arden.
Moonriders cannot lead others through shadow. They can carry things which they are physically touching through shadow (actual physical contact is needed; dragging someone on a rope will not work), up to an amount limited by their Psyche (though, Psyche for Psyche, much less than an Amberite with Pattern can).
These are all abilities which any Moonrider can learn, but which are not intrinsic and must actually be taught them. They must be learnt in the order of indentation. Things at the same level of indentation can be learnt in any order. In total these advanced abilities cost 55 points.
Moonriders cannot learn to create Trumps (though they can use them). They also cannot learn shapeshifting.
They can learn conventional magic (Sorcery, Power Words and Empowerment, though they rarely bother with this last, preferring to use their unique real version of this). Their magic tends to use moon-based spells and effects.
Many Moonriders use horses created, as they are, from moonlight and shadow. These are thin, angular and evil-looking steeds whose feet have claws, not hooves, and whose teeth are those of a carnivore. In colour they are black, with a dark silver metallic sheen, glittering solid black eyes and silvery claws and teeth.
A typical horse has the following abilities :
| Double Speed | 2 | |
| Resistant to Normal Weapons (as for Moonriders) | 1 | |
| Rapid Healing, in Moonlight Only | 1 | |
| Combat Training (sub-Amber Warfare) | 1 | |
| Extra Hard Teeth and Claws | 1 | |
| Follow Shadow Trail (with limitations as for Moonriders) | 1 | |
| Total Points Cost = 7 | ||
Elite Moonriders usually have horses which are superior to this, such as the following:
| Engine Speed | 4 | |
| Double Vitality | 2 | |
| Amber Stamina | 2 | |
| Extra Hard Claws and Teeth | 1 | |
| Resistant to Normal Weapons (as Moonriders) | 1 | |
| Rapid Healing, in Moonlight Only | 1 | |
| Combat Mastery (Ranked Warfare) | 4 | |
| Follow Shadow Trail (with limitations as for Moonriders) | 1 | |
| Alternate Form (Invisible in Darkness) | 1 | |
| Alternate Form (Insubstantial in Moonlight) | 1 | |
| Total Points Cost = 18 | ||
These latter steeds are incredibly rare, as they can only be created by the most powerful Moonrider enchanters (those with a Psyche of 90 or more).
Elite Moonrider Warriors carry one of the Moonswords, magical long-swords. These are the greatest weapons of the Moonriders, although they can be wielded by anyone with a Psyche greater than that of its Moonrider owner.
| Their blades poison the soul | Mould Shadow Stuff | 1 | ||
| And are ice-cold | Mould Shadow Stuff | 1 | ||
| They are the sharpest of the sharp | Double Damage | 2 | ||
| They only cut that which their wielder wishes | Alternate Form - Selective Intangibility | 1 | ||
| They shatter the weapons and armour of their foes | Hard Wired Power Word - Weaken Structure | 2 | ||
| Total Points Cost = 7 | ||||
The normal weapons used by Moonriders run to long-swords, knives, spears, and bows, plus large rectangular shields (which are slightly curved rectangles about 2 by 4 feet in size).
There are also Moondogs, which are large wolf-like hounds which resemble the moonsteeds in colouration. They are as formidable as Julian's stormhounds. A typical moondog has the following abilities:
| Double Speed | 2 | |
| Combat Reflexes (Amber Warfare) | 2 | |
| Doubling Damage | 2 | |
| Resistant to Normal Weapons (as Moonriders) | 1 | |
| Total Points Cost = 7 | ||
Also, Moonriders cannot move anything through shadow other than themselves and their steeds. So, they either recruit locals by fear or bribery (fear for preference), or they create armies out of moonlight and shadow, troops which are mindless, but able to fight. There are several versions, all of which come in Horde quantity:
| Combat Reflexes (Amber Warfare), no armour, normal weapons | 6 points | |
| Combat Training (sub-Amber Warfare), Extra Hard Weapon, Resistant to Normal Weapons | 9 points | |
| Combat Training (sub-Amber Warfare), Double Damage Weapon, no armour | 9 points | |
| Combat Training (sub-Amber Warfare), normal weapons, Resistant to Firearms | 9 points |
The first version is the most common, as it is the most easily created.
They resemble Moonriders, but are less finished somehow - cruder, and they vary in shape as the areas they are created in are clearly not perfect for every one of them which is created.
Moonrider mages can also create similar 'instant armies' by empowering (for example) a mass of trees into mobility.
The Moonrider's symbol is that of a half-moon, one half silver, the other half dark grey (as if illuminated by Earthlight). This is found on their temples, and on the their shields (which are slightly curved rectangles about 2 by 4 feet in size) and battle-banners. Each individual Moonrider has a personal symbol, a vaguely Chinese-looking ideogram, which, on their shields, is emblazoned under the half-moon symbol. The pictures below show two examples of this:
Some other Moonrider personal symbols:
| EREBUS | GORGON |
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Typical Moonriders are built on 40 points with the basic Moonrider powers (35 points worth) for free. Their basic statistics are all at Amber level, but they can buy these down to Chaos level if they wish (not many do).
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| Psyche | 15 | Horse | 7 | |
| Strength | Amber | Armour | 1 | |
| Endurance | 5 | Moonsword | 7 | |
| Warfare | 70 | Total Points Expenditure = 105 |
All Moonrider names have an Ancient Greek feel to them.
| Adrastus | Aegisthus | Aeson | Agenor | Alcibiades |
| Alcmena | Alecto | Amphion | Astraea | Atreus |
| Atropos | Bane | Cadmus | Castaly | Clotho |
| Diemos | Diomed | Dionaeus | EREBUS (Co-Leader) | Euryalus |
| GORGON (Co-Leader) | Gyges | Lachesis | Leucosia | Ligea |
| Megaera | Nessus | Palamedes | Phobos | Pylades |
| Sciron | Sinis | Sinon | Syriscos | Talus |
| Teiresias | Telegonus | Telemachus | Telemon | Themis |
| Thersander | Thyestes | Tisiphone | Typhon | Volscens |
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