Apocalypse Riders

Apocalypse Riders
Four Horsemen

(Deity)

Titles

Archdaemons
End Bringers

Realm

Abaddon

Alignment

Neutral evil

Areas of Concern

See individual Rider

Worshipers

See individual Rider

Follower Alignments (1E)

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Domains (1E)

See individual Rider

Subdomains (1E)

See individual Rider

Favored Weapon

See individual Rider

Images of Apocalypse Riders

Source: Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1E)
Monster Core (2E)

Horseman

(Creature)

Type

Outsider
(daemon, evil, extraplanar)

CR

27-30

Environment

Abaddon

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Images of Apocalypse Riders

Source: Bestiary 6, pg(s). 160, 162, 164, 166

Ⅰ

Trelmarixian the Black, Rider of Famine.

For other meanings of "Apocalypse rider", please see Apocalypse rider (disambiguation).

The Apocalypse Riders, also known as the Four Horsemen, archdaemons, and End Bringers, are powerful and unique daemons having attained the power of demigods. They rule Abaddon and have hordes of daemons in their service.

Description

Each Rider represents one of four ideals: war, disease, famine and death. The title of Rider is coveted and often fought for by the greatest members of daemonkind. Each Rider has their own legion of servitor daemons known as deacons or destroyers.

Current Riders

Each Rider also boasts their own realm uniquely suited to what they represent. The current Apocalypse Riders are Apollyon, Rider of Pestilence, who rules Plaguemere; Charon, Rider of Death, who rules the River Styx; Szuriel, Rider of War, who presides over the Cinder Furnace; and Trelmarixian, Rider of Famine, who rules Wasting. A fifth Rider, known in forbidden texts as the Bound Prince, is said to be superior even to the current Riders in power and stature. Most believe he was either killed by the remaining Riders long ago, or never existed.

Apocalypse horses

Each Rider has an apocalypse horse as its mount.

History

The title of Rider is granted to a powerful daemon who ascends to this position. There have been other daemons in the past who have arisen to the title of Rider, but they have been replaced for various reasons, including by their murder at the hands of Lamashtu. The Riders, however, were the first daemons to appear.

An ancient Rider is responsible for the genesis of the demons. Lamashtu learnt the daemon's secret art of creating demons from the torture of a former Rider, whom she had taken during her wars against Abaddon. She had taken two Riders captive during these wars and murdered them both.

Previous Riders

Previous Riders include the following:

Riders of Death

Charon is the only Rider of Death to hold the title since the beginning of daemonkind.

Riders of Famine

• Lyutheria the Parasite Queen, the original Rider of Famine

Riders of Pestilence

• Azulos the Corrupting, the original Rider of Pestilence
• Drulaema the Fever Princess
• Llamolaek, a Rider of Pestilence demoted into an astradaemon by his rival, Roshmolem. Now a harbinger.
• Yrsinius, a lost Rider of Pestilence ambushed and possibly destroyed by proteans

Riders of War

• Horeksim, the original Rider of War
• Roshmolem the Steel Weaver
• Ortaro of the Ten Thousand Screams

Unspecified

• Balishek, early Rider of unknown station destroyed utterly at Balishek's Crater in Abaddon.

Worshipers

The Apocalypse Riders are such powerful fiends that they can grant divine powers including spells to their deluded, nihilistic worshipers such as clerics. They do not have churches or organised faiths in the Universe but are rather worshipped out of fear or by hate-filled monsters.

Devoted mortal worshipers can become apocalypse riders gifted with foul steeds to help them sow death and destruction.

References

Paizo published a sourcebook titled Horsemen of the Apocalypse and revisited the subject in the collected Book of the Damned.

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.