Any interesting mounts you've created?

[Icedaemon]

I tend to dislike making worlds that are too standard, or campaign settings with a 'throw it in' mentality. For instance: Walufar, which I have been working on here, is considerably less like Forgotten Realms than, say, Grayhawk is. This extends to creatures. My next entryin that thread shall be a list of common animals in the immediate surrounding area, which should eventually include most the non-sapient animals of note that exist on the world. However, I have a hard time finding a replacement for the horse.

I already have found some creatures which will make exiting mounts, including a homebrewed ostrich on the D&D fan wiki. However, the ostrich belongs in the savannah and, as far as I can see, there are virtually no non-horse starter-mounts. With this in mind, can anyone point to an old homebrew they'd let me use?

Most of the real-world animals in use are South American or Australian, with the only large dinosaurs being Ceratopsidae (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceratopsidae). One is not going to find a beaver dam in the forest, but might accidentally step on a platypus' tail and be struck by a venomous talon while wading a muddy river, for instance. However, animals from the monster manuals and SRD, (such as the Krenshar) will also be plentiful. Of these, several will be labelled as marsupial, because.

If anyone would bother to make stats for a Zygomaturus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zygomaturus), I would appreciate it.

[Welknair]

One of my players once made an interesting device deemed the "Saddle-pult" which he used to ride around on the Barbarian's back in. It had a lever that flung him when pulled. Said player was a halfling druid. "Oh no! That Barbarian is charging us! Wait, what's that? Is that a halfling?" SUDDENLY TIGER.

I don't think this really counts, but does seem somewhat relevant... What if Orcs had a larger INT penalty and the halflings tamed them as mounts? :smallconfused:

[Icedaemon]

I am keeping the number of sapient races low, so no halflings, gnomes or orcs. The smallest playable race is goblin, but their larger cousins, the hobgoblins, are far more likely to ride in palanquins carried by dozens of hobgoblin slaves than to offer piggyback rides. Otherwise, the idea is fun.

[Debihuman]

Well, I didn't fully stat out the Celestial Riding Bull but the Holy Cow is sttated out here: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8290206&postcount=7

There's also my Christmas goose that could be ridden. It should say that anyone riding a Christmas goose takes a -2 penalty to Ride checks because they are so hard to control. See here: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9884057&postcount=6.

Debby

[Icedaemon]

I found my way to the creature catalog and found that someone has made stats for these big bastards. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moropus)

They look just distinct enough, without being too silly. (http://evolbiol.ru/glebpics/Moropus.gif)

They are statistically similar to warhorses, but slower, thus giving an even bigger tactical advantage to knights who can afford exotic mounts.

What do you lot think?

[MesiDoomstalker]

One of my players once made an interesting device deemed the "Saddle-pult" which he used to ride around on the Barbarian's back in. It had a lever that flung him when pulled. Said player was a halfling druid. "Oh no! That Barbarian is charging us! Wait, what's that? Is that a halfling?" SUDDENLY TIGER.


That is hilarious. I'm either going to do this with the next campaign I'm in or my first camapaign I GM. I would love to see the look on my players faces when I pull this out. Of course only with your permission.

[LOTRfan]

I've made a bunch of Ceratopsians, but most are North American. If you have a specific request, though, feel free to post in the Dinosaur thread.

[Adamantrue]

I used to have stats for what we called Battlerams, which were basically the Mouflon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouflon) equivalent of Warhorses for my Gnomes. They actually ended up being pretty cool.

I don't know where I put the stats, but I based them on a down-sized Bison (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/bison.htm). If I come across them, I'll edit it in.

[Lyndworm]

Did someone say South American-fauna inspired mounts? Two words: Terror Birds (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terror_bird).

I think that there are official stats in the Fiend Folio.

[LOTRfan]

That is an excellent war mount. Terror birds, when running, could strike their prey with such force that bone was crushed.

I really suggest you watch Mega Monsters: Monsters Resurrected if you intend to use them. My descriptions of the beasts (based off of the descriptions in the documentary) freaked out my players for weeks after the adventure. :smallbiggrin:

[Icedaemon]

I am already using giant predatory birds as an apex predator, but these are not nearly timid enough to be domesticated, at least not on a scale sufficient for an entire group of troops to ride them. Still, thanks for showing that the real prehistoric terror birds actually are called just that.

[Mayhem]

The Moa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moa) were large wingless birds of new zealand. Despite resemblance to kiwi and autralian birds such as emus, their closest living relatives are actually in south america and can fly. The largest species reached about 12ft tall, and weighed about 530lbs. So, I suppose they would be more suitable mounts to races lighter than humans, but they're still double the weight of the largest ostrich so they might be a better alternative.

Also, I love the moropus! Do you have stats for them? I can make do from your description though. In the Julian May books they use animals similar to those as mounts as horses haven't evolved yet(set in the pliocene).

I'm a fan of this topic, so I'll quietly keep tabs on it.

[Icedaemon]

The moropus (http://creaturecatalog.enworld.org/cc/converted/view_c.php?CreatureID=1433)has stats in the Creature Catalog.

I was already using the moa on Walufar. I am using slightly beefed-up Ostrich stats for them.


Riding Birds
The Moa is a rare creature in the north, but the most common type of mount in southern lands and common enough in the armies of Suogelia and Velagtia. Their speed advantage over moropuses makes war-trained moa excellent choices for fast cavalry. Moa are tall creatures with hardly undetectable vestigial wings, brown feathers and long legs.


They are suitably different from one another (the moropus is more deadly and hardy in a fight and should probably be able to carry slightly more weight, but the moa is a lot faster{60 ft speed instead of 40}) and as large low CR creatures, make perfectly acceptable replacements for the horse. The moropus is the standard mount in the far northwestern parts of the contient, where the default start location is. The moa is more common in the mid-western region, meaning closer to the continent's centre but still a part of the northwest, but might be found elsewhere. This helps further mark the regions differences - places where the Moropuses are used employ Feudal Europe-style fully armoured knights who can smash into and through the enemy formation, potentially slaying scores of light troops. Cavalry units in regions where the Moa is predominant tend to act as light cavalry, which needs to flank, hit and run and possibly shoot (cross)bows rather than engage enemy troops head-on to succeed.

I have also found specific mounts for the far southern regions - the Creature Catalog is a goldmine for world-builders who do not want to make their own stats, with more Animal-type critters than several monster manuals combined.

Actually, since the Moa will be an optional mount to players on Walufar from the beginning, if they play a class eligible for a mount, I see no harm in posting the stats:

Moa
Size/Type: Large Animal
Hit Dice: 3d8+3 (16 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 60 feet (12 squares)
Armor Class: 12 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +2 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 11
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+7
Attack: Beak +4 melee (1d4+2)
Full Attack: Beak +4 melee (1d4+2)
Space/Reach: 5ft./5ft.
Special Attacks: —
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, Stride, Surefooted
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +2
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6
Skills: Hide +6, Listen +4, Spot +4, Move Silently +2
Feats: Alertness, Endurance, Run
Environment: Grassy plains
Organization: Solitary or troupe (2-8)
Challenge Rating: 1 (2?)
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 4-6 HD (Large)

Thus, the Moropus can replace the Heavy Horse (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/horse.htm), while the Moa replaces the Light horse.

[Mayhem]

Ah awesome, thanks!


Stride: Moa are swift runners. They can hustle for indefinite periods of time, and never accrue nonlethal damage due to hustling. Furthermore, ostriches can run for a number of minutes equal to their Constitution score before having to make any Constitution checks. When they do have to make checks to keep running, they make checks every minute instead of every round.

Surefooted: Though standing on two feet, an ostrich has the carrying capacity of a large quadruped with a similar Strength score, and gains a +4 bonus on Dexterity or Strength checks made to defend against bull rush, overrun and trip attempts as if it were a quadruped.

In Conan d20 camels can hustle for half their daily movement rate if they get a break after every hour, but their movement ranges are between 40-50 ft rather than the horses 50 to 70.

[LOTRfan]

Have you considered Diprotodon from Sandstorm? They're distant relatives of the Wombat, and were prey to animals such as Megalania.

[Thomar_of_Uointer]

I came up with giant cat mounts for elves a while back.

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=181498

[Icedaemon]

Have you considered Diprotodon from Sandstorm? They're distant relatives of the Wombat, and were prey to animals such as Megalania.

I have considered and included them, yes, but they are used not as mounts, but more as cattle/prey. Some do pull carts though, as they are easier to train than any other creature in certain regions that might be suitable for the job.

In addition to the 'animals of Telsarn' list, I have created separate lists for goblin and Dragon-empire lands, but obviously not posted them as the critters there should not be known to random schmucks on the other end of the continent.