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View Full Version : Are light warhorses strictly superior to heavy horses?



Idhan
2013-05-19, 05:40 PM
Horse stats. (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/horse.htm)

Horse prices. (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/goodsAndServices.htm#horse)

Heavy horses cost 200 gp. Light warhorses cost 150 gp. It seems to me that light warhorses are also equal or superior to heavy horses in every way. They're just as strong in the stat block, are stated to be able to carry a heavier load (although that might be a mistake: I think heavy horses should either carry as much as light warhorses, or should have 15 rather than 16 strength).

Is there anything I'm missing that makes heavy horses preferable in any way?

The only thing I can think of is that maybe light warhorses are more aggressive, so if you're using a horse to pull a plow, drag a civilian stagecoach, or the like, maybe you'd prefer a heavy horse to avoid innocent people being bitten or the like? Is there anything about how warhorses are more difficult to manage out of combat or anything?

Marnath
2013-05-19, 05:54 PM
Warhorses don't understand how to work. Look at Handle Animal, training an animal for combat riding takes all 6 of the skill tricks a horse is allowed to know. Hitch a warhorse to a cart and it will probably either freak out or just stare at you.

nedz
2013-05-19, 06:01 PM
Interesting rules dysfunction.

I think Heavy Horses should have an extra HD, after all the Heavy War Horse does; but then the War beast template (MM2) states that the war-horses should all have +1 HD anyway.

Since carrying capacity is worked out from a formula, and given that their strengths are the same, this looks like an error.

Idhan
2013-05-19, 09:58 PM
Warhorses don't understand how to work. Look at Handle Animal, training an animal for combat riding takes all 6 of the skill tricks a horse is allowed to know. Hitch a warhorse to a cart and it will probably either freak out or just stare at you.

Ah. I see. I suppose it is true that warhorses don't have room for teaching the "work" trick. (Or any other trick.) It's kind of funny that you're essentially paying 50 extra gp for the fact that you get an untrained animal who has "room" to learn.

avr
2013-05-19, 10:03 PM
The price does seem silly. I assume that someone decided it should be exactly half of the war-trained price and didn't cross-check this with the lesser warhorse price.