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Umarth
2007-03-28, 05:05 PM
For my homebrew world. Expanding on the mount rules. I'd love feedback.

Obviously still under construction but I think there's enough avalible to see the basic idea.


There are numerous breeds of horses in the Narrowlands though they can be divided into four basic groups:
• Ponies: Ponies are medium sized animals and are significantly smaller than true horses. They are most commonly used by the smaller races and children of the larger races. They require one half of the food larger horses do. Ponies are up to 4 feet 7 inches at the withers.
• Light Horses: Light horses are the most common riding and general purpose horses in the Narrowlands. A light horse stands from 4 feet 7 inches to 5 feet 3 inches at the withers. All of the fastest breeds of horses are light horses.
• Heavy Horses: Heavy horses have been purpose breed for military action and while lacking the speed of light horses they have a greater staying power and can inflict terrible wounds with there bites and hooves. They are typically 5 feet 3 inches to 6 feet tall at the withers and require twice the food a Light Horse needs.
• Draft Horses: Draft horses are exceptionally large breeds of horses that are immensely strong. They require four times the food a Light Horse does. Draft horses typically start at 6 feet and the largest can be as large as 7 feet 4 inches tall.

In addition to new breeds of horses there are several other rule clarifications and additions to the Narrowlands.

Mount Size: The size of your mount has several affects when fighting and traveling.
• You gain +1 to your attack rolls if your mount is at least one size larger than your target.
• Ponies require ½ the food a Light horse. Heavy Horses require twice as much feed as a light horse while Draft Horses require four times as much food as a light horse.

Horse Racial Ability Modifiers
{table=head]|Pony | War Pony | Light | Light Warhorse | Heavy | Heavy Warhorse | Draft | Draft Warhorse

Str | +2 | +4 | +4 | +6 | +6 | +8 | +8 | +10
Dex |+2 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +0 | +0
Con | +2 | +4 | +4 | +6 | +4 | +6 | +6 | +8
Int | -8 | -8 | -8 | -8 | -8 | -8 | -8 | -8
Wis | +2 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +2
Cha | -4 | -4 | -4 | -4 | -4 | -4 | -4 | -4
[/table]

Horses all share the following traits:
Type: Animal
Ability Scores: 11, 11, 11, 10, 10, 10
Special Qualities: Low-Light Vision, Scent
Skill Points equal to (2 + Int modifier, minimum 1) per Hit Die, with quadruple skill points for the first Hit Die. This works out to 4 +1 per HD after the first.

Purchasing better than average horses:
Horses may be purchased with better than average starting ability scores.
+8000gp Elite Array: 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8
+3000gp Noneilte Array: 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8

Additionally Horses may be purchased that have more HD than normal.
The costs for horses with these additional HD are:
{table=head]| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
Ponies | 500 | 1250 | - | - | -
Light |500 | 1250 | 2000 | - | -
Heavy |500 | 1250 | 2000 | 3000 | -
Draft | 500 | 1250 | 2000 | 3000 | 4500 [/table]

Mount Breeds:
Stat Block: Stat blocks for breeds are laid in the following format:
[b]Breed Name: Breed Description
[b]Ability Scores: Add these to the base ability scores.
[b]Skills: The breed may take ranks in these skills.
[b]Feats: xxxx (Feat all members have) +x (additional number of feats to select)
[B]Typical: Most common feat choices for breed.
Available: List of feats available for the breed.
Special: Any special notes.
Bred in: Where the horse is commonly bred.
Cost: Price for a member of this breed.

Ponies: In Progress

Light Horses:
Shagya: This breed of horse is from the grasslands of Calenardhon it’s well known for it’s speed and is one of the most common horses to find in the winners circle of southern horse races. It is not normally used in warfare as it’s not an especially sturdy breed and can be flighty.
Ability Scores: Dex +4,
Skills: Listen, Spot
Feats: Run +2
Typical: Quickness, Skill Focus (+2 Spot, +2 Listen)
Available: Run, Quickness, Improved Spur Mount, Skill Focus (+2 spot and +2 initiative or +2 spot and +2 listen)
Special: None
Bred in: Calenardhon
Cost:

Yakut: Typically the head is coarse, the neck straight and average in length, the withers low, the back wide and long, the croup drooping the chest wide and deep, the legs short and with solid hoofs. The mane and tail are thick and long. The hair on the body is very thick; in winter it is up to 8 cm in length.

The color of the Yakut is usually bay, grey-brown or grey; less often roan or mouse grey. Native horses have a dark stripe down the back and transverse stripes on the forelegs. A dark grid-like pattern is often found on the point of the shoulder.
Ability Scores: Con +2, +2 Wis
Skills: Listen, Spot, Survival
Feats: Endurance +1
Typical: Cold Endurance
Available: Endurance, Cold Endurance, Improved Cold Endurance (at 8HD), Skill Focus +3 (Survival)
Special: Heat Sensitivity (-4 on saves to resist damage from high temperatures.), Yakut have a +4 bonus on Survival checks related to cold weather.
Bred in: Southern Spur
Cost: x1.2

Crioulo: The Crioulo is a hardy horse with a brawny and strong body. They have short, strong legs with good bone, resistant joints, low set hocks, and sound, hard feet. The long muzzled head is medium to large sized and has a straight or slightly convex profile with wide-set eyes. The croup is sloping and the haunches well-muscled, the back short with a strong loin. They have sloping, strong shoulders with muscular necks. The body is deep with a broad chest and well-sprung ribs.

The breed is famous for their endurance capabilities and ability to live in harsh conditions, as their homeland has both extreme heat and cold weather. They are frugal eaters, thriving on little grass. They have good resistance to disease and are long-lived. The line backed dun is the most popular color, but the breed may also come in bay, brown, black, chestnut, grulla, buckskin, palomino, blue or strawberry roan, gray and overo colors.
Ability Scores: Con +2,
Skills: Listen, Spot, Survival
Feats: Endurance +2
Typical: Improved Endurance, Skill Focus Survival
Available: Endurance, Cold Endurance, Heat Endurance, Skill Focus (+3 Survival), Improved Endurance, Grass Trekker
Special:
Bred in: Western Hills
Cost: x1.5

Heavy Horses:
Obyan: The Obyan is a large and sturdy Horse ideally with a temperament ideally suited battle. As the preeminent breed of heavy warhorse available to the Cardenerhon much of the breeding has focused on producing a mount that has the endurance and toughness to outlast other heavy warhorses.
Obyan are tall and broad shouldered horses. They are normally light bay or dun though there is a sizable portion of bay roans.

Ability Scores: Str +2, Con +2,
Skills: Jump, Balance
Feats: Endurance +2
Typical: Improved Natural Armor, Improved Toughness
Available: Improved Natural Armor, Improved Toughness, Powerful Charge, Run, Skill Focus (+3 Jump, +3 Balance, or +2 Jump and +2 Balance)
Special: The DC to train an Obyan for combat riding is 15.
Bred in: Cardenerhon
Cost: x2

Draft Horses: In Progress
Huwawa: Named for a legendary giant from the distant past the Huwawa is arguably the largest and most powerful breed of horse. Regularly reaching 7 feet in height Huwawa tower over any battle field they are on.
The site of one of these monstrous beasts fearlessly charging into a battle and sending the opposing men flying in every direction is the inspiration for the name Huwawa.
Ability Scores: +4 Str, +2 Con.
Skills: Spot, Listen
Feats: Improved Natural Attack +2
Typical: Power Attack, Improved Bull Rush
Available: Awesome Blow, Improved Natural Armor, Improved Toughness, Powerful Charge, Improved Overrun
Special: Huwawa receive a +2 on saves vs. fear.
Bred in: Gorthal
Cost: x3.5

Warhorses: All Warhorses have access to the following feats. They must still meet the normal prerequisites: Power Attack, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Overrun, Endurance, Diehard, Dodge Weapon Focus.

Mount Feats: The following feats are available for mounts depending on breed.
Standard Feats: Tried to list the book I remember pulling them from.
Cold Endurance - Frostburn
Improved Cold Endurance - Frostburn
Swamp Stalker - Shinning south (?)
Improved Toughness - MM
Powerful Charge - Savage Species (?)
Winter's Child - Savage Species
Desert Dweller - Savage Species
Grass Trekker - Savage Species
Awesome Blow - MM
Improved Natural Armor - MM
Improved Natural Attack - MM

New Feats:
Quickness [General]
You can move with greater speed.
Prerequisites:Run. Light Horse
Benefits:Your speed is increased by 10 feet.

Beast of Burden [General]
You can pull heavier weights that most things your size.
Prerequisites:Draft Horse
Benefits: You count as one size larger to determine how much you can pull.

Improved Spur Mount [General]
When spurred on by a rider you can run faster than normal..
Prerequisites:Run, Light Horse
Benefits:When a rider uses Spur Mount you run 15 feet faster than normal.
Normal:When spurred on by a rider you run 10 feet faster than normal.


Easy to Ride [General]
You’re better able to understand what your rider is asking you to do.
Prerequisites: Horse
Benefits: All ride DCs are 5 lower.

Sustained Spur Mount [General]
When spurred on by a rider you can run faster than normal.
Prerequisites:Endurance
Benefits: When a rider uses Spur Mount you don’t take damage for a number of rounds equal to your constitution bonus.
Normal: You take damage any time your rider uses Spur Mount.

Improved Endurance[General]
You come from a line of horses breed to run great distances.
Prerequisites:Endurance
Benefits: Forced marches deal non-lethal rather than lethal damage and your constitution checks do not automatically fail.
Normal: Forced marches deal lethal damage to mounts and constitution checks to avoid damage automatically fail.

Haruspex
2007-03-28, 07:38 PM
I can't balance to save my life, but I like the idea of increasing a mount's Hit Dice and capabilities. It was one of the reasons I didn't bother purchasing mounts.

Umarth
2007-03-29, 04:06 PM
24 hours with no comments about how broken this is so that passes my quick balance check.

Haruspex
2007-03-29, 05:48 PM
Hmm. Critic mode activated.

Can PCs increase the power of existing horses, or do they have to be bought with these improvements? It would be an interesting expansion of the Handle Animal skill.

Kyace
2007-03-29, 06:16 PM
It isn't a major thing, but the SRD Ponies (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/pony.htm) are slower than even heavy horses. Is that true in your world as well? Also, you never say how fast the mounts in your world are, just that light horses generally have quickness that make them 10 ft faster.

Umarth
2007-03-29, 07:10 PM
Ah yah anything that's not on that chart is per the PHB.

Ponies = 40ft
Light Horses = 60 ft
Heavy Horses = 50 ft
Draft Horses = 40 ft

Umarth
2007-03-30, 10:06 AM
So using the new Mount rules here is the biggest baddest mount statted out with costs:

Biggest Horse Arround decked in Plate

Elite Huwawa War Champion
Animal (Draft Horse)
10d8HD (110hps; 40+70)
Speed 40 ft. (8 squares)
Init: +2
AC 22; touch 9; flat-footed 22
(+8 Full Plate, +5 Nat Arm, +1 Dex, -1 Size)
BAB +7; Grp +21
Attack Hoof +17 (2d6+10, 20/x2)
Full-Attack Hoof, Hoof, Bite +17/+17/+12 (2d6+10 20/x2, 2d6+10 20/x2, 1d4+5)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks Awsome Blow
Special Qualities +2 save vs. fear
Saves Fort +14 Ref +9 Will +5
Abilities Str 30, Dex 14, Con 24, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 6
Skills Spot +9 ,Listen +9
Feats Power Attack, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Natural Attack (Hoof), Awesome Blow
Environment Domesticated / Any
Organization Domesticated
Challenge Rating 7
Treasure None
Alignment Always Neutral

Awsome Blow: As a standard action, the creature may choose to subtract 4 from its melee attack roll and deliver an awesome blow. If the creature hits a corporeal opponent smaller than itself with an awesome blow, its opponent must succeed on a Reflex save (DC = damage dealt) or be knocked flying 10 feet in a direction of the attacking creature’s choice and fall prone. The attacking creature can only push the opponent in a straight line, and the opponent can’t move closer to the attacking creature than the square it started in. If an obstacle prevents the completion of the opponent’s move, the opponent and the obstacle each take 1d6 points of damage, and the opponent stops in the space adjacent to the obstacle.

Cost
Mount: 47,250
Full Plate Barding: 6,000
MW Military Sadle: 70
MW Bit and Bridle: 50
Full Cost: 53,370

To put it in perspective that's the same as a +5 Weapon or a Carpet of flying, 6 ft. by 9 ft.

Neek
2007-03-30, 08:09 PM
Can this rule be modified for non-standard mounts?

Umarth
2007-03-30, 11:43 PM
Yah,
My homebrew really only has horse mounts but you should be able to modify it for any mount type.

General things to look at:
Max HD by type or 2x normal HD for mount. For the cost per HD I did 1.5x the previous HDs cost and rounded.
Basic mount type,
New breed of mount & what makes it special.

If you've got a specific mount your looking for let me know and I can probably whip something up.

Mitth'raw'nuruo
2007-04-06, 03:02 PM
Impressive, are you going to expand it a little more, because I would love to use this in the campaign I'm starting to write.

Umarth
2007-04-06, 04:07 PM
I've been working on it a bit more. I should have it finished in about a week or so. I'll update a final version on this site.