D&D 3.5 Mechanical Mount

[Lifeson]

So, I'm playing in a Zelda-style world, using D&D3.5 rules, and one of my two characters is a mad scientist, and she came up with the idea of a monstrous drum kit/tank akin to the thing Mike Portnoy rides on the "Dark Eternal Night" animation.

So, I've logically come up with how this thing could be constructed in the world (There are steam engines in Zelda. Spirit Tracks. ), and so I would assume it'd be some sort of Mechanical Mount.

The issue is, how do I stat this thing? It's going to have skirts and spikes for a bit of protection beyond the drum kit itself, but it's not a golem by any means, and it's probably going to be small/medium size, since the rider is a kokiri.

[Altair_the_Vexed]

Look at the material hardnesses and hit points for what sort of hp and DR it might have.
If it's small, it should have roughly the same HD as animals the same size - generally 1 or less. Check the HD type of the Animated Object, and give it the same.
Animated object is probably a good bet altogether - it has rulings for speed based on number of legs and so on.

[Lappy9000]

Monster Manual IV has a clockwork mount that's pretty darn neat.

Alternatively, you could just take a horse/riding dog/whatever mount and just give it the Construct type. I just threw it together, but a normal mechanical heavy horse would probably look something like this:

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Mechanical Mount
Size/Type: Large Construct
Hit Dice: 1d10+30 (35 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 50 ft. (10 squares)
Armor Class: 13, touch 10, flat-footed 12 (-1 size, +1 dex, +3 natural)
Base Attack/Grapple: 0/+7
Attack: Hoof -1 melee (1d6+1*)
Full Attack: 2 hooves -1 melee (1d6+1*)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: —
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision
Saves: Fort 0, Ref +1, Will +1
Abilities: Str 16, Dex 13, Con —, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 1
Skills: Listen +4, Spot +4
Feats: Run
Environment: Any
Organization: Single
Challenge Rating: 2
Treasure: —
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: —
Level Adjustment: —

Edit: Oops, you said medium size. Fixed it now:

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Construct War Pony
Size/Type: Medium Construct
Hit Dice: 2d10+20 (31 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)
Armor Class: 15, touch 11, flat-footed 14 (+1 dex, +4 natural)
Base Attack/Grapple: +1/+3
Attack: Hoof +3 melee (1d3+2)
Full Attack: 2 hooves +3 melee (1d3+2)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: —
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision
Saves: Fort 0, Ref +1, Will 0
Abilities: Str 15, Dex 13, Con —, Int —, Wis 11, Cha 1
Skills: Listen +5, Spot +5
Feats: Run
Environment: Any
Organization: Single
Challenge Rating: 2
Treasure: —
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: —
Level Adjustment: —

I beefed up the natural armor by +2 'cause it seemed to make sense. I guess the only real thing is if you want it to be a running mount or a war mount.

[Lifeson]

Running mount or war mount?

Err, I'm guessing war.

Also, I have a prototype picture of this thing.

[Silverscale]

I have a prototype picture of this thing.

That looks like something out of a Dr. Suess book.

[imp_fireball]

I think in PHB rules, vehicles (read, pull carts) can get damaged in rough terrain.

Although this vehicle appears to have heavy duty wheels - thus, it won't be damaged.

The steel panel at the front seems to indicate that getting run over isn't all that lethal... the enemy will just be flipped over top - logically, it should include a roof so that enemies don't hit you in the face when you run over them.

When I originally saw this thread, I thought you were referring to an actual steam powered horse (which has probably been done before; but then again, everything's been done before ).

Consider that the vehicle requires fuel. It also doesn't look very military - I'm getting the idea that it is a cobbled together metal puttering heap that is nonetheless durable. Also it's front panel bumper means it'll suffer less from crashing.

It'd be great to take the thing off ramps - also include a rule for overcharging the vehicle to make it go faster? The draw back would be that it requires fuel that may be more costly then mount feed. The benefit being that, despite the fact that you can't use any mounted feats (except maybe spirited charge) and that the vehicle is dependent to your every whim, you should be able to move much faster then a horse.

Also, running over enemy blockades is preferable.

Monster Manual IV has a clockwork mount that's pretty darn neat.

I'm already going to assume it's not very fast.

You know the rat-thing (size small or medium) can run up to 700 miles/hour (from snow crash; essentially a cybernetic dog with a nuclear heart... heats up like crazy)? Of course, because of the heat it gives off and the speed it moves at, it wouldn't make for a very good mount (Ride DC infinity to not fall off not to mention fire damage) without technology or magic helping you along.

[JD0G93]

Ok im new here but i actually am doing this. In my campaign im a warforged artificer (eberon campaign setting) and in the Arms And Equipment Guide it introduces extra vehicles and special mundane and magical upgrades for them. If your vehicle is large or smaller the market price is 132,000 gold and it will move at 60 ft a round on its own. if you make a vehicle with tracks or heavy duty wheels like you seem to have it ignores some difficult terrain with no loss of movement or speed. However at the DMs discretion it may be slower if you make it too heavy past a vehicle you that is pulled by animals that you base it on. I know all this cus i am making completely without magic except the enchant i mentioned tank (M1 Abrams supertank) with adamantine armor and a full tank gun that i can (as an artificer) make a magical super death machine later on. Good luck with that oh and as for overcharge (mentioned above) you can enchant it with the spell expeditios retreat (players handbook) so many times per day or permantly if you like