Dwarven Mount

Hello gentlemen,

OK – quick survey:

I want to include a dwarven mount as an Add On for the KickStarter, but having a difficult time coming up with something that isn’t WoW related.

While rams make sense, Nelson mentioned either Boar or Bear (of the cave variety, I would assume).

What do you guys think? Suggestions? Would a Cave Bear give dwarven players an unfair advantage in combat?

You could always say the bear is for mount purposes only and is considered a ‘non-combatant.’. To be on the safe side, perhaps boar would be safer choice. I don’t have my books in front of me but I can forsee the bear having more attacks (claw, claw, bite) as opposed to a ‘gore’ attack from the boar.

Cody,

But that’s the issue – dwarves are not mountain dwellers like the indigenous culture sof the Andes or Himalaya – they dwell INSIDE the mountain. To me that means traversing rock bridges, ledges, things of that nature. Plus being able to handle the incessant darkness (or at least dimness) of that realm.

Rams, goats and llamas don’t cut it for me in that respect.

I chose them because they were common in mountain areas, so they are available. That being said, I understand your issue.

There are no mammals that live entirely in caves, period. Even “Cave Bears” and other prehistoric creatures only lived in caves for shelter, but always left to hunt (a good example of this is Bats in modern day). Mammals simply do not do well in constant darkness of caves. As such, most of the ‘permanent’ cave dwelling creatures in nature are insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and other invertebrates and none of those creatures do well OUTSIDE of a cave or underground environment. If you want to have a beast of burden animal within a the caverns where the Dwarves have made their cities, you could probably due with arthropods like maybe a giant cave crab or spider or something.

If you cannot get animals which live IN the mountains, that leaves you with those that live on and around them. To that end, I’m personally more for a Yak or Llama compared to Rams, goats, and predators. Cave Bears could work, but if we do that we could also bring up the option for creatures such as Shadow Lions or cougars/pumas/mountain lions too. There are also recorded evidence of other ‘cave’ dwelling creatures, including Sloths, Hyenas, Gorillas (and other Great Apes) as well. There is a possibility as well for Elk or Reindeer, but we already know that the Elorii use Elk (or did in the 3.5 days), Moose live in Swamps mostly, and Reindeer are probably more found in the Unsealed Lands.

Ultimately, I don’t think we’re going to get too far with a real world creature that 1) would be realistically used as a mount and 2) is entirely subterranean.

How about this: Make an original creature that is rodent-based, using traits of bats? It can be omniverous like rats (not a herbivore as there is a lack of green plants underground), the size of a pony overall, but a bit lower to the ground. It is slower than a horse (by a fair amount), with the same Beast of Burden trait (can carry equivalent) and have its special ability being similar to the one proposed for the Sama in that it can fit into spaces one size category less with no penalty. This means that they can be used in dungeons and whatnot while horses can be left outside. You could also give it a penalty to vision outside, but good scent or possibly an echolocation ability (Blindsight?).

Cody,

You put your finger on my problem.

The closest thing I can think of is a boar, since pigs tend to live and thrive just about amnywhere.

So, given the impasse, I’m going to forego putting up a special mount unless I’m struck by a bolt of total inspiration.

Thank you all for your input.

Henry,

My suggestion would be to include a new variant creature of say the cougar that has darkvision in addition to night vision. One that’s surefooted on both smooth stone and rougher terrain – rock, stairs, etc. The mount could note that it’s used to being indoors opening up more places it could go – within the realm of social decor. Perhaps it’s something adapted to hunt within the upper reaches of the lavendar way with an ability to spend an extended amount of time below ground as well as above. Perhaps specifically bred to help patrol the boundary between worlds so to speak.

With a sweep of his hat,

Paul

Well, since I was waiting on a reaction at work, I thought I’d try my hand at my rodent guy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capybara

Giant Cave Capybara
Common (Tier 1) D8, Large,
Beast (Natural)

Avoidance Fortitude Discipline
19 19 17

St (Wo) 35 (1) Pace 30
AR 0(2) Initiative 3d10
Attacks Claw: +3(a) D6(d10)
Speed (Recovery): 3 (0), Range: Melee

Bite: +3(a) D8(d10)
Speed (Strain): 4 (x), Range: Melee

Talents Blind-Fighting, Double-Jointed, Natural Scent

Traits Beast of Burden, Natural Armour, Powerful Attribute (Might)
Flaws Bestial Intellect, Poor Senses (Vision)

Skills (+3, 18, 15)
Melee (Unarmed), Perception, Mettle, Athletics

Gear None
Encounter Tier Value: 1.0

Hello gentlemen,

OK – quick survey:

I want to include a dwarven mount as an Add On for the KickStarter, but having a difficult time coming up with something that isn’t WoW related.

While rams make sense, Nelson mentioned either Boar or Bear (of the cave variety, I would assume).

What do you guys think? Suggestions? Would a Cave Bear give dwarven players an unfair advantage in combat?

Ultimately the question that can be raised is: Why would the Dwarves need mounts?

There are two reasons why humans have tamed horses to act in their present rolls: 1) Beast of burden, and 2) Transportation. Most Dwarves stay within their enclaves which are a bunch of interconnecting tunnels and rooms within a large underground vault, which means that their need for rapid transportation isn’t entirely necessary. There also hasn’t been, to my knowledge, any suggestion of a Dwarven cavalry force, with the Dwarves overwhelmingly operating as a Heavy Infantry force (similar to the Coryani Legions or the Nierites of Canceri). Beats of burden are good, especially when you need them to operate the bellows of a forge or carry cargo, but these animals need to be strong and not fast or mobiles. If anything, they need to be able to be large, heavy, and be able to get good purchase on the ground, which means we’re looking at creatures like the Yak, Ram, and Horse.

Also, as a story point to consider: Would the Dwarves have co-opted creatures that they had found into their service, or use creatures that they had previously used? We know they enslaved Eladru (or a very similar race) to be slave labour because they were there and were good in volcanic environments, but the only true Celestial Giant city that we know about in story is in the Valley of Dis, which means an open air (if cold) environment. The Dwarves living in mountains exclusively seems to have come from their transformation by Illiir (possibly as a viable defence against angry humans out for their now shorter necks). With that being the case, perhaps we should look towards creatures that are common in colder environments which can be bred to be good in tighter confines? Hell, we have plenty of history ourselves in selectively breeding animals into specific breeds which bear little resemblance to their original forms (ie: the Cow, Dogs, etc). The Dwarves have been in their current form almost 3,000 years (in real life, that would be the Bronze Age compared to us!). Plenty of time to take a Yak or a Llama and turn it into something with more clawed feet and such!