Creating and Pricing special Warhorses...

[Rashak Mani]

In books we see a lot of those special horses... many times magical in nature like Shadowfax... or Alexander the Great´s Bucephalus ... yet where are those specially bred or those extra tough horses that once in a while show up ? A warrior prince wont just ride any warhorse... after all those stats for Light and Heavy Warhorses and Warponies reflect the "average" horse dont they ?

In the future in a big city or by chance the players might find a horse breeder that could sell them Horses that gamewise have either better Str... better Con or possibly a marginal speed advantage when running like a +5 feet (total +20 running).

Imagine your Fighter that has lost many a mount in combat finding a chance to buy a Heavy Warhorse that is very well trained and has +4 Con as well... a real "War"horse... how much wouldnt it be worth beyond that normal 400 gp ? Or even maybe a 5 HD Heavy Warhorse ? At higher levels of gaming these would even be required to survive simple combat. (One must agree that a 30 hp average HEAVY Warhorse is a little pathetic...)

Even a higher wisdom is a good thing better scent and Will saves... Dex helps too...

What about prices ? Suggestions on how to price such individual animals ? How much would you be willing to pay to a Bucephalus like horse with 5 HD +4 Con +2 Str +2 Wis +2 Dex +20 ft when running ?

On a side note... these horses can become Paladin mounts as well...( DM decision not Paladin )..making the acquisition from the Horse breeder quite a problem if the price is steep... but solves the many "Mount Survival threads".

 

[hong]

Three possible solutions to the expendable warhorse problem:

- play a paladin
- play a cavalier, based on the battle maiden PrC from OA
- use the legendary horse from MotW

In the last case, finding the horse should probably be a quest in itself.

 

[Crothian]

The price would soar. These are the type of horses that Kings have for personally mounts. I'd think they would be at least 1000gp and some could push the 10k range.

Local economy permitting.

 

[hong]

The price would soar. These are the type of horses that Kings have for personally mounts. I'd think they would be at least 1000gp and some could push the 10k range.

Somehow, the thought of buying a legendary horse just strikes me as... wrong, like buying a holy avenger.

 

[Crothian]

Somehow, the thought of buying a legendary horse just strikes me as... wrong, like buying a holy avenger.

I was just refering to better normal horses, not legendary ones. Gosh, I'd never let a PC buy a legendary one. That would be an insane quest that he gets to drag the party on and then when it's all over the rest of the guys will look at him and say "We did all of that for a freaking horse?"

 

[Rashak Mani]

I´m talking about buying above and well above the average horses ... not legendary as in game mechanics !

What about simple +4 Con Hvy Warhorse ? 600 gp ? 700 gp ?

 

[hong]

I´m talking about buying above and well above the average horses ... not legendary as in game mechanics !

What about simple +4 Con Hvy Warhorse ? 600 gp ? 700 gp ?

Well, recall that the statted creatures in the MM are for average/commonplace specimens -- the equivalent of a human with 10-11 in each ability. You could have an exceptional horse, just like you can have exceptional humans. A 20% to 50% premium sounds reasonable, depending on just how exceptional.

Even so, just increasing ability scores isn't going to get you very far. A heavy warhorse with 25 Con remains a 4HD creature, and can still be toasted by high-level adversaries.

 

[Rashak Mani]

At least he gets +4 HPs/+1 Fort for every +2 Con bonuses gained. He also gets better Con checks... so he has more endurance, etc... A 5 HD with higher Constit. Hvy Warhorse wouldnt be abusive in my opinion... makes for much better high level mount. Just costs a lot more...

20-50% extra seems a good quick price estimate

Also remember its not only about game mechanics... your player will feel and treat the animal as special... after all he wont find extra tough or faster animals anytime... no matter how much money he has to waste. Eventually you could give progression to especially sucessful horses.

Another Horse trait that could be done: Better Damage or Attack for a Specially trained horse... ever seen the Spanish Horses in Vienna academy ? All white horses and specially trained for combat. Real life thing... the horses can execute a huge number of commands... from kicking backwards to walking sideways... nowdays more for show of course.

 

[hong]

At least he gets +4 HPs/+1 Fort for every +2 Con bonuses gained. He also gets better Con checks... so he has more endurance, etc... A 5 HD with higher Constit. Hvy Warhorse wouldnt be abusive in my opinion... makes for much better high level mount. Just costs a lot more...

Abusive? Heck, when the fighter who's riding it has 100+ hp, the druid has a dire bear companion, and the paladin's horse has improved evasion and can order other horses around, it's downright tame!

 

[nwn_deadman]

Just get a giant eagle, hippogriff, griffon or pegasus and be done with it