Level Up (A5E) Animal Handling to train an Elk to be a Mount - How long?

[Stalker0]

I have a player who wants to use animal handling to train an elk to become a mount. In this game, we have a lot of downtime and time passing, so he would absolutely have the time. I'm just trying to gauge how long that would take.

I didn't find anything immediate in the animal handling or downtime rules, anywhere else in the books that might cover this?

 

[Faolyn]

In the real world, according to one page, it can take up 1-2 years to properly train a horse for saddle.

For the game, I'd go with the rules for learning a new feat in downtime, with the idea that it's the elk taking the imaginary feat "riding animal."

 

[WarDriveWorley]

I found this post a while back that I prefer to use. It's a bit crunchy, but overall seems balanced. That said the time depends on the characters, their actions/decisions, and how they roll/role-play.

 

[xiphumor]

In the real world, according to one page, it can take up 1-2 years to properly train a horse for saddle.

For the game, I'd go with the rules for learning a new feat in downtime, with the idea that it's the elk taking the imaginary feat "riding animal."

Key word being “properly.” I think you could give marginal benefits faster. Maybe a creature is mountable as a leisurely riding animal or pack animal but not combat ready. I think it would be more fun to grant benefits in stages.

 

[BookTenTiger]

I created this Downtime Activity when my players wanted to train some giant pigs they rescued from a sinking boat. Maybe you'd find it useful as inspiration?

Animal Training​

A character who has the time and resources may train a beast to perform select behaviors.

Resources: A character must spend an amount of gold for each behavior they wish their beast to learn. This cost represents food, housing, and the equipment required for training. If a character is training more than one beast, the price must be paid for each beast being trained.

Resolution: At the end of a work week, the character makes a Wisdom (Animal Handling) check to determine how many new behaviors they successfully taught their beast. A character may train more than one beast at a time, if the beasts are of the same species. However, each additional beast increases the DC of the check by 2.

Wisdom (Handle Animal)

• 10 - 1 new behavior
• 15 - 2 new behaviors
• 20 - 3 new behaviors

Behaviors:

• Carry Supplies - 2 gp
• Carry a Rider - 5 gp
• Fetch an Item - 10 gp
• Stay Calm in Battle - 15 gp
• Attack on Command - 20 gp

Unique Traits: Every beast has unique traits that are only revealed during training. Roll on the following table for each beast when it is first trained:

1. The beast has a unique pattern on its fur, scales, hide, or feathers that is only revealed after it is cleaned and groomed.
2. The beast develops a taste for a unique and unusual food.
3. The beast becomes remarkably friendly towards an unexpected ally.
4. The beast sings when happy or excited.
5. The beast develops a liking for a certain musical instrument.
6. The beast develops a friendship with a different kind of beast, perhaps one that is its natural predator or prey.
7. The beast is overly protective of its owner.
8. The beast is pregnant or has sired offspring.
9. The beast develops an affinity for a certain unusual clothing item, such as a scarf, decorative flower, or hat.
10. The beast is exceptionally smart and learns a new behavior.

 

[Celebrim]

It depends on whether you want to have fantasy animal training or more realistic animal training.

Training a wild animal would be considerably harder than training a domestic one, both in terms of the difficulty of the skill checks and the amount of time required. This is because there are some very basic things you don't have to teach a domesticated animal because they are instinctual that you would have to teach a non-domesticated animal, like to not be afraid of you. The act of 'taming' the elk would itself have to be done before you could start teaching it skills like bearing a rider. It probably could be done, as 'reindeer' are nothing more than domesticated caribou, and reindeer can be taught to bear a rider. Likewise, zebra are non-domesticated horse relatives and can be with extensive training taught to bear a rider or pull a cart. But it won't be easy.

Unless you want it to be, in which case just use normal animal handling rules.