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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Shade" data-source="post: 4458361" data-attributes="member: 287">Next!Full WarhorseFREQUENCY: Very rareNo APPEARING: 1ARMOUR CLASS: 7MOVE: 15"HIT DICE: 5+3% IN LAIR: NilTREASURE TYPE: NilNo of ATTACKS: 3DAMAGE: 1-10/1-10/1-4SPECIAL ATTACKS: NilSPECIAL DEFENCES: NilMAGIC RESISTANCE: NilINTELLIGENCE: AnimalALIGNMENT: NeutralSIZE: LPSIONIC ABILITY: NilAttack/Defence Modes: NilLEVEL/XP VALUE: IV /150 + 6 per hit pointThe full warhorse is the natural mount of the mounted fighter - though very few ever have the chance to own one. They are the result of the finest stock selection and breeding between ordinary heavy horses, so rare that barely one foal in five hundred bred in such a way will be a young full warhorse. Very few horsebreeders have acquired the skill and knowledge to improve on those odds, and such men and women become very rich indeed, serving great princes and kings. There are those who sell these powerful mounts to anyone who has the requisite influence and wealth to obtain one. The price of a full warhorse obtained in such a way is never less than 1500gp, and can be more in times of war or civil unrest.In addition, the warhorse must then be trained to work with its new owner. This takes at least six weeks of intensive work, and again, the opportunities are very rare. Most trainers capable of such work are already in the service of wealthy masters, and the few prepared to be hired for such work will demand 1800gp for a six week 'course'.Once trained, the full warhorse will recognize only one rider. It will resist anyone who attempts to mount it, lead it away or whatever, even if it recognizes the person as a friend of its owner.In practice, most player characters who manage to obtain one of these steeds will be cavaliers who perform some great service to their patron - provided the patron can afford the price, or have a stockbreeder on their staff. Training might be included in the reward. Often, a cavalier can be persuaded to accept a full warhorse, fully trained, in exchange for a reward or a 'gift' of twice the value. If an opportunity occurs, a cavalier should be prepared to do almost anything to obtain one.When its owner dies, a surviving full warhorse can only be retrained 10% of the time. There is a further 15% chance that it will go wild, attacking all creatures it meets, until its inevitable demise. In the remaining 75% of cases, the warhorse merely lapses into the deepest despair, dying 1-8 days after the loss of its rider. Similar risks are run when an owner voluntarily abandons a warhorse for any period longer than a month. In such circumstances there is a 50% chance per month that the horse will pine away.A cavalier who wishes to pass on his full warhorse, or to sell it, will find its loyalty a hindrance. Most knowledgeable horsedealers will pay only a fraction of the price (150gp). Warhorses can only be retrained in 25% of cases, and both buyer and seller must be involved in the process, which will take 10 weeks. A trainer will be required as well, at a cost of 4000gp, the money being due regardless of whether or not the retraining is successful.(From "Horse Combat" by Chris Felton, Imagine Magazine #11, February 1984.)</blockquote>

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