Howdah combat?

[Reprisal]

I think that's how it's spelled... but anyway, I was looking at the exotic weapons in Masters of the Wild and found something called an "anku" which is used for steering elephants (pg. 26). It sparked my interest, and I decided to include a force of mammoth-riding nordic barbarians in my game.

But I'm wondering how to deal with the rules aspect... I'm going to use the use of a howdah atop the raging pachyderm with three warriors inside:

One to use the anku and steer the mammoth onward, and two armed with composite longbows and longspears...

In any event, I was wondering if there were rules for "Howdah Fighting," or if I should start developing my own... Basically, I'm going to give the warriors a cover bonus for the howdah, and that's about it...

Heh, thanks in advance!

 

[dr_nukem]

Other than using the basic Ride skill and associated feats, there aren't any speficic rules dealing with Mounted combat that I'm aware of.

 

[CRGreathouse]

There's a +1 attack bonus for higher ground that they'd get, and the Ride skill and feat chain. That's all I can think of at the moment...

 

[Piratecat]

I decided to include a force of mammoth-riding nordic barbarians in my game.

You, Sir, are cool. Go, mammoths!

 

[Reprisal]

Thanks Piratecat, !

I had looked at the Ride skill and associated Feat list, but it seemed that it lacked something... I was thinking of it being closer to the Chariot feats in Sword and Fist (pg. 78-9)... but now that I think of it, using the Mounted Combat feats may work just as well... Now, should I differentiate between the normal Mounted Combat feats and "Howdah" feats? Or just leave it as it is now?

Anyway, here's a picture from CivIII of the Indian War Elephant:

But yeah, picture instead a wooly mammoth and a howday that's probably bigger... (a Mammoth was bigger than an African Elephant, right?)

 

[Zhure]

Howdah? Sure, but nobody ever asks about a hennwai.
Greg

 

[Tzarevitch]

I think that's how it's spelled... but anyway, I was looking at the exotic weapons in Masters of the Wild and found something called an "anku" which is used for steering elephants (pg. 26). It sparked my interest, and I decided to include a force of mammoth-riding nordic barbarians in my game.

But I'm wondering how to deal with the rules aspect... I'm going to use the use of a howdah atop the raging pachyderm with three warriors inside:

One to use the anku and steer the mammoth onward, and two armed with composite longbows and longspears...

In any event, I was wondering if there were rules for "Howdah Fighting," or if I should start developing my own... Basically, I'm going to give the warriors a cover bonus for the howdah, and that's about it...

Heh, thanks in advance!

Remember that the fight will effectively be in three dimensions as the crew in the howdah will be about 15-20' off of the ground. The guys they are fighting better have reach weapons or missile weapons or they can't attack the crew at all.

Tzarevitch

BTW I think it is called an "ankus" a.k.a. "emephant goad".

 

[Reprisal]

Heh, I wish I knew what a hennwei was...

But yeah, I was going to say that the Longspears would enable the warriors in the howdah to fight anyone adjacent to the mammoth, and the composite longbows would have to take care of everything else beyond that...

The neat thing is that the mammoth can trample on its own, so that particular feat isn't exactly needed.

So far, I've got three fighters in the howdah: the first, or the Driver, is a third level Fighter; the others are second level. The mammoth itself is CR: 8...

Total CR = ?

Well, two Fighters at CR:2 makes an EL of 3, so we have two EL 3's... Two 3's make and EL of 5.

5 and 8 make total Encounter Level of 8 or 9...

I'll round up, and make the total value of the encounter EL: 9.

Sound good?

 

[Zhure]

Heh, I wish I knew what a hennwei was...

ARGH! It's "what's a hennwai?"

 

[Henrix]

Didn't Grenadier make an old war mammoth miniature with loads of barbarians on it?


I've only got a small 15mm mammoth with howdah


Anyway, a hennwai is the long stick you poke them with when you housebreak the mammoth. It is now long out of fashion.