Join B.A.R.E, Bothered About (Un)Recycled Equines!

[Voneth]

I hear you cries about mis used dragons, but please what about the common horse!!

We are starting a new campaign and for a breif moment, I flirted with the idea of being a Mongolia Horseman Barbarian. Then reality slamed the door in my face with the memories of our last campaign.

In the first adventure, giant mosqitos had sucked some of our equines dry and gave the others a fatal illness. Despite getting to 16th level, we have spent most of our time on foot.

Undead, flying hungry demons, and wild lands that freaked out any domesticated animal made short work of all the wasted gold we spent on horses.

And after the wizard learned teleport, I couldn't even have my Driud's Animal Companions keep up with the party. The thoughts of my horseman now make me shiver in fear.

The niave thoughts of my Mongol making a "fly-by" attack on the villains minions which would then end in a tumbling charge where I would use Great Cleave to make short work of the rest of the patsies.

The reality would be all the minons who ordinarly would mindlessly hack at the closest fighters would suddenly all aim for my lone horse.

I just don't have the heart to do that to such a noble beast!

I beseech GMs every where, be nicer to horsies!!!

 

[GoldenEagle]

Oh I feel your pain. The only horse to survive any campaign with our GM was the one we actually named "Glue Foot"

The best way he killed ours was on a boat. We can never buy horses that survive or make it anywhere by boat! And to think we actually tried to transport our horses by boat...how stupid were we?


GE

 

[DWARF]

I, as a DM, try to keep the players having fun. Killing their horses off at every turn isn't the way to do that. Now, if there's a reason for me to take them out (Like they leave them alone and tied up just a mile from a well-patrolled hobgoblin camp) then I will do it. But if they're careful, I'm not going to go out of my way to twist things and destroy them...

 

[Xarlen]

Y'know, Dwarf, I don't like your quote. Simply becausae I didnt' like that in the movie.

Dwarves aren't supposed to be good sprinters; they don't do short distances fast. They do LONG distances very well.

It was mentioned in the book about Elves and humans running faster for short periods, but the thing about the Dwarf is, he can keep his rhythm going. He can march, run, walk, at the same speed for longer periods of time then others (Ergo, the +2 Con, when you need to start making Con checks).

Sorry to Hi-jack.

My PCs have kept their horses, the cleric and mage still have their ol' horsies. I am nice to my horses. THough, I did target one with a Cause Fear, and that sent the party tank well off into the distance from the fray.

 

[Khorod]

<Humor> I think the problem is that the horse isn't leveling as fast as the party. Maybe the DM could make a more powerful Horse PrC that gives it a reduced XP table?</Humor>

Nevermind, that was unworthy of a Humor tag.

This is where the battle between fun game and realistic game exists. In a realistic game the horses die, in a fun or epic game, the horse of the hero will only die when the ultimate bad guy wants a laugh.

If you can work something out with your DM, keep the Mongolian idea. Maybe you'll lose a horse or two, but maybe at some point you can some magic that allows your horse to travel with you, even by magic! And maybe at some point you can get yourself the world's version of a child of Shadowfax, which certainly wouldn't die in the unpredictable twists of battle.

Horse & Man are One

 

[Voneth]

Are we to ignore the plight of our four-legged friends?!
Neigh, I say, Neigh!

 

[BOZ]

last night, a fellow party member bought my SLOW dwarf a horse so that i could keep up with the rest of the party. (what a guy!) not an hour later, a roc swooped into our campsite and flew off with it.

oh well...

 

[Nifft]

I very much agree. In fact, as a DM I only have specific monsters target horses. Now I'm considering making some special mount-centric spells.

-- Nifft

 

[diaglo]

mules are better. you can take them inside a dungeon.

we are in trouble all the time of some wandering predator eating our horses outside the adventure, while we dungeon crawl.

 

[Nifft]

Mount-centric protection spell thread in "House Rules":

http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=36584

-- Nifft