Mule Mufflers?!

[taliesin15]

Not necessarily looking for guidance here, but I'm DMing a party in a classic dungeon situation, they want to bring a mule down there, and I've had the NPCs sugest that the mule's hoofs will make so much noise that the party will likely never surprise or sneak up on any monsters.

Get this: they want to "strap on" cut off pieces of leather from the leather armor of some orcs they just vanquished, thinking this will muffle the sound of the mule.

I'm still gut-laughing so hard I can't take it seriously...

 

[Nellisir]

Get this: they want to "strap on" cut off pieces of leather from the leather armor of some orcs they just vanquished, thinking this will muffle the sound of the mule.

I'm still gut-laughing so hard I can't take it seriously...

Are you laughing at the idea, or the image of it? It sounds reasonable to me (though they'd probably want to muzzle it and make sure all the jangling bits of harness are wrapped in cloth also).

Cheers
Nell.

 

[kirinke]

hmmm. actually, it sounds completely reasonable. It actually is quite prevalent in alot of fantasy novels, but the horse or mule has to get used to the whatever you're muffling their feet with. With a speak-to-animal spell, they might make it clear on what they're doing to the poor beast, otherwise you're going to get the dog with a sock on it's foot syndrome.

 

[taliesin15]

some interesting insights so far, but here's one thing: how thick is leather armor? The stuff we used to stop broken epee blades and the like in SCA 20 years ago was pretty darned thick, and not very flexible. We're talking thicker than the side of a boot--if its thick enough to cushion blows from maces and stop some blade attacks, doesn't it seem like its going to be too thick to bend like let's say the leather of a suede jacket?

 

[Scion]

Sounds reasonable.

Although popping up an extended silence would probably work better, it would even make those in the party who have very poor move silently skills less likely to hinder the rest of the party.

Or, one could simply train it to stand on a tensors disk

Why are they bringing the mule in the first place though? That is what hirelings are for.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

some interesting insights so far, but here's one thing: how thick is leather armor? The stuff we used to stop broken epee blades and the like in SCA 20 years ago was pretty darned thick, and not very flexible. We're talking thicker than the side of a boot--if its thick enough to cushion blows from maces and stop some blade attacks, doesn't it seem like its going to be too thick to bend like let's say the leather of a suede jacket?

This is my feeling as well. Leather armor is made of boiled leather, it's hard and inflexible. You aren't going to be able to make little booties for your mule from it on the fly. You'd have to go to a tanner and have the booties made specifically. For on-the-fly use, you're better off cutting up a cloth sack or someone's cloak, etc.

 

[Christopher Lambert]

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms (a semi-historical story of AD ~200 China) it was common practice to muzzle horses and put soft stuff on their shoes. Soldiers also had to wrap their feet or footwear and were gagged by putting chopsticks in their mouths!

Most adventuring parties don't have hirelings. Hirelings tend to get scared ("I'm not going in there!") and they're very easy pickings, so they tend to ... well ... die. IMO hirelings only slow the party down.

 

[Scion]

Most adventuring parties don't have hirelings. Hirelings tend to get scared ("I'm not going in there!") and they're very easy pickings, so they tend to ... well ... die. IMO hirelings only slow the party down.

One could say exactly the same thing about mules. Most adventurers tend not to have them, especially in dungeons. They get scared and refuse to budge, they are easy pickings, they attract problems, they cause problems, they slow down the party, etc etc etc.

At least the hirelings can be bribed and are generally easier to get into small areas than a mule is.

 

[Nellisir]

some interesting insights so far, but here's one thing: how thick is leather armor? The stuff we used to stop broken epee blades and the like in SCA 20 years ago was pretty darned thick, and not very flexible. We're talking thicker than the side of a boot--if its thick enough to cushion blows from maces and stop some blade attacks, doesn't it seem like its going to be too thick to bend like let's say the leather of a suede jacket?

They could make sandals, not booties. Cut a circle for the bottom of the hoof, pierce a number of holes around the perimeter, and lace it up to the mule's legs. I'm not sure it'd like it, and I'd probably have the players' be making animal handling checks, but it'd still work.

It almost seems like you're looking for reasons to tell them it won't work. Why?

Cheers
Nell.

 

[Christopher Lambert]

One could say exactly the same thing about mules. Most adventurers tend not to have them, especially in dungeons. They get scared and refuse to budge, they are easy pickings, they attract problems, they cause problems, they slow down the party, etc etc etc.

At least the hirelings can be bribed and are generally easier to get into small areas than a mule is.

I guess it depends. If I told my hirelings that we're going to slog past traps (and hopefully find and disarm them) while following an incredibly dangerous and risky plan, they won't go.

Meanwhile the mules don't know any better. They're just not happy about the dungeon.

But yeah, mules don't fit into these spaces easily. Even so, I wouldn't want to leave hirelings with mules just inside (or outside) the dungeon where some kind of predator/bandit gang could pick them off.

I'm used to playing wizards, and you have to be slightly paranoid to survive, though.