Trained Animals: How Much?

[Cheiromancer]

We're beginning a campaign, and a 4th level rogue wishes to have a heavy horse that has been trained to come when he whistles, and so on.

How much should this add to the cost of the horse?

My gut feeling is that a trained horse should cost about the same as a war-horse. But I'd like to know what the actual rule is.

 

[candidus_cogitens]

We're beginning a campaign, and a 4th level rogue wishes to have a heavy horse that has been trained to come when he whistles, and so on.

How much should this add to the cost of the horse?

My gut feeling is that a trained horse should cost about the same as a war-horse. But I'd like to know what the actual rule is.

I don't think there is a rule specifically for that, although I suppose you could just figure out how much it would cost to hire a trainer for a week. The DMG 3.5 says it costs 3 sp a day for a skilled craftsperson, which is probably equivalent to the cost for an animal trainer. So that would be 21 sp. But then you have to add on some extra fees to cover time the trainer may have spent on animals that ended up not being capable of learning the trick, etc. So, I guess I'd charge an extra 10 sp for that. And if the PC wants to simply buy an animal already trained, rather than buying an animal and hiring a trainer to train it, the cost could perhaps double, since the trainer is selling him a finished product with demonstrable skills. So that brings it to 62 sp.

You may also want to require the PC to spend a day with the trainer and the animal so that the trainer can re-train the animal to respond to the PC as its new master. (Possibly an extra fee for this . . . although it could be included in the above fees.)

You may also want to consider the sidebar on p.36 of MotW which says you can pay a trainer $250 gp per hit die (of the animal) to raise an animal so that it becomes stronger and smarter. That's to hire a trainer, but if you wanted to simply buy a specially raised and pampered animal . . . again I would charge double.

I'd like to know how you decide to handle it.

 

[Cheiromancer]

... The DMG 3.5 says it costs 3 sp a day for a skilled craftsperson, which is probably equivalent to the cost for an animal trainer. So that would be 21 sp...

You sound like the player in question. I just can't see him getting 6 tricks for 2 gp. Or 6 gp, for that matter.

The horse costs a base 200 gp, for heaven's sake.

Hmmm. Anyone else?

 

[Deset Gled]

I would make the rogue in question buy a scroll of Animal Friendship, and have him cast it on the horse himself. Teaching an animal to come when called is a trick he can teach it once he has befriended it.

Thus, the cost would vary depending on how many times he fails his Use Magic Device Check.