Or even this?
Place a character on a mount and they get infinitely cooler in my book, for some reason. Maybe it is the added power the mount gives them, though I have never professed to be a min/max power gamer. Past that basic observation, the rationalization of the epic awesomeness - that is mounted characters - eludes me.
My take on the best mount for some of the fantasy staples include;
Dwarves on Dire Bears
Orc on Dire Boars
Goblins on Worgs
Halflings on Raptors (Wolves/Dogs are alright, but come on, Halflings really need something epic IMHO)
Gnomes on Ostriches or Mountain Goats (terrain dependent)
Thoughts?
Another must, in my book, is pets. I know where this philosophical predisposition comes from though. From an image I can't seem to find on the webs, that I saw when I first got interested in D&D, of either an Orc or Hobgoblin (Shaman I think) with a staff and two Dire Rats on chains, as pets. Then there was a module that had an image of a man in studded leather loosing his two war dogs. Think he was a warehouse guard or something...
Am I alone in this? Or, as suspected, I have finally lost it?
TB
I humbly submit: kobolds on battle-lobsters.
ReplyDeleteWhat's a battle-lobster? Giant crayfish, really, who dwell in the still pools of the kobolds' cave lairs. Kobolds use the crustacean's long antennae as reins, effectively controlling movement and direction. When confronted, a mounted battle-lobster brandishes its fearsome pincers to keep an enemy at bay, giving the rider an opportunity to lob a few javelins from a quiver lashed to the mount's carapace. They move slowly, but they're prickly and well-armoured.
Dude, the raptors are for lizardmen. Halflings get frickin' BADGERS.
ReplyDelete@Erin, Cool! I want to play in your world! Perfect example of what makes mounts cool. Perhaps an aquatic race if Kobolds... that mount clay pots of air to breath when the crayfish tucks its tail and retreats... hit and... well whatever that movement is called that they do.
ReplyDelete@Roger, point made... Honey Badgers, they just don't give a $#1T - see link - El Oh El!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/04/honey-badger-dont-care_n_831278.html
@Bane: Haha, Aqua-bolds! Sing along (you know the tune):
ReplyDeleteRiding on my crayfish,
~DON-dah-dah~
Huuurl-ing missiles at that cler-ic
~DON-dah-dah-DAH-dah...DON-dah-dah~
He is swinging with his mace
~DON-dah-dah~
Whilst my crayfish pinches his head
~DON-dah-dah-DAH-dah~
Aqua-bold!
It must have something to do with 50-year-old men buying fancy cars. Men in Porsches, knights on horses, sorcerers on dragons, etc.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, the whole idea is actually cool. Mounts aren't really practical in dungeons though and they cost a fortune in fodder when you're low level.
@Fred, maybe.
ReplyDeleteI agree they don't fit in dungeons, but I prefer my Dungeons & Dragons without the Dungeon. I can't, for the life of me, 'rationalize' dungeons, past one for a castle to keep prisoners in. Let alone the "Megadungeon". The rational escapes me.
TB