Mount question [Archive] - Wizards Community

Mount question [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Jindy
01-31-08, 07:54 PM Hopefully this is the right place for this.

Currently working on a level 10 character... Fighter 6/Legendary Leader 4... with most of the feats tied to mounted combat.

Looking for a mount, I turned to the Arms & Equipment Guide which includes a Dire Boar (I'm going for a dwarf, this seemed a good fit). There's a price for a "young" Boar of 400g. There's also a note about "adult" boars, but no price is given.

In the DMG (p. 204) "The Mount's Challenge Rating should be no more than 3 less than the rider's character level."

In the Monster Manual, the Dire Boar has a CR of 4, with notes on Advanced versions.

Per the DMG, I can have a mount up to CR 7. The A&E Guide notation of "adult" and "young" versions suggests that there are different versions of mounts (although no pricing on "adults"). And the Monster Manual allows for this mount to advance to CR 7.

How does a Mount advance from young to adult? Is there pricing somewhere I missed on the cost of an adult mount? Am I misinterpreting the DMG (instead of placing a maximum CR of 7 on the mount, is it imposing a maximum difference between the CR of the Mount and my character level?).

I know that doing a Paladin or having my cohort be a mount can get a more powerful mount... but I'd rather see what kind of mount a fighter can get without having the mysticism of a paladin working for them, or finding an intelligent beast to use as a cohort.

Thanks for any help... and if I've posted in the wrong forum, I apologize, just point me to where these questions are better suited.
Mysteria
02-01-08, 11:21 AM I think it is supposed in the A&E guide that you buy a young animal, then train it or have it trained. So, to have an adult, trained dire boar, you'd have to pay the cost of the young one plus the training cost.
Jindy
02-01-08, 11:43 AM Thanks for the reply.

A couple questions though:

1) If you only buy a young version of the animal to train, why is there a DC for training the adult version? When would this ever be use?

2) What is the difference between a young mount and an adult mount (other than the DC for training going up)?
Tedronai
02-01-08, 11:58 AM Thanks for the reply.

A couple questions though:

1) If you only buy a young version of the animal to train, why is there a DC for training the adult version? When would this ever be use?

2) What is the difference between a young mount and an adult mount (other than the DC for training going up)?

The DC for training an adult version is there in case you capture a wild specimen, and wish to train that.

A young version of the animal would be unsuitable for use as a mount (until it reaches maturity), but is far easier to train.
Jindy
02-01-08, 01:23 PM o.k... so how long does a young version take to reach maturity? Where are the stats for young versions?
Tedronai
02-01-08, 03:17 PM o.k... so how long does a young version take to reach maturity? Where are the stats for young versions?

years (no specifics listed to my knowledge in any such description, so it's completely up to the dm); and there are none listed (also completely up to the dm)
Jindy
02-01-08, 04:44 PM So, if I understand this correctly...

A character of X level spends 400 gold to purchase a Dire Boar Mount. This mount is not actually capable of serving as a mount for an unspecified period of time (minimum "years"), and prior to becoming useful as a mount has a completely unknown/arbitrary stat block.

So... why would any character ever buy a mount? You get the cost of having to take care of an animal, with the sole benefit of being able to use it at some undetermined time in the future, likely long-after the campaign is over or where the chosen animal could actually survive in encounters due to increased challenges.
Mysteria
02-02-08, 01:22 PM I would say that you pay 475 gold (possibly more, that's up to the DM) to get a fully trained, adult mount.

By the way, for a dire boar, I'd say it could mature in as little as a year.
Jindy
02-02-08, 05:01 PM I hope this doesn't come off as me being argumentative... I appreciate the help making sense of this.

But... the 400 gold +75 gold for training is the price of a "young" dire boar mount. Why should this be the same price for an "adult" dire boar, unless they are the same thing? But, if they are the same, why is there a distinction between young and adult?
Mysteria
02-03-08, 06:42 AM I think the price is 400gp for an untrained young dire boar.

Then you have to spent 75gp to get it trained and I assume that that takes taken place while the mount matures.
Jindy
02-03-08, 03:59 PM Per Handle Animal in the Player's guide, it takes 6 weeks to train an animal for combat riding.

So you buy a young mount, it matures in 6 weeks to be an adult mount and is trained.

But... why have a different DC for training young and adult mounts? Unlike animal companions, they don't gain the ability to learn more tricks, so you won't be training them later on to do anything more advanced. The extra DC and the specification of "young" price become superfluous.
Mysteria
02-04-08, 01:50 AM Because some people might find an adult animal in the wild and try to train that. ;)

Or buy a young one and do the training themselves.
Colmarr
02-08-08, 12:53 AM But... why have a different DC for training young and adult mounts? Unlike animal companions, they don't gain the ability to learn more tricks, so you won't be training them later on to do anything more advanced. The extra DC and the specification of "young" price become superfluous.

Because... wait for it... your can't teach an old dog new tricks.

(Bad) jokes aside, centuries of experience tell us that animals (including complex animals like humans) are easier to train when they are young. Hence there is a different DC to train the boar based on its age.
Andrew
02-08-08, 01:13 AM Recall that the A&EG was 3.0, so the handle animal rules may not be exactly as expected for 3.5.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Jindy 01-31-08, 07:54 PM	Hopefully this is the right place for this. Currently working on a level 10 character... Fighter 6/Legendary Leader 4... with most of the feats tied to mounted combat. Looking for a mount, I turned to the Arms & Equipment Guide which includes a Dire Boar (I'm going for a dwarf, this seemed a good fit). There's a price for a "young" Boar of 400g. There's also a note about "adult" boars, but no price is given. In the DMG (p. 204) "The Mount's Challenge Rating should be no more than 3 less than the rider's character level." In the Monster Manual, the Dire Boar has a CR of 4, with notes on Advanced versions. Per the DMG, I can have a mount up to CR 7. The A&E Guide notation of "adult" and "young" versions suggests that there are different versions of mounts (although no pricing on "adults"). And the Monster Manual allows for this mount to advance to CR 7. How does a Mount advance from young to adult? Is there pricing somewhere I missed on the cost of an adult mount? Am I misinterpreting the DMG (instead of placing a maximum CR of 7 on the mount, is it imposing a maximum difference between the CR of the Mount and my character level?). I know that doing a Paladin or having my cohort be a mount can get a more powerful mount... but I'd rather see what kind of mount a fighter can get without having the mysticism of a paladin working for them, or finding an intelligent beast to use as a cohort. Thanks for any help... and if I've posted in the wrong forum, I apologize, just point me to where these questions are better suited.
Mysteria 02-01-08, 11:21 AM	I think it is supposed in the A&E guide that you buy a young animal, then train it or have it trained. So, to have an adult, trained dire boar, you'd have to pay the cost of the young one plus the training cost.
Jindy 02-01-08, 11:43 AM	Thanks for the reply. A couple questions though: 1) If you only buy a young version of the animal to train, why is there a DC for training the adult version? When would this ever be use? 2) What is the difference between a young mount and an adult mount (other than the DC for training going up)?
Tedronai 02-01-08, 11:58 AM	Thanks for the reply. A couple questions though: 1) If you only buy a young version of the animal to train, why is there a DC for training the adult version? When would this ever be use? 2) What is the difference between a young mount and an adult mount (other than the DC for training going up)? The DC for training an adult version is there in case you capture a wild specimen, and wish to train that. A young version of the animal would be unsuitable for use as a mount (until it reaches maturity), but is far easier to train.
Jindy 02-01-08, 01:23 PM	o.k... so how long does a young version take to reach maturity? Where are the stats for young versions?
Tedronai 02-01-08, 03:17 PM	o.k... so how long does a young version take to reach maturity? Where are the stats for young versions? years (no specifics listed to my knowledge in any such description, so it's completely up to the dm); and there are none listed (also completely up to the dm)
Jindy 02-01-08, 04:44 PM	So, if I understand this correctly... A character of X level spends 400 gold to purchase a Dire Boar Mount. This mount is not actually capable of serving as a mount for an unspecified period of time (minimum "years"), and prior to becoming useful as a mount has a completely unknown/arbitrary stat block. So... why would any character ever buy a mount? You get the cost of having to take care of an animal, with the sole benefit of being able to use it at some undetermined time in the future, likely long-after the campaign is over or where the chosen animal could actually survive in encounters due to increased challenges.
Mysteria 02-02-08, 01:22 PM	I would say that you pay 475 gold (possibly more, that's up to the DM) to get a fully trained, adult mount. By the way, for a dire boar, I'd say it could mature in as little as a year.
Jindy 02-02-08, 05:01 PM	I hope this doesn't come off as me being argumentative... I appreciate the help making sense of this. But... the 400 gold +75 gold for training is the price of a "young" dire boar mount. Why should this be the same price for an "adult" dire boar, unless they are the same thing? But, if they are the same, why is there a distinction between young and adult?
Mysteria 02-03-08, 06:42 AM	I think the price is 400gp for an untrained young dire boar. Then you have to spent 75gp to get it trained and I assume that that takes taken place while the mount matures.
Jindy 02-03-08, 03:59 PM	Per Handle Animal in the Player's guide, it takes 6 weeks to train an animal for combat riding. So you buy a young mount, it matures in 6 weeks to be an adult mount and is trained. But... why have a different DC for training young and adult mounts? Unlike animal companions, they don't gain the ability to learn more tricks, so you won't be training them later on to do anything more advanced. The extra DC and the specification of "young" price become superfluous.
Mysteria 02-04-08, 01:50 AM	Because some people might find an adult animal in the wild and try to train that. ;) Or buy a young one and do the training themselves.
Colmarr 02-08-08, 12:53 AM	But... why have a different DC for training young and adult mounts? Unlike animal companions, they don't gain the ability to learn more tricks, so you won't be training them later on to do anything more advanced. The extra DC and the specification of "young" price become superfluous. Because... wait for it... your can't teach an old dog new tricks. (Bad) jokes aside, centuries of experience tell us that animals (including complex animals like humans) are easier to train when they are young. Hence there is a different DC to train the boar based on its age.
Andrew 02-08-08, 01:13 AM	Recall that the A&EG was 3.0, so the handle animal rules may not be exactly as expected for 3.5.