The halflings believe that the dead are drawn to Dolurrh and must fight their way free to return to the world. A halfling possesses two tools to help him in this battle: his mount and his mask. The spirit of a halfling's mount joins with him in Dolurrh, and it is their combined strength that gives them the chance to return. His mask holds his spirit or the spirit of his mount -- whichever dies first -- preserving it so that they may be together in the afterlife
Nothing prevents you from using Horse stats for your dino until an appropriate point is reached in the campaign. A dinosaur mount fighting alongside you at 1st level is likely not a good idea. With a dinosaur that is mechanically a horse, though, I don't see a problem.
Were I your DM, I'd let you have a Carver (reskinned Riding Horse) for free with the understanding that it won't be of aid in combat. If and when you were able to pay the appropriate 75gp cost, the Riding Horse's "kick" attack is a very appropriate baseline for the Carver's claw attack.
The easiest solution is to give the character their mount at level 1 and then withhold the appropriate amount from their treasure allocation in instalments (with the player's understanding, of course). The next easiest solution is to start at level 2, so they have 360 gold instead of 100.
Goodman Games does a book called 'Critter Cache: Prehistoric Beasts' which has more dinosaurs in it (and the deinonychus stats are quite good even without mount abilities).
The easiest solution is to give the character their mount at level 1 and then withhold the appropriate amount from their treasure allocation in instalments (with the player's understanding, of course). The next easiest solution is to start at level 2, so they have 360 gold instead of 100.
How would such a mount impact combat, though? I don't have this book/resource, so I'm can't be sure, but I'd expect a deinonychus to be a little unbalanced at 1st level.
Actually, I consider it a bit more balanced than the actual mount raptor... the Utahraptor (a 7th-level mount) has an at-will ability that, if you choose to use it, is an automatic hit to a grabbed target and does 3d6+8 damage and ongoing 5... and their basic attack grabs, so if the target of their basic attack doesn't escape on its round, it's hooped...
Probably, given that it's a level 5 creature (and it gets +1d6 to all its damage rolls due to the rider being considered an 'adjacent ally'), but because it's not actually statted as a mount (due to being a medium creature) its best ability is a 'roll to recharge' power, so I'd put it around 3rd or 4th equivalent... still a little out of tolerable range, but not as much, especially if starting at a higher level (which is what I recommend).
Starting at higher levels definitely allays many problems, but I believe JL's group is starting at 1st level. I'd still recommend the reskinning of a lesser mount, mostly because of this. That said, any number of approaches are valid.
Starting at higher levels definitely allays many problems, but I believe JL's group is starting at 1st level.
We are.
I'm going to offer all the suggestions to my halfling player and we'll talk about which one works best
Although regardless I'm definitely buying Critter Cache: Prehistoric Beasts because I learnt my player is fairly interested in dinosaurs in real life, so I've got to see if they can be worked into the campaign somehow (I've got a few ideas churning in my head :D).Tell the player to play a ranger. Make a feat that turns ones beast companion into a large animal (which can be ridden). Create a paragon path for beast riders. That should work...
...Unless he doesn't want to play a Ranger. :P
I've always found it more balanced to stick with the mechanics that are already present than to invent new ones. That's just my two cents, though.
If this player does want to play a Ranger, and specifically wants to play a Beastmaster Ranger, then using his Beast Companion to fill this role is a no-brainer -- especially if he wants this dinosaur to be an active part of the adventuring party, rather than background decoration.
You could keep it at your level until you get to the level it was originally at, where it caps. This could represent a young dinosaur learning and increasing its hunting prowess until it becomes a specimen of its kind.
DMG page 185 gives low, average, and high amounts of damage for a given level, for two different frequencies of use (limited being a daily or encounter power, standard being at will). You could use that to determine an appropriate amount of damage for, say the raptor mounts claw attack that was mentioned earlier.
That in combination with DMG page 174, which walks you through lowering NPC and creature levels, should keep it fairly balanced until you get it to the appropriate level.
The DMG has guidelines for lowering the level of a creature- I imagine you could use those as a rough starting place for lowering the level of a different mount so it's got roughly the same abilities.
You could keep it at your level until you get to the level it was originally at, where it caps. This could represent a young dinosaur learning and increasing its hunting prowess until it becomes a specimen of its kind.
DMG page 185 gives low, average, and high amounts of damage for a given level, for two different frequencies of use (limited being a daily or encounter power, standard being at will). You could use that to determine an appropriate amount of damage for, say the raptor mounts claw attack that was mentioned earlier.
That in combination with DMG page 174, which walks you through lowering NPC and creature levels, should keep it fairly balanced until you get it to the appropriate level.
Good call.
If my "easy way out/lazy man approach" reskinning idea isn't for you, then this is the correct (as in RAW suggested) way to go. I'm just too lazy to do it this way.
Were I your DM, I'd let you have a Carver (reskinned Riding Horse) for free with the understanding that it won't be of aid in combat.
Wasn't the fastieth the riding horse analog?
Wasn't the fastieth the riding horse analog?
I believe you're correct. I wasn't really aiming for accuracy, but more to express the point of reskinning an extant feature of the game. I think it's often the easiest solution, yet one that's usually overlooked.
Lacking other stats, I'd also use the reskinning option. Specifically, I'd use the riding horse/pony for the fastieth, and the war horse for the carver.
Eh, I was more making conversation than nitpicking.
I figured as much. ;)
Lacking other stats, I'd also use the reskinning option. Specifically, I'd use the riding horse/pony for the fastieth, and the war horse for the carver.
This seems the easiest approach. Maybe that's the DM in me looking for the cleanest path. Ill-conceived special rulings can cause issues. I always try to use tried and true methods. In this case, a horse is a logical and balanced substitute at these lowest of character levels.