Buying the cow

Post/Author/DateTimePost
#1

David

Mar 21, 2010 6:45:11		I'm DMing Mysteries of the Moonsea for a couple of friends and I want to give them a cart with a beast of burden, which led to some problems:
1. Can a Rothé be used as a beast of burden? I figure if one can use an ox to draw a cart or to plough a field, a Rothé can be used as well right?
Maybe the question should be if they are used as beasts of burden, though. So, is the Rothé commonly used as a beast of burden?
2. What should you pay for one Rothé
3. Do people drink Rothé-milk?
#2

LordManshoon

Mar 21, 2010 10:57:00

1. Can a Rothé be used as a beast of burden? I figure if one can use an ox to draw a cart or to plough a field, a Rothé can be used as well right?

Yes, I imagine it could.

Maybe the question should be if they are used as beasts of burden, though. So, is the Rothé commonly used as a beast of burden?

In the Moonsea region? I don't believe so. If I recall, the surface Rothé tend to live in herds, deep in the wilderness, and avoid things they perceive as threats, namely humans, gnolls, and orcs who encroach on their territory. That being said, this could very well have changed over the past century, if you're playing in 1479 DR, so it would be incredibly easy to say that the people of the Moonsea learned to tame Rothé over the decades and use them as beasts of burden.

2. What should you pay for one Rothé?

I'm not too sure, but I suppose it would vary based on where in the Moonsea you actually are, and the age, size, and strength of the Rothé in question.

3. Do people drink Rothé-milk?

I believe they do.

#3

David

Mar 21, 2010 11:30:23 		Yeah, I guess they are not easy to handle, based on their description...

Scratch that idea, question 4: What do people in the Moonsea region use as a (cheap) beast of burden?
#4

The_Silversword

Mar 23, 2010 0:27:30 		ld imagine that they use common animals, such as oxen, horses, perhaps goats. The Realms are a world of magic so really anything is possible. You could go with Rothe if you wanted to, Deep Rothe were more docile and able to be domesticated i believe, other breeds may be as well.
#5

Jorunhast

Mar 23, 2010 8:51:38 		What is a rothe supposed to look like?  Is there an illustration of one in any FR source?
#6

The_Silversword

Mar 23, 2010 11:59:40 		Yes there are illustrations of Rothe, theres some in the old 2e Monstrous Compendiums I believe, and in the back section of some of the 2e sourcebooks, I cant recall specificaly which ones, but Ill root around and see if I find some, Theres also a pic in the 3e Campaign Setting.

I believe thats the standard surface Rothé, oh and a Tressym snuck itself into the pic as well. But yeah the big one is the Rothé.
#7

Jorunhast

Mar 23, 2010 12:05:07 		oh cool, thanks!
#8

dannoe

Mar 27, 2010 8:33:17
I'm DMing Mysteries of the Moonsea for a couple of friends and I want to give them a cart with a beast of burden, which led to some problems:
1. Can a Rothé be used as a beast of burden? I figure if one can use an ox to draw a cart or to plough a field, a Rothé can be used as well right?


I would assume so.
2. What should you pay for one Rothé


About the same thing as a person would pay for a horse.  Say 75gp.
3. Do people drink Rothé-milk?


Yup.  It's a staple of drow child-rearing.
#9

dndweert

Apr 18, 2010 17:59:25 		I hope I'm not too late to answer your questions. I let the PC's in my group use a rothé as a beast of burden once.

I'm DMing Mysteries of the Moonsea for a couple of friends and I want to give them a cart with a beast of burden, which led to some problems:
1. Can a Rothé be used as a beast of burden? I figure if one can use an ox to draw a cart or to plough a field, a Rothé can be used as well right?
Maybe the question should be if they are used as beasts of burden, though. So, is the Rothé commonly used as a beast of burden?
2. What should you pay for one Rothé
3. Do people drink Rothé-milk?
4: What do people in the Moonsea region use as a (cheap) beast of burden?



1. Yes, IIRC some Underdark races use them as beasts of burden (not just as cattle). On the surface they are a rare sight but they are larger (and stronger?) than your average beasts of burden and only wealthy merchants would use these "exotic" animals as beasts of burden.
2. I don't have my books here with me but I think they're magical beasts, so they would cost quite alot, probably the same price as a warhorse or even more.
3. Why not? If rothé are indeed magical beasts their milk would be kinda exotic.
4. I think the usual (oxes, horses, mules, ponies, ect). (Demi)humans might also be used to carry stuff around or pulling carts because of the tyrannical nature of the Moonsea cities.

I don't have any sources to check this ATM so I could be wrong. You could also ask Ed Greenwood himself over the 'Questions for Ed Greenwood' over at Candlekeep.