Paladin's Horse

[Core-fire]

Okay what special "powers" or abilities might a paladin's horse have? I was thinking more INT and a little faster or possibly stronger, but what else/

 

Ideas:

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: Paladin's Horse

 

I would probably buy it as a power construct; some extra Running with the Physical Manifestation limitation. That way, you don't have to worry about it dying; if it gets 'killed' you can just re-summon it later.

[CptPatriot]

Re: Paladin's Horse

 

Well, if you use D&D as the template for this, you take a -1 to hit and damage for a month and can't summon the mount again.

 

Special Mount (Sp)

Upon reaching 5th level, a paladin gains the service of an unusually intelligent, strong, and loyal steed to serve her in her crusade against evil. This mount is usually a heavy warhorse (for a Medium paladin) or a warpony (for a Small paladin).

 

Once per day, as a full-round action, a paladin may magically call her mount from the celestial realms in which it resides. This ability is the equivalent of a spell of a level equal to one-third the paladin’s level. The mount immediately appears adjacent to the paladin and remains for 2 hours per paladin level; it may be dismissed at any time as a free action. The mount is the same creature each time it is summoned, though the paladin may release a particular mount from service.

 

Each time the mount is called, it appears in full health, regardless of any damage it may have taken previously. The mount also appears wearing or carrying any gear it had when it was last dismissed. Calling a mount is a conjuration (calling) effect.

 

Should the paladin’s mount die, it immediately disappears, leaving behind any equipment it was carrying. The paladin may not summon another mount for thirty days or until she gains a paladin level, whichever comes first, even if the mount is somehow returned from the dead. During this thirty-day period, the paladin takes a -1 penalty on attack and weapon damage rolls.

[Lucius]

Re: Paladin's Horse

 

I think I prefer the 1st edition version. At 4th level, when the paladin decides to "call" for a warhorse, the paladin recieves a vision that is the start of a short quest. Actually gaining the steed will "certainly test the mettle of the paladin" according to the Dungeon Master's Guide and it is suggested that it may require catching and taming, or rescuing from an evil character or being of the same level as the paladin. Once won, the steed "knows its role and relationship to the paladin." Its INT is given as 5-7, so the joke about the paladin's horse being smarter than the paladin is just that, a joke. Although intelligent (for a horse) unshakeably loyal and of Lawful Good alignment, it's an actual physical horse, with a working life of 10 years (it specifies that after that time the paladin must seek another mount - it will be time to put the old one to pasture.)

 

Lucius Alexander

 

A paladindrome does good deeds coming and going!

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: Paladin's Horse

 

Well' date=' if you use D&D as the template for this, you take a -1 to hit and damage for a month and can't summon the mount again.[/quote']

 

Which is why I never once saw anybody actually USE the bloody thing in all my years of playing 3e.

[Kraven Kor]

Re: Paladin's Horse

 

I would build it as a follower; and as such the points are "loseable" - if the horse dies, you have to spend more points for another. And the horse can be however smart / powerful as the GM and Player decide it can / should be, with the appropriate investment of points.

[Sepia]

Re: Paladin's Horse

 

Which is why I never once saw anybody actually USE the bloody thing in all my years of playing 3e.

 

I have rarely seen the real horse used either because it quickly gets to be something the Paladin needs to protect because it is so weak!

[Lucius]

Re: Paladin's Horse

 

I have rarely seen the real horse used either because it quickly gets to be something the Paladin needs to protect because it is so weak!

 

Maybe it should be defined as a DNPC.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Casting Protection from Evil on a palindromedary

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: Paladin's Horse

 

I would build it as a follower; and as such the points are "loseable" - if the horse dies' date=' you have to spend more points for another. And the horse can be however smart / powerful as the GM and Player decide it can / should be, with the appropriate investment of points.[/quote']

 

Not necessarily; the book says that you MAY lose the points, not that you will. You can RP recruiting a new follower ... which, if you use the template above from the SRD, means you wait a month or so.

 

And more in the opinion level, I would definitely not permanently gimp a character by taking away points like that. There's no other way in the game that happens and permanent loss of points seems rather contrary to design principles.

[Escafarc]

Re: Paladin's Horse

 

Not necessarily; the book says that you MAY lose the points, not that you will. You can RP recruiting a new follower ... which, if you use the template above from the SRD, means you wait a month or so.

 

And more in the opinion level, I would definitely not permanently gimp a character by taking away points like that. There's no other way in the game that happens and permanent loss of points seems rather contrary to design principles.

I agree most of the time but on those rare times that I do require it, I just have the player pay the 5pts to double the number of Followers to replace them much like what it says under Duplication.

[Markdoc]

Re: Paladin's Horse

 

I have rarely seen the real horse used either because it quickly gets to be something the Paladin needs to protect because it is so weak!

 

After one too many warhorses turned to fine ash under my saddle by a fireball that only lightly singed me, I dealt with that by capturing a Tyrannosaurus (it's technically an animal, so "charm animal" spells work) and then having my magic-user friend polymorph it into a horse. Woot! A 16HD warhorse! It was a bit rough on stable-boys though .....

 

Cheers, Mark

[Captain Obvious]

Re: Paladin's Horse

 

After one too many warhorses turned to fine ash under my saddle by a fireball that only lightly singed me...

 

This was one of the issues that eventually drove me away from D&D. They had some rules mitigating it in later editions, IIRC, but I've never actually used them.

[Kraven Kor]

Re: Paladin's Horse

 

Not necessarily; the book says that you MAY lose the points, not that you will. You can RP recruiting a new follower ... which, if you use the template above from the SRD, means you wait a month or so.

 

And more in the opinion level, I would definitely not permanently gimp a character by taking away points like that. There's no other way in the game that happens and permanent loss of points seems rather contrary to design principles.

 

Well, I was just speaking to a way to penalize them for losing it; remember that in HERO, "more points" do not only come from "experience." It could be you get the points by role playing the recruitment or finding the horse or whatever.

 

Again, what powers a Paladin's horse has, how smart it is, how tough it is, and how hard it is to replace is entirely up to the GM and Player - how it is imagined and mechanically crafted for the campaign at hand.

[Outsider]

Re: Paladin's Horse

 

Each time the mount is called, it appears in full health, regardless of any damage it may have taken previously. The mount also appears wearing or carrying any gear it had when it was last dismissed. Calling a mount is a conjuration (calling) effect.

 

Wow, so a paladin's warhorse acts as an unstealable (when not 'opened') bag of holding that holds as much as an unusually strong horse can carry! Just summon it up, load it down, then dismiss it until you're back in town, or whatever gear you want to remove from its saddlebags/packs is needed.

[Narf the Mouse]

Re: Paladin's Horse

 

Wow' date=' so a paladin's warhorse acts as an unstealable (when not 'opened') bag of holding that holds as much as an unusually strong horse can carry! Just summon it up, load it down, then dismiss it until you're back in town, or whatever gear you want to remove from its saddlebags/packs is needed.[/quote']

"The gods are pleased with your tithing. However, a little more ceremony than just returning your horse next time..."

[Lucius]

Re: Paladin's Horse

 

Obviously a lot depends on the paladin, what Gods the paladin serves, the paladin's powers, etc.

 

Also, whether it's to be a DNPC, Follower, or Summoning. Or even as a set of Powers like extra Running, with a Physical Manifestation.

 

I suggest:

 

Start with a horse, of course. It should do everything a well trained war horse can do.

 

Human level INT, including understanding (but not necessarily speaking) languages.

 

Extra DEF.

 

Mind Link to the paladin.

 

Danger Sense

 

Perhaps a Sense telling it where the paladin is at all times.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Sator Arepo Tenet Opera Rotas

[lapsedgamer]

Re: Paladin's Horse

 

After one too many warhorses turned to fine ash under my saddle by a fireball that only lightly singed me, I dealt with that by capturing a Tyrannosaurus (it's technically an animal, so "charm animal" spells work) and then having my magic-user friend polymorph it into a horse. Woot! A 16HD warhorse! It was a bit rough on stable-boys though .....

 

Cheers, Mark

 

This was one of the issues that eventually drove me away from D&D. They had some rules mitigating it in later editions' date=' IIRC, but I've never actually used them.[/quote']

 

Just one of the many reasons I was so blown away by the first edition of Fantasy Hero when it came out. You just never had this kind of problem. Hit points were a wargaming concept grafted onto a roleplaying game. That, armor class, and hard and fast alignment rules always bugged me.

[Markdoc]

Re: Paladin's Horse

 

Just one of the many reasons I was so blown away by the first edition of Fantasy Hero when it came out. You just never had this kind of problem. Hit points were a wargaming concept grafted onto a roleplaying game. That' date=' armor class, and hard and fast alignment rules always bugged me.[/quote']

 

It doesn't bother me. I don't think I could ever run a D&D game again (at least not with a straight face), but when I play it .... those things are just the rules of the D&D'verse. I don't try to fit it into a "realistic" framework. I don't wonder "Where do these magic toys come from?" or "How did all this gold get here?" or "Why does anybody even live in this village, when we had to kill 4 wagonloads of lethal monsters just to pass down the road, any one of which would level this place in 2 minutes?" or "Why was the princess allowed to go wandering in the graveyard below the tower haunted by the ghost of a necromancer?". These things just happen. Likewise, I don't bat an eyelid when a character takes a 60 foot tumble into a pit full of poisoned stakes and staggers away with cuts and grazes, while his squire was killed by an angry housecat. That's how the 'verse works. Their laws of physics are not our laws of physics.

 

Shucks, my character can jump about 60 feet with a running start - next level, I'll be able to manage 70 from a standing start .... in armour, with a backpack ... and I'm a "highly trained human"

 

cheers, Mark

[Narf the Mouse]

Re: Paladin's Horse

 

Alignment makes sense: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/checkfortraps/8386-Check-for-Traps-All-About-Alignment

[Lucius]

Re: Paladin's Horse

 

Alignment makes sense: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/checkfortraps/8386-Check-for-Traps-All-About-Alignment

 

That should be posted to its own thread, in my opinion. Might make an interesting topic.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary says there is no Axis of Evil, but there is an Axis of Good and Evil

[Narf the Mouse]

Re: Paladin's Horse

 

That should be posted to its own thread, in my opinion. Might make an interesting topic.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary says there is no Axis of Evil, but there is an Axis of Good and Evil

Like this? http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php/84832-Alignment-makes-perfect-sense?p=2152460#post2152460

[NuSoardGraphite]

Re: Paladin's Horse

 

Obviously a lot depends on the paladin, what Gods the paladin serves, the paladin's powers, etc.

 

Also, whether it's to be a DNPC, Follower, or Summoning. Or even as a set of Powers like extra Running, with a Physical Manifestation.

 

I suggest:

 

Start with a horse, of course. It should do everything a well trained war horse can do.

 

Human level INT, including understanding (but not necessarily speaking) languages.

 

Extra DEF.

 

Mind Link to the paladin.

 

Danger Sense

 

Perhaps a Sense telling it where the paladin is at all times.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

 

 

Sator Arepo Tenet Opera Rotas

 

This is pretty much how I would do it, except that I would require the horse to either be written up as a follower or as a summoned creature. Duplication may also be acceptable if the horse is a part of the paladin spiritually.

 

I would want the horse to be a fully fleshed out character. Just written up as a set of powers ain't gonna cut it in my game.

[Lucius]

Re: Paladin's Horse

 

This is pretty much how I would do it, except that I would require the horse to either be written up as a follower or as a summoned creature. Duplication may also be acceptable if the horse is a part of the paladin spiritually.

 

I would want the horse to be a fully fleshed out character. Just written up as a set of powers ain't gonna cut it in my game.

 

I have to admit, Duplication never even occurred to me.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

I'm more surprised it didn't occur to the palindromedary

[Escafarc]

Re: Paladin's Horse

 

This is pretty much how I would do it, except that I would require the horse to either be written up as a follower or as a summoned creature. Duplication may also be acceptable if the horse is a part of the paladin spiritually.

 

I would want the horse to be a fully fleshed out character. Just written up as a set of powers ain't gonna cut it in my game.

 

Repped for giving me a good idea:)

[drunkonduty]

Re: Paladin's Horse

 

@ the Palindromedary

What does "Sator Arepo Tenet Opera Rotas" mean? I put it into an online translator and got "Planter Arepo To occupy Work Wheel."

sorry for the off-topic.