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Old 10-08-2016, 12:24 AM   #1
Mordantus
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Default Giant Riding Dog Creature--what do you think?

Hi. Tomorrow I'm GMing my first game. It's my own story and my own universe. Kind of a lower fantasy thing with sort of steampunkish elements. One element important to it is that characters ride around on giant dog-like creatures. I have created basic stats for one, and would like to know what people think of it. Does this seem appropriate to you guys? Any suggestions?

http://imageshack.com/a/img922/2990/W30LMV.png
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Old 10-08-2016, 01:10 AM   #2
Flyndaran
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Default Re: Giant Riding Dog Creature--what do you think?

380 lbs is small for a "proper" riding animal, especially predators more optimized for attacking and pulling. Donkeys, for example, are suggested to not carry more than 20% of their weight.

As an aside, there was a real life monstrous sized dog named Zorba that weighed 343 lbs lean.
Everything else seems fitting for a R.A.W. light fantasy barely sapient companion/mount.
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Old 10-08-2016, 01:30 AM   #3
Mordantus
 
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Default Re: Giant Riding Dog Creature--what do you think?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Flyndaran View Post
380 lbs is small for a "proper" riding animal, especially predators more optimized for attacking and pulling. Donkeys, for example, are suggested to not carry more than 20% of their weight.

As an aside, there was a real life monstrous sized dog named Zorba that weighed 343 lbs lean.
Everything else seems fitting for a R.A.W. light fantasy barely sapient companion/mount.
R.A.W.?

I increased the weight to 430 lb. I figure mid 300s to 400s is about 3 times the weight of a Great Dane, which seems to be around the size I'm going for. A little over 2x the height and I figure a bit more for being better suited for bearing the weight of a rider.

That said, horses weigh more than 800 lb, so I'm probably going too light, but hey--it's still fantasy!
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Old 10-08-2016, 01:34 AM   #4
Flyndaran
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Default Re: Giant Riding Dog Creature--what do you think?

Rules As Written. No house rules or changes whether commonly done by most players or not.
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Old 10-08-2016, 01:41 AM   #5
Mordantus
 
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Default Re: Giant Riding Dog Creature--what do you think?

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Originally Posted by Flyndaran View Post
Rules As Written. No house rules or changes whether commonly done by most players or not.
Do you have non-R.A.W. suggestions? It seems like something has come to your mind.
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Old 10-08-2016, 10:19 AM   #6
DAT
 
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Default Re: Giant Riding Dog Creature--what do you think?

RL canine hiking literature suggests dogs carry no more than 10% of their weight on long trips. Assuming that is doubled to 20% for specifically bred riding animals is not too crazy. So figure the weight of your rider plus gear, divide by 0.2, and that should be your riding dog's weight. I would then allow a +/- 10%-20% variation in individual dog weights. Your 350lb barbarian character may need to find a special breed of larger riding dogs ($$$).


When I made Worgs to be ridden by goblin warriors for my DF game, I ended up making them 800lbs.
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Old 10-08-2016, 10:36 AM   #7
Kalzazz
 
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Default Re: Giant Riding Dog Creature--what do you think?

I admit, I think of something like the Polar Bear Dog from Legend of Korra

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...0a87d8fc1a.jpg
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Old 10-08-2016, 10:43 AM   #8
Mordantus
 
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Default Re: Giant Riding Dog Creature--what do you think?

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Originally Posted by Kalzazz View Post
I admit, I think of something like the Polar Bear Dog from Legend of Korra

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...0a87d8fc1a.jpg
When I first told one of my players that there would be giant riding dogs, Naga was the first thing he said. But nope, they're just dogs that were genetically modified to carry people.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DAT View Post
RL canine hiking literature suggests dogs carry no more than 10% of their weight on long trips. Assuming that is doubled to 20% for specifically bred riding animals is not too crazy. So figure the weight of your rider plus gear, divide by 0.2, and that should be your riding dog's weight. I would then allow a +/- 10%-20% variation in individual dog weights. Your 350lb barbarian character may need to find a special breed of larger riding dogs ($$$).


When I made Worgs to be ridden by goblin warriors for my DF game, I ended up making them 800lbs.
Sounds like you went with horse-size, basically. Which makes sense for realism, that's probably actually the size I'd need to go with to account for muscle mass and heavier bone structure. I think I'll stick with them being lighter though. It's fantasy, after all!

Last edited by Mordantus; 10-08-2016 at 10:59 AM.
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Old 10-08-2016, 11:07 AM   #9
lwcamp
 
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Default Re: Giant Riding Dog Creature--what do you think?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mordantus View Post
Do you have non-R.A.W. suggestions? It seems like something has come to your mind.
You might find some of the stuff I put together useful for inspiration
http://panoptesv.com/RPGs/animalia/m...dae/Canid.html
Go to the table, enter any options you want (such as changing the weight), and click submit. See if anything appeals to you.

Luke
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Old 10-08-2016, 01:26 PM   #10
Dalillama
 
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Default Re: Giant Riding Dog Creature--what do you think?

My first thought was The General series by Drake and Stirling. Takes place on a regressed colony world where riding dogs were genetically engineered pre-regression. The dogs in question average around 1,000 lbs, down to maybe 800 for a riding palfrey, up to ~1,500 for a big war dog. Basically, about 800 lbs is pretty much the bare minimum for something that an adult human can reasonably ride, and 1,000 lbs+ if we're talking an armed warrior.
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