Medieval Horse Types and Traits

[Icelander]

I'm particularly looking for input on whether the prices look right or if any need tweaking.

[Blood Legend]

My want to include these in my game are only hampered by how little I know on the subject of horses. Very well written though.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by Blood Legend

My want to include these in my game are only hampered by how little I know on the subject of horses. Very well written though.

That's what sourcebooks are for. It shouldn't take much effort to produce a book that will allow typical GMs, even ones who've never seen a horse, to present mounts as something else than anachronistic cars in their campaigns.

I know that each type needs a longer flavour text and rules for upkeep and care are missing. I direct you to the Pyramid article Horse Sense by a Mr. Mortimer for both, with my 4e stats replacing the 3e stats in the article. It's even a free article, I think, and should have survived the Pyramid changes.

[Celti]

Originally Posted by Icelander

I know that each type needs a longer flavour text and rules for upkeep and care are missing. I direct you to the Pyramid article Horse Sense by a Mr. Mortimer for both, with my 4e stats replacing the 3e stats in the article. It's even a free article, I think, and should have survived the Pyramid changes.

Indeed, it is free: Horse Sense.
For those that have and prefer the downloaded archives, it's 2004/0603.html.

I'll most definitely be using these in my campaigns - thank you, Icelander!

[Figleaf23]

Thanks for these stats, Icelander. I expect they'll prove very useful.

Edit: Just a note regarding the Horse Sense article where it suggests --

In GURPS, the skill of the farrier is covered by Blacksmith (p. B53), but many also have the Veterinary skill (p. B47) with a horse specialization.

Personally, I would take a different approach using a routine Blacksmith roll to cover making the shoe, and a non-routine Animal Handling (Equine) roll for actually shoeing the beast.

[moldymaltquaffer]

Originally Posted by Figleaf23

Personally, I would take a different approach using a routine Blacksmith roll to cover making the shoe, and a non-routine Animal Handling (Equine) roll for actually shoeing the beast.

The shoes need to be fitted to the horse, which means bending and beating them into the appropriate shape, holding them up to the hoof to compare, and then beating away some more. Then nailing them on, and bending the nails over. A farrier should definately have Animal Handling, but most of the job falls under Blacksmithing.

[DanHoward]

Originally Posted by moldymaltquaffer

The shoes need to be fitted to the horse, which means bending and beating them into the appropriate shape, holding them up to the hoof to compare, and then beating away some more. Then nailing them on, and bending the nails over. A farrier should definately have Animal Handling, but most of the job falls under Blacksmithing.

Yep. Farrier is not a skill, it is an occupation that involves multiple skills. All would have both Blacksmith and Animal Handling and many would also have Veterinary and Riding (Horse).

[capnq]

Originally Posted by Celti

Indeed, it is free: Horse Sense.
For those that have and prefer the downloaded archives, it's 2004/0603.html.

Roleplayer #21 had a lengthy article about designing horses as characters. That was for 3rd ed., and isn't free, but it was written by someone who owned horses.

[Skarg]

Icelander, this is great!

The only thing I'd want further would be a table which shows what the typical range is in each class, which is a quibble I have about GURPS templates in general. I.e., these seem to be specific examples within a class, but then it takes some deduction to determine how much to vary each piece or not for other examples of the same class. You give good descriptions though, so it's relatively easy.

The costs look good to me, but it's been a long time since I analysed any horse costs.

Originally Posted by Icelander

... I know that each type needs a longer flavour text and rules for upkeep and care are missing. I direct you to the Pyramid article Horse Sense by a Mr. Mortimer for both, with my 4e stats replacing the 3e stats in the article. It's even a free article, I think, and should have survived the Pyramid changes.

Ah, I was about to ask where the good horse rules were in 4e. I guess they’re still in that awesome classic Pyramid article.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Icelander

I'm particularly looking for input on whether the prices look right or if any need tweaking.

Many of your CFs look quite low. I can easily imagine a player making a Very Wealthy character and then buying a totally pimped horse, as part of his starting equipment.


Also, it might help if you include some rarity guidelines, like "any horse with a CF total of more than 3 is Rare, thus difficult to find although usually available in cities, any horse with a CF total of more than 10 is Very Rare, and any horse with a CF total of more than 15 is Extremely Rare", except of course more elaborate, and talking about horse trainers, and different levels of horse-focus in different cultures (Rohan versus Gondor, e.g.).