Horses' courses

[Anders]

So, my DF party has bought a large mule to carry all their loot. How much does the beast eat per day? Drink? Does anyone know? And, on a slightly more sinister note, how much mule meat can it be converted into if things go sour, as they often do.

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by Anders

So, my DF party has bought a large mule to carry all their loot. How much does the beast eat per day? Drink? Does anyone know? And, on a slightly more sinister note, how much mule meat can it be converted into if things go sour, as they often do.

LTC has guidelines on butchering animals and converting them to some amount of edible meat.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Anders

So, my DF party has bought a large mule to carry all their loot. How much does the beast eat per day? Drink? Does anyone know? And, on a slightly more sinister note, how much mule meat can it be converted into if things go sour, as they often do.

GURPS LTC3 will be quite helpful for you, here. It has rules both for butchering animals, and how for much feed a horse requires. I don't know how much mules differ from horses, though, but if you can't find out then you can just use the horse "cost-of-living" as-is.

[Rasputin]

There's a little guidance in DF16:

Originally Posted by GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 16: Wilderness Adventures, p. 19

Having beasts shod, groomed, or whatever is fussy detail, and mostly beneath delvers. Assume that care and feeding cost a flat $150/beast between adventures. Failure to pay gives -1 to all rolls involving that animal on the next adventure.

This indicates that food for beasts is to be glossed over. But for a more precise answer, Google-fu gives me a carriage works that feeds its beasts "approximately 10-12 pounds of feed and about 1/3 of a bale of hay each day." Another page notes that "[g]ood pasture and access to water will probably take care of the needs of all but the hardest-working mules."

So, their mule can eat grass along the way. Now, if you're in the arctic or a desert, the mule is pretty much toast, but then, you sentenced it to death by being so stupid to take a mule into the arctic or a desert to begin with.

[DanHoward]

Horse Sense
http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html/?id=4776

See the section titled Rations.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Rasputin

There's a little guidance in DF16:



This indicates that food for beasts is to be glossed over. But for a more precise answer, Google-fu gives me a carriage works that feeds its beasts "approximately 10-12 pounds of feed and about 1/3 of a bale of hay each day." Another page notes that "[g]ood pasture and access to water will probably take care of the needs of all but the hardest-working mules."

So, their mule can eat grass along the way. Now, if you're in the arctic or a desert, the mule is pretty much toast, but then, you sentenced it to death by being so stupid to take a mule into the arctic or a desert to begin with.

No.

Horses need to spend many, many hours grazing each day, if they don't get grain. And that's if the horse isn't worked. If the horse is ridden, or made to pull a wagon, or to carry cargo, then its caloric needs go up drastically.

Also, the X$ per month is completely inappropriate while travelling away from civilized lands (i.e. where the dungeons are). There, you have to carry your own food, as in Encumbrance matters.

[simply Nathan]

Same amount of rations as a DF Barbarian, since they're the same SM. Multiply this for Increased Consumption if the horse is listed with that in its stat block.

And if you let barbarians eat only $6/day in rations like the SM 0 folk, go ahead and do the same for horses.

[Flyndaran]

You allow barbarians that weigh over 800 lbs?

[Rasputin]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

Also, the X$ per month is completely inappropriate while travelling away from civilized lands (i.e. where the dungeons are).

While I can see your issue with the other stuff you wrote even though I disagree, I never said that X$ per month was for when traveling away from civilized lands, nor did I imply it. I said that X$ per month implies in a DF game (which is what the OP is running), "food for beasts is to be glossed over." And, a quick search gives me this:

Originally Posted by GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 16: Wilderness Adventures, p. 44

For simplicity’s sake, assume that herbivorous beasts of burden (horses, oxen, etc.) find forage while carnivorous pets (dogs, tigers, and so on) hunt. On any day when the group isn’t traveling, or takes at least two hours to forage, this is automatic.

So, according to Hoyle (or Kromm), food for beasts is to be glossed over.

[Flyndaran]

It's a bit rude to respond to any question with, "It doesn't matter."