Riding Mounts & Draft Animals

Below are descriptions of several domestic animals kept for riding and draft purposes. If you are using miniatures, a horse is considered a three-hex figure, with the rider in the middle hex. Donkeys and small mules are two-hex figures. For mounted combat rules, see (B396).

Cost: The costs listed assume a beast trained to IQ 3 level (see above). Several factors can increase this price:
• Increases in ST raise cost by a percentage equal to the ST increase. (Very strong specimens might be worth more than this formula would indicate!)
• Increases in IQ raise cost as described under Training & Pets.
• Increases in Move drastically raise a riding animal’s value! Double cost for +1 Basic Move, and quadruple it for +2 Basic Move. Remember to multiply Basic Move for Enhanced Move, if any.
Other changes are up to the GM.

War-Trained Mounts
War-trained riding animals are worth more than other mounts. Before TL4, they are taught to enter battle and fight savagely, even if their rider is unhorsed. A trained warhorse is likely to attack anyone other than its owner who approaches it! At TL4+, they are not taught to fight, but to be reliable transportation, not afraid of gunfire or screams.

At any TL, it takes a year of war training (after “basic” training to IQ 3 level) to get the mount fit to ride into battle. This doubles its value. The statistics and cost given for the cavalry horse and heavy warhorse under Riding and Draft Animals assume a beast with this training. Up to three more years of training are possible, giving +1 per year on all Riding and Animal Handling rolls in combat, and increasing base value by 50% per year.

Donkeys, Horses, and Mules
These animals were domesticated in Europe and Asia before recorded history. They were introduced to the Americas in the late 15th and 16th centuries.

Cavalry Horse
A light warhorse.
ST 22; DX 9; IQ 3; HT 11.
Will 11; Per 12; Speed 5; Dodge 9;
Move 8. SM +1 (3 hexes); 1,400 lbs.
Traits: Combat Reflexes; Domestic Animal; Enhanced Move 1 (Ground Speed 16); Hooves; Peripheral Vision; Quadruped; Weak Bite.
Skills: Brawling-10; Mount-12.
Cost: $4,000.

Donkey
Sturdy, but too small for an adult to ride.
ST 15; DX 10; IQ 3; HT 11.
Will 11; Per 12; Speed 5.25; Dodge 8;
Move 5. SM +1 (2 hexes); 500 lbs.
Traits: Domestic Animal; Enhanced Move 1/2 (Ground Speed 8); Hooves; Quadruped; Weak Bite.
Cost: $1,000.

Draft Horse
ST 25; DX 9; IQ 3; HT 12.
Will 10; Per 11; Speed 5.25; Dodge 8;
Move 6. SM +1 (3 hexes); 2,000 lbs.
Traits: Domestic Animal; Enhanced Move 1 (Ground Speed 12); Hooves; Peripheral Vision; Quadruped; Weak Bite.
Cost: $2,000

Heavy Warhorse
ST 24; DX 9; IQ 3; HT 12.
Will 11; Per 12; Speed 5.25; Dodge 9;
Move 7. SM +1 (3 hexes); 1,900 lbs.
Traits: As cavalry horse, but with Bad Temper (12) and Enhanced Move 1 (Ground Speed 14).
Skills: Brawling-12; Mount-13.
Cost: $5,000.

Large Mule
ST 22; DX 10; IQ 3; HT 12.
Will 12; Per 12; Speed 5.5; Dodge 8;
Move 6. SM +1 (2 hexes); 1,400 lbs.
Traits: As donkey, but Enhanced Move 1/2 (Ground Speed 9) and sterile.
Cost: $2,000.

Pony
ST 18; DX 10; IQ 3; HT 11.
Will 11; Per 12; Speed 5.25; Dodge 8;
Move 7. SM +1 (3 hexes); 800 lbs.
Traits: As draft horse, but Enhanced Move 1 (Ground Speed 14).
Cost: $1,500.

Racehorse
Some are faster!
ST 20; DX 9; IQ 3; HT 11.
Will 11; Per 11; Speed 5; Dodge 8;
Move 9. SM +1 (3 hexes); 1,100 lbs.
Traits: As draft horse, but Enhanced Move 1 (Ground Speed 18).
Skills: Mount-12; Running-12.
Cost: $4,000+.

Saddle Horse
An ordinary riding horse.
ST 21; DX 9; IQ 3; HT 11.
Will 10; Per 12; Speed 5; Dodge 8;
Move 6. SM +1 (3 hexes); 1,200 lbs.
Traits: As draft horse.
Skills: Mount-11.
Cost: $1,200.

Small Mule
ST 18; DX 10; IQ 3; HT 12.
Will 12; Per 12; Speed 5.5; Dodge 8;
Move 5. SM +1 (2 hexes); 800 lbs.
Traits: As donkey, but sterile.
Cost: $1,000.

Elephants
Often domesticated. Intelligent, loyal, and hardworking.
ST 45; DX 12; IQ 5; HT 12.
Will 10; Per 10; Speed 4; Dodge 7;
Move 4. SM +3 (10 hexes); 12,000+ lbs.
Traits: Crushing Striker (Tusks); Domestic (or Wild) Animal; DR 4; Enhanced Move 1 (Ground Speed 8); Peripheral Vision; Quadruped (but replace No Fine Manipulators with One Arm); Trunk (ExtraFlexible; Long, +1 SM; Weak, 1/4 ST); Weak Bite.
Cost: $10,000.

Oxen
Oxen are steers trained to work in the fields. They are hardier and easier to keep than horses.
ST 27; DX 8; IQ 3; HT 12.
Will 12; Per 10; Speed 5; Dodge 8;
Move 4. SM +2 (3 hexes); 2,500 lbs.
Traits: Domestic Animal; DR 2 (Skull only); Enhanced Move 1 (Ground Speed 8); Impaling Striker (Horns); Neutered; Quadruped; Weak Bite.
Cost: $1,500.

Camels
A dry-plains native, the camel can go for four days without drinking. Its stubborn temper gives -4 to Animal Handling rolls.
ST 22; DX 9; IQ 3; HT 12.
Will 11; Per 12; Speed 5.25; Dodge 8;
Move 7. SM +1 (3 hexes); 1,400 lbs.
Traits: Bad Temper (12); Domestic Animal; Enhanced Move 1 (Ground Speed 14); Hooves; Peripheral Vision; Quadruped; Reduced Consumption 3 (Water Only); Stubbornness; Weak Bite.
Skills: Survival (Desert)-12.
Cost: $1,500.

Velocity and Turning Radius
The top speed a mount can achieve is found as its Enhanced Move, and it's Speed is used as how much it can speed up or slow down in a turn.

• If your mount does not have Enhanced move, top speed is 20% over it's Move score.
  Turning Radius is found by dividing the mount's current velocity by the mount's Basic Move, rounding down.
  E.g. Current velocity 13/Basic Move 5 = 2.6 = 2 yards between each facing change.

Pushing the Envelope
You can try to decelerate by up to Basic Move ¥ 2. You can also attempt to change direction before you’ve moved the requisite distance. Either requires a DX+3 roll – or a vehicle operation skill roll, modified by the vehicle’s Handling statistic, if you are driving a vehicle. Hasty deceleration requires a roll at -1 per two full yards/second beyond Basic Move by which you cut your speed. For instance, if your Basic Move is 5 and you decelerate by 9 yards/second, you must roll at -2. An earlier turn (or a tighter turn; e.g., 120° instead 60°) calls for a roll at -1 per full increment of Basic Move by which your velocity exceeds your Basic Move. For instance, if you’re moving at 23 yards/second and have Basic Move 3, you must roll at -6. If you fail, you lose traction and fall or spin out of control – see Losing Control, below.

Losing Control
You fall over, skid for 1/4 your remaining movement straight ahead (unless you hit something), and then stop. If you land on the ground and skid to a stop without hitting anything, you suffer damage for a fall at your current velocity; see Falling (p. 431). If you hit something, you suffer (and inflict) collision damage instead; see Damage from Collisions (p. 430).

Falling Off:
If the mount makes a successful DX roll for a difficult action like a jump, tight turn, or hasty deceleration, the rider must make a Riding roll. On a failure, the rider is unseated, even though the mount performed the maneuver. If the mount fails its DX roll for a risky action, see result 12 on the Mount Loss of Control Table (below) for effects.

Spooked Mounts
If a mount fails a Fright Check, or refuses to perform a particular feat, it will usually shy and buck. The rider must make a Riding roll and take a Ready maneuver every second to regain control.
A critical success calms the mount immediately; three ordinary successes in a row will have the same result.
Three failures in a row, or a single critical failure, means a total loss of control (see below). A long alternation of successes and failures means you spend your time fighting your mount instead of the enemy! Fortunately, a bucking mount is still free to dodge, as is the rider – although no other defenses are possible.

Mount Loss of Control Table
Roll 2d on the following table if you completely lose control of a mount. Also refer to the appropriate result – without rolling – whenever a rider is thrown, a mount falls, etc.