The Rider and the Mount Shall Be As One

[Labrat]

One of my gaming friends came up with a thought that we're loosely batting around (not on paper yet though since we've both been too busy to sit down and look at it closely).

Has anybody ever try to do a Duplication build reflecting a rider who is so comfortable with his/her mount that they act as one being? This could work with 'pets/familiars' as well I guess (like dogs, wolves, ferrets, etc.).

The base Form would be the two working together and then when the rider and his beast are separated, they would each be distinct but weaker entities. Eragon comes to mind here as well.

I like this idea but it seems far too expensive for the effect it's trying to represent... however, it could justify itself if the character needs a bulk-load of Riding levels and possibly things like Mind Link or a bulk-load of Animal Handling to properly reflect the integral relationship. This really wouldn't work well for a PC I don't think, but for NPCs it might be neat... like the riders from Rohan in LOTR.

Was this covered in The Ultimate Metamorph? That's the next book on my list.

[Outsider]

People probably wont like this... but...

Buy the Horse as a set of powers and have the horse itself be a focus that requires a skill roll to use. The focus should have a built in END Reserve/Recovery for the focus powers to draw exclusively from, which prevents the user from overusing the focus (wearing out the horse) Work it out so the rider can get light use from the focus for maybe 6-10 hours. Then the focus should be Obvious, Accessible, and Breakable. It will probably also be Universal, but sometimes not ("Black Satan will allow nobody but Lord Dark to ride him!"). The focus also has a built in Phys Lim "Oversized" that wont be worth much since the character can 'turn off' the lim by dropping the focus (dismounting). If you allow the oversize phys lim to count against the powers granted by the focus, it should be pretty cheap.

Example Powers :

+6" Running (Triple (?) END cost if used in addition to non-focus Running (-1/4))
This is the horse at a walk. The rider spends no END at this pace. If the rider wishes to gallop, then faster movement is possible (Base running+Focus Running) but this runs both the horse and the rider down. (12 points active, About 4 'real')

+10 STR (Does not add to secondary stats, cannot use with weapons. (-1))
This is the horse's ability to carry things, use its mass to push through things, and to strike with its hooves (Normal attack only). 10 STR will quadruple the rider's normal carrying capacity. Things he is declaring that the focus STR is carrying remain with the focus if the rider 'drops' the focus (dismounts). (10 points active, about 3 real)

[Labrat]

People probably wont like this... but...

Buy the Horse as a set of powers and have the horse itself be a focus that requires a skill roll to use. The focus should have a built in END Reserve/Recovery for the focus powers to draw exclusively from, which prevents the user from overusing the focus (wearing out the horse) Work it out so the rider can get light use from the focus for maybe 6-10 hours. Then the focus should be Obvious, Accessible, and Breakable. It will probably also be Universal, but sometimes not ("Black Satan will allow nobody but Lord Dark to ride him!"). The focus also has a built in Phys Lim "Oversized" that wont be worth much since the character can 'turn off' the lim by dropping the focus (dismounting). If you allow the oversize phys lim to count against the powers granted by the focus, it should be pretty cheap.

Example Powers :

+6" Running (Triple (?) END cost if used in addition to non-focus Running (-1/4))
This is the horse at a walk. The rider spends no END at this pace. If the rider wishes to gallop, then faster movement is possible (Base running+Focus Running) but this runs both the horse and the rider down. (12 points active, About 4 'real')

+10 STR (Does not add to secondary stats, cannot use with weapons. (-1))
This is the horse's ability to carry things, use its mass to push through things, and to strike with its hooves (Normal attack only). 10 STR will quadruple the rider's normal carrying capacity. Things he is declaring that the focus STR is carrying remain with the focus if the rider 'drops' the focus (dismounts). (10 points active, about 3 real)

Yeah, that's kind of the point I think, but these added powers would be part of the 'Prime Character' and then when the two 'Duplicates' are separated the rider would lose these qualities. Then you just have to set a time limit so that the 'Prime Character' of horse and rider can't be together all the time.

[Lucius]

People probably wont like this... but...

Buy the Horse as a set of powers and have the horse itself be a focus that requires a skill roll to use.

I'm actually thinking of defining horses that way in the next fantasy game I run.

Lucius Alexander

The palindromedary notes that dead horses are another matter....

[BobGreenwade]

If you want a "horse and rider as one" effect, probably the better way to do it would be with a Multiform Combine as seen in TUV and (more appropriately in this case) TUSp.

[Labrat]

If you want a "horse and rider as one" effect, probably the better way to do it would be with a Multiform Combine as seen in TUV and (more appropriately in this case) TUSp.

Y'know Bob, I actually started my thinking down this road and thought that it would be better defined as a Duplication effect. We're talking about splitting a whole unit (horse and rider) into two unequal weaker parts. I'm thinking that Duplication may be the better mechanic here since two of the three Multiforms (or Duplicates) will have to co-exist as separate entities when not 'combined'.

The Multiform idea may work just as well since the 'Duplicates' aren't the same and will have different point values. I don't own TUSp yet but I will look at the Combine possibility in TUV. Thanks for pointing that out!

[JmOz]

Personal opinion, formed when working on a mecha based character

Use multiform on the base form (The combined creature)

The second form with have a always on Duplication