Steve Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 I've recently taken a liking to building a campaign within a desert setting, and I'm contemplating replacing horses and camels with something a bit more exotic that might fit the terrain as a tamed riding animal. Most such alternatives that I've seen in fiction are either some kind of large lizard (like a Star Wars Dewback) or a flightless bird (like an ostrich maybe) big enough to work as a riding animal. What are some suggestions for a desert riding animal that I might consider? I'm also open to having several options available, such as one sort of beast for a draft animal pulling wagons and another for riding fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 The big flightless birds most often seen in fantasy or sci-fi are based on the extinct Phorusrhacidae, or "terror birds." Part of their coolness comes from being predators, and looking the part. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Phorusrhacos.jpg Tolkien's Middle Earth stories gave us the wargs, giant canines/lupines. Personally I've always been fond of the image of giant felines as riding beasts. Or how about giant insects? Deserts in particular are loaded with ants, spiders, beetles. Maybe scorpions? Beetles would likely make good draft animals. And on that note, I have to add this picture: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbywolfe Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 The Avatar cartoon had a lot of strange animal combinations. The Komodo Rhinos that the fire nation rode were sort of rhinoceros/triceratops Giant insects are always an option for desert, which LL already mentioned. You could always go Dune style and have sand worms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher R Taylor Posted February 28, 2015 Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 Larger versions of some animals work such as giant hogs, so do hybrids like Hippocampus and griffons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mzimwi Posted February 28, 2015 Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 I have an old handout...SaurMounts.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher R Taylor Posted February 28, 2015 Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 I have a lot of stuff on training and using mounts in your game in the Jolrhos Bestiary, including talents for pets and mounts, different quirks and traits (such as the animal is super loyal but tends to chew on things, etc), and tips on making the mount more than just a car characters drive to locations and park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markdoc Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 What are some suggestions for a desert riding animal that I might consider? I'm also open to having several options available, such as one sort of beast for a draft animal pulling wagons and another for riding fast. It's already been mentioned above, but giant beetles, giant lizards, giant worms and rhinos (or elephants!) all fit a desert/arid setting. You could up the ante by having giant riding scorpions or go Princess Mononoke with large antelope-types big enough to carry a rider. Any of the creatures of Barsoom, would fit the bill too. How about a nice Thoat? If you want to try something a bit more different, in my own fantasy world, Ogres are a race of very large humans, sorcerously modified to create strong, but none-too-bright shock troopers. Their old masters/creators are long gone, but the ogres survive and in a few places, ogres work with normal humans, serving as ... yes, well, shock troopers, or muscle. But a few places actually raise and train them as mounts. A mounted warrior on an armoured ogre - who has a couple of spiked gauntlets of his own! - is not very fast, but makes a fearsome opponent on the charge! cheers, Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assault Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 Kangaroos! "Real World" giant kangaroos lived in semi-arid areas: "Procoptodon goliah was mainly know for living in semiarid areas of South Australia and New South Wales. These environments were harsh, characterized by vast areas of treeless, wind-blown sand dunes." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markdoc Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 Kangaroos! "Real World" giant kangaroos lived in semi-arid areas: "Procoptodon goliah was mainly know for living in semiarid areas of South Australia and New South Wales. These environments were harsh, characterized by vast areas of treeless, wind-blown sand dunes." I actually thought about Kangaroos, but the idea of riding one leads to thoughts of seasickness Some of the other paleolithic Australian megafauna could be worth looking at though. cheers, Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 Those ten meters long lizards ought to do nicely as Dewbacks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 I have a particular favorite, but... Lucius Alexander ....palindromedaries aren't necessarily for everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 They are the preferred mount of the god Janus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 Janus is huge. Huge Janus, we call him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assault Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 A supporting argument for riding Kangaroos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 There's a The Far Side comic which refutes that, but I can't find it even with Google ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Posted March 3, 2015 Report Share Posted March 3, 2015 A kangaroo is the perfect beast to ride....if you're a baby kangaroo Lucius Alexander My palindromedary may not be perfect, but then neither am I Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted March 3, 2015 Report Share Posted March 3, 2015 Lizards, thoats, even Taun tauns. But ostriches work too. http://tradd.deviantart.com/art/Bob-Dylan-riding-an-ostrich-148219042 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninja-Bear Posted March 3, 2015 Report Share Posted March 3, 2015 How about tortises? Or snakes? Or spiders? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlHazred Posted March 3, 2015 Report Share Posted March 3, 2015 HPL had Randolph Carter riding a zebra in Dream-Quest. And Jack Vance mentioned oasts in "Guyal of Sfere," the last story in the book The Dying Earth: Guyal turned his head at a hoarse snuffling and saw a pen of woven wattles. In a litter of filth and matted straw stood a number of hulking men eight or nine feet tall. They were naked, with shocks of dirty yellow hair and watery blue eyes. They had waxy faces and expressions of crass stupidity. As Guyal watched, one of them ambled to a trough and noisily began gulping gray mash. Guyal said, "What manner of things are these?" The hetman blinked in amusement to Guyal's naivete. "Those are our oasts, naturally." And he gestured in disapprobation at Guyal's white horse. "Never have I seen a stranger oast than the one you bestride. Ours carry us easier and appear to be less vicious; in addition no flesh is more delicious than oast properly braised and kettled." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted March 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2015 Spiders would have a mobility advantage due to clinging, but they might be difficult to train. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninja-Bear Posted March 3, 2015 Report Share Posted March 3, 2015 Spiders would have a mobility advantage due to clinging, but they might be difficult to train. Well being a fantasy game they wouldnt have to be any more ornerier than a horse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted March 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2015 I think training a giant spider as a mount would be akin to training a giant cat. Both species are predators, but the spider has venom, which makes training them a bit more challenging I would imagine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted March 4, 2015 Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 Sounds like you never tried training a cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted March 4, 2015 Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 Cats are almost impossible to train. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markdoc Posted March 4, 2015 Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 We had a very-well trained cat (now very sadly, recently deceased) who would come at a call and respond to simple hand signals (sit here, don't sit there, don't touch that, etc). Our D&D GM has a similarly well-trained cat. There are also plenty of well-trained cats on TV and film. Cats are not at all difficult to train, maybe not as easy as pigeons or dogs, but certainly not difficult. It's more that there's this myth that cats are hard to train, so most cat owners don't even try. Cheers, Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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