Varsks

[evilRafael]

Hello there guys! I'm new around here. I'm a recent cerilian as well: my first contact with the world of Birthright was a few weeks ago.

I have a question about varsks for you sages: would a varsk survive non-cold weather? (temperate, tropical, equatorial, hot deserts?)

Thanks for the years of efforts guys.

[Fizz]

I have a question about varsks for you sages: would a varsk survive non-cold weather? (temperate, tropical, equatorial, hot deserts?)

Depends what you mean by `survive'. Do you have the original 2nd Ed rulebook? It doesn't say they can't survive, but that "they don't fare well in warmer climes".

-Fizz

[ploesch]

Yeah, as Fizz (and the books) says, "They are normally only available in Vosgaard, as they don't fare well in warmer climates and don't get along well with horses or other domesticated animals."

So, it's up to the GM to decide what "Fare Well" means. To me, in warmer climes they are lethargic, and slow, and tire easily. The hotter it is the worse it is. So, if they were in Coeranys, where there are allot of storms, rain and ussually overcast they may fare ok, but in the deserts of Khinasi lands, they would likely die in a very short time.

Varsks are really cool critters, but they must not be actual lizards. Lizards are cold-blooded, and therefore wouldn't do well in cold. If you realy want Varsks in warmer climes, use actual giant lizards that wouldn't do well in cold climates.

[geeman]

At 10:31 PM 8/24/2006, ploesch wrote:

>So, it`s up to the GM to decide what "Fare Well" means. To me, in
>warmer climes they are lethargic, and slow, and tire easily. The
>hotter it is the worse it is. So, if they were in Coeranys, where
>there are allot of storms, rain and ussually overcast they may fare
>ok, but in the deserts of Khinasi lands, they would likely die in a
>very short time.

By way of comparison, I`d suggest that varsks would last in terrain
other than that to which they are acclimated about as long as other
mounts might last in terrain that is inhospitable to them. For
instance, if we imagine horses that are bred on the plains being
taken to the mountains where their light coats and thin skin offers
little protection from the cold. Such animals might survive a few
weeks or maybe even just days before succumbing to the climate. A
varsk in a temperate area might live a comparable time. If taken
into the desert it would die off pretty quickly IMO. Probably not
more than a couple of days.

Of course, that doesn`t mean we can`t imagine a breeding program to
make a more survivable varsk that can exist in other climes, or a
similar effort to develop creatures that are similar. There are, for
example, giant lizards ridden by the orogs in some of the published
materials. Also, we shouldn`t discount the possibility of a magical
solution. A ring (saddle?) or potions that allow a varsk to survive
outside its natural habitat.

>Varsks are really cool critters, but they must not be actual
>lizards. Lizards are cold-blooded, and therefore wouldn`t do well
>in cold. If you realy want Varsks in warmer climes, use actual
>giant lizards that wouldn`t do well in cold climates.

Yeah, by way of comparison varsks are probably as much like lizards
as, say, dragons are. A cold-blooded species that lives in snowy
mountains doesn`t really make a lot of sense in biological
terms. There might be some non-magical explanation for their
biology, but they must differ from our typical concept of "lizard"
pretty drastically....

Gary

[gazza666]

There are, for
example, giant lizards ridden by the orogs in some of the published
materials.

Speaking of which, I can't seem to find 3rd edition stats for those anywhere. The closest animal I can find is a monitor lizard (from the MM), but those are only Medium sized and probably unable to carry a rider; they also don't have any listed advancement that would make bigger ones.

[evilRafael]

I thought of a character that rode a varsk that would be really cool. Also, I read somewhere that the varsks cavalries are the best military units in all of Vosgaard. I guess both my cool character and their best military units won't leave Vosgaard much.

I had already thought that before, that the varsks were unlikely to survive for long in warmer climates, but wanted to hear from you guys to see if I was wrong, maybe there was some workaround to this dramatic limitation for the varsks as a mount or animal companion.

I guess I'll go with a horse then

[ploesch]

Speaking of which, I can't seem to find 3rd edition stats for those anywhere. The closest animal I can find is a monitor lizard (from the MM), but those are only Medium sized and probably unable to carry a rider; they also don't have any listed advancement that would make bigger ones.

Dire Monitor Lizard?

Add the dire template to a Monitor Lizard, that will give it thesize boost it needs. Then mod it a little to make it the mount you want.

[Fizz]

Speaking of which, I can't seem to find 3rd edition stats for those anywhere. The closest animal I can find is a monitor lizard (from the MM), but those are only Medium sized and probably unable to carry a rider; they also don't have any listed advancement that would make bigger ones.

The 2nd Ed original boxed set included the orog stats on an external page-sized card. I believe that card also gave the basic stats for their subterranean lizards.

-Fizz

[gazza666]

Dire Monitor Lizard?

Add the dire template to a Monitor Lizard, that will give it thesize boost it needs. Then mod it a little to make it the mount you want.

Which dire template would that be? Is it in MM4? It's not in the first 3, that's for sure.

[RaspK_FOG]

Actually, it's a common error: there's no dire template, only the stats for some dire animals, but one could use them as a guideline...