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  1. #1
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    Can Cerilian Halflings ride?

    I ran into this question while trying to adapt some of the Complete Warrior prestige classes to Birthright and came to the Halfling Outrider. I went through every sourcebook that could possibly mention Halflings and there is no mention of them being able or not being able to ride. Havens of the Great Bay doesn't have warcards for Halfling cavalry but this could mean only that Halflings don't use the cavalry for some reason. Any ideas?

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    Site Moderator kgauck's Avatar
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    I see no reason why halflings would not ride.

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    They ride ponies all the time, and I have read in novels where they can ride other creatures as well. Like the Giant Eagles at the end of LOTR.

    It is only limited by your imagination, and your PC or NPC's number of proficiency slots or is it "FEATS" now??

    Later


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    Site Moderator geeman's Avatar
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    At 09:02 PM 3/13/2007, Nameless One wrote:

    >I ran into this question while trying to adapt some of the Complete
    >Warrior prestige classes to Birthright and came to the Halfling
    >Outrider. I went through every sourcebook that could possibly
    >mention Halflings and there is no mention of them being able or not
    >being able to ride. Havens of the Great Bay doesn`t have warcards
    >for Halfling cavalry but this could mean only that Halflings don`t
    >use the cavalry for some reason. Any ideas?

    There`s no reason why they shouldn`t be able to ride. Realistically,
    the kinds of mounts that halflings would find useable, though, don`t
    really lend themselves to large scale cavalry. Ponies of the size
    that halflings would find serviceable aren`t great "shock" and
    "charging" mounts. D&D, of course, has "warponies" which are meant
    specifically for the smaller races, though, so one could extrapolate
    them into regular, halfling cavalry, or one could interpret them to
    be more like mounted archers, which have real world equivalents that
    can be very effective. I don`t know how closely halfling archers
    might compare to such historical warriors... but that kind of thing
    would be one way to go.

    Gary

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    I just got done reading the new "Promise of the Witch King". The Sellswords book 2. It features Artemis Enteri and the Drow Jarlaxel. The meet up with a quite proficient halfing cavalry group riding War Pigs that were able to pull of precise maneuvers in combat with goblins.

    They were hunting ears near the Vasaan gate in Faerun...there is a bounty there for such (yeck) things. Jarlaxle ends up stealing the groups ears....couple of giant ears in there....a lot easier than killing giants I would say.

    The Group was called the Kneebreakers!!


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    Senior Member Jaleela's Avatar
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    Talking

    They should be able to ride, but as mentioned, the mount would have to be of a suitable size; intelligent War Eagles not withstanding.

    I can see them riding shetland ponies up to equines of small Welsh Mountain pony size (13 hands). Anything taller and they might not have the proper control. The horse's brakes are in the feet, not in the mouth. Anything taller is like putting a child on a Clydesdale. The horse tolerates them, but if something goes wrong, they neither have the strength or proper aides to stop an out of control animal...unless of course they have animal affinity or are a perfect horse and rider pair.

    Warponies? That conjures up some amusing mental images.

    Ranged weapons are definitely beneficial, if they're mounted crossbowmen or adaptations of historical eastern mounted archers. Their effectiveness though would depend largely on the bows. I'm not sure a halfling sized bow is going to have the same range and impact on an armoured man or horse that a human sized recurve would have. Then there's the matter of maille vs. plate armours. Numbers, mobility, and environment were also key in historical examples. European heavy horses and knights were not equipped to deal with the heat of the middle east nor were they capable of dealing with the ranged weapons of their adversaries, so they were easily cut down from a distance. I suspect that halflings mounted on warponies would have to get a lot closer and thus putting them at the risk of being out run by larger horses.

    Sorry...I digress, factors like that are up to the DM and the game mechanics employed.

    In our campaign, the halflings that have made an appearance ride ponies, walk, or hitch a ride with another mounted character.

  7. #7

    Thumbs down Beware, truth

    I am disgusted. By you.

    You are spoilers to everything that is unqiue about Birthright. It must all be reduced to the one idiotic clichè you want it to be?

    Neither Tolkien nor Pony have any real relevance for survivors from the Shadow World.

  8. #8

    Gotta agree, disappointemtn for the Masses

    I must agree, riding halflings for a outrider class, i just don't feel ya there. Halflings in Cerillia are a wonderful thing to use and abuse, but to make them silly or Tolienesk, Ijust don't buy.

    Mine are all still link to shadow (ala Tome of Magic) and do not need this outrider function in thier society, but thats just me....

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    I am disgusted. By you.

    You are spoilers to everything that is unqiue about Birthright. It must all be reduced to the one idiotic clichè you want it to be?

    Neither Tolkien nor Pony have any real relevance for survivors from the Shadow World.
    They do if as DM we say it is a thing that can be done......Keep your world that pristine way you want it.

    For me, the Kneebreakers riding war pigs is a fine addition to the game. The survivors of the shadow may well welcome a faster mode of travel through the shadow realm to avoid the Cold Rider.

    Also it lends itself to the whole reflection of the real world "Cerilia" analogy. Then you will have shadow creatures the size of the Cerilian Hobbit riding shadow realm war pigs.....nasty if you ask me.

    Also as a halfing you always have to look at the good side....while they may not eat a war pony....anytime a Kneebreakers mount dies it gives the halfings a reason for a BARBACUE!!!! LOL!!!

    They are afterall still halfings!!!

    Later


  10. #10
    Senior Member Jaleela's Avatar
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    Unhappy

    Quote Originally Posted by Pauper
    I am disgusted. By you.

    You are spoilers to everything that is unqiue about Birthright. It must all be reduced to the one idiotic clichè you want it to be?

    Neither Tolkien nor Pony have any real relevance for survivors from the Shadow World.
    :confused: How are we spoilers?

    The goal of the post was to help someone with ideas of how others had handled or might handle the notion of mounted halflings. It shouldn't be taken as diminishing the plight of the shadow world refugees. It has to do with combat and travel.

    I honestly don't think citing Tolkien makes halflings as cliche as making them all prone to thieving.

    Tolkien was an big influence on a lot of fantasy and RPGs that evolved over the decades. If people find inspiration from his writings, that's fine. I prefer my own story telling over borrowing from known literature. It is how we use the setting and the stories we craft that truly make Birthright unique.

    If a DM thinks that they should ride, then that's something that they do for their game, if they think they should walk, that's fine too. And if Matan wants them to ride warpigs, that's up to him. It'd never occur in my game, and even if I did entertain the notion, they'd ride boars.

    In my game they ride equines suitable for a person of their stature. Our games centers in Anuire and very few halflings have been encountered by the PCs.

    My perspective on horses and horsemanship and combat comes from a practical real world knowledge/study.

    So Pauper, I wouldn't let the discussion get you down. Enjoy the game your way.

    PAX (Peace)

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