Mounts#

Riding on Sedia

Horses, ponies, donkeys, camels and the few exotic beasts the Ancients broke to the saddle. A mount carries you faster than your feet and your pack further than your back, if you’re experienced enough to keep it under you.

In a fight a creature’s AC is its Defense, and it adds a fifth of its level to hit. Running a Fight has the rest.

Reading the tables#

Speed runs in quarters, from ¼, a steady walk with a load, to 4/4, the fastest thing on four legs. Level is the level a rider needs to control it; below that, it goes where it likes. Carries is what it holds besides its rider: nothing, a regular load (a saddlebag and two knapsacks, see Items), or that and 5 or 10 items more. Price is what a stable asks, and Sold in the provinces with a stable that has one. A mount that runs wild can be caught and broken, for anyone with an animal husband along.

The mounts#

By kind, the cheapest first.

Royal horses#

The horses of the old families: handsome, expensive and bred as much to be seen on as to ride.

Mount	Speed	Ride at	Carries	Health	Price	Sold in	Runs wild
Narsian RoyalA dark, calm horse bred in the stables under Tharsis for hauling in the tunnels of Narsis. It has never seen the sun and doesn’t seem to miss it, though it squints on the surface for a week.		Level 20	Regular +10	52	12 sovern		·
Crecian RoyalA massive, patient draft horse from the plains of Sedia that hauls a merchant’s whole stock without complaint. It’s slow, but Crecians care more about the cargo arriving than about when.		Level 20	Regular +10	52	13 sovern
Frost RoyalA shaggy, sure-footed horse that runs half wild through the Forest of Frost. Saellemi breeders catch the young ones every spring, and it carries more than its size suggests.		Level 40	Regular +5	44	20 sovern
Dune RoyalA pale, proud horse of the Sands of Bone with a thick mane against the sun. The tribes trade them among themselves as gifts of honor, and a stranger who buys one is expected to know it.		Level 40	Regular +5	44	21 sovern
Reach RoyalA deep-chested grey from the high pastures of the Northern Reach, broken and sold in Dupree. It keeps its footing on frozen ground when lesser horses go down.		Level 60	Regular	32	28 sovern
Mellowdeep RoyalA tall, long-legged bay that the old Tharsian families breed to be seen on. It’s at home on the marsh roads, which is more than its riders usually are, and a herd still runs wild in the Mellowdeep.		Level 60	Regular	32	30 sovern
Thurgis RoyalA fine-boned, spirited horse with a dished face, bred by a few old families in Thurgis and traded down to Dumasque. It runs all day on little water and knows exactly how beautiful it is.		Level 40	Regular	40	30 sovern		·

Horses#

The working horses of the roads and farms.

Mount	Speed	Ride at	Carries	Health	Price	Sold in	Runs wild
Tyr HorseA heavy, slow mountain horse from the slopes around Mt. Tyr. Dwarves use it to carry ore down from the mines and trust it on ledges they wouldn’t walk themselves.		Level 20	Regular +5	47	3 sovern
Saellem HorseA black, thick-coated horse of the northern tundra, sold at the ports of Doonan to anyone heading inland. It handles snow better than it handles strangers.		Level 40	Regular	43	5 sovern
Darkwood HorseA compact chestnut that grew up dodging trees in Darkwood. Tharsian foresters swear by it, and it is the horse most likely to notice a wolf before you do.		Level 40	Regular	40	6 sovern
Road HorseThe ordinary good horse of the roads between Crecia, Tharsis and New Saellem. Nobody writes songs about it, and everyone who rides one is glad they bought it.		Level 40	Regular	42	7 sovern		·
Plains CourserA light, smooth-gaited horse of the open plains, prized by couriers because a rider can sleep in the saddle. It carries a rider and a message, and not much else.		Level 60	Nothing	32	8 sovern

Scout horses#

Built for nothing but speed. They carry a rider and a saddle and they don’t stop to argue about it.

Mount	Speed	Ride at	Carries	Health	Price	Sold in	Runs wild
Harrow SpottedA spotted, wiry horse from the country around Harrow Ridge. Scouts like it because it’s quick and quiet, and because nobody forgets which horse was yours.		Level 60	Nothing	34	15 sovern
Marsh RunnerA light, quick horse that finds firm ground in the Mellowdeep Marsh by instinct. Marsh guides ride them, and a stranger who buys one gets a horse that knows the way better than they do.		Level 60	Nothing	33	17 sovern
Kyrian RunnerThe fastest horse on Sedia, bred in Kyra for the riders who carry word between the tribes of Amari. It carries a rider and a saddle, and it expects you to keep up.		Level 80	Nothing	29	39 sovern		·
Reach RunnerA lean, nervous horse built for nothing but speed, bred in the Northern Reach for scouts who need to get back alive. Feed it well; it has no patience and no reserves.		Level 80	Nothing	32	41 sovern		·

War horses#

Destriers trained to stand in a fight and to charge into one.

Mount	Speed	Ride at	Carries	Health	Price	Sold in	Runs wild
Tharsian DestrierThe tall, feathered warhorse of the Tharsian keeps, bred to carry a knight, their armor and the supplies for a week. Mandak’s Legion has bought every one it could find this year.		Level 20	Regular +10	56	29 sovern		·
Frost DestrierA thickset, cold-proof warhorse of the Forest of Frost. It’s slow to start and impossible to stop, which is most of what a charge needs.		Level 20	Regular +5	56	30 sovern		·
Saellem DestrierA huge roan warhorse of New Saellem that carries an armored rider and their whole kit. It’s gentle in the stable and terrifying out of it.		Level 20	Regular +5	59	31 sovern		·
Mellowdeep DestrierA spotted warhorse of the Mellowdeep, trained to charge through water up to its chest. Tharsian knights who fight in the marsh won’t ride anything else.		Level 40	Regular	60	38 sovern		·
Esthar DestrierA golden warhorse descended, the breeders say, from the cavalry of the old kingdom. It’s sold in Esthar and the Mellowdeep, and it carries itself as if the kingdom never fell.		Level 40	Regular	57	39 sovern		·
Darkwood DestrierA black warhorse trained in Darkwood to stand its ground under the trees. It kicks on command and sometimes without one.		Level 40	Regular	54	42 sovern		·

Royal ponies#

Ponies of the dwarvish lords and the high passes.

Mount	Speed	Ride at	Carries	Health	Price	Sold in	Runs wild
Dune PonyA small grey pony of the Sands of Bone with broad hooves that don’t sink. Tribal children learn to ride on them, and traders load them like camels.		Level 20	Regular +5	51	4 sovern
Reach PonyA stocky, dark pony that has lived wild in the Northern Reach for as long as anyone has counted. Caught young, it makes a hardy mount for the cold roads.		Level 40	Regular	40	6 sovern
Jewall Royal PonyA quick little dun pony that dwarvish lords ride through the mountain passes. It carries its rider and nothing else, and it will not be argued with about that.		Level 60	Nothing	28	9 sovern

Ponies#

Small, hardy and cheap to feed. Halflings and gnomes prefer them, and so do mountain roads.

Mount	Speed	Ride at	Carries	Health	Price	Sold in	Runs wild
Despair PonyA shaggy, unlovely pony that survives on the Endless Plains of Despair, where very little does. It eats anything, complains about everything and never quits.		Level 20	Regular +5	48	1 sovern
Gilden PonyA clever grey pony bred in Gilden, gentle enough for a child and tough enough for a season on the road. Halflings and gnomes favor it over anything taller.		Level 40	Regular	40	3 sovern		·
Esthar PonyA quick brown pony that has run wild in the ruins of Esthar since the kingdom fell. Treasure hunters ride them because they’re fast and don’t spook at old bones.		Level 60	Nothing	37	8 sovern

Scout ponies#

Small, fast and easy to hide.

Mount	Speed	Ride at	Carries	Health	Price	Sold in	Runs wild
Doonan Scout PonyA small, fast pony bred in Doonan for messengers on the frozen coast. It’s easy to hide and hard to catch.		Level 60	Nothing	32	16 sovern		·

War ponies#

Trained for battle and short enough for a dwarf in armor.

Mount	Speed	Ride at	Carries	Health	Price	Sold in	Runs wild
Jewall War PonyA stout little warpony bred for dwarvish cavalry. It’s short enough that a dwarf can mount it in armor and stubborn enough to suit them.		Level 20	Regular	46	24 sovern		·
Kyros War PonyA black, ill-tempered pony trained for war on the slopes of Mt. Kyros. Morian riders say it hates everything equally, which makes it fair.		Level 40	Regular	45	28 sovern		·

Donkeys#

They carry more than anything their size should.

Mount	Speed	Ride at	Carries	Health	Price	Sold in	Runs wild
Mountain DonkeyA small, stubborn donkey that carries more than anything its size has any right to. Miners in Jewall and Dupree load them down and walk beside them.		Level 20	Regular +10	51	80 dover

War donkeys#

A donkey built for an army’s baggage train.

Mount	Speed	Ride at	Carries	Health	Price	Sold in	Runs wild
Reach War DonkeyAn enormous, shaggy donkey with a coat like an unmade bed, bred in the Northern Reach to carry soldiers’ kit to the front. It is braver than it looks and louder than anything.		Level 20	Regular +5	44	23 sovern		·

Mules#

Half horse, half donkey, all opinion.

Mount	Speed	Ride at	Carries	Health	Price	Sold in	Runs wild
MuleHalf horse, half donkey and entirely sure of its own opinion. Every caravan on Sedia has a few, because a mule will carry a load anywhere a person can walk.		Level 20	Regular +5	52	95 dover

Wild asses#

No stable sells them. They come as gifts, or by trade from a breeder.

Camels#

The mounts of the Sands of Bone.

Mount	Speed	Ride at	Carries	Health	Price	Sold in	Runs wild
Dune CamelA two-humped camel of the Sands of Bone that goes days without water and spits when it disagrees with you. Every caravan into Dumasque runs on them.		Level 40	Regular	47	10 sovern		·
BukhtA long-legged racing camel the tribes breed for speed across the dunes. It carries a rider and nothing else, and it carries them fast.		Level 60	Nothing	48	18 sovern		·

Exotic mounts#

Nobody alive has broken one of these. The few that carry riders were trained by the Ancients, and they choose who rides them now.

Mount	Speed	Ride at	Carries	Health	Price	Sold in	Runs wild
DervaA sleek, striped runner of the southern tropics and the fastest thing on four legs. The few that take a saddle descend from ones the Ancients trained, and they still run in packs along the Lower Meaden.		Level 100	Regular +5	70	100 sovern
GieheA tall, scaled beast of the deep desert that nobody alive has ever broken. The few that carry riders were trained, it’s said, by the Ancients, and they choose who rides them now.		Level 100	Regular +5	90	100 sovern
TrokkA heavy, horned beast that still runs wild in the Bleak. Only a handful have ever carried a rider, all of them trained long ago by the Ancients, and they turn up for sale in Dumasque once in a generation.		Level 100	Regular +5	77	100 sovern