I'm sick of Horses appearing in every fantasy game, you'd have thought that alternatives would have been created rather than going with the super-familiar all the time.
Why are horses still so commonly used?
>>48291291
I feel this is some weird meta thread, but the answer to your question is that horses are a real, most players will know what one looks like, and historically they have been a very common beast of burden.
>>48291291
I'd wager that 90% of D&D/PF players have never actually had their character ride a horse.
It's much easier to say "horse" than to explain what a xyxhxxxz is. Even if you come up with something that isn't a horse, you're probably going to end up saying that it's "like a horse, but".
Apart from that, horses are a fairly big deal in western culture. They have a lot of associations, from knights to Cowboys, that people want to draw on in making their story.
>>48291365
90% do because you need one for long distance travel before level 9.
>>48291291
I've never seen a good not-horse.
The only reason this one works is because of the setting.
Otherwise it's ugly as sin, just like every other not-horse
>>48291402
Pfffft, walking is where its at
> Nat 20 dem calves
>>48291411
Bro, horses are ugly as fuck too.
>>48291291
the trick is you can't have a generic not-horse to stand in for the horse. you'd need something to set it apart. like if they all ride giant bugs you can't just fucking keep the bugs in stables and feed them out of troughs and just hook them up with saddles and reigns and trot them around the yard for practice. Consider the economy of scale to domesticate a giant insect, the differences in strength and constitution and lifespan. It can't just be a palette swap of a horse. To put that much world building into a not-horse would normally be a waste unless you can make all those littel details somehow relevant. So then you've either got a whole campaign about not-horses or you've got to give them options so that not-horse A and not-horse B have counter balancing perks and cons, or times when no horse is better than a not-horse. Again that just turns into a lot of work for an otherwise minor detail
>>48291437
Horses are handsome when their mouths are closed.
Giant, bipedal birds or lizards seem to be acceptable alternatives. Or various dinosaurs.
Most D&D campaign worlds are set in Tolkenish, !MedievalEurope, earth-like worlds, so real animals like horses are going to be the default. If you're "sick of it," OP, then tell your players that something is different. Or ask your GM for high-fantasy pack animals.
>>48291494
Plus there's the drawbacks you get with most other creatures. People don't ride cows or bears or ostriches or komodo dragons IRL for very good reasons. Horses are at the sweet spot for temperament, long-distance stamina, and riding comfort. That last one is huge, and folks who don't ride will underestimate how important it is to have a mount that moves nicely and has a properly shaped back. Weird anatomy that might seem fine to sit on at first glance can be awful after five hours in motion.
But there are still cool alternate mounts that would be used in a fantasy setting if possible, as in Greyhawk.
>>48291588
I try to use multiple methods of transport in my campaigns but other DMs only seem to use horses/carts.
In my current game I'm playing, I found an egg from a species of Lizard that grows to the size of a large horse and let it hatch/raised it to be my mount. Then the GM decided he didn't want me to "give myself stuff" and decided it ran away during the night.
>>48291614
Man I totally forgot about Gryphons.
>>48291365
I put my 3e Wizard on a horse for an overland campaign. The GM got a bit pissed off after the fifth "I move 60ft away from the threat and cast a spell".
>>48291614
That's not really an issue in anything short of a historical fiction setting, but again to have those nuances to both explain their domestication or taming AND differentiate them from horses significantly makes for additional worldbuilding down to a cultural and historical level, which is generally more effort than its worth. Unless, again, it's a campaign about not-horses.
>>48291291
I'm sick of Humans appearing in every fantasy game, you'd have thought that alternatives would have evolved rather than going with the super-familiar all the time.
Why are humans still so commonly used?
(But really, why)
>>48291291
I'm sick of humans appearing in every fantasy game, you'd have thought that alternatives would have been created rather than going wit the super-familiar all the time.
Why are humans so commonly used?
>>48291688
I'd personally demand some serious handle animal checks to not have your horse freak out all the time due to spells being cast from its back, especially if its not a trained warhorse
but if you actually invested significantly into making it work logically there wouldn't be any issues
>>48291760
It's easy to relate to being human. Most players at least have illusions of humanity.
>>48291812
hurr self-insert durr
>>48291776
I beat you to it
I'm sick of Swords appearing in every fantasy game, you'd have thought that alternatives would have been created rather than going with the super-familiar all the time.
Why are swords still so commonly used?
I'm sick of Spells appearing in every fantasy game, you'd have thought that alternatives would have been created rather than going with the super-familiar all the time.
Why are spells still so commonly used?
WE HAVE A NEW COPYPASTA
>>48291614
What about yaks? Banner Saga has all carts pulled by yaks because centaurs genocided all horses.
Or dogs? A lot of D&D has riding dogs for halflings and gnomes.
Or donkeys and mules?
>>48291797
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/mount.htm
It was a 3e DnD campaign; of course I used a spell to negate what could otherwise have been an interesting challenge.
But other than that, sure, I agree.
I'm sick of Castles appearing in every fantasy game, you'd have thought that alternatives would have been created rather than going with the super-familiar all the time.
Why are castles still so commonly used?
>>48292064
I'm sick of memes appearing in every thread, you'd have thought that alternatives would have been created rather than going with the super-familiar all the time.
Why are memes still so commonly used?
no horses in Tekumel.
As such, slow travel. All aboard the Shoe Leather Express, baby!
Could people use domesticated bison as mounts?
>>48291760
>>48291776
humanmind
>>48292100
nothing about that spell says its a supernatural horse, just that it serves you willingly and well
I'd still feel entirely justified, given you're not summoning a warhorse, to have it freak out when someone casts lightning bolt from its back
>>48291291
what >>48291494 and >>48291614 said, there is a good reason horses were tamed for riding and not, say, zebras. So when trying to figure out a new beast of burden for your setting, you're going to HAVE to make sure that they would also have those desirable traits horses possessed that made domesticating them appealing.
But, even IRL, horses were not the only creatures domesticated for riding are they?
Both Camels and Elephants have also been used in the same role as horses and history has shown that they work.
Hell, while not traditionally used this way, I would say that seeing a group of knights, stirrup to stirrup, riding elephants at full charge at my lines would certainly put the fear of god into me.
Granted I would imagine that a lance from that height would be problematic, though really an elephant kinda already has 2 lances growing out of it's mouth. I would suspect that a far better set up would be to have the knight carry a billhook, glaive, or similar weapon to strike at infantry rather than a lance.
>>48291291
For the same reason they drink ale, eat bread, and shoot arrows: the need to constantly invent new things for no reason is pleb-tier. Create a setting where horses are extremely poorly suited to riding and hauling, though, and you've got a chance to put forth some pretty epic alternatives. Exploring a cave is fun. Exploring a mega-cave on the back of a domesticated giant spider is ridiculously fun.
>>48291291
People like horses, man
They're really cool animals, and smart, too
>>48291647
That gm is a bitch. Totally not cool on his part.
I imagine they use horses because it's easy and understandable, and because anything would be impracticable in any other Earth like setting, but given it's fantasy you can make up anything
Maybe elk and goat like mounts for hills and mountainous areas, maybe lizards for desert treks and such. Who knows, who cares. Fuck it, do whatever
>>48291647
Tell your GM he's a bitch.
I'm sick of adventurers appearing in every fantasy game, you'd have thought that alternatives would have been created rather than going with the super-familiar all the time.
Why are adventurers still so commonly used?
>>48291291
Because nobody's as autistic about this particular thing as you are.
