New Riding proposal

by Unknown

Back to Ideas.

Unknown2006-07-03 04:56:41
Well, I think we all agree riding is pretty pointless at the moment. I'd like to revise what we have, and make it a little more distinctive and appealing. The basic idea here would be that you can now ride steeds of any level, but there would be certain skills that some mounts was capable of learning (marked by *'s) and others were not. You can train one creature by one level per month, and only in the skills that the creature itself allows.

For instance, a mammoth might be able to learn swimming, digging, defence, intimidate and ramming, but not the others. A stag (if it were a non-summoned mount) might be able to learn swimming, balance, weaving and ramming. A crow (if it were a non-summoned mount) might be able to learn balance, flying, weaving and intimidate. Etc.

Anyway, let me know what you think, and what should be changed/added/removed before passing this on upwards.

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You have gained the following abilities in Riding:
Mount...............You can mount a steed.
Mounts..............Locate all your loyal mounts.
Swimming*...........If your mount can swim, you may train it to do so.
Soothe..............Calm your panicked steed.
Steedtrade..........You can trade your steed, bestowing its loyalty to another.
Digging*............With a firm snout or sharp claws, train your mount to dig.
Whistling...........Whistle one loyal steed to your side.
Trotting............Order your steed to trot quickly across the land.
Defence*............Use the thick hide of your steed to deflect some damage.
Carriage............While mounted you will project a noble demeanor.
Rear................Train your steed to rear at enemies and knock them down.
Balance*............Ride your mount into the treetops.
Lasso...............Lasso and ride wild mounts.
Intimidate*.........Use the ferocity of your mount to intimidate prey.
Vault...............Impressively vault onto your steed.
Flying*.............Fly the winds upon a winged steed.
Gallop..............Gallop on your steed with great speed.
Grazing.............Allow your mount to find its own dinner.
Tack................Prepare a leather tack to easily remount after a fall.
Mountjump...........Your steed can jump over obstacles blocking exits.
Weaving*............A nimble steed can run circles around your enemies.
Retrace.............Command your steed to retrace its steps.
Blocking............Your steed can block exits.
Ramming*............Ram other riders, knocking them clear of their steeds.
Caltrops............Attach wicked spines to the hooves of your steed.
Mountkick...........Use your mount to kick an unmounted opponent.
Trample.............Frenzy your steed to trample all prone in your location.
Evade...............Your steed can evade obstacles in a certain direction.
AB RIDING for more information on an ability.

AB RIDING MOUNT
Syntax: MOUNT , DISMOUNT
If you have the riding skill to ride a specific steed (or a steed of a similar level), you can mount
and dismount it, assuming it is loyal to you.

AB RIDING MOUNTS
Syntax: MOUNTS
List all your loyal steeds. If a steed is on the same continent as you, it will list the exact
location of where it is.

AB RIDING SWIMMING
Training: TRAIN TO SWIM
Syntax: SWIM
You can ford across rivers and other watery areas upon a suitable steed. As long as you remain on your
steed, you will not be in danger of drowning and you will move faster than your own strokes could
carry you. The higher the steed's training, the faster you will travel across water.

AB RIDING SOOTHE
Syntax: SOOTHE
If your loyal steed is panicking, quickly soothe the poor beast with soft, comforting whispers.

AB RIDING STEEDTRADE
Syntax: STEEDTRADE TO
Trade your steed to another, transferring its loyalty. Note that every trained skill your mount remembers
will be decreased by one level, as it needs to adjust to a new rider. Make sure you get a good price!

AB RIDING DIGGING
Training: TRAIN TO DIG
Syntax: ORDER (mount) DIG / ORDER (mount) BURY
With proper training, some creatures can break up the earth more effectively than a simple shovel.
The higher your steed's training, deeper objects underground will be unearthed.

AB RIDING WHISTLING
Syntax: WHISTLE MOUNT
Upon issuing a high-pitched whistle, you can call one of your loyal mounts to you, so long as it is
in the same continent as you.

AB RIDING TROTTING
This is an automatic ability, your training in riding has made you
unconsciously able to spur your steed to trot and so when you are
mounted you will be able to move further before worrying about undue
haste.

AB RIDING DEFENCE
Training: TRAIN TO DEFEND
While upon your steed, you will sustain slightly less damage from physical blows. The greater your
steed's training, the more defence will be afforded you.

AB RIDING CARRIAGE
Mounted upon your noble steed you will project a knightly aura, contributing to the effect of your
influence.

AB RIDING REAR
Syntax: REAR AT
Ordering your steed to rear at a unmounted target will cause them to be knocked to the ground and
stunned very briefly. Used on a mounted opponent there is only a very small chance they will be
knocked off their steed.

AB RIDING BALANCE
Training: TRAIN TO BALANCE
Syntax: CLIMB UP/CLIMB DOWN
With the capacity for hopping from one precarious perch to another, your steed will be able to
climb into the treetops while you are mounted. The higher your steed's training, the greater its
chance of avoiding being knocked out of the trees.

AB RIDING LASSO
Syntax: LASSO
If you find a wild steed (one that is not loyal to another), you may attempt to lasso and ride it.
You must be wielding a rope to make the attempt. Wild animals cannot be trained.


AB RIDING INTIMIDATE
Training: TRAIN TO INTIMIDATE
Syntax: ORDER INTIMIDATE
When ordered to champ and snort at a lesser creature, certain mounts can frighten them with such
ferocity that they hesitate in their attack. The chance of this occurring increases with training,
however it never reaches a success rate beyond around 20% of the time.

AB RIDING
VAULT
Syntax: VAULT
Instead of mounting a loyal steed, you can vault onto it, cutting your balance time by two-thirds.

AB RIDING FLYING
Training: TRAIN TO FLY
Syntax: FLY
If your steed has wings or can otherwise fly, you can now fly it up into the skies. The higher
your steed's training, the less the winds will affect you.


AB RIDING GALLOP
Syntax: GALLOP
Gallop quickly in a direction upon a mounted steed.

AB RIDING GRAZING
Syntax: ORDER GRAZE
Allow your loyal companion to spend some time grazing in the hills, a valley, or grasslands to
replenish its strength. This will effectively increase the time you can use your current feedbag,
though proper grazing will take much longer than you might expect.

AB RIDING TACK
Syntax: PREPARE TACK FOR
Requires: leather 1
Preparing a full set of riding equipment for your mount, you will be able to utilize it to return
instantly to the saddle after you have been knocked prone in combat. The additional tack can
unfortunately provide no benefit if you are knocked clear of your mount, such as if you are
rammed or knocked by rearing.

AB RIDING MOUNTJUMP
Syntax: MOUNTJUMP or MJ
Use your mount to jump over obstructions.

AB RIDING WEAVING
Training: TRAIN TO WEAVE
Syntax: ORDER TO WEAVE
While riding a suitable steed that can weave through combat, you will have an increased chance to
dodge some attacks. The higher training your mount has, the more effective that dodging will be,
though the rate of success will never grow above 10%.

AB RIDING RETRACE
Syntax: ORDER MARK LOCATION
ORDER RETRACE STEPS
Power: 2 to mark, 5 to retrace.
Relying on your steed's memory, you are able to command it to mark a location in its mind and
later return to it. The creature will only be able to mark outdoor wilderness locations, and
discern a return path from the same. ]

AB RIDING BLOCKING
Syntax: BLOCK
You can use the mass of your steed to block exits.

AB RIDING RAMMING
Training: TRAIN TO RAM
Syntax: RAM
Attempt to ram a mounted opponent and knock him off his steed. Be warned, however, that depending on
your mount's training there is a chance that you will fail and be stunned instead. Increasing
the level of your steed's training will increase the chance of success.

AB RIDING CALTROPS
Syntax: ATTACH CALTROPS (requires caltrops constructed by forgers)
ENVENOM CALTROPS WITH
REAR AT
Attaching deadly spikes to the front hooves of your steed, you will have a chance of poisoning your
target when you command your mount to rear at them. There will also be a slight amount of damage
dealt when they are knocked to the ground.

AB RIDING MOUNTKICK
Syntax: MOUNTKICK or MK
Allows you to buck someone into an adjacent room, assuming they are not mounted, prone or have
defenses that prevent you from moving them.

AB RIDING TRAMPLE
Whip your steed into a fury and trample the ground. Anyone personal enemies who are prone in your
location will be in danger of having their limbs crushed under your steed's deadly rampage. The
number of limbs crushed is based partly on chance and partly on your steed's level. The amount of
damage is based upon the level of your steed and number of limbs crushed.

AB RIDING EVADE
Syntax: EVADE (direction)
Your control of your steed is so perfect that you will be able to steer it carefully around
almost any obstacle, though it is not the swiftest of movements. You may lose some of your
defences while attempting this maneuvre. ]
Daganev2006-07-03 05:00:17
What about mountable pets? how would that work?
Unknown2006-07-03 05:05:28
Hrm. I'm not sure. I guess they could have certain basic ones like swimming, defence, and digging (if it made sense) with the mountable option, but then they'd have to pay extra for other abilities. Not sure.
Daganev2006-07-03 05:07:29
And why did you take out scooping?

I like the concept though..

Though I would expect a pet to have all the abilities.
Unknown2006-07-03 05:11:04
Ah, thanks for reminding me. Scooping would be automatic. I think requiring people to spend lessons before they can use the GET command is silly.

Edit: Here, with regards to pets...

3) Flight - 50 credits
- Your pet will be able to fly. We will only allow this for pets that flying
makes sense for. No flying sea turtles, for example.

4) Mountable - 100 credits
- Ride your pet like a pony! We will only allow this for pets that riding
makes sense for. No riding a cockroach, for instance. You could ride a
giant cockroach of course, but not a cockroach of normal size.
- You may add the capacity for balance, weaving, intimidate and ramming
to your pet for an additional 25 credits each.

------

In regards to training generally, it could be implemented in a few ways. One that I would prefer is to have every skill with potentially, say, 5 levels of training, but you can only distribute a maximum of 15 training sessions before your steed is overwhelmed. So you're forced to choose to focus on training one or two skills highly, or knowing multiple skills poorly (assuming its not a crappy steed with the capacity for only one or two skills).
Daganev2006-07-03 05:19:01
QUOTE(Avaer @ Jul 2 2006, 10:11 PM) 304530


- You may add the capacity for balance, weaving, intimidate and ramming
to your pet for an additional 25 credits each.




umm, no...
Unknown2006-07-03 05:19:44
The last bit about training is not just for pets, I meant for every mount. Sorry if that wasn't clear. blush.gif
Unknown2006-07-03 05:19:55
I think the general ability clones are nice, such as groundhog/trout/monkey totem copies. It's good to have basic skills like that in multiple skillsets.

Is intimidate a 20% chance nymph-clone? if so that's interesting as well.

Carriage sounds useful as well.

spoton.gif
Unknown2006-07-03 05:21:39
Well, nymph pacifies creatures so they don't attack again. Intimidate would just have a chance of deflecting a single attack, but they'd continue to be aggressive afterwards.
Sylphas2006-07-03 05:32:01
So with Nymph and Intimidate, it's insanely easy to bash. Eh, probably not. They already nerfed Nymph once, why add something similar back?
Unknown2006-07-03 05:34:42
Remember you'd have to have a mount higher in level than the creature you want to bash, for a start. I don't know many mounts that are above extraordinarily strong. Secondly, at the most it has a 20% chance of deflecting an attack... and that can be reduced if necessary. I don't really think it would be that bad.

If you do, any alternatives?
Unknown2006-07-03 07:02:40
That is NOT hwat caltrops are for. The opposing armies scattered them on the ground so that they would stab into the horses hooves, and scare them away, not teh other way round. Maybe "sharpened horseshoes" or something is what you're looking for.
Unknown2006-07-03 07:25:49
Darn, I blame Jasper! Let's call it, poisonedspurs, or something. You know what I mean!
Daganev2006-07-03 16:18:24
heh, spurs were used to push the horse forward.. how about just call it Horseshoes.
Sylphas2006-07-03 16:44:20
What if it's not a horse? I want to see you try and nail a shoe to mammoth's foot.
Daganev2006-07-03 16:59:14
I'd like to see you gallop on a bird...
Richter2006-07-03 17:18:17
Call them baseballs if you want, but spurs on a mounts feet sound cool.
Sylphas2006-07-03 17:54:21
QUOTE(daganev @ Jul 3 2006, 12:59 PM) 304602
I'd like to see you gallop on a bird...




People race ostriches, why not wakabi?

Daganev2006-07-03 18:08:49
ok, I'd like to see you Gallop on a Crow... :roll:

i.e., the Current Riding skillset, has you gallop if you wish to go really fast on your Crow. And Gallop is useually only used in refrence to a horse. Never heard, Wow look at that dog Gallop!

The point is, these things are not animal neutral in name, only in ablity.
Genos2006-07-03 18:16:39
What about adding an ability for mountaineering that allows the mount to enter the mountains. You know, kind of like mountain goats?