Last game session he pulled himself away from the group during a break from their current dungeon and said he was "Calling for his mount."
I am willing to give him the Rhino, I will let him figure out what to do when the dead of winter hits with a warm/hot climate animal but my question is What exactly happens when a Paladin calls for his mount?
Does the wind whisper go north?
Does a vision from his god hit him?
Does the animal come running over the horizon?
Does he go perform some heroic adventure alone, in search of it?
I know the typical answer will be that it is my game and in the end it is my decision but I am curious what others have done in the World of Greyhawk when they had to deal with the same issue. Please help... need to figure out by next game so i can tell the Paladin what happened when he called the mount.
Thanks Ahead of Time for Everyone's Help.
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If he is that adamant, then have him also quest for magical material to construct a rhino collar of warmth and some rhino sized bracers of defense.
I tell ya, the first Giant clan he faces on his rhino is going to skewer that overstuffed meatsack with one spear thrust. . . . .
Sometimes these types of desires can lead to very interesting quests, but there are also a variety of ways to coerce players back into the party fold.
Many people howled at the creation of this rule. I think it's dynamite, as it solves the problem of what to do with your mount while stomping through a swamp or scaling a cliff and eliminates those tedious search-for-your-mount quests that everybody else in the party hates.
It even has a good conceptual feel, much like the old "Lone Ranger" show. L.R., clearly a western paladin, would emerge from a mine shaft after who knows how long, whistle, and out comes Silver from behind a tree, like he'd been there all along.
My vote: Here comes the Rhino charging over the horizon.
In one long-running campaign, I ran an adventure out of Dungeon (forget the name) that dealt with a hellacious fire in a huge city. I used Radagast City, County Urnst, and during the confusion after the explosion that rains fire down on the city, the paladin stumbles across a stable. He can hear horses screaming inside and he opens the doors and starts to lead them out. One white horse seems to help him out and in the end stays with him. It was his mount to be.
That whole idea was part of the adventure as written in Dungeon and worked very well.
A little harder to adapt that for a rhino though.
He was in the Hold of the Sea Princes at the time, in an inn near a big market where explorers were selling stuff collected in Hepmonaland and Amedio.
So, the paladin "calls" for his mount and suddenly hears a commotion outside. Out he goes and he sees several exotic animals stampeding towards him: an elephant, a rhino, an ostrich, and a giant boar.
Long story short, he spent the next two hours trying to find out which one was to be his mount, preventing the city guard from killing it, and then had to pay the irrate merchant for it. The man didn't care it was a "gift" from his god. He wanted the money he had been promised by someone else to bring it back!
The paladin had his "holy" rhino, was now poor and, later, had to deal with a very angry wizard who had wanted the rhino to create a new figurine of wondrous power!
The rest of the gang laughed the whole time :D
The paladin had his "holy" rhino, was now poor and, later, had to deal with a very angry wizard who had wanted the rhino to create a new figurine of wondrous power!
Somebody else I talked to said to create a figurine of wondrous power for a rhino but I thought it was too easy a deal for the paladin in my game. Even though a Rhino Figurine of Wondrous Power would be sweet.
Long story short, he spent the next two hours trying to find out which one was to be his mount, preventing the city guard from killing it, and then had to pay the irrate merchant for it. The man didn't care it was a "gift" from his god. He wanted the money he had been promised by someone else to bring it back!
The paladin had his "holy" rhino, was now poor and, later, had to deal with a very angry wizard who had wanted the rhino to create a new figurine of wondrous power!
Hilarious! Love that idea!
And I thought the idea of my ranger to control the infamous violet hamster of Hepmonaland was bizarre...
I believe somebody posted it already, but wouldn't a rhino be a excellent addition to any orcish *all you can eat* party?
I believe somebody posted it already, but wouldn't a rhino be a excellent addition to any orcish *all you can eat* party?
Speaking of Orcish "All you can eat" parties! Max_Writer from above in the thread is a player in my game (but not the paladin) who has dealt with a mount being an orc gang bang. He was really giving it to a band of orcs, riding around on his newly NAMED horse. You should never name an animal because then it hurts twice as bad when it dies! Even in D&D.... Anyway, there was about 18 orcs left and it was a gnome illusionist and a human sorceror against the group of orcs. The sorceror is mounted and has already landed a couple fireballs on their heads, when the orcs get into formation, draw back their spears...... and hurtle them at the horse! Oh, It was awesome, something like 12 out of the 18 smacked the thing and brought the sorceror to the ground... but it actually infuriated the sorceror (max_writer) and he and the gnome regained momentum and started the slaughter again... oh, I do have to say, I enjoyed that day.... everyone involved was shocked to see the horse stuck like a pin cushion. Well, back to topic... enough remembering glory days DMing.
enough rant; so he's in a dungeon an he calls for his rhino mount. gotta decide if his deity will give him one. god answers prayers in mysterious ways- i like the idea of him tripping over a figurine of wonderous rhino power that works mechanically identical to his calling power.
one last note: a rhino is more powerful than a heavy warhorse. if the paladin is not high enough level to have a full rhino, give him a rhino with the stats/abilities of a heavy warhorse and have the rhino gain its natural abilities at the paladin's appropriate levels.
I always thought it is best for a Paladin to find a mount that he likes and over time until the level where he would normally acheive a mount create that bond. Once a Paladin acheives a mount he gets a familiar like ability with his mount and he knows where his mount is and even if the two are separated they always seem to find each other. If the two are separated by more than a days ride for two weeks or longer than the Paladin and his mount start to suffer some adverse effects.
Both can determine when the other is in danger, both tend to know each others emotions. They have an empathic bond which developed over time. The Paladin oftens prefers the offspring of his lost mount as they tend to have a united bond of sorts. Though replacement mounts have been taken from those not of relation to the previous mount. The strange thing is that often a replacement mount shares some type of semblance with the lost mount. Maybe they like the same watering hole, perhaps they grazed from the same field, maybe they where raised by the same breeder. Whatever it is the Paladin can reattain that bond quicker than he did with his first mount. (If the Dm wishes) I use the one level rule. The Paladin must attain an after finding a replacement mount spending each and every available moment with this mount reestablishing this unique bond.
So here's my take he wants the rhino he should have to be in an enviroment where one would be found. then after he attains his bond with the animal it will become apparent to the Paladin that he friend needs to be in the hot Savanna like enviroment or at least subtropical ennviroment. So the Paladin can have his mount or let his friend rot away slowly in temparture lands.