Release the Mounts

I’ve been doing a lot of updates on this blog of late and today the trend continues. Last year I wrote about new mounts available in an Exploration Age campaign. These rules were based on the information in the final D&D Next playtest packet. Today I present updated rules for mounts that flow better with the official fifth edition Dungeons and Dragons rules and statistics for the Exploration Age mounts. Take a look at the excerpt from the upcoming Exploration Age Campaign Guide below. (For the record, I thought of giant goats as mounts before The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies was released.)

 

Mounts

Canus is home to some bizarre and wonderful animals that serve as mounts. Many can cross certain types of difficult terrain at normal speed. The table below indicates which types of difficult terrain specific mounts can ignore. These are common mounts for sale, other fantastic mounts might be found and trained at the DM’s discretion. Descriptions are provided for the mounts which require them.

Mount	Speed	Ignored Difficult Terrain(s)	Price
Bison	40 ft.	Forest	100 gp
Dog Sled and Team	40 ft.	Snowfields, Frozen Ocean	400 gp
Giant Goat	40 ft.	Mountains	75 gp
Giant Lizard	30 ft., climb 30ft.	Swamp, Marsh, Jungle	75 gp
Ornithopter	0 ft., fly 60 ft.	See notes	20,000 gp
Ostrich	70 ft.	None	150 gp
Reindeer	50 ft.	Snowfields, Mountains, Frozen Ocean	150 gp
Riding Deer	50 ft.	Forest	150 gp
Riding Turtle	10 ft., swim 50 ft.	Swamp, Marsh	200 gp
Water Buffalo	40 ft.	Swamp, Marsh, Jungle	150 gp
Yak	40 ft.	Snowfields, Mountains	100 gp

Dogsled and Team. A team of 8 dogs comes with a sled, ready to pull a rider and gear across the frozen landscapes of Canus.

Mountain Ram. Huge goats large enough to hold a man were first trained by the Bragonian dwarves. Now they are the preferred method of travel for all who traverse mountainous peaks.

Ornithopter. This is a special one-person flying machine created by Bragonay’s artisans for reconnaissance and solo travel. Its bird-shape has huge flapping wings which allow for lift and propulsion. These wings are powered by the rider through foot pedals. An ornithopter can glide great distances.

Riding Deer. These over-sized white-tailed deer were first bred by elves to be large enough to hold a rider. They spring through wooded forests and hills with ease.

Riding Turtle. These enormous, freshwater turtles are large enough to hold one rider comfortably on the shell. The turtles are trained to swim on the surface, since most of their riders cannot breathe underwater, however, they can be commanded to dive and surface. Turtles like this are often used in lieu of boats when traveling on lakes and rivers.

Mount Stat Blocks

Here are the stat blocks for mounts from the Exploration Age Campaign Guide. Mounts not listed here can be found in the Monster Manual or Dungeon Master Basic Rules.

Bison

Large beast, unaligned

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Armor Class 10 (natural armor)

Hit Points 30 (4d10 + 8)

Speed 40 ft.

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STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
18 (+4)	8 (-1)	14 (+2)	2 (-4)	10 (+0)	6 (-2)

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Senses passive perception 10

Languages –

Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)

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Trampling Charge. If the bison moves at least 20 feet straight toward a creature and then hits it with a hooves attack on the same turn, that target must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If the target is prone, the bison can make another attack with its hooves against it as a bonus action.

Actions

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Hooves. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage.

Ostrich

Medium beast, unaligned

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Armor Class 15 (natural armor)

Hit Points 19 (3d10 + 3)

Speed 70 ft.

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STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
15 (+2)	18 (+4)	12 (+1)	2 (-4)	10 (+0)	6 (-2)

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Senses passive perception 10

Languages –

Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)

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Medium Mount. Ostriches can carry a rider of Medium size or smaller.

Trampling Charge. If the ostrich moves at least 20 feet straight toward a creature and then hits it with a talons attack on the same turn, that target must succeed on a DC 12 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If the target is prone, the ostrich can make another attack with its talons against it as a bonus action.

Actions

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Talons. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) piercing damage.

Reindeer

Large beast, unaligned

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Armor Class 10

Hit Points 30 (4d10 + 8)

Speed 50 ft.

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STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
18 (+4)	10 (+0)	14 (+2)	2 (-4)	10 (+0)	6 (-2)

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Senses passive perception 10

Languages –

Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)

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Charge. If the reindeer moves at least 20 feet straight toward a target and the hits it with a ram attack on the same turn, the target takes an extra 7 (2d6) damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw of be knocked prone.

Actions

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Ram. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage.

Hooves. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d4 + 4) bludgeoning damage.

Riding Deer

Large beast, unaligned

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Armor Class 14

Hit Points 19 (3d10 + 3)

Speed 50 ft.

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STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
14 (+2)	18 (+4)	12 (+1)	2 (-4)	14 (+2)	6 (-2)

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Senses passive perception 12

Languages –

Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)

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Charge. If the deer moves at least 20 feet straight toward a target and the hits it with a ram attack on the same turn, the target takes an extra 7 (2d6) damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 12 Strength saving throw of be knocked prone.

Actions

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Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d4 + 4) piercing damage.

Ram. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage.

Riding Turtle

Large beast, unaligned

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Armor Class 12 (natural armor)

Hit Points 26 (4d10 + 4)

Speed 10 ft., swim 50 ft.

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STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
15 (+2)	8 (-1)	13 (+1)	2 (-4)	10 (+0)	5 (-3)

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Senses passive perception 10

Languages –

Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)

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Hold Breath. The turtle can hold its breath for 15 minutes.

Actions

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Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) piercing damage.

Water Buffalo

Large beast, unaligned

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Armor Class 10 (natural armor)

Hit Points 30 (4d10 + 8)

Speed 40 ft.

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STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
19 (+4)	8 (-1)	15 (+2)	2 (-4)	12 (+1)	5 (-3)

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Senses passive perception 11

Languages –

Challenge 1 (200 XP)

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Charge. If the buffalo moves at least 20 feet straight toward a target and the hits it with a gore attack on the same turn, the target takes an extra 9 (2d8) damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw of be knocked prone.

Actions

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Gore. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) piercing damage.

Hooves. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage.

Yak

Large beast, unaligned

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Armor Class 10 (natural armor)

Hit Points 30 (4d10 + 8)

Speed 40 ft.

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STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
18 (+4)	8 (-1)	14 (+2)	2 (-4)	10 (+0)	5 (-3)

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Senses passive perception 10

Languages –

Challenge 1 (200 XP)

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Charge. If the yak moves at least 20 feet straight toward a target and the hits it with a gore attack on the same turn, the target takes an extra 9 (2d8) damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw of be knocked prone.

Actions

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Gore. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) piercing damage.

Hooves. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage.

Let’s PDF It Up!

Well I’ve added these mounts as a PDF to the Exploration Age bestiary in the Free Game Resources section of this site and in the links below.

All Monsters

EA Beasts

Enjoy!

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