Bonus Animal: Mule

pineappleleader · Post by **pineappleleader** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 8:06 am

No mule in the M&T. There has to be a mule...or what will the half orcs eat?

I converted this from 3E/1E/5 box DND.

Let me know what you think.
MULE

NO. ENC: 1

SIZE: Large

HD: 3 (d10), 16hp

MOVE: 30 ft.

AC: 1 3

ATTACKS: 2 hooves (1d4+3), 1 bite (1d4)

SPECIAL: +2 on checks to avoid slipping or falling.

SAVES: P

INT: Animal

ALIGN: Neutral

TYPE: Animal

TREASURE: 1

XP: 40+3

Mules are sterile crossbreeds of donkeys and horses. A mule is similar to a light horse, but slightly stronger and more agile. A mules powerful kick can be dangerous. A light load for a mule is up to 230 pounds; a medium load, 231460 pounds; and a heavy load, 461690 pounds. A mule can drag 3,450 pounds.

Maliki · Post by **Maliki** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 6:31 pm

Looks good to me.
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pineappleleader · Post by **pineappleleader** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 10:44 pm

Maliki wrote:
Looks good to me.

Thanks.

I hope people will get some use out of it.

We always took mules into the dungeon with us. Don't spook as easily as horses and if you get short of food and halflings...

irda ranger · Post by **irda ranger** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 11:59 pm

pineappleleader wrote:
Thanks.

I hope people will get some use out of it.

We always took mules into the dungeon with us. Don't spook as easily as horses and if you get short of food and halflings...

How'd you get them over the pit traps? I mean, I know they're agile and smart (for equines), but they're not big on the "swing across on this rope" stuff.

Me, I used orcs to carry the treasure back. They're meaner than mules, and don't carry as much, but if they get killed in the dungeon, there's more where that came from. That's why every adventurer worth his salt know the value of some quality manacles.
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Omote · Post by **Omote** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 1:38 am

That's a bad-ass mule. It'd kick the crap out of any 1st level PC if it wanted to!
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pineappleleader · Post by **pineappleleader** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 5:26 am

irda ranger wrote:
How'd you get them over the pit traps? I mean, I know they're agile and smart (for equines), but they're not big on the "swing across on this rope" stuff.

Pit Traps? You need to pick a better class of dungeon. (Been so long since I played 1E - don't Rangers or one of the Spell user types have Animal Empathy or Sleep). Hypnotise them or put them to sleep, swing them, wake them up.

irda ranger wrote:
Me, I used orcs to carry the treasure back. They're meaner than mules, and don't carry as much, but if they get killed in the dungeon, there's more where that came from. That's why every adventurer worth his salt know the value of some quality manacles.

Always had a Paladin in the group. Sounds like mistreatment and slavery to me. That would never do, or so the Paladin insisted. Suspposed to kill the poor heathen Orcs not abuse them. For shame. I'm

pineappleleader · Post by **pineappleleader** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 5:37 am

Omote wrote:
That's a bad-ass mule. It'd kick the crap out of any 1st level PC if it woanted to!

Giving them 3 hit dice does make them rather tough in C & C. But it is what the 3E SRD said and Mules are TOUGH. It is C&C that gave them d10's, in the SRD they have 3d8 + 9. If I had given them the +9, it would of made each one a small army in C&C. I thought what I did was a pretty good compromise. Tough, but not too tough.

Witterquick · Post by **Witterquick** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 5:40 pm

Between mules and cats, it is a wonder that zero-level NPC's thrive at all...
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miller6 · Post by **miller6** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 8:52 am

Look good with a couple issues...

30 ft. should be 35 or 40 ft. for movement since mules are faster than humans...when you can get either moving.
Also, make the 2 hoofs into 1 attack for 2d4+3 or 1d8+3 damage since they normally kick both at the same time at a single target.

Just a suggestion. Otherwise, it's a cool mule.
Brian Miller
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pineappleleader · Post by **pineappleleader** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 8:17 pm

miller6 wrote:
Look good with a couple issues...

30 ft. should be 35 or 40 ft. for movement since mules are faster than humans...when you can get either moving.
Also, make the 2 hoofs into 1 attack for 2d4+3 or 1d8+3 damage since they normally kick both at the same time at a single target.

Just a suggestion. Otherwise, it's a cool mule.
Brian Miller

Thanks for the feed back.

pineappleleader
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pineappleleader · Post by **pineappleleader** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 8:28 pm

miller6 wrote:
Look good with a couple issues...

30 ft. should be 35 or 40 ft. for movement since mules are faster than humans...when you can get either moving.
Also, make the 2 hoofs into 1 attack for 2d4+3 or 1d8+3 damage since they normally kick both at the same time at a single target.

Just a suggestion. Otherwise, it's a cool mule.
Brian Miller

You are right one kick is better.

I'll have to think about increasing the movement rate. Might make it too powerful.

pineappleleader
And Now...

Revised C&C Mule

(Thanks to Brian Miller)

No mule in the M&T. There has to be a mule...or what will the half orcs eat?

I converted this from 3E/1E/5 box DND.

Let me know what you think.

MULE

NO. ENC: 1

SIZE: Large

HD: 3 (d10), 16hp

MOVE: 30 ft.

AC: 1 3

ATTACKS: 1 kick (1d8+3), 1 bite (1d4)

SPECIAL: +2 on checks to avoid slipping or falling.

SAVES: P

INT: Animal

ALIGN: Neutral

TYPE: Animal

TREASURE: 1

XP: 40+3

Mules are sterile crossbreeds of donkeys and horses. A mule is similar to a light horse, but slightly stronger and more agile. A mules powerful kick can be dangerous. A light load for a mule is up to 230 pounds; a medium load, 231460 pounds; and a heavy load, 461690 pounds. A mule can drag 3,450 pounds.
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miller6 · Post by **miller6** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 6:25 am

This will work well in my games.

So whaddya think....a 12+3=15 charisma check to get it moving?

Brian
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pineappleleader · Post by **pineappleleader** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 6:56 pm

miller6 wrote:
This will work well in my games.

So whaddya think....a 12+3=15 charisma check to get it moving?

Brian

NB: Most D&D rules sets list the mule's movement as 30', but I did find one that listed it as 40'. I guess you can pick whichever works best for your campaign.

Let me know how it all works out.
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Tadhg · Post by **Tadhg** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 1:05 am

The mule looks good. Thanks for posting!

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serleran · Post by **serleran** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 1:10 am

It needs to lose its treasure value, to -- and get Stubborn: When subjected to a spell or effect that attempts to control its mind, a mule is allowed two saves to avoid its effects, the second of which is not affected by the source of the effect (this means the second save is against a flat 18.) Additionally, should a mule decide it does not want to do something (ie, move, eat, or another command) it must be physically coerced into it, requiring a minimum of a half hour to accomplish.

pineappleleader · Post by **pineappleleader** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 3:15 am

Rhuvein wrote:
The mule looks good. Thanks for posting!

Great emoticon!

And...your welcome.
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pineappleleader · Post by **pineappleleader** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 3:36 am

serleran wrote:
It needs to lose its treasure value, to -- and get Stubborn: When subjected to a spell or effect that attempts to control its mind, a mule is allowed two saves to avoid its effects, the second of which is not affected by the source of the effect (this means the second save is against a flat 18.) Additionally, should a mule decide it does not want to do something (ie, move, eat, or another command) it must be physically coerced into it, requiring a minimum of a half hour to accomplish.

Treasure Value: I remember thinking that a mule having treasure looked funny to me. But I looked "somewhere" (maybe M&T) and decided to leave it. Now ,of course, that somebody has asked about it, I can not remember why I left it that way. BUT THERE WAS A REASON. I agree -- treasure is better.

Stubborn: Now we get into design philosophy. How much detail is too much detail? The 3E MM listed all kinds of stuff. You could have used the mule as a player character. There was that much detail. I left much of it out as I was aiming for "your basic Basic D&D/1E AD&D monster. Playable, without so much detail that you need another person to "run" the mule.

You could add Stubborn, if you like. OR, unless one of the characters is a "mule skinner" let them find out during play at a dramatic moment. Some things are best role played, IMHO. A CK has to have fun too.
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miller6 · Post by **miller6** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 8:58 am

I played the mule as follows...

It won't move unless you make a charisma check of 15...no matter what you do to it. But if you make the role, it goes wherever you want it to go even helping with attacks.

This worked great in an adventure I ran last night where the PCs headed into the mountains. Was a blast. They lost 2 of 4 mules to a bullette which dragged them under one at a time, but before dying the mules managed to inflict enough damage with their kicks to give the PCs a chance to overcome the bullette before it shredded the whole party.

And if you wanna make it twice as fun, have the mule haul barrels of ale for a Lumberjack!

Yah, der hey, dem der donks make fer some tasty beer burrow brats."

Ey, back of hoser. I'm busy cookin' dah beer.

Brian
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serleran · Post by **serleran** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 12:38 pm

Oh, I agree. I only added the stubborn thing so there is a "rule" should a player decide to argue that is total BS. The CK can then point to the entry and say "see? Its by the book. Deal."

pineappleleader · Post by **pineappleleader** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 3:39 am

miller6 wrote:
I played the mule as follows...

It won't move unless you make a charisma check of 15...no matter what you do to it. But if you make the role, it goes wherever you want it to go even helping with attacks.

This worked great in an adventure I ran last night where the PCs headed into the mountains. Was a blast. They lost 2 of 4 mules to a bullette which dragged them under one at a time, but before dying the mules managed to inflict enough damage with their kicks to give the PCs a chance to overcome the bullette before it shredded the whole party.

And if you wanna make it twice as fun, have the mule haul barrels of ale for a Lumberjack!

Yah, der hey, dem der donks make fer some tasty beer burrow brats."

Ey, back of hoser. I'm busy cookin' dah beer.

Brian

Glad to hear that you found them fun and useful.

PS: You can even use mules to haul Lumberjacks away after the party. Just tie them on and off you go.
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pineappleleader · Post by **pineappleleader** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 3:43 am

serleran wrote:
Oh, I agree. I only added the stubborn thing so there is a "rule" should a player decide to argue that is total BS. The CK can then point to the entry and say "see? Its by the book. Deal."

Rules Lawyers ... gota Love 'em.
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Zudrak · Post by **Zudrak** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 1:09 pm

pineappleleader wrote:
Rules Lawyers ... gota Love 'em.

I think the CKG should have a rule about Rules Lawyers: If they can hold a pair of cinder blocks under 10' of water for ten minutes, then their proposal stands.

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gideon_thorne · Post by **gideon_thorne** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 4:06 pm

Zudrak wrote:
I think the CKG should have a rule about Rules Lawyers: If they can hold a pair of cinder blocks under 10' of water for ten minutes, then their proposal stands.

Whats so hard about that? We call that Physical Education in Australia.
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Zudrak · Post by **Zudrak** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 5:55 pm

gideon_thorne wrote:
Whats so hard about that? We call that Physical Education in Australia.

I was hoping to drown out the rules lawyers -- literally. (You're not helping!)

LOL
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"Galstaff, ye are in a cornfield, when a moustachioed man approaches. What say ye?"

"I shun him."

-----

"Knowledge, logic, reason, and common sense serve better than a dozen rule books."

-- E. Gary Gygax