Mount System¶
Overview¶
Mounts serve two functions: travel speed and cargo capacity. They are not combat platforms — a mounted character in combat still resolves as a standard combatant with their personal loadout. Mounts can be injured or killed during expeditions, and their loss is permanent at full death (same rules as any other character possession). Mount management is a meaningful long-term investment.
A mount is an equipped item. Once a mount is in your equipment slot it applies its speed modifier to all movement — expedition travel, overworld transit between settlements, and any other hex-traversal. It does not need to be separately activated per trip.
Early Goal: Save for a Mount¶
A Saddle Horse from Arujoki stable costs 200 coin. A new character starts with 100 coin. Saving for a mount is one of the clearest early-game targets — it takes roughly 3–5 successful expeditions with careful resource management, depending on sell prices and supplies spent.
Why it matters immediately: A Saddle Horse applies a +40% travel speed modifier to every expedition from the moment it is equipped. On a typical outer-march expedition of ~35 km one-way, this cuts travel time by more than a quarter. Over the course of a week of active play, the time saved from a mount easily exceeds the cost to acquire one.
The expedition result screen after the first few successful runs surfaces the mount purchase as a suggested next goal, with the current coin balance and remaining distance to 200 coin displayed.
Players who registered at Arujoki as their origin village receive 10% off at the Arujoki stable (Known-tier standing applied from birth village). Their effective mount floor is 180 coin.
Mount Species¶
Four mount species are available at launch, each suited to different expedition types:
| Species | Specialist Role | Speed Modifier | Cargo Bonus | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saddle Horse | Fast travel, light cargo | +40% base travel speed | +1 cargo slot | Best all-purpose mount; most common |
| Draft Horse | Heavy cargo, slow travel | +10% base travel speed | +4 cargo slots | Caravan and logistics workhorse; cannot navigate mountain passes |
| Hill Pony | Mountain terrain | +20% base travel speed in hills/mountains; no penalty on elevation | +2 cargo slots | Required for Rumiarr high passes in winter; smaller than horses |
| Pack Mule | Pure cargo | +5% base travel speed | +5 cargo slots | Slowest mount; almost never used for speed; maximum load capacity |
Terrain restrictions: - Draft Horse: Cannot pass mountain elevation zones (Rumiarr high passes). Can use lowland roads and valley floor routes. - Saddle Horse: Can navigate standard elevation but takes a speed penalty in mountain zones (reduced to +10% effectively). - Hill Pony: The only mount that ignores mountain elevation penalties. Required for Rumiarr summit routes in winter without Routefinding Skilled. - Pack Mule: Same terrain restrictions as Draft Horse.
Mount Acquisition¶
Mounts are purchased from two stable NPCs at launch:
Arujoki Stable (Arujoki Village)¶
Run by the stable keeper at Arujoki. Sells: - Saddle Horses (common stock) - Pack Mules (always available)
Base prices at Arujoki:
| Mount | Base Price |
|---|---|
| Saddle Horse (Tamed tier) | 200 coin |
| Pack Mule (Tamed tier) | 120 coin |
Standing discounts apply (Arujoki village standing). Trusted standing: 10% off. Honored: 15% off. Rooted: 20% off.
Rumiarr Mountain Handler (Rumiarr Village)¶
Run by the mountain handler at Rumiarr. Sells: - Hill Ponies (primary stock) - Draft Horses (brought in from lowland trading routes; less common)
Base prices at Rumiarr:
| Mount | Base Price |
|---|---|
| Hill Pony (Tamed tier) | 180 coin |
| Draft Horse (Tamed tier) | 280 coin |
Same standing discount structure as Arujoki.
Trevalkaan North Gate Stable (Trevalkaan)¶
Run by the stable master in Trevalkaan's North Gate Ward. The only launch facility that accepts bear mounts alongside other animals. Largest stock and highest prices — no village-standing discount (Trevalkaan uses Hall rank and faction standing instead, neither of which applies to stables at launch).
Sells: - Saddle Horses (regular stock) - Pack Mules (always available) - Draft Horses (regular stock; no need to wait for Rumiarr imports)
| Mount | Base Price |
|---|---|
| Saddle Horse (Tamed tier) | 220 coin |
| Pack Mule (Tamed tier) | 130 coin |
| Draft Horse (Tamed tier) | 300 coin |
The stable master holds Beastbonding at Familiar, satisfying the minimum requirement to stable bear mounts without separating them from other animals.
Note on Wild mounts: Wild variants of the stable species exist in the field (wild horses near Arujoki, mountain ponies in Rumiarr foothills). Several wild bestiary creatures are also tameable as mounts. All require Beastbonding and Taming skill investment. See Wild Tameable Species and Taming as a Route Action below.
Taming as a Route Action¶
Taming is not a separate expedition type. It is a route action selected when planning any movement — expedition or overworld travel.
When plotting a route, the player can mark individual hexes (or set a global movement preference) to attempt a tame if a tameable creature is present in that hex. The resolver checks creature presence in each marked hex as the character traverses it.
How it works: - The player flags eligible hexes or enables the global "attempt tame on encounter" movement setting before departure - The movement setting persists as a default until turned off — it applies to all subsequent trips automatically - When the resolver traverses a flagged hex and finds a tameable creature present, it runs the taming attempt check - A taming attempt adds time to that movement leg (equivalent to a short site stop) - If the character already has a mount equipped and all led mount slots filled, a successful tame still captures the creature — it is registered to the character's stable and can be claimed on return
Outcomes:
| Attempt result | Prey species (stag, aurochs, wild horse) | Predator species (wolf, bear) |
|---|---|---|
| Success | Creature joins as led mount or is registered to stable | Creature joins as led mount or is registered to stable |
| Failure | Creature flees — no combat, time consumed, attempt spent | Hostile encounter triggered in that hex |
| Missing requirement (skill too low, wrong season, wrong biome) | Attempt skipped silently; hex traversed normally | Attempt skipped silently |
The character must meet the taming floor for the species (Beastbonding + Taming bands). If not, the route action is silently skipped — the creature is not disturbed and no time is added.
Wild Tameable Species¶
Six wild creature types can be tamed as mounts. They are found in the field during expeditions or overworld travel — never sold at stable. A successful taming attempt brings the creature back to a stable; it starts at Wild tier and requires a trust-establishment session before it can be ridden.
A failed approach on a predator species (wolf, bear) always triggers a hostile encounter. A failed approach on a prey species (stag, aurochs) results in flight — no combat, but the attempt is spent for that expedition.
| Species | Found | Speed Modifier | Cargo Bonus | Terrain Advantage | Feed Type | Taming Floor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Horse | Plains near Arujoki | +40% | +1 slot | Roads and open ground | Herbivore (grain/hay) | Beastbonding Familiar + Taming Familiar |
| Wild Mountain Pony | Rumiarr foothills | +20% hills/mountain | +2 slots | Mountain passes | Herbivore (forage/grain) | Beastbonding Familiar + Taming Familiar |
| Kaaduaran (Forest Stag) | Light and dense forest | +35% forest/trail; +20% road | +1 slot | Forest hexes — no speed penalty | Herbivore (forage/grain) | Beastbonding Practiced + Taming Familiar |
| Maesarw (Plains Aurochs) | Plains and farmland | +15% | +5 slots | Plains and lowland roads | Herbivore (hay, large quantities) | Beastbonding Skilled + Taming Practiced |
| Wolf variant (Harmulfr / Kivisusi / Bergulfr) | Plains, rocky hills, or mountain (by species) | +40% native terrain; +25% road | None — light rider only | Native biome, no speed penalty | Carnivore (meat only) | Beastbonding Skilled + Taming Practiced |
| Tapiokarhu (Forest Bear) | Dense forest | +25% | +2 slots | Forest and hills | Omnivore (meat + forage; higher cost) | Beastbonding Veteran + Taming Skilled |
Additional constraints by species:
- Kaaduaran: rider must carry no expedition cargo pack — personal loadout (armor, weapons, tools) is permitted but bundled cargo weight beyond the stag's own +1 cargo slot is not. Nervous on open ground — road speed penalty applies on plain or farmland hexes. Approach requires a non-combat loadout: the resolver checks whether the character has a weapon in the primary hand slot. If so, the approach is silently skipped. To attempt, the player flags the taming hex with a "non-combat approach" flag in the movement plan. This flag also means retreat is the only combat option if a separate encounter triggers in that hex.
- Maesarw: cannot navigate forest or mountain hexes. Draft-class cargo capacity exceeds a Pack Mule. A failed approach attempt is always a hostile encounter — the aurochs charges.
- Wolf variants: cannot carry cargo. Rider must carry no expedition cargo pack — personal loadout only (armor, weapons, tools). Trust degrades faster than any other species — requires more frequent handling between trips to maintain. Carnivore feed cannot be substituted with grain or hay. Most stable keepers will board a wolf mount only if the player has Beastbonding at Skilled.
- Tapiokarhu: cannot be stabled alongside other mounts without the stable keeper holding Beastbonding at Familiar minimum. Most village stables will refuse a bear — Trevalkaan's outer-ward stable is the only launch-available facility that accepts them. A failed approach attempt is always a hostile encounter.
- Forest Cat / Mountain Lynx (Metsäkath / Tunturikat): too small for adult riders. Not tameable as mounts. Post-launch companion system will cover non-mount animal taming.
Trust Session¶
A wild-caught mount arrives at Wild tier. Before it can be equipped in the mount slot or ridden, the character must complete a trust session at a stable.
Duration: 4 real-time hours. The character does not need to remain at the stable — they submit the session and collect the mount when it completes.
Cost by species:
| Species | Trust Session Cost |
|---|---|
| Wild Horse, Wild Mountain Pony | 10 coin |
| Kaaduaran (Forest Stag) | 20 coin |
| Wolf variant | 20 coin |
| Maesarw (Plains Aurochs) | 30 coin |
| Tapiokarhu (Forest Bear) | 50 coin |
Outcome: Prey species (horse, pony, stag, aurochs) always succeed. The mount advances from Wild to Tamed — or directly to Bonded if the character's Taming skill was at Practiced or above during capture.
Predator species (wolf, bear) can fail. On failure the session extends by 4 hours and the fee is charged again. Failure chance falls as Beastbonding increases; at Veteran it is negligible.
Skill events: The trust session generates Beastbonding skill events for the character, equivalent to a short Practiced-difficulty activity.
Mount Tiers¶
Every mount has a progression tier that affects its base statistics. Purchased mounts start at Tamed. Wild-captured mounts start at Wild and require a trust-establishment session at a stable to advance to Tamed before they can be ridden.
| Tier | Label | Speed Modifier Bonus | Cargo Bonus | Condition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Wild | Cannot be ridden | — | Captured from the field; must complete a trust session at stable before riding |
| 1 | Tamed | Base (see species table) | Base | Purchased from stable |
| 2 | Bonded | +5% speed above species base | +0.5 cargo slot rounding up | Achieved after 10 successful expeditions using this mount |
| 3 | Trained | +10% speed above species base | +1 cargo slot above base | Achieved after 25 successful expeditions; requires at least one Expert-level owner session |
| 4 | Champion | +20% speed above species base | +1 cargo slot above Trained | Achieved after 50 successful expeditions; requires Skilled Wilderness Handling skill from the owner |
Tier advances require the same mount to participate in the qualifying expeditions. Selling a mount resets the relationship — the new owner starts from Tamed for advancement purposes (the mount retains its tier, but the advancement counter resets to 0).
Wild-captured mounts and the tier system: A wild-caught mount captured via Taming at Practiced band has a chance to begin at Bonded rather than Tamed after the trust session. At Taming Skilled and above, a Bonded start is reliable. This gives skilled tamers a head start over stable-purchase equivalents.
Wilderness Handling skill: This skill (catalogued in skill-catalog.md) governs the owner's ability to manage and develop mounts. At higher bands it improves mount recovery from injury, increases speed stat caps, and unlocks Champion tier advance.
Overworld Travel (Non-Expedition)¶
A mount applies its speed modifier to any overworld movement outside a settlement zone — not only during expeditions. Characters traveling between settlements for trade, delivery, teaching, or social reasons use the same mount speed calculation as the expedition resolver.
What counts as overworld travel: - Moving between Trevalkaan and any village - Moving between two villages directly (bypassing Trevalkaan) - Traveling to a named site without formally opening an expedition (scouting visit, quest handoff, market run)
What does not benefit from a mount: - Movement inside a settlement zone (town core, village core, ward). Within those boundaries movement is effectively instant — distances are short enough that mount speed is irrelevant.
Injury risk during non-expedition travel: Low. The resolver does not run encounter rolls on road hexes under Clear condition. Mount injury can still occur on trail or wilderness hexes if the route crosses them, and on road hexes under Disrupted or Blocked condition (where encounters are active).
Feed still applies. A mount taken on a non-expedition overworld trip consumes the same daily feed requirement. Players need to carry or source feed for the round trip.
Tier advance does not increment from pure transit trips. Tier counters only advance through expedition participation.
Using Mounts¶
Mounts occupy a dedicated mount equipment slot — separate from the standard loadout slots. One mount can be equipped at a time. Party members can each bring their own.
Active Mount¶
The equipped mount applies its speed modifier and cargo bonus to all movement the character makes. There is no per-trip activation. If the mount is in the slot, it is active.
What the active mount contributes: - Reduces travel time on all hex traversal (expedition and overworld) - Expands cargo capacity for the journey - In river or ocean crossing zones, mounted characters have higher risk of mount injury (mounts can be spooked by crossing conditions)
Led Mounts¶
A character can bring additional owned mounts on a trip without riding them — leading them alongside. Led mounts do not contribute their speed bonus (travel pace is set by the active mount or by foot speed if none equipped), but their cargo slots remain available.
| Condition | Led Mounts Allowed |
|---|---|
| Default (any character) | 1 led mount |
| Beastbonding at Skilled | 2 led mounts |
Led mounts occupy no equipment slot — they are selected from owned stabled mounts when planning the trip. A led mount is subject to the same injury and death rules as an active mount during the trip.
Mount injury: During high-intensity encounters or difficult terrain steps, the resolver checks for mount injury. This uses the same injury grade system as characters:
| Mount Injury Grade | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1–2 (Light Injury) | Speed modifier reduced by 50% for this expedition |
| 3–4 (Serious Injury) | Mount cannot be ridden; can only be led (cargo capacity retained, speed bonus lost) |
| 5+ (Critical Injury) | Mount incapacitated; cannot complete expedition; must return to stable for treatment |
Mount injury recovery requires treatment at a stable (Arujoki or Rumiarr). Recovery cost:
So a Grade 3 injury on a Saddle Horse (200 coin base): 3 × 200 × 0.1 = 60 coin.
Wild-caught mounts have no purchase price. The resolver uses a synthetic stable valuation for injury cost calculations:
| Wild-caught species | Synthetic stable value |
|---|---|
| Wild Horse | 200 coin |
| Wild Mountain Pony | 180 coin |
| Kaaduaran (Forest Stag) | 240 coin |
| Maesarw (Plains Aurochs) | 320 coin |
| Wolf variant | 260 coin |
| Tapiokarhu (Forest Bear) | 400 coin |
Mount death: If a mount is incapacitated at Grade 5+ and the character is also incapacitated (death outcome), the mount is lost permanently. If the character is incapacitated but the mount is not at Grade 5+, the mount is returned to the stable — the character loses their gear but the mount is recovered.
A mount at Grade 5+ injury that the character retreats with (not an incapacitation event) can be saved — the retreat outcome preserves the mount in critical condition. Treatment at a stable costs 3× the normal recovery rate for critical cases.
Stable Management¶
Mounts not on expedition are stabled. Stabling is free for the first mount at each stable (baseline community service). Additional mounts incur a per-mount weekly fee:
| Number of Mounts at Same Stable | Weekly Fee |
|---|---|
| 1 | Free |
| 2 | 5 coin/week for the 2nd mount |
| 3 | 10 coin/week for the 3rd mount |
| 4+ | 15 coin/week per additional mount |
Guild stables: At Campcraft Skilled, a persistent guild camp can include a temporary corral for up to 4 mounts. This is not a stable — mounts in a corral do not benefit from stable healing. It simply holds them between expeditions.
Feed¶
Every mount requires daily feed. Feed items must be included in the cargo manifest before departure — they are not generated automatically. A mount that runs out of feed during a trip loses trust at 1 step per tick until resupplied; a starving mount will refuse to be ridden regardless of skill.
| Species | Feed Item | Daily Amount | Primary Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saddle Horse, Draft Horse, Wild Horse | Grain Bundle | 1 per day | Farming output; provisioner market |
| Hill Pony, Pack Mule, Wild Mountain Pony | Grain Bundle | 1 per day | Farming output; provisioner market |
| Kaaduaran (Forest Stag) | Grain Bundle | 1 per day | Farming output; provisioner market |
| Maesarw (Plains Aurochs) | Grain Bundle | 3 per day | Farming output (large body requirement) |
| Wolf variant (Harmulfr / Kivisusi / Bergulfr) | Cured Meat | 1 per day | Hunting output processed via Preservation |
| Tapiokarhu (Forest Bear) | Cured Meat + Grain Bundle | 1 of each per day | Hunting + farming |
Grain Bundle: standard Farming output, or purchased from provisioner NPCs. Market price approximately 2 coin per bundle.
Cured Meat: hunting and Preservation output already present in the economy. Players without Hunting investment can purchase it from the market or provisioner.
When planning a trip with a mount, the resolver checks the cargo manifest against expected feed consumption for the trip duration. A shortfall warning is shown before departure. The player can still proceed — but the mount will begin trust-degradation when the feed runs out.
Mount Sale and Transfer¶
Mounts can be sold or transferred between players through any stable.
Player market listing: Register a mount at any stable for sale on the stable's mount board. The stable keeper takes a 15% fee from the final sale price. Listing expires after 7 real days if unsold. The seller sets the asking price. Stables do not buy mounts from players — there is no NPC floor price.
Direct player-to-player transfer: Both characters must have the transfer registered at the same stable. Each must submit a confirmation within 48 hours. If either confirmation lapses, the transfer is cancelled. Payment in direct transfers is handled between players — no stable fee applies.
Tier and advancement on transfer: The receiving owner's relationship counter resets to 0. The mount keeps its current tier (a Trained mount stays Trained), but the new owner must rebuild the advancement counter from their own expeditions.
Wild-caught mount resale: A wild-caught exotic mount at Bonded or above commands a premium over stable-purchased equivalents. No fixed price schedule — player market sets value. Reference range: a wild-caught Kaaduaran at Bonded typically trades for 80–150 coin depending on market conditions.
Breeding (Post-Launch)¶
Mount breeding is not available at launch. The design intent is to add a breeding system post-launch that allows players to produce champion-line offspring from high-tier mounts, with Wilderness Handling at Expert or Master as the prerequisite skill. The species table and tier system are designed to accommodate this — each species would produce offspring inheriting a weighted average of both parents' tier statistics.
Mounts and Death¶
Under the full item loss rule on death, a mount is a personal possession. If the character dies while mounted: - The mount is lost permanently if it is also at Grade 5+ injury - If the mount is at Grade 1–4 injury, the mount is returned to the last stable it was registered at (not lost with the character) - A Tamed mount with no injuries that outlives a character death returns to the stable automatically — it is not destroyed with the character's inventory
Beginner protection: While beginner protection is active, a mounted character who dies has their mount returned to stable regardless of injury grade — it is treated as an equipped item for protection purposes. The mount is not permanently lost under beginner protection even at Grade 5+ injury; it is instead returned to stable at critical condition and requires standard critical-injury treatment.
This creates a meaningful incentive to keep mount injury grades low. A lightly-injured mount that was on a fatal expedition is a recoverable asset; a critically injured mount that was on a fatal expedition is gone.