Draft:Horse
| h Horse | |
|---|---|
| Form | Ordinary creature |
| Attacks | 1 physical attack, raw 0–19; no defense |
| Special abilities | Accepts grain; can become a mount |
| Base level | 2 |
| HP | 50 |
| Hit | 20 |
| Defense | 5 |
| Action interval | 4 ticks; lower is faster |
| Kill experience | 40, on normal death in sight |
| Generation | See generation and identity below |
| Carried items | None at ordinary generation |
| Immunities | None innate |
| Remains | Steaming horsemeat; 50% on normal death |
| Remains use | Six food; no alchemy |
Traits
| |
| Reference | minit.h in Omega 0.90.4, line 95[1] |
A horse is a swimming animal that can become the player's mount after being fed grain. Riding improves melee hit and damage, changes the action interval and reduces some wilderness travel times, but also introduces risks from terrain and overloading.[2]
Generation and obtaining a mount
Horses occur in ordinary random encounters and fixed stables in Star View, Woodmere, Stormwatch and Skorch. The village granaries provide grain. The village merchant asks 250 Au, but paying does not feed or automatically mount a horse.[3]
Give the horse grain, then talk to it and accept the ride. The check requires a peaceful, fed horse, no existing mount and a location outside the current dungeon. Ordinary rations do not satisfy the horse's hunger, and the riding check does not test whether the merchant was paid. Throwing grain does not feed an ordinary horse: it does not catch thrown gifts.[4]
The Order of Paladins also grants a mount on joining and replaces a missing steed on eligible return visits. This places the player directly in the mounted state rather than creating a horse item in inventory.[5]
Riding
Mounted melee calculations add ten hit and ten damage, and set the action interval to 3. This is not necessarily faster than an already accelerated unmounted character. The original horse is removed from the map when mounted, without a kill reward.[6]
| Wilderness terrain | Ordinary travel on foot | Mounted travel |
|---|---|---|
| Road | 1 hour | 1 hour |
| River | 3 hours | 3 hours |
| Plains or tundra | 2 hours | 1 hour |
| Forest | 3 hours | 2 hours |
| Jungle or desert | 4 hours | 2 hours |
| Mountains | 8 hours | 5 hours |
These comparisons exclude other special travel abilities. Druid travel benefits do not stack with the mounted reduction, and riding takes priority over seven-league boots in the relevant travel branch. Ordinary local water does not trigger the unmounted sinking checks while riding.[7]
Losing the horse
When attempting wilderness movement while over the weight limit and not levitating, there is a 50% chance of a bucking incident: ten unstoppable damage, loss of the mount and loss of all contents of the backpack. The clearing loop concerns backpack storage, not every accessible equipment slot.[8]
Dismounting in the countryside warns that the horse will wander away. In a local scene, dismounting places a peaceful, fed horse at the player's position, reset to the ordinary 50 HP template rather than preserving the original individual. Entering the Goblin Caves, Volcano, Astral Plane or Archmage's Castle removes the mount; entering the sewers instead dismounts at the entrance.[9]
Riding is not general protection against traps, fire or raw Chaos. For example, entering raw Chaos removes the mount. Terrain confirmation can also make a horse refuse hazardous ground other than ordinary water.[10]
Combat and remains
A horse begins peaceful and hungry, with no possessions or innate immunities. If hostile, it has one physical attack for raw damage 0–19 and no defensive actions. It can swim. Normal death has a 50% chance to leave horsemeat that provides six food; the remains have no alchemical use.[11]
Strategy
Secure grain and a safe approach before relying on a stable purchase. Riding is useful for melee bonuses, ordinary water and long overland journeys, but watch the total carried weight: losing a loaded backpack is much more costly than merely losing the horse. Plan dismounting and dungeon entry before investing in a mount, and compare interval 3 with any stronger speed effect already available.
References
- ↑ lev.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 316–394; mon.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 134–203; mmelee.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 25–51; mmelee.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 227–311; aux2.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 689–727; time.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 47–74; item.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 63–139. Construction, combat, timing and remains.
- ↑ minit.h in Omega 0.90.4, line 95; mtalk.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 576–600; aux1.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 309–313.
- ↑ lev.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 280–394; village.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 172–198; lib/village1.dat in Omega 0.90.4 through lib/village6.dat in Omega 0.90.4; mtalk.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 707–737.
- ↑ inv.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 427–447; mtalk.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 576–600; command3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 257–273; minit.h in Omega 0.90.4, line 95.
- ↑ guild2.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 692–722.
- ↑ aux1.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 309–313; mtalk.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 589–600.
- ↑ aux3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 419–585; command2.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 1175–1183; move.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 9–37.
- ↑ command2.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 1130–1160.
- ↑ command3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 1021–1045; aux2.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 1043–1141.
- ↑ move.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 40–52; aux1.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 187–211.
- ↑ minit.h in Omega 0.90.4, line 95; mmelee.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 25–51; mon.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 193–201; item.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 63–139; command2.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 130–158.