Circle the Wagons - A modest proposal

[Hollow_Mage]

Zurkhwood Wagon - "You see a rickety covered wagon of zurkhwood planks and recovered nails, rusting in the open air. It seems like it could contain something valuable."
Pack Rothe - "This tired, greying rothe seems resigned to its yoke of commercial oppression, ready to tow your wagons through the Underdark for the right price."

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Since we already have Henchmen, persistent storage, and decent animal AI, I think it only prudent to suggest the introduction of Pack Rothe and Wagons. These could be used by individuals or large groups for any number of purposes. It's a way to deal with encumbrance besides Bull's Strength, allowing merchants or miners to ply their trade easier. It could also function similar to a spiked barricade in terms of placeables put down by PCs to temporarily block passage, although in this case it would be much more expensive and much less spiky.

Of course, there are drawbacks: trained Rothe don't come cheap; their willingness and ability to stand up to harm is questionable; the Wagon itself is too heavy for most PCs to tow; it's only zurkhwood, so it has very little damage reduction and health; if the Rothe dies, the Wagon gets busted, or you need to get up a cliff, you're going to have a bad time.

The Rothe would require a Charisma check, reduced by the presence of Hostiles within resting range. Rangers and Druids could both apply their Animal Empathy skill for a much easier time. Other bonuses could be applied for Paladins, EFUSS Survival, Merchant Lord Rogue perks, and the like. If they get attacked, Rothe would likely start to flee, and would take the Wagon with them.

The Wagon could also be attacked: as a Creature, the Wagon would be set to follow the Rothe. The Wagon will open a conversation with its owner/renter, and become a Placeable with persistent storage to allow access to what is inside. If it takes too much damage, the Wagon would become a "Damaged Wagon", a clickable non-character Placeable. From there, it could be looted by anyone who can reach it, or repaired using Zurkhwood planks and EFUSS Carpentry or Woodworking.

The cost should be prohibitively high. It should be a major investment for the length of a reset. The cost of losing one of these Wagons entirely should be prohibitive as well: it could be that losing a Rothe and Wagon means that you have to pay twice the cost to rent again, making up for the lost resources. That said, having access to the Rothe and Wagon would make certain non-quest related activities go a lot smoother, with room for counterplay during PvP conflict. It provides a target besides the enemy's Subdued state, and could be used by clever players in a number of different ways.

Thoughts?

[TsunamiWombat]

It sounds neat but, for what purpose? These things are fun and useful in TT campaigns where PCs travel long distances, but everything is in a days March of Sanctuary more or less.


I do remember a pack mule quest in Efu:M where you could pay a (somewhat large)sum of gold to spawn a pack ox you then had to escort to Sis Liman to get your investment return, and if it died you were sol for your seed money. That worked at the time because the danger more or less garunteed some monsters would spawn somewhere. Perhaps the same can be done for Sanctuary to Fort Mur or some ohero Outpost