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Parent Pages: Islands : Medusa Island : Medusa : Roywocket's Rambunctious Rides
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Roywocket's Rambunctious Rides
More commonly known as “that crazy Gnome's stable,” all types of beasts intended for riding may be purchased from Roywocket's Rambunctious Rides.
The owner is Roywocket Nernottin, a Gnome illusionist that specializes in taming odd beasts to serves as mounts. He and his well-trained staff try to cater to the needs of adventurers.
He keeps giant bees and giant ants in stock and he's been known to occasionally have a gryphon for sale. He often has giant eagles, but they sell as fast as he gets them in. On rare occasions, he can offer a giant riding spider, but prefers not to deal with such worrying creatures (even trained, they can be quite dangerous to their owners).
However, he refuses to deal with giant flies, at any price. They disgust him too much and he doesn't want to deal with Goblin customers (the only race that will buy them).
He also sells more mundane beasts, such as elephants and horses, but he'll nearly always try to talk a customer into something more interesting.
Roywocket also deals in the unusual supplies required for the mounts he sells, such as their feed and saddles intended to keep a rider seated even when their mount is inverted.
Finally, Roywocket has a very successful side business renting his mounts out. As he says all the time, “You never know when you might need to fly on a bee's back for a few hours!” He discovered long ago: those that try a flying mount once invariably buy one later on.
Pricing and Details
| Beast | Base Cost |
|---|---|
| Giant Ant Breeder | $6,000 |
| Giant Ant Worker | $4,000 |
| Giant Ant Soldier | $8,000 |
| Giant Bee Worker | $3,000 |
| Giant Bee Soldier | $4,000 |
| Giant Eagle | $15,000 |
| Giant Riding Spider | $30,000 |
| Gryphon | $20,000 |
| Large Boar | $2,500 |
| Mundane Riding Animals | 120% of normal price1 |
- For the extra-special training they receive.
Giant ants are recommended as general beasts of burden, due to their immense strength. The Breeders make excellent all-around mounts and the Soldiers are suggested as battle mounts. None of them are very fast. They come trained to carry a rider and can be used to dig, since this comes naturally to them. Past that, they aren't very trainable. Stronger than the strongest mule!
Giant bees make better mounts than giant ants, due to their slightly higher intelligence (roughly the same as a horse). The Soldiers are recommended for all riders except members of the smaller races (SM -1 or less), due to their greater strength. Even then, the Soldiers are often quite burdened when carrying a human. Large riders or those preferring heavy gear would be better served by a giant ant Breeder. Try a giant bee; you'll never see travel the same again!
Giant Riding Spiders are not recommended for any but properly trained riders, as they are quite dangerous, most often to their own riders. They're usually used as combat mounts. Special order only. Absolutely no refunds or exchanges! Trained riders only.
Giant eagles are faster than giant bees, but aren't quite as strong. However, they are much more maneuverable, with the drawback being that they cannot hover in place. They're quite good at snatching SM 0 or smaller targets with their claws, as this is their natural hunting method. Soar like an eagle on the back of a giant eagle!
Gryphons make excellent mounts, due to their high intelligence, speed and battle readiness. They require a lengthy period to bond with their owner before they can be ridden. Soars like an eagle and fights like a lion!
Roywocket trains and sells large boars as war beasts for Dwarves. Few others would want to deal with riding the surly beasts. These animals receive the same extra-special training as other mundane riding animals. This particular breed (known as a War Pig) has a base ST of 18, but is otherwise identical to a normal large boar. Makes an excellent mount for a Dwarf!
Roywocket also sells a number of “mundane riding animals,” as he calls them. Satisfaction guaranteed. No-questions-asked exchange for an equivalent mount within 30 days. 90% refund on request.
Notes For the GM
Roywocket's mundane mounts usually aren't so mundane. For example, he sells horses that occasionally turn out to be smarter than their rider.
He finds horses, mules and other normal animals boring, so he feeds them a special potion he cooked up years ago that has an unpredictable, but permanent, effect on them. Most often, this raises their intelligence. Sometimes it gives them unusual abilities. Very rarely, it warps their personality. Even more rarely, it has all of these effects.
However, it should be noted that he never tells his customers this. He knows what each of them has gained, but isn't about to let anyone in on his greatest joke ever. If anyone asks about the “extra-special training” he tells them it's a trade secret, but it's well worth the extra money.
On the other hand, he does have a very liberal return policy for such beasts. His customers may return the animal in exchange for an “equivalent” mount (same species and grade; different unusual trait) within 30 days, or may accept a 90% refund. He claims the 10% he keeps is for wear and tear on the mount, as well as a small restocking fee.
If you're in the mood to determine the results of Roywocket's potion randomly, roll 1d and consult this table:
| Roll | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Animals gains 2d levels of IQ |
| 2 | Animal gains 1d levels of IQ |
| 3 | Animal gains 1dx2 points in advantages or removed disadvantages |
| 4 | Animal gains 1dx5 points in advantages or removed disadvantages |
| 5 | Animal gains -1dx5 points in mental disadvantages |
| 6 | Animal gains 1d levels of intelligence, 1dx5 points in advantages and -1dx5 points in mental disadvantages |
Advantages gained can be anything the GM desires. They're most often mundane in nature, but quite unusual for the type of animal. Very rarely these are actual magical powers. One of the warhorses Roywocket sold turned out to be able to breathe fire. It used this ability to defend it's owner. However, the owner, thinking the horse to be possessed by a demon, returned it for a refund the next day. Roywocket eventually found the horse a more open-minded buyer (a wizard).
Disadvantages gained should never be sinister, but should be played up for comedic effect or actually improve the animal's value. For example, a horse could be absolutely obsessed with sugar cubes (an Addiction, perhaps?) or fiercely loyal to it's owner.
Roywocket Nernottin
Roywocket himself is an old, but incredibly enthusiastic fellow. He's quite charismatic, has the Voice Advantage, Fast-Talk at 20 and Merchant (Riding Beasts and Gear) at 23.
He should be role-played like a used car salesman, starting out with Fast-Talk to put customers at ease and then finishing up with Merchant. He loves to bargain, often throwing in extras like equipment and feed, to sweeten the deal. He often gets a customer to consider an outlandish price, but then “decides” to drop it by 10% because they “seem like such a nice person.”
Invariably, his customers leave feeling like they got a great deal only to discover later, when they add everything up, that they made a pretty bad bargain.
He isn't dishonest; he's just really good at bargaining. He's been accused of using illusions to enhance his wares in the past, but he doesn't use such tactics. He simply doesn't need to.
He's a member of the Cult of Profit and lives in There/Not There (the Gnome suburb of Medusa).
Example Mundane Mounts
- Horses
- Wheelbarrow (Racehorse)
- This is a case of the works (increased intelligence, advantages and disadvantages).
- His legs transform into wheels when he runs at top speed.
- This will be based on Alternate Form.
- He really loves “running.”
- His face is slightly modified, giving him the ability to grin from ear to ear in a cartoon-like fashion.
- He often raises his eyebrows, too.
- He smiles while “running.”
- He licks people he likes.
- Rockwocket won't let anyone take him for a run until they buy him.
- Edmund (Saddle horse)
- Also got the works.
- IQ 12.
- Can speak.
- He occasionally mutters insults at people that treat him like a regular horse.
- He keeps it a secret.
- He's trying to be more human.
- He keeps it a secret, but Roywocket knows.
- He trusts Roywocket.
- When people aren't looking, he practices walking on two legs.
- Eventually, he'll gain the Semi-Upright Disadvantage in the place of Horizontal.
- The more he tries to be human, the better he gets at it.
- It's part of the magic that affected him.
- He can do complex math.
- Calculus comes to mind.
- Roywocket will be careful about who he sells him to.
- He'll only sell him to someone Edmund wants to be sold to.
- He'll take potential customers to Edmund and let them ride him around the yard.
- When they come back, Edmund will either nod or shake his head, depending on what he thinks.
