Riding

Short description

First of all see 'help ride' to see mount/dismount commands.
Commands usable with riding:
feed <mount> with <food>    - Used to feed your mount if you
                              aren't riding it at the moment.
tie <mount>                 - To tie your mount so that it won't 
                              wander off while you are away.
untie <mount>               - To untie it when you want to ride
                              on it again.
lead                        - Cause your mount to follow you.
lead <mount> to <direction> - Can be used to lead your mount to
                              certain direction. Needs to be 
                              untied and unmounted.
look at <target>'s mount    - Looks at target's mount while he
                              is riding it.
name <mount> as <name>      - You can name your mount with this
                              command. Very useful to do right
                              away as it is easier to handle 
                              your mount if it's named and there's
                              more than just one same type mount
                              in the room. Having stupid name on
                              your mount will lead removal of your 
                              mount. See 'help name policy' to 
                              catch good idea about suitable names. 
attach <item> on <mount>    - Attaches a wagon or saddle on a mount.
detach <item> from <mount>  - Detaches a wagon or saddle from a mount. 
                              Only the owner of the mount can detach the
                              wagon or saddle.
check <mount>'s information - Shows you various information about
                              your mount.

SEE ALSO:
 'help ride', 'help riding long', 'help mount feats' and 'help flight mounts'

Long description

Riding... a very respected skill among the nobles but also known 
and practiced by many commoners and other people. Mounts offer 
many bonuses to their riders but there are also many disadvantages
while riding or owning a mount. Basic things necessary for riding 
are: A mount and a rope. The mount is quite obvious why you need 
it. Rope is needed to tie your mount to something while you are 
away from it or else it might run away and never be seen again.

Additionally you might need a rental stall lot where you can put 
your mount when you leave the game. (Needed if you want to save 
your mount. If you don't return it to the stall the mount will be
lost permanently) You can also buy a cart of some kind that is 
pull able by your mount. It can be attached to your mount and 
detached when not needed anymore. Same losing conditions apply 
to the carts as they do to mounts meaning that you have to park
them at the stables in order to save them from the boot.

A word of warning about buying mounts. You have to have necessary
skills to ride or even mount better mounts. If your skill is too
low you can't mount the creature and if it is bit higher but still
too low you will have troubles controlling your mount or even 
getting it to move anywhere! So remember that you can't just buy 
a warhorse or such and start riding. You have to learn the basics
on a mule or a pony and then move to riding horses and after that 
you can start to consider riding on a warhorses. When you are 
skilled enough in horsemanship you can seek guidance from a riding 
teacher who will teach you the basics of riding exotic mounts.

There are stables in the most cities where possible and you can 
rent one stall and one place for carts from everyone of them. At
the stables you can also buy some of the most common mounts like
mules, ponies, riding horses and such from the stablemaster if 
there happens to be those in stock. New mounts appear to the stock
occasionally. For more rare mounts try to find some animal trainers. 
They might have some rare or exotic mounts in their stock but 
their numbers are very limited. One the most famous animal trapper
societies is located in the town of Atherton.

Mounts can be beneficial in many ways. For example a player riding 
on a mount loses very few endurance points while riding but the mount
loses much more so you have to let it rest occasionally. Also mounts 
need to get something to eat and drink at times. Mounts are able to 
find something edible if they are left alone for some time in outside 
rooms where you could think that they could find something to eat.
If the mount is left to room where is enough water or fountain or 
such it automatically understands to drink if it is thirsty. Mounts 
can die to starvation and dehydration so keep in mind that you 
have to feed them. You can also buy separate hay bales which you 
can give to the mount. Remember that some mounts are carnivorous 
and only prefer meat and be prepared to get food for it. Some of
the mounts are omnivorous and eat meat and hay. Such mounts are 
lot easier to take care of than others. 

Mounts offer several benefits in combat. Firstly they take some of
the hits dealt to a player and very strong mounts are extremely 
good as they serve as an extra health points for you. Disadvantage
is that weak mounts and even the strong mounts can die in combat.
Some of the more aware and better trained mounts are able to attack
on their own and some even possess deadly natural weapons and special 
attacks which they will surely use if possible. Note that you have 
to assign some of your battle points to offence so that you have 
time to command your mount in the heat of battle. Otherwise it 
won't attack. Note that your battle abilities and skills are affected
a lot by your current riding skill of the type needed for the mount 
you are riding. No battle skill can exceed your riding skill. Lastly 
they offer you a faster option to flee from the battle if you are mounted
as the flee times are somewhat shorter than they would be while on foot.

Note that mounts can only move in outside areas or some other place
suitable for riding like tunnel going through the mountains near 
the Vaerlon. Also they do not enter water that is too deep for them.

If mount is lost to a bug or crashing or such normal reimburse 
rules apply. Contact Belannaer about mount reimburses. Stealing or 
killing one's mount is equal to stealing or destroying one's equipment 
and will be handled like those. So do not steal or kill them. Same 
goes for the carts or stuff in them. They all are someone else's 
property and not yours. They can be directly compared to normal 
"eqs" of a player. If your mount gets stolen or someone kills 
it contact administration with 'issue' command. Mount kills are all 
logged and can be checked from the logs if necessary.
  
Commands usable with riding or handling mounts:
First of all see 'help ride' to see mount/dismount commands.

Feed <mount> with <food>
  Used to feed your mount if you aren't riding it at the moment.
Tie <mount>
  To tie your mount so that it won't wander off while you are away.
  Note that this very important if you do not want to lose your 
  mount. Requires a rope which is thus very important.
Untie <mount>
  To untie it when you want to ride again.
Lead
  Can be used to make your mount follow you.
Lead <mount> to <direction>
  Can be used to lead your mount to certain direction. Needs to be 
  untied and unmounted etc.
Look at <target>'s mount
  Looks at target's mount while he/she is riding it. Same command to
  look at your own mount while riding on it. Note that it still has 
  to be look at Belannaer's mount if you were Belannaer for example.
Name <mount> as <name>
  You can name your mount with this command. Very useful to do right
  away as it is easier to handle your mount if it's named and there's
  more than just one same type mount in the room. Having stupid name on
  your mount will lead removal of your mount. See 'help name policy' to 
  catch good idea about suitable names. Your mount has to be named
  if you want to return it to the stall lot you have rented. Naming also
  sets you as the owner of the mount so it is quite important actually.
Attach <item> on <mount>
  Attaches a wagon or saddle on a mount.
Detach <item> from <mount> 
  Detaches a wagon or saddle from a mount. Only the owner of the 
  mount can detach the wagon or saddle.
Check <mount>'s information
  Shows you various information about your mount.

SEE ALSO:
 'help riding', 'help ride', 'help riding long', 'help mount feats' 
 and 'help flight mounts'
 
Report everything considering mounts directly to Belannaer.
  
    -Belannaer, an archwizard who babbles incoherently
     at Wed Nov 20 16:58:59 EET 2002

Skill information

Affiliated stats:
        Primary: dexterity
      Secondary: charisma
       Tertiary: wisdom
This skill is automatically in use and learnable by doing up to 100%.

Riding, a very respected skill among the nobles but also known and
practiced by many commoners and other people. This skill is the most
important skill needed for basic riding. Being talented in this skill means
that you can ride riding horses and other 'easy to handle' animals like
mules, but doesn't give you idea how to ride a warhorse or some more exotic
mounts and a rider needs special training to be able to use one efficiently
even outside of battle. Though this skill is still very important as you
have to know the basics before you can learn to ride more difficult horses
or other animals.