A proposal for mount customization


People in Elanthia like having the ability to customize their items. Mounts as they are right now are very limited as to the colors, styles, sizes and special features available. There is currently no way for a player to change a mount's features without changing mounts.

Also mounts of other species other than horses have been asked for. Goats were released on a very limited basis but did not even begin to fill the demand for mounts other than horses.

Rangers and Warrior mages have expressed a desire to have enhanced familiars/companions that would be rideable.




Phase One of Mount Customization

I. Mount Shifting

Empaths currently have the ability to shift player characters. They can change the eye/hair/skin color, shorten or lengthen a character, enhance physical features, change the shape of facial features, modify a character's body shape and change the gender of a character. This has been welcomed by the playing community and generated a good profit for the empath players.

The main problem with shifting player characters is that players typically find one look they like and stick with it. Even if every player in Elanthia was shifted the maximum number of ways allowed, the base of available players to shift shrinks. Further limiting the pool of available shiftees the cost of most shifts except the very minor cosmetic ones. Once a player who can afford to have the maximum number of shifts done, has them done they rarely consult an empath for anymore shifts.

Rather than lowering the price of the shifts which would cheapen the shifting and thus cheapen the hard work the empath has put into becoming a shifter, more options should be added to the system. This is where mount shifting comes in.

Mount shifting would give the player the potential to have a more unique looking mount, which is desirable. It would also give an empath more money making potential without having to learn and invest in a completely new and different system.

a. Parts of Mount That Can Be Shifted

Hooves

Legs

Body

Chest

Neck

Back

Withers

Crest

Color, Skin

Color, Hair

Color, Legs

Color, Mane

Color, Tail

Color, Secondary White spots over the entire body, clear black stripes over the body, lacey white splotches on the back, grey dappling

Color, Marks, Facial A white star, A white blaze, A white circle over the left eye
Color, Marks, Legs White stockings on the left forelegs
Color, Marks, Body Tan splotches

Color, Muzzle A black muzzle

Color, Eyes

Coat Texture Feathering on hooves, dorsal and ventral manes

As you can see quite a few features on mounts can be altered to make a mount look more unique. It should also be possible to add a secondary system that would shift the breed of a horse (though this would necessarily have to limit the options available to shifts available).

Fantastic colors and features would also be possible.
A finished product is listed below

Description Horse
Large, liquid brown eyes gaze back at you from the sculpted face of the mare. Her dished muzzle is a pale grey color with a fringe of dark black whiskers. She is eighteen hands high with a long, swan-like neck, rounded haunches, a barrel chest, a deep girth, and straight legs. She has perfect conformation for a Lake Gwenalion Pacer. She has a light lavender mane and tail banded with stripes of black and deep purple. Thin strips of pale grey extend from her withers to just over the rump. The mare has a white star-shaped mark on the forehead that resembles a lop-sided starfish. Lavender-hued stockings reach from the pastern to the hock on the left foreleg and the left hindleg. Pure white stockings reach from the pastern to the hock on the right foreleg and the right forleg. She has black and white striped hooves.



II. Legendary Mounts

Several guilds have the potential to aquire mounts even more exotic than the most extensively shifted or rarest species of mount.




IIa. Ranger Mounts

At the present time Rangers can aquire companions. These companions age with time going from baby to dying from old age in a few months of RL time. While there are currently proposals to expand the companion system to include more and varied species of companion, the essential problem of this system is the death of the companion.

I propose that after a certain number of factors have been reached, namely the Ranger has reached a certain circle with certain skills and possibly certain stats that they be taught how to use their innate magic and harmony with nature to make a permanent change to their chosen companion.

Take for example the common wolf companion. Under my proposal a ranger would be able to increase the size of his or her wolf companion to a size large enough to accomidate riding. Such a change would require not only the acqusition of knowledge via a quest, but also a specific ritual and the sacrafice of the Ranger's own TDPs.

The quest and ritual would require the investment of time, the solving of several sets of puzzles, and an investment of money to aquire the proper accrouments for the ritual. The sacrafice of TDPs would enable the wolf to grow to a large enough size and strength to bear a rider of the Ranger's size. In the case of a large ranger the TDP sacrafice would be more. However even a small Ranger would need to invest TDP points in the wolf in order to make it more agile and improve its intelligence so that it can understand and execute riding commands.

The same kinds of ritual and quests could be used for raccoons, eagles and other Ranger companions. Each type of companion would have certain advantages and disadvantages inherently. Using their ability to store multiple mounts a highly experienced Ranger could potentially 'evolve' a mount from each type of available mount. Cave Bears, Giant Racoons, Dire Wolves, Giant Eagles and Dolphins are good examples of what would be possible.



Truly legendary mounts such as Treants, Dire Bears, Wyverns and more would eventually be a possibility.

IIb. Empath Mounts

The Empath's unique bond with life essences and with the fae has developed into many special abilites and spells available to the Empath. Specifically the guild has developed a spell that summons a Fae Guardian and makes them feel like guarding the summoner for a short period of time.

I propose that the Empath guild strengthen their ties with both the Lifeforces of other creatures and with the Fae to make their own unique mounts. For example, a Empath could go on a new quest that would allow them to permanently attract a Fae helper. This quest would include the sacrifice of TDPs, money, and time. It could only be done by an Empath of high enough standing, with the appropriate skills who had learned the Guardian Spirit spell and the Manipulation ability.

The Fae 'helper' would require regular upkeep by the Empath it is bonded too. This could be in the form of specific actions, gifts of food and trinkets, and the Empath's attention. Over time the Empath could learn to manipulate their helpers form with the completetion of specific quests. The quests would require the sacrifice of TDPs and 'gifts' in order to coerce the Fae to change its form.

Potentially the Fae would then alter its form to become larger, stronger, and more agile. It could be made more intelligent so that it could then be trained to accomidate a rider and respond to standard riding commands. For watery enviroments the Empath would be required to learn underwater riding techniques.

The Fae would fall into either Guardian, Flower, Tree, Water or Air types. (Nymphs, sylphs, dryads, nyads, kelpies , mercreatures, fairy horses, unicorns, pegasi, roane, griffin, centaurs, sphinx,etc. )


IIc. Paladin and Cleric Mounts

Clerics and Paladins should be able to perform quests that would allow them to summon a spirit animal that resembles an aspect of one of the 13. The sacrifice of a fully-filled favor orb, plus a 'holy item' would be required as well as the knowledge of how to perform the ritual by a cleric or paladin of the appopriate circle and training.

Such animals would be available for a limited time and would shrink or enlarge to accomidate the summoner.

Potentially the summoned animals would have special abilities, being aspects of the gods and all. For example a Paladin who called upon Rutilor would recieve one giant hound of Rutilor accompanied by a small number of normal-sized hounds. A cleric who called upon Harawep would recieve a giant spider that would give a bonus to climbing and be immune to being trapped by webs.

IId. Warrior Mage mounts

Warrior Mages could recieve the ability to carve a horse talisman. The completion of the talisman would require the 'sacrifice' of a real horse in order to be completed. The warrior mage's horse be transformed into an aetherical creature with all the benefits of a fir familiar.

The big advantage of the horse talisman would be the potential to have the summoned horse customized either before or after it was bound to the talisman. As a familiar the horse would be able to transport the rider wherever a familiar could and would retain the abilites of a horse, namely the abilites to joust, do signaled tricks, special manuevers and would teach animal lore when cared for.