In a recent OSE campaign session, the PC had to travel from their home town to some nearby hills (some 3 days ride away) to hopefully catch up with a mining caravan who was heading to the hills to prospect a future mining operation.
Before they left, the PCs wanted to buy some horses. They already had two donkeys, but felt riding some of the way would be better and the horses can carry any provisions they needed.
This was my first hurdle.
I wanted to offer up more than just “you buy a horse” – I wanted to see if the horses had any quirks. Plus, one of the players asked: “what colour are they?”
My campaign notes don’t really cover horses and breeds. So, after a quick search, I told them some colours and found a table of horse quirks.
One of the horses had no quirks, while the other was raised by elves and so gained a 6 INT and greater speeds (elves in my world are known to raise great steeds – not just horses).
I wanted to be able to have something in the future, so I put together a quick 1D12 table for myself – and now, you – to use in your campaigns.
Horses
Below is a simple three-step process to determine a horse and how much it costs.
The Horse Buying Process
Base Cost: A standard riding horse costs 75 gp.
Deal Roll: Have the PC make a reaction roll to see how well they bargain with the dealer. If a character has a relevant secondary skill, give them a bonus of +1 or +2 to the roll.
Success: The player negotiates effectively (10% discount off final price).
Failure: The dealer inflates the price (10% mark-up on final price).
Roll on the Quirks Table: Roll 1D100 to determine the horse’s unique physical or behavioural trait, along with its price modifier, on the table below.
| d100 | Trait & Description | Mechanical Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 01–05 | Swarms-of-Flies – Shabby, thin, and permanently surrounded by insects. Smells terrible. | A character who rides the horse gains a -2 penalty on reaction rolls |
| 06–10 | Spred-Footed – Walks with an irregular, jostling gait that turns rides into endurance tests. | Rider requires a CON save after a day’s ride or gains a level of exhaustion (-2 on all rolls). |
| 11–15 | One-Eyed Jack – Blind in its left eye from an old farm accident. | Has a -4 penalty to all checks on its blind side. |
| 16–20 | Nibbler – Obsessively chews on ropes, leather straps, tents, and clothing when idle. | Destroys 1D6 sp worth of gear or rations if the horse is left unattended without a bridle. |
| 21–25 | Skittish – Panics at sudden loud noises or bright spells. | Makes all morale checks with a -2 penalty. |
| 26–30 | Stubborn Mule-Gene – Refuses to move across wooden bridges, narrow ledges, or into dark caves. | Requires a morale check to force across questionable terrain. |
| 31–35 | Gluttonous – Requires double the normal daily feed and will aggressively steal food from camp. | Costs double in daily trail rations (20 lbs/day instead of 10 lbs). |
| 36–60 | Workaday Mount – A completely standard, healthy riding horse. No special traits or quirks. | None. Standard riding horse stats. |
| 61–65 | Thick-Skinned – A retired cart horse with exceptionally tough hide and a sturdy frame. | The horse gains a +1 bonus to AC and +5 max Hit Points. Speed reduced by 5-ft. |
| 66–70 | Night-Sighted – Unusual dark pigmentation in its eyes allows it to navigate well in low light. | Gains night vision (see twice as far at night). |
| 71–75 | Sure-Footed – Bred in rocky terrain; steps with incredible precision and care. | Penalties for difficult terrain are ignored. |
| 76–80 | Iron-Lunged – Exceptional stamina bred into its bloodline; rarely tires on long journeys. | Can travel 1.5× normal daily distance before requiring checks for forced marches. |
| 81–85 | Desensitized – Trained near forge fires or battlefields; completely unfazed by chaos. | Automatic morale success which are caused by non-magical sounds, explosions, or fire. |
| 86–90 | Warhorse Pedigree – Strong, muscular physique with natural instincts for combat movement. | Movement speed increased by +10-ft; can perform a trample as an attack. |
| 91–95 | Noble Bloodline – A strikingly beautiful animal with a glossy coat, perfect form, and regal poise. | A character who rides the horse gains a +2 bonus on reaction rolls |
| 96–00 | Sylvan Touched – Raised by elves; strangely intelligent and unusually fast. | Intelligence increases to 6; understands Common (cannot speak); Movement +10-ft. |
Encounter
On the first night, there was a random event and, unfortunately for the PCs, it was a goblin patrol.
The PCs were at a disadvantage as it was night (new moon, so poor visibility), a smouldering fire, and a torch for light. Plus, they were in a 3-ft high grassy area (trying to hide amongst it) on a river bank.
The Goblins attacked and almost killed the fighter. The cleric chased after the goblin that was stealing a horse. All (known) goblins were killed, except the one that managed to get away with the stolen horse, and the PCs survived.
This session was from my two-player campaign.
To generate this event, I used a simple 2D6 random event table for the area – I haven’t yet mapped out these areas on my 36 sq mile maps.
| 2D6 | Encounter |
| 2 | Goblin Warband*: 2D6+2 goblins, armed for battle, travelling through the territory. They may be scouts, raiders or enforcers for the tribe. |
| 3 | Goblin Hunters**: 1D6+4 goblins hunting deer, wild cattle or other game. They attempt to avoid unnecessary combat unless discovered. |
| 4 | Mundane Mishap: A wagon has broken an axle, a pack animal is lame, cargo has fallen into the river, or something similar has gone wrong. |
| 5 | Stranded Travellers: 1D4 people with pack animals or a wagon. They have become lost, suffered an accident, or are trying to find a safe place to cross the river. |
| 6 | Frontier Herdsmen: 1D4+2 settlers tending cattle, sheep or horses. They know something about the surrounding region and may have seen goblins recently. |
| 7 | River Camp: 1D6 travellers have established a temporary camp beside the river. They may be fishermen, miners, prospectors, trappers, traders or settlers. |
| 8 | Wild Herd: A herd of deer, wild cattle, horses or similar animals. There is a 1-in-6 chance that the animals have been driven from their usual territory by goblin activity. |
| 9 | Goblin Signs: Fresh tracks, crude markers, discarded equipment, stolen livestock, a concealed trail, distant smoke or other evidence of the tribe. |
| 10 | River Obstacle: A flooded crossing, unstable riverbank, fallen tree, deep mud, floating debris or other natural obstacle makes progress difficult. |
| 11 | Goblin Patrol*: 2D6+2 goblins moving through their territory. They are alert and may attempt to observe the party without being noticed. |
| 12 | Goblin Encampment***: The party discovers a temporary camp containing 3D6+3 goblins, perhaps accompanied by livestock, prisoners, gathered food or stolen goods. |
* These warriors have a displacement ability (similar to displacer beasts), giving them +2 AC bonus.
** Hunter Goblins can produce Phantom Sounds – voices, footsteps, animal calls, chopping wood, distant horns and other sounds can be produced from somewhere else.
*** False Camp – The tribe creates an apparently abandoned campsite containing convincing signs of habitation, while the real camp is nearby but concealed.
The Fire
During the fight with the goblins, one of the PCs threw a lit torch into the grassland surrounding the battlefield. This started a uncontrolled fire to take hold fairly quickly, cause smoke and heat to quickly appear.
This made the fight a lot more dynamic (and dangerous), but ruling what would happen and when was a little tricky.
Post-game I created the following rules as a guide. Hopefully you find them useful, as well.
Ignition Mechanics
Automatic Ignition: Most open flames automatically ignite dry, flammable material upon contact – no attack roll or skill check is required.
X-in-6 Chance: If conditions are unfavourable (e.g., damp grass, strong opposing wind), simply come up with a chance in 6 that the fire will catch hold, and roll a 1D6. (This is a simple way to adjudicate any chance when playing the game).
Chain Reaction: Because fine fuels burn rapidly, a single burning 5-ft square of dry grass can consume an entire 100-ft area in a turn (10 rounds).
Fire Spread & Tactical Hazard Rules
Spread Rate: A burning grass fire typically expands by 10 to 30 feet at the start of each round in the direction of the wind (or in all directions if calm).
Damage to Creatures: Entering a burning grid square deals 1d6 fire damage (minor hazard) to 2d6 fire damage (moderate hazard) per round.
Heavy Obscurement: Burning dry grass creates thick smoke, making the affected area heavily obscured (creatures inside cannot see outwards, and attacks against them have a -4 to attack penalty).
Difficult Terrain: Scorched, uneven ground and active flames render the burning zone difficult terrain (costing double movement).
If all of this is difficult to remember, just think: fire, air, ground.
Putting it Out
Once a fire catches in dry grass, the base rules assume it does not go out on its own until it runs out of combustible fuel (burning through the whole field), or encounters a natural firebreak like a river or road.
If concerted action is taken by characters to put out the flames, or natural conditions (like rain or very damp ground) are present, roll 1D6 – if 1-4 is rolled, the fire goes out.
Over to You
Would these rules come in handy? Let the community know in the comments below.
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