Camelback Riding (sage study)
Camelback riding provides the disciplines of managing, packing and breeding camels, enabling the character to train and administer to their health. This allows the use of camels in combat, as well as cooperating with the camel in order to survive the most difficult of natural conditions. Camels are most effective in arid regions, as they are able to traverse wide deserts, enduring their stony surfaces as well as deep sand, while maintaining stores of water within themselves.
Characters without this training are able to "ride" upon camels, but they are not able to manage the animals by themselves. Lacking knowledge, they must rely upon a trained rider or servant to lead the camel. This is called assisted riding.
Characteristics
Camels are used as freight animals and for combat. When ridden, an inflexible saddle seats the rider upon the camel's hump, distributing the rider's weight comfortably over the animal. As the camel is somewhat taller than the horse, fighting from camelback requires a longer, lighter weapon, so that combatants are limited to spears, bows and scimitars when mounted.
A full grown dromedary camel (common in Africa and South Asia) is more than 6 ft. at the shoulder; if a camel had withers, these would be about 19-20 hands high. A Bactrian camel (Central Asia) can be a foot taller. Camels can run at strides between 4-14 hexes, and sprint at 15-23 hexes for bursts of two minutes (10 rounds). Domedaries weigh between 660 and 1,320 lbs., while Bactrian camels weigh between 660 to 2,200.
Sage Abilities
Amateur
- Pack Camel: enables the character to properly load a camel so that its health is not threatened by desert conditions.
- Camel Feeding & Diet: gives judgment regarding the physical size and needs of camels.
- Camel Handling I: enables the character to direct the camel and ride with minimal skill.
- Camel-mounted Combat I: the character possesses enough skill to fight from camelback.
Authority
Expert
Therefore, abilities would include getting more out of the camel, treating diseases and parasites, improving encumbrance, navigating the animal through the desert, gaining the animal's loyalty, enabling it to travel farther on less water, spit on command, disorienting horses with the camel's odour, wielding weapons from the camel's back, and breeding stronger and more powerful/intelligent camels.
See Also,
Assassin Sage Abilities
Fighter Sage Abilities
Paladin Sage Abilities
Ranger Sage Abilities
