HUNTING
Khulan
A specialty that requires a keen sense of tracking, patience and decisiveness, hunting is no easy task. Horse and rider must work together to locate and retrieve prey animals, an important source of furs, meat and trade. Riders need to be strong-willed, with horses that can handle every situation from long trapping routes to swift moving animal herds.
In order to participate in hunting, a horse must first have a full body, coloured training image with a background OR a 1,400 word story to show that the horse has been properly prepared for their tasks ahead. Prey must be depicted and should be appropriate for the hunter's ranking. Only one prey size is allowed per image. Multiple prey animals may be depicted.
All riders may participate in hunting, but until initial training is completed there is a significant risk of failure.
Click HERE to train a mount in Hunting
Click HERE to submit a Hunting specialty entry
Stat Bonuses
While following the tracks of prey, a hunter's horse needs to be in full health to safely navigate sometimes difficult terrain. On the chase it has to pick up the pace quickly to allow the hunter a successful hunt.
Speed: If the rider doesn't have Hunting as their chosen specialty, the horse's natural abilities will increase the pair's chances of success. If Hunting is one of the rider's chosen specialties, it increases the chances of returning with better items.
Vitality: The horse's vitality gives the pair a chance to return with some extra items on their journeys.
Prey Types
The following lists are a guide, not a strict requirement. You may depict any of the following animals, or animals of similar size/classification. Appropriate biome is suggested, but not required. Prey needs to be visible.
Untrained: All Prey Available
Initiate + Rookie: Birds (Ptarmigan, Quail, Owls, Small Eagles, Falcons, etc), Small Mammals (Rabbits, Squirrels, Foxes, Possum, Groundhogs, Raccoons, Skunks, Chinchilla, etc), and Small Reptiles (Skinks, Small Snakes, Turtles, etc).
Novice + Journeyman: All Small Prey + Medium sized birds (Albatross, Sea Eagles), Medium Mammals (Wolves, Coyotes, Lynx, Smaller Deer, Gazelle, etc) and Medium Reptiles (Monitors, Tortoise, Forest Raptors, etc)
Expert + Master: All Small and Medium Prey + Large Ground Birds (Ostrich, Emus, etc), Large Mammals (Giraffe, Elephants, Mammoths, Large Predatory Cats, Oryx, Elk, etc) and Large Reptiles (Komodo Dragon, Raptors)
Hunting Prompts
Riders who have Hunting as a chosen specialty on their import may complete the prompts below to earn additional experience and stats.
Prompts cannot be used as a specialty entry. However, completing one of these prompts will earn your horse and rider +4 bonus to EP as well as 1 Speed Token and 1 Vitality Token.
Click HERE to read up on Prompt requirements.
Comment HERE to submit a Hunting Prompt.
Prompts List
Winter has settled in the mountains and trapping season is open. Depict your rider and horse setting out with their gear to lay a trap line for the first time.
Learning to hunt in the tropics has a variety of challenges, from dangerous insects and dense jungle vine, to steep mountain drops. Depict your rider tracking down their prey in the hazardous tropics.
Dry hot winds and shifting sands can make tracking prey a long and difficult process in the desert. Depict how your rider and horse survive the heat during their first real hunt.
Hunting birds with a bow or rifle can be a tricky task, but when big herds aren't available, relying on the small game can be essential. Depict your rider hunting small birds with a bow or flintlock from horseback.
Riding at night isn't always wise, but in the tropics, this is when the animals come out. Depict your rider navigating the dark forests seeking prey.
Running out of ammunition on a hunt is rookie error at it's most prominent. Reasoning aside, coming back to town without a payload or ammunition would be highly embarrassing, not to mention damaging of one's reputation. It's time to great creative - depict your character using a different, or otherwise downright unorthodox method of catching their prey.
The forest debris and foliage can be the perfect cover for stalking in the dead of night. You have painstakingly covered both you and your horse in mud, leaves and whatever else you can find. Depict your rider and horse camouflaging themselves.
Your morning haul has been good, and you and your mount are packed to head home. However, the work isn't over yet. Even getting the goods back home can be difficult. Depict your rider and their mount protecting their freshly caught prey from a pack of wolves.
Standing along side any good hunter is a great horse. A nervous, flighty mount could put it's rider in more peril than any of Moren Ezen's most formidable beasts. Depict your rider's hunting mount showing it's steadfast nerves in a terrifyingly hazardous scenario. And, when all is said and done, don't forget the praise! They earned it!
Horses are fast and powerful animals, and when a rider is in tune with their mount, the results can be bountiful. Depict your rider balancing at full speed while hunting deer or gazelle.
Sometimes, hunting isn't simply about acquiring meat, skins and ivory. At times, hunters may very well be required to deal with animals that threaten people and livestock. In this scenario, a pack of Dune Dogs has been harassing some of the local herders. A number of sheep, calves and goats have been taken by the feisty canines, and the herders have reported that the animals are venturing alarming close to their homes and families. It's time to take action - you can't hunt them all; their bodies will go to waste, so find a way to ward them off.
Many hunters enlist the assistance of a bird of prey to catch small game. Depict your character's feathery helper returning with a fresh kill. Don't forget, they don't work for free - praise and a share in the spoils is essential if you want your bird to return every time!
Elephants roam in large herds, they’re a powerful and family oriented animal. You’ve dreamt of taking one down since you were a child. Depict your rider skillfully picking one off from the herd.
Night falls on the bountiful forests, the creatures of the night go quiet. Dark and eerie, a pair of glowing eyes appear. You are ambushed. Depict your rider and their mount fending off a battle scarred Tiger.
Loose dust rolls over the lush plains as a few large ostriches mill around within the gazelle. Taking every precaution possible, you avoid getting close and try to make a killing blow from a distance. Depict your rider using a flintlock or bow while mounted to incapacitate an ostrich.
The forests of Moren Ezen are beautiful, rich of resources and teeming with life. Yet the hot summers bring about one creature that chills the blood of even the most experienced hunter; the raptor. Depict your rider's first hunt for this beast.
An early morning hunt has proven fruitful. Your character is in high spirits as they and their horse(s) head towards home, their saddles and packs laden with spoils. Unfortunately, they are not the only hunters stalking the woods, and they've been spotted by a most formidable predator - Bandits. Outnumbered and out-armed, defending your bounty seems futile. Will they reach the safety of the town and it's guards before the bandits close in, or will they loose their loot to the greedy thugs? Depict how this scenario plays out.
Not all hunts go as planned, even for the most experienced, and at times retreat is the only option. In this scenario the hunter has become the hunted, and your character has lost the higher ground. To fight is not an option, and all that's left to do now is run - but it's not quite that simple. With teeth and claws at your rear and a stretch of hazardous terrain in front, it's time to let go of the reins and trust in the instincts of the horse. And for the love of the Guardians, don't look back!