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Having read once through Horselords of Rohan, I am confronted with an interesting dilemma. Not so much as how to justify a narrative reason for a Rohirrim to strike out on journeys beyond the Riddermark, but how not leave the player running such a character from feeling hosed in horse-unfriendly terrain.

I mean, Rohirrim's thing, their edge, their raison d'etre is horses. It seems like after a few nearby adventures, once into poor mounted-combat terrain, they're no longer special -- maybe even less capable than Woodmen.

Has anybody run into this in practice? Do your players have any issue with character nerf outside of mounted combat? Has anybody found a creative way around this?

I really want to play a Rohirrim, but my LM has said until a time he feels like he can introduce them, they're off the table - as well as Dunledings. I'd have been fine with the horse being limited, myself. Sure, its a bit of a nerf, but its still usable in some adventures!

I haven't yet played in a game with any Riders, but really it's one Trait, two Virtues, and one Reward at stake here. (And your free Palfrey, but that can still be useful.) You can certainly build an awesome Rider without choosing any of the riding-specific options.

A Dwarf with Durin's Way and Tunneling and a Short Sword can be still more frustating in Wilderland.

I agree with others here when they've pointed out that certain Virtues and Rewards, even for cultures found within Wilderland, can have low application or even not get used at all depending on the type of campaign and adventures being run. For a player that really wants to play of Rohirrim, my advice would be simply be for the LM to have an honest conversation about what abilities he sees as not being useful for adventures within Wilderland and tell the player what these are; he can still pick them but at least he can make an informed choice - he may even pick them just for flavour and feel. It is a bit meta-gamey but it avoids disappointment and potentially worse fall outs once playing so I think it's worth it in the end.

If you really feel they are being short changed then perhaps you could organise an adventure where they were gifted with an Elven horse which I believe can ride through most environments inside the forest. Would that be an option?

bluejay wrote:If you really feel they are being short changed then perhaps you could organise an adventure where they were gifted with an Elven horse which I believe can ride through most environments inside the forest. Would that be an option?

Worth some consideration. But of course, that runs the risk of imbalancing the game in the other direction. But, hey, hobbit & dwarf characters have to ride in the sissy seat for mounted adventuring in Rohan, so it washes both ways.

It is in my view a Lore-master's job to ensure that the characters at his table are useful. A Rohir should be put in situations where they can use their horse-specific abilities, a character with tunneling should occasionally find themselves underground, and so on. Pre-made adventures can be adapted, and adventures built from the ground up should be done so with the characters at the table in mind.

DylanRPG wrote:It is in my view a Lore-master's job to ensure that the characters at his table are useful. A Rohir should be put in situations where they can use their horse-specific abilities, a character with tunneling should occasionally find themselves underground, and so on. Pre-made adventures can be adapted, and adventures built from the ground up should be done so with the characters at the table in mind.

It's a two way street in my experience. If the gaming group, including the LM, communicate what they want then this shouldn't be a problem but it's an honest conversation and a reply of "sorry, not sure that character concept will work with what I have in mind for the campaign I'm wanting to run this time" or "that skill's not going to get much use" are perfectly okay when used from time to time. Alternately, if players invest in specific skills then they're sign posting that such things are important to their character and they likely want it to be a focus of the campaign. At the end of the day most things can be accomodated but not to the point of it feeling forced or ridiculous; there's a balance to be had.

Rohirrim are still just fine, IMO. For those who really don't want (or can't use) horses, there is a specific cultural virtue that replaces horse farming. And they have unique strengths (Old Songs and Children's Tales in particular, makes them the best Endurance healers in the game, as well as being an AP farm). Just make sure to discuss things with your player, so they're not dead set on horsing in the mountains of mirkwood.