I'm hoping that it just isnt me, but I LOVE pets. I
love to feed them, watch them sleep and I enjoy their
company on long hikes. I hate to say this (because I
love pets so much) but sometimes, something seems to be
missing. dogs and cats are fine and dandy, but I want
something else. Something that, well, I can ride. A horse!
but those are a bit mundane as well. something magical...
a winged horse! Now, only if there was a IMM_Quest or a
MOB_Quest to some how earn one.

I think quests for pets could be neat. save energy on long treks
and quite possible (depending on the PET) fly. depending on the level of the mob/imm quest and the player's rank/level would
determine the power of the pet. I think riding a fierce dragon
would be wicked. or an Orc mounted high on a battle-hardened mastadon would strike fear into others!

examples of quest-type pets: a knight's horse, various types of dragons, a wyvern, griffins, a nightMare.

Pet Quests could be based on level, race and/or class :-) wouldnt want a paladin to be riding atop a ethereal nightMare

The first MUD I ever played had a mount system. It was basically treated as an extra equipment slot. You could activate the pet and something minor would happen (since the thing was bought for gold anyway). Still, it didn't have a realistic feel when fighting. I'm not sure if the coding pain would be worth the outcome either (i.e. changing arrival/departure messages, creating the extra slot, being able to make the mount do something, etc.). Plus, a lot of game dynamics would have to be changed. You couldn't really trip or bash or kick dirt the same way, and your mount obviously wouldn't want to sit there while you fight atop a mount. This is kind of like the same thing as ranged weapon talk. It sounds really neat and exciting, but would vastly change a lot of things if actually implemented.

Though, bow rangers, I think, were done brilliantly in my opinion.

My two worthless sense.

We've kicked the idea of mounts around a bit, but it's definitely not a high priority right now. Cool idea, though.

Kastellyn the Devourer of Magic, Lord of Legends

nt

Plus this would give people with air forms as shapeshifters something to actaully hunt in the air

It'd make spear-wielders and polearm users more practical. Right now they are two of the most boring specs to play pre-40, on par with shapeshifters for the boredom factor, in my opinion.

Making them more effective against mounts would be lovely, add a bit more tactics, and maybe give shamans and the non-warrior classes like the A-P a reason to use polearms.