Pioneer trait kind of a rip

[GM Wulfson]

Is it just me or does the pioneer trait benefit of starting with a horse seem to be nullified in the first encounter?

Spoiler:

Once the bandits ride in to Oleg's everyone gets a free horse

So what I'm considering

Spoiler:

Is letting the character either start with the extra gold equivalent to the horse and it's tack, or letting them have the horse war-trained or just trained in general.

Any thoughts?

[captain yesterday]

GM Wulfson wrote:

Is it just me or does the pioneer trait benefit of starting with a horse seem to be nullified in the first encounter?

** spoiler omitted **

So what I'm considering
** spoiler omitted **

Any thoughts?

i myself don't care for the kingmaker campaign traits, they really try to draw you into brevoy's politics (when you hardly even see it)

i like your possible fixe's, both are good

[DigMarx]

I'm not sure your conclusion follows your implied premises. By that logic, buying weapons before the start of the campaign is a waste of money, since PCs can just scavenge weapons after the fight. Coming at it another way, the horse is not the only benefit of the trait, and having two horses is not the same as having no horses; i.e. the Pioneer PC doesn't lose anything. However, you know your players better than anyone else, and if you think they'd get pissed off, trust your gut. Nothing you mentioned in your spoiler is game-breaking, IMO.

Zo

[J.S.]

Well, a trait's more than just the bennies, and *a* horse isn't the same as *your* horse.

[JanosAudrun]

J.S. wrote:

Well, a trait's more than just the bennies, and *a* horse isn't the same as *your* horse.

This. Mechanical benefits are the same yes from the point you stated.

But a character might have like J said *his* horse, a long life companion with a great RP hook. People get atached to animals, and this is not only for the classes with animal companions!

If RP like this is not your players cup of tea, or you just want a mechanical balance, both solutions sound good and balanced.

Give them extra gold, that has to be spent on exploring equipment, theres plenty of interesting stuff in Adventurers Armory.

Or make it a heavy warhorse to make it stand out.

[roguerouge]

I agree: war-trained is the solution here.

[Ambrus]

My players worked out an elaborate joint-background in which their characters are a part of a minor Rostland noble family with a rich tradition of breeding destriers for the king's cavalry that has recently fallen on hard times. The only thing they have left of their legacy are a handful of thoroughbred horses.

For their efforts I rewarded them by making the horses they'd acquired through the rich parents or pioneer traits were upgraded to heavy horses and were war trained.

[Eminence Grise]

I decided to adjust the horse to a war-trained equivalent. It made a difference in a few of the earlier battles (you gotta love random encounters with 4 trolls).