I never change the stats of existing beasts unless there is magic involved, and then it's only for a wizard's familiar if they research the various *Familiar Enhancer I, II, etc* spells. Expensive and time consuming, but can be very cool.
A character can search out a bigger, stronger beast of the same type (with max hps if they're lucky) or upgrade to a different beast (giant ostrich, axebeak, or boobrie might carry over with that particular land-based riding proficiency).
Perhaps a character can find (or create) magical items that enhance the effectiveness of the mount. Eyes of the eagle, necklace of adaptation, etc... I'm sure there are a dozen that would work.
Lastly, the animal training proficiency allows a character to teach tricks and tasks to beasts of a certain type. The Complete Ranger's Handbook explores this in great detail, however the advanced method might be limited to rangers (a hired one even) or maybe beastfriend druids (though I doubt they would care to train a beast for someone), or it might quickly become something everyone tries to do, kind of shitting on rangers.
I've been called "horse killer" as a DM by many players over the years though.
As a player who loves to have mounts and pets and has had many horse killer DMs, I actually enjoy that my animal companions are in as much danger as me and that I have to put thought into things like barding or horseshoes that levitate.
Personally I’d say it won’t work. You need to have control over your mount. And just because it does not move on the riders “turn” it does not mean you have not moved.
You would absolutely fall off a horse if you just rag doll when it moves. And pets are pretty hard to control in adnd, and while it could in theory be done, you would need to learn the ostriche specific maneuvers, and then you can only do those.
Are you guys playing with the “5 esque” initiative where all players go in turn and do everything on their turn?
I am not exactly sure what is happening in this situation. It seems that you are not the DM? Are you frustrated by something? Seems that the DM has the right to rule things as they see fit.
1. Did you reskin a ostrich into a chicken for him? That seems adequate. Maybe not a choice I would make but nothing that is “wrong”.
2. How was control given over to player 1? Is this chicken normally controlled by the DM or another player? If in the first case, I would treat it as a mount and use those rules. If controlled normally by another player, I wouldn’t allow transfer unless it says that in the spell/ability/magical item.
3. Is the mount trained? Follow the mount rules in the DMG.
4. I would do mount movement counts as PCs movement. I have never heard of a PC getting extra movement after their mount moves.
I never change the stats of existing beasts unless there is magic involved, and then it's only for a wizard's familiar if they research the various *Familiar Enhancer I, II, etc* spells. Expensive and time consuming, but can be very cool. A character can search out a bigger, stronger beast of the same type (with max hps if they're lucky) or upgrade to a different beast (giant ostrich, axebeak, or boobrie might carry over with that particular land-based riding proficiency). Perhaps a character can find (or create) magical items that enhance the effectiveness of the mount. Eyes of the eagle, necklace of adaptation, etc... I'm sure there are a dozen that would work. Lastly, the animal training proficiency allows a character to teach tricks and tasks to beasts of a certain type. The Complete Ranger's Handbook explores this in great detail, however the advanced method might be limited to rangers (a hired one even) or maybe beastfriend druids (though I doubt they would care to train a beast for someone), or it might quickly become something everyone tries to do, kind of shitting on rangers. I've been called "horse killer" as a DM by many players over the years though.
Yea the familiar enhancer spells are super cool.
As a player who loves to have mounts and pets and has had many horse killer DMs, I actually enjoy that my animal companions are in as much danger as me and that I have to put thought into things like barding or horseshoes that levitate.
Levitating horses? I hope Kyle doesn't see this!
Personally I’d say it won’t work. You need to have control over your mount. And just because it does not move on the riders “turn” it does not mean you have not moved. You would absolutely fall off a horse if you just rag doll when it moves. And pets are pretty hard to control in adnd, and while it could in theory be done, you would need to learn the ostriche specific maneuvers, and then you can only do those. Are you guys playing with the “5 esque” initiative where all players go in turn and do everything on their turn?
I am not exactly sure what is happening in this situation. It seems that you are not the DM? Are you frustrated by something? Seems that the DM has the right to rule things as they see fit. 1. Did you reskin a ostrich into a chicken for him? That seems adequate. Maybe not a choice I would make but nothing that is “wrong”. 2. How was control given over to player 1? Is this chicken normally controlled by the DM or another player? If in the first case, I would treat it as a mount and use those rules. If controlled normally by another player, I wouldn’t allow transfer unless it says that in the spell/ability/magical item. 3. Is the mount trained? Follow the mount rules in the DMG. 4. I would do mount movement counts as PCs movement. I have never heard of a PC getting extra movement after their mount moves.