Saddle Enclosed

Ultimate Equipment Guide II

Author Greg Lynch, J. C. Alvarez
Publisher Mongoose Publishing
Publish date 2005

This large and extremely odd-looking device is formed of wood, ceramic and steel, and sits atop a veritable web of leather straps and steel chains. There is a small window of thick glass in the front, and a narrow hatch on the top of the device. Inside is a padded seat, moulded to the curve of the bottom of the enclosed saddle. Two long rods that look like goads extend outward from the front of the saddle. The enclosed saddle is too heavy for most aerial mounts, and too large for most land mounts (the smallest creature that could conceivably carry it is a mammoth). It is not intended for use in the air or on the ground, however. Rather, the enclosed saddle is designed for the use of an air-breathing rider who is mounted on an aquatic creature.

Due to the variations in aquatic creatures, the enclosed saddle must be crafted specifically for the species that is intended to carry it, be it a dragon turtle or a Huge shark. The rider enters the saddle when the creature is on the surface, closing the hatch behind him. The two goads extending from the front of the saddle allow the rider to direct his mount up, down and from side to side, though the level of control is significantly less than what riders would expect from a more conventional saddle. To properly communicate any command to the mount, the rider must succeed at a Ride skill check (DC 15). The goads cannot be used as weapons. The enclosed saddle can withstand the pressure of depths up to 600 feet. Between the inevitable leaks and the finite air supply, an enclosed saddle can sustain a Medium size individual for up to three hours. The hatch is held closed by several clamps and, most improbably, a rope tie, added to the design in order to foil attempts by hostile undersea creatures to pop the hatch open from afar with a knock spell. An enclosed saddle has a hardness of ten and 50 hit points.

Enclosed Saddle: 500 gp; 625 lb.