As stated in the Rules presently, you CANNOT take Loyal Companion (Ta) with a Sc'Math. All instances of non-standard animals gaining Loyal Companion are granted as other talents (ie: Infernal Servant, We Are All Her Children).

If it is intended to 'upgrade' your Sc'math, the easiest way to get around this would be to add to the reward document: "As part of this Kickstarter Reward, you gain the ability to take the Loyal Companion Talent with your Sc'math. You must meet every other prerequisite to gain this talent normally".

As nobody has stated anything yet, I am thinking that the Drakhen Prestige Class from the old Ssethregore book is going to be making an appearance in the NEW Ssethregore book, and it is going to be through THAT Path, Talent, Background, etc (whatever way they chose to do it) that you can gain Loyal Companion with your new scaled friend.

Hello,



Ah. My apologies. I read it quickly on my phone and misunderstood the question.

As Cody correctly stated, special creatures like the Sc'math require something additional such as a Path or other certificate. It cannot be taken as a standard Loyal Companion.

Henry, thanks for the official answer (even though it is not the one I wanted or expected).

Can you please explain the reasoning why the Sc'math is not eligible for Loyal Companion? Every race except Ss'ressen can have a Loyal Companion mount. The stats for the Sc'math are roughly equivalent to a heavy warhorse (Sc'math has 3 better Avoidance and NAR but several fewer talents and effectively can't use barding).

Until someone else asked in a different thread/forum, it did not even occur to me that the Sc'math may not be eligible for Loyal Companion (in my mind, it is just a Ss'ressen heavy warhorse so "obviously" would be eligible).

Although, that does bring up another question about an assumption of mine - do Ss'ressen ride horses? I just always assumed they did not as horses would be extremely skittish around them (but I don't recall seeing anything in the books about this).

[Voice of nobody official]

A few points of contention here:

1) Saying a Sc'math is the same as a Ss'ressen Warhorse is kind of like saying a Tiger is basically a Rhinoceros. Yes, they can both function as mounts, and in this game they also serve the same niche, but a Sc'math is an entirely different animal (pardon the pun) to a Horse.

2) Maybe I don't have the right copy of the Sc'math, but doesn't it have 7 Qualities to a Heavy Warhorse's 6? Remember that "talents" are but one of the option that NPC's can get for Qualities, while things like Natural Armour (Tr), Ravenous (Tr), and Beast of Burden (Tr) all dip from the same 'pool' as Talents.

3) While the Black Talons may have adopted horse-mounted soldiers since coming to Milandir, the Ssethrics in general don't really like Mammals, and therefore wouldn't use them for ANYTHING if they had a Ssethric option. The Ssethregore Sourcebook lists the following Ssethric creatures that could be 'loyal companions' by the Ssethregoran Empire:

Carnataur - Dinosaur, so probably not showing up in ARPG
Ceratopsia - Dinosaur, so probably not showing up in ARPG
Chelone - Huge Turtles which are basically the 'cargo ships' of Ssethregore
Cyclura - Ssethric "Heavy Cavalry/Main Battle Tank"
Deinonychus - Dinosaur, so probably not showing up in ARPG
Dragonnel - Aerial Mounts
Jaculi - Serpents used as 'urban policing units'
Moloch - Basically Ssethric Dogs
Mor'let - Basically the Ssethric Heavy Warhorse
Mosasaurs - Dinosaur, so probably not showing up in ARPG
Oniscus - Basically insectoid versions of the Cyclura
Sc'Math - See Kickstarter stuff, probably the functional equivalent of a Light Warhorse
Sauropod - Dinosaur, so probably not showing up in ARPG
Wyvern

The Drakhan Prestige Class suggests that of these, only the Cyclura (very rare), Jaculi, Moloch, Mor'let, and Sc'Math are available to the Black Talons (and presumably the Ashen Hides as well). That being said, I recall no references outside of this class that the Black Talons use ANY cavalry at all, though there are references to Rangers/Skirmishers (Marauder) and Heavy Infantry (Miliarius).

1) This may just be my mis-conception. The Sc'math seems to fill the exact same niche as a heavy warhorse (possibly light/medium based on your later creature list) for other races. It is a different animal but I assumed (incorrectly it seems) that it would qualify for Loyal Companion just like mounts (horses) do for other races.

3) That was my assumption (that Ss'ressen and mammals don't tend to get along too well).

2) Hmm. You may be right. Here's a more detailed mechanics breakdown (mostly because I'm really curious) between Sc'math and heavy warhorse (format is Sc'math vs heavy warhorse):

• Tier: same (1.5) - both common exceptional specimen
• Attribute Die: d10 vs d8 (missed that advantage of the Sc'math before)
• Defenses: 19 vs 16 Avoidance, same Fortitude/Discipline (20/16)
• Stamina: 46 vs 47 - negligible difference
• Wounds: 2 vs 1 - should both be 2 - warhorse needs to be errata'd (exceptional specimen adds a wound)
• AR: 5 vs 0 - definite advantage Sc'math (but can mostly be made up by barding which a Sc'math can not use)
• Pace: 30' vs 40'
• Initiative: 3d10 vs 2d10 - surprised warhorse is only 2d10
• Attacks: same bonus to hit; Sc'math has an additional (slower) option; Sc'math has equivalent to exceptional weapons (speed is 1 faster than "normal" for both attacks - missed that before); something is off with Warhorse damage (it seems to have a 2 die bump to Might for damage - either it should be d10 or it should have Powerful Attribute (Might) x2)
• Talents: 1 vs 3; both have Toughness; Trample can be useful but situational; Wary is nice
• Traits: 5 vs 1; both have Powerful Attribute (Might); Ravenous doesn't appear worth using (unless I'm missing something); Notable Attack is nice; Natural Armor is already accounted for above
• Flaws: 2 vs 1; both have Bestial Intellect; Sc'math additionally has Ssethric vulnerabilities (which can be hampering but can also be mostly ignored with Immune to Adverse Climate spell)
• Skills: 4 vs 3; same +5 bonus; Sc'math gets Mettle (which is quite nice)

Looking at it closer, the Sc'math is a little better than a heavy warhorse (primarily due to higher Attribute die, higher Avoidance, and faster attacks - effectively +1 hit, +1 damage, -1 attack speed, and 3 harder to be hit). However, Loyal Companion 1 mostly negates the advantages and by Loyal Companion 2, the warhorse is better (in my opinion - not straight apples to apples comparison). Maybe what's needed is something along the lines of a qualifier that the Sc'math does not gain the +1 skills and defenses for Loyal Companion 1 (leaving the +2 to command it and opening up 2+)?

I am disappointed that the Sc'math can not be a Loyal Companion (admittedly likely primarily due to my long-standing assumption that it could be). I'd still be very curious for an explanation on the reasons why it can't be from Henry or Pete.

Hello Steven,



I think the answer was pretty well laid out by Cody. It is not an exact equivalent of a warhorse and while you can't take the Loyal Companion talent with the Sc'math, there are other Paths (I believe) in the forthcoming Ssethregore book where such options are available. (Again, I can't check on that this moment, but I believe I remember it being there).

Henry is correct. The Drakhen Path allows for it. Drakhen are the mounted warriors of the Ssethric Hordes (some are even aerial mounts....but the Black Talon didnt bring any of those when they fled Ssethregore).

Personally I'm waiting on the Sseth book to take a look at the Drakhen before deciding what to do with the Scmath. To be honest I've seen very few if any mods where your mount can affect things. Usually you have to leave them behind when you go into dungeon, or whatever. Ditto for just about every OP campaign I've been in. Now druid/ranger animal companions are a different matter, but the larger size ones can be problematic in some areas. I don't mind having the mount for character flavor, but doing something else with it would be cool as well. Actually that begs a point...What about a wolf lizard? Don't have books in front of me, and it's something I don't think currently exists but a Jeggal Sag "Master of the Hounds" path using reptilian stand-ins for dogs might be cool. On the other hand reptiles really aren't pack animals are they? Maybe 'packs' of velociraptors or some such. Anyhow something for the Powers That Be to think about.