Talents and Astral/Spirit Mount

[GentlemanLoser]

Hi all,

First topic ont he new forums.

Are there any Cavalryman (in general) Talents that don't work with either a Spirit Mount (Cav Talent) or an Astral Mount (Nethermancer Spell)?

Things like Wheeling Attack, Charge, etc would all seem applicable.

But what about Heal Animal Companion, Mount Durability or Armour Mount? Some of these require a Mount that's 'loyal' but the Spirit/Astral Mount have no loyalty listed. Can they be assumed to be 'loyal' to the caster/summoner?

Astral Mount seems to be the better choice, only becuase with it's hours duration compared to the minutes of the Spirit Mount, it would last long enough for the Hour Long Mount Durability Talent ceremony.

How would Mount Durability stack with things like an Astral Tundra Beasts inante Durability?

[arma]

You wouldn't normally classify any of them as loyal, nor as animals (i.e. they don't fit the criteria in the first place). They are "blank" spirits that allow to serve their purpose (because that is "allowed" by the ability that conjures them), but are otherwise gamemaster characters that would have to be influenced like any other.
So most of the long term talents are out of the question.
The only talent from your list that works is Armor Mount, since that only requires the target to be a mount.
In theory, you could get Mount Durability to work, but you have to use abilities that work on spirits to create the loyal attitude, not abilities that work on animals.

-> lessons learned: don't bet the future of your Discipline on otherworldly entities ;D

Durability, no two instances of it stack (I think it's at the end of the individual descriptions), but you can choose the highest one.

[ManDrake]

I'm curious where you were headed with this one GentlemanLoser. Since a Calvaryman requires a living mount to avoid talent crisis, do you have a player that is trying to avoid having a mount all together? That's a little like a Archer not using missile weapons. Or is it more of a craven attempt to avoid keeping up and maintaining a mount for the player. Most stables give them discounts for their half magic abilities for animal husbandry while they are around. A Spirit Mount is usually only used when the Calvaryman is forced to go somewhere that his mount won't fit and he still needs to use his talents. And Astral Mounts are usually just used for cheap transport for party members, I can't remember them ever really being used in combat for one of my games. If you use a Nethermancer at all in your games for anything other than an easy villain.