IDEA: Mutated Wasteland Horses

[Athanasa]

First off, I understand that horses as we know them are extinct in canon. And that makes sense - we can't have perfectly normal creatures in the Wasteland. That would be weird, right? And we can't call them horses either. So, mutant looking four legged* horse based creatures to roam the Wastelands.

 

For good measure, let's make it have some sort of link to mythology. Let's name it after mythology's best known zombie horse thing - Kelpies.

 

Soggy, bedraggled manes - maybe they're tendrils rather than hair, or like floppy porcupine quills. Taught leathery skin, or maybe ghoul-like skin. Maybe fine fur? Maybe a vestigial fleshy tail. A skeletal face, prominent teeth - maybe carnivorous teeth, and a larger opening mouth to support this lifestyle?

 

Appearance

Ghoul Horse - Interesting gap between tendons and bone on the front legs. 'Torn' skin. Still a bit too horse-y?

Facial Detail - Sunken face, equine eyes, weird ears, skeletal nose, TEETH. Maybe serrated - bites to make prey bleed to death?

Plant Growth - Maybe fungi growing in / on its skin? Thin tail, teeth. Hooves split back into claws. Potential use as an ambush predator - crouches still, looking like a rock covered in weeds and fungi.

Wider Mouth - Wider opening mouth, tendril-like mane.

 

Behaviour

Carnivore / Omnivore - Lack of greenery and increased protein from meat has adapted this creature into a predator

Waterside Predator - Lives beside bodies of water, waiting for prey to approach to drink. Long teeth maybe adapted for snatching fish?

Camouflaged Hunter - Lies in wait, blending in with the riverbanks with its dull skin, weed-like hair and fungi spotted hide. Maybe it has to stay near water to keep the fungi moist?

Bleeding Attacks - Uses its long back-serrated teeth to quickly bite at enemies and tear at their flesh, causing bleeding? Maybe infection and disease, too? Komodo dragon style.

Kicks When Chased - Will kick back with powerful hind legs if chased?

Lures Prey - Maybe imitates screams of wounded animals / humans to lure in scavengers / prey? Would make an interesting addition to the ambience of the game. Is that the sound of combat and free loot, or a lurking Kelpie?

 

Potential Use

Maybe (ages ahead) someone could mod tame versions, or taming one (trap it, feed it raw meat), or just for riding about.

Unique fungi?

 

Origin

Already slightly mutated horses driven to eating fish in rivers by hunger. Chemical waste already concentrated in the fish (food chain chemical concentration stuff) gets dumped in the horse, horse mutates further, eats more fish, becomes adapted more to meat. Over time it starts ambushing prey on the riverbanks to supplement its diet of water weeds and fish. Ambush hunting and staying still for long periods of time allows fungi to grow in a symbiotic relationship on its back.

 

 

I'm not a modder, I just wanted to share an idea that popped into my head. The behaviour part isn't even that important, I just felt it fitted the idea and the Fallout world well.

 

 

 

* Six legged could be cool, but extra legs make skeletons hard.

Edited December 4, 2015 by Athanasa

[Boombro]

No, horses were WIPED out.

There is also the need for animations, new models, new textures.

Making Mutated dogs ride-able is much easier work.

[Athanasa]

 

http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Equidae

 

Ah. Well, donkeys then? Although, I could twist the words a bit as that only mentions California.

 

Probably not. Shame, seemed like cool creepy critters.

Edited December 4, 2015 by Athanasa

[Yodhrin]

No, horses were WIPED out.

There is also the need for animations, new models, new textures.

Making Mutated dogs ride-able is much easier work.

 

Considering how heavily FO4 is based on Skyrim, right down to scope zooming actually being a spell effect as far as the game engine is concerned, I'd say rideable horse-like critters aren't going to be that big a problem unless Bethesda deliberately stripped that functionality out rather than just ignoring or renaming it as they seem to have done with just about everything else.

 

In terms of the lore issues - rideable Radstags? EDIT: Also, note that the mentioned reference is an answer to a question specifically about California. Now I'm not American and geography isn't my strongsuit anyway, but I'm fairly sure Boston isn't in CA :P

Edited December 4, 2015 by Yodhrin

[Athanasa]

I wonder, is the issue with extinct horses to force the people of Wasteland America to walk? It seems to me like it may be more about avoiding the cultural, economic and social impact that horses can have on the world. They give people the ability to travel long distances at (relative) speed, allowing for better communications and trade, potentially bettering the world for everyone, and getting rid of some of the grimdark of the Fallout world.

 

However, if the horse-like creatures are flesh eating mutated monstrosities, people probably haven't tamed them for use in this way. So the world of Fallout is safe from horse based social changes. But we all know our character is the Chosen One, head of the Thieves Guild, Archmage, Vampire Werewolf Dragonborn (or whatever we become in FO4), so if anyone can be the first to tame one of these monsters we can.

 

Or, y'know, never make them tameable. Just make them another hostile monster out to eat spleens. That'd explain why no-one rides them.

[xXDoublexAceXx]

heres an alternative, we can have robotic horses, like a mature version of the giddy up buttercup. it can be made from parts of giddyup buttercup you find along with some scrap and some circutry items.

[Basil456]

heres an alternative, we can have robotic horses, like a mature version of the giddy up buttercup. it can be made from parts of giddyup buttercup you find along with some scrap and some circutry items.

This has been suggested and people seemed to like that idea better so I suggest making that instead.

[Yodhrin]

Meh, if we're going to bother going mechanical then sod horses, I want a Hog :P

 

Or even better, a crappy, barely functional repaired junker Chryslus Highwayman, like from Fallout 2.

[Saicomantis]

Meh, if we're going to bother going mechanical then sod horses, I want a Hog :tongue:

 

Or even better, a crappy, barely functional repaired junker Chryslus Highwayman, like from Fallout 2.

 

This or any other custom made vehicle would be cool but sounds like a lot of work.

[xXDoublexAceXx]

 

Meh, if we're going to bother going mechanical then sod horses, I want a Hog :tongue:

 

Or even better, a crappy, barely functional repaired junker Chryslus Highwayman, like from Fallout 2.

 

This or any other custom made vehicle would be cool but sounds like a lot of work.

 

they did it for new vegas. cant see it not happening for this game later on