Teamsters

Teamsters are professional drivers who use pack and draft animals, as well as carts and wagons, to convey loads on behalf of those who hire them. They are expert drivers and navigators and carry goods and people overland from one settlement to another, both within and between Hârnic kingdoms.

Organization

The profession of teamster is an unguilded one, although teamsters in some areas, such as the Thardic Republic, are working to gain guild recognition for their craft. Although many individuals may lead draft animals or drive carts and wagons, not all of them should be considered teamsters. To be a “true teamster,” driving should be an individual’s sole full-time occupation and they must carry the goods of others, not their own. A serf who drives a wagon of produce from his lord’s manor to market once a tenday is not a teamster, nor is a freehold farmer who drives his own.

As there is no guild to regulate affairs, there are no ranks or hierarchy among teamsters. Those who own the most animals and vehicles are typically given the greatest respect by their peers. Those starting their careers will generally work for an established teamster doing the more menial tasks and even, in some cases, acting as co-driver or driving a second vehicle for the teamster.

Many teamsters own their own draft animals and vehicles, while others drive those owned by others. Most of the latter aim to save a little coin earned from each trip to one day buy their own animals and a cart or wagon. Those who do well may own more than one vehicle or team of animals and employ other teamsters, often a family member, to handle the extras. Some teamsters become so rich and successful that they have multiple vehicles with drivers able to take on large and complex jobs.

Trade Symbols

Teamsters are not members of a guild and thus have no badge registered with the College of Heralds. Some members of the profession display a horse collar or ox yoke at their stables or residence to aid customers in finding them.

The Teamster as PC

A teamster’s occupation involves travel, and many are not rooted in one settlement. A teamster who signs up for a caravan to a
distant kingdom will see new places and different cultures, travel through lands home to tribesmen and gargun, and have many chances for adventure along the way. Some teamsters transport smuggled goods, runaways, and other risky cargoes.

Teamsters know their region well, particularly the trade routes and the wilderness they pass through. Within their area, they are expert navigators and have knowledge of the best routes, best stopping points, and places to avoid.

Parties traveling across the wilderness often benefit from having a pack mule, cart, or even a wagon in addition to any horses they ride. A teamster’s expert skills with vehicles and draft animals can make them a valuable addition to a party. Their ability to provide basic care for animals and repair broken carts and wagons in the field can be invaluable on excursions through the wilds.

Loading Capacity

Pack animals and vehicles can carry much more than the average human. The Load Capacity table below gives the average load each pack animal and vehicle can carry. Vehicles are listed with the number of oxen typically used. When using other draft animals instead, or additional ones, use the modifiers listed under “Vehicle Multipliers.”

Movement Rates

Movement is assumed to be at the animals’ walking pace. Rates are given in leagues per four-hour watch, which is roughly equal to kilometers per hour. Five leagues is equal to one hex on a regional and atlas maps. Rates are modified by weather conditions. Rain falling for two or more watches will create mud on trails and unpaved roads, reducing movement by 50%. Ground cover, such as grass or gravel, prevents mud except for very heavy rain (one or more days). If there is no mud, rain reduces movement by only 10–25%. For additional weather modifiers, see HârnMaster, Campaign 7 and the Movement Rates Table.

Feed and Rest

Animals may move for two watches per day but require one hour of rest, grazing, and watering after each watch. Grazing must occur in daylight; animals will often not graze sufficiently at night but will eat dry feed. Most teamsters bring feed if insufficient grazing is likely, but this results in extra load to be carried.

If proper resting periods are ignored or if adequate food and water is unavailable, animals are subject to foundering. The daily cumulative chance of foundering is 20% for oxen, 15% for mules, and 10% for donkeys, horses, and ponies. This means a horse has a 10% chance of foundering after one day without any food/water, 20% after the second day, and 30% after the third.

If an animal is forced to move for more than two watches per day or up to 25% faster than normal, a foundering roll should be made at the end of each watch and the animals must rest and graze for two hours instead of the normal one. The chances are cumulative as above, but per watch instead of per day.

Breakdown

Vehicles are prone to mechanical breakdown. For each watch, a cart has a 5% chance of breakdown, wagons and coaches 8%. Vehicles of higher quality are less prone to breakdown. GMs may use the Product Quality table on HârnMaster, Skills 20, to determine quality. Each +1 of quality reduces the per-watch chance by 1%.

LOAD CAPACITY TABLE

Animals	Capacity
Donkey or Pony	220 lbs
Horse, draft	240 lbs
Horse, draft, Lankum cross	280 lbs
Horse, draft, Reksyni	340 lbs
Mule, pack	250 lbs
Mule, Sorkin Blue	300 lbs
Ox, draft	300 lbs
Ox, Themeson Dryder	400 lbs
Vehicles	Capacity
Bolster wagon, 2 oxen	9,000 lbs
Cart, 1 ox	2,500 lbs
Haywain, 1 ox	2,000 lbs
Wagon, 2 oxen	8,000 lbs

Vehicle Multipliers	Speed	Capacity
Use Mules	1.2	1.0
Use Lankum horses	1.5	0.8
Use Reksyni horses	1.0	1.2
Use Dryder oxen	1.0	1.3
Double # draft animals	0.9	1.5

Example: A wagon pulled by two oxen can carry 8,000 lb. Using two Dryder oxen instead increases that to 10,400 lb (8000 × 1.3). Doubling it to four Dryer oxen gives a capacity of 15,600 lb (8000 × 1.3 × 1.5).