Riding

Riding in NetHack is most commonly associated with Knights, because they begin the game with a saddled pony, but any character who finds a saddle and tames a suitable steed will be able to ride.

Getting started

First you need a pet which is large enough to ride, not humanoid and has a solid physical form (e.g. not amorphous like a pudding or whirly like a vortex). You must also be in a humanoid form and not too big or small to fit on a saddle.

Next you need to saddle the pet by applying the saddle to it - you need at least one free hand for this. It is possible to saddle a non-tame monster, but this is more difficult than saddling a pet, and you will not be permitted to ride the monster until it is tamed.

Now mount the steed with the #ride command. Unless you are a Knight, this will make it less tame and may untame it. If any of the following conditions hold, you simply won't be able to ride:

• You are already riding.
• You are hallucinating.
• Your legs are wounded.
• You are Stressed or worse.
• You are blind and not telepathic.
• You are punished.
• You or your steed are trapped.
• You are levitating and cannot come down at will.
• You are wearing rusty or corroded body armour.

If any of the following hold, you will slip while trying to get on the steed, and will lose some hit points. This can also happen by chance when you're not impaired in any way.

• You are confused.
• You are fumbling.
• You have slippery fingers.
• Your steed's saddle is cursed.

Strategy

(Discuss the pros and cons of riding and what the best steeds are here.)

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