Flora And Fauna | Mounts and Draft Animals
The Icegrip Ape is a sturdy ape with a broad, muscular body covered in dense, pale fur. As a mount it is relatively small, and can only be ridden by “small” species, although it can usefully port loads for traders of any size.
Its arms are long and powerful, capable of carrying its riders or loads up and down vertical tree trunks making it particularly suited to wildways and wilderness travel for those whose stature makes this tricky. Its face is flat and expressive, with deep-set eyes and a wide, toothy grin. Its temperament is playful and friendly, making it a favourite mount among halflings and gnomes. It is an excellent climber and is able to navigate narrow ledges and tight spaces with ease.
It is not without disadvantages, however.
Firstly, it comes originally from the coldest climes, and while this means that it seems able to deal with the ice and snow of farsun like no other mount it struggles in the warm weather of greatsun in the tropics, tiring quickly and needing a great deal to drink in these conditions.
Secondly, it can be unreliable - deciding to play hide and seek when it is called to be saddled, or insisting on being scratched behind the ears and given treats before it will set off from the midday break. Not a problem on a sightseeing trip for a halfling family, but the pressure of a pursuing force doesn’t seem to have the urgency for icegrip apes that it does for their riders, and this can lead to some fraught moments of tension between them and their (often genuinely beloved) mounts.