Board Thread:Suggestions forum/@comment-26890432-20170304214059

Howdy folks!

Today I'd like to discuss the waterfowl of Middle-Earth. Currently we have lovely Swans, but their features are limited and tend to be overshadowed by the fact that whenever one appears, it is promptly massacred without second thought for it's feathers. I'd also like to suggest other waterfowl to make the rivers of Middle-Earth more lively and fun to visit.

Swans- Currently, these agressive little twats are just walking ingredients for fancy armour- surely the bird that has such prevalence in Tolkien's mythos deserves some more features! I'd suggest that instead of being agressive at seemingly random intervals, these animals would rather only attack when a player nears one of their nests.

These low mounts of dirt and leaves would rarely spawn on riverbanks in all biomes where Swans are currently found, and have a smaller chance still to have a Swan Egg or two inside. These, like chicken eggs, could be thrown and have a small chance to spawn a Swan Chick.

This impressionable little creature would spawned tamed if the player that hatched it has positive High Elven, Lothlorien or Gondor alignmnent. If not, the player could still tame it with Bread. Once grown, it could be ordered to follow or stay like a wolf (or indeed Gollum), and to make the care of it worthwhile, it would periodically "shed" Swan Feathers. When following the player, it would attack enemies and deal a small amount of damage to them. Not the most tactically viable companions to have, but a small, fun little feature.



Ducks- Small waterfowl that inhabit the rivers and lakes of any biome (save maybe the Jungle). They would swim or waddle around, and take flight when attacked. They could be attracted and bred with either seeds or any type of bread. They would lay Duck Eggs in a similar manner to chickens, and drop meat and feathers when killed. When hatched from their eggs, ducklings would innocently follow the player around, until right clicked and told to stay.

 Geese- These large birds would be found on rivers and lakes, but also in the fields of most biomes. They will flap their wings around and deal tiny bits of damage when attacked. They would also be lured and bred with seeds and bread, and drop their meat and feathers, in addition to laying eggs. Same story as the ducklings with the young geese, except maybe the imprinted geese could do a tiny bit of damage, but less than a swan. 