Is mounted combat just a waste of time?

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Tough horse? Dire horse in the MMII and the warmount template if the base creature is not enough.

I'm familiar with the dire horse but it doesn't advance past a certian point. (Well, it does, but its AC doesn't advance, and its Fort save would just skyrocket.) I don't have the book with warmount in it and don't care to buy it, not when Wild Cohort is available for free. (Yes to have to alter it a bit, but it works.)

Nothing's AC just goes up by advancment. That is this rules system. AC does not go up without magic.

True, but I don't want to spend too much money on the horse, on the grounds that the rider is a character and the mount is a pet/tool. A paladin's mount gains AC without spending any money, and same with a Wild Cohort creature, so it seems to me AC can improve without magic

Sink feats in improved natural armour & improved toughness rather than going for attack feats.

Still not enough.

Whats so out there about that? If breeders wanted to make larger dogs for working tasks rather than inbreading Lupus Canis to meet 'breed standards' those puppies could get darn big. If I understand correctly, they were not trying to get Zorba this big….

I've never seen a 400 pound dog in real life, so I figured I should ask if they really exist.

300 to 400lbs sounds not much more than a 3 HD hyena with a Elite scores favoring STR and CON.

Maybe, but it could have more than 3 Hit Dice. I don't see why a rottweiler-type dog can't be a threat to a 3rd-level fighter, or even a 6th-level fighter.

They are vulnerable to area attacks but so are henchmen, hirelings, cohorts, and Sorceror/Wizards/Rogues/Bards.

True, but I dono't use henchmen, hirelings, or cohorts, and the other characters can take care of themselves. (Usually.) You don't have to go rescue them all the time.

A single warhorse at 400gp can save you from potentially 30-40hp of damage which if directed at you could require 5-7 Cure Light Wounds, 2-4 Cure Moderate Wounds, or 2-3 Cure Serious Wounds. They cost between a 300gp CMW potion and a 750gp CSW potion.

Potentially unlimited if it gets you away from a nasty melee opponent. I don't know where you' get the 30-40 hit points from.

ablative hit points

If you're using a horse as soft cover, it boosts your AC without increasing its own risk... so I'm not sure what you mean by this.

 

[Jolly Giant]

Mounted combat has seen some use in my campaigns, but then I don't use dungeon crawls much. Hardly ever, in fact. The PCs have gotten the biggest benefit from their mounted combat feats at higher levels, when they were able to get a flying mount or one that was at least intelligent enough to not freak out if the mage cast Fly on it.

 

[Arrgh! Mark!]

Pretty much depends on campaign.

We had a WoT game once (prophecies of the Dragon) where a fair few bad guys wreaked havoc amongst the PCs for ride-by-attacking, splitting PC's, mounted charges with lances and so on.

Lets just say our PC's tended toward ambush or flight to unridable terrain, or just got on a damned horse.

Admittedly there's only one dungeon in the whole campaign.

The big thing was that the campaign wasn't high levels (ended about level 8 I think) and tended not to involve too many attacks on the horses themselves. (I house ruled Mounted Combat could use an attack of opportunity to avoid any successful attack with a 10+base attack DC.)

 

[Tequila Sunrise]

Has anyone played a Beloved of Valarian? Their unicorns aren't too shabby; if you take the class as soon as possible you end up with a CR 13 mount at 13th character level. Makes the paladin's mount look like a toy pony.

 

[frankthedm]

If you're using a horse as soft cover, it boosts your AC without increasing its own risk... so I'm not sure what you mean by this.

That depends on if the DM uses the striking cover varient.

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

Pretty much everyone so far has focused on the mount as the main issue with Mounted Combat. My experience, based on games that stay below 10th level, is that the GM's understanding of the rules is a bigger impact on how much effective the Mounted Rider is.

Worst case example:
My primary character is a multi-class with a focus on mounted combat and archery. We were going through the Standing Stones Module, IIRC, and the entire group was mounted for the ride out to the village. Ended up in combat with a mounted enemy...
DM basically treated the combat as if it were not mounted.... no consideration for the larger space, no ride checks for anyone to control thier non-battle hardened mounts...nothing.
Afterwards I asked and was told 'well, I am not to hot on the rules so I just hand-waved it'... to which I reponded it would of been nice to know *before* burning all my feats and skill points into an ability that gets 'hand-waved away'...
T'was not too happy

I have been in a number of games since and the lack of understanding the rules still sticks out like a sore thumb.. still think we need a 'Beginners Guide to Riding'

 

[frankthedm]

I have been in a number of games since and the lack of understanding the rules still sticks out like a sore thumb.. still think we need a 'Beginners Guide to Riding'

well, there are some questions that need answering and issues that need resolving.

Charge’s First, you must move to the closest space from which you can attack the opponent. (If this space is occupied or otherwise blocked, you can’t charge.) looks like it interacts with Closest Creature: When it’s important to determine the closest square or creature to a location, if two squares or creatures are equally close, randomly determine which one counts as closest by rolling a die. Some don’t feel this should apply to charging, I feel it is important, since IMHO charging is supposed to be moving as directly towards the foe.

Prior to the 3.5 Errata, was it expected a ride by attacker use the ‘overrun’ option as part of the charge?

Where is the link to the wotc article that suggested riders now charge at the sides of their larger foes rather than AT them?

Does / should ride by attack let you pass through the square of the target?

Does a mount get to attack when the rider does a ride by attack?

If a mount gets to attack when the rider does a ride by attack, can a rider with ride by attack who has a reach weapon, can the rider strike, move 5 feet closer, have the mount strike, then continue the line of the charge?

RIDE-BY ATTACK [GENERAL]
Prerequisites: Ride 1 rank, Mounted Combat.
Benefit: When you are mounted and use the charge action, you may move and attack as if with a standard charge and then move again (continuing the straight line of the charge). Your total movement for the round can’t exceed double your mounted speed. You and your mount do not provoke an attack of opportunity from the opponent that you attack.
Special: A fighter may select Ride-By Attack as one of his fighter bonus feats.

 

[Quartz]

A little while ago in another thread I suggested giving horses levels in character classes, particularly Fighter, though Barbarian (for a horse that's particularly fast or goes berserk in battle) and Rogue (Evasion, Improved Evasion, skills in Move Silently, Spot, etc) also fit.

Consider a Ftr 10 / Rog 4 PC with mounted combat feats mounted on a medium warhorse with 6 levels of Fighter and 4 levels of Rogue. Weapon Focus in Hooves and Bite, Weapon Spec in both, Power Attack, Improved Evasion. After all, the Death Knight he's facing has a Nightmare mount...

It also provides roleplaying opportunity: the young knight (the PC) has to persuade the older one to lend him his legendary horse, "Only a mount the calibre of Glendan can withstand the frightful presence of the Dreadlord."

 

[megamania]

For me to take something like Mounted combat I would need to know that the campaign is going to call for it. The first "D" of Dungeons & Dragons makes that very unlikely.

That said, I am looking to make some foes for my party that will have mounts and I will be exploring those tactics more then.

 

[taliesin15]

has anyone mentioned the spell Phantom Steed in this thread? What a great option for certain types of characters, particularly Bards--plus those things get tougher...obviously as mentioned this all depends on the campaign, and in some parts of my milieu, characters not mounted are going to be at a major disadvantage