Is mounted combat just a waste of time?

[Primitive Screwhead]

FranktheDM, thats exactly what I mean. The rules have been rewritten and, because Mounted Combat & Dragons isn't the name of the game, nobody has taken the time to go back over and rewrite the rules with consistancy and clarity in mind.

If I had the time and motivation {no gaming group right now...the last two dissolved unexpectantly} I would give it a try.... but given my circusmstances I think I will relgate myself to offering to proof-read someone-else's attempt

Quartz, one option I use is allowing Leadership's Cohort to be the mount, so it can gain XP.

 

[Darklone]

I have recently become interested in mounts and have discovered quite a bit of information that might help a few things.
...
so take a young magebred hiipgriff ....

Thanks, I love that stuff.

 

[RangerWickett]

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'

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/arch/rg

Scroll down to the January 25, 2005 article. Very comprehensive.

Playing in Red Hand of Doom has been a crash course on peripheral D&D rules. Our third major combat involved four PCs on horses against a bunch of bad guys, including three goblins on worgs. Much ducking and weaving occured. We also questioned why I, mounted on my horse and chasing after a goblin worg-rider, was able to take attacks of opportunity when the goblin tried to move away each round. I had a spiked gauntlet, so apparently I leaned over my horse's neck and swung at the worg's.

Then we had to learn the rules for flight and maneuverability thanks to dragons and eventual winged mounts. Then there was the joy and stupidity of fighting creatures underwater, when those creatures have spring attack. Now we're having fun with multiple improved grapples by a horde of undead who have reach.

Rules is complicated, and often silly. But we have fun. And I love my mount. If my current ranger dies, I'm going to have to come back as a paladin.

 

[frankthedm]

The first "D" of Dungeons & Dragons makes that very unlikely.

The second "D" of Dungeons & Dragons can make most mounts very short lived. Whether because they are hungry, whould rather eat a seeminly non sentient over sentient or because recognize the danger a mounted charge poses, dragons have their reasons to slag a mount.

 

[Beckett]

Whether Mounted Combat is worth the feats depends on the game.

My Age of Worms game has seen a lot of dungeons, so the paladin has found Charging Smite (from PHB2) to be preferable to getting a mount. My Savage Tides game has also seen a lot of underground, and they've been stuck on a ship for three months, so again not much call for a horse. Soon, however, they'll have opportunities if anyone had a mount.

On the other hand, the Eberron game I play in has been a lot of wilderness adventuring. My Bone Knight is the main fighter of the group. I can take the most damage and deal out the most melee damage, but I'm in full plate. My skeletal steed gives me movement and manueverablity I could only dream of. The +1 to hit medium targets on foot is nice, and every once in a while I get to open with a lance charge, which gets things off to a good start.

 

[GwydapLlew]

Playing in Red Hand of Doom has been a crash course on peripheral D&D rules.

QFT. I'm running RHoD myself, and one of the things I like about it is how it brings all the secondary rules to the forefront. If the PCs don't realize that they need to be fast early on, the later sections get that much more difficult. Horses, giant birds, it's all good.

 

[Storyteller01]

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."

Masters of Arms has the Alpha Beast PrC. It's described as a fighter class for animals. I remember that it gets best BaB, an additional HD, and abilities per level. I don't remember how many of those abilities could be used with hooves though. Might be worth looking into.

 

[Stalker0]

To me mounted combat works like this:

1) At low levels its about the beef. A warhorse actually has a nice bucket of hitpoints for low level. You make your full attack, your horse makes some attacks, and kick butt.

2) At higher levels, its about the mobility. Your horse's AC is in the toilet, but with mounted combat that changes drastically. The key is to not get hit more than once per round. Use your horse's superior speed and ride by attack to charge past enemies. Force them to charge you, don't allow them a full attack. And of course with spirited charge, one hit off a horse is as good as 3 attacks not mounted in many cases.

The key then now is to bump your horses saves and hitpoints to function against magic.

 

[Drowbane]

Druid on animal companion with Mounted Combat feats. Can buff themself up and their animal at the same time. Plus they can reduce it to fit in dungeons with spells.

Had a druid on a bison and dire boar who did this for the whole campaign.

I have a Fey (loresong faen-spryte) Druid (w/spirited charge) who rides an eagle (speed gets up to... 110??... after spells) on deck in case my current PC bites it (again).

 

[sniffles]

I have a PC with Mounted Combat, and while I don't get to use it as often as I might like, when I do get to ride I'm glad I've got it.

I don't think any feat is wasted if it gives you something you think is appropriate for your character's background.