D&D 5E When a Paladin is Mounted

[Chaosmancer]

So, a player asked me a question recently I was unprepared for, and some quick Googling didn't provide me with an official answer.

For some context, we use a battle grid with hexes fairly regularly.

When a paladin is mounted on a large creature (warhorse, elk, who really cares), where does their Aura originate from?


As I understand mounted combat, you are occupying the space of your mount, and for a lot of basic stuff with a large mount, you are considered to just be in that large area somewhere. However, extending the paladin's aura while ok in the short term, might lead to problems if the paladin is mounted on huge creature, such as a dragon or something.

However, just picking a hex could lead to the paladin's mount taking up more of the aura than strictly necessary and weakening the aura by allowing fewer opportunities for other players to benefit.


So, is there an official answer? And whether or not there is an official answer of RAW, how do most people rule on this and does that rule stay the same if the paladin got a mount that would take up the entire space of their aura, like a dragon.

 

[jmartkdr]

Don't know about official, but we always allowed the aura to just extend from the mount. Easier, and not enough of a boost to worry about. Say it's because the mount itself is also holy if you want a reason for it.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Gotta say, that thread title is somewhat...ambiguous.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Don't know about official, but we always allowed the aura to just extend from the mount. Easier, and not enough of a boost to worry about. Say it's because the mount itself is also holy if you want a reason for it.

Not just holy, but a manifestation of the Paladin’s favor in the eyes of his god.

 

[Harzel]

Gotta say, that thread title is somewhat...ambiguous.

Glad I'm not the only one who thought so.

 

[Oofta]

Don't know about official, but we always allowed the aura to just extend from the mount. Easier, and not enough of a boost to worry about. Say it's because the mount itself is also holy if you want a reason for it.

I do the same. It's easier and paladins can already share spells so it's not a big stretch.

I think the official answer would probably be that you just pick one square as the source.

 

[TwoSix]

Gotta say, that thread title is somewhat...ambiguous.

Just don't tell [MENTION=6799753]lowkey13[/MENTION]...he'll just see it as a plot to make more paladins.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Gotta say, that thread title is somewhat...ambiguous.

Yeah, I noticed, but I figured it might draw attention so I left it alone.

If people ask for it to be changed or deleted I have no problem with it, this is a thread destined to die quickly I imagine

 

[Chaosmancer]

I do the same. It's easier and paladins can already share spells so it's not a big stretch.

I think the official answer would probably be that you just pick one square as the source.

I figured that was probably the official rule as well, but I admit to not being a Sage Advice expert so there could be something surprising

 

[Harzel]

As to the OP issue, for me I think it would depend on the tone of the campaign. If I were running something epic-ish, or we were tending toward don't-care-about-wacky-cheesy-as-long-as-it's-cool, I'd let the aura extend from the mount. Otherwise, the rules clearly are stated in terms of distance from the paladin, and the mounted combat rules make no exception, so if others can't get close enough to take advantage of your aura, well, choices have consequences.

Crawford has weighed in on this (in his usual somewhat oblique fashion).

https://www.sageadvice.eu/2018/01/1...ere-do-your-attacks-auras-etc-originate-from/