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Message: <blockquote data-quote="RangerWickett" data-source="post: 3066970" data-attributes="member: 63">Mild spoilers for Red Hand of Doom: My ranger/beastmaster just got a dire eagle (from Races of Stone) animal companion. Seeing as there are flying foes in this module, I'd like your best tips and wisdom regarding fighting in the air.I don't have the stats fully in front of me, but with the buffing from being an animal companion, my eagle isHP 53AC 23 (will be better once I can get some chain shirt barding; just leather now)Attacks +9/+9/+4 (d8+5/d8+5/d8+2)Speed 60 (good), or 10 ft. on landFeats: Flyby Attack, Improved Flight (improves maneuverability), one otherI'm a mounted archer, and I've already been doing pretty well with horse archery, but upgrading to a flying mount is nifty-keen. I've got one feat left, and I'm trying to decide what to take. Improved Flyby Attack is like spring attack in the air, but the eagle has reach, and I think the only other flying critters with reach would be dragons, which I would not be able to hit effectively with the eagle's attack bonus. I might take Multiattack, but I kinda want to use hit and run tactics (and also, I don't know if my eagle would provide cover against a foe it was attacking if I wanted to shoot at the thing).I'm slower than dragons but much more maneuverable, and my mount has evasion, so I should be good to fight for a bit in open terrain. I'm a little worried about having to go into any sort of dungeon, but the eagle can hover, so theoretically it could work to just float in place if there was sufficient space.My teammates also have flying mounts, though not quite as strong. We're a group of seven, and they all have giant owl mounts. How high should we fly? Should we stick close to the ground so falling isn't a huge threat, or should we stay really high so if we fall there's a chance someone can catch up and catch the falling person? What kind of formations are good? What actually worked in real military aerial combat?I expect to fight a few more dragons, and I want us to be effective as a team. Maybe I could convince the group to start next session with a wargame, practicing combat with nonlethal damage. I imagine tactical combat is going to get a lot more complicated with all this maneuvering and altitude and such. Already in the campaign we all had to learn the rules for mounted combat, and recently we learned the (stupid, irrational) rules for firing into water and the (relatively logical) rules for underwater combat. I foresee a bit of a learning curve ahead of us.</blockquote>

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