D&D 5E Attacking with a warhorse

[Klaus]

He doesn't have an option, he MUST let his mount act independently. The Find Steed gives them a 6 Int if it was lower, and under mounted combat it says that Intelligent mounts always act independantly.

Now, it also says they work together seamlessly and can speak telepathically, so I assume that most of the time it will be doing what you want it to do.

That's what I said:

As an intelligent creature, a paladin's mount always acts independently, and it gets a full set of actions.

A paladin's warhorse is like an extremely loyal NPC. Much like a druid's ally gained through Animal Friendship.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

A paladin's warhorse is like an extremely loyal NPC. Much like a druid's ally gained through Animal Friendship.

And the best thing about Find Steed is that Bards, Sorcerers, and Wizards can get one too! Eventually, via Wish.

I think you're overestimating Animal Friendship though. All it does is charm them: prevent them from attacking you and give you advantage on Charisma checks for the duration. Find Steed goes way beyond that. "Serves you as a mount, both in combat and out", "instinctive beyond", unusually loyal, etc.

 

[El Mahdi]

Two modes of attack for the horse seem reasonable, rear and strike with the front hooves, and trample.

Real-world there's also kicking with the rear legs and biting. Though not listed under War Horse attacks in the MM, they are listed in my games.

Kicking with the rear legs can and do kill.

Horse bites are no laughing matter either.

Just google horse bites and horse bite wounds. I recommend not doing this near dinner time...

 

[Klaus]

And the best thing about Find Steed is that Bards, Sorcerers, and Wizards can get one too! Eventually, via Wish.

I think you're overestimating Animal Friendship though. All it does is charm them: prevent them from attacking you and give you advantage on Charisma checks for the duration. Find Steed goes way beyond that. "Serves you as a mount, both in combat and out", "instinctive beyond", unusually loyal, etc.

Sure, Find Steed is all about calling an awesome mount. But between Animal Friendship and Speak With Animals, a druid (or nature cleric) can "hire" and train a mount (by speaking to it). But that goes beyond mere class abilities, though, and enters the interaction pillar of the game.

 

[Saeviomagy]

I'd house rule it this way. A warhorse is trained for mounted combat, but most PC's aren't. Trained mounts respond to signals and an untrained PC doesn't know the necessary signals and riding skills to direct it effectively.

If the PC has a warhorse (or other mount likely to know how to take part in combat) they can either Attack or control the mount during their turn as per the rules in the PHB.

If the PC has a warhorse AND the Mounted Combatant feat, they can use a bonus action to direct the warhorse to attack once per turn (2d6+4)

Yes, it'll be quite powerful, but keep in mind that;

a) The PC burned a feat for this, letting them do something cool is just going to increase their fun, and fun is the end goal of every session.

b) Realistically, trained warhorses DID dramatically increase the combat effectiveness of trained riders; this is why mounted combat was so important a military skill for so long.

c)In the average campaign, the PC will get VERY few chances to use this feat. They will get to be the MVP of less than a handful of combats at best. It will allow your Fighter to double his damage with a bonus action once every blue moon, whereas your Rogue gets to do that every time he gets a sneak attack. Let them have it, it won't break anything.

First - the PHB doesn't say you can either attack or control your mount: controlling your mount is free and takes no action.

Second - allowing the mounted combat feat to allow a controlled attack does make sense.