Dodge feat while mounted

[pbd]

Recently I ran into a situation where my charcter was mounted and fighting a Troll, which was beating him senseless. The character, a fighter, has the dodge feat. The dm and I disagreed on whether I could use it mounted (can you guess who took what stance?). There is nothing in the rules either way. Does anyone know/have an opinion on this? I would also be interested to hear any thoughts on the mobility and spring attack feats mounted, although I am more inclined to agree that those are not useable mounted. Thanks for any advice.

 

[RigaMortus]

I would agree that you SHOULD be allowed the +1 Dodge bonus. There are no rules disallowing this. Plus, if you didn't get the +1 Dodge bonus, it stands to reason that you probably shouldn't be allowed your Dex modifier to your AC either. What would the DM's reasoning be for allowing your Dex modifier to AC, but not the Dodge bonus to AC?

From the SRD:

If you can’t react to a blow, you can’t use your Dexterity bonus to AC.

and

Dodge Bonuses: Some other AC bonuses represent actively avoiding blows. These bonuses are called dodge bonuses. Any situation that denies you your Dexterity bonus also denies you dodge bonuses. (Wearing armor, however, does not limit these bonuses the way it limits a Dexterity bonus to AC.) Unlike most sorts of bonuses, dodge bonuses stack with each other.

 

[Malar's Cow]

I ran into this myself. DM at the time ruled that I could use the dodge bonus only if I rolled a succesful Handle Animal check on a DC 15, and the mount had to be a war horse. Failure meant that my flat footed AC was used.

 

[the Jester]

I don't recall seeing any support in the rules for your dm's stance, and I'm a mean dm myself who loves to mess with the pcs' abilities and stuff at every opportunity.

So if it was in there, I'd'a found it.

 

[Bloodstone Press]

I would agree that you SHOULD be allowed the +1 Dodge bonus. There are no rules disallowing this. Plus, if you didn't get the +1 Dodge bonus, it stands to reason that you probably shouldn't be allowed your Dex modifier to your AC either. What would the DM's reasoning be for allowing your Dex modifier to AC, but not the Dodge bonus to AC?

I agree.

you lose your dodge bonus when you are held, helpless, flat-footed or otherwise denied your Dex bonus. Not while you are mounted. While mounted, you still get your Dex and any other dodge bonus you have.

 

[The Souljourner]

Yeah, you definitely shouldn't lose your dex bonus or dodge bonuses to AC while mounted. You're still able to move, after all. Heck, you get dodge bonuses to ac while *entangled* so you should certainly get them while mounted. You lose dex while climbing, but think about the difference between hanging on for dear life with both hands and feet versus a rider who doesn't even need to use his arms at all, and can bob and weave in the saddle.

Both logic and the rules agree - you get your dex and dodge bonuses to AC while mounted.

-The Souljourner

 

[Hypersmurf]

The one that annoyed me was the DM who insisted I couldn't use Evasion because I was on a horse.

-Hyp.

 

[Vlos]

As MC stated I would probably rule either that you need to make a successful Handle Animal check(10 or 15) or if you have Mounted Combat feat allow that with no check.

 

[Darklone]

The one that annoyed me was the DM who insisted I couldn't use Evasion because I was on a horse.

-Hyp.

I don't like DMs who rule such things.

 

[pbd]

Thanks for the support

Thanks for all the help. I bet you all made the case strong enough to convince my DM (he is pretty good actually).

If anyone is interested in checking out our campaign a log is posted at candlekeep.com and the campaign is called "Shards of Bloodstone".