D&D 5E How Do You Handle Mounted Combat in Tight Spaces?

[shamss01]

Hey everyone!

I’ve got a question about mounted combat in D&D 5e. One of my players is a Cavalier Fighter who loves fighting on horseback, but we recently had a dungeon crawl where the hallways were too narrow for his mount to maneuver. He was bummed about not being able to use his mounted features.

How do you handle mounted combat in tighter or more confined areas like dungeons, caves, or city streets? Can smaller mounts like ponies or even unusual ones like giant spiders to navigate these spaces? Or do you devise other ways to keep mounted players involved when they can’t use their steeds?

I would love to hear your creative solutions or house rules to keep mounted combatants engaged without breaking immersion.

Thanks for your insights!

 

[Tonguez]

My gnome has a giant hamster which I can ride underground but which I usually dont fight on

There are underdark creatures like giant spiders, lizards and even centipedes which are used as underground mounts so while I wouldnt allow a large mount like a horse, something medium sized or thematic could be ridden in a 10x10 hall, but any riding checks are done at Disadvantage due to confined space.

 

[billd91]

If a player picks a character option that’s not suitable for all adventures or adventure sites, I make sure to let them know when they take that option. They should know that their choices may not be optimal in all possible adventuring sites.
Then, I make sure there are opportunities to involve their choices in other situations. For example, I ran a classic modules campaign in 3e. We were playing through the Scourge of the Slavelords adventures where there isn’t a lot of room for mounted combat in the various slaver fortresses. One player, who loves riding, made a fighter with mounted combat feats. So, I found ways to incorporate her preferences by holding a tournament in Ulek, a place the PCs managed to lead a bunch of slave refugees they had rescued. I also gave her a stone horse to use for some of the later Against the Giant modules where there was room to ride. She couldn’t use her mounted specialty everywhere without contriving some really silly stuff, but we made sure the option was open where it made sense.

One notable way of handling these things, if you want to make mounted combat more dungeon-friendly, is to encourage them to pick appropriate characters and mounts - small riders, medium mounts like halflings on dogs, goblins on wolves. Or for a lot of underdark campaigns, Drow or deep gnomes on lizards.

 

[AnotherGuy]

I'd suggest an item or creature which allows the rider + mount to go incorporeal, thus providing the ability to maneuver easier and attack.
You could build limitations or drawbacks if that ability is game-breaking for other aspects of the story.

 

[aco175]

I tend to consider the horse as squeezing and it limits the rider. Most of my campaigns do not have riders other than to get there and dismount. I kind of want better rules, but I have not found them.

 

[Stormonu]

Another thing to consider is that European-style horses were smaller than the Arabians and Mustangs we're normally used to. Such as Przewalski's horse. With that style of horse a typical 10 ft wide, 10 ft tall dungeon could accommodate them, (about 5 ft. tall, plus another 3-4 feet for the rider's upper body) though the rider might want to slightly duck while the horse is trotting or avoid overhead swings. Also, if the horse is shoed, it's going to make quite a racket on stone, and if it isn't it might split a hoof on stone when moving at a swift pace.

Overall, using standard mounts indoors isn't going to be a great option in the end. As others have pointed out, unusual mounts and/or smaller riders would be better. The better option for the cavalier-type is to open up overland adventures and minimize dungeon crawling.

In the end, checking and working with the DM is the best bet and work out this sort of stuff before the game starts.

 

[GMMichael]

A 5-foot wide hallway is wide enough for the orc barbarian to swing his bardiche. Why can't the cavalier joust?

If that logic doesn't work for you, you might want to re-explain the level of realism you're trying to portray in the game. And remind the cavalier that there's no requirement to leave the great outdoors to go on a dungeon crawl. Some of the most memorable rides are solo. Across the fields of green. Oh, the serenity . . .

 

[Shiroiken]

I'm old school, so when I design dungeons, most hallways are 10ft wide and most rooms are at least 20x30. Think of it this way: if the dungeon is big enough to support large creatures living inside of it, which is a common thing in D&D, then it should be big enough to support a mounted character. The biggest issue should be having to squeeze through doorways, taking an extra space of movement.

Depending on the party composition, a mounted character might make for an excellent tank. My group tends to be light on front line characters, with usually only 1-2 in a 5 person party. If the mounted character is the only front line character, they can block off a lot of enemies for the party.

 

[Tonguez]

I'm old school, so when I design dungeons, most hallways are 10ft wide and most rooms are at least 20x30. Think of it this way: if the dungeon is big enough to support large creatures living inside of it, which is a common thing in D&D, then it should be big enough to support a mounted character. The biggest issue should be having to squeeze through doorways, taking an extra space of movement.

Depending on the party composition, a mounted character might make for an excellent tank. My group tends to be light on front line characters, with usually only 1-2 in a 5 person party. If the mounted character is the only front line character, they can block off a lot of enemies for the party.

the problem with mounted tanks is squishy mounts - unless you've got a mechanism to level the mount or if youre using monster mounts anyway

 

[Zardnaar]

A 5-foot wide hallway is wide enough for the orc barbarian to swing his bardiche. Why can't the cavalier joust?

If that logic doesn't work for you, you might want to re-explain the level of realism you're trying to portray in the game. And remind the cavalier that there's no requirement to leave the great outdoors to go on a dungeon crawl. Some of the most memorable rides are solo. Across the fields of green. Oh, the serenity . . .

Orcs medium size horse is large.