Keeping Your Mount Alive

[Kyros Pyralis]

So, I've been using mounted combat recently. I don't have nay mounted combat feats, but I got a warhorse and 9 ranks in ride+military saddle. This allows me to move and attack when mounted and usually use my ride skill to gain a cover bonus. As I have become rather hard to hit, my DM has resorted to attacking my mount, almost to the exclusion of me, since at level 10 I can get up to 34 AC and I'm immune to all but BBEG attacks.

What I need to know is how I can help my mount when it's getting swarmed. I will be taking the Mounted Combat feat ASAP to help out its AC bonus, but is there some way to get an AoO or something of the like when my mount is being attacked?

 

[frankthedm]

What I need to know is how I can help my mount when it's getting swarmed.

Unfortunately, you are at the level of play that a mount dedicated character would have ride by attack and be popping foes like lanced boils with spirited charge. And even that type of one trick pony gets shut down by killing the mount from underneath it.

Just dabbling in anything in d20 generally doesn't net great results. Also hordes of foes are a problem for your mount unless you invest in AC boosting gear for your mount. Even a stone horse won't have enough hardness / HP to handle the groups of mid CR heavy hitters.

See if you can buy bigger critters in the campaign if you like riding.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/181764-mounted-combat-just-waste-time-2.html

 

[Kyros Pyralis]

So is there any way to defend your mount while you're on it?

Anything that lets me penalize something for attacking my mount would be good. For our last encounter my mount was almost killed, but I didn't take a single point of damage.

I should mention that I'm a Cleric that has just taken 1 level in Bone Knight and I really want to find a way that makes it so my Skeletal Steed isn't around for one encounter, then gone for a month. I just don't want my class feature to be made completely irrelevant, especially since undead are a lot more fragile than my normal warhorse.

EDIT: while reading the thread you linked to, I noticed that it was very focused on charging. I'm using my mount to mitigate the impact of a 20ft move speed in heavy armor. It's not an offensive mount, it's simply for the sole purpose of riding.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

If you're a cleric, have you considered the Shield Other spell?

And just general buffing the hell out of it. Especially any form of miss chance will help tremendously.

EDIT: Do you use a shield? If you have 6 hit dice or more, you can take the Martial Study feat or buy a novice devoted spirit amulet (only 3000 gp, but you probably are using the amulet slot for wisdom and such, might be a pain to add in) and get the Shield Block maneuver. As an immediate action you can give an adjacent ally a pretty massive AC bonus against an attack. Only once/encounter, but every little bit helps.

 

[Empirate]

Why are you fixated on horses as mounts (undead or living)? Other things make better mounts imo. Nightmares are one of my favorites - not overpowering in CR, easily bound with Lesser Planar Binding/Ally, kickass AC (especially with barding), and you can go astral or ethereal with it.

 

[Kyros Pyralis]

Why are you fixated on horses as mounts (undead or living)? Other things make better mounts imo. Nightmares are one of my favorites - not overpowering in CR, easily bound with Lesser Planar Binding/Ally, kickass AC (especially with barding), and you can go astral or ethereal with it.

Well, the class feature specifically states that it is a Heavy Warhorse or Warpony. Plus, it seems rather over the top having some other random magical beast, especially since the Skeletal Steed will eventually get bonuses like a paladin's mount. On that topic, the entry in the Skeletal Steed ability's text has the line:

"You may call this steed in the same fashion as a paladin whose level equals your paladin level plus your bone knight level, and the steed gains the same special abilities as a paladin’s special mount at the same effective level."

I take this to mean that it is just equal to my Bone Knight level, but I'm wondering if I am in fact wrong and the phrase "effective level" in that text means my ECL. Any ideas?




A Nightmare would be cool, but I'm really not at the point in the game where I can just cast Mordenkainan's Private Walmart and buy one. Planar Ally (only Wizards have Planar Binding) is rather cost-ineffective, as I have to spend thousands of gp each week.

 

[Dross]

Steed will eventually get bonuses like a paladin's mount. On that topic, the entry in the Skeletal Steed ability's text has the line:

"You may call this steed in the same fashion as a paladin whose level equals your paladin level plus your bone knight level, and the steed gains the same special abilities as a paladin’s special mount at the same effective level."

I take this to mean that it is just equal to my Bone Knight level, but I'm wondering if I am in fact wrong and the phrase "effective level" in that text means my ECL. Any ideas?

I would say the bit in bold bit is your effective level as you have said.

Miniatures Handbook has Shieldmate & Improved Shieldmate feats (I must admit that a +1 shield bonus to adjacent allies for each feat does not thrill me).

Get magical barding and most animals/creatures can use at least some magic items. Miss chances and misdirection also helpful (get an mirror image item maybe).

Agree with the statements that mounts can become a liability after a certain level (they can save AoE spells and still die at higher levels, I think that is one reason why paly mounts etc gain power as PCs do). From what you wrote having foes that cannot get you attack the mount is a sensible thing to do, as long as it i not the fiest thing they do).

 

[DumbPaladin]

Are you a caster of some sort? If so, why is your AC so high and your mount's suffering? Horses can have barding -- either real armor, or golden barding (paladin 1 spell for weightless force armor), if your mount is a paladin mount, it can share spells with you, and you could cast either mage armor / greater mage armor or luminous armor / greater luminous armor to increase its AC if you don't want to use actual armor.

 

[orion90000]

Are you a caster of some sort? If so, why is your AC so high and your mount's suffering? Horses can have barding -- either real armor, or golden barding (paladin 1 spell for weightless force armor), if your mount is a paladin mount, it can share spells with you, and you could cast either mage armor / greater mage armor or luminous armor / greater luminous armor to increase its AC if you don't want to use actual armor.

Exactly! Remember barding can also be masterwork and magical. Other protective magical gear can be transfered to your mount too. That extra cloak of resistance can become a saddle blanket of resistance, Rings of protection can in theory enlarge/shrink to fit any wearer... big ring = bracelet, etc.

 

[frankthedm]

Even light barding also can swiftly put a mount over light load.