Mounted Arkery - I WIN YO... *I*... *WIN*

[anest1s]

Likewise this becomes a moot-point for those with a Familiar/Special Mount, as its increased intelligence not only allows comprehension of far longer/more complex commands, but honestly SHOULD allow it to perceive the impending danger and react accordingly WITHOUT the rider's input.

PCs usually don't like when their mount flees without them wanting it to...

 

[Celebrim]

Only if your mount has a base speed at least 4 times that of any attacker. Otherwise, there are ways to close the distance, and as others have pointed out, your ready action trick doesn't work perfectly. At some point you won't be able to move out of charge distance with a single action, or else you will be in an attackers threat zone and unable to move away without drawing AoO. But generally speaking, you can use your mounts mobility in this manner to make life a pain for a melee attacker.

However, missile attackers will just turret and plink back, usually from behind cover if it is available, which means you'll lose the ranged war.

 

[Summer-Knight925]

1. why is there such horrible spelling on this thread?

and

2. most of this can be house ruled based upon the DM, as DM I'd let you shoot and have your mount move around, especially if its your animal companion, I'd have no problem with it...HOWEVER that also means the animal companion controls your movement, its easier to take over the mind of a wolf than the mind of an elf

 

[Dandu]

Wolf
Will save: +1

Elf
Will save -1, with a +2 bonus vs enchantments

 

[Visigani]

Really the jist of it is to use my plinking drood to make full attack actions every round while using my mount to keep me at a reasonably far away distance.

 

[Jack Simth]

Wolf
Will save: +1

Elf
Will save -1, with a +2 bonus vs enchantments

Do note the Elf you're linking to is a stock Warrior-1 elf, not a PC Druid-X, while the context of this thread is for a PC Druid. It'll be very, very rare for the PC Druid-X's Will save to be lower than that of the animal companion.

 

[Dandu]

I know, I just found it funny.

 

[jefgorbach]

Yes, you are missing something: There's a specific list of tricks (described under the Handle Animal skill), and you're trying to get it to do something not on the list. Additionally, you're doing some strange effects with that readied action: A mount always acts on the rider's turn, but a readied action changes initiative of the critter that readied the effect.

So? RAW states the listed tricks are merely examples of what can be taught with their suggested DC's. Besides IMO retreating/withdrawing from a perceived threat would be considered a defensive reaction per the Defend trick (DC20) which does not require the rider to issue a command.

SRD: Teach an Animal a Trick
You can teach an animal a specific trick with one week of work and a successful Handle Animal check against the indicated DC. An animal with an Intelligence score of 1 can learn a maximum of three tricks, while an animal with an Intelligence score of 2 can learn a maximum of six tricks. Possible tricks (and their associated DCs) include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following.

Defend (DC 20): The animal defends you (or is ready to defend you if no threat is present), even without any command being given. Alternatively, you can command the animal to defend a specific other character.

 

[Greenfield]

I'm pretty sure this is covered someplace in the rules.

First, the limited version of Withdraw is in fact available only when the character is limited to a Standard action only in the round, such as when on a Readied Action. So that part would be okay.

As far as the animal always acting on it's master's turn: I see that as a simplification of Initiative rules. The animal won't attack unless ordered to, or released into battle. One battle begins, however, things like Delay or Hold, or buff spells that change Initiative could reasonable separate the two.

...

I just read over the section in the SRD on mounted combat. It says that you can get only a single melee attack in a round when your mount moves more than 5 feet, because you need to wait for the mount to get you there before you can attack.

Sadly, it doesn't clarify whether that limitation applies to ranged attacks. To many, the fact that it mentions the limit specifically w/regard to melee attacks would suggest that it doesn't apply to ranged attacks.

Still, time is a funny thing. If you and your mount are on the same initiative (the default), and your mount moves in response to enemy action, I'd make you pay the price for firing while in motion. But that's just me. Others may allow it with no penalty, while others may disallow the entire maneuver.

 

[Jack Simth]

So? RAW states the listed tricks are merely examples of what can be taught with their suggested DC's. Besides IMO retreating/withdrawing from a perceived threat would be considered a defensive reaction per the Defend trick (DC20) which does not require the rider to issue a command.

It does! However, you're getting into territory where things are no longer explicit, which is where you'll need to ask your DM. And you'll get many, many different answers from the DM on what is and isn't permitted. It might fall under Defend... but it might not. It might be a DC 20 trick, it might not. It might be two tricks (similar to the second trick needed to convince a beast to attack unnatural critters, such as undead).

But things will get hairy when you start actually looking into it.

A mount always acts on it's rider's initiative. A readied action is used to act out of initiative, and changes your initiative. What happens when the animal's readied action is triggered? Does it get to ready an action next round on your turn anyway? Is it suddenly on a different initiative from you, and thus can't move on your turn when you want it to do so? How does the animal's movement affect your need for concentration checks for spellcasting while riding? How does the animal's movement affect the to-hit penalty that comes with shooting from the back of a moving animal?

In trying to get the beast to ready an action, you're going to trigger a rather sticky morass of rules follow-ups. Much, much better to say "don't do that" from a DM's perspective.