Mounted combat: Do you bother?

[Mouseferatu]

How often does mounted combat come up in your games? Do you ever bother creating characters focused on it? How have you dealt with the high-level issues? (Specifically, if you aren't a paladin or a druid, any mount you have is going to die in the first high-level area effect or breath weapon its exposed to, save or no save.)

This assumes standar warhorses and similar beasts as mounts. Dragons or the like are an entirely different story.

I'm about to start playing a mounted-combat-focused marshal in a campaign, and as much as I like the image, I can't help but wonder if I'm just throwing two feats out the window.

 

[Vrecknidj]

In the game I DM, it rarely comes up, except with one paladin. In one of the two games I play in, it comes up all the time (the two main characters have been cavaliers since the original Unearthed Arcana days--yes, it's a slow-moving, low XP campaign).

In campaigns where there is a lot of combat from the saddle, the associated feats are very nice.

Dave

 

[Klaus]

WotC posted the Wild Cohort feat on their website, effectively giving any character a weaker animal companion that is based off character level. Should beef up your marshall.

In my games it could come up more often if the rules had a chapter or section devoted to it in more detail (instead of spreading it about the Combat chapter) and if there were more support for outdoors play. Heroes of Battle has some scenarios where a mount is a big advantage.

That being said, in my current Eberron game, one of the characters is a Talenta halfling riding a clawfoot wild cohort (she's aiming for Beastmaster, whereupon the Wild Cohort feat will transform into the Nature Bond feat). Another character is a warforged whose player specifically said he wants to be a mounted character (he'll be taking Mounted Combat, Spirited Charge and Ride-by Attack later). So I'll let him save gp and buy a golem horse (heavy warhorse with a modified Effigy template to it) and stow it inside a bag of holding or portable hole (prtable stable? ).

Here's a thought, Ari: throw at WotC the idea of a mounted-combat "Complete" book, like Complete Knight or Complete Rider.

 

[Nomad4life]

Somehow, M.C. hasn’t really played much of a part in any of my roleplaying experiences over the years- D&D or otherwise. Of course, my players spend a lot of time in cities, ruins, dungeons, and other mount-unfriendly locations, so that might have something to do with it.

I would probably be more into mounted combat if “mounted” worked more like a kind of “status” that provided certain bonuses and penalties, rather than actually involving my character sitting on a separate entity that had its own combat statistics. I can’t say why exactly, but those mechanics always struck my as kind of wonky.

Oddly, I’ve never had problems with vehicular combat (Star Wars, Modern, M&M, etc...) Just with riding animals.

 

[Shade]

Other than the party paladin and the occasional NPC villain (usually with a nonstandard mount), not really.

Horses tend to go the way of tindertwigs, rope, and most other mundane equipment as they are quickly trumped by low-level magic. And as you pointed out, they die real easily.

 

[Umbran]

Standard horses and mounted combat are only useful if the combat is taking place out in an open area where the speed and manuverability can be put to good use. If the campaign frequently uses wars or open areas as a backdrop, it can make sense. If you're doing a lot of dungeoneering or city work, mounts are not very useful.

My experience has been mostly with the "mounts not terribly useful" type stuff.

 

[BlueBlackRed]

Twice since 2001.

 

[KB9JMQ]

Well we always jump off the horses to fight so it never comes up
I think no one wants to mess with it so we ignore it.

 

[Ilium]

One of the PCs in my group is an archer with Mounted Combat and Mounted Archery. It hasn't come up a lot, but when it has she has really been able to shine.

One thing that has helped is that I extend the "Ride roll to avoid attack" thing to basically give the mount evasion (use the ride roll instead of the horse's regular Reflex save, for her usually an auto-success unless she rolls a 1). But they are now to a level where even half damage from a fireball will probably kill the horse.

 

[adwyn]

Ask your DM as it can vary a lot.

Right now I am running a group with three players specializing in mounted combat, and it has been great. Centaurs have been the chief opponents and we often use a 20' or 50' per square scale on the battlemat. Ranged weapons, spectacular charges, a lot has changed, but it has been a concerted effort by the group as a whole.