Mounted Combat: Handle Animal to attack or not?

[TheEvil]

The latest Rules of the Game (RotG) and an dead horse being beaten on one of the Living Greyhawk boards make me wonder what the opinions are on whether a Handle Animal check is needed to direct a war-trained mount to attack or not and whether or not the RotG changed anyones minds.

For myself, by a strict reading of the rules, it seemed pretty undeniable that checks were required to direct the mount. Since Skip didn't mention any DCs for handle animal checks anywhere in an article clarifing mounted combat, it seems pretty clear they don't apply.

 

[jodyjohnson]

In Article 1 he calls out all the relevant rules in the Core books.

He also states that Attacking while Mounted will get covered. Apparently in an upcoming RoG.

I don't see anywhere in the RoG where Skip negates the Handle Animal rules.

Handle Animal would be a move action at DC 10 to direct the mount to perform the 'Attack' trick.

He does reinforce the Ride check at DC 10 to attack in addition to the mount. I'm guessing he'll around to it in an upcoming RoG (I think he has referenced at least 5 in the series).

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

Handle n Ride

I always understood them to be two separate deals, Handle Animal for running Teams and non-mounted animals, and Ride for actual Riding.

Seems a bit overkill to make a character make 2 skill checks in order to have a mount move forward in combat....

 

[shilsen]

I never thought a Handle Animal check was necessary and still don't.

 

[Jdvn1]

Yeah, it's in the PHB. Ride check DC 10, takes no action.

 

[Greylock]

Absolutely not. What next, a Use Rope check if you intend to use reins?

 

[Lord Pendragon]

My initial response was, "well of course you don't need Handle Animal checks. That's what the Ride check is for. To skillfully ride a war-trained mount into war."

Then I started looking through the SRD...

Handle an Animal: This task involves commanding an animal to perform a task or trick that it knows.

Attack (DC 20): The animal attacks apparent enemies. You may point to a particular creature that you wish the animal to
attack, and it will comply if able.

Action: Varies. Handling an animal is a move action...

Fight with Warhorse: If you direct your war-trained mount to attack in battle, you can still make your own attack or attacks normally. This usage is a free action.

That's it. So it seems that if you direct your war-trained mount to attack in battle (Handle Animal check), you must then make the additional Ride check to see if you can still attack as well.

Looking it over, I'd say that a Handle Animal check is indeed required while riding, if you want your mount to attack. The big kicker, IMO, is that it takes a move action to do this. Rangers and Druids can do it as a free action, and a paladin's mount is smart enough that it's not necessary, but mounted fighters lose out a bit. No more Move Actions while also moving, if you want your mount to attack.

 

[kjenks]

I think Ride is all you need if you're on the horse. I think Handle Animal is used when you're commanding animals from a short distance.

But even if you do need Handle Animal (DC 10) to get your mount to attack, you only need to spend a move action in the first round. After that, your mount should attack until your foe is down, requiring no futher action from the rider until it's time to redirect to a new foe.

A fighter-type who's even half-way serious about mounted combat will have five ranks in Handle Animal (for the Ride synergy), so he probably has +3 or +4 on this check.

This really only matters at low levels. At high levels, a standard mount dies pretty fast and it doesn't do enough damage to be worth worrying about.

Remember, Handle Animal doesn't work if your mount has Int 3 or more and therefore understands Common. In that case, you just tell your mount whom to attack.

 

[jodyjohnson]

Odds are Skip covers this in Article 3 next week.

 

[FireLance]

As Lord Pendragon has pointed out, the rules seem to imply that directing an animal to attack (any animal, including a mount) requires Handle Animal, while being able to attack at the same time that your mount is attacking requires Ride. Kind of like how deciphering a scroll needs a Spellcraft check (if you're not using read magic), but actually using it requires a Use Magic Device check (if it's not a scroll you can normally use).

The rules also imply that getting an animal to stop attacking is another trick (Down), so I agree with kjenks that once successfully handled, the animal (or mount) will continue attacking that foe until it is defeated or the animal must flee.

Naturally, a war-trained mount will defend itself (attack any creature that attacks it) without requiring a command. If it knows the Defend trick (as any animal trained for combat riding would), it will also automatically attack any creature that attacks its master (or rider) without requiring a specific command.

I would also allow the DC 10 Ride check to fight with mount to include a general attack command, but the rider cannot single out a specific enemy to attack. In addition, a normal animal will not attack an unnatural creature unless specifically commanded to.