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Message: <blockquote data-quote="discosoc" data-source="post: 6920224" data-attributes="member: 6801554">1.Fighting on horseback seems like the very definition of "risky maneuvers that do not guarantee success."I try and keep it simple.  If it's a normal horse, you have to make an Animal Handling check (DC kind of depends on the situation, but I'd start at 15) for every action you make.  Failure means you lose the action.  Normal horses were simply not trained to stay calm in chaotic situations like combat, so you're fighting to keep them from bolting away a few dozen yards.Now warhorses are specifically trained for that, so I'd be a bit more lenient there.  Combat doesn't freak them out and I'd say just being proficient in the Animal Handling skill is good enough to act normally.  If you aren't proficient, then you have to roll against an DC 10 to represent the disconnect between a trained horse being poorly directed by an untrained rider.2.You pretty much have this part correct.  The MM actions are for when the mount is acting solo.3.I'd say most mounts that aren't trained for combat, such as riding horses, are going to flee when fighting breaks out.  If you've ever been around horses, you'll notice that this doesn't mean they run away like some turned undead -- they just kind of bolt away a few dozen yards and wait for the chaos to calm down.  They may not be trained for combat, but they aren't wild horses looking to go feral at a moment's notice either.  What this does is gives value to a "war horse" in that it's capable of being there with you in combat (either as a mount or by attacking solo after you dismount).4.Any properly trained animal should be capable of fighting independently (although the ranger beast-master pet is a broken exception).  Now, that doesn't mean the mount will follow your direction; it would instead be controlled by the GM unless he just didn't care.  I'd personally tie in the effectiveness of your war horse in combat with what kinds of tricks or training you've given it, beyond the normal "defend yourself and don't run away."  For example train the war horse to protect the mage when you dismount in combat.  Or train it to attack your target if it can.  Or train it to stay 10 feet away from you unless you whistle, prompting it to return for you to mount it or retrieve an item or something.  Those kinds of things.</blockquote>

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