Mounted Paragon Paths & Mounted Feats

[Khaalis]

With the lack of any love for Mounted archetypes, I thought I would try to put a few mounted ideas together since mounted cultures have a number of prominent places in various worlds.

Below are 2 Paragon Paths, 4 Feats and 1 new Weapon.



CAVALIER
“And how would you beat him?
With a stick. While he slept. But on a horse, with a weapon? That man is unbeatable.”

Prerequisites: Fighter or Paladin class, Mounted Combat

The cavalier is the quintessential knight I shining armor; the ultimate mounted warrior. The charge of the cavalier is amongst the most devastating weapons known. Cavaliers seek to bring victory and honor to their lord, order or cause. Off the battlefield, they are expected to be gentlemanly, a representative of the cause they are sworn to as cavaliers are most often either sworn to sovereign lord, or a member of a knightly order in the service of a deity or some other cause. Because of their intense training and responsibilities, a cavalier is an expert in horsemanship and mounted combat, being deadly on horseback, especially when charging the enemy. Their skills with horses and riding allow them to bring out the full potential of their mount in combat.

CAVALIER PATH FEATURES
Cavalier’s Reaction (11th level): When you or your mount are the target of an attack, as an immediate interrupt, you can redirect the target of the attack, switching the target from your mount to yourself or vice versa. In addition, whenever you spend an action point to take an extra action, you or your mount also gain a +4 bonus to all defenses until the start of your next turn.

Skilled Charger (11th level): You gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls with melee weapons when you are mounted. Additionally, when you charge while mounted and make a melee basic attack, you and your mount gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls instead of the normal +1.

Unified Attack (16th level): When you make a melee attack while mounted, your mount may make a melee basic attack as a free action against the same target.


CAVALIER PATH EXPLOITS

Rideby Attack -- Cavalier Attack 11
You ride by your foe, attacking swiftly and withdrawing from their reach before they can react.
Encounter ✦ Martial, Weapon
Standard Action -- Melee weapon
Special: You move up to your mount’s speed, making a melee attack at any point in the movement. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks.
Target: One creature
Attack: Strength +2 vs. AC
---Weapon: If you are wielding a lance, you gain a bonus to the attack roll equal to your Dexterity modifier.
Hit: 2[W] + Strength modifier damage per attack.
--Weapon: if you are wielding a lance, you gain a bonus to the damage roll equal to your Dexterity modifier.


Steady Mount -- Cavalier Utility 12
You can aid your mount to keep its footing.
Encounter ✦ Martial
Immediate Interrupt -- Personal
Requirement: You must be mounted.
Trigger: Your mount is attack by an effect that forces it to move and/or knocks it prone.
Effect: Reduce any forced movement effect by 1 square. If an attack would knock your mount prone, it can roll an immediate saving throw to prevent it from falling prone.


Trampling Charge -- Cavalier Attack 20
You charge through your foes, trample them in a devastating attack.
Daily ✦ Martial, Weapon
Standard Action -- Melee weapon
Special: You must use the charge action.
Target: One creature
Attack: Strength vs. AC
Hit: 2[W] + Strength modifier damage. Make a trample attack against the same target.
---Trample Attack: Mount’s Basic Attack +2 vs. AC
---Hit: Mount’s Basic Attack damage and the target is knocked prone.
---Effect: You can shift 5 squares and make a secondary attack.
------Secondary Target: One creature other than the primary target
------Secondary Attack: Strength vs. AC
------Hit: 1[W] + Strength modifier damage. Make a trample attack against the same target.
------Trample Attack: Mount’s Basic Attack +1 vs. AC
------Hit: Mount’s Basic Attack damage and the target is knocked prone.
------Effect: You can shift 5 squares and make a tertiary attack.
---------Tertiary Target: One creature other than the primary and secondary targets
---------Tertiary Attack: Strength vs. AC
---------Hit: 1[W] + Strength modifier damage against the same target.
---------Trample Attack: Mount’s Basic Attack vs. AC
---------Hit: Mount’s Basic Attack damage and the target is knocked prone.




OUTRIDER
“We must take action to protect ourselves from the darkness.”

Prerequisites: Ranger class, Archer fighting style

Darkness encroaches upon civilization and only vigilant awareness safeguard the light. The outriders are elite champions whose task it is to warn and defend their people of imminent danger. Outriders ranged vast territories on their mounts and are scouts and mounted archers of the finest order.


OUTRIDER PATH FEATURES
Outrider’s Reaction (11th level): When you or your mount are the target of an attack, as an immediate interrupt, you can redirect the target of the attack, switching the target from your mount to yourself or vice versa. In addition, whenever you spend an action point to take an extra action, you or your mount also gain a +4 bonus to all defenses until the start of your next turn.

Mounted Archer (11th level): You gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls with ranged weapons when you are mounted. Additionally, when you charge while mounted you may make a ranged basic attack instead of a melee basic attack.

Firing from on High (16th level): When you make a ranged attack while mounted, you do not provoke opportunity attacks.

OUTRIDER PATH EXPLOITS

Shot on the Run -- Outrider Attack 11
You ride by your foe, firing swiftly and withdrawing from their reach before they can react.
Encounter ✦ Martial, Weapon
Standard Action -- Ranged weapon
Special: You move up to your mount’s speed, making a ranged attack at any point in the movement. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks.
Target: One creature
Attack: Dexterity +2 vs. AC
Hit: 3[W] + Dexterity modifier damage.


Expeditious Mount -- Outrider Utility 12
You can spur your mount to great feats of speed.
Encounter ✦ Martial
Minor Action -- Personal
Requirement: You must be mounted.
Effect: Until the end of your next turn, your mount’s speed increases by 5, and when your mount shifts, it can shift 1 additional square.


Outrider’s Charging Marks -- Outrider Attack 20
You charge through your foes, firing arrows and marking targets as foes for your allies.
Daily ✦ Martial, Weapon
Standard Action -- Ranged weapon
Special: You move up to your mount’s speed, making a ranged attack at any point in the movement. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks.
Target: One creature
Attack: Dexterity vs. AC
Hit: 3[W] + Dexterity modifier damage.
Effect: The target is marked until the end of the encounter. Make a secondary attack.
---Secondary Target: One creature other than the primary target
---Secondary Attack: Dexterity vs. AC
---Hit: 2[W] + Dexterity modifier damage.
---Effect: The target is marked until the end of the encounter.




HEROIC FEATS

BOUND INTO THE SADDLE
--Prerequisite: Dex 13, Mounted combat
--Benefit: Mounting becomes a move action (not standard).

LEAP FROM THE SADDLE
--Prerequisite: Dex 13, Mounted combat
--Benefit: Dismount becomes a move action (not standard).

MOUNTED DEFENSE
--Prerequisite: Dex 13, Mounted combat
--Benefit: While you are mounted, you gain a +1 to all defenses.

DEADLY CHARGE
--Prerequisite: Mounted combat
--Benefit: When you charge while mounted, you gain a +5 bonus to the damage rolls of your melee basic attack.



SUPERIOR MELEE WEAPONS
One-Handed
Lance +2 / 1d12 / --- / 15gp / 15 lb. / Polearm, Spear / Reach



Thoughts, comments?

 

[Amphimir Míriel]

Rideby Attack -- Cavalier Attack 11
You ride by your foe, attacking swiftly and withdrawing from their reach before they can react.
Encounter ✦ Martial, Weapon
Standard Action -- Melee weapon
Special: You move up to your mount’s speed, making a melee attack at any point in the movement. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks.
Target: One creature
Attack: Strength +2 vs. AC
---Weapon: If you are wielding a lance, you gain a bonus to the attack roll equal to your Dexterity modifier.
Hit: 2[W] + Strength modifier damage per attack.
--Weapon: if you are wielding a lance, you gain a bonus to the damage roll equal to your Dexterity modifier.

Minor Quibble: I think it should say "This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks from the target."

Otherwise, it looks good

I think the reason why mounted combat lost emphasis in 4e is because there's a limited number of situations where a mount is useful in combat (mainly outdoors encounters with not too much hindering terrain)...
Of course, in open warfare, a properly trained warmount is a must, but adventurers are not very good when it comes to war.

 

[dimonic]

Improved Mounted Combat

Nice class. I would like to add a Mounted Combat feat that I think should be usable by all:

Improved Mounted Combat
Prerequisite: Mounted Combat
Benefit: You can use a Minor Action to grant your mount a Move Action, and a Move Action to grant your mount an Attack Action.
Special: This feat cannot grant more than one attack, or move action to your mount.
Normal: between you and your mount you can only spend one attack, one move and one minor action.

This would allow something like mount's Move (rider's minor), rider's Attack, mount's Attack using the rider's move action to cause the mount to attack. I am not sure of the wording - but what I mean in essence, is that you would simply use the rider's actions, and convert them as desired.

 

[Fredrik Svanberg]

What a great class! Don't forget to add it to the wiki now.

 

[Khaalis]

What a great class! Don't forget to add it to the wiki now.

Have we come up with any formatting standards, etc. yet?

 

[Fredrik Svanberg]

Not really. At least not for classes. I've made a wiki template for powers though. You'll find a link to it under the 4E powers section.

 

[redrover]

Looks like some good starting points here. Mounted combat is a challenge because it needs more rule support than feats alone can provide.

4e seems generally OK with mounted melee, but may come up short on mounted skirmishers.

Rather than comment directly on your material at this time, I’ll contribute some conversions of old house rules, notably Mounted Archery, some odd mount-related feats, and some notes on training that put mount war-training into context.

NOTES ON MOUNTED ARCHERY
The broad effect of putting an archer on a horse is that you lose both range and accuracy.

The tactical effect of this is to create envelopes at certain ranges where foot bowmen can dominate horse bowmen. In 4e terms, there is a zone in which foot archers will be at normal range and horse archers will be at long range.

In this zone, the horse bowmen are at a disadvantage until they can close to their own effective range. Savvy players will exploit the zone. Personally, I like the tactical effect of varied performance envelopes. This forms the basis of the Mounted Archery feat that appears later.
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Here is a short list of my mounted combat house rules, adapted to 4e:

Trained Rider: For the purposes of combat, a rider is trained if he has any of the following feats: Mounted Combat, Mounted Archery, Bareback Riding.

Untrained Mounts in Combat: A mount without war training will not attack while being ridden. Further, when wounded, or when attacked in melee by a larger creature, the mount will, at the beginning of its next turn, save (vs. fear) or flee. You can control a panicked mount and move as you wish by using a standard action to control the mount. If you try to control the mount, but are an untrained rider, you must immediately save or be dismounted.

Involuntary Cavalry Movement: The mount-and-rider team cannot be physically pushed, pulled, or slid by a creature smaller than the mount. Effects that don't rely on physical force operate normally.

Shooting from a Moving Mount: When you fire from a mount, you must immediately declare whether or not you are moving in your turn. A missile fired or thrown from a moving mount by a rider without the Mounted Archery feat is effective to only half its range and has a -1 attack penalty.

Cavalry Combat Advantage: With two exceptions, a trained, mounted rider has combat advantage in melee against opponents smaller than the mount (a rider and mount count as a single creature here). You get no combat advantage against an opponent armed with a reach weapon. You get no combat advantage against Tiny or swarm creatures.

Critical Hits on Riders and Mounts: If either the mount or rider is untrained, a critical hit on either forces the rider to make a successful save or be dismounted. If both are trained, the rider takes a critical hit, and the rider is bloodied, then the rider checks for dismounting. A dismounted rider secured sufficiently to prevent dismounting (common for aerial mounts) is dazed instead.

Dismounting: If you are dismounted, you can make an Athletics or Acrobatics skill check as a free action to land on your feet adjacent to your mount. Otherwise, you are prone and must save or be dazed. If you are dismounted from an aerial mount, you fall.

Aerial Crash: An unconscious aerial mount gets a saving throw to wake up and break its fall the instant before it crashes. Regardless of the outcome, it lapses back into unconsciousness as it lands.

Falling: If you fall over 15 feet, and do not land on your feet, you must save or be unconscious.

MOUNTED FEATS
Here are a few feats I’ve adapted from old house rules.

Mounted Archery (Heroic)
Prerequisite: Proficiency with a missile weapon.
Effect: You can fire more accurately from a moving mount. Your normal range is reduced by 3 squares. Your long range is reduced by 6 squares.
Special: If you wear armor heavier than chain mail, you gain no benefit from this feat. If the mount wears barding heavier than leather, you gain no benefit from this feat.

Mounted Skirmisher (Heroic)
Prerequisite: Mounted Archery or Bareback Riding.
Effect: You can use your horse as cover, even while moving. You gain a cover bonus against enemy missile fire and area effects when you are mounted.
Special: If you wear armor heavier than leather, you gain no benefit from this feat. If your mount wears barding heavier than leather you gain no benefit from this feat.

Companion Mount (Heroic)
Prerequisite: Mounted Combat or Mounted Archery.
Effect: You and your mount are an inseparable team; your mount joins you on your rise to epic glory. Whenever your Level exceeds your mount’s by 3, your mount gains one Level. Mounts gain one feat every third level (thus a 7th-level mount would gain new feats at 9th, 12th, etc). Any replacement mount will advance to match what your companion mount would have at your level at the following rates: seven levels per week, two feats per month.
Special: Your mount gains a +2 bonus to attack rolls and damage for the rest of the encounter if opponents render you unconscious.

Mount Feats:
(H) Alertness, Durable, Long Jumper, Skill Training/Focus (Athletics), Skill Training/Focus (Endurance), Skill Training/Focus (Stealth), Tough, Weapon Focus (Natural).
(P) Blood Thirst, Evasion, Fleet-Footed, Great Fortitude, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes
(E) Triumphant Attack, Uncanny Dodge

NEW MOUNT FEATS:

Blood Lust (H): The mount can take a second wind as a free action when it or the rider bloodies an opponent. The mount does not get the usual defensive bonuses for second wind with this feat.

Courageous (H): The mount gains a +2 bonus on saves vs. fear.

Trampler (H), Prerequisite: Attack +8: The mount’s trample attack has a +2 feat bonus to damage.

Elite Mount (P): The mount receives one action point, which can be spent in any round the rider doesn’t spend one. The mount, not the rider, receives the benefit of this action point. The mount’s action point is restored only by a long rest.

Steady Mind (P): Mount gains a +2 save vs. psychic effects.

War Mount Trained Opportunity Attack (P), Prerequisite: Dex 15: A war-trained mount with this feat can make one opportunity attack in the same round as its rider, but not against the same opponent.

Note on Barding: No special feats on barding. Barding proficiency is subsumed in war training. In particular I'm not interested in a Cloth- Leather-Chain-Scale feat progression for barding, that's more complex than it should be.


Aerial Mount:

Fly-by-Attack (H): cf Ride-by-Attack

Additional Aerial Mount Feats:
(H) Skill Training/Skill Focus (Acrobatics)

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MOUNTED FEATS (RIDER)

Bareback Riding (Heroic)
Prerequisite: Dex 13.
Benefit: You can ride any mount without tack as if you had proper gear. You can mount or dismount as a minor action. You gain a +1 feat bonus to any Acrobatics check you make while riding, mounting, or dismounting.
Special: You can earn money with this feat as if it was the Perform skill.

Mount Breaker (Heroic)
Prerequisite: Strength 13.
Benefit: You can ride an unwilling potential mount (Attack: Str. vs.Will). Success subdues the mount, which serves for the day. Failure gives the mount a free attack against you and the mount will try to escape if possible. If you fail, you cannot try to ride that mount again the same day. A potential mount with Intelligence 5 or less that is subdued for three consecutive days is broken, and can be trained by an animal trainer (see that feat).
Special: For an exceptionally fine mount, the DM may make breaking a complex skill check.

Signature Mount (Paragon)
Prerequisites: Mounted Combat or Mounted Archery, you currently have or plan to acquire an exotic mount.
Effect: Your choice of mount is your signature. If your mount is slain, stolen, dismissed, or otherwise sundered from you, at least once per month you will have an opportunity to either recover it (if lost) or gain a new mount of the same creature type (if slain). You might buy, rescue, or befriend a new mount, but you are never long without one.

Choose your creature type when you choose this feat. The mount’s Level cannot exceed your own, and your choice is subject to the DM’s approval. When you gain a new level you may choose a different creature type. If you do, then your current mount is dismissed (ceases to be a signature mount for you).
Special: While you are riding a non-signature mount, you suffer a -2 penalty to attack and damage rolls.

(The special is intended to be taken strictly: If you dismount from a non-signature mount, you do not suffer the penalty. Fluff-wise, it’s a morale penalty, but it does stack with other morale penalties, hence no type. Also note that it kicks in when you take the feat, so it’s possible to be subject to the penalty for up to a campaign month before an opportunity to get your signature mount arises.)

Animal Trainer (Heroic)
Prerequisites: Int 10, Wis 10.
Benefit: You can train animals, magical beasts, and the like according to the animal training rules. Your domestication and basic training regimens succeed except on a 1d20 roll of 1. Advanced and stunt training require the animal to make a successful saving throw. You add your Intelligence bonus to the roll. An animal that fails a regimen or stunt twice can be trained in that regimen or stunt only by an animal trainer with higher intelligence than yours.

You are generally recognized as an skilled animal trainer and can hire out as an expert specialist.

Normal: You can train an animal. Each regimen or stunt requires the animal to make a successful saving throw, and you give no bonus to the roll. An animal that fails a regimen or stunt twice can be trained in it only by an expert animal trainer.

War Beast Trainer (Heroic)
Prerequisites: Int 10, Wis 10, Animal Trainer.
Benefit: You specialize in training huge or larger animals, magical beasts and the like. The training of war beasts requires a successful saving throw for each regimen and stunt. You add half your Intelligence bonus to the roll. An beast that fails a regimen or stunt twice can be trained in that regimen or stunt only by an animal trainer with higher intelligence than yours.

You are generally recognized as an skilled war beast trainer and can hire out as an expert specialist.
Normal: Only a specialist can train a war beast.

(Local Campaign Note: No ruler is going to let a war beast trainer freely practice his profession without oversight. The animals are big and dangerous. Most training will be commissioned by rulers for their own needs. A wandering trainer with a "sample" might be overlooked, as long the beast behaves.)


ANIMAL TRAINING

Animal training includes training magical beasts and similar creatures. The most common training regimens are domestication, basic training (hunt, guard, harness, mount), and advanced training (war, racing, precision). Aside from this, special stunt training can teach an animal a specific trick.

Domestication leaves the animal used to folk. It will not attack unless provoked. The animal expects to be fed, and will return to folk habitation rather than the wild. No other training can be attempted with a wild animal until this regimen is completed.

Hunt training teaches the animal to obey hunt-related commands. The animal will track a quarry, recover it, and return to the hunter.

Guard training teaches the animal to obey guard commands. A trained guard animal has trained Perception.

Harness training readies the animal to be a draft animal, including stop, go, turn, and pace commands. Harness training is a prerequisite for racing training with vehicles such as chariots or carts. Any mount participating in a vehicle race without harness training is hindered.

Mount training accustoms the animal to riders, saddles, and tack such as bit, bridle, and reins. Mount training is a prerequisite for racing, war, and precision training.

War training is the default for combat mounts. Untrained mounts have disadvantages in combat that trained mounts don’t. A war-trained mount responds to leg pressure and spurs, freeing the rider's hands. War training is a prerequisite for precision training.

Racing training confers the Fleet-Footed feat on the mount.

Precision training confers a (morale) bonus of +2 vs. fear, and is required for a cavalry unit to become an elite unit.

Stunt training teaches the animal one trick, performable on command. Stunt training takes a week. An animal can learn two stunts, plus one stunt per Intelligence bonus of the trainer.

Training Time: Each training regimen takes 2 weeks, stunt training takes 1 week. Training requires a success roll. See the animal trainer feat more details.

Stunts: Common stunts include: come, stop, walk on two legs, roll over, freeze in position, play dead, fetch, pull, use an object (the DM approves the exact description, and may decide the stunt is a complex stunt), and so on. Each stunt takes one week to train and requires a successful saving throw to complete the training. A complex stunt has multiple parts, each of which must be trained. The stunt is taught only if all parts are successfully trained.

War Beast Training: Similar to animal training, except that beast war training usually includes a fighting platform with a crew of 4-8, or possibly a small siege engine such as a ballista. Precision training is not possible, war beasts are unpredictable and temperamental in general, with an unfortunate tendency to stampede over and trample allies.