Paladin mounts: feats?

[CRGreathouse]

Paladin mounts gain HD as their master gains levels, but I know they don't get feats or other benefits of advancing.

I need to find a quote to back this up; can anyone help out?

Sorry for the deceptive title.

 

[Crothian]

I can't find any quotes to say one way or another. However, in the mount side bar are two bits of info that indicate either is possible.

First, mounts are magical animals. Magical animals do gain feats with advancement as per the rules in the MM.

However, under Bonus HD it just states this improves BAB and saves. It says nothing about feats (and skill points which would also be effected).

Personally, I'd allow the mount to get both feats and skill points, but I really can't solidly back that up.

 

[Mr Fidgit]

the only thing i can add (because i went looking too), is an example of an NPC in a 3e book with a mount. the only one i found that would really apply is Scyllua Darkhope (FRCS p164)

she's a blackguard and with her levels, her mount (a nightmare)should have been advanced 4 HD, +3 AC, etc. and so on.

in addition to these add ons, the nightmare has an extra feat (iron will) and a ton of extra skill points. if you look at creature advancement in the MM, an outsider should have one extra feat per 4 HD and 8+Int mod skill points per extra HD

so it looks to me like a mount does advance per the MM creature advancement rules, with the noted exception of d8 HD and not d10 (although +1 skill point per HD for a magical beast is pretty silly, i mean, why bother?)

 

[Artoomis]

You'll not find anything truly definitive either way. You can make a pretty good argument both ways.

However, given that the mount is a magical beast and that he is intended to get into direct combat, I think he should get the skills points and feats just as if he was advancing as a magical beast. The mount has questionable survival as it is, a few skill points and a feat or two simply help survival and do little else.

Note that you cannot compare mounts adn familiars for this purpose - familiars are also magical beasts, but they don't have hit die and their own hit points the way that mounts do, not are they intended to be survivable in direct combat.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

No feats!

Paladin Mount is a template, added to an animal. If a template grants feats (eg like the half-dragon), then it will say so.

Take a look at all the summoned fiendish and celestial animals. They don't get feats. If they did, the Summon Monster list would be a lot longer.

 

[Crothian]

No feats!

Paladin Mount is a template, added to an animal. If a template grants feats (eg like the half-dragon), then it will say so.

Take a look at all the summoned fiendish and celestial animals. They don't get feats. If they did, the Summon Monster list would be a lot longer.

Those templates don't add HD. And I can post a list of templates that do give feats if you'd like.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

The half-dragon template doesn't add Hit Dice, but it specifically says that you gain extra feats by taking this template.