What I Learnt From Last Night's Session

[TerraDave]

Your just learning this now?

I still remember reading mounted combat for the first time and thinking it addresed a real problem. Clearly, it is only a partial solution.

 

[Numion]

Horses have been a joke in my games since they died a lot in WFRP 1E.

 

[RedFox]

Buy better mounts, barding, etc. You did notice barding is just like regular armor only tailored for horses, right? That means you can buy magical barding.

Additionally, cast spells on your horses. Worried about fireballs? How about some protection from fire love?

Seriously, if having a horse is your "gimmick" you need to invest in it. Otherwise, horses are just tools... like carts or backpacks or your thieves' kit. Expect 'em to get broken every now and again and the need to replace 'em.

 

[Goldmoon]

Simple answer for yer concern, Goldmoon:
Stacking Bonuses.

Maybe, but I like having the "only" cool mount when I play a Paladin.

 

[Chimera]

Part of the problem (or the solution) may lie in the fact that, unlike many (but not all) other animals, Horses lack any Advancement.


That being said, my last D&D horse was named "Emergency Rations".

 

[Steel_Wind]

Once Fireballs start getting thrown around you can say goodbye to most of your regular animal mounts. My group is 6th and 7th level, so they aren't too powerful, yet most of them could take out an enemy's horse in a round or 2 without much effort.

This is quite true - and as Ryan Dancey mentioned in an off-hand post on RPG.net a few weeks back - this is a result which is completely by design.

 

[TarionzCousin]

That being said, my last D&D horse was named "Emergency Rations".

...and...?

What happened? Was it delicious? Did you use "Bigby's +3 Barbecue Sauce of Yummy Goodness"?

 

[Olaf the Stout]

This is quite true - and as Ryan Dancey mentioned in an off-hand post on RPG.net a few weeks back - this is a result which is completely by design.

Do you happen to have a link to the post. It might be an interesting read. Personally I hadn't come across someone who had used anything more exotic than a horse, pony or dog as a mount so I would be surprised to hear if it was assumed by design that PC's would start riding Pegusi(sp?) and Griffons as they got higher in level.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Thondor]

There is currently a discussion going on in house rules about making high level horses http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=190269.

Any way, There are a number of suggestions for how to "advance" horses as well as special items for horses. To many to list here.

I'm surprised that horses are such a liability, but I've seldom got higher then 5th level play.

 

[Peni Griffin]

If you can get hold of it, the OOP 3.0 supplement "Noble Steeds" can do wonders for this problem. PCs can invest x.p. in horses (or camels, mules, etc.) and advance them as destriers, palfreys, or coursers. Destrier is a warhorse, but you can improve them over the base; coursers are fast horses; palfreys are riding horses. They have different class features and feats, and unusual mounts get access to unusual feats. Having spent x.p., the player becomes eager to protect the mount with protective gear. This has worked so well in my campaign that one player wants to introduce a similar system for his dog.

Even if you can't get the supplement, introducing some sort of mechanic to make mounts more survivable can make for a richer game if you're surface-based rather than dungeon-based. Mounted parties are faster and more maneuverable, can carry more gear, can see farther, and have less chance of being surprised than parties that travel on foot. At higher levels, when the spellcasters normally start overshadowing the fighters, a knight with a properly equipped and trained mount will still be pulling his own weight.

As for the paladin - the special mount can't be called until 5th level. The special mount is usually a heavy warhorse - which means that, at the DM's discretion, it can be something more exotic. A player who equips his paladin with a mundane warhorse, tricked out with feats, as soon as he can afford the horse, and waits past fifth level to call his special mount, can justifiably be given something a little fancier when he finally decides the need is great enough to call the mount. Pegasi and hippogriffs are cool enough for anybody, and will allow him to keep up with the wizard who insists on flying all the time in combat, pursue the fleeing dragon, and do aerial recon of enemy forces.