WindRider Question

[Dreaddisease]

I have a character I am preparing for my wife who is going to start at the high end of 5th level. Well she seemed interested in a windrider so I am preparing to set the character up.

I was wondering how a windrider would go about 'handling' her stead? It only mentions a willingness on each character's part. So is that an animal empathy skill? and then would it be a handle animal skill to ride it? I am wondering because I was throwing in two levels of fighter to give her some weapon feats but I will stick with ranger if it requires animal empathy since its a -4 with beasts.

 

[shilsen]

IMO, the willingness required on each side (rider + mount) simply means that the relationship should be roleplayed out. In order to pick up the PrC, you do need 8 ranks in Handle Animal and Ride, but there's no mention of how this relates to the chosen animal (although Ride would apply as usual in combat). If the mount has an Int lower than 3, the Windrider simply has to have ridden it once and may then designate it as a bonded companion. It doesn't seem as if any game mechanics really come into play.

Just a warning - the Windrider is an arguably overpowerful PrC. A 10th lvl character (say, Rgr5/Windrider5) can have a young brass dragon as a mount (with 16 HD. an average of 136 hp, etc.).

 

[Dreaddisease]

You can't have a mount who is an animal that has a CR+3 greater than your level or a CR+4 if it is a beast.

 

[Crothian]

You can't have a mount who is an animal that has a CR+3 greater than your level or a CR+4 if it is a beast.

Where's that written?

 

[Dreaddisease]

Its on the third page of the Prestige Class in the MotW. I read it twice to make sure I was reading it right and to make sure that the Pegasus was possible.

 

[Mr Fidgit]

MotW, pg 79, the 'What is a Mount' section says a mount must

"have a CR no higher than your character level - 3. if the mount can fly, its CR can be no higher than your character level - 4."

i don't understand your original questions, Dreaddisease. the handle animal skill is for teaching an animal tasks. the DC is set by the type of animal it is, making wild animals, beasts and othere creatures harder to train.

training with the handle animal skill is required for an untrained animal or beast to accept a rider (unless magic was initially used). only creatures with a Int 3+ require 'an agreement' to become a mount.

 

[Dreaddisease]

I guess what I'm asking is in a situation where you approach a creature, how do you get it to even be a steed? What process?

First of all you need for it not to attack you. so do you do animal empathy? If so wouldn't that be a better prereq than handle animal?

I know you could cast animal friendship also.

 

[Chun-tzu]

I think it would be fair for the DM to require the Windrider take the Leadership feat to gain the mount as a special cohort (assuming it's a special mount, like a griffon). That probably doesn't answer your question about the mechanics of role-playing the initial encounter, though.

 

[Mr Fidgit]

First of all you need for it not to attack you. so do you do animal empathy? If so wouldn't that be a better prereq than handle animal?

if you're in the wild: yes, animal empathy is better to approach the animal and climb on its back. handle animal still covers what it takes to make that animal a steed (follow the commands of its rider).

the Windrider is an unusual case. it requires the PC to "designate any one mount she has previously riden as her chosen mount". so it doesn't matter how this was done (took a test ride at the local used magic beasts store...) AND have a mount as a prereq for the class. so all you have to do is declare a creature you've test-ridden, spend three quality days with it, and make the animal handling roll.

since there are already rules built in for training a pegasus, a PC could buy (or otherwise aquire) one that has already been trained.

the fact that a pegasus is intelligent makes this even harder. there's no way (that i've seen) to truely communicate with it. the Windrider description mentions Diplomacy checks, but you'd have to be able to talk with it first (and speak with animals doesn't work on magical beasts).

since a creature with an 3+ Int doesn't need the handle animal check to become a mount, animal empathy is probably the best way to go. unless you purchase the mount, of course....

(the Windrider entry even mentions a Tyrannosaurus on the Handle Animal chart. how does a character just happen to have ridden a T-Rex?)

 

[shilsen]

You can't have a mount who is an animal that has a CR+3 greater than your level or a CR+4 if it is a beast.

Yes, but this is character level. So the Rgr5/Windrider5 (Character lvl 10) in my previous example could have a flying mount of CR 10-4 = 6. The young brass dragon in my example is CR 5. I actually meant young bronze, which is CR 6. So either would be acceptable mounts.