Symphony
2014-09-25, 04:54 PM
So, the recent Paladin guide thread got me thinking about mounted combat, and specifically using a lance, and what it means to be riding a large creature.
Warhorses and Riding Horses are large creatures that control a 10x10 foot square. If the rider is in the center of this 10x10 square, it is ~7.5 feet to the center of a adjacent 5x5 square (usually a little more, actually). If the rider has a reach of 5ft (every non-ranged/reach weapon), can he even attack an adjacent creature? If he can, does that mean that the adjacent creature is considered to be within 5 feet and thus causes disadvantage when attacking with a lance?
Presumably, a horse does not take up the entire 10x10 square. In fact, Google searches tell me that a horse is approximately 8 feet long and about 3 feet wide (with rider). If a large creature (such as this horse) controls a 10x10 square, presumably, like all creatures, it can move about freely within this area. With a weapon that has 5 foot reach, attacking past the horse's head would be a little difficult, but easily doable to the sides. However, with a weapon like the lance, attacking past the front of the horse should almost guarantee that the target is more than 5 feet away (>3 feet of horse, +2 feet from backing up to the opposite edge of the 10x10 square), thereby allowing attacks without disadvantage.
After typing this out, it makes sense to me that being mounted on a large creature should allow you to make attacks with both regular weapons and lances (without disadvantage) against neighboring creatures. Does that make sense to anyone else?
Warhorses and Riding Horses are large creatures that control a 10x10 foot square. If the rider is in the center of this 10x10 square, it is ~7.5 feet to the center of a adjacent 5x5 square (usually a little more, actually). If the rider has a reach of 5ft (every non-ranged/reach weapon), can he even attack an adjacent creature? If he can, does that mean that the adjacent creature is considered to be within 5 feet and thus causes disadvantage when attacking with a lance?
Presumably, a horse does not take up the entire 10x10 square. In fact, Google searches tell me that a horse is approximately 8 feet long and about 3 feet wide (with rider). If a large creature (such as this horse) controls a 10x10 square, presumably, like all creatures, it can move about freely within this area. With a weapon that has 5 foot reach, attacking past the horse's head would be a little difficult, but easily doable to the sides. However, with a weapon like the lance, attacking past the front of the horse should almost guarantee that the target is more than 5 feet away (>3 feet of horse, +2 feet from backing up to the opposite edge of the 10x10 square), thereby allowing attacks without disadvantage.
After typing this out, it makes sense to me that being mounted on a large creature should allow you to make attacks with both regular weapons and lances (without disadvantage) against neighboring creatures. Does that make sense to anyone else?