Mounts, riding and combat.

[Frenth Alunril]

We have been over the books, looking for a rule on riding a mount into combat. I see that animal handling helps you control a spooked mount, and I swear I saw something about being "treated as incapacitated if you didn't have (a skill/proficiency)..."

Now, that's just buried in my mind, I cannot find evidence of it, so we have been running it with some basic rules that say anyone can fight from a horse. You use an action to have the horse attack, or attack with your weapon, but that attack is limited to common sense.

That being said, what rules are there for mounted combat, and how should we be running this in the future?

[MadGrady]

We have been over the books, looking for a rule on riding a mount into combat. I see that animal handling helps you control a spooked mount, and I swear I saw something about being "treated as incapacitated if you didn't have (a skill/proficiency)..."

Now, that's just buried in my mind, I cannot find evidence of it, so we have been running it with some basic rules that say anyone can fight from a horse. You use an action to have the horse attack, or attack with your weapon, but that attack is limited to common sense.

That being said, what rules are there for mounted combat, and how should we be running this in the future?

I know that Find Steed grants you access to a better intelligenced mount, that allows you and it to fight instinctively as a unit, so this would imply that no check at all is required (imho).

[Frenth Alunril]

I'm mostly worried about, "now that we have their horses, let's ride away, oh, and kill those goblins!"

So, when my thieves and fighter have stolen mounts, etc...

The suggestion in the mount subtext includes the idea that you and your mount get full attacks when you have that "fighting in unison" thing going on. Which is really what mounted combat is about.

[Easy_Lee]

The rules present no disadvantage to mounted combat beyond those decided by the DM. As written, riding a mount lets you benefit from its dashes and, possibly (is a debate that Mearls and co are avoiding), its dodge and disengage actions.

Ask your DM.