Fixing/understanding a mounted druid

[Dousedinoil]

Hey all,

Sorry for making a new thread but I have a few questions about mounted combat that I would like to try and understand. One of my party members recently had to make a new character and decided that he wanted a druid (because they have the most potential to abuse and generally considered one of the best classes in the game). However, he hasn't done his research and it usually falls on the DM and the rest of the group to do his research for him (I'm not saying this is right but otherwise we waste an hour ever session going over something new). He was using a longbow at first but after we looked into it, Druids can't use longbows. We decided to let him use a light crossbow for the remainder of the session but told him if he wanted to continue using it, he would have to change one of his feats to do so. His character sheet is a bit of a mess but were trying to fix it for him so that he can use the character properly. :smallsmile:

A few things about his character:

1. Small Creature (Based on a Fairy) that because of the low strength mod and size can barely carry his armor and weapons.
2. Mount is his companion (a wolf) that is a medium creature. Wolf has an AC of 14 (10+2dex+2natural). Wolf does 1D6+1 DMG with trip.
3. Strength of 6 for a -3mod. :smallfrown:
4. Dexterity 18: +4mod :smallbiggrin:
5. Pending Weapon: Light crossbow (If a feat is used). The other feat he has is Reach Spell.
6. AC is 18. 10+4dex+3armor+1sizemod
7. The creature has to use small weapons which is a 1D6 for DMG ranged attacks and 1D4 for melee.

Its my understanding that for simplicity you give the mount and the character the same initiative. So the wolf can move 50 feet as its move action, the wolf can take a melee attack (1D6+1) and the character would use his scimitar (1D4-3). This seems pointless given that he didn't design his character to do melee damage. I believe he also has to roll a DC of 10 to get the second attack? If he tries to make a ranged attack this point, he would provoke an opportunity attack. Can he make the ranged attack first and then move so that his wolf can make the attack? The players handbook is pretty clear when it says that you can make a move action normally so that you can load and fire a light crossbow in a round while your mount is moving. Or do they have to attack together? I don't see how this is an effective use of attacks. If he is flanking, would the wolf get to make an AOO but he wouldn't?

Also, when the mount/druid is attacked, does the opponent have to attack the mount first? Or does it pick the target? Given that the players handbook says "If you are dropped you have a 50% change to stay in the saddle but your mount avoids combat". I imagine you can still attack the caster? Obviously the mount would run away if it was just a horse but does it run if its an attack wolf? He doesn't have mounted combat as a feat yet so he can't use his AC as his companions AC. I also noticed that when casting spells (essentially what he wants to do with the reach spells) with a normal move its the same as a regular spell but if he moves, casts the spell and moves again he has to make a DC of 10 (15 if running).

I checked out http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=7414 and think im on the right track. Any help would be appreciated.

[Darrin]

He was using a longbow at first but after we looked into it, Druids can't use longbows. We decided to let him use a light crossbow for the remainder of the session but told him if he wanted to continue using it, he would have to change one of his feats to do so.


What as wrong with using a sling? (Druids can use longbows, but they aren't proficient with them.)


1. Small Creature (Based on a Fairy) that because of the low strength mod and size can barely carry his armor and weapons.


If this is a custom race.... given the fey's reverence for archery, I could see handwaving a martial weapon proficiency for a bow.



3. Strength of 6 for a -3mod. :smallfrown:


Oh. Yeah, ok, I can see why the crossbow might be necessary.



5. Pending Weapon: Light crossbow (If a feat is used). The other feat he has is Reach Spell.


What does he need Reach Spell for?



7. The creature has to use small weapons which is a 1D6 for DMG ranged attacks and 1D4 for melee.


If he doesn't have any spells to cast, he might be better off just using "aid another" to give someone else (such as the wolf) a +2 attack bonus. Otherwise, I'd consider giving him some alchemical items to debuff/distract opponents. Or maybe buy him a Gloves of the Uldra Savant (MIC) so he can use ray of frost every round.



Its my understanding that for simplicity you give the mount and the character the same initiative. So the wolf can move 50 feet as its move action, the wolf can take a melee attack (1D6+1) and the character would use his scimitar (1D4-3). This seems pointless given that he didn't design his character to do melee damage.


A mount with animal intelligence acts on the rider's initiative count. It's a Ride Check DC 10 to direct your war-trained mount to attack, although oddly enough the rules never specify what happens when you fail this check. (House rule: if you fail the Ride check, it costs you a move action to control your mount.) If the Ride check is successful, you can still attack, but if your mount moves more than 5', you can only make a single melee attack. It's actually easier to make ranged attacks or cast spells while mounted, as you're not limited to a single attack. You have to make some Concentration checks, but this becomes trivial after a few levels of maxing out Concentration.



I believe he also has to roll a DC of 10 to get the second attack?


What second attack? Do you mean the rider gets a second attack because of his BAB? There's no Ride check to make a second attack. Whether you get to make a full attack depends on how far your mount moved. If it was more than 5', then you can only get a single melee attack.



If he tries to make a ranged attack this point, he would provoke an opportunity attack. Can he make the ranged attack first and then move so that his wolf can make the attack?


When making ranged attacks on a mount, you generally make your attack rolls at the mid-point of your mount's movement. So while you do provoke AoOs, you're usually not standing next to your target at that point. If your mount double-moves or charges, you get a -4 penalty on your ranged attack rolls. If your mount is running, you get a -8 penalty on your ranged attack rolls.



The players handbook is pretty clear when it says that you can make a move action normally so that you can load and fire a light crossbow in a round while your mount is moving. Or do they have to attack together?


If the druid is making ranged attacks or casting spells, then no, they don't have to attack together. If the druid wants to make a melee attack, he has to wait until the mount gets within melee range, and in most casts this will limit the rider to a single melee attack.



If he is flanking, would the wolf get to make an AOO but he wouldn't?


If the druid is holding a crossbow and not wielding a melee weapon, then he doesn't threaten or get AoOs. If he does have a melee weapon available, then he would threaten and get AoOs as normal, even while mounted on a medium-sized creature. If they are standing next to someone who provokes, then both the wolf and druid would get an AoO.



Also, when the mount/druid is attacked, does the opponent have to attack the mount first? Or does it pick the target?


Your opponent has to choose who he wants to attack, either the mount or the rider. If the rider gets attacked, he can make a Ride check DC 15 to use the mount as "Cover" (+4 AC bonus). This will probably boil down to DM preference. On one hand, most mounts cease to be a combat threat after the first few levels, and some intelligent creatures will just ignore them as a non-threat. On the other hand, some creatures may decide cutting down the mount first is the best strategy. On the gripping hand, most DMs tend to take pity on fragile mounts and direct the enemy attacks to targets that can take more punishment. If the wolf is a serious combat threat, then the DM might bloody him up a bit before giving the rider a chance to move him back with the REMFs. Or the DM may just roll 50/50 for every attack.



I imagine you can still attack the caster?


Yes. The odds of the mount being more dangerous than the caster are usually pretty slim.



Obviously the mount would run away if it was just a horse but does it run if its an attack wolf?


More of a DM's call. Some DMs may have the wolf run away just to keep the battlefield simpler. Some may have it "defend" the unconscious rider, or have it repeat it's last command until it's told to do something different. More likely, the DM will probably just ask the druid what the wolf is likely to do, and if the player has anything to say about it then it's probably going to be a "surrogate PC" until the druid gets revived.

[endur]

Treat the druid's animal companion like a trained animal, except that some commands are free actions instead of move actions for the animal handler.

[nyjastul69]

These (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20070109a) four (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20070116a)articles (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20070130a)might (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20070206a) help.

[Jack_Simth]

Let's see...

You clearly want to improve the character, and in combat.

How much ret-conning are you OK with?

For example:
1) Wolf (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/wolf.htm) -> Riding dog (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/dogRiding.htm) (trained for war to still get the trip). Better AC, better attack, better damage. All he really loses is 10 feet of movement.
2) Leather Barding for the riding dog (no ACP, so proficiency doesn't matter). For a medium nonhumanoid (such as a riding dog) is double the cost of regular armor of that type - so 20 gp for +2 AC to the beast.
3) He's incapable of making use of Reach Spell until at least level 3 (and then only for osirons, which are mostly useless anyway). Given that you mentioned it's the only feat, this implies the character is level 1 or 2. That is a useless feat choice right now. If the character has the Fey Type (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/typesSubtypes.htm#feyType), then it's proficient with "all simple weapons", which includes a light crossbow (probably a good backup weapon choice). However: Firing while in melee is generally not very effective (AoO's). So if he's using ranged attacks while riding, he can fight, or his animal companion can fight, not both. This is a poor choice. So: Get the scimitar (yeah, I know, negligible damage), let the beat fight, and use his actions to Aid Another for his mount. Direct the mount intelligently for Flanking bonuses as well. Replace the feat with something that'll actually be useful now - like Scribe Scroll to be able to make scrolls of lesser vigor (Spell compendium - grants fast healing 1 for 10+CL rounds, so 11 points of healing for 25 gp), Animal Affinity (+2 to Ride and Handle Animal checks, which this druid should need to roll every round of battle), or Skill Focus (Ride) - or not. Druids could take skill focus(Speak Language) for every feat except 6th (Natural Spell) and still do just fine.

A couple of notes:
A Riding Dog trained for Combat Riding needs to be told to attack. That's a Handle Animal check, DC 10, which the Druid can make as a free action, and for which the Druid gets a +4 bonus. 4 ranks + 4 Druid Link, so a +1 Charisma modifier (or Animal Affinity) should suffice to make it 100% of the time (well, until the -2 penalty for an injured beast comes into play).
In order to do stuff while the mount is attacking, the rider needs to make a Ride check, also DC 10. Note that unless the Druid also makes a Ride check, DC 5, the Druid needs to keep one hand free. The Druid does NOT get the link bonus here, so Skill Focus is probably a good choice at 1st - 4 ranks, +4 Dex, the Druid needs a +1 bonus from some other source (skill focus, animal affinity) to make the DC 10 check 100% of the time (well, until the -2 penalty for an injured beast comes into play... ).
Mounts attacks probably take priority over the Druid's attacks, for now. The Druid's actions should usually amount to Aid Another attack rolls or casting support spells at this level (this changes when Wildshape comes online).

[Dousedinoil]

Thanks for the help everyone! I'm still reading and re-reading all the books to make sure I'm not missing anything.