An observation and a question of why.

[ngilop]

So, here I am trying to make up the last specialization for my 3rd fighter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?424466-My-Third-Fighter-fix-trying-something-new) and other than one lone ability my mind I a blank.


I think to myself. I'll just look through some other homebrew and see what direction they go and then maybe incorporate it into my own.

But in all of GiTP there are but a handful of Mounted warrior homebrews. and I was struck with the ponderings of 'does GiTP hate all that it mounted?'

I just want and need some insight into why this particular staple (in my mind) archetype is so.. hideously under represented on these boards?

DO you guys and girl just dislike the idea of a mounted warrior that much?

[Flickerdart]

Mounted combat has loads and loads of problems.

Mechanically, it's a mess in terms of things like Ride-By Attack being wonky, charging working weird when your mount and not you charges, the ease of killing a mount out of under a rider, etc. The most popular mount builds are Supermount builds where the horse, not the rider, pulls the weight.

Conceptually, it's not a style that fits into every campaign. Going indoors massively cramps your style - even Small characters riding Medium mounts need to leave them behind, since hosts are generally unhappy when you coast in on a giant weasel. Medium characters with Large mounts are forced to deal with squeezing penalties or leave their horses outside.

Riding is a staple of adventurers, but not mounted combat - the horse is a means of getting somewhere, and then you dismount and go about your murdering.

[Telonius]

Some other problems it has to contend with are conceptual space and source material. "Mounted Warrior" is already kind of baked into the Paladin class, and a few prestige classes like Halfling Outrider and oddballs like Skylord for flying mounts. Mounted charger builds are pretty common, too; you can get well into the hundreds of damage just by using feats and a few magic items. So the existing Mounted Warriors are already able to do what they're supposed to do pretty well. I think it might just be one of those rare instances where haven't been many homebrews, because they aren't necessary; the source material is sufficient.

Was there any concept in particular that you've thought of that isn't really covered by the game?

[BowStreetRunner]

Riding is a staple of adventurers, but not mounted combat - the horse is a means of getting somewhere, and then you dismount and go about your murdering.
It really comes down to the concept of Dungeons being part of the game. Were the campaign mostly out of doors then yes, mounted combat would have very desirable advantages. But when the default mode of adventuring seems to always be descending into a dungeon with 5 foot or 10 foot corridors suddenly the mount becomes a liability instead of an asset.

Take a look at Pathfinder's Ranger Combat Style feats (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/ranger#TOC-Combat-Style-Feat-Ex-). They have a mounted combat option. Maybe something there will spark an idea for you.

Whatever you go with, it will be something that will depend heavily on the type of campaign being played. So don't try to figure out how to make it a good option for dungeon corridor fighting. Just make it good for what it was intended - fighting in wide open spaces.

[Segev]

It's mostly the fragility of the mount, I think. It's hard to get one that is survivable without investing so much into it that you're crippled without it, and you CAN be separated.

[Flickerdart]

It really comes down to the concept of Dungeons being part of the game. Were the campaign mostly out of doors then yes, mounted combat would have very desirable advantages.
It's not just an issue of indoors vs outdoors - due to their size and weight, large mounts have considerable difficulty navigating forests, mountain paths, swamps, narrow rickety bridges, any stealth situations, any survival situations where you now have another mouth to feed...really, any situation other than "flat, featureless plain where two warring sides run at one another really fast" is not a great place for a mount. This is why I always recommend the alternate mount rules for paladins - it costs very little to slap Lycanthrope on a guy and make him your mount, and he "pokeballs" into a dude when you need him to*.

Flying mounts obviate some of these problems, but that's a whole different ballgame both for the PC (you have to deal with 3D combat, maintain forward momentum in the case of non-Good maneuverability flyers, etc) and the DM (inexperienced DMs get scared of "oh man this guy can fly all the time").

*Aside on pokeballing your mount: Take a kobold lycanthrope as your mount. Make sure he has Hidden Talent: Expansion. Pay a guy with psychic chirurgery to teach him compression. When he is Expanded, he is Large (8-16ft long, 500lbs - 2 tons). When he is Compressed, he is Tiny and counts as Diminutive (1ft long, 1lb heavy).

[ngilop]

I know that the Mounted Warrior archetype does not fit into every campaign. I'm fine with that. Just how like maybe a Knight would not fit into every campaign, or maybe a sorcerer would not.

I know mounts can be squishy. I'm definitely going to up the increases a mount get stat wise.

What would be a good progression for getting different mounts, this is off the top of my head so far have not thought of any flying mounts.
Light Warhorse | -
Heavy Warhorse | -
Warpony | -
Riding Dog | -
Monitor Lizard | -
Dire Weasel | -
Mule | -
Dire Badger/Wolverine | -
Bison | -2
Bear, black | -2
Boar | -2
Dire Boar | -3
Lion | -3
Tiger | -4
Rhinoceros | -6
Bear, brown | -6
Dire Lion | -6
Dire Boar | -6
Dire Wolf | -6
Dire Lion | -9
Elephant | -12
Dire Bear | -12
Dire Tiger | -15


I know some abilities I want to get them is a Mounted Charge thing similar to the scouts nonsensical skirmish.

Im also going to allow Mounted Combat as a bonus feat as well as Increases how many attacks work with the feat at every 5th level

Let half of all healing on the rider be also applied to the mount and vise versa ( maybe not the latter)

Give the mount an attack on a charge, and like overrun and trample?

Im not sure on the rest.. you guys have any ideas to make a mounted warrior feasible If included in an adventuring party?

Imagine all everything is either open enough for a mount to be useful OR the rider is a small being.

[Quertus]

It's mostly the fragility of the mount, I think. It's hard to get one that is survivable without investing so much into it that you're crippled without it, and you CAN be separated.

Pay a high level cleric to imbue with spell ability animate dead? Animate something big in a desecrated temple? Get an incredibly tough mount for almost reasonable prices?

Or, so that your mount can handle dungeons, get an incorporeal mount and a jade war saddle?

[Honest Tiefling]

Pay a high level cleric to imbue with spell ability animate dead? Animate something big in a desecrated temple? Get an incredibly tough mount for almost reasonable prices?

Or, so that your mount can handle dungeons, get an incorporeal mount and a jade war saddle?

...I would actually really like the whole Necrotic Mounted warrior idea. A fighter with an undead flavor! You don't have to feed the thing, some types of undead (Ghosts) can work with stealth and bypass certain problems, and if all else fails, eh, get another body.

[Beheld]

Be Paladin. Pick mount with CR 4 less than you that can fly. Since you are Paladin 20 you can pick a CR 16 Gold Dragon which is an Adult. Then give him Bonus HD +8 for being a Paladin Mount and Str +4 and Natural Armor +10. You now have a 31 HD Dragon who is Epic as your mount. Have him take assorted feat cheeses such as Versatile heighten, Earth Spell, Sanctum Spell, ect. Then Improved spell capacity once if he needs (depends on DM interpretation of Versatile Spellcaster, probably needs to take it). Then have him take Epic Spellcasting. Then win D&D super hard. Technically can easily be done earlier, but let's be honest, who cares.

[Deophaun]

any survival situations where you now have another mouth to feed...

At that point it's no longer a mount but a marvelous pack of self-carrying rations.

[Harlot]

A mounted anything really only makes sense if the whole campaign is taking place in the great outdoors. For a long time. Like most of the game. Could be some sort of travelling adventure, guarding a caravan or such. So the DM could say in advance, taht for this specific adventure, you do need a mount.
But in general, if you're not in a dungeon, castle or building, you're in a city trying to sell your loot, and the mount is not really practical. And they die. Like in Skyrim, if you don't have Shadowmare or Arvak, you have to buy new horses constantly...