Mounted Tanking with a Conquest Paladin

[JorshRod]

We are going to be doing a mercenary type campaign set in the Sword Coast in January and I've decided to play a Zariel Tiefling Conquest Paladin. I'd like to pick up Dueling and later on a single level of Hexblade and I'd also like to make prodigious use of Find Steed and mounted combatant to be mounted a lot of the time. Since I'll be the party's main tank, I'd like to use Aura of Conquest to lock enemies in place and stick with a single hander with reach for the dueling and to use CHA as my weapon hit. The only single handed weapons with reach I can find are the Lance and the Whip. I think I'll use the lance as much as possible when mounted.

My question is, are there any particular difficulties to this sort of build and play style assuming that most of our campaign will outdoors where I can be mounted? What do you see as issues with this idea I might want to consider before I start investing levels and feats into it? I'm a pretty new player and any help is greatly appreciated.

[Man_Over_Game]

It all looks good.

That's it. There's not much to it. The AoE effect on your fear radius doesn't always mesh well with the range of a Reach weapon, but usually it won't be too much of a problem.

Just beware Undead and Dungeons, as one counters your fear aura, and the other counters your horse, so I'd look for a magic something that helps with both.

[darknite]

The horse was the ultimate force multiplier for much of history. Not sure how that measures up in a fantasy environment with spells whizzing around and how your DM decides to run the game, though. Warhorses have (at average) 19 hp. Don't expect one to stick around after the first fireball goes off or a few archers get shots at it.

What happens to a rider when they're galloping around and their mount literally vaporizes from beneath them, anyway? I would think they'd continue on their current velocity vector mounted in a rapidly-descending saddle...

[Man_Over_Game]

The horse was the ultimate force multiplier for much of history. Not sure how that measures up in a fantasy environment with spells whizzing around and how your DM decides to run the game, though. Warhorses have (at average) 19 hp. Don't expect one to stick around after the first fireball goes off or a few archers get shots at it.

What happens to a rider when they're galloping around and their mount literally vaporizes from beneath them, anyway? I would think they'd continue on their current velocity vector mounted in a rapidly-descending saddle...

Make sure to note the benefits of the Mounted Combatant feat:

◾You have advantage on melee attack rolls against any unmounted creature that is smaller than your mount.
◾You can force an attack targeted at your mount to target you instead.
◾If your mount is subjected to an effect that allows it to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, it instead takes no damage if it succeeds on the saving throw, and only half damage if it fails.

Additionally, Find Steed makes a magical mount that you can speak with telepathically and obeys your commands. It won't run away, and you can even have it fight for you.


As for the falling question, since rounds are turn-based representations of a real-time 6 seconds that are all supposed to be happening simultaneously, I'd just rule that you fall wherever you currently are and you make a DC 20 Dexterity check. If you fail, you fall prone and take 1d8 damage and an additional 1d8 for every 5 under the DC you rolled. It's simple, and that's good enough for me.

[darknite]

Make sure to note the benefits of the Mounted Combatant feat:

◾You have advantage on melee attack rolls against any unmounted creature that is smaller than your mount.
◾You can force an attack targeted at your mount to target you instead.
◾If your mount is subjected to an effect that allows it to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, it instead takes no damage if it succeeds on the saving throw, and only half damage if it fails.

If you want to invest the feat. If the campaign is heavily involved with outdoor, mounted combat opportunities, it would be worth it!

[strangebloke]

guide to mounted combat:


check when/if your DM is going to be requiring checks to stay in the saddle. Plan accordingly.
Play a paladin. Maybe a bard, but Paladin is better for this.
Mounted Combatant is very good, but probably not worth it just for the purpose of keeping your mount up. AFter all, it makes you more dependent on the mount. If you don't have this feat you won't mind losing your mount so much. Remember, for the paladin, your mount is really only a second level spell.
Your mount can take the dodge action on its turn for free. This vastly increases your mounts survivability.
Inspiring leader is a great feat in general, and it works on anything! Zombies, horses, and familiars will all be bolstered by your cheeky grin. If you're mostly just worried about your mount dying, I would pick this over mounted combatant.
Max your charisma. You're playing a paladin, so your aura is going to be key to keep your mount around when it gets hit by fear or other similar effects.
Weird rule #1: The mount moves before or after you turn, so no ride-by attacks. You can, however, make your mount run 100 feet forward, and then on your turn dismount and run another 15. Mobility for days!
Weird rule #2: Being mounted doesn't make you large. All aoe effects and threatened areas are calculated as though you are in one corner of your mount's space. You can change which corner at the start of each turn. This is very strange, but it effectively gives you a free 'five-foot-step' at the start of each turn, as well as defining an area your enemies can't move through.

[PeteNutButter]

guide to mounted combat:


Weird rule #1: The mount moves before or after you turn, so no ride-by attacks. You can, however, make your mount run 100 feet forward, and then on your turn dismount and run another 15. Mobility for days!
Weird rule #2: Being mounted doesn't make you large. All aoe effects and threatened areas are calculated as though you are in one corner of your mount's space. You can change which corner at the start of each turn. This is very strange, but it effectively gives you a free 'five-foot-step' at the start of each turn, as well as defining an area your enemies can't move through.


These are not explicit in the RAW, but are either sage advice tweets or other tidbits. You'd be better off asking your DM on these rulings.

Personally I'm a huge fan of Mounted Combat, especially on paladins. With the Mounted Combatant feat and your paladin aura that mount can dodge fireballs fairly reliably. Free advantage against a lot of foes and insane mobility are very strong for an ASI.

[JorshRod]

Thanks everyone for the tips, lots of good stuff here, I really appreciate it. I will be 20 CHA at lvl 4, so we should be good to go there. I will also look at inspiring leader as it would mesh well with the character and has a little more dynamism than mounted.

[Galadhrim]

Thanks everyone for the tips, lots of good stuff here, I really appreciate it. I will be 20 CHA at lvl 4, so we should be good to go there. I will also look at inspiring leader as it would mesh well with the character and has a little more dynamism than mounted.

All great tips so far.

If you are going to take mounted combatant at level 4, then disregard this, but if you were looking at Inspired Leader first or adding charisma (you said you'd have 20 by level 4), then you might consider that you can make your steed much more resilient for a fairly cheap investment by getting chainmail barding. Barding costs 4x the cost of human armor. That increases your warhorse's ac from 11 to 16 for 300 gold. If you are really on a budget, you can get scale mail barding for 200 gp and that will give you 15 ac for the horse. This isn't too big a deal once you get mounted combatant but it could be really nice until you take the feat.

[McSkrag]

I've had some experience playing a mounted Conquest Paladin using Find Steed and I can tell you it is super fun.

Even with Mounted Combatant your steed will be fairly squishy, especially at higher levels.

Tips:

Get a lance for a d12 attack with 10' reach. The dueling fighting style works with lances.
Also carry a glaive in case the enemy is resistant to piercing damage.
Use the 10' reach to stay out of range from your enemies when possible.
Your steed is squishy so get the best barding you can to up its AC.
Armor of Agathys does not require concentration and will affect you AND your steed and help make your steed tougher.

[Crgaston]

I've had some experience playing a mounted Conquest Paladin using Find Steed and I can tell you it is super fun.

Even with Mounted Combatant your steed will be fairly squishy, especially at higher levels.

Tips:

Get a lance for a d12 attack with 10' reach. The dueling fighting style works with lances.
Also carry a glaive in case the enemy is resistant to piercing damage.
Use the 10' reach to stay out of range from your enemies when possible.
Your steed is squishy so get the best barding you can to up its AC.
Armor of Agathys does not require concentration and will affect you AND your steed and help make your steed tougher.


I had never thought about AoA and Find Steed. Do both the caster and mount have their own discreet THP pools, or do they share one?

[JorshRod]

I've had some experience playing a mounted Conquest Paladin using Find Steed and I can tell you it is super fun.

Even with Mounted Combatant your steed will be fairly squishy, especially at higher levels.

Tips:

Get a lance for a d12 attack with 10' reach. The dueling fighting style works with lances.
Also carry a glaive in case the enemy is resistant to piercing damage.
Use the 10' reach to stay out of range from your enemies when possible.
Your steed is squishy so get the best barding you can to up its AC.
Armor of Agathys does not require concentration and will affect you AND your steed and help make your steed tougher.


All the advice in this thread has got me very excited to start this campaign, even though it will be months before I can make the mounted dream a reality. I have a lot of narrative ideas for it as well. Thanks so much everyone.