Mounts
A mount is any creature that has been trained to the purpose of "Riding" or that has received "Combat Training". Both of these purposes can be trained into any creature, via the Handle Animal skill. With the proper training, any creature can be made into a mount (with GM approval). Intelligent creatures will likely require some serious negotiations before allowing anyone to ride them (at least a nice dinner first), but with the proper incentives, it may even be possible to ride a dragon. Of course, staying on a dragon will require at least as much skill as convincing one to let you ride it in the first place.
This page details the rules for creating a mount from any creature, as well as a wide variety of example mounts. The prices listed for the example mounts assume the mount is Combat Trained. A mount which is only trained for the Riding purpose costs half the listed amount.
Mounted CR
Mounts have a Challenge Rating (CR) just like monsters in the Bestiary, but the Mounted CR can vary greatly from a creature's normal CR, depending on the movement speeds and combat benefits granted by the mount. For example, Dire Bats are CR 2 in the Bestiary, but have a (minimum) Mounted CR of 13.
To determine a mount's Mounted CR, look up each of its movement types and speeds provided on the table below, and add these numbers together. If the mount also grants bonus damage to its rider's melee attacks (if combat trained), each point of bonus damage is counted as a +1 modifier to its Mounted CR.
For example, Dire Bats grant their riders a Lesser Flight speed of 60 ft. (a +15 CR modifier), and a Walk speed of 10 ft. (a -2 CR modifier, because it's terrible). The sum of these modifiers (15 - 2 = 13), is the Dire Bat's minimum Mounted CR. If the Dire Bat also grants a +2 bonus to its rider's melee attacks, its Mounted CR would increase to 15.
| Move Speed | CR Modifier | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walk | Vaulting | Burrow | Tunnel- ing |
Earth Glide | Lesser Climb | Greater Climb | Brachi- ating |
Hover | Lesser Flight | Greater Flight | Lesser Swim | Greater Swim | Jet | Lesser Teleport | Greater Teleport | |
| 10 ft. | -2 | +3 | +7 | +11 | +16 | +4 | +12 | +2 | +23 | +10 | +15 | +1 | +5 | +3 | +16 | +22 |
| 20 ft. | -1 | +4 | +8 | +12 | +17 | +5 | +13 | +3 | +24 | +11 | +16 | +2 | +6 | +4 | +17 | +23 |
| 30 ft. | 0 | +5 | +9 | +13 | +18 | +6 | +14 | +4 | +25 | +12 | +17 | +3 | +7 | +5 | +18 | +24 |
| 40 ft. | +1 | +6 | +10 | +14 | +19 | +7 | +15 | +5 | +26 | +13 | +18 | +4 | +8 | +6 | +19 | +25 |
| 50 ft. | +2 | +7 | +11 | +15 | +20 | +8 | +16 | +6 | +27 | +14 | +19 | +5 | +9 | +7 | +20 | +26 |
| 60 ft. | +3 | +8 | +12 | +16 | +21 | +9 | +17 | +7 | +28 | +15 | +20 | +6 | +10 | +8 | +21 | +27 |
| 75 ft. | +4 | +9 | +13 | +17 | +22 | +10 | +18 | +8 | +29 | +16 | +21 | +7 | +11 | +9 | +22 | +28 |
| 90 ft. | +5 | +10 | +14 | +18 | +23 | +11 | +19 | +9 | +30 | +17 | +22 | +8 | +12 | +10 | +23 | +29 |
| 120 ft. | +6 | +11 | +15 | +19 | +24 | +12 | +20 | +10 | +31 | +18 | +23 | +9 | +13 | +11 | +24 | +30 |
| 150 ft. | +7 | +12 | +16 | +20 | +25 | +13 | +21 | +11 | +32 | +19 | +24 | +10 | +14 | +12 | +25 | +31 |
| 180 ft. | +8 | +13 | +17 | +21 | +26 | +14 | +22 | +12 | +33 | +20 | +25 | +11 | +15 | +13 | +26 | +32 |
| 210 ft. | +9 | +14 | +18 | +22 | +27 | +15 | +23 | +13 | +34 | +21 | +26 | +12 | +16 | +14 | +27 | +33 |
Advancing A Mount's Mounted CR
After a mount has been purchased or acquired, a player can choose to advance its CR as high as they wish above its starting CR. The only limit on this is the expenditure of time and money to do so, though players are also cautioned that higher CR mounts are much harder to control in combat (see Mounted Combat for details).
For each additional CR that a mount is advanced, the player must expend the difference in cost on the table below from the current CR to the new CR, as well as spend one full day of working with the mount. Working with a mount uses up a full day each time the CR is advanced by 1. If you spend more than 1 hour doing anything else during a day you are working with the mount (except meals and short rest breaks), that day cannot be counted toward advancing its CR.
Once a mount has advanced its Mounted CR, that 'point' of CR can be spent on one of two things:
- increasing one of the mount's movement speeds (refer to the table above) by one step, or
- increasing the mount of bonus melee damage the mount grants to its rider by +1
In most cases, mounts cannot acquire a new movement type than those they already possess. GMs may allow exceptions to this, especially in a case where a beloved mount has served the character faithfully for many levels, and the new movement type is just an improvement over an existing type (for instance, our example Dire Bat might graduate from Lesser Flight to Greater Flight). Such changes ALWAYS require GM approval, and are very rare. It is recommended that players just acquire a new mount with the desired movement type.
Mount Prices By Mounted CR
The prices below reflect the cost of a mount with the listed Mounted CR. All mounts are assumed to be Combat Trained at these prices. Mounts which are merely trained to the purpose of Riding cost half the listed amount. Note that non-combat-trained mounts cannot grant bonuses to a rider's melee attacks while mounted, though they still provide their movement speed to their rider.
| Mounted CR | Cost | Mounted CR | Cost | Mounted CR | Cost | Mounted CR | Cost | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 gp | 11 | 8,100 gp | 21 | 170,900 gp | 31 | 2,873,300 gp | |||
| 2 | 100 gp | 12 | 11,100 gp | 22 | 227,500 gp | 32 | 3,787,100 gp | |||
| 3 | 200 gp | 13 | 15,200 gp | 23 | 301,600 gp | 33 | 4,996,400 gp | |||
| 4 | 500 gp | 14 | 20,800 gp | 24 | 399,200 gp | 34 | 6,621,200 gp | |||
| 5 | 900 gp | 15 | 28,400 gp | 25 | 528,400 gp | 35 | 8,821,600 gp | |||
| 6 | 1,400 gp | 16 | 38,700 gp | 26 | 697,100 gp | 36 | 11,597,500 gp | |||
| 7 | 2,100 gp | 17 | 52,500 gp | 27 | 925,300 gp | 37 | 14,948,900 gp | |||
| 8 | 3,000 gp | 18 | 71,000 gp | 28 | 1,233,000 gp | 38 | 18,875,800 gp | |||
| 9 | 4,200 gp | 19 | 95,400 gp | 29 | 1,640,200 gp | 39 | 23,378,200 gp | |||
| 10 | 5,900 gp | 20 | 127,800 gp | 30 | 2,175,000 gp | 40 | 28,456,200 gp |
Example Mounts
The following mounts are listed as examples of creatures which might be available from a vendor specializing in mounts and exotic mounts. With the proper training, any creature can be made into a mount, however. The prices below are for Combat Trained mounts. If you wish to purchase a mount which is only trained to the Riding purpose, they cost only half the listed amount.