Ride

Description

Ability Score Used:	Dexterity
Usable Untrained?	Yes
Armor Check Penalty Applies?	Yes

The ride skill allows a character to control a mount in or out of combat. It does not apply to skill checks made to move under your own power, such as innate flight, which is the domain of the Movement skill, nor does it apply to the piloting or operation of vehicles (even those propelled by draft animals) which is the domain of Piloting.

Perform Actions While Mounted

Most typical riding actions don't require ride checks: you can saddle, mount, ride, and dismount from a mount without a problem. Riding long distances over roads or level terrain require no checks. However, quite a few actions are so challenging that they do require checks. The most common of these are combat, and doing challenging things both during and out of combat. Riding a mount in combat often gives a +1 bonus to attack rolls for being on higher ground than your foe (assuming your foe is at least one size category smaller than the size of your mount). Mounts cannot attack on their own, even if combat-trained. Instead, combat trained mounts provide bonus damage to each of the rider's attacks, equal to the mount's CR. Mounts are always counted as allies for purposes of receiving benefits from class abilities, spells and other powers which grant benefits to "all allies". While mounted, the rider may use the mount's movement abilities to move around the battlefield, but doing so uses the rider's move action for the round. If the mount moves, full-attack actions are not possible, although you can direct the mount to take a five-foot step and still make a full attack action, as normal. Ranged attacks made while mounted take a -4 circumstance penalty if the mount moves, or a -8 circumstance penalty if the mount runs. You can only ride a mount that is at least one size category larger than your current size. If you grow too large to obey this rule, you are forced to dismount as an immediate action. When you dismount, place yourself as a separate figure on the board in any available space adjacent to your mount. If there is no available space, you dismount anyway and suffer the consequences, which typically involve either squeezing or falling prone. While mounted, you are considered to be merged into the upper spaces of your mount. Choose which space or spaces you are occupying at the start of each encounter. You may change your space within your mount by spending a move action to re-designate your space. You are not considered to be squeezing, and neither is your mount. Once you have chosen your space within the space of your mount, this is the space you now occupy, and all your attacks are calculated as coming from that space. For example, if you are size medium and riding a size Large creature, you choose one of the four 'uppermost' spaces of the Large creature, and that is the square from which all your attacks are made. Note that if you have a very large mount, it may be so large that you cannot make attacks that reach the ground. The Cavalry Whip (Weapon) is designed to remedy this issue. While you are mounted, it is possible that you will be the subject of Clamber maneuvers by your enemies. Such maneuvers are carried out against the Maneuver Defense of your mount, and provide your enemies a means of attacking you from within your space, and setting up internal flanks with other nearby enemies. An enemy that has clambered into your space can be attacked by you even if you wouldn't normally have enough reach to make attacks against all squares in your mount's space. It is also possible, if enemies have flight, or are mounted themselves, that they may be within your reach even if you cannot reach the ground with your weapons. If there is more than one creature riding a single mount, each chooses their space in the upper surface. In theory, up to four small or medium creatures can ride a single large creature, nine can ride a huge creature, etc. Referees are allowed to lower this theoretical maximum to "what makes sense." A size titanic dragon may theoretically fit thirty six size medium creatures, but it makes sense that only eight or nine could fit single-file along it's sinuous spine. Similarly, more than two people on a size large horse would require squeezing, but four could fit on the wide shell of a size large turtle. All odd cases are adjudicated by the referee, such as howdah towers, or large fighting platforms suspended beneath Rocs. Honestly, Rocs with castles tied to their bellies are just too cool not to allow. While you are mounted and have made a ride skill roll, your mount will not take actions on its own. if you are removed from the mount, it rolls an initiative roll and begins to take actions on its own. The DM plays the loose mount as an NPC, and works with it accordingly. Horses and other domesticated creatures tend to flee combat if uncontrolled, while monsters will frequently act in ways they feel best for themselves, which can...complicate things.
Action Required:	Mounting and dismounting are typically move actions. Other checks are a move action, a free action, or no action at all, as noted below.
DC of Check:	Task Description Ride DC Guide with knees You can guide your mount with your knees so you can use both hands in combat. Make your Ride check at the start of your turn. If you fail, you can use only one hand this round because you need to use the other to control your mount. This does not take an action. 5 + 2x mount CR Stay in saddle You can react instantly to try to avoid falling when your mount rears or bolts unexpectedly or when you take damage. This usage does not take an action. 5 + 2x mount CR Cover You can react instantly to drop down and hang alongside your mount, using it as cover. You can't attack or cast spells while using your mount as cover. If you fail your Ride check, you don't get the cover benefit. Using this option is an immediate action, but recovering from this position is a move action (no check required). While under cover, attacks made against you that do not also include your mount are made at -4 to hit. 15 +2x mount CR Soft fall You negate up to fifty feet of falling or collision damage when you fall off a mount. If you fail this Ride check, you take normal damage and are Prone. This usage does not take an action. 15 + 2x mount CR Leap You can get your mount to leap obstacles as part of its movement. If the Ride check to make the leap succeeds, make a check using your Ride modifier or the mount's jump modifier, whichever is lower, to see how far the creature can jump. If you fail your Ride check, you fall off the mount when it leaps and take the appropriate falling damage (at least 1d6 points). This usage does not take an action but is part of the mount's movement. 15 + 2x mount CR Spur mount You can spur your mount to greater speed with a move action. A successful Ride check increases the mount's speed by 10 feet for 1 round but deals 1d3 points of damage to the creature. You can use this ability every round, but the mount becomes fatigued after a number of rounds equal to its Challenge Rating. This ability cannot be used on a fatigued mount. 15 + 2x mount CR Control mount in battle As a move action, you can attempt to control a light horse, pony, heavy horse, or other mount not trained for combat riding while in battle. If you fail the Ride check, you can do nothing else in that round. You do not need to roll for mounts which have been trained for combat. 20 + 2x mount CR Fast mount or dismount You can attempt to mount or dismount from a mount of up to one size category larger than yourself as a free action, provided that you still have a move action available that round. If you fail the Ride check, mounting or dismounting is a move action. if you try to use Fast mount or Dismount on a creature more than one size category larger than yourself, take a -5 to the roll for each size category greater than one over your own size. 20 + 2x mount CR
Modifiers to Check	CR of Mount: All Ride checks pertaining to mounts increase their DC by double the CR of the mount you are riding. Frightened By Combat: A mount which is not combat-trained will be frightened by combat, adding a +15 modifier to any Ride check made to control it during combat. Mounts which have not been combat trained do not provide bonus damage to their riders, though they do still grant the +1 'higher ground' bonus to to-hit rolls. Bareback: If you are riding bareback, or with a Broken or improper/improvised saddle, you take a -5 penalty on Ride checks. Military saddles grant a +2 bonus to Ride checks related to staying in the saddle.
Take 10? / Take 20?	No
Allows Assists?	Yes, if the assisting character is also on the same mount
Results of Success	You remain in control and firmly seated upon the mount. You are able to take actions and access the mount's movement abilities by spending your own move actions.
Consequences of Failure	If you fail the check by 4 or less, you fail to control your mount. The mount Failure frequently results in being dismounted. A fall from a mount inflicts damage based on how fast the mount is moving when you are dismounted. If the fall results in lethal damage, you are left Prone on the ground where you were dismounted. Refer to the Collision rules for details.
Retry Allowed?	If you are still on your mount, you can retry the action in the next round.
Provokes AOO?	No