I am GMing a campaign where a halfling captured a aurach (Herd animal-wild cow) and he wants to train it as a charger for mounted combat. He has all the riding and handle animal skills and mounted combat feats.

Is there any reason this can't/shouldn't be done?

Assuming he successfully completes the handle animal roll, do standard mounted combat rules apply?

Finally if all of the above is ok, would special equipment be needed?

Thanks

Well, not 100% on the rules for this, however, creatures as large as elephants can be used as mounts as long as you have the right equipment, but I must bring up the intelligence factor that has kept some animals from being traditional riding mounts in real life.

Cattle and Oxen (probably the closest thing to an aurochs) might be usable as pack or plow animals, but they are notoriously ill-tempered, easily spooked and incredibly hard to train compared to horses.

ie. Stupid.

I would say almost any creature can be trained to be a mount in the vast amount of D&D rules, but the intelligence factor of the creature must be taken into consideration by the DM. I honestly wouldn't allow it unless under very particular circumstances. Your table might just welcome a little halfling on a big aurochs. So, other than buying or making the equipment, it's really your call :)

I am GMing a campaign where a halfling captured a aurach (Herd animal-wild cow) and he wants to train it as a charger for mounted combat. He has all the riding and handle animal skills and mounted combat feats.

Is there any reason this can't/shouldn't be done?

Assuming he successfully completes the handle animal roll, do standard mounted combat rules apply?

Finally if all of the above is ok, would special equipment be needed?

Thanks

A saddle would obviously be recommended, not so much for the rider as for the animal, and of course a way to get on the beast. This could be added as part of the saddle, stirrup like structures that allow the halfling to pull himself up and mount the auroch. Wouldn't be especially quick, but it could be done.

Well, not 100% on the rules for this, however, creatures as large as elephants can be used as mounts as long as you have the right equipment, but I must bring up the intelligence factor that has kept some animals from being traditional riding mounts in real life.

Cattle and Oxen (probably the closest thing to an aurochs) might be usable as pack or plow animals, but they are notoriously ill-tempered, easily spooked and incredibly hard to train compared to horses.

ie. Stupid.

I would say almost any creature can be trained to be a mount in the vast amount of D&D rules, but the intelligence factor of the creature must be taken into consideration by the DM. I honestly wouldn't allow it unless under very particular circumstances. Your table might just welcome a little halfling on a big aurochs. So, other than buying or making the equipment, it's really your call :)

If you read the rules for training animals there is a section about the intelligence score. As far as the game is concerned all it does is limit the number of "tricks" the animal is capable of learning, but that does in turn limit what "packages"(or whatever they were called in the skill area for handle animal) the animal can be trained in.

As for should it be done... Well depends on if you want the animal to know more than 3 tricks. Int of 1 means 3 tricks maximum (as a head animal I'd guess that was what it was), Int of 2 means 6 tricks, that may make a difference to you.

I don't see anywhere the standard rules wouldn't apply, at that point its more the stats of the animal limiting you. It’s not likely to have great combat stats as a herd animal. And as an "ill suited mount" you'd take an additional -5 penalty to ride checks (under the ride skill).

A saddle would obviously be recommended, not so much for the rider as for the animal, and of course a way to get on the beast. This could be added as part of the saddle, stirrup like structures that allow the halfling to pull himself up and mount the auroch. Wouldn't be especially quick, but it could be done.

As for special equipment, their diet may be odd so the DM might have justification in charging more for what it eats depending on where you are. I would definitely say you'd need an exotic saddle however if you were to get one. Technically you don't need one, you'll take a -5 on ride checks without one but that is the extent of it. A military saddle is the only one that gives a bonus and that is a narrow bonus at best (+2 ride for staying in the saddle).

All in all, if you can handle the -5 penalty for "ill suited mount" and 3 tricks (assuming Int 1) there isn't much keeping you from doing it.

Thanks for all the input. This all came about more by accident than through a planned encounter. The party is trapped in a prehistoric region and decided to capture one of the aurochs rather than just kill it for meat. The idea of using it as a mount came after they had successful captured it.