Mounted Campaign?

[Gronk de'Morcaine]

I have not tried to do much with mounted characters before, but some of my players want to give it a go.

So what do I have to watch out for with mounted combat?
Advantages? Disadvantages?
How does it affect melee, ranged, or casting combat?
What feats should the PC’s be considering (or me for the NPC’s)?

What if they ask for aerial mounts, how much harder is that?

[Ascalaphus]

Well, as it is, the game system isn't set up for it all that well. Not so much that it can't be fixed though.

The rules for mounted combat are a bit scattered across the books. (Ride skill, combat chapter, various feats, Handle Animal, Animal Companion class features etc.) Possible fixes: do some copy/pasting to make a mounted combat guide with everything in one place.

Some characters get a mount as a class feature, others don't. Non-companion mounts tend to be relatively fragile at high levels because they don't become stronger. So they'll die from collateral damage from fireballs and suchlike.Possible fixes: players all take classes with animal companions; players take feats to get an animal companion such as Animal Ally, Leadership or Monstrous Mount; you houserule something.

Mounted combat is fairly feat-intensive. You need the Mounted Combat feat as an entry requirement for just about everything else, and then there's Ride-By-Attack, Spirited Charge, Wheeling Charge, Trick Riding, Mounted Skirmisher and Mounted Archery. Spellcasters may also desire Uncanny Concentration because fast-moving mounts tend to require concentration checks. Possible fixes:people take classes that get some of these as bonus feats, like the Sohei monk or Emissary cavalier; you give Mounted Combat as a free feat to everyone.

Typical adventures are rather unfriendly to mounted warfare. For mounted combat to work well you need to have a lot of space to maneuver around in. Specifically, most mounted combat abilities require charging. That in turn requires the terrain to be fairly even; not a lot of difficult terrain. So dungeons, forests, swamps and cities are bad. Possible fixes: play on the wide open steppes, like actual cavalry-civilizations like the Mongols.

You're gonna need a much bigger battle mat. Possible fixes: Chessex sells a bigger model.

Spellcasting will be wonky, because close-range spells will often not reach the enemy. Possible fixes: tell casters to come up with something new; warn people away from classes that strongly rely on such spells.

Slow-moving monsters will have trouble getting hold of the PCs. Possible fixes: don't rely on zombies as a challenge. Rather, serious enemies are those that are mounted or fast themselves, or things like blocks of pikemen that use Brace+Reach weapons against charges (ouch), and of course archers.

Cavaliers and paladins don't really get into the aerial mount scene by default; they can only select "classic" mounts. Meanwhile, small druids and hunters can ride pterodactyls, rocs, giant bats and giant wasps from level 1. AFAIK, this is just a bit of rules conservatism. The Leadership or Monstrous Mount feats do let paladins and cavaliers get into the air.

[Gronk de'Morcaine]

I think they would all be taking something that would give them a mount that advances.

I can always have things mostly occur in the out of doors.

They like their feats, I don't know that they will still want to try it when they find out how feat intensive it is.

They didn't mention aerial mounts yet, I'm just guessing they will.

[Hmm]

Another source of aerial mounts: Sable Marine Ranger.

One of the things that I find annoying about how the Monstrous Mount feat works is that, as written, small PCs have to wait just as long as medium PCs to get their mounts in the air.

I am playing a Winged Marauder -- a goblin alchemist archetype that gets to ride around on a giant vulture -- in a play by post game of We Be Goblins. I have to say that aerial mounts have amazing mobility.

There are ways to keep them in check, though:

1) Require handle animal checks, especially when mounts get injured;

2) Require ride checks;

3) Decide if aerial mounts can take to the air if they have medium encumbrance.

• In 3.5, there was a rule that prevented creatures from flying if they had a higher encumbrance than "light."
  
• In Pathfinder, that rule is no longer there. But you can't fly creatures with medium or heavy barding.
  
• I will note that PCs can fly using the "fly" spell with medium encumbrance, and that many bestiary creatures seem to be able to pick up creatures in their claws and fly without issue.
  
• Saddles are heavy. Bareback riding is a -5 to ride skill.
  
• If you allow aerial mounts to fly with medium encumbrance, maybe include a -4 to the fly skill for the mount. If you decide that it is "light" only, PCs on mounts will have to use ant haul or mule cords to be able to carry much of anything on a flying mount before 7th level.
  

4) Remind PCs that falling is painful. If everyone is doing aerial mounts, I am guessing that Boots of the Cat will be a popular investment.

[Anonymous Visitor 163 576]

There are some good conversions around for red hand of doom, which could accomodate mounts readily enough, or kingmaker might be an option.

A quick fix for distance is to have all large mounts, and then count squares on the battlemat as 10' squares.

For aerial mounts, distance calculations can be rough. Remember, you only need to be accurate to the nearest five feet. So, a quick and dirty method is:

Distance equals longer leg of triangle, plus half the shorter leg.

Ex: pterodactyl is 50 away, and 40 feet higher. Distance = 50 + 20 = 70 ft.

[Gronk de'Morcaine]

I think they have decided that a mounted campaign will be too complicated, but thanks for the help.