Animal Companions Initiative for Mounted Combat

[enzymezero]

Greetings all,

How is the initiative decided when a player is mounted? Does the Animal Companion act on the players turn, using the player's initiative?

Thanks!

[Isil-zha]

Do you usually role separate initiative for your companion? Why would that change just because you are riding your companion?

[enzymezero]

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/combat#TOC-Mounted-Combat Does this apply to Animal Companions?

[enzymezero]

Yes Isil, it is usually rolled separately.

Edit: It seems weird that a mount and rider would act on different turns, especially if you are using mounted combat.

It also seems clunky that they would have different initiatives and that it would bog down combat further.

[Isil-zha]

Well you have the same problem when you roll for companions and familiars separately. If they get a higher initiative they'll usually have to delay until they get orders. Personally I prefer having them act on the players turn to begin with (no separate initiative). My half-baked explanation is that they are a class feature of that character and therefore part of that character, but really it's just to simplify combat.

That said, I wasn't aware of that additional rule for mounts, so using your companion as a mount indeed changes things, thanks.

[enzymezero]

Hrm. I don't see any ruling that companions get their own initiative at all. Can you show me where is? Or is this a house rule?

[Isil-zha]

As far as I know it is not explicitly stated in the rules how a companions initiative is supposed to be handled (If anyone can prove me wrong on this one they would be more than welcome). But I've seen either version in groups I've played in.

[enzymezero]

Thanks for your help Isil!

[Howie23]

enzymezero wrote:

linkify Does this apply to Animal Companions?

Per the link, mounts act on the rider's initiative. An AC mount is an animal with some special qualities. Even if your local gaming culture is to have ACs go on their own init, when mounted, this would be what should override that and it's pretty hard to run otherwise. As Isil has said, if an AC is given its own init, it generally going to need a handle animal order, which will then collapse its init to the same as the owner/handler.

I have a link in my profile to the 3.5 Rules of the Game articles on mounted combat, and they serve as an effective system for PF as well. The rules between the two systems are generally similar with some exceptions for D&D's treatment of highly intelligent mounts and PF's explicit use of Ride rather than Handle Animal for controlling mounts. I guess when dealing with AC mounts they aren't as similar as I started to say, but this is still a good starting point. :)

[Rickmeister]

I even use animal companions on their owners initiative.
Makes everything easier, and doesn't matter that mucht (except when they take inproved initiative perhaps?).

[Kazejin]

Definitely agree with animal companions, mounts, familiars, summoned creatures, etc acting on their owner's initiative. Less book keeping, less technicalities, more fluid combat.