Mounted Combat (feat) suffers from armor check penalty?

[digitalpacman]

Does the ride check from the mounted combat feat still suffer from the armor check penalty? Seems sort of lame to me that it does. It would be extremely lucky for a person in armor to be able to utilize this feat.

Right now a level 3 paladin with -6 check (banded mail and mwk light shield) can have +1 ride bonus.

Creatures at CR 3 range from +5 to +9 to hit. That is a bit weighted in the creatures favor, just to save the mount from dying. Mounts at low level have such low HP it becomes really critical to protect them.

[tonyz]

The armor expertise trait. Skill Focus (Ride). Perhaps something like a masterwork military saddle to boost your Ride check (special straps, etc.) If you are really focusing on mounted combat, there are ways to significantly boost your Ride check, and you should probably be taking them.

[digitalpacman]

I'm guessing you're saying the answer is yes, the armor check penalty still applies?

[Michael Sayre]

digitalpacman wrote:

I'm guessing you're saying the answer is yes, the armor check penalty still applies?

Mounted Combat requires a Ride check. All appropriate penalties and bonuses to your Ride skill will apply, just like with any other Ride check.

[brock, no the other one...]

Another useful thread discusses this.

Take a look at the Shining Knight archetype.

[Howie23]

3.5 did not apply Dex penalty to ride checks other than for fast mount/dismount. PF does. This has the result of modeling a difference between mobile light cav and heavy armored cav. Yes mounts are fragile, and historically they were as so, too. English victories at Crecy and Agincourt were at least partially due to killing the mounts and thus dismounting the heavily armored French knights.

Mount focused archetypes, as well as feat investment not only in the mounted combat feats, but in skill focus and the like, as well at trait bonuses, can eliminate some of this.