Heavy Combat Trained Horse

[Ludvig]

Hi All,

I am trying to make the stats for my Heavy Combat Trained Horse, so I can start using it in combat.

Can someone help me make the statistics for it?
Can it use Armors in combat?

Thank you in advance.

Kind regards.
Me

[CRobledo]

You can follow the instructions on Bestiary 1: HERE

There is a note under the hose entry that mentions for a heavy horse, you take the normal horse and apply the advanced template, gains a bite attack (1d4) and hooves advance to 1d6 damage. Advanced Template means you increase all it's stats except INT by 4, and add 2 extra natural armor.

Ludvig wrote:

Can it use Armors in combat?

It still doesn't have armor proficiency, so any armor (barding) you put on the animal, you will take the Armor Check Penalty (ACP) to skills AND attacks.

If you want barding without any ACP, you need to get leather armor barding, masterwork studded leather barding, or mithral chain shirt barding.

Also, flagged for moving to different forum, as not PFS related.

[Fenris Ulfhamr]

So is there a PFS legal way to add the Advanced Template to such a creature? ...or an Armor Proficiency feat for that matter? I know a certain necromancer with this dog, see....

[Ludvig]

Hi,

Thank you for the help. I think I have the stats on a horse now.

Is there a way to get a Horsie trained to wear Full Plate and still hit in combat? That is to get it trained for Armor.

And would it be legal to buy a Axebeak or other mount?
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment---final/goods-and-services/animals-animal -gear

Kind regards.
Me

[Majuba]

For PFS legality, check Additional Resources.

I believe you're allowed to trade out feats on an animal when purchased, but I could be mistaken. A Horse animal companion can certainly gain those feats.

[Ludvig]

"Animal companion" - How about a fighter who want to fight on a mount?

[CRobledo]

No, sorry. purchased animals do not gain other feats, and you can't swap their feats (if any).

Animal companions/bonded mounts, you can take the armor proficiency feats as they level up as normal.

For exotic animals, if this is for PFS, then check the additional resources. I believe if you check the entries for Ultimate Equipment and Animal Archive (where these exotic mounts are listed) you can see which if any are legal.

Note a lot of these exotic animals may not come combat trained. (for what that means, see the Handle Animal and Ride skills)

[Heimdall666]

I don't know that Ludvig is concerned about PFS legality, not everyone adheres to that subset of rules on general Pathfinder information. It is one weakness in Pathfinder to not include basic mounts (heavy horse) as a sample template, you have to "generate" it each time.

[Baron Ulfhamr]

But in the case of PFS legality, IS there a way to get Armor Training on a purchased animal (or add that Advanced Template)?

[Samasboy1]

Ludvig wrote:

"Animal companion" - How about a fighter who want to fight on a mount?

Take Nature Soul and Animal Ally to add an animal companion to your Fighter?

Take 4 levels of Cavalier and Horse Master?

A mount that doesn't advance with you in level will die quickly, so it is recommended that you get the mount as an AC.

[Heimdall666]

FAQ answers the feat swap, purchased animal, and armor training questions:

Handle Animal: Does training an animal using Handle Animal to be Combat Trained (pg 98 in the Core Rulebook) grant it Light Armor Proficiency?
No, using Handle Animal to train an animal, or mount, in this way does not grant it a free bonus feat. It is not unreasonable, however to assume that an animal specifically designed to be ridden (such as a horse or dog) could be purchased with Light Armor Proficiency as one of its feats (swapping out Endurance or Skill Focus respectively) for the same cost.