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The Mounted Rules are muddy at best. Here's a couple mount related questions I wanted cleared up if anyone can:
1) Does the mount get to attack during a Ride-by-Attack?
2) A Mounted Charge usually requires a direct line toward the target, but Ride-by-Attack says that you can continue the charge in a straight line. How is that possible since you would be unable to move through the target during the charge?
3) Can the mount perform the Trample (Monster Ability) while the rider performs the Charge action? Mounted Charge requires both the rider and mount to perform the Charge action, which the mount could Overrun with normally, but could it use his Trample ability instead of the Overrun?
4) If the Mount and Rider attempt an Acrobatics check to avoid attacks of opportunity for moving through threatened squares, who needs to roll the Acrobatics check: Rider, Mount or Both?
4a) Same for Jumping?
5) Mounted Charging with a lance deals double damage. Is this double just the weapon dice damage or double the weapon dice + flat bonuses like strength and power attack (but obviously not dice bonuses like sneak attack and flaming).
6) When not performing a Mounted Charge, does the mount and rider receive their own actions as normal? I.e. Mount could double move and Rider could pull out a potion as a move then drink it with a standard?
7) And speaking of potions, can you feed your mount a potion? What sort of set of actions would that be?
EDIT: Added
8) The Beast Rider Archetype for the Cavalier lists a great number of potential mounts a medium creature can ride at 4th level. However, nearly all of them are only medium themselves at 4th level. Is this a mistake or a specific exception to the unwritten larger mount rule?
Related spoilers:
These rules cover being mounted on a horse in combat but can also be applied to more unusual steeds, such as a griffon or dragon.
Mounts in Combat: Horses, ponies, and riding dogs can serve readily as combat steeds. Mounts that do not possess combat training (see the Handle Animal skill) are frightened by combat. If you don't dismount, you must make a DC 20 Ride check each round as a move action to control such a mount. If you succeed, you can perform a standard action after the move action. If you fail, the move action becomes a full-round action, and you can't do anything else until your next turn.
Your mount acts on your initiative count as you direct it. You move at its speed, but the mount uses its action to move.
A horse (not a pony) is a Large creature and thus takes up a space 10 feet (2 squares) across. For simplicity, assume that you share your mount's space during combat.
Combat while Mounted: With a DC 5 Ride check, you can guide your mount with your knees so as to use both hands to attack or defend yourself. This is a free action.
When you attack a creature smaller than your mount that is on foot, you get the +1 bonus on melee attacks for being on higher ground. If your mount moves more than 5 feet, you can only make a single melee attack. Essentially, you have to wait until the mount gets to your enemy before attacking, so you can't make a full attack. Even at your mount's full speed, you don't take any penalty on melee attacks while mounted.
If your mount charges, you also take the AC penalty associated with a charge. If you make an attack at the end of the charge, you receive the bonus gained from the charge. When charging on horseback, you deal double damage with a lance (see Charge).
You can use ranged weapons while your mount is taking a double move, but at a –4 penalty on the attack roll. You can use ranged weapons while your mount is running (quadruple speed) at a –8 penalty. In either case, you make the attack roll when your mount has completed half its movement. You can make a full attack with a ranged weapon while your mount is moving. Likewise, you can take move actions normally.
Casting Spells While Mounted: You can cast a spell normally if your mount moves up to a normal move (its speed) either before or after you cast. If you have your mount move both before and after you cast a spell, then you're casting the spell while the mount is moving, and you have to make a concentration check due to the vigorous motion (DC 10 + spell level) or lose the spell. If the mount is running (quadruple speed), you can cast a spell when your mount has moved up to twice its speed, but your concentration check is more difficult due to the violent motion (DC 15 + spell level).
If Your Mount Falls in Battle: If your mount falls, you have to succeed on a DC 15 Ride check to make a soft fall and take no damage. If the check fails, you take 1d6 points of damage.
If You Are Dropped: If you are knocked unconscious, you have a 50% chance to stay in the saddle (75% if you're in a military saddle). Otherwise you fall and take 1d6 points of damage. Without you to guide it, your mount avoids combat.
Charging is a special full-round action that allows you to move up to twice your speed and attack during the action. Charging, however, carries tight restrictions on how you can move.
Movement During a Charge
You must move before your attack, not after. You must move at least 10 feet (2 squares) and may move up to double your speed directly toward the designated opponent. If you move a distance equal to your speed or less, you can also draw a weapon during a charge attack if your base attack bonus is at least +1.
You must have a clear path toward the opponent, and nothing can hinder your movement (such as difficult terrain or obstacles). You must move to the closest space from which you can attack the opponent. If this space is occupied or otherwise blocked, you can't charge. If any line from your starting space to the ending space passes through a square that blocks movement, slows movement, or contains a creature (even an ally), you can't charge. Helpless creatures don't stop a charge.
If you don't have line of sight to the opponent at the start of your turn, you can't charge that opponent.
You can't take a 5-foot step in the same round as a charge.
If you are able to take only a standard action on your turn, you can still charge, but you are only allowed to move up to your speed (instead of up to double your speed) and you cannot draw a weapon unless you possess the Quick Draw feat. You can't use this option unless you are restricted to taking only a standard action on your turn.
Attacking on a Charge
After moving, you may make a single melee attack. You get a +2 bonus on the attack roll and take a –2 penalty to your AC until the start of your next turn.
A charging character gets a +2 bonus on combat maneuver attack rolls made to bull rush an opponent.
Even if you have extra attacks, such as from having a high enough base attack bonus or from using multiple weapons, you only get to make one attack during a charge.
Lances and Charge Attacks: A lance deals double damage if employed by a mounted character in a charge.
Weapons Readied against a Charge: Spears, tridents, and other weapons with the brace feature deal double damage when readied (set) and used against a charging character.
Benefit: When you are mounted and use the charge action, you may move and attack as if with a standard charge and then move again (continuing the straight line of the charge). Your total movement for the round can't exceed double your mounted speed. You and your mount do not provoke an attack of opportunity from the opponent that you attack.
Move Through Threatened Squares
In addition, you can move through a threatened square without provoking an attack of opportunity from an enemy by using Acrobatics. When moving in this way, you move at half speed. You can move at full speed by increasing the DC of the check by 10. You cannot use Acrobatics to move past foes if your speed is reduced due to carrying a medium or heavy load or wearing medium or heavy armor. If an ability allows you to move at full speed under such conditions, you can use Acrobatics to move past foes. You can use Acrobatics in this way while prone, but doing so requires a full-round action to move 5 feet, and the DC is increased by 5. If you attempt to move through an enemy’s space and fail the check, you lose the move action and provoke an attack of opportunity.
Jumping and Falling
Finally, you can use the Acrobatics skill to make jumps or to soften a fall. The base DC to make a jump is equal to the distance to be crossed (if horizontal) or four times the height to be reached (if vertical). These DCs double if you do not have at least 10 feet of space to get a running start. The only Acrobatics modifiers that apply are those concerning the surface you are jumping from. If you fail this check by 4 or less, you can attempt a DC 20 Reflex save to grab hold of the other side after having missed the jump. If you fail by 5 or more, you fail to make the jump and fall (or land prone, in the case of a vertical jump).
Benefit: A lance deals double damage when used from the back of a charging mount. While mounted, you can wield a lance with one hand.
Weapon Feature(s): reach
At 1st level, a beast rider forms a bond with a strong, loyal companion that permits him to ride it as a mount. This mount functions as a druid's animal companion, using the beast rider’s level as his effective druid level. The animal chosen as a mount must be large enough to carry the beast rider (Medium or Large for a Small character; Large or Huge for a Medium character). The beast rider does not take an armor check penalty on Ride checks while riding his mount. The mount is always considered combat trained, and begins play with Endurance as a bonus feat. A beast rider’s mount does not gain the share spells special ability.
Each time the beast rider increases in level, he can choose to select a new, more impressive mount better suited to his increased power.
Small-sized beast riders can choose a pony or wolf mount at 1st level. At 4th level, a Small beast rider can also choose an allosaurus, ankylosaurus, arsinoitherium, aurochs, bison, boar, brachiosaurus, elephant, glyptodon, hippopotamus, mastodon, megaloceros, riding dog, giant snapping turtle, triceratops, or tyrannosaurus. At 7th level, he can also choose a dinosaur (deinonychus or velociraptor).
Medium beast riders can choose a camel or horse mount at 1st level. At 4th level, a Medium beast rider can also choose an allosaurus, ankylosaurus, arsinoitherium, aurochs, bison, brachiosaurus, elephant, glyptodon, hippopotamus, lion, mastodon, megaloceros, giant snapping turtle, tiger, triceratops, or tyrannosaurus as his mount. Additional mounts might be available with GM approval.
In addition, a 7th-level or higher Medium beast rider can select any creature whose natural size is Large or Huge, provided that creature is normally available as a Medium-sized animal companion at 7th level (like a bear). To generate statistics for such a mount, apply the following modifications:
Size Large
Ability Scores Str +2, Dex –2, Con +2;
Increase the damage of each of the mount’s natural attacks by one die size.
A beast rider cannot choose a mount that is not capable of bearing his weight, that has fewer than four legs, or that has a fly speed (although the GM may allow mounts with a swim speed in certain environments).
Anytime a feat or ability allows a mount to make a hoof attack, it can make a claw, slam, or other analogous attack instead.
This ability replaces the standard cavalier's mount and expert trainer abilities.
Any of these you guys wanna help clear up would be great. Thanks in advance!
I'll try to answer this to the best of my abilities.
1) As I understand it, no. Since the feat doesn't specify that you AND you mount may move/attack/move.
2) There are two interpretations, they are not mutually exclusive. First - all attacks using Ride-By are made obliquely (as in you move so that your mount does not pass through the enemy's squares). Second, your mount can make a free overrun check as part of the charge to go through the enemy.
3) Trample must be used in conjunction with overrun. IE you must succeed at an overrun (and you have to succeed enough to knock them prone) and then you get Trample damage.
4) I would say mount, because the rider doesn't actually move. Same with Jumping. However, enemies could attack either the rider or the mount (one or the other) if you provoke.
5) All modifiers are doubled as if you were making a critical hit (so everything is multiplied unless you wouldn't get it on a crit - ie precision damage).
6) Yes. However the rider can't make a Full Attack with a melee weapon (although he can with a bow...which is stupid).
7) Same as to feed a friendly PC.
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1) As I understand it, no. Since the feat doesn't specify that you AND you mount may move/attack/move.
I'm curious about that interpretation of Ride-By-Attack. I've heard it before, hence the question about it but I don't really understand it. For a Mounted Charge to be a Mounted Charge, both the rider and the mount need to be charging. Ride-By-Attack reads like the move part of the charge is just split up with no other changes to it. So where is all the extra interpretation coming from?
3) Trample must be used in conjunction with overrun. IE you must succeed at an overrun (and you have to succeed enough to knock them prone) and then you get Trample damage.
I think you might be mixing up the Trample feat with the Trample Monster ability. The one I quoted in the spoiler, the Monster ability, is the only I was asking about since it doesn't specifically say it's an Overrun or "part of" an Overrun so I wasn't sure if it could be used or not.
Appreciate the help so far guys, hoping to get some more people answering these too so I can garner a general consensus.
Also I added an 8th question about the Beast Rider Archetype.
I'm curious about that interpretation of Ride-By-Attack. I've heard it before, hence the question about it but I don't really understand it. For a Mounted Charge to be a Mounted Charge, both the rider and the mount need to be charging. Ride-By-Attack reads like the move part of the charge is just split up with no other changes to it. So where is all the extra interpretation coming from?1) As I understand it, no. Since the feat doesn't specify that you AND you mount may move/attack/move.
We had this argument in my Kingmaker campaign. DM ruled halfway through the campaign that we'd been doing Ride By Attack wrong and that mounts don't in fact get attacks during it. I still think you're allowed to get your mounts attack - but I think the reasoning was cheese or somesuch (it's been awhile tbh).
Keep in mind, there is a LOT of contradictory language in the charge ruleset. One mention states that characters don't charge if they're mounted, they just get the benefits when their mount makes a charge attack. Ride by attack states you only get the benefit when YOU make the charge action.
Frankly, mounted combat rules need to be completely rewritten and revised, because it's very obvious they weren't all written by the same person - or if they were, he was drunk.
If your DM gets nitpicky, just play that scene from Pirates of the Caribbean where the dude says "They're more like guidelines." Just figure out something that makes sense and don't worry about what the rule actually is - because frankly, by now mounted combat is more like schrodinger's ruleset, since Paizo continuously refuses to answer FAQs about it or issue erratas.
I think you might be mixing up the Trample feat with the Trample Monster ability. The one I quoted in the spoiler, the Monster ability, is the only I was asking about since it doesn't specifically say it's an Overrun or "part of" an Overrun so I wasn't sure if it could be used or not.
Ah I see, yes I did.
In this case, Trample is a Full Round Action in of itself. You might be able to argue that since Charge is a full round action that lets you make an overrun, and Trample is a full round action that lets you overrun - you could do both at the same time, but I don't think that works RAW (Paizo has been clear in the past that you can't really combine actions with any kind of Full Round Action).
8) That's not a mistake. Generally the expectation is that you either take the mount at the level it gets its size advancement (ie beyond 4th) or you simply have a flanking buddy and not a full size mount until the level it gets its size advancement.