What square are you in when you mount and dismount?

[Johnny Coleman]

When you mount a horse (or some other animal), can you do it from a square adjacent to the horse, or do you have to first spend an action to move into the same square as the horse?

Similarly, when you dismount, do you end up in a square adjacent to your mount, or do you end up in the same square as your mount and thus have to spend more movement to stop sharing a square?

[Cuuniyevo]

Adjacent in both cases, and with sufficient Ride skill, you can actually do it as a free action. If you fail the Ride roll, it uses up a Move action, so you can't attempt the free action unless you have a move or standard to spare.

[Johnny Coleman]

That's what I thought, but is there a written source for that somewhere?

Also, does this mean that a player with a Large mount and sufficient skill in Handle Animal and Ride could move 45 feet as a free action by mounting, dismounting on the other side of their mount, then ordering their mount to move to the other side of them so they can do it again twice?

[Cuuniyevo]

As far as I know, being adjacent is RAI, but not explicitly RAW. Interpreting it any other way doesn't make sense to me though.

Only if the GM said they could, as free actions are specifically called out as being under their purview.

Quote:

Free Action: Free actions consume a very small amount of time and effort. You can perform one or more free actions while taking another action normally. However, there are reasonable limits on what you can really do for free, as decided by the GM.

The GM would have to be ridiculously lenient to rule in favor of the chain of events you described.

[deusvult]

Cuuniyevo wrote:

The GM would have to be ridiculously lenient to rule in favor of the chain of events you described.

Not to mention, the entire ordeal would be of no benefit. Both rider and mount had to use both move actions to pull off the "free" 45' move. You could have gone much further if the rider just stayed astride the mount for two move actions.

[Komoda]

Just line up the horses and you can travel around the world in less time than it takes a wizard to cast teleport.

[chbgraphicarts]

Cuuniyevo wrote:

Adjacent in both cases, and with sufficient Ride skill, you can actually do it as a free action. If you fail the Ride roll, it uses up a Move action, so you can't attempt the free action unless you have a move or standard to spare.

I had a Barbarian character who wanted to charge an enemy once, but was very far and mounted.

I had the horse Run forward, rolled for a Fast Dismount to Charge and not only succeeded, but rolled a natural 20 while Raging.

The DM described it as "You cleave the horse in twain with your mighty thighs and continue charging the orc warlord."