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I've been doing a lot of research for making my own RAGELANCEPOUNCE barbarian type, potentially using the Mammoth Rider prestige class. Unfortunately a LOT of questions have come up regarding how mounted combat works. Going to try tackling a few at a time here.
1) When a barbarian is raging, he is prohibited from using skills based off of Intelligence, Dexterity, or Charisma, with a few exceptions. Ride is one of those noted exceptions, so a barbarian is able to guide the movement of his mount with a DC 5 Ride check. However, neither the Mounted Fury archetype nor the Ferocious Mount rage powers mention the allowance for Handle Animal. As directing an animal companion to use its tricks is a Handle Animal check (albeit a free action), does this mean that a Mounted Fury Barbarian is restricted to merely riding his mount, being unable to direct it to attack?
2) The Ferocious Mount rage power allows the barbarian to 'share the benefits of his rage' with his mount. Does this count as the mount actually raging? Such as being unable to enter a rage when fatigued, or for the effects of the Amplified Rage feat (if shared through an equestrian's saddle)? The last line--"she can elect not to pay [the extra rage round per round] cost, in which case the mount does not rage" seems to indicate that the mount actually rages, but is this the case?
3) What mount types need to be officially combat trained? Is it merely the horse-types that are herbivores that flee when attacked? Or does this include carnivores like dogs, and creatures like a mammoth that would charge potential threats? What really counts as combat trained--the combat training general purpose, or some specific trick(s)?
4) If a creature has multiple attacks per round, but only elects to use one, does that attack get the strength-and-a-half bonus? Or just full strength?
5) The Dragon Style feat is very useful to a Large/Huge charging mount that has had its Intelligence increased to 3. The Improved Unarmed Strike prerequisite on the other hand is not, doing absolutely nothing for them. Is there someway to ignore the prerequisite of IUS? Or to classify natural attacks as unarmed strikes, to get full benefits from the Dragon Style feat?
6) The tusk blade item allows Gore attacks to gain an increased critical threat range and be enhanced as melee weapons. If a creature is wearing these (magically enhanced), does it preclude them benefiting from an AoMF? For example, if a mount has a gore and a slam attack, is wearing a +1 furious tusk blade and a keen AoMF, what effects are present on its gore attack?
For number six It would be +1 keen Furious Tusk and Keen Gore. However keep in mind that an AOMF cannot be Keen as Keen cannot be applied to Unarmed Strikes.
4) you only get the str and a half on an attack if it is the only attack you possess, not just the only attack you choose to use.
If you possess only one natural attack (such as a bite—two claw attacks do not qualify), you add 1–1/2 times your Strength bonus on damage rolls made with that attack.
@Sennje:
1) Having to use up a trait or feat slot to use a class feature in the way it was designed to work doesn't seem right. As not even the Mad Dog archetype, which by class design has you commanding a beast to perform tricks (presumably while raging), has any text mentioning the Handle Animal skill, I am probably going to take it as a design oversight. (For the record: there is a trait called Coherent Rage that can allow you to use HA while raging, but traits and feats should be to enhance your character, not fix design mistakes).
2) More or less what I thought, but the goal here is to be as literal RAW as possible. It doesn't state either way.
3) But what is combat trained?!(/frustration) It never seems to be really defined as to what qualifies it as--the only places that it is stated is a) the Ride skill states the need for a combat trained-mount, specifically calling out the pony, horse, 'or other mount' not trained for combat riding; and b) the Handle Animal skill has Combat Training as a 'general purpose': a pre-selected group of tricks that use up all six tricks you can teach to a 2 intelligence animal (incidentally disallowing the mount from attacking anything other than a humanoid, monstrous humanoid, or animal). Does merely knowing the attack trick count as combat trained? Or do you need to dedicate all six trick slots to those specific tricks mentioned in the general purpose?
5) I know about Feral Combat Training. The problem is that a barbarian's mount under the effects of a Beast Totem and Ferocious Mount has gained 2 claw attacks, potentially a bite as well if Animal Fury is also taken. Add that to the gore, slam, or hoof attacks that they already possess and you've taken up all of its feat slots for this one (albeit very good, especially when combined with Dragon Ferocity) feat line.
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@fearcypher: Is that really the case? I re-read the AoMF description and it does say that only effects that could be applied to unarmed strikes can be enchanted onto it, but isn't that implying that things like the 'distance' quality can't be applied? The keen property wouldn't work with a normal unarmed strike true, due to it dealing bludgeoning damage, but there are a number of ways to make an unarmed strike deal piercing or slashing damage.
Funny thing I just found: If you have Improved Unarmed Strike and Dragon Style, if you get the Martial Versatility feat, you can bypass the need for Feral Combat Training and just apply Dragon Style to the 'natural weapon' group. Shame that you have to be a level 4 human fighter to get this, as a mammoth animal companion neither has levels nor is human.
@Sennje:
@fearcypher: Is that really the case? I re-read the AoMF description and it does say that only effects that could be applied to unarmed strikes can be enchanted onto...
Yeah, it sucks considering that one feat lets you use it properly but RAW stuff like keen or vorpal cant be applied to AOMF. So many factors like this count against the monk, but let's not go into that.