So I am making a Bloodmarked Skinwalker for a campaign. He is gonna be a broodmaster summoner who's eidolons ride a Dire Bat into battle. The skinwalker will be using Dire Bat Shape to take on the forum of the Dire Bat that his eidolons can ride.
Anyway so I am trying to figure out how the ride checks will work as I would think the skinwalker would have enough intelligence to try to keep them steady. Thus would the eidolons need to roll ride checks and even if they don't do they still take a penalty to shooting while mounted?
If your eidolon was the mount, and you were the rider you would have to make ride checks regardless of the eidolon's intelligence. The reverse would seem true as well.
There are of course no rules for an intelligent mount disobeying the commands of his rider, so you will either have to assume that will never happen or make something up.
The penalties for mounted combat would remain the same, which for archery is nothing unless the mount takes more than a single move in a turn.
If your eidolon was the mount, and you were the rider you would have to make ride checks regardless of the eidolon's intelligence. The reverse would seem true as well.
There are of course no rules for an intelligent mount disobeying the commands of his rider, so you will either have to assume that will never happen or make something up.
The penalties for mounted combat would remain the same, which for archery is nothing unless the mount takes more than a single move in a turn.
I am the mount and the eidolons are the archers so it would more likely be them disobeying me. Anyway a single move meaning can't take more then a move action or just can't fly more then my base speed in one turn? Also as a dire bat can I cast spells?
I am the mount and the eidolons are the archers so it would more likely be them disobeying me. Anyway a single move meaning can't take more then a move action or just can't fly more then my base speed in one turn? Also as a dire bat can I cast spells?
Like I tried to explain, the rules are assuming that the rider is the one in charge. Theoretically, one would expect different and greater penalties for actions performed while seated on a creature one had no control over than on one that you were controlling, but the rules don't address this possibility. In any event, it shouldn't let you get around any penalties or the requirements for making checks.
Spell casting in an alternate form is difficult. Druid's have a feat that allows them do to so while wildshaped (Natural Spell) but you won't have access to that. Without it, you could only cast spells that didn't have and Verbal, Somatic or Material components, I think all the spells have at least one of those, although silent spell etc. etc. can help get around some of those.
If your DM will let you substitute your shape feats for the wildshape requirement of natural spell then that is the obvious solution, although that would be a houserule (an even kinder one might let you trade the WIS requirement for a CHR requirement as well).
The single move means you if you use two move actions to move (or run, charge etc.) then the archer will take penalties. You can move and then do a move equivalent action or move and do a standard action without issue.
Thank you, though the spellcasting hardship brings up a question for me, what can I do as a dire bat to help out my eidolon archers?
Also how this feat works, (from what I read it bases transformation rules off Beast Shape,) I can't find rules for if my items meld into my body or what. As well as rules on how communication works.
I think the Polymorph Subschool rules will help you out here.
As for what you can do, honestly not a whole lot other than keeping the eidolon out of danger. Long term buffs might work, casting them before you turn into a bat.
So much for that working well. Any idea of how I could support well as a Dire Bat?
Playing a witch instead of a summoner would give you hexes that you could use in dire bat form. An improved familiar could use a bow, some better than others obviously, but archery feats will be hard to come by for your familiar. A two-level dip into fighter (eldritch guardian) could help with that, but would obviously weaken your hexes and spell casting.
The best bet might be to give up on the idea of supplying your own rider as part of your character and instead being a mount for another PC. A witch with a PC mount, and a bat familiar with the mauler archetype (which would make it eligible as a mount for another small PC) would be pretty effective.
That isn't exactly what you have envisioned though.