Centaur as a Paid Mount?

[Theliah Strongarm]

Would you allow this in your game, and how would this operate?

[Quantum Steve]

I think there's rules in one of the Player Companions for paid cohorts and companions.

Personally, I'd have the centaur charge 20gp per day up to 60 or 80 gp for hazard pay. More if the centaur had class levels.

[Quandary]

I don't think Centaurs are into that.
Or it would have to be a really pervy Centaur into Horse-Slave-play.
And given that rarity, there is going to be a hefty premium for such exotic tastes.

[Bill Dunn]

This may just be me, but I would have most centaurs consider that sort of thing demeaning. Willing to carry someone in an emergency, OK, but being paid to basically be a horse? I'd be charging a hell of a lot more for it - for those centaurs willing to debase themselves so badly.

[Quantum Steve]

Real life people do a lot of demeaning things for money, often not all that much money.

I guess a self-sufficient centaur wouldn't care about Gp, but a city centaur with kids to feed and rent to pay, that's a different story.

[Drahliana Moonrunner]

Theliah Strongarm wrote:

Would you allow this in your game, and how would this operate?

Centaurs are not livestock. and generally are very much NOT into bearing anyone as a mount. So it would have to be an unusual individaual, and other centaurs would not take it well.

[Saethori]

When I read this, I thought it was going to be about a new shop Paizo was setting up that let you buy PFS boons like the thread title.

I'm very glad it's not.

And very much +1 on centaurs not wanting to become mounts willingly. Emergencies, sure. For friends, possibly. But for gold? It would take a very depraved, very strange centaur to do that.

[David knott 242]

I think the real problem with a centaur serving as a mount is that the rider is assumed to be in control of the mount -- but a centaur is an intelligent creature that would normally not be willing to give up control in that manner even if he has no problem with carrying somebody on his (horse) back. And the rules for mounted combat are written in such a way that they don't work quite as well if the rider has no control over the mount, which would be the case here.

[The Shaman]

I can imagine a centaur working as a pack mule, but full-time mount would be something they would likely not be fond of.

If they need the money hard enough, perhaps, but from what I know of centaurs on Golarion it is not too likely.

[QuidEst]

Centaurs wouldn't be much good for this anyway- they've got their upper body in the way of anything you want to see. I wouldn't allow it without it basically being compensation for a personal favor with sufficient reason, but if I did I'd increase riding concentration checks, and slap large penalties on attack rolls. It'd be more or less like hiring a very strong person to carry you around.

[Atarlost]

The mounted combat rules do not support mounts capable of independent action. This is a deep flaw in the system.

The best way to get the melee fighter to the flying enemy is often to ride the druid.

Paladins of int penalty races are probably less intelligent than their mounts since once you have 8 int there's no additional penalty to drop all the way to 5 on a 2+int class. So are int penalty race summoners who want to ride their eidolons.

Then there are ridable monstrous cohorts. Dragons tend to be popular with people nostalgic about either the Pern or Krynn books.

The ride rules work for none of these.

As to why a centaur would allow himself to be ridden it depends. It's a very strong combat tactic since having an extra lancer on his back doesn't impinge upon his own combat ability and dramatically improves the rider's mobility as long as both the centaur and the rider want to go to the same place. In the military of a mixed society this would be pretty common. To the centaur it's not a rider, it's a slotless wondrous item that gives an extra full attack or a spellcasting progression. It's just too useful a tactic to remain taboo. It's not like the rider is actually in control in any way.

If that's true for mixed societies it's also true for mixed mercenary companies and familiar to freelance mercenary centaurs as well.