Riding a Robot Horse?

[Archpaladin Zousha]

If your character were to attempt to ride a robotic animal, would that be considered a Survival check, as it would likely handle like and feel like riding an animal, or a Piloting check, as it is functionally a vehicle?

Yes, this is a silly question, but you cannot deny the awesome of a Star Knight astride a cybernetic steed! All it would need is a few 80's-style-fist-pumping woooooaaas!

[HammerJack]

It's going to depend on where this steed comes from.

Unless it is a homebrewed vehicle, either survival, or a mix of Survival and N/A.

If this robot animal is created as a creature, survival would be the skill.

If this robot animal was a mechanic drone with a riding saddle, then there would be no check for directing the mount, but other Riding tasks, like quick mounting, sliding down the side of the robohorse for cover, and not falling off when something hits you would still all be survival.

[Garretmander]

If it has an NPC statblock, treat it as riding an animal.

If it has a vehicle statblock, treat it as a vehicle.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Thank you both for the clarification! :D

[Gabbers "Gab" McTalkington]

There is the domestic drone in the armory, which has a mount option, if you were looking for a way to get one. It is treated and controlled similar to a mechanic's drone ... so there is really no roll involved.

[HammerJack]

A mechanics drone doesn't need a roll to direct the mount. Rolls for things like quick mounting, or not falling off when you take damage, are still relevant.

[Ascalaphus]

Alien Archive 3 will contain extensive rules for using mounts.

[Claxon]

IIRC, the vehicle rules don't work well when combined with normal combat.

So probably if you want to use it during combat you want a mount.

If you want to use it primarily for overland movement then you want a vehicle.

[Garretmander]

Vehicles... look like they work fine in normal combat. Some of them move too fast to stay on the board.

The ones providing total cover and having weapon mounts may be very nice in combat, especially if you didn't buy them yourself.

I've often thought of making the more exo-skeleton type power armor into vehicles.

[Claxon]

My group just actually ran our first encounter with an enemy in a vehicle, book 6 of Dead Suns.

Spoiler:

As you enter the Empire of Bones hanger bay area there is a an enemy in a vehicle. It was really an underwhelming fight because the vehicle was large size. So it couldn't perform an Run Over action (which requires 2 sizes smaller) and it couldn't perform a Ram action because it requires the vehicle to only go straight in order to Ram. The team was able to not stand in front of the vehicle, which has facing, and just consistently place ourselves so that ramming wasn't an option. Which left the enemy only able to shoot at us with the vehicle gun, which was underwhelming by comparison. Maybe we did something wrong, but it wasn't ever a serious threat.

[Pantshandshake]

I believe that you use the Collision damage for when a vehicle strikes a character, which is different from a Ram.

AoN says this:
Attack: This entry indicates an attack the vehicle has, the damage it deals, and the DC to avoid it (if any). Most vehicles have only collision attacks, which deal bludgeoning damage. (See Vehicle Collision Damage on page 229 and the ram and the run over action on page 279 for more on collisions.)

Though I'll be damned if I can find more information without the actual book handy.

[Claxon]

Which goes back to what I was saying before, that I don't think the vehicle rules we're written very clearly with respect to normal combatants and vehicles.

[Garretmander]

Claxon wrote:

Which goes back to what I was saying before, that I don't think the vehicle rules we're written very clearly with respect to normal combatants and vehicles.

Vehicles provide cover, mobility (kinda), and maybe weapon mounts. If they provide total cover, they also act like a bag of ablative hit points.