How good or bad is mounted combat in the Society?


Pathfinder Society

Radiant Oath

My PC from the Pathfinder Society finally hit level 2, and as such, finally has to be a locked PC, for which I wanted to go with Ranger and focusing on mounted combat with a horse animal companion, the problem is I'm not the most proficient with either the PF2e system nor the Society, so I'm a bit afraid to keep this idea going and such is the title.

Scarab Sages 3/5 **** Venture-Captain, Wisconsin—Franklin

It depends on how you look at it. There's a few hurdles, but they aren't insurmountable.

Problem #1 is the problem all large animals have. They just don't fit everywhere. Sometimes that option is just gonna be turned off. It doesn't feel great, but its comparable to someone who focuses on negative damage in a scenario with undead. Have a backup plan.

Problem #2 is what happens when it dies. Companions are nice, but they aren't the most durable things. Area damage and attacks can quickly take them out of action. If it goes down, you're gonna have to use your downtime to get a new one.

Problems out of the way, animals give you access to very powerful action economy and mounts in particular give you a great mobility when you're in the right environment. PF2e seems to have a better range of scenarios than 1E with regards to being in doors. Just expect that sometimes you're gonna have to fight on the ground.

Radiant Oath 2/5

My -2001 is a mounted combatant, which is fun but has its own challenges. Thibdab is a goblin champion who took a wolf companion instead of a horse (as any self-respecting goblin would!) so he wasn't able to ride his buddy until it became a mature companion at 6th level (Loyal Warhorse champion feat). Now that he can finally ride Kazaam!, the action economy is MUCH improved! And he's only a couple levels away from being able to take Imposing Destrier (at 10th) which will help it further. (Other classes that get access to companions get equivalent feats, though likely at different levels.)

There are still some ongoing challenges:

1) Companions are very limited in what items they can use.

2) Keep the animal's Bulk limits in mind. My goblin is Small, but wears full plate, so even with almost all of his non-combat gear tucked inside sleeves of storage, his wolf is always encumbered (and thus clumsy 1) while carrying him. But I just factor that into the wolf's stat block, and in the very rare instances where he's not being ridden, treat the difference as a bonus.

Dark Archive 4/5 Venture-Captain, Online—VTT

It can work very well, just not all the time. Don't invest into iut to the point you're weak without the mount, have a plan on how to fight and what to do when you can't be mounted and expect that to crop up often enough. You'll probably be able to use mounted combat maybe 50% of the time it feels like, and when you do it'll be great, so it's certainly worth it but it's not something that will be relevant every fight.

Of note, small characters with medium mounts will have a far easier time of things and be able to use it more often than medium characters with large mounts in general, however useful that advice may or may not be I don't know.

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