Can you Mount a Steed while Prone?

I had a situation recently where a player fell off her mount and ended up prone in a melee. She was adjacent to her mount when her turn came around and she asked if she was able to use Fast Mount to get up from prone and mount her horse in a single action. I wasn't sure so I let her roll for the Fast Mount because I thought it would be cool, but now I'm trying to find an official ruling on the question and I've been unable to.

The Mount/Dismount a Steed action doesn't specify that you need to be standing to do it, just that it's a move action. Mounting also doesn't provoke AoOs, so if you can do it from a prone position it would allow characters with mounts to bypass the AoOs standing up usually incurs. Further, using Fast Mount to get up from prone would be a free action bypassing the normal action economy of having to Stand Up.

Unless I'm missing something it definitely seems like RAW you can mount a steed regardless of your current position, tho now the pedant in me is pointing out that it doesn't specify that you need to be adjacent to your steed to mount it either...so you could mount your steed from across the room and teleport to your mount if it worked that way.

I'm a bit unsure about RAI on the issue tho. There are feats specifically for standing up without provoking AoOs or with less action cost, and it feels exploitive to let someone replicate those effects with a basic skill check.

Logically can't do that without getting to your feet in the middle. So I'm saying no to mounting while prone.

Prone says the only actions with the move trait that you can take are stand and crawl.

The mount action has the move trait, so definitely we can say No.

Edit: Aww durnit. May response was based on PF2 rules not PF1.

Anyways, logically I wouldn't allow it without standing up first.

I think I would allow it if the mount knelt down to be mounted (in game terms taking a free action to go prone). The mount would then take the AoO for you when it stood up. This seems a fair compromise to me.

I think I would allow it if the mount knelt down to be mounted (in game terms taking a free action to go prone). The mount would then take the AoO for you when it stood up. This seems a fair compromise to me.

I like this. Would probably require a trick, 'pushing' the mount, or an intelligent mount, but I dig it.

The other thing to consider is that you cannot use fast mount on a mount that is one sized larger than you. This is because you cannot easily reach the saddle. Being prone is going to create the same problem.

If the mount is also prone, I could see that being allowed, but the DC of the ride check should be more difficult.

You can but end up prone on the mont back, not seated on the saddle. ;-)

Tongue in cheek aside, RAW, as the character never got up from prone, so it ends his move in the prone position.

The other thing to consider is that you cannot use fast mount on a mount that is one sized larger than you. This is because you cannot easily reach the saddle. Being prone is going to create the same problem.

If the mount is also prone, I could see that being allowed, but the DC of the ride check should be more difficult.

Fast Mount or Dismount: You can attempt to mount or dismount from a mount of up to one size category larger than yourself as a free action, provided that you still have a move action available that round. If you fail the Ride check, mounting or dismounting is a move action. You can’t use fast mount or dismount on a mount more than one size category larger than yourself.

You can't fast mount a creature that is 2 or more sizes larger than you.

Your argument works as a prone character's arms can't reach the saddle of a creature 1 size larger than him, but it is an RL argument.

Fast Mount or Dismount: You can mount or dismount as a free action with a DC 20 Ride check. If you fail the check, mounting or dismounting is a move action instead. You can't attempt a fast mount or fast dismount unless you can perform the mount or dismount as a move action in the current round.

The description of fast mount in the combat section states you cannot attempt a fast mount unless you can perform the mount action as a move action in the current round. As far as I am aware of you cannot perform a normal mount from a prone position. That would mean you cannot perform a fast mount from a prone position. You can use a move action to stand up which would provoke an AoO, and then make a ride check to make a fast mount as a free action. If you fail the ride check, you use the rest of your turn to mount. If you make the ride check, you still have a standard action left.

offhand No as it flies in the face of sensibility.
From a RAW perspective both creatures are assumed to be standing at the time of getting on a mount (as that's just sensible initial conditions). A mount may kneel to assist the process(elephant) but generally the rules are human centric. They don't state that the rider is standing as that is just assumed as it is normal in the Real World.
Prone, Unconscious, Sleeping, Helpless are 'bad' conditions from the normal situation and set constraints/penalties from the normal standing and walking about situation.

There are 4 main game issues
1) it is just a rule based system that is supposed to roughly reflect common experience (aside from magic, feats, and what not). A GM is needed to smooth out the contradictions and rough spots.
2) the game generally acts like a two-dimensional cartesian battle map with outlined squares IS THE WORLD. Yes - it creates problems like if your floor map is butterfly shaped at 45 degree rotation (LoL).
3) Mount rules are simplistic. It leaves a lot of conundrums and conflicts.
4) the logical situation is; 00) both prone, 01 & 10) one or the other prone, 11) both standing.
Conditions scroll down for Prone. Standing up is a mov actn that provokes.
Stand Up again a mov actn that provokes.
Mount/Dismount assumes the mount & rider are standing or the mount is being ridden, in both cases where the rider can perform a mov actn. So that would be stand up (mov actn) then *try* to quick mount having the other mov actn available.

If there's no threat or imminent action, then you move out of round-by-round action and it becomes far less detailed.
Also if you are running a kids game it's okay to hand waive a lot of the more picky rules as it's just a game for fun.

Was the mount moving? The PC could've claimed they grabbed low-hanging reins as their mount moved through an adjacent square, then used the momentum to swing up into the saddle. I think I've seen something like that in an action film.

I would not allow a normal use of Ride to do this, for all the reasons already noted.

Theoretically I'd probably allow this if:
- the mount was combat trained or intelligent enough to understand the situation
- had stirrups or something similarly solidly attached and near the ground
- stood still

Then a roll to grab the stirrups (Dex, probably) and then a Climb check to get in the saddle that provokes and AoO and at least takes 1 move action, with either a higher DC or subsequent action to settle properly in the saddle.
So only something you'd do if you couldn't stand up normally for some reason.

commentary/pondering

Weirdly a saddle and stirrups don't aid in mounting a horse (which IS totally untrue if you've ever ridden a horse). Yes, they do help you stay on. My suggestion is to expand the +2 crcm (if not +4 w military) bonus to mount/dismount with riding/military saddle in your Home Game. There used to be saddles without stirrups but most today for riding are western saddles and the game doesn't get very specific. You should also add a racing saddle (fine polished leather, steel and willow reeds) $20 10lbs which offers no stirrups to a riding saddle. Saddles all come with saddle pads/blankets and straps.

Fly/Flying is one exception as you can't be tripped. I believe most GMs would require a flyer to expend a move action to 'rise from prone' along with some movement as they likely were not flying at the moment (say 5ft to just rise in place with a hover check to stay off the ground, flying away is a no brainer). The rules really don't cover this exception that I'm aware of.

The other oddball case is a prone rider that the mount picks up (so the mount expends the move action). The mount would have to be trained and capable of such a trick. Animals that could try would be an elephant BUT it would be rather rough, lol... maybe a racing snake/slug that had squeeze or compression. A gelatinous cube could definitely do it, alas they'd eat the 'found' rider as they are quite dim witted.

I'm in agreement with the others, you have to be standing to Mount (or Fast Mount). While it doesn't explicitly say that you must be standing to perform a Fast Mount in the rules, it is certainly implied that you cannot do this while prone.

I'm all for Rule of Cool though, so if you have a Dex of 20+ then you're pretty much an Olympic gymnast, so I'll certainly let you roll for it with probably a +10 to the DC. If you're in medium or heavy armor, I probably would add an additional +5 / +10 to the DC. To quote Matt Mercer, "you can certainly try."