Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Rerednaw 05-10-07, 02:47 PM	Say you are mounted and charging. Along the way you hit caltrops. You have the Mounted Combat feat. Can you use a ride check to negate the caltrop's effects?
kjenks 05-10-07, 03:18 PM	Yes. SRD === MOUNTED COMBAT [GENERAL] Prerequisite: Ride 1 rank. Benefit: Once per round when your mount is hit in combat, you may attempt a Ride check (as a reaction) to negate the hit. The hit is negated if your Ride check result is greater than the opponent’s attack roll. (Essentially, the Ride check result becomes the mount’s Armor Class if it’s higher than the mount’s regular AC.) === SRD === Caltrops: A caltrop is a four-pronged iron spike crafted so that one prong faces up no matter how the caltrop comes to rest. You scatter caltrops on the ground in the hope that your enemies step on them or are at least forced to slow down to avoid them. One 2- pound bag of caltrops covers an area 5 feet square. Each time a creature moves into an area covered by caltrops (or spends a round fighting while standing in such an area), it might step on one. The caltrops make an attack roll (base attack bonus +0) against the creature. For this attack, the creature’s shield, armor, and deflection bonuses do not count. If the creature is wearing shoes or other footwear, it gets a +2 armor bonus to AC. If the caltrops succeed on the attack, the creature has stepped on one. The caltrop deals 1 point of damage, and the creature’s speed is reduced by one-half because its foot is wounded. This movement penalty lasts for 24 hours, or until the creature is successfully treated with a DC 15 Heal check, or until it receives at least 1 point of magical curing. A charging or running creature must immediately stop if it steps on a caltrop. Any creature moving at half speed or slower can pick its way through a bed of caltrops with no trouble. Caltrops may not be effective against unusual opponents. ===
Rerednaw 05-10-07, 03:57 PM	Huh, that's what I figured...I guess the solution is to have 2 squares of caltrops. :)
kjenks 05-10-07, 04:22 PM	Don't bet on it working very often. After using Mounted Combat to negate the caltrop "attack" for the first square, it's pretty easy to make the DC 5 jump check to avoid a second square of caltrops. If there are more squares of caltrops, the mount can jump a few then the rider can use Mounted Combat to steer around another square. Even if the mount needs to charge through one square, the odds are good that the caltrops won't hit. (And yes, you can jump during a charge (per the FAQ).)
kjenks 05-10-07, 04:25 PM	If you just want to break a charge, a smokestick is more reliable than caltrops. Move action to get it out, standard action to light it up, 5 ft. step away from the charger. SRD === If you don’t have line of sight to the opponent at the start of your turn, you can’t charge that opponent. ===
King Kashue 05-11-07, 02:23 AM	If the creature is wearing shoes or other footwear, it gets a +2 armor bonus to AC. Caltrops may not be effective against unusual opponents. === Honestly, for a warhorse, I'd probably rule that it has no effect at all, since the horseshoe would protect the hoof, and the bulb, frog, and groove are too far from the ground (and too small an area) for the caltrop to be effective...
Howie23 05-11-07, 03:27 AM	Honestly, for a warhorse, I'd probably rule that it has no effect at all, since the horseshoe would protect the hoof, and the bulb, frog, and groove are too far from the ground (and too small an area) for the caltrop to be effective... Um...you know that historically they were designed and deployed as anti-cav, right? Not to say it's the only use, mind you... David
King Kashue 05-11-07, 10:46 PM	Um...you know that historically they were designed and deployed as anti-cav, right? Not to say it's the only use, mind you... David Yeah, but those aren't the same caltrops some sneaktheif is carrying around in a little pouch to slow pursuit as he runs down the alleyway. To down a 1000 pound charger they were a wee bit bigger :D
Southernskies 05-12-07, 12:37 AM	Not really. A horseshoe covers ~10% off the bottom of a horse's hoof to a height of approx 1 cm. Any caltrop that is larger than the shoe thickness is going to cripple a horse very quickly. Best way to avoid them is use horseshoes of the zephyr When you're 6" off the ground, caltrops don't mean much.
King Kashue 05-12-07, 12:43 AM	Not really. A horseshoe covers ~10% off the bottom of a horse's hoof to a height of approx 1 cm. Any caltrop that is larger than the shoe thickness is going to cripple a horse very quickly. Not really, right back at ya...Getting a spike in an area that is not part of the hoof's striking surface isn't going to "cripple" a horse, and the entire striking surface is covered by the shoe...The softest tissue (as I already mentioned, the frog and the bulb) are small targets...