Flying Mounts

Post/Author/DateTimePost
#1

tequila_sunrise

May 27, 2010 18:37:06		My players and I decided that it'd be fun to have flying mounts for my next 11th level campaign. Rather than combing the monster books for mounts that may or may not be balanced for PCs, I want to have a few simple rules to let my players design their own mounts. Here's the basic stuff:

Level Your mount’s level is equal to your own.


Initiative Your mount acts on your initiative.


Speed 8, Fly 10


Vision Low Light


Hit Points 133 ([level × 10] + 10 + Constitution Score); Bloodied 66


Healing Surges 3 (2 + Constitution Bonus)


AC 25 (14 + Level)


NADs 23 (12 + Level)


Strength 17 (14 + Level Boosts)


Constitution 13 (10 + Level Boosts)


Dexterity 13 (10 + Level Boosts)


Intelligence (?) How smart should pegasi, griffons, pterodactyls, nightmares, etc be? I don't want a case-by-case decision; I want one-size-fits-all.


Wisdom 13 (10 + Level Boosts)


Charisma 13 (10 + Level Boosts)


Skills 1/2 Level + Ability Modifier


Mounted Action


Your mount has one move action and one minor action per turn. You can give your mount your own actions, but it can’t move more than twice per turn, even using your actions.


Your mount has the Flyby power and Mount’s Strike power. You do not need the Mounted Combat feat to use either of these. Flyby can only be used in aerial combat.


Flyby


At-Will • Aerial


Move Action Personal


Effect: Your mount shifts 2 hexes.


Mount’s Strike


At-Will


Standard Action Melee 1


Target: One creature


Attack: +15 vs. AC


Hit: 1d8 + 7 damage.



Mount Barding


There are two types of barding: light and heavy. Light barding is leather and/or hide; heavy barding is chain and/or scale.


                                Check          Speed


Barding        AC      Penalty*      Penalty


Light             +1        -1                 --


Heavy           +2        -2                 -1


*This penalty also applies to Nature checks you make to race your mount.


Mounted Racing


There may come a time when you want your mount to go really, really fast. Here’s how it works: You declare a Run action for your mount, and then roll a Nature check. In addition to the usual +2 speed boost, your mount gains a speed boost equal to one tenth of your check result. If your mount Runs twice in the same turn, its speed boost instead equals one fifth of your check result.


Incidentally, if you ever want to run really fast yourself, we’ll use similar rules. This should make for more interesting chases than “Who has the highest speed? Okay, you win.”


Mount Origins


Pick one origin for your mount.


Shadowfell: Your mount has dark vision, and resist necrotic equal to 5 + 1/2 your level.


Feywild: Your mount can use all cantrips at-will, and has resist radiant equal to 5 + 1/2 your level.


Astral: Your mount has resist necrotic and radiant equal to 5 + 1/2 your level.


Natural: Whenever your mount is knocked prone, it can immediately make a saving throw to avoid falling prone.


Mount Roles


Pick one role for your mount.


Predator: (?) I was thinking 'Your mount can make a free attack at the end of a charge,' but you can easily charge every round in an aerial combat. (In fact, you have to move 2 squares just to stay flying.)


Acrobat: Your mount can hover. Also, (?) Hovering itself isn't a big deal, but don't know what else to give them.
    Other: I feel like there should be another role, but nothing's coming to mind.


So what I need help with is: mount intelligence and mount roles. Thanks!

#2

Bandikoot

May 27, 2010 19:06:53 		Intelligence: How smart to you WANT them to be?  At a minimum they must be able to be trained, but you could have them be more intelligent then that.  Count to ten? Lassie rescue neighbor from well level?  Carry on a conversation about the theological implications of the Raven Queen sneezing while Pelor was eating supper?

Mount roles: I would say hover is fairly nice because a non-hovering mount would normally provoke OAs on a fairly regular basis.  IIRC, flyby attacks only applies to the target, not the creatures beside it, so your non-hover mounts will still be provoking on those type of attacks.

Another role for a mount could be ranged, like one that prefers a breath weapon when it can use it.

You could try a grappling type, but unless they both can hover it might lead to some messy crashes.

EDIT: That flyby power you give all your mounts does make having hover less important, but if they were fighting in a storm (ie difficult terrain) they would still need to just up and move.
#3

tequila_sunrise

May 28, 2010 15:17:49
Intelligence: How smart to you WANT them to be?  At a minimum they must be able to be trained, but you could have them be more intelligent then that.  Count to ten? Lassie rescue neighbor from well level?  Carry on a conversation about the theological implications of the Raven Queen sneezing while Pelor was eating supper?


I want flying mounts to be mostly long-distance transit. I do plan on having the occasional aerial battle, but I don't want my players taking their mounts everywhere (riding their mounts into dungeons, or around town). So I guess I want the mounts to be smart enough to not be easily tricked into those places (they'll be happy to visit the local stables, of course), but not smart enough to downplay the characters' smarts. I guess an easy base score would be 10.

Mount roles: I would say hover is fairly nice because a non-hovering mount would normally provoke OAs on a fairly regular basis.  IIRC, flyby attacks only applies to the target, not the creatures beside it, so your non-hover mounts will still be provoking on those type of attacks.


Good idea.