Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 ArcShot Jan 20, 2015 1:08:57	Hi All.   My players have a chance of riding a warhorse soon and I have questions on mounted combat.   As it is a controlled mount, the warhorse can only use Dash, Disengage or Dodge as guided by its rider.   1) While guiding the warhorse to Dash/Disengage/Dodge, can the rider still attack? 2) Is there any disadvantage in shooting while riding? 3) The warhorse has hooves attack. Can the warhorse use its attack when the rider is attacking as well?   Thanks.
#2 Razintarr Jan 20, 2015 5:34:03	1) Yes. The horse using it's action doesn't interfere with the actions the rider can take. The guiding of the horse takes a free action at most for the rider. 2) No. You can move, attack, move without penalty in this edition whether that movement is your own or your mounts. 3) No. The controlled mount is limited to the Dask, Disengage or Dodge actions. It can't make an attack.*   *In my campaign I have introduced warhorses that can make an attack instead of one of the other actions. This does give the players more damage-capability when fighting from horseback, especially when the warhorses can trample. I take this into account when making mounted encounters.
#3 ArcShot Jan 20, 2015 6:32:20	Many thanks Razintarr.   After your comment, I was thinking there is not much difference between a riding horse and warhorse (besides a slightly higher AC and HP), until I noticed that warhorse can wear barding to increase its AC significantly.   Now I can run some mounted combat between horses and wolves in the next gaming session. Cheers.
#4 RCanine Jan 20, 2015 9:25:44	FWIW, the mounted combat rules are worded in such a way as to make how to use them in play clear as mud. I recommend playing as fast-and-loose with those rules as you can, and use your gut, not the text when making rulings.
(Reply to #4) AaronOfBarbaria	RCanine wrote:
#6 RCanine Jan 20, 2015 19:31:18	AaronOfBarbaria wrote:
#7 Kalani Jan 21, 2015 6:55:54	How do you determine what's a controlled mount? Something like a Paladin's mount summoned by casting Find Steed is both trained and intelligent.
(Reply to #6) AaronOfBarbaria	RCanine wrote:
#9 Kalani Jan 21, 2015 6:54:21	My mistake. I will correct the relevant answer. You are correct that I thought the 90lb elf grappled you while the mount was moving.
#10 GabrielPendragon Jan 21, 2015 14:09:23	The question I have that is kinda muddy is mounted and using the charger feat. The charger feat says that you need to use the dash action, but if your mounted its the mount that is using the dash action not you? As the mount has its own actions even when being controlled, how exactly are you to take the dash action and move the 10' in a straight line based on RAW? Intuitively it makes perfect sense that the mount does the moving and you do the hitting by the wording is messy in that regard.   Also, I don't think ive seen many instances of gappling as an opportunity action, so the elf couldn't grab you while moving only grab you between movements.
#11 Kalani Jan 21, 2015 14:25:52	GabrielPendragon wrote:
#12 El_Condoro Jan 22, 2015 23:44:26	I'm curious how people would describe or explain how a  medium creature can grapple a galloping horse and immediately drop its movement to zero. Aside from "it's the rules". By grapple I don't mean trip unless that's part of grappling.
#13 Kalani Jan 23, 2015 0:01:53	El_Condoro wrote:
#14 El_Condoro Jan 23, 2015 0:15:12	Definitely I would be giving advantage to a galloping horse and with other modifiers, as you mention, it would be unlikely that the grapple would succeed. But it is possible and it is that possibility that I wanted to address for narrative purposes. I honestly would struggle, if I could do it at all, to describe the action when a medium creature brings a galloping horse, charging bear or other large creature with momentum, to a grinding halt. A DM could just say it happens, but in the games I play, a suitable description of something as epic as that would be expected.
#15 Kalani Jan 23, 2015 11:01:33	El_Condoro wrote:
#16 El_Condoro Jan 23, 2015 14:14:39	OK, that would have to do! I would have to not just suspend my disbelief but hang it from a cathedral ceiling to accept it, though. Thanks for the description, though.
#17 Kalani Jan 23, 2015 14:12:47	There is another factor I did not consider but which came up in another thread. You can only make grapple attacks on your turn as it requires the "Attack action". OAs and readied actions are insufficient.    This would only come up in play if the enemy combatant moved on your turn. Even then you would not be able to interrupt their movement with a grapple and would have to wait until it completes its turn.    As such, you would be grappling a stationary target and preventing it from moving further.
#18 El_Condoro Jan 23, 2015 15:04:31	I don't subscribe to the argument that a ready action, taking place as a reaction, is not an action. For the purposes of epic adventure, coupled with your description and the fiction that the horse is galloping, that the character stands in front of the horse and readies his or her action to take place when the horse (inevitably, due to momentum) collides. Grapple attempt and result resolved as normal.   As such, you would be grappling a stationary target and preventing it from moving further.    Are you saying a creature's movement is zero at the end of its turn even if it is moving on that turn and will be moving on its next turn? Of course the "next turn" can't really be verified until it happens but as an assumption.