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Prime32

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Mount Handbook

« Topic Start: November 05, 2011,

03:10:45 PM »

The Mount Handbook

Introduction

Reasons to get a mountTravel

With a mount you can get places faster. This is eventually outpaced by

teleportation, though teleporting mounts are available.

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Author Topic: Mount Handbook (Read 31317 times)

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of 32Mount Handbook

9/13/2015http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=25.0

« Last Edit: January 18, 2012, 12:14:47 PM by Prime32 »

Defence

A character can use all available actions to attack from horseback while the

mount moves him out of range of reprisal. This is generally the reserve of

archers and spellcasters, though melee combatants can do it too.

Attack

Being mounted can increase your damage output significantly, as well as get

you to the scene of action more quickly. Most such strategies are related to

charging, but isn't that how it always works? I know, a warhulking hurler can outpace an

ubercharger in damage, but you can use your mount as ammo or something.

Flavour

Face it, nothing says Rule of Cool like riding a dragon into battle.

LinksRules of the Game - Mounts (1-2-3-4-5)

Archery Handbook (includes a section on mounted archery)

Druid Handbook (for advice on animal companions)

Ranger Handbook (likewise)

Paladin Handbook (for advice on special mounts)

Special Paladin Mount (at GitP)

The Familiars Handbook

Getting the most out of your familiar

The Handle Animal Guide (WotC version here)

Things to do with your move action while mounted

Speed Handbook (for making your mount faster)

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Tips for new players

My homebrew and other works

Got a question for the mods? See here.

Prime32

Over-Underling

Head Moderator

Posts: 2893

Respect: +30

Re: Mount Handbook

« Reply #1: November 05, 2011,

03:11:07 PM »

Getting a mountThis list is by no means exhaustive; let me know if you've found a good

source.

PermanentThe best way to get a mount is to have one by virtue of a class feature or feat.

• Animal Companion (Druid): One of the most powerful options.

Everything about the druid class is hax, were you expecting any less

here? The downside is that you'll need to worry about Handle Animal to

control it, unless you combine it with a familiar or special mount (which

gives it an Int above 2).

• Animal Companion (Ranger): Not as good, but still respectable. You

get an animal companion at 4th level, and use only half your ranger

level to calculate its abilities.

• Animal Companion (Prestige Ranger): That's better. This PrC gives

you a druid-strength animal companion from lv1. Plus it counts as

ranger for most purposes.

of 32Mount Handbook


• Animal Companion (Urban druidDrComp

): Has an alternate list of

animal companions, including such things as warhorses, monstrous

vermin (though they become Int 1 animals), animated objects and

carrion crawlers(!)

• Animal Companion (BeastmasterCAdv

PrC): As druid, but add 3 to

your class level for determining abilities. Stacks with Druid levels for a

very powerful companion.

• Animal Companion (ShamanDr353

cleric ACF): As ranger; you give

up Turn Undead + literacy.

• Buy (gp): You can simply buy a mount with gold - the prices are listed

in the PHB. The warbeast template lets buy any creature to serve as a

mount but they're ridiculously underpriced, so make sure your DM

knows what you're doing.

• Celestial Companion (Holy LiberatorCD

PrC): Basically the

blackguard's fiendish servant, but celestial instead of fiendish, and its

progression also includes +20ft speed.

• Cohort (Leadership feat): The Leadership feat gives you a second

character 2 levels lower than yourself. Yes please.

• Cohort (Dragon Cohort feat): Who doesn't love dragons? And in

particular, who doesn't love a 3-point reduction in LA for their scaly

friend? If your mount is a dragon there's no reason not to pick this feat

over Leadership, unless you want an army of followers.

• Dragon (Dragon Steed feat):

• Familiar (Wizard/sorcerer): Familiars usually aren't powerful (or

large!) enough to make reliable mounts. They don't get many feats, and

their hp is half of the caster's d4 - that's just pitiful. Their ability to

share their master's buffs, however, means that they can take

advantage of most of the ways the caster has around his own fragility

problems - they can do pretty well if polymorphed into something,

blurred, etc.

• Familiar (Attain Familiar feat): A duskblade has d10 Hit Dice, so his

familiar can actually have decent hit points. Most non-Core arcane

casters don't have the same number of buffs though. Note that the

familiar from this feat derives its abilities from your caster level rather

than your class level - normal familiars aren't advanced by levels in

PrCs.

• Familiar (Improved Familiar feat): While this feat can make your

familiar large enough to serve as a mount on its own (most of your

options are in Complete Warrior, but imps and quasits have access to

Medium alternate forms), it can also be used to open up new types for

alter self and similar spells.

• Fiendish Animal Companion (Thrall of BaphometDr341

PrC): Like

the druid's animal companion, but it gains the fiendish template and

your effective druid level is twice your class level (it's a 10-level class).

Doesn't stack with druid levels, but PrCs that advance animal

companions should still be able to advance it.

• Fiendish Servant (Blackguard PrC): The blackguard's slightly-weaker

equivalent to the paladin's special mount doesn't have much support,

but it's based on character level rather than class level. Sadly it takes 5

levels and some unusual prereqs to get there, so this doesn't count for

as much as it could. You may be able to convince your DM to let you

count it as a special mount for combinatory abilities, in which case it

gets much better. Going paladin is still easier in most cases though.

• Griffin companion (Aglarondian GriffonriderUE

PrC): As meaty as a

special mount, with double-speed progression but fewer special abilities.

Also it's ginormous.

of 32Mount Handbook


• MagebredECS

warhorse (Order of Rekkenmark5N

affiliation): Good

at low levels, since you get it essentially for free if you write the order

into your backstory. The free 4th-level bodyguard at lv1 is kind of

cheesy though. Unlikely to get by many DMs.

• Monstrous Companion (Beast Heart AdeptDung

PrC): Pick a Magical

Beast from a short list, and it gains 12 levels worth of animal companion

advancement in 10 levels. It's not an actual animal companion, so

there's no way to advance it further, but the base creatures are stronger

than the standard options. You gain two other companions as you gain

levels, but at a penalty, so they're useful mainly for utility rather than

combat. Your enemies provoke an AoO from you the first time they're

struck by one of your companions per round, which is pretty good for a

mobile type who won't be in a position to make normal AoOs often.

Consider Martial Stance (island of blades) or some other "flexible

flanking" ability so you can use Monstrous Flank more easily.

• Party Member (Friendship): If another PC is a horse, then good for

you. After all, real men ride each other. Can be very powerful if you get

the means to share buffs somehow.

• Psicrystal (Psicrystal Affinity feat): Usually preferable to a familiar.

Psions and psychic warriors may not be as powerful as wizards, but the

psicrystal's feats, average BAB and hardness give it a big advantage

over the familiar, and share pain is a nice buff. The disadvantage is that

there are no larger psicrystal variants, so unless your character is very

small you will need the metamorphosis spell to convert it into a ridable

form.

• Telthor Companion (DurthanUE

PrC): Get any animal with HD up to

your class level (including advanced animals) and add the telthor

template from the same book (basically it becomes an Int 3 incorporeal

fey with telepathy; incorporeality means it needs the Ghostly GraspLM

feat or a ghost touch saddle if you're not incorporeal yourself). Fey HD

are pretty bad, but the touch attacks compensate for the poor BAB and

you could take OtherworldlyPGtF

to upgrade to Outsider. Be sure to make

use of bloodlines, Legacy ChampionWoL

etc. so that you can keep

advancing it past lv10, because there's no way to combine it with

anything else. Oh, and you get a second companion at higher levels.

• Thrall (Thrallherd PrC): Thralls are like cohorts, but always loyal. A

thrall is also one level lower than you rather than two. And if you reach

lv10 in the PrC you get another one! The only downside is that you can't

combine thrallherd with Leadership. This may not apply to substitutes

like Dragon Cohort, but your DM is likely to breathe fire on you if you try

it. If you have a psionic build, try to fit a level of thrallherd in instead of

Leadership.

• Wild Cohort (Wild Cohort feat): Functions more or less identically to

a druid animal companion but with no Link, Share Spells or free

Multiattack, while its HD, natural armor bonus and tricks known are 1

lower. Grants access to the Silverwood Arcanist PrC for spellcasters.

SummonedIf you're looking at using a summoned creature for a mount, duration is

important. If you're using your mount for travel rather than just for combat

then a duration of 1 round/level isn't that useful unless you can summon some

kind of robot horse with rockets for legs. Bear in mind that you will have to

spend actions to get on the mount. And watch out for dispel magic.

Class features

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• Celestial Minion (SentinelDr310

): This NG variant paladin gets to use

any Medium or smaller celestial animal as their special mount, but the

duration is halved. This opens up some extremely powerful options

(fleshraker anyone?), but isn't compatible with cohort mounts. Plus it's

no use as a mount unless you're Small or smaller. Ask your DM if you

can combine it with prestige paladin.

• Elemental Minion (IncarnateDr310

): The True Neutral paladin (not to

be confused with the incarnum class of the same name) gets a Medium

elemental as the base creature for their special mount, with the same

halved duration as Celestial Minion. Less abusable than the Sentinel

ability, but much of the same advice applies.

• Special mount (Paladin): It's a summon, but it lasts 2 hours per

paladin level and can be used 1/day, meaning that you can basically

keep it up all the time. Of note, according to the DMG you can designate

a cohort as your special mount for +2LA - the rules are unclear on

whether this creature must be summoned or sticks around.

• Special mount (Prestige paladin): Requires two levels rather than

five, one of which advances a divine spellcasting class. You have to wait

a few levels to get in - as compensation, your mount's abilities are

calculated as if your class level were three higher.

• Special mount (Ranger knightDR317

): You know how prestige paladins

count as three levels higher? These guys count as five levels higher. Plus

since it's built for ranger entry, you have easy access to Devoted

Tracker (though it doesn't advance your animal companion in any way).

Oh, and the default mount for Small characters isn't a pony; it's a wolf.

That's style points right there.

Spells

• Astral construct (Shaper 1):

• Call nightmareBoVD

(Demonologist 4, Sor/Wiz 5): An evil spell that

summons a nightmare for 1 week in exchange for a soul.

• Gate (Clr 9, Sor/Wiz 9): High-level, cheesy, short duration and

requires concentration. Pass.

• Mount (Siyal druid 1, Sor/Wiz 1): Summons a light horse or pony.

You can use this from lv1, and it lasts 2 hours/level. Eventually you can

summon enough of these for your entire party and keep them up

continuously. You can't summon warhorses with this spell, so this is

mainly for travel.

• Phantom stagCD

(Druid 5): Basically a phantom steed that can also

fight, and can cast etherealness at high levels.

• Phantom steed (Siyal druid 3, Sor/Wiz 3): Lasts half as long as

mount, but the "horse" it creates is super-fast, can go just about

anywhere, and looks cool as hell. It doesn't attack, but it doesn't panic

in combat either. Plus "animals shun it and refuse to attack it", which

might extend to its rider as well. Gets better with the Knight Phantom

PrC (Five Nations) which boosts the CL and gives you extra castings per

day. It normally takes 10 minutes to cast, but Knight Phantoms can cut

this down to a standard action.

• Planar ally (Clr 4/6/8): Your ally can remain for a number of days,

though you need to pay gp and xp.

• Planar binding (Sor/Wiz 4/6/8): Like planar ally, but cheaper and a

little more dangerous.

• Summon monster

• Summon nature's ally

Vestiges

• Andras

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« Last Edit: February 22, 2014, 04:58:28 PM by Prime32 »

TransformedIf you don't have a creature you can ride, turn something else into one. Many

transformative spells have restrictions based on creature type, so that should

be the most important thing to bear in mind when choosing a base creature.

Many of the same caveats apply here as with summoned creatures - the

difference is that if the polymorph runs out you'll still have an ally of some

kind.

Some candidates (such as a druid cohort) are capable of transforming

themselves, while others require you to cast spells on them. The Share Spells

ability makes this significantly easier.

• Wild shape

• Alter self

I am the mount!If you're getting a cohort/thrall/etc. it's definitely worth considering making

him the rider and yourself the mount. Alternatively, if your minion ends up

significantly more powerful than you (as with the Ubermount and Big Guy Is

With Me builds), it might be more enjoyable to play the minion as the main

character and the "master" as a tag-along.

On a related note, certain races like centaur count as being mounted at all

times due to their anatomy.

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Prime32

Over-Underling

Head Moderator

Posts: 2893

Respect: +30

Re: Mount Handbook


03:11:46 PM »

Riders in generalOne of the things to bear in mind when statting the rider is size. A Medium PC

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requires a creature of at least Large size to carry him around, but a halfling

can ride a mount which is the same size as his other party members. The

value of this cannot be understated - you can't guarantee that your mount will

fit through dungeon halls designed for Medium creatures. Oh, and in Eberron,

halflings ride dinosaurs. The dinos are Medium creatures, so other races can't

ride them. Keep that in mind.

Items

• Custom item of master cavalierCC

: For 18,000gp, get an untyped +20

bonus on Ride checks for your special mount or similar companion (or

+10 for other mounts). Less than half the price of a +20 competence

bonus item, and stacks with it.

• Gloves of the Balanced HandMIC

: This 8,000gp item grants Two-

Weapon Fighting as a bonus feat, or Improved Two-Weapon Fighting if

you already have it. Two-Weapon Fighting is a prereq for the Ranger

Knight and Revenant Blade PrCs.

• HumillianthirDrComp

: Two suits of +3 leather armor (one of them

barding) which function as a set - if a paladin wears one and his special

mount wears the other, then he can greater teleport onto his mount

from up to 500ft away as a move action. The total cost is 3,000gp more

than two normal suits of +3 armor.

• Quickspur's AllyWoL

: A shield that gives you the ability to guide a

mount with your knees without a Ride check and spur a mount without

damaging it, as well a continuous shield other effect targeting your

mount. You also get blur, entropic shield, resist energy and stoneskin as

SLAs that you can share with your mount, and can summon a phantom

steed.

• Rider's shieldRoS

: This exotic shield's AC bonus also applies to your

mount. Use when you would normally use a heavy shield. You can take

the Exotic Shield Proficiency feat to use it, or trade in your existing

Tower Shield Proficiency.

• Wand of call mountBoED

: Lets you summon your paladin special mount

even if you've used up your 1/day summoning, though it takes 1 round

rather than a full-round action. Note that your mount heals to full health

whenever you dismiss it.

• Wand of golden bardingCD

: Basically mage armor for special mounts,

except that its AC bonus scales by level (to a maximum of +8 at caster

level 10th). Rather than a wand, you could get a continuous CL10 item

for 20,000gp, or a 2/day command word version for 7,200gp if you're

not worried about dispels. It's a bargain compared to the price of

bracers of armor +8, and cooler-looking too.

Races

• Gnome: The gnome paladinDr329

ACF trades Knowledge (nobility and

royalty) for Perform (comedy)... and adds dire badgers to their choices

of special mounts.

• Human (Unicorn clan)OA

: Ride is always a class skill for you, but your

favored class is Barbarian rather than being unrestricted like most

humans (if you're one of the two people who use favored class rules in

the first case).

• Hound archon: A hound archon with access to a special mount can

choose to use a bronze dragon, which gains an additional +2 HD, +4

Str, +4 natural armor, +10ft speed and improved evasion (...despite

special mounts already having improved evasion). This does not

provide you with the dragon, so you'll have to find one yourself (such

of 32Mount Handbook


as via Dragon Cohort or a fellow party member) but it doesn't suffer the

normal +2 LA for cohort mounts. Also hound archons can turn into dire

wolves while bronze dragons can turn into Medium humanoids, which

means you can reverse the roles if you want. Hound archons themselves

suffer from their huge +5 LA; take a level in Ranger Knight and see if

you can convince your DM to treat their racial HD as levels in a divine

casting class for the Holy Mount feat. Or play a gestalt campaign maybe.

• Lizardfolk: Lizardfolk paladins can select titan salamanders as special

mounts at no level penalty. Psionic lizardfolk have access to a version

with some psi-like abilities, but they need to be converted from the 3.0

rules; that said, stuff like vigor scales amazingly on an ubermount build

if it's tied to HD.

• LupinDr325

: An LA +0 Monstrous Humanoid that gains a +2 bonus on

Ride checks, and treats it as a class skill for all classes. Also if you're a

ranger you can choose Humanoid (shapechanger) as a favored enemy.

• Salamander: A variant rule in Dragon #314 allows salamanders to add

the fire subtype to their familiars so that they can actually survive in

their normal environment; this isn't amazingly useful in itself, but ask

your DM about extending it to other creatures who live in the Elemental

Plane of Fire or similarly inhospitable locations (as well as to companions

other than familiars). It also clarifies that salamanders are capable of

riding mounts... somehow.

Base Classes

• Barbarian (HorselordDr338

ACF): Replaces rage with "Battle Ecstasy",

which grants different bonuses and doesn't affect your concentration.

You also get a ranger animal companion, some skill bonuses, and

Improved Mounted Archery as a bonus feat. Take 6 levels in this class at

most, unless you get something awesome from another ACF later on.

• Bard (Fey bardUA

ACF): Trade bardic music and knowledge for druid

animal companion and some other minor abilities.

• BloodlinesUA

: Not technically a class, but close enough. Levels in a

bloodline advance every class-level-dependent ability you have at once,

including animal companions, familiars and special mounts; in some

cases (e.g. Celebrant of Sharess 10) this can even allow you to break

the cap and start using the epic advancement rules. Titan Bloodline lets

you wield a Gargantuan warhammer in one hand (which is probably just

poor wording, but cool enough that some DMs allow it anyway). Celestial

Bloodline grants Smite Evil, which lets you qualify for Devoted Tracker if

you gained a special mount from an unusual source. All major bloodlines

grant 2 fixed bonus feats, which are occasionally useful for prereqs.

• Cleric (ElysiumSpC

planar domain): Counts as both your domain

choices, and can only be selected if you're Neutral Good. Grants smite

evil as a paladin of your cleric level (including daily uses), helping you

qualify for Devoted Tracker.

• Cleric (ShamanDr353

ACF): Trade turn undead for a ranger animal

companion. It's normally painful to give up access to Divine and

Devotion feats, but a mounted character won't get much benefit out of

Travel Devotion anyway.

• Cleric (ChampionUA

ACF): Trade turn undead for smite evil + aura of

courage. Useful mainly for meeting the prereqs of Devoted Tracker.

• Druid (Deadly HunterUA

ACF): Trade wild shape and armor/shield

proficiencies, in exchange for the monk's AC bonus and fast movement,

a ranger's favored enemies (and swift tracker at lv8), and Track as a

bonus feat. This is an excellent trade for mount-focused builds, since it

of 32Mount Handbook


lets you meet prerequisites for ranger PrCs and you probably weren't

taking enough druid levels to get wild shape anyway.

• Druid (Focused AnimalDr347

ACF): Lose trackless step, woodland

stride and wild shape(!). In exchange you get +2 to your effective level

for your companion's abilities. As above, not all mount builds take

enough levels in druid to feel the loss of wild shape, but otherwise ouch.

As a side bonus you can speak with animals at will, which is great for

roleplaying interactions with your mount.

• Druid (Sidhe ScholarDr339

variant): Your animal companion gains +2

to Dex and Cha, and +1 hp/HD, but it refuses to enter any settlement

larger than a thorp.

• Druid (Urban companion City

ACF): Gain a slightly-improved familiar

in place of an animal companion; among other things its hp are 3/4 of

yours rather than half.

• Monk (Holy monkDr310

variant): Trade your lv1/6 bonus feats for

Aura of Courage and Smite Evil, plus paladin Turn Undead at lv4.

Another way of meeting the prereqs for Devoted Tracker.

• Monk (Shinto monkDr358

fighting style): At 6th level, gain an animal

companion as a druid of 1/3 your monk level. Given the bonus feats

provided by this style, consider on a Saint and/or Cha-based build.

• Paladin (Berronar ValkyrieCoV

RSL): A set of racial substitution levels

for female dwarves. The one at lv4 replaces Turn Undead with a

3+Cha/day form of Pounce, which also grants you and your mount the

Mobility feat while using it. You can only attack creatures that threaten

one of your allies though, and the attacks must be made with a single

weapon.

• Paladin (Hunter of FiendsDr349

ACF): Trade Smite Evil for Favored

Enemy (evil outsider) and Track as a bonus feat; instead of Knowledge

(nobility and royalty) as a class skill you gain Knowledge (the planes)

and Survival. A big help for paladins who want to use ranger-based feats

and PrCs; the favored enemy bonus even scales by paladin level. See if

you can convince your DM to adapt it to "Hunter of Celestials" for a

paladin of slaughter, so that you can be a NE paladin/druid.

• Paladin (LightbringerEtCR

ACF): Trade your first weekly use of remove

disease for a continuous death ward effect on your mount. If you have 6

levels of paladin this is always worth it.

• Ranger (FangshieldsCoV

RSL): +2 to your effective druid level for

determining your animal companion's abilities (making your companion

equivalent to a druid's at the level you get it). Cannot be selected by

members of the Humanoid type (the OtherworldlyPGtF

feat comes in

handy here).

• Ranger (Planar rangerUA

ACF): Your animal companion gains the

celestial or fiendish template for free.

• Ranger (Urban companion City

ACF): See the druid version of the ACF

above; your effective druid level is still halved for determining your

familiar's abilities, but you get more benefit from the hp thing than a

druid does.

• Scout (Light cavalryDr346

ACF): Gain a paladin special mount at 5th

level, except that it can't share spells or command creatures. Your fast

movement and free movement class features apply to your mount

instead of you; you don't get camouflage or hide in plain sight, but both

of you gain trackless step. If you're using this ACF, pick up smite evil

somehow (a paladin dip is the easiest way but there are others); that

way you can qualify for both Swift Hunter and Devoted Tracker.

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• Sorcerer (Blood of EberronDR351

ACF): Replace familiar with ranger

animal companion, Natural Spell feat works for any kind of

shapeshifting.

• TotemistMoI

: Grants access to the Riding Bracers soulmeld, which

provides Ride and Handle Animal bonuses. At lv2 they can bind it to

their Totem chakra, granting the Evasion and Link abilities to any animal

or Int 1-2 magical beast that they ride.

• Wizard (Animal companionUA

ACF): Gain a ranger animal companion

in place of a familiar. Sorcerers can select this option too, but Blood of

Eberron provides more benefits.

• Wizard (Enchanter variant: CohortUA

): Trade your familiar for a

cohort, as the Leadership feat (does not stack with the Leadership feat).

Note that these specialist wizard variants are banned by many DMs.

• Wizard (lv5 "High One Warrior-Wizard" substitution level):

Combine your familiar with your special mount, as long as you have at

least 2 levels of paladin. Interestingly, if you traded your familiar away

for another ability then you gain one for the purposes of this effect, so

you might as well take the animal companion ACF above then combine

all three with Devoted Tracker.

Prestige Classes

• Animal LordCAdv

: 10 levels of full animal companion compression and

full BAB. Okay, but not particularly exciting. There's a 3.0 version in

Masters of the Wild that gets limited spellcasting, but it's not usable

without some rewriting.

• Aglarondian GriffonriderUE

: Get a griffin companion with its own

progression OR select a griffin as your special mount and advance it.

Note that granting your mount Evasion doesn't do anything in the latter

case, since it already has Improved Evasion. You can also use Mounted

Combat multiple times per round. The capstone works like Spirited

Charge, but stacks with it. Sadly incompatible with special cohort

mounts.

• Celebrant of SharessPGtF

: An exalted PrC which can be entered at lv5

rather than lv6. Grants a cat familiar as a wizard/sorcerer of double your

class level (doesn't stack with wizard/sorcerer levels, but should stack

with PrCs which advance familiars explicitly), as well as some random

stuff like rage, pounce, quasi-bardic-music and limited spellcasting. It's

not much by itself (the chassis is pretty bad), but it has potential in

combos.

• DragonriderDrac

: A 5-level class that grants Improved Maneuverability

and Flyby Attack to a dragon you ride. It doesn't offer any advancement

though, so it's mainly for cohorts.

• Dragon RiderDLCS

: Upgrades your Leadership feat to Dragon Cohort

(without losing your followers), and grants the dragon extra abilities

based on your class level (similar to a double-speed special mount, but

stacks with it). Also the dragon's Frightful Presence enlarges as if it were

one age category older, and it adds half your class level to its save DC -

that's a huge bonus. Finally, the two of you get immunity to flanking.

The +10 BAB prereq is stiff though.

• Faith ScionUA

: If you're using the rules for legendary weapons, this

class will advance a ton of abilities at once. Oh, and you also get a

hammer.

• Halfling OutriderCW

: Dual advancement for animal companions and

special mounts.

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• Harmonium PeacekeeperDr315

: A 5-level class that grants a paladin

special mount at +4 effective level, stacking with existing mounts. When

you un-summon your mount you and your companions can return to its

home plane with it, and then plane shift to other places from there. The

prereqs are pretty easy to meet, as long as you're lawful.

• HellbreakerFC2

: Not explicitly mount-focused, but at lv4 it gets the

Stowaway ability, allowing you to share in any teleportation effect used

within 30ft. Useful if you have a teleporting mount, such as a blink dog.

• Human ParagonUA

: Lv1 lets you add one skill as a class skill to all

classes. Picking up Ride or Handle Animal like this can be very useful for

some builds.

• Knight of the Blue MoonCoS:W

: A class intended for paladin/sorcerers.

Provides 5/5 spellcasting advancement and a special mount that stacks

with paladin levels. If you don't have a familiar then your

wizard/sorcerer levels also stack for determining its abilities. Could

make a good combo with High One Warrior-Wizard.

• Knight of the Iron GlacierFrost

: Advances your special mount and

replaces it with a "war megaloceros", a megaloceros (CR4 Animal with

Improved Grab, Scent and a mini-dungeoncrasher ability) with the

warbeast template already applied. This is basically a 1-level dip class.

• Knight of the Flying HuntCoV

: You get a pegasus... and it never

improves from its base stats. Your other class features are two bonus

feats from a short list, -2/-4 reductions to your Armor Check Penalties,

and "someone buys you magic armor" (it's not great armor either). I

could see maybe a 1-level dip in this class before heading into Windrider

levels, but that's it.

• Moonsea SkysentinelCoV

: Grants you a 9 HD dire hawk as a mount

(Large and with maximum hp), which gains an additional +1 HD/+2

natural armor/+2 Strength for every three class levels you possess

beyond 1st. You can use shield and immediate-action 1-round spell

turning, which affect both you and the hawk, and both of you gain

scaling bonuses to saving throws against spells and spell-like abilities.

• Ranger KnightDr317

: Grants an interesting collection of abilities, most

notably a special mount at +5 effective level, favored enemies, and

upgrading Trample to a full attack (devastating for dragon mounts). You

can also treat medium armor as light armor for the purposes of all

armor-restricted abilities while mounted. While there's four prereq feats,

it's pretty easy to gain them through ranger levels and magic items

(such as battle bridle and gloves of the balanced hand).

• Sanctified One (Ehlonna)CC

: Must be an NG worshipper of Ehlonna.

1/day as a swift action you can summon a griffin or unicorn that's

immune to fear and grants you a +5 bonus on Ride checks. It gains +2

HD and AC per class level (and the AC bonus is sacred, not natural,

meaning it applies to touch attacks) - a very fast progression,

particularly if you can extend it through bloodlines or Legacy Champion.

However, the summon only lasts 1 hour, so it's not much use for travel.

• Silverwood OutriderWeb

: Grants benefits for Wild Cohorts, animal

companions or special mounts. However, since it does not actually

advance their abilities, there is little reason to use this for an animal

companion. With a special mount it makes even less sense, since special

mounts are intelligent and don't need to be handled or learn tricks. A

one-level dip makes Ride a class skill for all classes, which even applies

retroactively - don't take any more levels than this unless you have a

Wild Cohort.

• Vadalis BeastkeeperDragonmarked

: Get the magebred template for your

animal companion or special mount, some mounted combat bonus feats,

of 32Mount Handbook


and limited spellcasting (including polymorph and a version of heal

mount which also works on animal companions). What's more, you can

enter this PrC at lv5 rather than lv6 like most PrCs. A good choice for

use with the Holy Mount feat in Ubermount builds.

• Wild Plains Outrider: Advances either animal companion or special

mount. Also has an exception for the paladin's multiclassing clause, if

your DM enforces it.

• WindriderMotW

: Grants bonuses to your "chosen mount" similar to a

double-speed special mount. If you're a paladin, then you instead

designate the chosen mount as your special mount and add your

windrider levels to your paladin levels for determining its abilities

(...maybe, it's not very clear). Stacks with every other type of

companion, and can even be applied to fellow PCs. Also your mount

gets something similar to Divine Grace, using your Cha bonus. Finally,

since it has limited spellcasting it can be used with the Holy Mount feat.

Feats

• Aereni FocusPGtE

: 1st-level-only version of Skill Focus for elves, which

also makes that skill a class skill for all classes (and counts as Skill

Focus for prereqs). Useful if your classes don't normally have access to

skills like Ride or Handle Animal.

• Blessed of VulkoorSoX

: A 1st-level-only feat for drow which gives extra

SLAs, and lets them use Small to Huge monstrous scorpions as animal

companions depending on level.

• BondedDr357

: When you attack in the same round as a creature you

have trained with the Handle Animal skill, you both gain a +1 bonus on

attack and damage rolls. When making ranged attacks, said creature

also doesn't cause you to take a penalty for firing into melee.

• Double TeamDr357

: Once per round you may make an attack of

opportunity against a creature your bonded companion struck

with an attack.

• Protective TalonsDr357

: Once per round, if you would be struck

by a ranged attack while your bonded companion is within 5ft,

you may substitute its attack roll +1 for your Armor Class against

the attack.

• SereenDr357

: At the start of each round your bonded companion

can take a -2 penalty to attacks and AC in exchange for granting

you concealment against one opponent.

• Celestial MountBoED

: Special mount gains celestial template. For an

ubermount with huge numbers of HD this can be worth adding for the

Spell Resistance, but normally the bonuses aren't really significant. Note

that it requires 4 levels of paladin, meaning prestige paladin can't be

used for the usual 2-level dip.

• Cloak DanceXPH

: Take this if you find that you have move actions to

spare while mounted. You gain concealment as a move action, or total

concealment as a full-round action.

• Close CohortDR346

: If you have Leadership your cohort is one level

lower than you, rather than two levels. It isn't much of a stretch to

apply this to alternatives like Dragon Cohort. Talk to your DM before

trying to combine it with thrallherd.

• Co-ordinated StrikeRotW

: +1 attack bonus against any foe your animal

companion or special mount has struck in the same round. I'd just take

Knowledge Devotion instead. Heck, Weapon Focus is better than this.

• Despana SchoolDotU

: Grants bonuses when fighting alongside creatures

you've summoned (including auto-flank), making this neat for paladins,

of 32Mount Handbook


knight phantoms and so on. You need summon monster to qualify,

which means either an arcane casting dip or ex-paladin/blackguard.

• Devoted Tracker: Lets you designate your special mount as your

animal companion. The possibilities are endless. Forms the basis of the

ubermount build when combined with a way to advance both at once

(such as bloodline levels or certain PrCs).

• Dragon CohortDrac

: Like Leadership, but better. Well, if you wanted a

dragon anyway. A blackguard can denote a Dragon Cohort as his

fiendish companion by lowering his effective character level, though

given that paladins do this through Dragon Steed it's possible this was a

typo and they meant that feat instead.

• Dragon Hunter BraveryDrac

: You project a 30ft aura that grants +4

Will and +4 effective HD for resisting the frightful presence of dragons,

and your special companion can't be affected unless you are. An

extremely situational feat, and even in a dragon-heavy campaign it's

unlikely that you'll have enough HD to actually ignore frightful presence

(ironically, your mount might).

• Dragon SteedDrac

: You gain a dragonnel as a mount; it doesn't advance

as you gain levels, but it has good stats at the level you qualify for it. If

you already have a special mount, then you can instead attract a

dragonnelDrac

or a few different types of dragon as your special mount

by lowering your effective paladin level. Note that dragonnel and spiked

felldrakeDrac

special mounts are possible without the feat.

• Exalted CompanionBoED

: Adds some good-aligned magical beasts to

your list of potential "animal" companions. Note that this lets your

companion qualify for exalted feats without combining it with a special

mount.

• Fast RiderDR285

: Your mount gets +10ft speed when it has no less than

a light load.

• Feral Animal CompanionCoR

: If you are evil, your animal companion

gets +2 Str and Con. Also its bite is diseased and it's harder for others

to handle, but those are little more than fluff.

• Flexible MindDr326

: Adds two skills to your list of class skills. You must

be chaotic to select this feat.

• Gestalt AnchorCP

: +2 to Ref and initiative is pretty nice but your mount

needs to take a [Host] feat, and you need to either do the same or be a

kalashtar. Choose the latter if possible. See also Psymbiot.

• Githyanki DragonriderMM4

: A githyanki with this feat gains +2

Diplomacy/Ride vs red dragons, and both it and its mount gain +1

AC/Reflex.

• Heroic CompanionMoE

: Any kind of special companion or homunculus

you possess can draw from your pool of action points, and you gain +1

action point per level. Obviously, make sure you're using action points

before taking this feat (or use a spell like unfettered heroismRoE

that

gives a temporary pool).

• Holy MountDR325

: All levels in divine spellcasting classes count as

paladin levels for determining your special mount's abilities. Paladin's a

pretty weak class compared to most divine casters, so this means you

don't have to take many levels in it. Gets better with cleric X/prestige

paladin 2 builds. Nasty when combined with Devoted Tracker.

• Horse NomadDr349

: An lv1-only regional feat that grants +3 Ride and

proficiency with lances, scimitars and composite shortbows. Which you'll

usually be proficient with anyway. And unlike Skill Focus it doesn't help

with prerequisites.

• Improved Familiar:

of 32Mount Handbook


• Improved Fiendish ServantCoR

: Adds about a dozen fiendish animals

to the list of creatures a blackguard can use as their fiendish servant, all

of them superior to the standard choices. See also Nightmare SteedDn100

below.

• Improved Psicrystal: Ignore the extra personality. What you're

interested in is the +1 level for determining abilities, which means

+1HD, which means extra attack bonus and feats for your psicrystal.

Basis of the "Big guy is with me" build.

• Leadership: Source of mount with its own gp supply.

• LifebondLM

: An undead creature who takes this feat chooses one living

creature, and gains +2 saves/+4 turn resistance while it's within 60ft

(or penalties for 24 hours if it dies). Could also be useful in the other

direction, for an undead mount ridden by a living character.

• Monstrous Animal CompanionDr326

: Adds a large number of creatures

to your available animal companions, of various types.

• Mounted Combat: The basic riding feat, and a prereq for most others.

It's pretty easy to get a higher Ride check than your mount's AC

(especially touch AC), so it's a useful effect.

• Mounted FightingDr346

: +1 attack/damage while mounted. Better than

Co-ordinated Strike, but still very weak (particularly since you can't take

it at low levels).

• Mounted FuryWeb

: If you can rage, your mount can rage with you. The

benefits are obvious. Note that you must be riding your mount when you

start raging, and the mount stops raging if you dismount.

• Mounted MobilityHoB

: Basically the Mobility feat with different prereqs,

and it applies to your mount as well as you. While better than standard

Mobility, it doesn't count as Mobility for prereqs, and that's the only

reason anyone takes that feat in the first place.

• Natural BondCAdv

: Practiced Spellcaster for animal companions -

increase your level by 3 for the purposes of determining its abilities, to a

maximum of your character level. It's a reasonable stretch to allow this

to apply to Wild Cohorts as well. This gets interesting when applied to

beastmasters, who have a level cap 3 higher than normal. It gets really

interesting if you can use it to get higher-level companions faster.

• Nightmare SteedDn100

: From Polyhedron #159, included with Dragon

Magazine #100. Allows a blackguard to attract a nightmare as their

fiendish servant. Badass as hell, and much stronger than Improved

Fiendish ServantCoR

.

• Obtain Familiar:

• Phalanx FightingCW

: Consider this if your mount can hold and use a

shield (via race or feats). See "feats for mounts" for more details.

• Psicrystal Affinity: Source of potentially impressive mount, but only if

transformed.

• PsymbiotCP

: Grants benefits if both you and your mount have

manifester levels of 3. The latter can be handled by having your mount

take a combination of Hidden Talent and Practiced Manifester, or a

[Host] feat, which also qualifies you for Gestalt Anchor.

• SaddlebackPGtF

: 1st level only. You can always take 10 on Ride checks.

Once per round you can reroll a Reflex save as a Ride check - this

applies to either you or your mount, or both if you must both save

against the same effect. Your mount probably has Improved Evasion, so

the second one is more useful when used on yourself. Still, on a clumsy

character the ability to reroll Reflex saves at a higher bonus is hardly

shabby, and taking 10 is useful too.

of 32Mount Handbook


• Shadow FamiliarToM

: Functions like Obtain Familiar, except your

familiar also gains the darkToM

template. It requires 3 levels in

shadowcaster, and levels in classes that can use shadow mysteries

count as arcane spellcasting classes for determining its abilities. Also

grants access to the Master of ShadowToM

PrC.

• Shape Soulmeld (Riding bracers)MoI

: +4 insight bonus to Ride and

Handle Animal checks, or more if you invest essentia. At character level

12th you can take the Open Lesser Chakra (arms)MoI

feat for a +2 to

melee damage and AC while mounted and not wearing an item on your

arms slot.

• Share SoulmeldMoI

: If you can already shape soulmelds, chances are

good that at least one of them will benefit your mount.

• Shared FuryRotW

: Basically the same as Mounted Fury, but for an

animal companion within 5ft.

• SlowUA

: Both the trait and the flaw of this name reduce your speed. A

dwarf PC or one wearing heavy armour who takes both will find himself

with a speed of only 5ft per round. However, as long as you stay on a

mount your own speed will never come up, meaning that you essentially

get Improved Toughness and a second feat for free.

• Spider CompanionDotU

: Adds monstrous spiders of various sizes to

your list of animal companions.

• Steady RiderWeb

: You can always take 10 on Ride checks, including the

use of Mounted Combat. Inferior to Saddleback, but a decent substitute

if you can't fit that in.

• Strength of the ChargerOA

: Odd feat. Bonus to hp and Fort saves

while mounted equal to mount's Con modifier.

• Swift CallBoED

: You can summon your paladin special mount as a swift

action rather than a full-round action. Whether this is useful will vary

heavily from table to table. In any case the call mountBoED

spell provides

an alternate summoning method, so you can save the swift one for

emergencies.

• Talenta Dinosaur BondPGtE

: Grants +4 Ride/+1 AC/+1 Reflex to a

rider, and +1 AC/+1 Reflex to their mount... as long as you're a halfling

riding a dinosaur. Pity it doesn't count as Skill Focus for prereqs.

• Theurgic BondDR325

: Allows levels in animal companion classes to stack

for familiar abilities or vice versa. The "vice versa" is the more

interesting here, since familiars don't get nearly as much as animal

companions.

• Theurgic MountDR325

: Arcane version of Holy Mount. Probably weaker

unless you have combined your mount with your familiar. The Fey bard

variant which receives an animal companion can use this to great effect

with Devoted Tracker.

• Thrall BredLoM

: Choose one creature with more HD than you. You gain

a +1 bonus to saving throws and damage rolls while they're within 30ft

and doing okay, and a -2 penalty when they're not. Ubermounts will

easily have more HD than their riders, so why not? Doesn't work the

other way around since it's Humanoid only.

• Totem CompanionECS

: Adds a specific magical beast to your list of

animal companions.

• Tunnel RidingRoS

: Your mount does not take the -4 attack/AC penalties

for squeezing through Medium passages. The alternatives to this are

having your mount take the Tunnel Fighting feat, or being a Small

character with a Medium mount.

of 32Mount Handbook


« Last Edit: July 27, 2014, 02:14:13 PM by Prime32 »

• Underfoot CombatRotW

: When sharing the space of a creature two

sizes or more larger than you, you gain soft cover (+4 AC). For Small

riders with Large+ mounts (or Medium riders with Huge+ mounts, Tiny

riders with Medium+ mounts, etc.).

• Vermin CompanionECS

: Adds some vermin to your list of animal

companions. Unlike standard vermin they have Int 1.

• Wedded to the LightDr358

: Grants the familiar of a Good character a

few extra abilities; among other things it can sacrifice itself to resurrect

you, and you both get fast healing. Can be selected as a wizard bonus

feat.

• Wild CohortWeb

: Animal companion on the cheap, with entry to two

interesting PrCs.

• Winter's MountFB

: Special mount gains cold subtype and +2 Con. If

your mount already has the fire subtype this will make it immune to

both cold and fire. Otherwise, the fire vulnerability offsets the extra HP

somewhat.

Logged




Prime32

Over-Underling

Head Moderator

Posts: 2893

Respect: +30

Re: Mount Handbook


03:13:22 PM »

Equipment for mountsWould a fighter go into battle naked? Well, why should his steed?

SaddleYou take a penalty for riding bareback, so this is important. Of note in Core are

the military saddle (which keeps you from falling out) and the exotic saddle

(required for unusual mounts).

• Equestrian's SaddleA&EG

: A military saddle that grants the rider a +10

circumstance bonus on Ride checks. Only 2,000gp, but only works for

horses.

• HowdahA&EG

: A platform mounted on a Huge or larger creature,

allowing them to carry up to four Medium creatures (only one counts as

the rider), and also granting them cover.

of 32Mount Handbook


ArmourAfter saddles, the first thing you'll want to look at is barding. The costs of a

suit of armour for a quadruped are doubled, and every size category above

Medium doubles it again. Since most mounts are Large quadrupeds, that's 4x

the cost before enchantments. Since speed is probably one of the reasons you

have a mount in the first place, it's best to stick to light armour. If you want

more AC you can go with a mithral breastplate.

• Grotesque BardingDr349

: Grants +2 Intimidate in exchange for -1 on

attack rolls, and lets "the animal" attempt to demoralise enemies as a

free action whenever it attacks. At the insane price of +50gp! It's not

even magical, though the wording might limit it to animal companions.

• Spiked BardingDr349

: Works like spiked armour, but if worn by an

animal that knows the attack and perform tricks, can be used to

increase grapple damage and damage enemies who grapple it.

WeaponNot many mounts can use these, but an amulet of natural attacks or necklace

of natural weapons can help out.

Other

• Feathered Wings (graft)FF

: May turn your mount evil, but the fly

speed is incredible for its price and the Diplomacy penalty is usually

meaningless.

• Hand of the Mage: 600gp necklace grants at-will mage hand for

mounts without hands of their own. Cheap enough that its effects can be

added to another item without becoming too costly.

• Horseshoes of FlameSS

: Good Boccob these are ridiculous. 90ft fly

speed (good), +1d4 fire damage to hoof attacks, +2 Dex, +10 Int, +6

Cha. For 30,240gp. According to the rules they work only for "an

ordinary horse", though this is ill-defined. Does a warhorse count as an

ordinary horse? What about a legendary horse? If your mount has ranks

in Use Magic Device they can use them regardless. Heck, with UMD his

rider can use them - no-one will care how silly he looks if he's a wizard

running around with a +10 bonus to Int.

• Horseshoes of Speed: +30ft enhancment bonus to base land speed for

3,000gp is a pretty good deal.

• Horseshoes of a Zephyr: You float just above the ground, meaning

that you can cross water and quicksand and don't leave tracks. Might

also allow your mount to avoid traps based on pressure plates. 6,000gp.

• Phoenix cloakMIC

: Grants fly speed based on land speed. Nice upgrade

to a fast land-based mount.

• Ram HelmetDr349

: A nonmagical item that grants a gore attack and a

+2 bonus on Strength checks to break down a door. Both function only

as part of a charge, and only when used by an animal that knows the

attack trick and is ordered to use the helmet.

• Shielding BlindersA&EG

: When worn by a horse, grants immunity to

gaze attacks.

• Shrink CollarA&EG

: A 10,000gp item that shrinks the wearer to Small

size.

• Steel TalonsDr349

: Coverings for the talons of any bird of prey which

grant that natural attack a +1 circumstance bonus on damage rolls. Can

be enchanted or made of special materials, and the benefits transfer to

the talons.

of 32Mount Handbook


Feats for mountsNot all mounts can get feats, but they can be extremely useful. While PCs need

feats as prerequisites for prestige classes, most mounts do not have class

levels; thus their choices are a lot more open. Keep an eye out for short-range

aura effects, and feats which grant entry to alternate magic systems. This

thread has some advice on these.

Note that you can swap out any of the feats a mount comes with as long as

they aren't bonus feats.

• Aberration BloodLoM

: Some interesting feats in this chain. See also

Mourning MutateDR359

, which is treated as Aberration Blood but has a

different set of options and does not require you to be humanoid.

• DeepspawnLoM

: Gain two tentacles. Combine with the gloves of

manSS

item to allow the mount to use its tentacles as hands. You

also qualify for the Extended ReachSS

feat and extend tentacles

spell (which can be made permanent), but there are other ways to

get reach.

• Inhuman ReachLoM

: +5ft reach. Now psicrystals can threaten

adjacent squares even in their natural form. See also Deformity

(tall)HoH

, which grants much the same benefits but only for

Medium creatures.

• WaterspawnLoM

: Your mount now works just as well in water as

on the ground. Nice - this is a blue feat for aquatic campaigns.

Also it gets resistance to cold 5 for some reason.

• Airy Gallop: An obscure source (link), but an interesting way to get

pseudo-flight. Requires "Con -" for some reason, meaning an undead or

construct mount.

• Air HeritagePlanH

: +30ft fly speed. Nifty. Also +2 to Jump and Balance

while unburdened.

• Awaken Frightful PresenceDrac

: More potent than the Frightful

Presence feat, the real gem here is combining this with Dreadful Wrath

to get a massive radius and increased DC. If you have Frightful Presence

and Dreadful Wrath the bonus should apply to both of them. You have to

be a dragon to take the feat though.

• Bind VestigeToM

: While the image is hilarious, make sure your mount is

actually capable of carrying out the binding ritual. If it can, this can be a

pretty good choice.

• Constant GuardianDotU

: Take a -2 penalty on attack rolls to grant

someone in 10ft a +2 bonus to AC. If you don't plan on attacking, go

nuts.

• Cumbrous Dodge: If you are immune to fatigue (eg. if you are an

undead or construct) this is essentially +2 free AC. Requires Dodge, but

there are good alternatives like Desert Wind DodgeToB

and Expeditious

DodgeRotW

.

• DarkstalkerLoM

: Hide from unusual senses like blindsight and scent. A

good feat, but not very useful to a mount unless its rider has

Darkstalker too. The ability to flank creatures with all-around vision is

nice in combination with Martial Stance (island of blades) though.

• Draconic AuraDM

: Gets you a 30ft aura (benefiting both rider and

mount) from the lists in Player's Handbook 2 and Dragon Magic. If your

mount has the Dragon type or dragonblood subtype (see Dragontouched

below) the bonus scales by level (up to +4). Otherwise it stays at +1.

of 32Mount Handbook


Ubermounts have large amounts of HD, so they'll hit this cap pretty

quickly. You can gain more than one aura, and switch between them (or

use two at once if you have the Double Draconic Aura feat from the

same source).

• DragontouchedDM

: Gain the dragonblood subtype. Qualifies you for

feats which grant various things like wings, though since some of those

are lv1-only you'll need to take flaws to get them. If your type is Dragon

you already count as dragonblood, so you don't need this feat.

• Dreadful WrathPGtF

: 1st-level only, gain a form of Frightful Presence.

It's a regional feat, so you may have trouble getting it approved by the

DM. Can be a great help to a rider with a fear-based build.

• Frightful PresenceDrac

: Check how many HD you have before taking

this feat. If you're a combo cohort-mount-companion you should have

enough for this to be useful a reasonable percentage of the time, but

usually most monsters are too high level for this to work. Dreadful

Wrath has a lower radius but no HD limit, and is usually preferable.

Combining the two feats can be effective.

• Illithid HeritageLoM

: This feat chain requires a power point reserve.

Wild Talent will get you that, though it will make the feats which expand

your Powers Known useless.

• Illithid GrappleLoM

: Improved Grab is interesting, but you can

only use it on creatures within one size category of you. That

means horses can't use this feat on halflings, while psicrystals can

hardly use it on anything. See also Deepspawn above.

• Illithid BlastLoM

: A character without levels in a manifesting class

can still qualify for this feat with the Hidden Talent and Practiced

Manifester feats.

• Illithid LegacyLoM

: Likewise for this feat, though Greater Illithid

Legacy is out of your reach (unless you take a [Host] feat as

well). While psionic charm and read thoughts can be useful, you

won't have enough pp to use them unless you take the Psionic

Talent feat a few times or get an external source of pp. Your rider,

on the other hand, can use the rules for manifesting powers from

another mind.

• Mage SlayerCW

: Normally the kind of thing you always wanted to take,

but were never able to fit in. Nothing says to mages like this feat

chain.

• Martial Stance/Martial StudyToB

: Kung-fu ponies. Hurrah!

• Martial Stance (island of blades)ToB

: When you and an ally

both threaten an opponent, the two of you are treated as flanking.

Nice if the rider has sneak attack. This works just as well on

riders, but the rider is likely to have fewer spare feats.

• Mighty Roar, GreaterSS

: The standard Mighty Roar is inferior to

frightful presence of any kind, but the improved version renders

enemies panicked for 2d6 rounds. Must be an animal or magical beast of

at least Large size, meaning that this will mostly see use with druids and

paladins.

• MindsightLoM

: Near-perfect detection abilities for mounts with telepathy

(including psicrystals) - you are aware of the location of anything with a

mind in range of your telepathy, as well as its Int and type. The rider

can't see them, but his mount can direct him to the right square. Plus it

can alert the rider to ambushes.

• Mourning MutateDR359

: See Aberration Blood

• Natural Spell: For druids who transform into mounts. Any sane druid

would take this feat, but it bears repeating.

of 32Mount Handbook


• OtherworldlyPGtF

: Your type changes to Outsider, which gives a former

Animal good BAB, +6 skill points per level, and possibly another good

save. Particularly good for Fey like the durthan's telthor companion. Not

as useful for Magical Beasts, who have full BAB already and will lose hit

points in the deal. If your DM is worried about the fluff prereqs, they can

also be met by having a celestial present at your time of birth (see

Champions of Valor p22).

• Phalanx FightingCW

: If you get your mount some way to hold items

then you two can use this feat. Note that an unarmed strike is a light

weapon, so a heavy shield is all that's required for the tasty +3 AC/+1

Reflex bonus.

• Prehensile TailSS

: Now your mount, too, can wield a weapon! If your

mount does not have a tail slap, Draconic TailRotD

will get them one.

• PsymbiotCP

: This is a feat which grants some nice bonuses when a

creature with ML3 is within 10ft. The restriction is that it can't be "any

psionic creatures crafted, projected, or summoned by you". There's

nothing to stop the summoned creature from using the summoner to

fuel the feat though, making this a good choice for Hidden Talent

psicrystals.

• RapidstrikeDrac

: If you have a "pair" of natural weapons (two claws)

etc. you can make an extra attack with them. You can take this feat

once for every pair of weapons you have.

• Improved RapidstrikeDrac

: Every time you take this feat you

can make four extra attacks per turn. Seriously.

• ReverberationSS

: Ability Focus for sonic attacks. Except that it stacks

with Ability Focus.

• Shape SoulmeldMoI

: There are a lot of interesting options here, though

for some purposes it's better for the rider to take Share Soulmeld

instead.

• Travel DevotionCC

: This is a great feat, but your mount will need some

way to turn undead to make use of it properly.

• Virulent PoisonSS

: +2 DC for extraordinary poison attacks which stacks

with Ability Focus.

• Vow of PovertyBoED

: This is just plain ridiculous if you can get it

allowed. Normally the cost of this feat is that you must give up all your

magic items and gold, but most mounts don't have their own supply of

gold anyway. If you ride a cohort, thrall, or other party member, this

feat will hurt you more than it helps.

• Wild Talent: Opens the door to psionic feats, which can be good. If you

have a psicrystal, take Psicrystal Containment and have your psicrystal

take this feat (and Psychic Meditation, if you want) - now your psicrystal

can take a move action to restore your psionic focus, allowing you to

theoretically expend four psionic focuses per round.

• Hidden TalentXPH

: A 1st-level-only variant of Wild Talent which

appears only in the XPH (it's not in the SRD), this feat also gives

you the ability to manifest a single 1st-level power at manifester

level 1, with Charisma as your base manifesting stat (if you can

already manifest powers this functions like Expanded Knowledge

instead). With the Practiced Manifester feat you can increase your

ML to 5.

• [Host] featsCP

: Can be even better than Hidden Talent - these

feats grant you a 1/day psi-like ability with ML equal to half your

HD. Or rather, two psi-like abilities, but you can only use one of

them per day. Also qualifies you for Gestalt Anchor, which is

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« Last Edit: January 06, 2014, 08:23:11 AM by Prime32 »

pretty cool with a kalashtar rider. Otherwise, don't take one of

these unless you need a manifester level to meet a prereq

• Willing DeformityBoVD

: This is a vile feat, so you must be evil to take

it. +2 Intimidate in Book of Vile Darkness, increased to +3 in Heroes of

Horror. This chain grants some interesting abilities on its own, but the

Intimidate bonuses also synergise with a fear-based build.

• Deformity (gaunt/obese)BoVD

: These feats are, naturally,

opposites of each other. One gives +2 Dex and -2 Con, the other

grants -2 Dex and +2 Con. Some skill bonuses as well. An undead

mount can take the (gaunt) feat and ignore the penalty, since it

lost its Con score when it became undead. There aren't many

feats which grant +2 to an ability score.

• Deformity (madness)BoVD

: -4 Wisdom in exchange for immunity

to mind-affecting effects? This is pretty awesome if you don't

have that immunity from your type already.

• Deformity (tongue)BoVD

: Blindsense 30ft. Mindsight is better,

but not everyone has telepathy.

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Re: Mount Handbook


03:14:11 PM »

Mounted combat (melee)Melee combat from horseback comes down to jousting. Charge the enemy as

hard as possible, and be out of range before they can strike back. For this the

Ride-By Attack feat is essential. One major obstacle for you is your inability to

make more than one melee attack per round. There are PrC abilities which can

help this though, and if you have some form of Pounce it applies to your

mounted charges.

A rider is considered to be in all of his mount's squares at once, which means

that you threaten squares as if you were a creature of the mount's size but

with your own reach.

of 32Mount Handbook


Items

• Knight's SwordA&EG

: A bastard sword that gets the lance's mounted

damage bonus. Overpriced unless you really need to use a bastard

sword for some reason.

• Lance: While mounted, you can wield a lance in one hand and your

charge attacks deal double damage. Note that just because you can, you

don't have to wield it in one hand. Most charger builds benefit more

from a two-handed weapon and Power Attack.

• Lance of BraveryA&EG

: A +2 lance that makes its holder and their

mount immune to fear.

• Lance of FaerunMoF

: A +2 holy lance of evil outsider bane, that also

grants the Spirited Charge feat. At over 98,000 gp it's very expensive

though.

• Lance of the Unending ChargeA&EG

: A +2 lance of mighty cleaving

that lets you make "cleaving charges" - when your Cleave feat triggers

as part of a mounted charge, you can move up to your mount's speed in

the same direction before making the bonus attack.

• Lancer's SpursCC

: If you wear these boots while riding your special

mount, the mount gains the benefits of an amulet of mighty fists +2 (at

half the price!) and their natural attacks become good/evil-aligned

depending on your alignment. If you ride a mount that's not your special

amount, the bonus is +1 and there's no alignment effect. Since this

replicates the war-mount spell in the same book, see if you can convince

your DM to let it trigger the spell's synergistic effect with master cavalier

and phantom charge.

• Battle BridleMIC

: 9k, grants Mounted Combat and a +5 bonus to Ride

checks. If you already have Mounted Combat you get Ride-by Attack

instead. A melee character should upgrade to Riding Boots when it

becomes possible.

• Riding BootsMIC

: For 12,000gp you get +5 to Ride checks, Ride-by

Attack as a bonus feat, and a boost to the power of Spirited Charge if

you have it.

Feats

• Bladebearer of the ValenarRoE/PGtE

: Elf-only feat that's functionally

equivalent to Exotic Weapon Proficiency (double scimitar), but you also

get to share feats like Weapon Focus between scimitars, falchions and

double scimitars, and they deal +1 damage while mounted. There's

another minor bonus which applies if you're using action points. But

most significantly, this is a prereq for Revenant Blade (see below).

• Cavalry ChargerCW

:

• Devastating ThunderDr332

: The save DC is good, but the fear doesn't

last long and can't be used more than once.

• Ride-by Attack: While not as good as Fly-by Attack, this is much easier

to qualify for than Spring Attack, and you get more total movement out

of it (a charge as opposed to a move action). Note that you must

continue in a straight line after you attack, unless you or your mount

has a "crooked charge" ability of some kind. The downside is that, well,

by RAW it isn't actually possible to keep moving in a straight line after

charging except in a small number of situations, since this would result

in you moving through your enemy's space. The designers probably

intended either that you could end a charge in any space from which

of 32Mount Handbook


you could attack the target, or that you could make an overrun attempt

as a free action as part of using this feat (it seems to have been written

before those rules were finalised), but make sure you clear up this issue

with your DM.

• Spirited Charge: Double damage on mounted charge, or triple damage

if you use a lance? Boo-yah!

• Spirit of the StallionPGtE

: +1 on melee attack and damage rolls, but

only if you're an elf riding a Valenar horse (which is a specific creature,

not a fluff thing). It's better than Weapon Focus, but there are much

better things you could be spending feats on.

• Talenta WarriorRoE

: Like Bladebearer of the Valenar but for halflings;

the weapons are Talenta sharrash, Talenta tangat, and Talenta

boomerang.

• Trample: This feat was clearly written with horses in mind - it's not

clear what happens when something like a snake is entitled to a free

"hoof attack", though it should probably be taken to mean their primary

attack (the Ashworm Dragoon PrC goes with this interpretation). If you

can use this feat with a mount with a nasty primary attack then this can

be decent, particularly if you have access to Fell Trample. Usually,

though, it's better to just have your mount trip the enemy while you

attack it. Consider having your mount take Improved Trip instead.

• Tremendous ChargeDLCS

: When making a mounted charge with a

lance, use your mount's Str modifier for damage in place of your own.

Basically lets you dump Str entirely.

• Valenar TramplePGtE

: A variant of Trample which lets both you and

your mount attack, and counts as Trample for prerequisites. Nice.

However, it has the same restrictions on use as Spirit of the Stallion.

Classes

• Ashworm DragoonSand

: Grants an ashworm as a mount, which

advances as you gain levels. You can choose to designate it as your

special mount if you have one, but this causes it to lose its poison.

Grants Trample and Spirited Charge as bonus feats, or grants unique

bonuses if you already have them, and lets you use Mounted Combat

2/round.

• Bone Knight5N

: Grants a special mount which stacks with paladin

levels, and applies the skeleton template to it. Also you get armour

made out of bones.

• CavalierCW

: This class takes your Spirited Charge feat and turns it up to

eleven. Unfortunately, you can only use its insane damage multipliers a

limited number of times per day.

• Crinti Shadow MarauderSS

: A 5-level PrC which grants Sudden Strike

+2d6, and lets you and your mount teleport short distances or shadow

walk. The last level gives you access to the amazing Shadow Pounce

ability, which lets you make a melee full attack as a free action after

teleporting, as long as your target was in line of sight beforehand. Could

be a nice combo with the phantom chargeCC

spell.

• Great Rift SkyguardRoF

: A PrC for gold dwarves, which focuses on

jumping off a flying mount (allowing you to charge as a standard

action), and training your mount to grab and resaddle you as a standard

action in the middle of a move. You get some class features which

improve the stats of a pre-existing hippogriff, but they're not a single

progression so bloodlines don't help - over the first 8 levels this results

in a hippogriff with +4 HD, +6 natural armor, +3 Str, +6 Int, Spell

Resistance 20 and DR 5/magic (converted from 3.0).

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« Last Edit: November 27, 2013, 07:34:26 PM by Prime32 »

• Kishi ChargerOA

:

• Knight Phantom5N

: Gish class - 9/10 spellcasting, full BAB. Your

phantom steed advances faster (+10CL!) and you also get it as a 1/level

spell-like ability. Importantly, the SLA version takes only a standard

action to cast rather than the normal 10 minutes. You also get some

phantom-themed abilities.

• Revenant BladePGtE

: If you have ranger levels, levels in this class stack

for your animal companion and caster level (the wording is very

specific). Also you get three floating feats from a short list, and can treat

both ends of a double scimitar as two-handed weapons. You must be an

elf, which limits things somewhat (look into wood elf or wild elf for more

melee-friendly ability modifiers).

• WaveriderSS

: Grants something similar to a special mount, just as

strong as a paladin's but based on your character level rather than class

level. However, you must possess the aquatic subtype, and you're

limited to a small number of aquatic creatures. This is slightly less

restrictive than it sounds, since some of your class features let you jump

out of the water like a flying fish to attack. Tridents gain the "double

damage while mounted" bonus of lances, and you gain a version of the

Spirited Charge feat that stacks with it. You also get the Full Mounted

Attack ability.

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Re: Mount Handbook


03:14:35 PM »

Mounted combat (ranged)Ranged combatants have a significant advantage - they can make full attacks

while mounted, effectively giving them two sets of actions per turn. Your

attacks, however, take place between your mount's two actions. (eg. your

mount moves, you attack, your mount moves again) If your mount is taking a

of 32Mount Handbook


« Last Edit: September 13, 2013, 09:56:05 AM by Prime32 »

full-round action to move (such as running or charging) you make the attacks

at the halfway point.

Note that you cannot use longbows while mounted (they're too long and get in

the way). You can use shortbows, composite shortbows and composite

longbows fine though.

Items

• Archery SaddleDr349

: Grants a +2 bonus on Ride checks to guide a

mount with your knees, and reduces the attack penalties for mounted

archery by 1.

Feats

• Bareback SoulDr315

: You take no penalty on Ride checks for riding

bareback, and automatically succeed at checks to guide your mount with

your knees. You also gain a +1 competence bonus on ranged weapon

attacks while mounted.

• Mounted Archery: Halves the attack roll penalties for making ranged

attacks from horseback. A must.

• Improved Mounted ArcheryCW

:If you have Mounted Archery

you take only a -2 penalty for attacking while your mount is

running, and no penalty otherwise. Also, you can attack at any

point in your mount's movement.

Classes

• Bowman ChargerDr325

: You get Improved Mounted Archery as a bonus

feat, plus Weapon Specialisation, Improved Critical and Greater Weapon

Specialisation in the composite shortbow - it qualifies you for Ranged

Weapon MasteryPHB2

I guess. Your mount meanwhile gains Dodge and

Mobility, which means it qualifies for Spring Attack and Improved Flyby

Attack. The initiative bonus and Riding Dervish ability are interesting,

the second largely because it makes you immune to AoOs, but the

abilities which let your mount use your saving throws are inferior to

basic paladin stuff. Oh, also you can double your mount's speed while

charging, and gain bonuses to Ride and Handle Animal.

• Shaaryan HunterPGtF

: Poor prereqs, not-very-useful abilities, and

doesn't advance your mount.

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Re: Mount Handbook


03:14:57 PM »

of 32Mount Handbook


Posts: 2893

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Mounted combat (spellcasting)The biggest obstacle to any wannabe cavalry mage is that it's hard to focus on

a spell while being jostled about. Your mount must take no more than one

move action per turn, so that you can do your thing before or after it's done.

Otherwise, you have to make a Concentration check or lose the spell.

If you use a lot of spells requiring ranged attack rolls, the advice in the ranged

combat section also applies to you. Given that this increases the feat

investment needed to pull the combat style off, it's recommended that you

don't learn/prepare many such spells. You can take the hit to accuracy in many

cases since you roll vs touch AC, but who knows when you might have to cast

a spell while running?

Items

• Steadying RobeCM

: You no longer have to make Concentration checks

to cast spells while being jostled around. And for only 1,000gp? Very

nice. By item-stacking rules you could make this slotless for 2,000gp, in

case you're a gish who doesn't want a robe taking up his armour slot.

Otherwise, most robes can be crafted as cloaks without an increase in

price.

Feats

• Mounted CastingMiniHB

: You gain a +10 bonus on Concentration checks

made to cast spells while mounted. Nice, but pointless if you can get

Mounted Spellcasting instead. Due to the wording, however, you might

be able to interpret this as a bonus to all spellcasting-related

Concentration checks (including casting spells while taking damage), as

long as you are on a horse while you make them.

• Mounted SpellcastingWeb

: Superior to Mounted Casting, this feat lets

you cast spells while mounted without having to make Concentration

checks for movement. Requires 5 ranks in Concentration though, so

you'll have to wait until 2nd level.

• Spiderfriend MagicDotU

: Your spells can't harm Vermin allies. Even if

your mount is a Vermin you might not need this, but if you do use spells

which could harm your mount it's great. Ignore the "you can suppress

this feat for 1 round as a swift action" part - you can already suppress it

just by not considering someone an ally.

of 32Mount Handbook


Classes

• AbolisherLoM

: 8/10 divine spellcasting PrC that gets bonuses against

aberrations. Stacks for both animal companion and wild shape (or grants

a more limited version of wild shape if you don't have it), but apart from

wild shape it's basically an inferior version of Gatekeeper

MystagoguePGtE

.

• AlienistCArc

: Summoning-focused PrC which advances your familiar and

grants it the pseudonatural template after 5 levels (don't get too

excited; it's the Complete Arcane one, not the Epic Level Handbook

one).

• ArachneF&P

:

• Arcane HierophantRotW

: Dual-progression arcane/druid, which

advances your familiar+animal companion and combines them (if you

don't have a familiar then you gain one for this purpose; effective level

= levels in arcane spellcasting classes + AH levels). You can enter as a

non-druid via the spirit folk (bamboo)UA

race or a wildrunnerRotW

dip,

which meets the Trackless Step prereq (Cleric/Fey bard could be an

interesting option).

• Bonded SummonerMiniHB

: Give up your familiar in exchange for an

elemental that scales from Medium to Elder as you gain levels. The cut

to your spellcasting ability is massive though.

• Fiend-bloodedHoH

: 9/10 spellcasting PrC intended for sorcerers.

Doesn't advance your familiar, but grants it the fiendish template at lv1.

• FleshwarperLoM

: 9/10 spellcasting PrC which advances your familiar,

makes it an aberration and grants it four bonuses from a list; Size

Increase in particular is powerful if your familiar is unusually large

already.

• Gatekeeper MystagoguePGtE

: 9/10 divine casting PrC focused on

fighting aberrations. Grants a druid animal companion that stacks with

existing levels, and which also gains the Slippery Mind ability and can

treat its natural weapons as byeshk for overcoming DR (DR/byeshk only

appears on aberrations from the Eberron setting). You also get the

ability to shoot swift-action arcs of energy that debuff aberrations

standing between you and your companion, but this is useless for a

mounted character for obvious reasons. Despite being druid-based, this

PrC could also work pretty well on a ranger.

• Knight Phantom5N

: Gish class - see melee section.

• Lion of TalsidBoED

: Full spellcasting, full animal companion

advancement, and wild shape that stacks with your existing wild shape.

You also get Pounce and the Exalted Companion feat (see Riders in

General above).

• Master of ShadowToM

: Requires the Shadow FamiliarToM

feat to enter

(and thus 3 levels of shadowcaster), though it can advance any kind of

spellcasting. Shadowcaster 3/Warlock 2 maybe? You dismiss your

familiar, and in exchange get a Medium shadow elemental that works

more like an animal companion, including bonus HD equal to your class

level -1. Check with your DM whether "Size Increase (Large)" means it

just grows to Large size or becomes a Large shadow elemental; the

latter has +4 HD and better stats, and has precedent in the Bonded

SummonerMiniHB

PrC. Also the elemental is incorporeal so you'll need

some way to deal with that, like the Ghostly GraspLM

feat.

• Nar DemonbinderUE

: Summoning/binding-based PrC with unusual

spellcasting advancement (similar to sublime chord). Grants a familiar

of 32Mount Handbook


from your wizard/sorcerer levels plus your Nar Demonbinder levels, and

it can be an imp or quasit as if you had the Improved Familiar feat

(which, in alternate form, are suitable for use as mounts by Small

creatures).

• Planar ShepherdFoE

: This druid PrC is infamous for its huge power

boost to the power of wild shape, but it also gives full spellcasting and

animal companion advancement. I guess you could enter as a Wild

Shape ranger if you wanted to tone things down a bit.

• Silverwood ArcanistWeb

: Requires Wild Cohort. Grants faster handling,

Mounted Spellcasting as a bonus feat, and Share Spells. Full spellcasting

advancement.

• Talontar BlightlordUE

: 8/10 casting PrC that applies the blightspawned

template to your animal companion at lv1, making it a Plant with Str

+4/Con +2/Wis -2/Cha -2 plus the standard immunities.

• Triadic KnightCoV

: A 5/7 divine spellcasting PrC that grants a paladin

special mount (stacking with existing paladin levels), one use of Smite

Evil, and the ability to expend three uses of Smite Evil for triple the

damage bonus. Seems like a good follow-up to cleric/prestige paladin.

• Vermin KeeperUnd

: Full spellcasting PrC that expands Wild Shape to

vermin forms, and gains a vermin companion at lv3. An lv10 Vermin

Keeper's vermin companion has the abilities of an lv12 animal

companion, though it loses the Mindless trait of standard vermin.

• WavekeeperStorm

: 9/10 divine spellcasting and animal companion

advancement, as long as your companion is aquatic or has a swim

speed. You also get a powerful quasi-wildshape which lets you turn into

a water elemental, granting you all of its abilities and feats.

• Wizard (martial wizardUA

): Select your bonus feats from the fighter

list instead of the wizard list; Scribe Scroll is also replaced by a fighter

bonus feat. A useful ACF for meeting prerequisites.

• Zhentarim SkymageLoD

: *snorts milk out nose* This would be

powerful even without the mount it gives you... which can be basically

anything. Oh, and you can share spells both ways, meaning that you can

ride a dragon and have him share his buffs with you.

Spells and Powers

• Augment FamiliarCW

(Hexblade 1, Sor/Wiz 2): For as long as you

concentrate and +1/round level thereafter, your familiar gains +4 Str,

+4 Con, +2 to all saving throws, and DR 5/magic. An unusually powerful

buff for its level, even if it doesn't last very long.

• Enhance FamiliarCA

(Sor/Wiz 3): Similar bonuses to augment familiar

(+2 attack/melee damage/AC/saves), but stacks with items and lasts

long enough to keep up all day.

• Fortify FamiliarCA

(Sor/Wiz 4): For 1 hour your familiar gets 2d8

temporary hp. For 1 hour/level it gets +2 natural armor and light

fortification.

• Holy MountDr299

(Pal 3): For 1 round/level your special mount gains

the celestial template, and a +2 sacred bonus on attack and damage

with its natural weapons.

• Holy SpursSpC

(Pal 1): As a swift action, grant your special mount a

+40ft enhancement bonus to land speed for 1 round. Basically a

slightly-stronger version of swift expeditious retreatCAdv/MiniHB

. Note that

an earlier version of this spell in the Miniatures Handbook is lv2, which

isn't really worth it.

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« Last Edit: March 20, 2014, 09:30:02 AM by Prime32 »

• Inspire MountCP

(Psychic warrior 1): Your mount gains an untyped

+20ft speed, and you can discharge the power to attempt negating a hit

on your mount as if via Mounted Combat (or gain a +10 bonus on your

check, if you already have it). Comes with some decent augment

options.

• Master CavalierCC

(Blackguard 2, Clr 2, Pal 2): You gain +10 on

Ride checks for 10 minutes/level, or +20 for your special mount "or

similar class ability".

• Mind BondBoED

(Pal 3): Your special mount gains a +1 bonus on attack

rolls/3 paladin levels, and its bonuses for flanking with you are doubled.

A spell that gets better if you have the ability to flank a creature without

being on opposite sides of it.

• One Mind IIIDr299

(Pal 4): For 1 round/level your special mount gains

a +1 competence bonus to attack rolls per three paladin levels (max

+5); the effect can be discharged to grant it a damage bonus on one

attack equal to your paladin level.

• Phantom ChargeCC

(Blackguard 4, Pal 4): As a swift action, you and

your special mount or fiendish companion teleport 5ft/2 levels; the spell

can explicitly be cast in the middle of your mount's move. If you're

under the effect of master cavalier and war-mount, your mount also

gains a fly speed equal to its land speed (average maneuverability) until

the duration of one of those spells expires.

• Spirit SteedECS

(Deathless domainECS

4, Siyal druid 4, Valenar

bard 4, War (Valenar) domain 4): For 1 hour/level, gives an animal

+30ft speed, Run as a bonus feat (stacks with the existing feat if they

have it), and no consequences for hustling (effectively doubling its

speed over long distances). Afterwards it becomes fatigued.

• Steed of the SeasStorm

(Pal 2): A version of water breathing that can

only be cast on your special mount, which also grants it the aquatic

subtype (with the amphibious special quality) and a swim speed equal to

half its land speed.

• War-mountCC

(Blackguard 3, Pal 3): Grant your special mount or

fiendish companion a +2 enhancement bonus on its natural attacks, and

they strike as good/evil weapons depending on your alignment.

• Winged MountCD

(Blackguard 4, Pal 4): A version of fly with a

somewhat better duration that targets your mount. There's also a

paladin-only version in BoED which can only target your special mount.

• When Two Become OneOA

(Shugenja [water] 3): Basically a low-

level version of the fusion power for riders and mounts.

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Re: Mount Handbook


03:15:18 PM »

of 32Mount Handbook


Posts: 2893

Respect: +30

Non-standard materialHere's some material which is useful for mounts but is unlikely to be allowed in

a standard game:

Awakened Animals: Dragon Magazine #293 provides ECLs for every creature

in the 3.0 Monster Manual, including awakened versions of animals. Note that

some creatures which are Animals or Magical Beasts in 3.5 had the defunct

"Beast" type in 3.0, monsters didn't have a consistent number of feats per

level (by the conversion rules you add more if there's too few and convert

some to bonus feats if there's too many), and Awaken didn't change the type

of animals it was cast on (while turning plants into Constructs).

Bone RiderTome

: A PrC that gets you a kickass undead mount which can be

combined with your cohort. Since this is part of the Tome rules, you're much

more free to use any monster as the base. I recommend an ooze or

something, since it gains an Int score and you're immune to negative effects of

being in its presence.

Fey druids: Leader of the Pack feat is of special note, doubling the effects of

bardic music on your animal companion. Fey Blood feat reduces MAD in some

builds.

Mighty Steed: A feat found in the Dragonlance supplements Bestiary of Krynn

and Knightly Orders of Ansalon. A mount with this feat counts as one size

category larger for determining carrying capacity and the minimum size of

its rider. That is, it lets a Medium character ride a Medium mount, and lets a

kobold with Slight Build ride a pseudodragon.

Pathfinder

• Archetypes (animal companion): Totem guide is the most interesting

of these, particularly in the hands of a character who can't access its

spells normally. They add new feats to those the animal companion can

select, but they weren't restricted in the first place so just ignore that

part.

• Archetypes (familiar): Valet is the only one of these that's any use for

a mount.

• Mammoth Rider: A PrC that advances animal companions and grants

them extra bonuses. Can be pretty nasty, but note that animal

companions work differently in PF.

of 32Mount Handbook


« Last Edit: August 30, 2014, 06:35:34 PM by Prime32 »

• Trick Riding: A feat that upgrades Mounted Combat. Not bad. Note that

due to differences in skill systems, it would require Ride 12 ranks in a

3.5e game.

• Undersized MountACG

: A feat that lets you ride mounts of the same

size as you. Combined with Mighty Steed, it lets a kobold ride a

psicrystal (provided he can buff its carrying capacity).

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Re: Mount Handbook


03:15:40 PM »

« Last Edit: April 20, 2013, 04:39:00 PM by Prime32 »

BuildsWorld record Ubermount

• Supermount! (original thread)

The big guy is with me (psicrystal build)

Quote from: Sample Ubermount

LG Ranger 4/Cleric 1/Prestige paladin 2/Vadalis beastmaster 10/Beastmaster 3

Feats: 1: Mounted Combat, 3: Skill Focus (Handle Animal), 6: Devoted Tracker, 9: Natural

Bond, 12: Dragon Cohort, 15: Holy Mount

At lv20 your companion is any dragon available as a cohort with a net -1LA reduction,

+20HD, +24 natural armor, +10 Str, +6 Dex, +10ft speed, Empathic Link, Multiattack,

Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Share Saving Throws and Spell Resistance. On top of that

it gets +4/+2 to two physical ability scores, your choice of +2 natural armor or +10ft

speed, and Alertness, Athletic, Endurance or Improved Natural Attack as a bonus feat.

Quote from: Arcane Ubermount

Elf Paladin 2/Wizard (High One warrior-wizard, UA animal companion, martial wizard)

6/Ranger knight 1/Fleshwarper 10/Wizard +1

Feats: 1: Aereni Focus (Ride), 3: Track, 6: Natural Bond, 9: Graft Flesh, 12: Devoted

Tracker, 15: Theurgic Mount, 18: ?

Flaws: Any two

Bonus feats (flaws): Mounted Combat, Trample

Bonus feats (wizard): Two-Weapon Fighting

Your companion is a Special mount 23//Familiar 17//Animal companion 6, resulting in

+12HD, +23 natural armor, +6 Str, +2 Dex, +10ft speed, Empathic Link, Multiattack,

Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Share Saving Throws and Spell Resistance, plus four

Aberrant Familiar abilities (Size Increase can be very powerful on something that's already

big). You have a free feat slot for Dragon Cohort if you want. Also you cast spells as a 16th-

level wizard.

If you drop the Graft Flesh feat and replace the Fleshwarper levels with wizard levels, then

you gain access to 9th-level spells and your mount gains an additional +2 to HD/natural

armor/Str/Dex.

You can get rid of the reliance on flaws by using items (such as Battle Bridle and Gloves of

the Balanced Hand) to meet prerequisites.

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