Ride Skill

The Ride Skill allows a character the ability to be carried by a Mount of sufficient size, providing mobility and maneuverability both in and out of combat situations. When attempting a Ride Skill check, the Storyteller sets a Target Number based on the difficulty of the maneuver attempted. Meeting or exceeding the Target Number results in success.

Basics of Riding

Mounting or Dismounting an appropriate creature requires a successful Ride Skill check and consumes a Move Action; additionally it often requires the use of specialized equipment, such as a saddle and bridle. Attempting to ride a mount without appropriate equipment may require an additional Handle Animal Skill check (if the mount is Untrained) or otherwise incur Ride Proficiency penalties at the discretion of the Storyteller. Once an animal has been mounted and ridden, its initiative switches to match that of the rider for the remainder of the encounter.

A rider uses her own Move action to direct her mount's actions with a successful Ride Skill check. One hand must be kept on the reins when directing the mount's Move Action(s), unless the mount is sufficiently Trained or otherwise able to be ridden without a bridle with Storyteller approval. Picking up or dropping the reins while mounted is generally a Free Action, as they are easily accessible to the rider. However, if the reins were forcibly taken, not present, or somehow damaged, the attempt to direct the mount may suffer in the form of a Proficiency penalty or a longer action to recover the reins or direct the mount, at the discretion of the Storyteller.

In order to properly control a Trained mount, the character's Ride Skill must be at a rank equal to or greater than that of their mount's Training. If a mount's Training exceeds the rider's Skill, all Ride skill checks suffer a -2 Proficiency penalty while astride that mount.

Riders may also choose to augment their personal ability beyond simply increasing their Ride Skill Ranks by investing in Mounted Combat training.

Maneuvers

Attempting difficult actions or maneuvers while astride - such as attacking, casting spells, Charging or jumping, attempting to avoid collision or being unseated - requires additional successful Ride skill checks.

Unless otherwise specified, mounts are generally unable to attack while carrying a rider. Some mounts may be trained or otherwise capable of attacking; for example, a shaman with an appropriate Animal Mount may be able to have her mount launch an attack after moving.

If a mount takes damage while being ridden, an additional Ride check is required to control the animal. Failure may result in the mount fleeing in an unpredictable direction, while a Critical Failure could result in throwing the rider. Having reins in hand provides a +1 Proficiency bonus to skill checks attempting to calm or control a panicked or injured mount, even if the mount may not normally require reins to direct.

Stealth

While riding an Untrained mount, riders may only utilize the Stealth Skill while out-of-combat. After a successful Ride check, they may attempt to Stealth using the rider's maximum Stealth dice (Dex + Stealth), minus any applicable armor check penalty and an additional -1 penalty per Size Class of the rider beyond Medium size. Moving while astride an Untrained mount will immediately break Stealth, but not Magical Concealment (e.g. Invisibility). A Trained mount may be directed to enter Stealth even as a maneuver during combat encounters, and may move up to 1/4 of its full Movement Speed (rounded down) per Move Action without breaking Stealth.

Example

The young noble Freddy is astride his horse, hidden in the tree line at the edge of the forest as he hunts for deer. When one comes into range, Freddy drops the reins as a Free Action to ready his longbow as a Move action, and then attacks with a Standard Action. The arrow hits the deer, and it takes off running in an attempt to flee. On his next turn, Freddy picks up the reins once more in one hand and then uses a Move Action to direct his horse to pursue the deer with a successful Ride check. While his horse is moving, he reduces his remaining Standard Action to a second Move Action to sling his bow safely over a shoulder as they pursue the deer. His horse cannot be directed without one hand on the reins, so he cannot shoot a bow (which requires two hands) while moving. The deer continues to flee.