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Mounted Feats
Hello everyone, and welcome to another great edition of Extraordinary Feats, where we bring you ever more feats to outfit your heroes and villains. Those of you who have been reading Extraordinary Feats for a while now will no doubt have noticed that we have had not one, but two articles devoted to mounted characters, and you’re probably getting to be a bit sick of it. Well, I am afraid you’ll have to bear with me for at least one more. That’s right; today we’ll be talking about mounted combat again. For those of you at home wondering why we’ve chosen to focus so heavily on this topic, let me assure you that it’s not just to try to sell more copies of Steeds and Stallions, now that you’re excited about owning a horse, but rather because mounted knights and horse lord barbarians have been a real staple of the fantasy genre since its inception, and I don’t feel that the core game provides you with enough options to make mounted combat more than a wasted feat. And that’s a real shame, since mounted fighting is an exceptionally exciting part of the genre. So without prattling on any more, here are the feats from what I promise to be the last article (for at least the next couple of weeks) about mounted combat.
All-Around Offense (Combat)
You can defend your mount from all sides, acting as a whirling circle of weaponry from saddleback.
Prerequisites: Base attack bonus +6, Combat Expertise, Dodge, Mobility, Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack, Spring Attack, Trample, Whirlwind Attack.
Benefit: You may use the Whirlwind Attack feat while mounted, even if you cannot make a full attack action due to your mount moving more than 5 foot.
Combat Dismount (Combat)
You are an expert at attacking foes while dismounting
Prerequisites: Ride 1 rank, Mounted Combat.
Benefit: Whenever you dismount, your horse you may make a single melee attack against an adjacent target as a free action.
Combined Whirlwind (Combat)
You and your horse are a whirlwind of death and destruction, striking down all those before you.
Prerequisites: Base attack bonus +6, All-Around Offense, Combat Expertise, Dodge, Mobility, Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack, Spring Attack, Trample, Whirlwind Attack.
Benefit: When you are mounted and you use the Whirlwind Attack feat, you may make a Ride check (DC 20) to allow your mount to make an attack action against each adjacent target. Targets hit by your attack during this maneuver are considered flat-footed against the mount’s attack.
Greater Ride-By Attack (Combat)
You charge through your foes, hacking at several of them as they stand helplessly before your onslaught.
Prerequisites: Base attack bonus +11, Dodge, Improved Ride-By Attack, Mobility, Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack, Spring Attack.
Benefit: When you are mounted and use the charge action, you may move and attack as if with a standard charge, and then move again (continuing the straight line of the charge) and make an additional attack against a target you have not previously attacked this during this charge action. You suffer a -10 penalty on this attack (although you still gain the bonus from charging). This attack is in addition to the extra attack granted by Improved Ride-By Attack. Your total movement for the round can't exceed double your mounted speed. You and your mount do not provoke an attack of opportunity from any opponent that you attack
Horseman’s Evasion (Combat)
You can grab the reins of any mount and get it out of harm’s way.
Prerequisites: Ride 1 rank, Mounted Combat.
Benefit: Whenever your mount would have to make a Reflex saving throw, you may make a special Ride check and substitute the result of this check for your mount’s Reflex save. You may only use this ability once per round. If you use this ability, you may not use Mounted Combat or Mounted Warfare to negate damage to your mount until 1 full round after you use this ability.
Improved Mounted Archery (Combat)
You are a master archer from horseback, far out-performing your peers.
Prerequisites: Ride 5 ranks, Mounted Archery, Mounted Combat.
Benefit: When you make a ranged attack while mounted, you reduce the penalty on your attack rolls by half again, from -2 to -1 or from -4 to -2.
Improved Ride-By Attack (Combat)
You ride by atop your glorious steed, striking down one foe only to continue your attack, striking another of his allies in the same pass.
Prerequisites: Base sttack bonus +6, Dodge, Mobility, Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack, Spring Attack.
Benefit: When you are mounted and use the charge action, you may move and attack as if with a standard charge, and then move again (continuing the straight line of the charge) and make an additional attack against another target. You suffer a -5 penalty on this second attack (although you still gain the bonus from charging). Your total movement for the round can't exceed double your mounted speed. You and your mount do not provoke an attack of opportunity from any opponent that you attack.
Improved Saddle-Sure
Prerequisites: Ride 5 ranks, Saddle-Sure
Benefits: You gain a +4 bonus to your CMD against all combat maneuvers that would unseat you from your horse. Additionally, you increase the chance to stay in the saddle when knocked unconscious by 25%.
Improved Unseat (Combat)
Prerequisites: Base attack bonus +1, Str 13, Ride 1 rank, Improved Bull Rush, Mounted Combat, Power Attack, Unseat.
Benefit: You gain a +1 bonus to CMB for bull rush attempts made when you use the Unseat feat. Additionally, targets that fall prone as a result of this bull rush attempt take 1d6 points of fall damage.
Master Ride-By Attack (Combat)
Your foes stand helpless before you and horse as you charge them, striking them down one by one.
Prerequisites: Base attack bonus +16, Dodge, Greater Ride-By Attack, Improved Ride-By Attack, Mobility, Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack, Spring Attack.
Benefit: When you are mounted and use the charge action, you may move and attack as if with a standard charge, and then move again (continuing the straight line of the charge) and make an additional attack against a target you have not previously attacked this during this charge action. You suffer a -15 penalty on this attack (although you still gain the bonus from charging). This attack is in addition to the extra attacks granted by Greater Ride-By Attack and Improved Ride-By Attack. Your total movement for the round can't exceed double your mounted speed. You and your mount do not provoke an attack of opportunity from any opponent that you attack.
Mounted Warfare (Combat)
You are well accustomed to fighting long battles in the saddle and can endure in combat far longer than others.
Prerequisites: Ride 5 ranks, Mounted Combat.
Benefit: You may make a number of additional Ride checks equal to your Dexterity bonus (minimum of +1) to negate damage to your mount, exactly as though using Mounted Combat.
Saddle-Sure
Prerequisites: Ride 1 rank.
Benefits: If you would ever be knocked from your mount, such as from being the victim of a successful bull rush attempt made with the Unseat feat, you may make a Reflex saving throw (DC 15) to land on your feet. You may not use this feat if you are unconscious.