007: MOUNTED COMBAT
Individual horses are not mindless automatons or mindless transports for the characters, but living creatures with their own quirks and traits. Some are placid with a longing for turnips, while others are aggressive with a tendency to bite anyone who approaches them (including, in most cases, the rider). When storytelling, keep this in mind and give each horse its own personality.
Controlling a horse in combat is difficult and requires great skill. If the character’s Ride Skill is equal to or greater than the mount’s control rating, no roll or action is required (though injury to the mount may prompt one).
Otherwise, the rider’s player must roll Wits + Ride to maintain control of the steed in combat. The difficulty is the control rating + 2, and maintaining control requires the character to take multiple actions to accomplish much on the battlefield.
The height advantage of the mounted warrior can often be decisive on the battlefield. Foot soldiers attacking a mounted target suffer a +3 difficulty to all Melee or Brawl attacks unless they are using a long weapon such as a spear. Missile attacks against mounted targets suffer no penalty unless the target is moving at speed. Mounted characters may also use a variety of special maneuvers that take advantage of their height and power. There are some limitations, however; the most noticeable of which is that an effective knight or other mounted warrior must be both a skilled fighter and rider. Therefore, the major drawback to mounted combat is that any combat Ability used on horseback is limited to that character’s Ride Ability.
ie. A knight attempting to use a sword from horseback has Dexterity 3, Melee 4, and Ride 1. His Dexterity contributes the full three dice to the player’s attack pool, but only one die is added for the Ability since the character has a Ride skill of only 1. As such, the dice pool is only four while on horseback, but seven while afoot. Time to improve that Ride ability!
Characters who suffer damage while mounted should make a Stamina + Ride roll. The difficulty of the roll is at the Storyteller’s discretion, but a suggestion is the number of successes the attacker made before any soaking is applied. Failure indicates that the mounted character is thrown from her horse and suffers two to four dice of bashing damage. A botch indicates that the damage is lethal. Thrown characters also run the risk of being trampled.
Horse archery, the use of a bow from a stationary or mobile mount, is frequent practice in the lands of the East, notably those of the Saracens and the horse tribes beyond. Accuracy while moving is exceedingly difficult, and even the slightest error in timing results in arrows missing the target by yards. Unless the character has the Archery specialty “Mounted,” his shots are at +2 difficulty from a horse moving at a walk and at +4 difficulty from a horse moving at a trot or faster.
• Mounted Charge [Dexterity + Melee]: While lance charges are the most glorious mounted attacks, they are not the only time a mounted warrior benefits from his horse’s speed and agility. Any warrior attacking from horseback in the same turn in which his mount moves at least half its movement rate adds two dice to her damage pool. Lance changes do not gain this bonus, which is already factored into their damage rating.
• Trampling [Manipulation + Ride]: In addition to using them as mounts, some warriors train their horses to be an active part of their arsenal, biting, kicking and trampling opponents on foot. To use this attack, the rider’s player makes a Manipulation + Ride roll against a target number of 6. Failure indicates that the target avoids the attack, while a botch leaves both rider and mount open to counter attack (reduce the difficulty of all Melee or Brawl attacks against the rider or mount by four). The target may dodge such an attack if she sees it coming, but may not parry or gain the benefit of defensive equipment such as shields. A prone target may still dodge, but the rider’s difficulty number decreases by three. The amount of damage inflicted by the trample depends on the type of horse and is considered bashing damage.
CONTROLLING A STEED
Controlling a horse in combat is difficult and requires great skill. If the character’s Ride Skill is equal to or greater than the mount’s control rating, no roll or action is required (though injury to the mount may prompt one).
Otherwise, the rider’s player must roll Wits + Ride to maintain control of the steed in combat. The difficulty is the control rating + 2, and maintaining control requires the character to take multiple actions to accomplish much on the battlefield.
COMBAT EFFECTS
The height advantage of the mounted warrior can often be decisive on the battlefield. Foot soldiers attacking a mounted target suffer a +3 difficulty to all Melee or Brawl attacks unless they are using a long weapon such as a spear. Missile attacks against mounted targets suffer no penalty unless the target is moving at speed. Mounted characters may also use a variety of special maneuvers that take advantage of their height and power. There are some limitations, however; the most noticeable of which is that an effective knight or other mounted warrior must be both a skilled fighter and rider. Therefore, the major drawback to mounted combat is that any combat Ability used on horseback is limited to that character’s Ride Ability.
ie. A knight attempting to use a sword from horseback has Dexterity 3, Melee 4, and Ride 1. His Dexterity contributes the full three dice to the player’s attack pool, but only one die is added for the Ability since the character has a Ride skill of only 1. As such, the dice pool is only four while on horseback, but seven while afoot. Time to improve that Ride ability!
Characters who suffer damage while mounted should make a Stamina + Ride roll. The difficulty of the roll is at the Storyteller’s discretion, but a suggestion is the number of successes the attacker made before any soaking is applied. Failure indicates that the mounted character is thrown from her horse and suffers two to four dice of bashing damage. A botch indicates that the damage is lethal. Thrown characters also run the risk of being trampled.
HORSE ARCHERY
Horse archery, the use of a bow from a stationary or mobile mount, is frequent practice in the lands of the East, notably those of the Saracens and the horse tribes beyond. Accuracy while moving is exceedingly difficult, and even the slightest error in timing results in arrows missing the target by yards. Unless the character has the Archery specialty “Mounted,” his shots are at +2 difficulty from a horse moving at a walk and at +4 difficulty from a horse moving at a trot or faster.
MOUNTED MANUEVERS
• Mounted Charge [Dexterity + Melee]: While lance charges are the most glorious mounted attacks, they are not the only time a mounted warrior benefits from his horse’s speed and agility. Any warrior attacking from horseback in the same turn in which his mount moves at least half its movement rate adds two dice to her damage pool. Lance changes do not gain this bonus, which is already factored into their damage rating.
• Trampling [Manipulation + Ride]: In addition to using them as mounts, some warriors train their horses to be an active part of their arsenal, biting, kicking and trampling opponents on foot. To use this attack, the rider’s player makes a Manipulation + Ride roll against a target number of 6. Failure indicates that the target avoids the attack, while a botch leaves both rider and mount open to counter attack (reduce the difficulty of all Melee or Brawl attacks against the rider or mount by four). The target may dodge such an attack if she sees it coming, but may not parry or gain the benefit of defensive equipment such as shields. A prone target may still dodge, but the rider’s difficulty number decreases by three. The amount of damage inflicted by the trample depends on the type of horse and is considered bashing damage.
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