You can ride a mount, be it a horse, riding dog, griffon, dragon, or some other kind of creature suited for riding. If you attempt to ride a creature that is ill suited as a mount (such as most bipedal creatures), you take a -5 penalty on your Ride checks.
Check
Typical riding actions don't require checks. You can saddle, mount, ride, and dismount from a mount without a problem.
The following tasks do require checks.
Guide with Knees: You can react instantly to guide your mount with your knees so that you can use both hands in combat. Make your Ride check at the start of your turn. If you fail, you can use only one hand this round because you need to use the other to control your mount.
Stay in Saddle: You can react instantly to try to avoid
Falling when your mount rears or bolts unexpectedly or when you take damage. This usage does not take an action.
Fight with Warhorse: If you direct your war-trained mount to attack in battle, you can still make your own attack or attacks normally. This usage is a
Free Action.
Cover: You can react instantly to drop down and hang alongside your mount, using it as
Cover. You can't attack or cast spells while using your mount as
Cover. If you fail your Ride check, you don't get the
Cover benefit. This usage does not take an action.
Soft Fall: You can react instantly to try to take no damage when you fall off a mount - when it is killed or when it falls, for example. If you fail your Ride check, you take 1d6 points of
Falling damage. This usage does not take an action.
Leap: You can get your mount to leap obstacles as part of its movement. Use your Ride modifier or the mount's Jump modifier, whichever is lower, to see how far the creature can jump. If you fail your Ride check, you fall off the mount when it leaps and take the appropriate
Falling damage (at least 1d6 points). This usage does not take an action, but is part of the mount's movement.
Spur Mount: You can spur your mount to greater speed with a
Move Action. A successful Ride check increases the mount's speed by 10 feet for 1 round but deals 1 point of damage to the creature. You can use this ability every round, but each consecutive round of additional speed deals twice as much damage to the mount as the previous round (2 points, 4 points, 8 points, and so on).
Control Mount in Battle: As a
Move Action, you can attempt to control a light horse, pony, heavy horse, or other mount not trained for combat riding while in battle. If you fail the Ride check, you can do nothing else in that round. You do not need to roll for warhorses or warponies.
Fast Mount or Dismount: You can attempt to mount or dismount from a mount of up to one size category larger than yourself as a
Free Action, provided that you still have a
Move Action available that round. If you fail the Ride check, mounting or dismounting is a
Move Action. You can't use fast mount or dismount on a mount more than one size category larger than yourself.
Swim a Horse: You ride your horse into the water and stay mounted while the horse swims. If you fail the check, you are no longer mounted; you and the horse are just in the water. If you fail your check by 5 or more, the horse refuses to enter the water (but you can try again next round). This usage of the Ride skill does not take an action, it's simply part of the mount's movement.
Leap into Water: You and your mount leap into water from a place where the animal can't just wade in. If you fail the check, you fall off as your mount enters the water; you are no longer mounted. If you fail the check by 5 or more, your mount balks at the edge and remains ashore while you fall into the water without it.
Ride Aquatic Mount Underwater: Staying on a fast-swimming mount underwater is difficult, because the water resistance tends to push a rider off. Add +5 to the DC of any Ride check made underwater.
Stand on Mount: This allows you to stand on your mount's back even during movement or combat. You take no penalties to actions while doing so.
Unconscious Control: As a
Free Action, you can attempt to control a light horse, pony, or heavy horse while in combat. If you fail, you control the mount as a move-equivalent action. You do not need to roll for warhorses or warponies.
Attack from Cover: You can react instantly to drop down and hang alongside your mount, using it as
Cover. You can attack and cast spells while using your mount as
Cover without penalty. If you fail, you don't get the
Cover benefit.
Calm an Animal: See the
Handle Animal skill for details.
Action
Varies. Mounting or dismounting normally is a
Move Action. Other checks are a
Move Action, a
Free Action, or no action at all, as noted above.
Special
If you are riding bareback, you take a -5 penalty on Ride checks.
If your mount has a military saddle you get a +2
Circumstance Bonus on Ride checks related to staying in the saddle.
The Ride skill is a prerequisite for the feats Mounted Archery, Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack, Spirited Charge, and Trample.
Skill Unlock
A character who selects this skill for the Signature Skill feat or a
Rogue who selects it for their Rogue's Edge class ability gains the following abilities when they reach the designated number of ranks in this skill:
- 5 Ranks: Your mount gains a +2 bonus on Fortitude saves or Constitution checks to avoid becoming Fatigued or Exhausted. This bonus increases by 1 for every 5 ranks beyond 5 you possess in Ride.
- 10 Ranks: When you spur your mount, its speed is increased by 20 feet, and it gains a +2 bonus on Reflex saves and a +2 Dodge Bonus to AC.
- 15 Ranks: When an opponent targets you or your mount with a Bull Rush, Drag, Overrun, Reposition, or Trip combat maneuver while you are mounted, you can substitute the result of a Ride check in place of your (or your mount’s) CMD.
- 20 Ranks: When you spur your mount, its speed is increased by 30 feet, and it gains a +4 bonus on Reflex saves and a +4 Dodge Bonus to AC.
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