Riding, Land Based

Those skilled in land riding are proficient in the art of riding and handling horses or other types of ground mounts. When the proficiency slot is filled, the character must declare which type of mount he is proficient in. Possibilities include griffons, unicorns, dire wolves, and virtually any creatures used as mounts by humans, demihumans, or humanoids.

A character with riding proficiency can perform all of the following feats. Some of them are automatic, while others require a proficiency check for success.

• The character can vault onto a saddle whenever the horse or other mount is standing still, even when the character is wearing armor. This does not require a proficiency check. The character must make a check, however, if he wishes to get the mount moving during the same round in which he lands in its saddle. He must also make a proficiency check if he attempts to vault onto the saddle of a moving mount. Failure indicates that the character falls to the ground--presumably quite embarrassed.
• The character can urge the mount to jump tall obstacles or leap across gaps. No check is required if the obstacle is less than three feet tall or the gap is less than 12 feet wide. If the character wants to roll a proficiency check, the mount can be urged to leap obstacles up to seven feet high, or jump across gaps up to 30 feet wide. Success means that the mount has made the jump. Failure indicates that it balks, and the character must make another proficiency check to see whether he retains his seat or falls to the ground.
• The character can spur his steed on to great speeds, adding 6 feet per round to the animal's movement rate for up to four turns. This requires a proficiency check each turn to see if the mount can be pushed this hard. If the initial check fails, no further attempts may be made, but the mount can move normally. If the second or subsequent check fails, the mount immediately slows to a walk, and the character must dismount and lead the animal for a turn. In any event, after four turns of racing, the steed must be walked by its dismounted rider for one turn.
• The character can guide his mount with his knees, enabling him to use weapons that require two hands (such as bows and two-handed swords) while mounted. This feat does not require a proficiency check unless the character takes damage while so riding. In this case, a check is required and failure means that the character falls to the ground and sustains an additional 1d6 points of damage.
• The character can drop down and hang alongside the steed, using it as a shield against attack. The character cannot make an attack or wear armor while performing this feat. The character's Armor Class is lowered by 6 while this maneuver is performed. Any attacks that would have struck the character's normal Armor Class are considered to have struck the mount instead. No proficiency check is required.
• The character can leap from the back of his steed to the ground and make a melee attack against any character or creature within 10 feet. The player must roll a successful proficiency check with a -4 penalty to succeed. On a failed roll, the character fails to land on his feet, falls clumsily to the ground, and suffers 1d3 points of damage.

Dwarven Land-Based Riding Proficiency

Because of their stout, stocky build, dwarves are uncomfortable riding horses or other animals of similar size. They are capable of riding donkeys, ponies, and smaller creatures. Dwarves may leap onto their saddles. Some suitable mounts for dwarves are dire wolves, giant boars, and giant lizards.

When selecting this proficiency, the player must record a specific topic or area that the proficiency covers.

Rangers

A ranger cannot use his species enemy as an airborne or land-based mount. If the mount is a follower, use the guidelines in the training sections of the Ranger's Followers article instead of the proficiency rules.

Paladins

When riding his bonded mount, a paladin automatically has all of the benefits of the relevant Riding proficiency; he doesn't need the proficiency itself. But if he has the Riding proficiency, he gains a +2 bonus when making all associated checks with his mount. For instance, if he has a war horse bonded mount and the Land-based Riding proficiency, he earns a +2 bonus when attempting to vault into the saddle when the mount is moving. If he has a pegasus bonded mount and the Airborne Riding proficiency, he suffers a –2 penalty (instead of –4) when making checks to see if he falls from his saddle after suffering damage. The bonuses apply only when riding the bonded mount. When riding a creature of the same species as the bonded mount, use the normal Riding proficiency rules.

[Player's Handbook]
[Complete Book of Dwarves]
[Complete Ranger's Handbook]
[Complete Paladin's Handbook]