Skills/Ride

Ride is a representation of one’s skill in riding mounts, usually a horse, though other creatures may be suitable as a mount.

Common Uses
Riding a mount by itself doesn’t require a check, saddle, mount, dismount, and riding a mount by themselves do not require a check, though certain actions or special interactions may require a ride check from the rider. Actions marked with (Animal) indicate these only apply to mounts with animal intelligence, animals with 3 or greater intelligence may act on their own and follow orders without special guidance through a ride check.


 * Guide(Animal): You can guide your mount without the use of reigns or your hands so you can perform actions in combat. Usually this is a DC 8 ride check making it fairly simple to perform. This ride check is made at the start of the turn (no action required); if you fail you must use at least one hand to guide the mount; if your hands are occupied you may always choose to simply not move or guide the mount that turn. Mounts with greater than animal intelligence can easily follow orders and commands allowing you to always guide it without the use of your hands.
 * Keep Balance: When the mount rears or you take damage from an attack you must make a ride check to stay on the mound. This a DC 8 ride check made as part of taking damage. Failing this causes you to fall off your mount and become prone.
 * Order Mount to Attack(Animal): You may make a DC 14 ride check to order it to attack; this is a free action that does not interfere with your own ability to attack. If you fail this check the mount behaves as normal but will not use its actions to make an attack.
 * Order Mount to Jump(Animal): You may make a DC 15 ride check to leap over an obstacle as part of movement; if successful your mount makes an acrobatics check as normal to determine how high or far it may jump.
 * Spur(Animal): You can spur a mount as a move action by making a DC 20 ride check. A successful check deals 1d3 nonlethal damage to the creature but forces the creature to take a run action. A creature above animal intelligence may respond with hostility to such an action rather than following this command.
 * Quickly Mount or Dismount: You can attempt to mount or dismount as a free action by making a DC 25 ride check. Failing the ride check causes you to mount as a move action as normal; while a failure by one degree or more causes you to fall prone.

Action
Varies. Mounting and dismounting is usually a move, though most other checks are a free action or are made as part of another action