Topic: Riding skill and Fighting Style: Mounted Combat

[Falenthal]

Am I getting it wrong or there's no relationship between the Riding skill and the Mounted Combat Combat Style?

I mean, can a PC have no ranks in Riding: Horses (thus having probably a negative bonus to the skill), but at the same time develop ranks for Mounted Combat and use the bonus without a limit (except for the usual ones)?

Shouldn't the Riding Skill be used as a cap or similar to the Mounted Combat skill?
Or maybe the PC should roll a Riding Maneuver in the Bonus column before every combat and apply the result to the Mounted Combat skill, thus resulting in penalties for bad riders?

[Thom @ ICE]

The following is not from the most recent version of HARP Fantasy (forgot my memory stick today), but I don't think that this rule changed any....

Mounted Combat....
Characters can potentially reduce the penalty further by making a Medium Bonus Riding maneuver and adding the result to the character’s Mounted Combat skill. Characters with Beastmastered mounts can also potentially reduce the penalty further if their mount makes a Medium Bonus Riding maneuver – the result is added to the character’s Mounted Combat skill.

There is no pre-requisite as you describe, however beastmastery or riding skills can make your mounted combat easier.

[Falenthal]

Thanks for the reply.
I don't remember having read that rule, but just to be sure: if the Riding Maneuver results in a negative bonus, then it doesn't apply?

I think I'll try using the option I described, forcing a Medium Bonus Riding maneuver and applying the result to Mounted Combat, wether it's a bonus or a malus. This way, character have a reason to spend DPs in the Riding skill as well as in the Mounted Combat skill and, to me, makes more sense.

[Thom @ ICE]

Sounds like a good way of doing it.
Let us know how it goes.

[dagorhir]

Thanks for the reply.
I don't remember having read that rule, but just to be sure: if the Riding Maneuver results in a negative bonus, then it doesn't apply?

I think I'll try using the option I described, forcing a Medium Bonus Riding maneuver and applying the result to Mounted Combat, wether it's a bonus or a malus. This way, character have a reason to spend DPs in the Riding skill as well as in the Mounted Combat skill and, to me, makes more sense.

It is found on page 41 of the Harp Fantasy core book, if you want to look it up.

[Falenthal]

Thanks, dagorhir, I'll take a look.

By the way, I guess the difficulty of the Riding maneuver could also be adjusted by the condition of the battle (weather, terrain, facing wolf-riders,...). That is, a normal battle between two knights, with battle mounts, in a grass plain, could mean an Easy difficulty. But facing goblin wolf-riders on a muddy and stoney terrain, under a pouring rain, could imply a Very Hard difficulty for the Riding Bonus maneuver. Most of the time, however, I guess a Normal difficulty is just fine.