[Basic] Skill of the week: Mount and Riding

johndallman · 04-29-2016, 03:23 PM

Mount is the DX/Average skill of being ridden. The only default is DX-5. and no skills default to it. If you have higher skill than your rider’s Riding skill, they get to use the average of the two skills, but if you know this skill at all, the rider gets +1. To throw off your rider, use a Quick Contest of Mount vs. their Riding. Mount appeared in the Horseclans setting book, as Riding (Being Ridden).

Riding is the DX/Average skill of riding animals, or anything else that can be ridden in the same basic way. The default is DX-5, or Animal Handling for the same kind of animal at -3, Teamster has a default to Riding, and it’s a prerequisite for Lance and Horse Archery. Roll when you mount up, and when anything happens to frighten your mount, or which it will have difficulty with. Specialisation by animal is required, and the GM is required to decide on default penalties between types; the maximum quoted is -10 for defaulting (Dragon) off (Horse). Modifiers include +5 if the animal knows and likes you, bonuses for the animal’s Mount skill, and up to -10 if the animal has not been trained for riding. Riding dates from GURPS 1e.

Riding is ubiquitous on templates for low-tech settings, and is still reasonably common up to TL8. Mount is, naturally, much rarer, since it’s only meaningful for creatures who can carry other characters for extended periods. The main Mounted Combat rules are on B396-8, and make it clear that you need Riding-12 or better. Riding is also mentioned in plenty of other places in the combat rules, whenever being mounted makes a difference. Animal training and riding animals are on B458-60. The undead horses of Banestorm: Abydos are trained in Mount, as are the Fabulous Animal figurines of DF. DF16 has riding gear, streamlined mounted combat, and skill levels in Mount for various kinds of horse. Fantasy has gifted horses, riding without stirrups, and several techniques for Riding and Bow. Gun-Fu (and Tactical Shooting) has a lot about Riding and shooting, and Low-Tech has lots of historical detail, including riding gear and horse-training. Magic has Rider, and Create Mount, and Thaumatology has Hasten Mount. Martial Arts has plenty about mounted combat, and Power-Ups 3 and 7 have examples for these skills.

Should Mount require specialisation by the species -- or at least body plan -- of the rider? Is the skill confined to mounts with extraordinary training, or is it normal for properly-trained riding animals? Or should it be confined to sapient mounts?

I’m sure you’ve used Riding in a game for basic travel. What have you done with or around it that was strange?

04-29-2016, 03:23 PM	#1
johndallman Night Watchman Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Cambridge, UK	[Basic] Skill of the week: Mount and Riding Mount is the DX/Average skill of being ridden. The only default is DX-5. and no skills default to it. If you have higher skill than your rider’s Riding skill, they get to use the average of the two skills, but if you know this skill at all, the rider gets +1. To throw off your rider, use a Quick Contest of Mount vs. their Riding. Mount appeared in the *Horseclans* setting book, as Riding (Being Ridden). Riding is the DX/Average skill of riding animals, or anything else that can be ridden in the same basic way. The default is DX-5, or Animal Handling for the same kind of animal at -3, Teamster has a default to Riding, and it’s a prerequisite for Lance and Horse Archery. Roll when you mount up, and when anything happens to frighten your mount, or which it will have difficulty with. Specialisation by animal is required, and the GM is required to decide on default penalties between types; the maximum quoted is -10 for defaulting (Dragon) off (Horse). Modifiers include +5 if the animal knows and likes you, bonuses for the animal’s Mount skill, and up to -10 if the animal has not been trained for riding. Riding dates from GURPS 1e. Riding is ubiquitous on templates for low-tech settings, and is still reasonably common up to TL8. Mount is, naturally, much rarer, since it’s only meaningful for creatures who can carry other characters for extended periods. The main Mounted Combat rules are on B396-8, and make it clear that you need Riding-12 or better. Riding is also mentioned in plenty of other places in the combat rules, whenever being mounted makes a difference. Animal training and riding animals are on B458-60. The undead horses of *Banestorm: Abydos* are trained in Mount, as are the Fabulous Animal figurines of DF. *DF16* has riding gear, streamlined mounted combat, and skill levels in Mount for various kinds of horse. *Fantasy* has gifted horses, riding without stirrups, and several techniques for Riding and Bow. *Gun-Fu* (and *Tactical Shooting) has a lot about Riding and shooting, and Low-Tech* has lots of historical detail, including riding gear and horse-training. *Magic* has Rider, and Create Mount, and *Thaumatology* has Hasten Mount. *Martial Arts* has plenty about mounted combat, and *Power-Ups* 3 and 7 have examples for these skills. Should Mount require specialisation by the species -- or at least body plan -- of the rider? Is the skill confined to mounts with extraordinary training, or is it normal for properly-trained riding animals? Or should it be confined to sapient mounts? I’m sure you’ve used Riding in a game for basic travel. What have you done with or around it that was strange?