How do you all handle mounted combat?
 

The rules for mounted combat in TFT are very detailed, with a rider able to have a different facing than the mount, as well as being able to get dismounted. My problem is I play with miniatures, and they are all one piece and glued. Plus most mounted models don't have a dismounted version of them either. This would make it hard to act out the rules as written.

I was wondering if any of you have come up with some alternate rules for dealing with mounted figures. An easy solution might be to just treat them as a whole fighter, similar to a large create like a Centaur or Troll. It would basically be all or nothing with them. That's kind of the way I'm leaning right now.

Re: How do you all handle mounted combat?
 

I use counters so that and other miniatures-issues don't happen.

If I were going to play TFT mounted combat with miniatures, I would either use little markers to indicate which direction the rider is facing, or as you suggest, change the rules... there would be a few options, depending on how you'd rather it work. I'd try to balance the changes against the printed rules so they aren't much better or worse for the riders than in the printed rules.

The main issue I do have with TFT mounted combat has to do with initiative and high MA... there are some tactics that feel gamey and not very realistic if there is a lot of space and time and only one side is mounted.

Re: How do you all handle mounted combat?
 

I think you need to cover two basic cases:

• Anything where the rider is basically attached to the animal at the hips. The main case is a horse, but it probably applies to camels, theropods, overgrown wolves, dragons and small elephants as well, and perhaps to canoes and boats with some adjustments. Rider and horse are one monster for movement purposes. Rider can't easily attack into front hexside unless he has a polearm, or something like that. Parthian shooting might be a talent?
• Anything where the rider is standing on a platform and can turn if he wants: wagons, chariots, unreasonably large proboscideans with gigantic howdahs on their backs, ships, etc. The rider is standing in a hex that happens to move and can fight as if standing on terra firma. He might have some cover.

Any new case is shoehorned into one of these. In either case the rider is elevated and difficult to attack, relevant talents will prevent a penalty and the ridden creature might also be able to attack.

Re: How do you all handle mounted combat?
 

I use markers. You raise some good points and I'm not sure what I would do in those cases. I suppose I'd mark the rider's facing when different from the mounts' using some sort of little bit of schmutz down by the model's base. And I'd just grab the closest approximation I could find for the dismounted figure.

Re: How do you all handle mounted combat?
 

You guys are all just looking for excuses to type "howdah". :-D

Re: How do you all handle mounted combat?
 

"Howdah" - The greeting of a New Hampshire cowboy.

Re: How do you all handle mounted combat?
 

Coincidentally, I was going through this section of the ITL manuscript yesterday. I commented to Steve that I thought they were the best mounted combat rules out there. To handle mounted combat with any sort of realism is HARD! It has often been the bane of the existence of minis rules authors, and they don't generally have to worry about a true man-to-man experience as you do in an RPG environment.

Steve said he'd like to see more people playing it (which is why I'm trying to fit the essentials onto the GM screen). It is a commonly glossed-over portion of most medieval RPGs, where horses are usually just a device to get you from town to the dungeon -- if that. Horses and horsemanship should be a major part of the setting, especially if you are dealing with armored knights.

Do you gloss over the use of horses in your campaigns? Are they more than off-screen transport? Has anyone integrated horsemanship and horse ownership into the role-play. (For example: a character who makes his living riding, frequent combat on horseback, a character with a favorite horse who almost became an important NPC with a personality and an emotional connection to the character, etc.) If I asked you what the color of the last horse you rode in a game was, would you know?

Re: How do you all handle mounted combat?
 

Sadly Guy, yes, I have always been *extremely guilty* of reducing horses to little more than a medieval version of an Uber for the PCs to get to the target Labyrinth... AND when I consider what other authors have done with horses, and the role iconic horses have played in the great adventures of The Lone Ranger (Silver), or Zorro (Tornado), and how those authors worked their beasts up to important *and functional* NPC status by adding color and excitement to an adventure story... I get embarrassed by my (mis)handling of the same potential available to me and my group.

JK

Re: How do you all handle mounted combat?
 

When the players are interested in this sort of thing, I make pretty full use of the mounted combat rules (which are quite good). Some players like to keep track of horse names and abilities, seek out good quality mounts, and all that stuff. It is fun when people treat them sort of like a warrior's familiar.

Re: How do you all handle mounted combat?
 

That's very common in my experience, and I'm just as guilty of it as you are. That's why I am so happy that Steve did NOT do this, and that it is available in the structure of the game -- consistent with the other rules -- for those who want to use it.

There are times when the horse really doesn't matter. But there are times when the roleplaying is lacking because you don't have that capability. The fact that the rules are there broadens what I might want to do with the roleplaying aspect of the game -- have a chase on horseback, face a mounted knight or armored cavalryman on the road, perform a rescue and escape on a swift steed. I wouldn't want to miss those moments, and they are worth the time to look over those rules and see how they fit the action.