Where does the rider land when they get pulled from a mount?

[Jurld]

I apologize if this has been asked/answered. I could not find the answer in the ITL Legacy Edition mounted combat rules.

We finally decided it would be "prone in the hex where the rider was sitting on their mount."

The other alternative we imagined was that it would seem more realistic if they fall to the ground beside the mount, but then we got in another "discussion" about what to do when that hex is occupied. Both figures fall to ground? The person who was pulling the rider is able to shift/step aside?

If there are RAW somewhere that we missed that covers this, please point it out, if not how do you play it in your group?

[phiwum]

Haven't yet had to worry about it, but here's how I'd do it.

Pick one person who is trying to pull the rider off. You may do this randomly or choose the strongest, whatever. The rider lands in the hex where that person is standing. That person shifts one hex away from the horse. If there's nowhere for him to shift to, you could decide that he falls prone in the same hex as the rider.

[hcobb]

Why would they fall into a different hex?

[ak_aramis]

Originally Posted by hcobb

Why would they fall into a different hex?

pushed off, pulled off - you're being moved sideways and will arc down.

Watching some modern jousters, when they fall, it's between 3 to 6 feet from the horse's path where they land; that's good odds of not being in the hex where one came off.

I would say phiwum's method is a decent one, so long as the unhorsing is being done by grapple, battleax, warhammer, sickle, one-handed hook, or other such "grabby" non-polearms.

By long melee weapons, esp. hooks and axes, you can pull from further than 1 hex. Weapons with blunt heads or spikes on a poleaxe can be used to push; start at reach and force them one away while stepping one in.

Needless to say, lances should give a chance to be away from the horse's path on landing...

[hcobb]

Just resolve it as a "forced retreat" off their high horse then.

[phiwum]

Originally Posted by hcobb

Why would they fall into a different hex?

Because the alternative is to land prone under the horse, but this sounds rather more like being pulled through the horse rather than off.

And I don't think that pulling a man off a horse ought to lead to an immediate (if unintentional) trampling.

[phiwum]

Originally Posted by hcobb

Just resolve it as a "forced retreat" off their high horse then.

Why? Why should the rider get to choose which hex he lands in? He's being pulled off, so he's not really in control of the situation.

[hcobb]

Originally Posted by phiwum

Why? Why should the rider get to choose which hex he lands in?

That's not my reading of forced retreats in ITL 118

[Axly Suregrip]

Jurld,
No need to apologize, even if this was asked before, it wasn't. As you can see from the varied responses, this is a very good question. The rules failed to spell this out.

I like your solution: the rider gets put under the horse remaining in the same hex. It is elegant and simple.

Don't worry about trampling, that is an intentional attack and would only apply if the mount hated the rider.

Until your solution, I would have done this as follows. (It actually has never come up). I would have had the last puller figure choose which hex that is adjacent to both the rider and the puller for the rider to fall in. I may now let the puller choose from either adjacent or remain in same hex (as per your idea) or into the puller's hex. Just like forced retreats, I like the idea of the puller getting to choose. Unlike forced retreats it is a pull, not a push away.

In any case, the rider will be prone on the ground.

If someone is in the hex already, then yes they would both be prone. This could be good for the puller if he wishes to force a HTH situation. This is why I like giving the puller the choice of hexes to pull into. It gives their winning a difficult roll a choice that would best fit their desire.

Finally, I want to point out that since the rules allow for multiple pullers (horsemanship requires 2 successful pull rolls), I would the choice of hex to be any of the hexes allow by any puller IF they are all in agreement. If not, I would randomly choose (roll for it) who gets to decide.

Have fun!

[phiwum]

Originally Posted by hcobb

That's not my reading of forced retreats in ITL 118

You're right.

Still, I reckon pulling a rider off a horse is easier to do than pushing him off a horse, which is what you're describing.