DariusSolluman/ExaltedMounts

Exalted Mounts

Normally, an Exalt on horseback has a simple +1 to defense. (SeeDariusSolluman/TerrainShieldsAndHorsemanship). However, the Exalted rarely content themselves to such mundane creature as mere horses- they'll be ridding Yeddim to battle, breaking a River Dragon to their will, or taming huge wolf spiders to hurl javellins from. Nothing simple or prosaic, because that just ain't cool enough.

First, a definition. An Exalted Mount is one on scale with the Exalted. It's a highly subjective opinion, but they tend to be big and powerful. An Exalted Mount could typically do quite a bit of damage to an army on it's lonesome. A lone extra is never a match for an Exalted Mount.

Exalted Mounts tend to be able to offer two distinct advantages in a fight-

A) Height and speed: Being mounted on a horse is such a significant advantage in a war, that the cavalry charge could devestate ranks of simple infantry. Being on a beast four or five times the size of a horse, if you can still reach the enemy, is just that much more extreme. Essentially, Exalted Mounts grant their riders a base +2 or +3 to their defense, and an automatic +1 to +2 to their attack successes. However, the Mount itself may be targeted by the enemy, and it would NOT have that advantage. The precise bonuses would depend on the type of creature- in generally, something about twice the size of a horse would be a +2, while something the size of a Yeddim or larger would be a +3 to defense, while something with twice the speed of a horse would be a +1 to attack, and something with the speed of a Cheetah would be a +2. Keep in mind, these are automatic successes, not bonus dice.

B) Personal ferocity. As mentioned, most Exalted Mounts are fairly deadly on their own. With a Charisma + Ride dice action (difficulty between 2 and 8, the wildness of the mount and relationship with the Exalt dependent; some characters may also use Manipulation or Wits instead), the character can direct the actions of the Mount on it's turn, as far as use of natural weapons, walking on the enemy, and so on is concerned. Mounts do not gain automatic successes, but an otherwise battle an army as an Exalt- they roll a to hit and damage as per normal, can hold actions in reserve, and so on.

Edit I've removed the 'large creatures deal spreading attacks' clause- it wasn't sitting right in my head. Superlarge beasts will already deal a significant amount of damage to an Army- no reason to complicate matters.