| This skill requires specialization |
Riding (DX/Average) is the skill to ride a general class of animals or mounts.[1] If your mount is properly trained, this skill may can a small bonus. Typically, this skill is rolled when first mounting a mount,[1] or at +2 when getting an ordinary (not war trained) mount to charge into or over an obstacle -- unless the mount itself is bolting from danger!
Defaults: DX-5 or Animal Handling (same)-3.
For combat riding, see Mounted Combat.
Modifiers[]
- +5 if the animal knows and likes you (common with "noble steeds")
- +1 or more for a mount with the Mount skill
- -10 if the animal has not been trained for riding[2]
Doing Things While Riding[]
- By rules-as-written, mounted combat is limited by the lower of the skill being used while mounted and the effective Riding skill.
- Riding is used to avoid pits or other traps while mounted, with a penalty from speed. This will typically range from a -4 to -6, from a common mule to a fast racehorse at full speed, likely less.
Specialties[]
While Riding (Horse) may be the most common example, GURPS allows just about any specialty to this skill.
- Most specialties default to one another at -3.
- Most dinosaurs seem to be at -3 to modern Riding skills[3]
- Some unusual ones (such as aquatic or flying animals) default to ordinary ones at -6
- Rare and exotic mounts (like wyverns) might be -10!
In modern, realistic settings, only Horse and Camel are common to any extent.[4]
Specialization Examples[]
| Specialty | Description |
|---|---|
| Horse | Riding (Horse) is likely the most common of all settings, with donkeys and mules being essentially identical for game purposes. From ponies to draft horses, from scrawny nags to legendary destriers.
Note: While unicorns may have different quirks, they likely move and gallop like a horse, and would use the Riding (Horse) skill! |
| Bovines | Yaks, buffalo and cattle are actually used as mounts in some real-world cultures. Likewise, a fictional culture might even use this skill for bison, flying or otherwise. |
| Camel | Camels can be ridden a few different ways depending on where you want to sit. They're |
| Elephant | The biggest mountable animal in the real world, and many fictional ones. |
| Dolphin | Don't worry buddy, we'll carry you to shore! Probably! |
| Dragon | With sapient dragons, this skill is much easier (since they're simply carrying you around), but it still takes a bit of practice getting used to their stride. With nonsapient dragons, their sheer might may make it impossible to do much more than hold on and try not to fly off! |
| Bear | Anything is possible with a little animal magic. |
| Pigs / Hogs | Nothing says "goblin" like a monstrous war hog. |
| Rams | Genetically, rams/sheep and mountain goats are bovines, so "mount-sized" ones likely default to mundane Bovines at -3 or less. Dwarves love rams for their sure-footedness and powerful charge. |
| Hadrosaur | Large, placid herbivores that t-rexes liked to eat. Hadrosaurs are surprisingly common among various "dinosaur worlds", such as the World of Banded Night, or on Cyrano's Mars. |
| Sauropod / Big Raptor | Most commonly used for massospondylus or more "placid" sauropods, but you could probably ride a Rex with this if you could tame it. |
| Bird | Used by tiny people.. or for giant birds. It adventures with a ton of different mountable birds, there may be a Familiarity between them, or even separate specialties depending on how they flutter. |
| Gheap | Everyone loves the gheaps. They're ghreat! |
Techniques[]
- Hands-Free Riding[5]
- Mounted Reload
- Quick Mount[5] (can also be used with Acrobatics and Jumping)
See Also[]
- Mounted Combat
- Horse Archery
- Mounted Shooting
- Mount skill
- Classic: formerly Riding (Being Ridden) in Horseclans