Advanced Action - Ride 'em Cowboy

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RIDING RULES
These are the rules for riding other creatures in battle. Without the proper proficiencies, it's quite a messy affair... Proficiencies in riding are considered passive skills. Furthermore, when using out of battle training to learn them, they incur no stat penalties, but require a mount to practice with. If the mount is sentient, they must also pay the Hour cost of this training time, but will be considered a training partner for purposes of reduction.
To be a candidate to be a 'Mount', a creature must have four or more legs, and/or naturally walk in such a way that there is an adequately large horizontal plane directly above their legs to host a rider.
To be a candidate to be a 'Rider', a creature need only walk completely upright, and have arms and legs of relative length to their 'trunk'. Certain beings who have these traits may still simply be too big for certain mounts, or for that matter any.

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-Traits Of The Pair-

The following rules apply to both rider and mount.
-- Mounter and Rider are considered a single 'target' in battle, and share a turn as well. This fact even applies when calculating Area of Effect. If the Mount moves, the rider obviously goes with them. They still act seperately and use their own Act.
-- SPwrII, for purposes of being healed, is averaged between the two. SDef as well is averaged between the two.
-- When attacked, mount and rider choose Dodge or Defend seperately. The following bonuses and penalties apply depending on this combination.
--- If mount Dodges and rider Defends, the mount's dodge chance is halved.
--- If mount Defends and rider Dodges, the rider's dodge chance is halved.
--- If both Dodge and the mount succeeds, the rider will instantly succeed as well, and can preform a Surprise counter.
--- If both Defend and the rider reduces base stat damage to 0, the mount will take no damage.
-- It takes 1 Act from the rider and 1 Turn of both staying still for the rider to get properly mounted.
-- Rider and Mount cannot attack the same target at the same time.

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-Traits Of The Mount-

The following rules apply to the mount.
-- All equipment of the rider applies against the mount's Maximum Armor count, including weapon and shield. Quadrapedal mounts have an extra Power Bonus worth of weight they can carry, but must keep all four feet on the ground to keep it in effect.
-- All actions while carrying a rider take standard Nonproficiency Penalty. In addition, all actions require double Act.
-- Once mounted, the creature will not act unless instructed to. This does not apply to sentient mounts.

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-Skills For Mounts-
The following are standard Passive Traits that can be taken by Mounts.
Ignore Weight - Each level in this allows the mount to ignore 1/4 of the rider's equipment weight, capping at level 4 where all weight will be ignored. This does not in any way affect the mount's Maximum Armor Weight.

Carry Rider - The first level in this negates the Nonproficiency Penalty on actions taken. The two following levels negate the extra Act requirement for Physical and Special actions.

Accept Command - Allows the mount to accept more complicated commands, and removes the 1/2 Act and Priority penalty.
Level 1: Possible Commands; Move (will run in the direction the mount is facing), Attack (will attack the nearest target they percieve to be a threat)
Level 2: Possible Commands; Move Where (move to a specified place by the shortest route possible, expending any number of Act it requires), Attack Who (will attack the specified target, no matter where they are, if it is possible)
Level 3: Possible Commands; Move Where How (Move to a specified place in a specified manner), Attack Who How (Attack a specified target with a specified move), Guard To (Mount will stay in place and attack anyone who comes close), Return To (Mount will return to any place they have been before if it is possible for them to get there), Rally Whistle (Calls mount to the rider, as long as they are not more than one World Unit away) Mount will now follow commands even if the rider is not on their back.

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-Traits Of The Rider-

The following rules apply to the rider.
-- Movement skills besides Jump cannot be used, and even Jump is halved. Any ability that requires personal feats of movement cannot be used.
-- All actions taken while riding take standard Nonproficiency Penalty. In addition, all actions require double Act, and one hand must be open at all times to guide the mount and remain steady atop it.
-- Commanding your mount to do something costs 1/2 an Act and gives the action very low Priority.
-- BLUDGEONING or ROCK damage sufficient to get through your armor forces you to make a Power check versus the attack to remain mounted. If your mount has a saddle, you get a +10 "buckler bonus" to this roll. If for some reason your mount attempts to buck you off, you make a Power check against them, and again, gain a +10 bonus if they are wearing a saddle. Even if successful, no action can be taken after one of these checks until the next turn of combat.

[CJ]

-Skills For Riders-
The following are standard Passive Traits that can be taken by Riders.

Active Riding - The first level negates the Nonproficiency Penalty on actions taken. The second level negates the additional Act cost of actions.

Dynamic Mounting - Allows the rider to mount instantly by landing on any mount, without the use of Act outside of what is used to get them into such a position.

Dynamic Riding - The first level negates the halving of Jump ability. The second level allows the rider to use mid-air movement skills directly from their mount, and add the mount's Movement Skill to their own Jump. The third level allows the rider to use midair movement skills from the back of their mount while they are moving themselves, adding their skill level to that of the one the rider uses.

Sticky Ride - The first level allows the rider to use both hands while riding, and grants a further +10 to Antibuckler Bonus versus attempts to dismount him if he has one hand free anyway. The second, third, and fourth levels add +10 each to Antibuckler Bonus versus attempts to dismount them, whether they have one hand free or not.

Special Ride - The first level allows the rider to ride a mount even if they are using a method of motion that would normally interfere with the practice (such as wings, or a Koopa traveling in his shell).

Command - Levels mimic that of Accept Command, only the commands apply to any Mount. This also, however, requires a 'breaking in' period.
It takes 3 commands for the mount to start accepting level 1 commands.
The mount must recieve all level 1 commands before it can accept level 2 commands.
The mount must recieve all level 2 commands twice before it can accept level 3 commands.

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Animal Empathy - Allows a rider to befriend nonsentient creatures and make mounts of them. This passive takes a full slot, and activation of it requires that the rider remain atop the mount for a number of Buck attempts equal to the mount's level. Upon activation, the rider makes an SDef check versus the mount, and if it wins, the beast is theirs to ride. If it fails, they must remain atop the mount again, though their effective level for number of Buck attempts that must be survived is cut in half every time an SDef Check is made, minimum of 1. The attempts need not be survived subsequently, but every successful buck lowers the rider's "score" by 1.
If the intended mount ignores the rider, they can act normally, but take standard penalties for carrying a rider (except for being unable to act without a command).
If the intended mount is Charmed by the rider, they get a free SDef check, and the mount's effective SDef is halved for future ones as long as the Charm lasts. This effect may also occur if the rider offers the mount sufficiently well-loved food, items, or treatment, provided the mount is receptive to it.
If the intended mount is Manipulated by -anyone- or Confused, buck attempts survived will not count and no checks can be made.