Mounted Combat

Characters fighting from horseback (or other strange beasts) have certain advantages and disadvantages in combat, as described below.

Mounts aren't dealt Action Cards–they act with their riders. Animals specifically noted as being trained to fight (such as warhorses) may attack any threat to their front during their riders' action. Untrained horses do not fight unless riderless, and even then usually only if cornered.

• Horsemanship: Characters who wish to fight from horseback must use the lowest of their Fighting or Riding skills. This makes it important for cavalrymen to actually be able to ride well!
• Collisions: If a mounted character runs into something solid–such as a wall–both he and the mount suffer Collision Damage as explained in the Vehicle Rules on page 115.
• Running: Riders suffer the usual running penalty (–2) to attacks if the animal runs.
• Falling: Anytime a character is Shaken or suffers a wound while on horseback he must make a Riding roll to stay horsed. If he fails, he falls. If the horse is moving, the rider suffers 2d6 damage (he’s merely Fatigued for the rest of the fight if the horse was still).
• Firing on Mounted Targets: Shots directed at mounted characters use the Innocent Bystander rules to see if the horse was hit. Of course, an attacker can always aim for the horse instead.
• Charging: A rider on a charging horse adds +4 to his damage roll with a successful Fighting attack. To be considered charging, the rider must have moved at least 6“ or more in a relatively straight line towards his foe.
• Setting Weapons: A weapon with a Reach of 1 or greater can be “set” against a cavalry attack. To do so, the attacker must be on Hold when he is attacked by a charging mount (see above). If so, he rolls to interrupt as usual, but each combatant adds +2 to his Agility roll for each point of his weapon's reach. The winner attacks first, and adds the +4 charge bonus to his damage; the loser gains no bonus.
• Wounded Mounts: When an animal is Shaken or wounded, it rears or bucks. A rider must make a Riding roll to stay mounted, or suffer the consequences of falling (see above). Mounts which aren't trained in fighting flee in a random direction when Shaken, taking their riders with them.

Savage Worlds Deluxe Edition p. 83