Do you often use a mount in battle, or have you never used one?
The benefits of a mount include advantage on attack rolls against targets smaller than your mount, and likely a faster movement speed.
Looking at history, mounts gave a HUGE benefit to riders. (I'm including chariots when I say this). They allowed you to use the strength of both a well trained person, AND A WHOLE HORSE! Like, knights didn't joust with their own strength. Their strength made sure the lance stayed relatively still. The actual force was applied by the horse.
My main point in theory craft: Would you ride a mount more often / start considering it if there were greater benefits?
Say, you add its Strength Modifier to your attack roll, and based on its CR, you add dice to the damage.
Riding Horse adds 1d4. Warhorse adds 1d8. A chariot with four warhorses adds 4d8. (I'm q bigger fan of this because it gives Martial characters an additional reason to get 1,400 gold).
The mounted combat rules in 5E are clunky and kind of unintuitive. Because a mount acts on a different turn than the rider, you cannot do a lot of the things you would do on your own turn, such as move between attacks.
The advantage against enemies smaller than your mount actually only apply if you have the Mounted Combatant Feat, it's not a default part of regular mounted combat.
That said, the mobility benefits of riding a mount are still a huge boon, but I think people don't use them because the rules are kind of annoying.
I DO use a mount as a player, mostly as a melee Swashbuckler who can benefit from Steady Aim and still have mobility since the horse moving does not deny me the ability to is Steady Aim, but I would use them more if the rules were friendlier.
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Canto alla vita alla sua bellezza ad ogni sua ferita ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
And don't forget the lance. I had a soft paw mouse-folk, that rode a mastiff. He finally gave in and rode a warhorse but thought he looked silly on that big thing. even though a small creature the rules let him use a lance. also, remember the Saddle of the Cavalier and the Saddle, Military depending on what your PC's purse has in it.
I completely gave up the advantage of attacking medium creatures for quite a while, just for roleplay.
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Itinerant Deputy Shire-reave Tomas Burrfoot - world walker, Raft-captain, speaker to his dead
Toddy Shelfungus- Rider of the Order of Ill Luck, Speaker to Friends of Friends, and Horribly big nosed
Jarl Archi of Jenisis Glade Fee- Noble Knight of the Dragonborn Goldcrest Clan, Sorcerer of the Noble Investigator;y; Knightly order of the Wolfhound
Agree with Ophid, having to deal with extra rules is a hindrance.
It's also extremely campaign specific. You don't do a lot of jousting in dungeons, and even if your horse technically fits down the hallways, it just looks and feels ridiculous. The Fellowship of the Ring had to leave behind their best member at the gates of Moria.
And remember that stuff like this cuts both ways. If mounts make you objectively stronger, all creatures will want mounts. Goblins, wizards, trolls, everyone. And they can probably get cooler mounts than you.
ffs I looked the mount rules just answer and I've been using them wrong this whole time >:U!
My current oneshot character on the DnD server I'm on is a goblin cavalier who rides wolves (until I can get dire wolves hehehe), so I use them more often than the average player. I used them in the interim campaign that was going on whilst the sunday campaign I was in was on haitus. Though only sometimes, actually. Come to think of it my bugbear druid was almost always dismounted in combat.
As a DM on that server I see that's at least a couple other players who have mounts. One's a paladin (actual horse(s) tho, hasn't gotten to the cool steed spells yet), one's a ranger who bought most of them to carry all her shit during exploration missions on an elemental chaos island, one's a barbarian who just really wanted a moorbounder, one was a wizard who just wanted to fly around on a pegasus and used Wish for it, one was a cleric/sorc who needed to buy a horse to travel somewhere and just brought the horse to "get [his] money's worth", one was a fighter who got himself a spellwrought tattoo but then never used the mount, and one's a battle smith artificer (halfling reskinned as a bunny person). That's basically all of them. If there's any more then their mounts probs died really quickly and then the player just stopped getting mounts/bringing them along to missions, or the mounts weren't like, interesting enough for me to remember without looking through our discord.
Oh no wait, can't believe I forgot about the ranger with a bunch of elephants (various of which he lost on the aforementioned island and has tried to get them back but failed so far). Man I ran the mission where he got his first, haha.
If the benefits were extra good AND I was playing in a setting/situation where people riding mounts was a thing, I guess maybe I use'd mounts more? I have a bit of a conflict in me, since horse riding n such is exploitation and using it more normalizes it in the heads of those around me.
Looking at history, mounts gave a HUGE benefit to riders. (I'm including chariots when I say this). They allowed you to use the strength of both a well trained person, AND A WHOLE HORSE! Like, knights didn't joust with their own strength. Their strength made sure the lance stayed relatively still. The actual force was applied by the horse.
The additional strength would only come during a charge. Once you're in melee then the horse's strength doesn't really apply.
You guys have made a lot of really good points (and I really appreciate Toddy_Shelfungus' and Lycaon's stories).
So, new rules overhaul for mounts:
While mounted, you may choose weather you and your mount take your turns together, or do not. If you act on different initiatives, you are treated as separate creatures that occupy the same space. If you act on the same initiative, you count as the same creature, until you dismount. As a single creature, you share your mount's movement speed, and your ability to attack. Your AC matches whichever has a lower AC (your or your mount). You gain a Charge attack and share hit points. Once your combined hit points reach 0, you automatically dismount and both must start to make death saving throws.
Creatures that can be used as mounts have the Ideal Mount feature.
Ideal Mount. When you use this creature as a mount, you may choose to use it as an Ideal Mount. When atop an Ideal Mount, any attacks, spells, or abilities that would effect it effect you instead. Damage dealt by Area of Effect spells that would damage both you and your Ideal Mount ignore your ideal mount. Your Hit Point maximum is increased by a number of HP equal to the Ideal Mount's Total hit points (#). It does not get its own turn in combat, instead lending its speed and strength to you. Your movement speed becomes its movement speed (#ft). If you can take the dash action as a bonus action, you cannot take the dash action as a bonus action while mounted on your Ideal Mount. Your AC becomes equal to whichever AC is lower, yours or the Ideal Mount's (#). You also gain a Charge Attack when using your Ideal Mount. If you dismount for any reason, your Maximum HP returns to normal and your current HP value lowers by the same amount. If your HP becomes 0 while you have an Ideal Mount, you automatically dismount and both you and your ideal mount begin to make death saving throws.
Charge Attack: Whenever you take the attack action, if you moved at least 10ft in a straight line before making your attack, you may add your mount's Strength modifier to the attack roll. Upon a success, you may add damage to the attack according to the table below.
Item War Chariot 250gp, 100lbs, Vehicle (land) This vehicle allows the rider to mount to two beasts. (Riding Horse, Mastiff, etc). When a charge attack is used, the rider gains a bonus to their attack equal to the strength modifier of both beasts. The attack's damage also increases by double the damage die of the weaker creature (measured by CR). As an example, if a rider uses two Mastiffs, the attack bonus is +2, and the weapon's damage increases by 2d4. If the rider uses a Mastiff and a Warhorse, the attack roll gets a +5 bonus, and the weapon's damage increases by 2d4. While charging, turning 90 degrees or greater requires half of your movement.
Item Racing Chariot 1000gp, 200lbs, Vehicle (land) This vehicle allows the rider to mount to four beasts. (Riding Horse, Mastiff, etc). When a charge attack is used, the rider gains a bonus to their attack equal to the strength modifier of each beast. The attack's damage also increases by four of the damage die of the weaker creature (measured by CR). As an example, if a rider uses four Mastiffs, the attack bonus is +4, and the weapon's damage increases by 4d4. If the rider uses one Mastiff and three Warhorses, the attack roll gets a +13 bonus, and the weapon's damage increases by 4d4. While charging you cannot turn 90 degrees or greater.
Magic Item Yoke, Exotic, 50lbs, 150gp, Adventuring Gear This equipment replaces the yoke used to attach two beasts to a chariot. It allows the chariot to be pulled by any kind of creature (pegasus, kirin, unicorn, etc).
Sage Advice: How much damage do I really do? Do I add the chariot bonuses to my mounted bonus? No. The bonuses do not stack. A Lance deals 1d12 piercing damage. On a warhorse, the lance deals 1d12 + Your strength modifier and 1d8 piercing damage. The Lancer on a chariot pulled by two warhorses would deal 1d12 + Your strength modifier piercing and 2d8 piercing damage. A Lancer with a Flame Tongue Lance on a Racing Chariot pulled by four Warhorses would deal 2d6 fire damage, 1d12 + Your strength modifier piercing damage, and 4d8 piercing damage. You'll note that the mount's Strength is never added to the damage (maybe that should become a feat somewhere), only to the attack roll (meaning you're more likely to punch your weapon through armor and shields).
Sage Advice 2: If I have an Ideal Mount and a fireball hits, do I take double damage because of the damage dealt to me and my ideal mount? No. You are effectively treated as one creature. This means that if they target it with a targeted spell, all of that damage is dealt to you. If you are in an area of effect spell, only damage that you would normally take counts.
You guys have made a lot of really good points (and I really appreciate Toddy_Shelfungus' and Lycaon's stories).
So, new rules overhaul for mounts:
While mounted, you may choose weather you and your mount take your turns together, or do not. If you act on different initiatives, you are treated as separate creatures that occupy the same space. If you act on the same initiative, you count as the same creature, until you dismount. As a single creature, you share your mount's movement speed, and your ability to attack. Your AC matches whichever has a lower AC (your or your mount). You gain a Charge attack and share hit points. Once your combined hit points reach 0, you automatically dismount and both must start to make death saving throws.
And whose Saving Throws do you use?
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Canto alla vita alla sua bellezza ad ogni sua ferita ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
I think the bigger problem with mounts is how fragile they are. A 19hp horse will die the first time it encounters a caster with an AoE spell, unless the rider has mounted combatant, and even then it’s dicey. And by tier 2, many creatures can one-shot it in melee. Spending 400 gp on a warhorse to have it killed under you isn’t great. And to answer your question about using mounts. My current character is a halfling paladin who uses his mount all the time, mostly for the increased movement. But logistically it’s easier because he’s small so the mount is medium and can fit down hallways easily. Also, an ancients paladin so he gets to misty step with his mount. Because another big problem with mounts is getting them places. Someone mentioned the awkwardness of going into a dungeon, but even if you get them inside, they’re stymied by ladders, ropes, etc.
Seems like a pretty big power boost for paladins, also drake wardens, and small battlesmiths who ride their steel defender. Also a bit of a jump for cavalier fighters. Possibly other classes I’m not thinking of. Also seems like giving away a chunk of mounted combatant feat for free.
You are exactly right. As far as I can tell, mounted characters are fairly rare because it only exists for flavour as opposed to why it existed in history, and if players ignore something because it's underpowered, then it needs to get a revamp (at least in my opinion). As far as I can tell at this stage, the loss in AC for the boost in HP probably checks out, or else it'll remain the exact same barrier it is now until the party gets enough money for them to start barding mounts. With that said, it does gain something close to the Wizard's Tax giving martial characters who ride something a thing to spend their money on. It also keeps the pet safe from the DM until the group hit 0HP.
I've gone and homebrewed it all up. Here are the links.
I am soon to join a campaign with my group as an Artificer Battlesmith. As you may know, Battlesmiths often use their Steel Defender as a mount due to its ruleset being nearly identical to the mount ruleset (the only things that set them apart are the directly superior traits to the Steel Defender). My weapon lineup includes a Spear with a Returning Weapon infusion (+1 to attack and damage, plus my weapons return to me after being thrown) and a shield. I have range, speed, and the bonuses of my Steel Defender's 'Deflect Attack' reaction. To me, this feels like the best possible way to use a mount, and the niche application is unfortunately it's sweetest spot.
But this is all while applying the base game's rules and logic! I do love the creative spice going around this forum. Hopefully we'll have some returning faces to talk about experiences with mounts.
One thing I'd want to look into regarding trying to build a character set for mounted combat is if the GM would be willing to allow the mount to be a Sidekick from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. A standard warhorse isn't so tough at level 8, but a warhorse that's an 8th level Warrior is going to be able to tank some damage.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Do you often use a mount in battle, or have you never used one?
The benefits of a mount include advantage on attack rolls against targets smaller than your mount, and likely a faster movement speed.
Looking at history, mounts gave a HUGE benefit to riders. (I'm including chariots when I say this). They allowed you to use the strength of both a well trained person, AND A WHOLE HORSE! Like, knights didn't joust with their own strength. Their strength made sure the lance stayed relatively still. The actual force was applied by the horse.
My main point in theory craft: Would you ride a mount more often / start considering it if there were greater benefits?
Say, you add its Strength Modifier to your attack roll, and based on its CR, you add dice to the damage.
Riding Horse adds 1d4. Warhorse adds 1d8. A chariot with four warhorses adds 4d8. (I'm q bigger fan of this because it gives Martial characters an additional reason to get 1,400 gold).
What's your opinion?
The mounted combat rules in 5E are clunky and kind of unintuitive. Because a mount acts on a different turn than the rider, you cannot do a lot of the things you would do on your own turn, such as move between attacks.
The advantage against enemies smaller than your mount actually only apply if you have the Mounted Combatant Feat, it's not a default part of regular mounted combat.
That said, the mobility benefits of riding a mount are still a huge boon, but I think people don't use them because the rules are kind of annoying.
I DO use a mount as a player, mostly as a melee Swashbuckler who can benefit from Steady Aim and still have mobility since the horse moving does not deny me the ability to is Steady Aim, but I would use them more if the rules were friendlier.
Canto alla vita
alla sua bellezza
ad ogni sua ferita
ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty
To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me
The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
And don't forget the lance.
I had a soft paw mouse-folk, that rode a mastiff.
He finally gave in and rode a warhorse but thought he looked silly on that big thing.
even though a small creature the rules let him use a lance.
also, remember the Saddle of the Cavalier and the Saddle, Military depending on what your PC's purse has in it.
I completely gave up the advantage of attacking medium creatures for quite a while, just for roleplay.
Itinerant Deputy Shire-reave Tomas Burrfoot - world walker, Raft-captain, speaker to his dead
Toddy Shelfungus- Rider of the Order of Ill Luck, Speaker to Friends of Friends, and Horribly big nosed
Jarl Archi of Jenisis Glade Fee- Noble Knight of the Dragonborn Goldcrest Clan, Sorcerer of the Noble Investigator;y; Knightly order of the Wolfhound
Agree with Ophid, having to deal with extra rules is a hindrance.
It's also extremely campaign specific. You don't do a lot of jousting in dungeons, and even if your horse technically fits down the hallways, it just looks and feels ridiculous. The Fellowship of the Ring had to leave behind their best member at the gates of Moria.
And remember that stuff like this cuts both ways. If mounts make you objectively stronger, all creatures will want mounts. Goblins, wizards, trolls, everyone. And they can probably get cooler mounts than you.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
ffs I looked the mount rules just answer and I've been using them wrong this whole time >:U!
My current oneshot character on the DnD server I'm on is a goblin cavalier who rides wolves (until I can get dire wolves hehehe), so I use them more often than the average player. I used them in the interim campaign that was going on whilst the sunday campaign I was in was on haitus. Though only sometimes, actually. Come to think of it my bugbear druid was almost always dismounted in combat.
As a DM on that server I see that's at least a couple other players who have mounts. One's a paladin (actual horse(s) tho, hasn't gotten to the cool steed spells yet), one's a ranger who bought most of them to carry all her shit during exploration missions on an elemental chaos island, one's a barbarian who just really wanted a moorbounder, one was a wizard who just wanted to fly around on a pegasus and used Wish for it, one was a cleric/sorc who needed to buy a horse to travel somewhere and just brought the horse to "get [his] money's worth", one was a fighter who got himself a spellwrought tattoo but then never used the mount, and one's a battle smith artificer (halfling reskinned as a bunny person). That's basically all of them. If there's any more then their mounts probs died really quickly and then the player just stopped getting mounts/bringing them along to missions, or the mounts weren't like, interesting enough for me to remember without looking through our discord.
Oh no wait, can't believe I forgot about the ranger with a bunch of elephants (various of which he lost on the aforementioned island and has tried to get them back but failed so far). Man I ran the mission where he got his first, haha.
If the benefits were extra good AND I was playing in a setting/situation where people riding mounts was a thing, I guess maybe I use'd mounts more? I have a bit of a conflict in me, since horse riding n such is exploitation and using it more normalizes it in the heads of those around me.
Er ek geng, þat er í þeim skóm er ek valda.
UwU
The additional strength would only come during a charge. Once you're in melee then the horse's strength doesn't really apply.
You guys have made a lot of really good points (and I really appreciate Toddy_Shelfungus' and Lycaon's stories).
So, new rules overhaul for mounts:
While mounted, you may choose weather you and your mount take your turns together, or do not. If you act on different initiatives, you are treated as separate creatures that occupy the same space. If you act on the same initiative, you count as the same creature, until you dismount. As a single creature, you share your mount's movement speed, and your ability to attack. Your AC matches whichever has a lower AC (your or your mount). You gain a Charge attack and share hit points. Once your combined hit points reach 0, you automatically dismount and both must start to make death saving throws.Creatures that can be used as mounts have the Ideal Mount feature.
Ideal Mount. When you use this creature as a mount, you may choose to use it as an Ideal Mount. When atop an Ideal Mount, any attacks, spells, or abilities that would effect it effect you instead. Damage dealt by Area of Effect spells that would damage both you and your Ideal Mount ignore your ideal mount. Your Hit Point maximum is increased by a number of HP equal to the Ideal Mount's Total hit points (#). It does not get its own turn in combat, instead lending its speed and strength to you. Your movement speed becomes its movement speed (#ft). If you can take the dash action as a bonus action, you cannot take the dash action as a bonus action while mounted on your Ideal Mount. Your AC becomes equal to whichever AC is lower, yours or the Ideal Mount's (#). You also gain a Charge Attack when using your Ideal Mount. If you dismount for any reason, your Maximum HP returns to normal and your current HP value lowers by the same amount. If your HP becomes 0 while you have an Ideal Mount, you automatically dismount and both you and your ideal mount begin to make death saving throws.
Charge Attack: Whenever you take the attack action, if you moved at least 10ft in a straight line before making your attack, you may add your mount's Strength modifier to the attack roll. Upon a success, you may add damage to the attack according to the table below.
CR 1/8> - 1d4
CR 1/4 - 1d6
CR 1/2 - 1d8
CR 1 - 1/d10
CR 2< - 1d12
Item War Chariot 250gp, 100lbs, Vehicle (land)
This vehicle allows the rider to mount to two beasts. (Riding Horse, Mastiff, etc). When a charge attack is used, the rider gains a bonus to their attack equal to the strength modifier of both beasts. The attack's damage also increases by double the damage die of the weaker creature (measured by CR). As an example, if a rider uses two Mastiffs, the attack bonus is +2, and the weapon's damage increases by 2d4. If the rider uses a Mastiff and a Warhorse, the attack roll gets a +5 bonus, and the weapon's damage increases by 2d4. While charging, turning 90 degrees or greater requires half of your movement.
Item Racing Chariot 1000gp, 200lbs, Vehicle (land)
This vehicle allows the rider to mount to four beasts. (Riding Horse, Mastiff, etc). When a charge attack is used, the rider gains a bonus to their attack equal to the strength modifier of each beast. The attack's damage also increases by four of the damage die of the weaker creature (measured by CR). As an example, if a rider uses four Mastiffs, the attack bonus is +4, and the weapon's damage increases by 4d4. If the rider uses one Mastiff and three Warhorses, the attack roll gets a +13 bonus, and the weapon's damage increases by 4d4. While charging you cannot turn 90 degrees or greater.
Magic Item Yoke, Exotic, 50lbs, 150gp, Adventuring Gear
This equipment replaces the yoke used to attach two beasts to a chariot. It allows the chariot to be pulled by any kind of creature (pegasus, kirin, unicorn, etc).
Sage Advice: How much damage do I really do? Do I add the chariot bonuses to my mounted bonus?
No. The bonuses do not stack. A Lance deals 1d12 piercing damage. On a warhorse, the lance deals 1d12 + Your strength modifier and 1d8 piercing damage. The Lancer on a chariot pulled by two warhorses would deal 1d12 + Your strength modifier piercing and 2d8 piercing damage. A Lancer with a Flame Tongue Lance on a Racing Chariot pulled by four Warhorses would deal 2d6 fire damage, 1d12 + Your strength modifier piercing damage, and 4d8 piercing damage. You'll note that the mount's Strength is never added to the damage (maybe that should become a feat somewhere), only to the attack roll (meaning you're more likely to punch your weapon through armor and shields).
Sage Advice 2: If I have an Ideal Mount and a fireball hits, do I take double damage because of the damage dealt to me and my ideal mount?
No. You are effectively treated as one creature. This means that if they target it with a targeted spell, all of that damage is dealt to you. If you are in an area of effect spell, only damage that you would normally take counts.
And whose Saving Throws do you use?
Canto alla vita
alla sua bellezza
ad ogni sua ferita
ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty
To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me
The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
I think the bigger problem with mounts is how fragile they are. A 19hp horse will die the first time it encounters a caster with an AoE spell, unless the rider has mounted combatant, and even then it’s dicey. And by tier 2, many creatures can one-shot it in melee. Spending 400 gp on a warhorse to have it killed under you isn’t great.
And to answer your question about using mounts. My current character is a halfling paladin who uses his mount all the time, mostly for the increased movement. But logistically it’s easier because he’s small so the mount is medium and can fit down hallways easily.
Also, an ancients paladin so he gets to misty step with his mount. Because another big problem with mounts is getting them places. Someone mentioned the awkwardness of going into a dungeon, but even if you get them inside, they’re stymied by ladders, ropes, etc.
I fixed it with the Ideal Mount mechanic if you'd like to re-read it. You use the rider's saving throws.
Seems like a pretty big power boost for paladins, also drake wardens, and small battlesmiths who ride their steel defender. Also a bit of a jump for cavalier fighters. Possibly other classes I’m not thinking of. Also seems like giving away a chunk of mounted combatant feat for free.
You are exactly right. As far as I can tell, mounted characters are fairly rare because it only exists for flavour as opposed to why it existed in history, and if players ignore something because it's underpowered, then it needs to get a revamp (at least in my opinion). As far as I can tell at this stage, the loss in AC for the boost in HP probably checks out, or else it'll remain the exact same barrier it is now until the party gets enough money for them to start barding mounts. With that said, it does gain something close to the Wizard's Tax giving martial characters who ride something a thing to spend their money on. It also keeps the pet safe from the DM until the group hit 0HP.
I've gone and homebrewed it all up. Here are the links.
Horses
Courser
https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/2362406-horse-courser-war
Destrier
https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/2362416-horse-destrier-war
Morgan
https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/2362588-horse-morgan-racing
Pacer
https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/2362608-horse-pacer-racing
Palfrey
https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/2362628-horse-palfrey-riding
Rouncy
https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/2362641-horse-rouncy-riding
Sumpter
https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/2362676-horse-sumpter-draft
Equipment / Magic Items
War Chariot
https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/4610486-chariot-war
Racing Chariot
https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/4610507-chariot-racing
Exotic Yoke
https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/4610541-yoke-exotic
I am soon to join a campaign with my group as an Artificer Battlesmith. As you may know, Battlesmiths often use their Steel Defender as a mount due to its ruleset being nearly identical to the mount ruleset (the only things that set them apart are the directly superior traits to the Steel Defender). My weapon lineup includes a Spear with a Returning Weapon infusion (+1 to attack and damage, plus my weapons return to me after being thrown) and a shield. I have range, speed, and the bonuses of my Steel Defender's 'Deflect Attack' reaction. To me, this feels like the best possible way to use a mount, and the niche application is unfortunately it's sweetest spot.
But this is all while applying the base game's rules and logic! I do love the creative spice going around this forum. Hopefully we'll have some returning faces to talk about experiences with mounts.
One thing I'd want to look into regarding trying to build a character set for mounted combat is if the GM would be willing to allow the mount to be a Sidekick from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. A standard warhorse isn't so tough at level 8, but a warhorse that's an 8th level Warrior is going to be able to tank some damage.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Funny, I wore the Steel Defender like a backpack and used it's arms for melee while I handled range attacks.
So I guess the PC was the mount.