Rider

On vast stretches of wide open frontier, there are those Rangers who rely on a trusty steed to patrol the land, to carry them fast and far when needed. Riders form a mystical bond with their horse and together they are a mighty force. 

 

Loyal Steed

At 3rd level, you bond with a fleet riding horse of exceptional qualities. The Rider's horse uses the stat block for the Warhorse, but has a movement of 65, and it is not until 7th level that you can command your horse to take the Attack action.  It has three action options: Dash, Disengage, and Dodge. Your horse can leap obstacles up to 5ft tall and gaps up to 20ft wide.

Add your proficiency bonus to the horse’s AC, as well as to its saving throws and skill checks. Its hit point maximum equals the hit point number in its stat block or four times your ranger level + its Constitution modifier, whichever is higher. Like any creature, it can spend Hit Dice during a short rest to regain hit points. 

Your steed will accept no other rider than you, unless you ask it to do so. It can be commanded to travel on its own, or with another rider, to any location that it is familiar with. Distance is not an issue, though geographical barriers such as cliffs or bodies of water might be. It can be commanded to wait in a given location and will only move away to escape danger or if it needs to find food or water. You can call your horse to you if it is within earshot by whistling loudly. Your horse can hear you from very far away, up to 3 miles on open ground.

Mounting and dismounting your steed costs you only 5ft of movement. You can fire bows while riding, but cannot wield two-handed melee weapons. At 8th level, your horse benefits also from the Ranger's Land's Stride feature.

Also, while mounted, you and your steed gain the following benefits:

-You have advantage on melee attack rolls against any unmounted creature that is smaller than your mount.

-You can force an attack targeted at your mount to target you instead.

-If your mount is subjected to an effect that allows it to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, it instead takes no damage if it succeeds on the saving throw, and only half damage if it fails.

-You have advantage on saving throws made to avoid falling off your mount. If you fall off your mount, you can land on your feet if you’re not incapacitated.

The Rider must demonstrate care for their horse or else the bond may be broken at the DM's discretion, and until the Rider rebonds with the same horse, or pays the cost for a new horse and bonds with it, they do not gain the advantages of any of the subclass features. Bonding requires 1d4 days. If either the horse or Rider in a bonded pair dies, the survivor immediately suffers 1d8 psychic damage. A Rider's horse will serve him up to 25 years. After that time the bond dissolves without consequence, the horse rides off into the sunset alone, and the Rider must find a new steed.

War Horse

At 7th level, your horse gains an ability score improvement. You may increase one of its ability scores by two, or two ability scores by one each.

Also, your bond with your horse has now deepened so that it is willing not just to carry you, but also to fight for you. You can use one of your attacks to command your steed to attack as per the Warhorse stat block, including the trample feature. 

Horse Sense

At 11th level, you share in your horse's innate willpower and its intuitive sense for the emotions of others. You add your steed's Wisdom modifier to all of your Wisdom checks or saving throws and gain Advantage on all Insight (Wisdom) checks.

Ride Like The Wind

At 15th level, your horse's speed becomes 70. It gains the ability to move across liquid surfaces—such as water, mud, snow, or quicksand—as if it were harmless solid ground, for up to one hour per day. Your horse must finish a long rest before using this feature again. Additionally, your horse now leaves behind no tracks or other traces of its passage.