My views on what riding should be like. Also note that I meant this to be a skillchoice, with it's sister skill being a type of Unarmed Combat (coming soon!). Unarmed Combat would have less effective combat skills, but be more reliable as you wouldn't have a mount tag along with you and risk being dismounted.

You may notice that the levels of mount you can ride are not in the skill, this is due to my lack of memory, just pretend they're there.

AB RIDING

Mount - mount your mount
Scooping - pick stuff up from your mount
Memory - have your mount remember a location in the local area, and return to it at will(works like hermit tarot, except only works in local area *nod Elryn*)
Steedtrade - transfer loyalty of your mount
Reigns - grip your mount's reigns tightly, so that any skill that would normally dismount you, will instead strip the reigns defense
Defense - your mount affords you defense (note that this is actual armour, not dodging)
Whistling - call your mount
Fording - move through water on your mount, same as before, except works automatically as you walk(note-this is not meant to be an advantage!)
Restore - 3 power - restore your mount to full health instantly
Gallop - sprint clone
Charge - 2 power -charge in from an adjacent room and attack with a lance
Influence - you look more impressive atop your mount, and find influencing easier
Ram - use your mount to knock someone over and give a short stun, but this will not work on mounted opponents
Mountjump - same as before
Skewer - 3 power - impale someone on a lance from atop your mount, but does not work on mounted targets(works like impale in Achaea, except there's no disembowel/rend to combo it with)
Flying - spur a flying mount skywards
Joust - use a lance to dismount an oppenent
NewLife - 10 power - revive your beloved mount if it falls in combat
Trample - 8 power - stampede a fallen enemy (this is very different from the current trample: when an enemy is knocked down, trample will make them unable to stand for about 10 to 15 seconds, giving them a message like "You are prevented from standing by the bigass mount trampling you" and in addition to this, will quickly bust up their limbs, faster than salve balance)

Enjoy!

EDIT: added whistling and a new requirement for skewer

Seems a bit skewed towards warriors (I just can't see a druid running around with a lance), but I like it.

I thought of that, and decided that while you may have to juggle the lance, the skills would be unaffected by strength and rather your skill in riding, so as not to be biased towards warriors.

Yeah, I'd have to juggle a sickle, lance, shield, and cudgel. Druids need 4 arms, seriously.

New totems skill! Spiritbond spider: grow extra arms

Just think for a minute about how ridiculous warriors with four arms would be. Just for a minute.

I know it wasn't a serious suggestion. That said, put something similiar in nature, because druids really need it.

Mmm, fighting like General Grevious.

And riding deffinately needs some changes, but no power cost for trample, please. I use it far too often, and its a neat skill.

there could be a new race with four arms! or just have something like when krokani's gain the druidry skill they gain two extra aims do to their intouchyness with nature's growth or something.

The trample you know and love does not exist in this skill

EDIT: actually, i just noticed that trample would setup an unblockable death with soulless. Maybe make an environment skill that would let you escape tramples, but only if your not entangled to give it some setup.

What druids really need is to just have their cudgel perform all the duties of a sickle (growth, faeriefire, curse, vines, rooting) after they get one. I mean, mages don't have to unwield their shield/staff to blast or icewall or anything, why do we?

On topic: I'd like to see Riding changed so I don't have drop 100 credits on it before I'm not -weaker- on a mount then I am on foot. Having to learn Scooping and fording is stupid, and makes even less of a reason to ride, beyond it being weak.

Riding right now is like a high-class skill. The rich have it, and it serves little purpose.

-smooth-

Trample + geodemesne = raped. Sorry. It hits all your enemies, does it even have a power cost? =\\

Nope, no power cost. And if they're riding a taintwyrm, a legendary steed, it seems to break all four limbs. Technically it's possible to get away from a geomancer demesne (even without tumble) if they just whore trample over and over, but you'll never be able to fight back because of the sheer AMOUNT of limb-breakage.

(You probably won't die unless it's a team battle, though, either. Sadly it's usually a team battle. )

I just remember the ethereal battles being so icky because Daevos, Kaervas, Alger, Marcalo. Kaervas' demesne, and then trample. Kthnxbai. Every seren in the room was now prone, and he had really good timing, sooo, we were all smashed up.

Druids can do the same thing. That is Druids -could- do the same thing if any of them bothered to Trans riding. It is on my list, just not high on it.

I'd rather not be forced to put credits into an otherwise useless skill. How far into Riding is it? Too high for my tastes, I'll bet.

Trample is trans riding.

This is why I said it is not high on my list. I have other things to Trans that take priority. I do intend to get trample, even if it is a one trick skillset. It is a one trick skillset that is incredibly useful in group combat.

Consider it a 300 credit artifact only available to mages, if you like.

EDIT: Plus 3 other people who lassoo those stupid unicorns etc., plus people who want to spend another crudload on an artiecollar.