So I popped in at the end of a one-shot that a friend was DMing and as they were finishing up one of the players in my Slaves of Troustar campaign asking me a weird out of the blue question.
“Hey I’m probably gonna level up soon to level 5 and I can get this Find Steed spell. It looks pretty cool and its says that the DM could allow all kinds of creatures and I was thinking cool. I really like to have a [I honestly can’t remember because it was a ridiculously overpowered creature.]”
I was ill-prepared for this out of the blue question and just said that I would have to take a look.
It turns out that Find Steed (D&D 5e Player’s Handbook p240) is a 2nd level conjuration that summons a spirit-like creature that bonds with its caster. The creature is intelligent and understands the commands of its master.
The steed is essentially a mount D&D 5e Player’s Handbook p198, 155-157, 181-182) that you can use in combat and on the trail. The creature has all the features of a mount but must have at least 6 intelligence.
Difference Between a Mount and Find Steed Creature
Unlike the basic mount, the steed and mount can can fight as one. Does that mean that the payer has their attack moves as well as the attack moves of their steed?
To me, it appears that considering the creatures intelligence, it could be considered independent and intelligent and would roll it’s own initiative if the creature is not mounted in battle. Because the creature was conjured by the paladin it is fair to say that the creature can be controlled by the player.
So, for example, your paladin could charge his warhorse into battle using Trampling Charge (D&D 5e Monster Manual p340) as an attack from the warhorse and then the Paladin would carry out their attack.
If the paladin mounts the creature in combat. AC of the Paladin and creature is not combined. The DM decides where the attack goes – on the paladin or the steed.
Choosing a Steed
For my campaign, steeds generally come from the basic list provided in the Player’s Handbook on page 240 of Find Steed: warhorse, pony, camel, elk or mastiff.
It would seem a little odd for a massive half-orc fighter to be riding a Mastiff into battle. I think the type of mount needs to depend on the size and weight of the character.
My human paladin in this game, would then need to choose from large beasts. Other beasts could be an option for the paladin but the beasts also need to keep their challenge rating under 1/2(100xp). So for example, the player could create a creature out of the basic form of a creature like a Giant Goat and call it a War Ox.
Of course, this limits the choice to non-flying creatures – don’t get me started on flying in D&D, ugh!
I also think that a creature summoned by the paladin should be relevant to their experience. They are not going to summon an emu into battle if they have not seen one before.
Finally, steeds are for riding. I think it is unfair to summon a steed you couldn’t possibly ride in a cramped dungeon just to give you a little edge.
How to Deal With an Over Powered Conjuring In-Game
Just tell the paladin that their skill and purity to the cause was not yet suitable enough for them to summon such an exotic creature. With time and dedication they may be able to call forth such a creature but in the meantime, here’s a three-legged donkey names Rufus.
~Yagisanatode
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You know little of the world outside your special part of the forest. You know the capital of the elven empire Myrast lies across Lake Holoust to the east and even you have heard of the multicultural hotpot of Ac Rumb in the Vesluvian Empire.
But that still was not enough to sate your wanderlust. One drunken blurry night in the Dwarven capital of Vem Lodur you meet a very charismatic and considerably handsome blond warrior – well for a human anyway – named Bartleby who seduces you with stories of adventure, mystery and intrigue. As you leave his cot the next morning you eyes caress his muscled body. No regrets. While the love of the previous night was a joy, what he has to offer for your future is far more interesting – Spying for the most multicultural nation ever known, Velsuvia.
Over the past months your concerns about the increasing hostilities with the Orcs and rumours of the Vesluvian navy being compromised have started to stir the barracks. Your superiors are tight-lipped to point of cruelty to those who ask too many questions.
Maud. What a disgusting name of a town to be found near. You are surprised they didn’t just call you Maud to add insult to injury. That merry band of bards who betrayed you…saved you from the forest, fed you, took you under their wing, gave you a trade, loved you. Yep. You guess you were overreacting, but then again, that is your trade – The drama of the song puts the coins in the cup. You’re sure they know you didn’t mean the things you said when you left to find your real parents and a little adventure of your own. Perhaps you will send a letter back to apologise about how you left things with your bard ‘family’.
Depending on your wanderlust, you may have journeyed south to live among the Orc’s for a time, ventured east to the great Dwarvan mountain capitol of Vem Lodur or further East into to the very reaches of civilisation in the Forgotten Territories. However, considering your inexperience, there is little chance you have travelled further.
You still have that poster somewhere; the one offering fortunes and adventure for the young and willing. You fumble around for if before finding it inside your hip pocket. You notice fresh blood on the page where your thumb has brushed it. You reach up to your face and wince at the new cut above your eye from last night’s brawl. Through bleary eyes, you look again at the poster. It’s the right time. It’s the right choice.
You failed, your task. You only had one chance to make the kill to become a member of the Assassin’s Guild and you blew it. Was it a false move, a shaky hand or some hidden sense of compassion that should have been tucked away in a dark place a long time ago. No time to wonder. You need to flee; to get out of this city and fast. And you know exactly where you are going to go.