Can I let my mounted Animal Companion act independently or do I have to use Beast Master's command to control it?

Question

Alright so when using a mount we have two options: command it or let it act independently (PHB pg. 198). Letting it act independently is the only way to get it to attack, given that it chooses to attack (which I would expect it to do if it's naturally aggressive or trained for combat). So if you have a warrior of a mount under you, he will be attacking separately from you, essentially giving you extra attacks.

When playing the Beast Master Ranger and using its animal companion however, we can only command it (PHB pg. 93). Letting it act independently is absent from the RAW and as such, it is not possible to have it attack without wasting your own attack on it. So, essentially, you're not gaining much other than versatility and range. You are not getting any extra attacks.

So, in my desperate efforts to care about the beastmaster class, I hatched the following plan. Play a small race. Make a medium creature your companion. Mount it. Let it act as an independent mount. Independent mount does whatever it wants, hopefully it wants to attack.

This would mean giving up on Bestial Fury (which lets the companion attack twice but only if you specifically issue the attack command), but that doesn't matter.

My question is can you let your companion mount act independently or do you have to use the Beast Master's commands to control him?

Answer 1

The Ranger's companion is ...

... is trained to fight alongside you.

It is not trained as a mount. And ...

The beast obeys your commands as best as it can. It takes its turn on your initiative, though it doesn’t take an action unless you command it to. On your turn, you can verbally command the beast where to move (no action required by you). You can use your action to verbally command it to take the Attack, Dash, Disengage, Dodge, or Help action.

The rules are quite specific here; you do not need to use your action to command your companion to Cast a Spell, Hide, Ready, Search or Use an Object. Now some of these are not very useful but Ready has definite possibilities - "Ready to attack the first creature that attacks me" for example.

Moving on to what a mount can do.

While you're mounted, you have two options. You can either control the mount or allow it to act independently. Intelligent creatures, such as dragons, act independently.

You can control a mount only if it has been trained to accept a rider. Domesticated horses, donkeys, and similar creatures are assumed to have such training.

If your companion is intelligent (unlikely) it will always act independently. If it has not been trained to take a rider (likely) it will always act independently. If it acts independently it is subject to the rules of the companion. If you command it, it will cost you your action is on the companion list of actions. If you don't command it, it acts as the DM sees fit.

If it is both unintelligent and trained to take a rider (like a horse) it must follow the rules for both a mount and a companion. If it is controlled, it can Dash, Disengage and Dodge at the cost of your action

The three options that any other mount gets for free (Dash, Disengage and Dodge) cost your action. So a companion horse is worse than a regular horse. Now, feel free to stop and call "stupid" but that would be a house rule.

Answer 2

First and foremost, none of the rules in the Beast Master entry give rulings for or against using your Animal Companion as a mount. Check.

None of the rules on PHB pg. 198 concerning Mounts and Mounted Combat have any rulings for or against Animal Companions. Double Check. Looking good so far!

So now that we know we are able to use an Animal Companion larger than us as a mount by RAW, we are left with following the rules on PHB pg. 198:

"...A willing creature that is at least one size larger than you and has the appropriate anatomy can serve as a mount.... While you're mounted, you have two options. You can either control the mount (It has only 3 action options: Dash, Disengage, and Dodge...), or Intelligent creatures, such as dragons, act independently. An independent mount moves and acts as IT wishes...."

So here's the deal; unless I am missing something major here, their category of a creature intelligent enough to bear a rider while still acting independently is a DRAGON. Dragon's are pretty intelligent as far as creature types go. Down the board, Adult dragons have at the least 16 (+3 modifier) Intelligence, and Ancient dragons have up to 20 (+5). Unless you are the only exception to this pattern; a White Dragon, which seem considerably lacking in intelligence. You might find the same intelligence in a Sphinx, perhaps a Griffon or Manticore; but without a target number for the Intelligence ability score to be measured against (except that of Dragons) to find out just how intelligent is intelligent enough to bear a rider while acting independently; I must say the answer is no if we comparing 'intelligent enough' to a score of 16 or higher.

Here's why:

I would say any beast your Beast Master would ever hope to tame ( 1/4 challenge rating or lower unless you have a Dungeon Master who is quite fond of letting you have unique companions) , would be incapable of matching the given example of required intelligence for the independent movement and actions of a mounted creature. This leaves you stuck adhering to the purposeful ruling of the Beast Master having to give up one of his attacks so his companion can, and balancing out the action/damage economy as intended.