Mounts with Stealthy Stride

[Jason]

Are you saying you would allow someone to hide perfectly with out a test if they weren't moving? Because I wouldn't, I would allow a bonus for being in a well chosen location holding still etc. (per rules 165ED4GM -3 to +4 depending on concealment & others for general environment).

So would you allow a Dex check with a +4 bonus for have chosen to be upon a creature with Stealthy Stride? Because that seems like a really excellently chosen location to me.

Depends, is the person concealed? (being on a mount doesn't make you concealed). Concealment basically means some sort of cover.

Being stealthy isn't just about not stepping on leaves or twigs. It is also about timing your movements, your breathing, knowing where someone might be looking, making sure your things on your body don't make noise, etc.

A person riding a mount trained in Stealthy Stride is not stepping on leaves or twigs, the rider is not putting feet down at all. The Stealthy Mount is also in charge of timing the movements, and only moving when nobody is looking. So the riders only responsibilities from your list is to quietly breath in time with the mount and make sure things on his body don't make noise, which if you have gone to the trouble of obtaining a stealthy mount you have probably also wrapped the metal bits of it's harness with cloth or leather and done other noise muffling things.

I think you are getting overly caught up in the name of the talent and the word stride. As I said before... it is way more then where you put your feet. Sounds like you should have your calveryman pick up the skill stealthy stride so he knows how to be still and quite while riding on his mount... if that is the goal.

[The Undying]

Stealthy Stride is the ED equivalent of both Hide and Sneak. It is a bit weird that it isn't a default skill, but c'est la vie. Wanna hide in place? Stealthy Stride. Wanna move without being seen? Stealth Stride.

As far as all this mount stuff goes, ask yourself this: if two people are moving in a group, do you make them both roll hide/sneak? If you do, how SIGNIFICANTLY different is two Namegiver versus a Namegiver on a mount?

Sneaking is definitely more than movement, so being astride doesn't mean you no longer have to be quiet. Being trained as a mount for sneaking doesn't mean instantaneous adjustment to idiot riders. It's still a partnership, where both have to contribute to the successful endeavor. I honestly don't see significant reason to even reduce the difficulty of the stealth test for the rider: they, too, must react to the mounts movements to keep things from jingling, and the inability to predict that movement offsets any bonus they might have to foot placement.

[Reciprocity]

Everyone seems to be forgetting that illusion magic is happening. That includes sound suppression including deepening shadow and using illusion to remain unobserved.
In my opinion even stepping on creaky floor boards, stepping on twigs can be suppressed by high enough talent rank.

I see no reason not to use the higher of the mount or rider to make the roll.
Or an average of the two. Especially if the two are use to each other.

The book says that "Skill" Use. Works similar without the magic affects.

[The Undying]

Everyone seems to be forgetting that illusion magic is happening.

I don't think anyone is forgetting that. It is *highly* unlikely that a mount's Stealthy Stride is magical. It's also not a guarantee that the rider's ability is a Talent. Regardless, there's nothing suggesting that Stealthy Stride is like an aura that extends out. Otherwise, one could argue that a single character in the party with Stealthy Stride could make others stealthy if they're sufficiently close. Since it doesn't, I don't believe it's reasonable to say that a rider's Stealthy Stride magically extends out into the mount.

That [magic] includes sound suppression including deepening shadow and using illusion to remain unobserved. In my opinion even stepping on creaky floor boards, stepping on twigs can be suppressed by high enough talent rank.

This is kind of splitting hairs to me. Someone making a successful Stealthy Stride skill test likely moves across a squeaky surface by testing before each step, adjusting weight, re-positioning, etc in order to prevent squeaks. Someone making a successful Stealthy Stride talent test likely moves across a squeaky surface without much concern because the magic muffles the squeaks. It's still the test maker altering things related to their actions, there's nothing inherently suggesting that the test maker can extend that skill/talent through to another entity, whether it's a mount carrying them or another Namegiver carrying them.

[Mataxes]

Each character attempting stealth (whether through the talent or skill) must test. The lowest result applies.

It's the same sort of thing as if you have a group all on foot trying to sneak.