I just got the "Omens of War" box set and unclear on the mount actions.

Does the player expend his experience to buy action for the horse or does the horse gain experience?

If the player spend it will it transfere to a new horse if the old one dies? I'm not talking actions the player performs on the horse but actions that the horse can perform.

Can the Horse do he own action on the same turn the rider does another?

I would rule that the horse gains x.p. as you are right: what if the mount dies?

jh

Interesting; I'd rule it the other way, as with the ratcatcher's dog: The player spends his/her exp on training the follower (teaching it tricks, actions, etc.).

If the mount/dog died, I would allow the player to place the accumulated exp into 'reserve'. As and when they acquire a new follower I would allow them to gradually re-spend this exp on the new follower (at say a rate of one exp per session, or every two sessions) until they had used up the 'reserve'.

This way, the player isn't penalised for spending exp on the follower.

[Note: I do something similar for player characters. If one is killed, I allow the new character to earn exp at double the rate of the other players until they've caught up. This way, they still get to play through the fun of having a new and rapidly improving character, without the annoyance of feeling that they're being discriminated against. It seems reasonable to think that someone surrounded by more expert characters would learn quickly, so it works out.]

- I've just realised... These are house rules rather than official rules. My understanding is that the player spends the exp, rather than the mount/follower earning their own exp. I'm not aware that the rules address what happens to this 'wasted' exp if the mount/follower dies. I don't think they're really expected to, as they are seen as being integral to the identity of the character. My house rule is really a response to this: I want the mount/follower to be able to die without dramatically penalising my player - beyond the roleplaying loss they should / will feel.

Sounds like despot has the answer there.

As far as I'm aware, all advances purchased for mounts/pets as part of that career are career advances. In particular this relates to the purchase of extra wind/obedience.

Tricks and talents are talents, so can be purchased as talents from a normal career, and I would imagine count as career advances in careers following on from these.

HOWEVER

I think the purchase of extra trick/talent slots have to purchased as part of the career in which the pet/mount was achieved. I would imagine this could be waived in the case of knight since following careers are so relient on the mount, but I'd say ratcatcher trick slots have to purchased while your a ratcatcher, or it's a two-point out of career show.