After looking through all of the Cavalier archetypes on these boards and in the official source books, I wasn't able to find a Cavalier archetype that replaced the mount ability that I liked, or thought fit the "knight" feel.
Replaces: mount, cavalier's charge, expert trainer, mighty charge, supreme charge
Chivalrous Knights strive to uphold the ideals and creed of their Order through martial discipline and unwavering resolve.
Knight Protector (Ex): At 1st level, whenever the chivalrous knight is adjacent to an ally that has fewer than half its total hit points, or that is suffering from an adverse condition (such as fatigued, shaken, sickened, helpless, etc), the chivalrous knight gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls. These bonuses last for as long as the chivalrous knight remains adjacent to the wounded ally, until the ally is cured, or until the ally is healed above half of its total hit points.
At 5th level, and every four levels thereafter, the bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls increases by +1, to a maximum of +5 at 17th level.
This ability replaces mount.
Armored Combatant (Ex): At 3rd level, the chivalrous knight gains the fighter's armor training class feature, treating his cavalier level as his fighter level. In addition, the chivalrous knight does not suffer any penalty to his AC after making a charge attack
This ability replaces cavalier's charge.
Shining Example (Ex): The chivalrous knight often rises to expectations of him and the order he represents. At 4th level, the chivalrous knight selects a number of skills equal to his Charisma modifier. From then on, he adds one-half his cavalier level to all chosen skill checks.
This ability replaces expert trainer.
No Mercy (Ex): Starting at 11th level, the chivalrous knight can make a total number of attacks of opportunity in a round equal to the number of iterative attacks he can perform as a full-attack action due to a high base attack bonus. If the chivalrous knight has the Combat Reflexes feat, he may only make one additional attack of opportunity in a round (on top of his additional iterative attacks), regardless of his Dexterity modifier. He must still have at least a +1 Dexterity modifier to gain this additional attack of opportunity, as normal.
This ability replaces mighty charge.
Lead the Attack (Ex): At 20th level, whenever the chivalrous knight makes a charge attack, all allies within sight gain inspiration from the chivalrous knight's fearless act of valor. If an affected ally makes a charge attack before the start of the chivalrous knight's next turn, their attack roll bonus for charging doubles and they do not suffer the charging penalty to AC.
In addition, if the chivalrous knight confirms a critical hit while charging, all enemies within 30ft that can see the chivalrous knight become shaken for a number of rounds equal to the chivalrous knight's Charisma modifier. A Will save of DC 10 + the cavalier's level + the cavalier's Charisma modifier negates this effect.
This ability replaces supreme charge.
Let me know what you guys think. I attempted to make the archetype's flavor as flexible as possible when it came down to which orders it can select (mostly for roleplaying purposes). However, if you guys find it too limiting, I can attempt to make it more generic.
I actually like it overall. Just not the name. I always think of the Chivalrous Knight being on horseback...maybe that is just me.
The "chivalrous" knight gets "No mercy"?
good point cheap i didn't look at the name of that.
Maybe something like
Broad Swings: Allows the CK to hit a number of targets adjacent to him equal to 1 + his dex modifier. Usable "x" times per day. something like that
I would love to see this archetype. It's a much more balanced version of the Cavalier that does not rule the day when he has his mount, but doesn't suck when he can't use his mount.
This Cavalier can use a mount slightly better than other classes, but is equally capable on foot as he is on horseback. (As opposed to solely specializing in mounted combat).
The only problem is that this build has reliance on Str, Dex, Con, and Cha. He can invest however he wants, but can't use all his class abilities to their full potential since they're using so many different ability scores.
I actually like it overall. Just not the name. I always think of the Chivalrous Knight being on horseback...maybe that is just me.
You can still take the Order of the Sword, to create your horseback knight. The ideals and code of that order also fit this archetype really well.
The "chivalrous" knight gets "No mercy"?
Nice catch on the ability name there. I guess I wasn't thinking about the name of the archetype when I came up with that. It was intended for more of a protector build that could use that ability in conjunction with feats like Stand Still or combat maneuvers.
Instead of "No Mercy", how about "With Honor"?
With Honor (Ex): The chivalrous knight's martial training and drive to uphold the honor of his order becomes unparalleled in battle. Starting at 11th level, the chivalrous knight can make a total number of attacks of opportunity in a round equal to the number of iterative attacks he can perform as a full-attack action due to a high base attack bonus. If the chivalrous knight has the Combat Reflexes feat, he may only make one additional attack of opportunity in a round (in addition to his iterative attacks), regardless of his Dexterity bonus. He must still have at least a +1 Dexterity modifier to gain this additional attack of opportunity, as normal.
This ability replaces mighty charge.
If the name of the archetype is still throwing people, I can change it to "Knight Armsman", changing fluff accordingly.
@CommandoDude: Many of the cavalier's abilities already benefit from a high Charisma, so this archetype really isn't changing ability score reliance anymore than the standard base class.
Another idea I had was to tweak "Knight Protector" a bit.
Against the Odds (Ex): At 1st level, whenever the chivalrous knight is adjacent to more than one enemy, he gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls. These bonuses last for as long as the chivalrous knight remains adjacent to more than one enemy.
At 5th level, and every four levels thereafter, the bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls increases by +1, to a maximum of +5 at 17th level.
This ability replaces mount.
Which version do you guys like better?
I kind of like the protector one. though, i think against the odds is more powerful
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I like it. A lot. I might even use this for a character sometime.
I am not a big fan of how the Armored Combatant adds to the Fighter. I like the idea, and thus say that it takes effect at 6th and his Fighter level counts as his Half his Cavalier level. So it would look more like this:
This ability replaces cavalier's charge.
Thanks for the feedback guys. After taking in all of your suggestions, here's an expansive revision:
Replaces: mount, cavalier's charge, expert trainer, mighty charge, supreme charge
Chivalric Knights strive to uphold the honor and creed of their Order through martial discipline and unwavering resolve.
Knight Protector (Ex): At 1st level, whenever the chivalric knight is adjacent to an ally that has fewer than one-half its total hit points, or that is suffering from an adverse condition (such as fatigued, shaken, sickened, helpless, etc), the chivalric knight gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls. These bonuses last for as long as the chivalric knight remains adjacent to the wounded ally, until the ally is cured of the adverse condition, or until the ally is healed above one-half its total hit points.
At 5th level, and every four levels thereafter, the bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls increases by +1, to a maximum of +5 at 17th level.
This ability replaces mount.
Armored Charge (Ex): At 3rd level, the chivalric knight does not suffer any penalty to his AC after making a charge attack. In addition, a chivalric knight can also move at his normal speed while wearing medium armor and can run at quadruple speed while in heavy armor, instead of only triple speed. At 7th level, he can move at his normal speed while wearing heavy armor.
This ability replaces cavalier's charge.
Shining Example (Ex): The chivalric knight often rises to expectations of him and the order he represents. At 4th level, he selects a number of skills equal to his Charisma modifier. From then on, he adds one-half his cavalier level to all chosen skill checks.
This ability replaces expert trainer.
Mettle (Ex): The chivalric knight's drive to uphold the honor of his order grants him unparalleled resilience in battle. Starting at 11th level, whenever the chivalric knight succeeds on a Fortitude or Will save against a spell or spell-like ability that has a "partial" and/or "half" effect even on a successful save, he is completely unaffected by it.
This ability replaces mighty charge.
Lead the Attack (Ex): At 20th level, whenever the chivalric knight makes a charge attack, all allies within sight gain inspiration from the chivalric knight's fearless act of valor. If an affected ally makes a charge attack before the start of the chivalric knight's next turn, their attack roll bonus for charging doubles and they do not suffer the charging penalty to AC.
In addition, if the chivalric knight confirms a critical hit while charging, all enemies within 30ft that can see him become shaken for a number of rounds equal to the chivalric knight's Charisma modifier.
This ability replaces supreme charge.
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Found a better fit for the Shining Example ability:
Replaces: mount, cavalier's charge, expert trainer, mighty charge, supreme charge
Chivalric Knights strive to uphold the honor and creed of their Order through martial discipline and unwavering resolve.
Knight Protector (Ex): At 1st level, whenever the chivalric knight is adjacent to an ally that has fewer than one-half its total hit points, or that is suffering from an adverse condition (such as fatigued, shaken, sickened, helpless, etc), the chivalric knight gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls. These bonuses last for as long as the chivalric knight remains adjacent to the wounded ally, until the ally is cured of the adverse condition, or until the ally is healed above one-half its total hit points.
At 5th level, and every four levels thereafter, the bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls increases by +1, to a maximum of +5 at 17th level.
This ability replaces mount.
Armored Charge (Ex): At 3rd level, the chivalric knight does not suffer any penalty to his AC after making a charge attack. In addition, a chivalric knight can also move at his normal speed while wearing medium armor and can run at quadruple speed while in heavy armor, instead of only triple speed. At 7th level, he can move at his normal speed while wearing heavy armor.
This ability replaces cavalier's charge.
Shining Example (Ex): The chivalric knight often rises to expectations of him and the order he represents. Starting at 4th level, the chivlaric knight adds one-half his cavalier level to all skill checks made with the skills of his Order. If his Order already allows him to add one-half his cavalier level to certain Order skill checks, the chivalric knight instead adds his total cavalier level to those skill checks.
This ability replaces expert trainer.
Mettle (Ex): The chivalric knight's drive to uphold the honor of his order grants him unparalleled resilience in battle. Starting at 11th level, whenever the chivalric knight succeeds on a Fortitude or Will save against a spell or spell-like ability that has a "partial" and/or "half" effect even on a successful save, he is completely unaffected by it.
This ability replaces mighty charge.
Lead the Attack (Ex): At 20th level, whenever the chivalric knight makes a charge attack, all allies within sight gain inspiration from the chivalric knight's fearless act of valor. If an affected ally makes a charge attack before the start of the chivalric knight's next turn, their attack roll bonus for charging doubles and they do not suffer the charging penalty to AC.
In addition, if the chivalric knight confirms a critical hit while charging, all enemies within 30ft that can see him become shaken for a number of rounds equal to the chivalric knight's Charisma modifier.
This ability replaces supreme charge.
That should make the Chivalric Knight less of a skill monkey, and more flavor-text appropriate.