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I'm playing in a fairly low-fantasy campaign, we're mostly skirmishing with orcs, not too many exotic creatures sighted so far. We're also using Epic 8 (no new levels after level 8, instead gain a feat every 5000XP). Also, we only use the classic 4 classes (Rogue, Fighter, Cleric, Wizard).
I'm playing a half-elf conjurer-wizard, I already have a familiar (magpie), currently level 6, CN moving towards CG. I have the Feral Speech wizard discovery.
For overland travel I've used Mount, but conjuring them for the whole party is a bit strenuous. Some of the players are convinced that mounts in D&D are futile because they're too vulnerable and a hassle when delving into dungeons.
We do much more outdoors stuff than in cities or dungeons, so that last part isn't the big problem. Fragility in combat is; some enemies have gone after our mounted dwarf fighter's war pony, and the poor thing didn't take it too well, ended up guzzling healing spells every round.
The Mount spell isn't good enough for combat (no combat training, not too many hit points), and we won't reach high enough level that I can really afford to use Phantom Steed all the time. Also, it's actually fairly fragile.
The Big Point
Soooo, I'm looking for a good mounted option (or something else as an alternative) to give me battlefield and overland mobility; ideally also for the other characters, but that's negotiable. (My PC could enjoy watching them walk while he rides.)
My top recomendations to you are to think big, but luckily the RAW has some options
For 5000g you can snag a trained hippogriff mount to gain some flight.
For a cheap 15g, an Ox uses the same stats as an Auroch.
For 1000g, you can get an Elephant, and with CR 7, nearly 100 hp, this thing will have staying power. At Huge size it can carry other characters too.
With an effective leaderhip level of 10, you might befriend a Dragonne.
The Big Point
Soooo, I'm looking for a good mounted option (or something else as an alternative) to give me battlefield and overland mobility; ideally also for the other characters, but that's negotiable. (My PC could enjoy watching them walk while he rides.)
Talk to your GM. Explain the following:
A.) Attacking someone's mount is not a smart tactic. Horses are a much smaller threat than the armored guy with the big killstick on its back. Yes, if you dismount him he's slightly easier to kill, but do you have the time?
B.) Horses are valuable, so killing them is dumb. Orcs might not want to ride but they will surely know the can carry stuff or be led back to camp and slaughtered for delicious, delicious horse meat. Or sold for delicious, delicious gold to someone who appreciates cheap horses.
In light of this, why are orcs killing your horses? Sure, dumb monsters like Owlbears will go for the big chunk of meat first. Now, you might call dumb orcs killing your horses a win (as they're not hitting YOU) if the darn things didn't cost good money.
As far as better rides go you're probably looking at the Leadership feat at 7th level to get a corhort-style mount. If you could attract a level 5 NPC that's CR4, and Griffons are CR4.
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The Big Point
Soooo, I'm looking for a good mounted option (or something else as an alternative) to give me battlefield and overland mobility; ideally also for the other characters, but that's negotiable. (My PC could enjoy watching them walk while he rides.)Talk to your GM. Explain the following:
A.) Attacking someone's mount is not a smart tactic. Horses are a much smaller threat than the armored guy with the big killstick on its back. Yes, if you dismount him he's slightly easier to kill, but do you have the time?
Are you kidding?
Fight the guy who can deal double or triple damage, charge from out of range, hit you, then keep going back out of range, while turning, move 50ft and full-attack, trample all of the meat shields and smack the Wizard (for triple dmage), for 4-5 whole rounds,
or
One shot the horse and fight the guy with a dozen worthless feats.
Not to mention that's how pike walls work, attacking the mount.
How long do you need mounts for? Communal Mount is level 2, summons up to 6 mounts, though you have to divide the duration among them in 2 hour increments.
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Communal Mount seems problematic, they're squishy in combat and the duration isn't good enough for 8hrs overland travel.
I've checked out Leadership, given the Epic 8 thing, I'd only get to pick a critter with maximum "level" 6, so a giant eagle (not bad at all), pegasus (too my-little-pony for my taste) or worg (interesting, but evil, the cleric will yell at me). Also, I was hoping to use the cohort slot for apprentices (my character believes that a Fireball-capable people are free people).
The levelling aspect of cohorts is very nice though; maybe (since we don't have Rangers or Druids) I can convince the DM to let me take a somewhat less exotic animal like a bear. The orcs we just fought had bear cavalry.
I'll have to study the Ox, that could be a solution. I do enjoy summoning Aurochs, after all.
But mostly, I was looking for an alternative way to acquire a mount that keeps up with my levelling, ideally one that doesn't take the Cohort slot.
If you had a class that uses animal companion, then you'd have a durable mount. I think that if the other people in the party has to ride something, then it could be a cart. One summoned horse to draft it and if it dies, then summon another one. Much less spell-intensive than summoning one of each character.
Get Carmelo, the super-horse! I here he's available now since that campaign died.
OR - ride the party druid. Oh, wait, you got none. *sad face*
OR - Charm/Dominate the next Large-sized monster of your CR. Ride it till you encounter and can replace it with a better one, it dies, or it turns on you. Keep a wand of Charm Monster on hand. These are great 'cause if they die, no biggie - they started as enemies anyhow. Treat them well while you have them, though, and try to roll good diplos on them as often as you can; again, till you replace them with the next victi. . .er, mount.
Leadership is nice if you don't get a Mount that's too exotic (the Leadership ECL debuff they give to truly interesting potential mount Cohorts is harsh - yes yes arguably fair, because of the other abilities some of these have. But if your key concern is durability in the face of the encounters you run into, that can be crippling).
That said I think Dragon Horse is a pretty cool guy. eh kills monsters and doesnt afrad of anything.
So how would you handle estimating the "level" of other Monster Cohorts than the ones listed? Particularly in the (dire) animal kingdom?
DM Fiat where the DM compares them to the ones on the list and assigns it a value close to a similar one, or, if there are none, between ones that are close enough.
Something like that will always be a judgement call in relation to what seems "close enough" based upon the capabilities of the beast in question.
If you have a particular Dire [Whatever] in mind, you can post it and ask people to give their input as to what "level" to assign it. And probably get a range of responses, and disagreement between various posters. (It still might be helpful to post and ask; but it will be a judgement call that ultimately your DM will make).
Ahyes carmelo, the stomper of zombies. Too bad the gm had that meltdown, that was a fun campaign to watch.
Fight the guy who can deal double or triple damage, charge from out of range, hit you, then keep going back out of range, while turning, move 50ft and full-attack, trample all of the meat shields and smack the Wizard (for triple dmage), for 4-5 whole rounds,or
One shot the horse and fight the guy with a dozen worthless feats.
Not to mention that's how pike walls work, attacking the mount.
Point of fact, horses have more hit points than people, on average. Your average warrior will die to arrow fire faster than his horse will, especially if they're both armored. Also, read the Mounted Combat feat again - the one where the rider is negating attacks on his mount. The one that's pretty much a prerequisite for all the good stuff you mention.
Also, anyone who charges a pike wall has no business complaining that their horse dies.
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We're around level 5 as a party now; the guy whose mount was attacked was the dwarf with a war pony and Spirited Charge, so it's not all that strange they targeted the pony. And Mounted Combat only works against one attack per round, so when three orcs decided to focus on the pony it got nasty.
I hadn't actually considered barding (for him) yet, and we're pretty poor. But maybe even leathers will help a bit.
So anyway, how would you go about turning say, a Black or Brown bear into a Monster Cohort? (Keeping in mind I have Feral Speech.)
So anyway, how would you go about turning say, a Black or Brown bear into a Monster Cohort? (Keeping in mind I have Feral Speech.)
Having Feral Speech certainly helps. I dunno, go out in the woods singing "Bear Necessities" in Feral?
Ok serious now - well again it would be easier still if you had a Druid in the party. But heading out into the woods on a (short) quest to find a nice friendly bear; work with your DM on the details, see what the DM thinks would be the best way to get such a Cohort (after all, he can't just be recruited in town).
If you had encountered any before now in the campaign (without killing them, natch), then going back and seeing that one and persuading it to be your buddy would be the way to go. if you haven't, you'll have to search one out and for that you'll need to work with the DM, and the DM with you, to get it.
We're around level 5 as a party now; the guy whose mount was attacked was the dwarf with a war pony and Spirited Charge, so it's not all that strange they targeted the pony. And Mounted Combat only works against one attack per round, so when three orcs decided to focus on the pony it got nasty.
I hadn't actually considered barding (for him) yet, and we're pretty poor. But maybe even leathers will help a bit.
Ah, you need to smack your GM then. Not being able to afford armor for your horse at 5th level is just him being mean (unless you spent it all on other less necessary junk - then the dwarf is dumb, he should be protecting his investment).
I'm a little concerned, though that the meaner you make your mount the more the enemy will target it.
Consider that Mage Armor works on horses too. And bears.
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The campaign setting is supposed to be a really low-resource tundra/taiga kind of place, we're nowhere near WBL, but neither is the opposition. It wasn't such a problem at first, but now To-Hit is outpacing armor more and more, which is especially hard on the fighting classes. In general it favors the casters, although the scarcity of wizards means I don't get many new spells.
Mage-Armored Bears do have some charm, that's very true. I'll have to see how my DM feels about that. Since the last orc raiding party we fought had bear-riders, the idea isn't infeasible.
Perhaps you can craft a figurine or horse/bull shaped golem ?
The campaign setting is supposed to be a really low-resource tundra/taiga kind of place, we're nowhere near WBL, but neither is the opposition. It wasn't such a problem at first, but now To-Hit is outpacing armor more and more, which is especially hard on the fighting classes. In general it favors the casters, although the scarcity of wizards means I don't get many new spells.
"Low Magic" always sounds more interesting/fun in theory than it ends up being in practice because the game is built around certain expectations - before 3E these weren't explicitly laid out but by 3E/PF/and especially 4E, it's pretty clear, and after a certain level if you don't have various pieces of magic armor, you may as well not be wearing armor at all.
Which like you said is fine for Casters, they often may as well be naked anyhow with just a girdle of many pouches to keep their components in (or, if the group doesn't track it, no need for girdle even).
Your DM might want to start building in "innate" non-magical bonuses for classes that are being gimped by not having "level appropriate" items. IIRC there were rules for this in one of the 3.5e books; basically all they were though is laying out at a certain level characters got a certain + to hit, damage, and AC.
"But Porphy" people say "if you do that they may as well not be playing low magic at all" - no, because you still "miss out"/don't get all the other weapon/armor special abilities (keen shocking holy vicious whatever), you're low on wondrous items, wands, rods, rings, and so on.
But back on track: Golem Mounts can be pretty badarse; Lord Robilar (of Greyhawk fame) had a Golem Mount. Personally I wouldn't ride a Flesh Golem Mount (this is very icky); I also wouldn't ride a Zombie Mount (also icky) or Skeleton (you get poked in ackward places. Ok ok you use a saddle, but still; it's just not done).
Note that unlike Leadership, you have to invest 2 Feats if you want to make your Golem yourself. Which you'll almost certainly have to do (like, 99%). Then, if you want one that's any good at all you have to dump a fair amount of coin into the golem, in a campaign where you're short on cash. Now since survivability is an issue, your golem probably doesn't have fast healing/self repair (unusual ones do, but this costs money and usually can only be made at high levels). They can't be healed by normal healing, so you have to memorize a different spell if you want to be able to fix your damaged golem efficiently. Dead golem cannot be restored to life, so there goes all your investment and you have to start again. Golems die in PF - IIRC - at 0 HP (no "dying" condition; just "oops, he's dead now").
OtoH, if your Cohort dies you can get another "for free." The only downside is bickering over whether you "caused" it's death (and thus get a penalty for recruiting a replacement) or not. Plus, yes, having to find one in-game RPing, with what you get being somewhat subject to DM whim. A lot of DMs are willing to work well and cooperation with players so the player gets a Cohort they like/is suited to what they wanted. But others hate the Leadership Feat and give you something more or less random. Since mostly what you want out of this is a mount that won't die on you, rather than a gamebreaking buddy, hopefully your DM will take the first path.
IMO a Golem is going to be a PITA in a low-cash campaign. In fact, if you go the Golem route, please name it "Pita" for me.
Edit here is a picture of Robilar on his golem mount; and another better, but less iconic picture. Golem mounts can be badarse if you have the resources to spare for one.
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Wait wait wait...your Fighter doesn't have Mounted Combat? Why the heck not?
And by the way...why even play D&D if you take all the classes out, over half the levels, 90% of the magic, and hate your players enough to make playing the game miserable and tedious for them? Just go outside and throw a tennisball against the wall...
Wait wait wait...your Fighter doesn't have Mounted Combat? Why the heck not?It's for his Wizard:
I'm playing a half-elf conjurer-wizard
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Wait wait wait...your Fighter doesn't have Mounted Combat? Why the heck not?It's for his Wizard:I'm playing a half-elf conjurer-wizard
I get that but there was a rant about the GM killing the Fighter's pony. I was more addressing that, because who cares what the Wizard rides you shouldn't be riding it in combat. If you don't care about the other players and only care about yourself I guess I fail to see why summoning a mount is an issue. Are you casting from horseback? How are you getting a wartrained *insert mythical creature* that isn't going to run at the first sight of combat anyways? Do you have the Ride and Handle Animal to even make using a mount in combat successful? Can you afford to potentially lose your spells for casting them from horseback?
I've allowed players to buy horses with extra hit dice, which might be a good option for you. Roleplaying wise, it makes perfect sense that horses have variance among them, so I've also allowed PCs to buy mounts with different feats than those listed. (A race horse may have Fleet instead of Endurance, and a plow horse may have Diehard instead of Run.
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For pricing, I usually just double everything. It never really makes the mounts too expensive for adventurers, but it's enough to make them feel "rare".
- Change any/all feats and skills = double the price
- Add a hit die = double again
- Add another hid die = double again
Here are three samples I made with the Monster Builder
XP 600
N Large animal
Init +2; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +6
DEFENSE
AC 12, touch 11, flat-footed 10 (+2 Dex, -1 size, +1 natural)
hp 27 (3d8+14)
Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +1;
OFFENSE
Speed 50 ft.
Melee 2 hooves -1 (1d4+1)
Space 10 ft.Reach 5 ft.
STATISTICS
Str 16, Dex 14, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 7;
Base Atk 2; CMB 6; CMD 18
Feats Endurance, Run
Skills Perception +6
SQ docile
XP 600
N Large animal
Init +2; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +6
DEFENSE
AC 12, touch 11, flat-footed 10 (+2 Dex, -1 size, +1 natural)
hp 35 (4d8+17)
Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +1;
OFFENSE
Speed 50 ft.
Melee 2 hooves -1 (1d4+1)
Space 10 ft.Reach 5 ft.
STATISTICS
Str 16, Dex 14, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 7;
Base Atk 2; CMB 6; CMD 18
Feats Endurance, Run
Skills Perception +6
SQ docile
XP 800
N Large animal
Init +2; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +6
DEFENSE
AC 14, touch 11, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dex, -1 size, +3 natural)
hp 47 (5d8+25)
Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +1;
OFFENSE
Speed 50 ft.
Melee 2 hooves +1 (1d4+1)
Space 10 ft.Reach 5 ft.
STATISTICS
Str 16, Dex 14, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 7;
Base Atk 4; CMB 8; CMD 20
Feats Endurance, Run
Skills Perception +6
SQ docile
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XP 1,600
N Large construct
Init -1 Senses darkvision 60, low-light vision; Perception -5
DEFENSE
AC 14, touch 8, flat-footed 14 (-1 Dex, +6 natural, -1 size)
hp 52 (4d10+30 size)
Fort +1, Ref +0, Will -4
Defensive Abilities hardness 5 Immune Construct Traits
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee slam +9 (1d6+9)
STATISTICS
Str 22, Dex 8, Con -, Int -, Wis 1, Cha 1
Base Atk +4 CMB +11 CMD 20
SQ 3 construction points
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Construction Points
Large animated objects have 3 construction points.
I would suggest for a stone horse :
Stone (Ex, 1 CP): The object is made of stone or crystal. Its hardness increases to 8 and it gains a +1 increase to its natural armor bonus.
Faster (Ex, 1 CP): One of the object's movement modes increases by +10 ft.
Additional Attack (Ex, 1 CP): Gains an additional slam attack.
Other options :
Additional Movement (Ex, 1 CP): Gains a new mode of movement (burrow, climb, fly [clumsy], or swim) at a speed equal to its base speed.
Metal (Ex, 2 CP): The object is made of common metal. Its hardness increases to 10, and it gains a +2 increase to its natural armor bonus.
Cost
is not too bad, at 7,000 gp or 3,500 gp if you craft it yourself :
CL varies (equal to the animated object’s HD); Price varies (cost of object + [(animated object’s HD + CP) × 1,000])
CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS
Craft Construct, animate objects, permanency; Skill optional (determined by object being created; crafting the object reduces its cost); Cost 1/2 price
Fun Options :
You can spend more CP though every CP will make it 1,000 gp more expensive, you can have it made metal instead of stone for +1 CP, as above.
Give it one or two additional HD for 1,000 each HD, combined with making it metal it should be quite durable as a 6HD metal steed.
I'd go for 6HD and 4 CP, requiring a CL of 6 to make and costing 10,000 gp (5,000 if made yourself) + the cost of the body.
- 2 slam attacks at +11 1d6+6 it is not terrible
- with a hardness of 10 it has fair resistance to damage from energy and physical
- AC 16 (10, -1 size, -1 dex, +8 natural) is not great, but you can give it masterwork studded leather barding without affecting it's potential in combat or movement. Boosting AC to 19, other armor might affect combat potential and movement but is very much possible.
- 6 HD gives it slightly better save, though still not great, hitpoints and hardness make it durable at 63 hitpoints it will not be a pushover.
- Terrible perception, but it does have darkvision and low light vision.
- Construct Traits (Ex)
Constructs are immune to death effects, disease, mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects), necromancy effects, paralysis, poison, sleep, stun, and any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects, or is harmless). Constructs are not subject to nonlethal damage, ability damage, ability drain, fatigue, exhaustion, or energy drain. Constructs are not at risk of death from massive damage.
EDIT : The two slam attacks for the stone horse should be 1d6+6 each, instead of 1d6+9, since it is not a single attack anymore, so does not get to use 1.5 strength bonus. I'd still go with it since it is thematically appropriate for two hooves.
I would suggest for a stone horse
I love this idea!
What rules apply to controlling such a beast?
I would suggest for a stone horseI love this idea!
What rules apply to controlling such a beast?
Well, I'd assume a construct created by you in principle is commanded by you, verbally most likely, which should likely be a free action in most cases.
I'd handle it much like any other horse, though handle animal checks will automatically 'succeed', GM judgement in specific cases I suppose.
For the tundra, Im going to Double down on my oxen suggestion because if you spring a few gp more, you can get a yak or musk ox. Same stats, but immune to the effects of cold weather. (but not severe cold)
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Ack, something went horribly wrong there. I had a long post and then it got eaten.
To summarize:
The pony was attacked because the dwarf on it was using Spirited Charge and Ride By Attack. Makes sense for the enemy to do; the dwarf was much tougher than the pony. He had Mounted Combat, but that only gives you one protective roll per round. Also, he didn't roll so well. With multiple orcs attacking the pony, it got in trouble (but survived due to lots of healing).
I'm not wild about the campaign being this low-everything, but that's just how it's gonna be with this DM. He does listen to us, but change is in very small steps. And while he's really bad at rules and estimating game balance effects of his choices, the game is still fun.
I've noticed in the bestiaries that some constructs are quite low-end in price and level requirements. I'm NOT interested in offensive abilities for a mount, but damage resistance and immunity to negative energy attacks would be huge advantages. So research time in that direction; I might be able to get the required feats if the thing isn't too expensive to build.
Ack, something went horribly wrong there. I had a long post and then it got eaten.
Rule #1 in the Paizo Forums, select and copy your entire message before posting. That or chew your keyboard in frustration.
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Rule #1 in the Paizo Forums, select and copy your entire message before posting. That or chew your keyboard in frustration.
Option #2 offers a tasty and filling snack, and you might get minerals out of it.
Plus this is a real solution, and thus shouldn't be under-appreciated: if you eat your keyboard, you never have to worry about the internets eating your posts ever again.
If you go option #1, that's no solution at all - the only time your posts will be eaten are the times you forget to selectcopy them.
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New Idea: Combine the "Cart" idea with the "Animated Object" idea. Create an Animated Battlewagon that can carry the whole party.
For extra Lulz & Style Points: Build the base object in a the shape of a wooden horsey. Have it wheel itself up to the gates of enemy cities, castles, and other lairs, and offer itself (Magic Mouth) as a gift to their King/Lord/Chieftain. Badguys, being inherently simple-minded and gullible, will wheel it into the heart of their city/castle/other lair and their King/Lord/Chieftain will come to gape and gawk at it. . .
. . . . . . . . . . . .SURPRISE, FERRET-FACE!
But who's supposed to jump out?
I've allowed players to buy horses with extra hit dice, which might be a good option for you. Roleplaying wise, it makes perfect sense that horses have variance among them, so I've also allowed PCs to buy mounts with different feats than those listed. (A race horse may have Fleet instead of Endurance, and a plow horse may have Diehard instead of Run.
.
For pricing, I usually just double everything. It never really makes the mounts too expensive for adventurers, but it's enough to make them feel "rare".
- Change any/all feats and skills = double the price
- Add a hit die = double again
- Add another hid die = double again
Here are three samples I made with the Monster Builder
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **...
The +2 and +3 HD horses should have an additional feat, I think.
Additional HD mounts might work, I'll have to see what the DM thinks about that. It has the advantage of not looking so out of place in his setting.
I've checked Constructs, but I don't think it's gonna work; almost all of them require level 6 spells to make, which I'll never get thanks to Epic 8.
Each spell that you do not have adds a +5 to the spellcraft DC.
Depending on how many you are missing, you still may be able to make the construct.
You may also want to consider figurines of wondrous power.
An example of that is the "Talisman of the Summoned Steed" from the Taldor, Echoes of Glory Campanion book.
Basically, it turns into a mount when the command word is spoken, reverts to statuette form as well (no more leaving mounts at the dungeon entrance). If it is killed, it turns into a statuette for 24 hours.
For emergencies, keep two on you.
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I don't think my DM will allows stuff that's not in CRB/APG/UC/UM.
Can you actually make magic items if your caster level is insufficient to be able to cast the required spells? I thought that while actually having the spell isn't strictly necessary, you should be able to cast it in theory?
And how does it work for spells that aren't on your class list, for example a wizard making an item that has a divine spell requirement?
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Can you actually make magic items if your caster level is insufficient to be able to cast the required spells? I thought that while actually having the spell isn't strictly necessary, you should be able to cast it in theory?
And how does it work for spells that aren't on your class list, for example a wizard making an item that has a divine spell requirement?
You can indeed! Every requirement you circumvent adds +5 to the DC, though, so if you need a higher CL and a spell you lack you're at +10 DC to do it. Which makes it potentially quite risky.
Divine vs. Arcane spells don't matter at all for crafting, just whether you have it or not (though, obviously, a Wizard's never gonna have an exclusively Divine Spell).
But who's supposed to jump out?
New Idea: Combine the "Cart" idea with the "Animated Object" idea. Create an Animated Battlewagon that can carry the whole party.
"To create magic items, spellcasters use special feats which allow them to invest time and money in an item's creation. At the end of this process, the spellcaster must make a single skill check (usually Spellcraft, but sometimes another skill) to finish the item. If an item type has multiple possible skills, you choose which skill to make the check with. The DC to create a magic item is 5 + the caster level for the item. Failing this check means that the item does not function and the materials and time are wasted. Failing this check by 5 or more results in a cursed item.
Note that all items have prerequisites in their descriptions. These prerequisites must be met for the item to be created. Most of the time, they take the form of spells that must be known by the item's creator (although access through another magic item or spellcaster is allowed). The DC to create a magic item increases by 5 for each prerequisite the caster does not meet. The only exception to this is the requisite item creation feat, which is mandatory. In addition, you cannot create potions, spell-trigger, or spell-completion magic items without meeting its prerequisites."
For the Stone Horse example, it would be caster level 4, with two prerequistes you do not meet (animate object and permanency), this make it a spellcraft check at +19. (5(base)+4(CL)+10(two prerequistes))
It also requires, craft magic arms and armor, craft wondrous item and craft construct as feats. In this campaign skill focus spellcraft might be a good thing to have too if you invest in these feats, it will probably be hard to create strong items riskfree.
CL for items is usually determined by how high you want the spell effect to be. For example, if you wanted to make a 'Horse Summoning' Amulet (say) and it was casting Mount at 5th level effect (10 hours), then you have to make it CL5. Most existing items have a preset caster level for the purposes of Dispel Magic.
Here are three samples I made with the Monster Builder. . .The +2 and +3 HD horses should have an additional feat, I think.
You are correct, sir!
Something else to watch out for if you increase hit dice is that creatures can gain size, and a Huge horse wouldn't be very realistic!
As a general rule, creatures whose Hit Dice increase by 50% or more should also increase in size, but GMs should feel free to ignore this rule if warranted by the individual creature or situation.
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I think I'm gonna talk to the DM, see how he feels about a dumbed-down version of Advanced Simple Creature that only increases defenses (saves, hp, ac), but not damage and attacks. Because while basically I want a sturdy horse, the bigger and bigger attack stats disturb me, that's not what I want at all.
Fight the guy who can deal double or triple damage, charge from out of range, hit you, then keep going back out of range, while turning, move 50ft and full-attack, trample all of the meat shields and smack the Wizard (for triple dmage), for 4-5 whole rounds,or
One shot the horse and fight the guy with a dozen worthless feats.
Not to mention that's how pike walls work, attacking the mount.
Point of fact, horses have more hit points than people, on average. Your average warrior will die to arrow fire faster than his horse will, especially if they're both armored. Also, read the Mounted Combat feat again - the one where the rider is negating attacks on his mount. The one that's pretty much a prerequisite for all the good stuff you mention.
Also, anyone who charges a pike wall has no business complaining that their horse dies.
More Hp than a commoner maybe. A horse has 15hp; 19hp if it has the advanced template (Heavy Horse). A Lv 5 fighter should have around 52hp (5d10+15(CON)+5(FC)) Just a few more hp than the horse.
Average damage of a Lv 5 Fireball? 17.5. So that's done.
Mounted Combat is only as good a ride check, hope you have lots of skill points and no ACP. Max ranks in Ride is, what, Level+3+Dex? Dex maybe not your highest stat, Vs. the Fighter Level+Str(his highest stat)+WF+WT+Magic, still favors the Ftr. It's only one attack per round, anyway; so at worst, the horse takes two shots to kill.
We are talking about mounts for higher level PCs are we not?
Level 5, low-everything, and money problems? There is no option, you just walk.
There's always an option! - the small-sized characters can ride the medium-sized ones, as seen here.
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Quantum Steve: that's basically my problem yeah.
Broom of Flying, Cauldron of Flying and Flying Carpet are starting to look interesting.
I suppose the Broom would fit in an Efficient Quiver. I wonder if a Broom of Flying gets in the way of Somatic spellcasting, or if just getting through the Concentration check is sufficient?