Advanced Feats: The Cavalier's Creed (PFRPG) PDF

This pdf is 16 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial + ToC, 1 page advertisement and 1 page SRD.

That leaves 12 pages of content and starts with 1.5 pages of analysis of the cavalier class, detailing potential strengths and giving a nice overview.

After that, we get 30 new feats, including Teamworkfeats.
-Back to back: Fight with ally, deny flanks
-Barreling Overrun: Overrun more enemies
-Bloody Banner: Inspires allies
-Bravery: Fear and panic are treated as shaken
-Buckler Master: better at using Bucklers
-Campaigner: Sleep anywhere
-Clever Critter: Smarter than other animals
-Defensive Sunder: Sunder incoming attacks
-Extra Cohort: self-explanatory
-Fortune: 1 reroll per day
-Great leader: Leadershipbonus
-Intimidating Gaze: Demoralize foes
-Moral Chameleon: Change orders, retain some abilities
-Move as one: Move when rider does
-Near and far: Reach weapons to attack adjacent foes
-Nimble Mount: Keep rider out of harm's way
-Pack Attack: Flank when allies flank
-Pierce Armor: Bonus to hit armored enemies
-Provoke: self-explanatory
-Pull Blow: Reduce damage after rolling
-Rampage: Continue charge after dropping foe
-Rank Fighting: Cuts penalties for attacking through allies
-Reflexive Brace: Brace faster
-Shaft and Shield: Wield two-handed spears in one hand
-Shielded Move: No AoO from chosen opponent
-Shield Evasion: limited evasion when using a shield
-Size doesn't matter: Ignore size penalties to intimidate
-Strength in Numbers: Better resist are effects when with allies
-Tag Team Flanking: Allies gain bonuses against enemies you hurt
-Team Initiative: you and your allies share the best initiative roll
All of the feats were either interesting, good ideas and more importantly, none seemed too weak or too strong. They also come with commentaries on the design decision as well as some nice bits of historical trivia. In the rare cases (e.g. provoke), where I would have disliked a given feat, it's mechanics are specifically worded so the DM can prevent abuse.

After that, we get 3 sample builds for cavaliers: The green knight, the tawny knight and the black knight. I liked the builds and their explanations.

Conclusion:
Formatting and editing are top-notch, I didn't notice any mistakes. The feats were often imaginative, cool, fit their niche and felt neither under- nor overpowered. This is quite simply a great feat book and worth the few bucks it costs. Due to the high quality and the low price, I'll settle for a 5 star-rating.

As the Introduction states, this product (like the others in the Advanced Feats line) is more than a collection of feats: it's an exploration of the potentials and ramifications of the Cavalier class as a whole. Of the classes offered in the Pathfinder Advanced Player's Guide, it's the only one not to make use of magic, but gives those players fond of both strategic combat and sheer role-playing bravado scope to shine. Two standout features of the class are the challenge ability and the mount. The mount is more than a mere nag, with its own feats, and a good understanding of mounted combat and the capabilities of the Ride skill will stand a cavalier character in good stead. The use of Orders primarily build in good role-playing opportunities, but each provides advantages and limitations as well. Good with both combat (especially in situations where you can mount up) and with social skills fit for the courts of princes, it makes for an intriguing class to play.

Throughout the work, the illustrations fit well, with a mix of mediaeval woodcut-style images of knights in combat and several painted heraldic shields, again reflecting the rather 'Arthurian' style of this class. As a herald painter, there's really only one questionable one, a gyronny of eight sable and vert in flagrant breach of the rule of tincture!

And so, on to the feats. Whilst aimed at Cavaliers, most can be taken by any character who meets the prerequisites. The majority serve to hone combat abilities, and to focus on particular areas or specific fighting styles. However, one gem is Moral Chameleon, which permits a Cavalier to switch Orders without losing all that he had gained from membership in an Order he's decided to leave. Several empower battlefield teamwork - Back to Back, Tag Team Fighting and Pack Attack stand out - while others are aimed at the Cavalier's mount rather than the rider. Near and Far enables you to use a 'reach' weapon such as a polearm in close quarters, certainly something real-world combatants can master with the correct training and useful when a melee moves unexpectedly or an opponent tries to rush you. An interesting feature is the 'commentary' given with many feats, presenting insights to the author's thought processes as the feat was designed.

Finally a selection of character builds - planned progressions to support a specific approach to the character as a whole - are presented. For the Cavalier, the options are the Green Knight, the Tawny Knight and the Black Knight. Lovers of the Arthurian type of knightly adventure will recognise the tendency of certain knights to be known by colour instead of their names. The Green Knight specialises in being a noble defender of other party members and of society as a whole. A bold style is proposed, where the Green Knight uses his challege ability beefed up with the Provoke feat to goad his chosen enemy into attacking him, a risky tactic that requires you to be secure in your combat abilities, and the build emphasises shield work and tactical teamwork to reflect this.

The Tawny Knight is focussed on the combination of rider and mount, and a Small race is chosen to maximise the opportunities of remaining mounted in situations where larger Cavaliers might be forced to get off due to space limitations. So the example is a gnome riding a timber wolf, with a wealth of mounted combat feats and leadership skills to make the most of their combat potential. Finally, the Black Knight is a combat monster, whose challenge ought to make his opponent ensure that his affairs are in order! Even his mount is given the Intimidating Prowess feat (and levels in the Intimidate skill), and is able to fight independently using teamwork with his rider, as well as when the Black Knight is mounted.

This is a considered and well-balanced (in game mechanic terms) look at the Cavalier class, and is recommended to anyone considering playing one.

This product is 16 pages long. It starts with a cover, ToC, and credits. (2 pages)

Introduction (2 pages)
It explains the purpose of the book and then breaks the class down. Talking about all the aspects of the class.

New Feats (5 ½ pages)
There is 30 new feats. Most of them can be used by any class, though some of them will be less useful to other classes.
Back to Back – I really like this feat and can see a lot of PC's taking it.
Barreling Overrun – Overrun more than one target along a path.
Bloody Banner – bonus to allies dmg.
Bravery – turns fear effects of running etc into shaken instead.
Buckler Mastery
Campaigner – only need half the rest.
Clever Critter – animal feat, bonus to their int. Good for animal companions or familiars too.
Defensive Sunder – while fighting defensively may attempt to sunder weapons if they miss.
Extra Cohort
Fortune – 1/day can reroll
Great Leader – bonus to leadership
Intimidating Gaze – I like this one... you become Clint Eastwood. :)
Moral Chameleon
Move As One – allows mount to take moves the rider could make if on foot, like 5ft step.
Near and Far
Nimble Mount
Pack Attack – If two or more with feat flank target, then all count as flanking target.
Pierce Armor – grant bonus to hit against heavier armor with a pierce weapon.
Provoke
Pull Blow – can choose to do less damage after seeing damage roll, lowering final amount.
Rampage
Rank Fighting – lets you use a reach weapon to fight around a alley with no penalty.
Reflexive Brace – as a immediate action brace your weapon against a charge. (if weapon is a brace weapon) make AoO before charge is resolved.
Shaft and Shield – Can use spear/polearm and shield at same time.
Shielded Move – use tower shield, against one foe do not provoke AoO against them while moving.
Shield Evasion
Size Doesn’t Matter – not what you think. :) Size has no effect on intimidate.
Strength in Numbers
Tag Team Fighting – if you hit a target, your alley with feat gains a bonus to hit.
Team Initiative

Character Builds (3 ½ pages)
A few sample builds to help players make cavaliers.
Green Knight – Defensive and protector of allies build.
The Tawny Knight – Small race that is always mounted build.
The Black Knight – Damage dealing build.

It finishes with a OLG and ad. (2 pages)

Closing thoughts. I liked this book, this might be the best book in the series so far. Most of the feats can be used by most classes, but all of them are useful to the cavalier class. There was really no feats I read that I thought. I would never take that or why would I use a feat on that? There wasn't really any feats I felt would become must have feats either, though a few of the teamwork feats I see being very popular.

The layout, editing, was very good and it is a very pretty book. There is really no artwork hardly other than the cover and one section of shields. Though the borders are very pretty and not to bad on a printer. There is several side bars where the author talks about why he did what he did and all the feats have comments on why they was done etc. It was not really needed but interesting to read. Being unable to really find a flaw with the product I am giving this a 5 star review. This product would be useful to many classes and pretty much any melee combat class and very useful to cavalier players.

In the interest of fairness, I must begin by disclosing that I received my copy of Cavalier’s Creed free, for reviewing purposes. However, now that I have read it over, I am hanging onto it with all my strength. They will get it back when they pry it from my cold, dead, hands! Why am I so attached to it? Let me tell you…

This supplement begins with a nice page-and-a-half discussion of the Cavalier class’s strengths and weaknesses. Without doubt it is good and useful information, visually enhanced with some quality heraldic artwork, but of course we are here for the Feats!

The real meat of this supplement, the new Feats, starts on page 3. …And I was hooked right from the very first one! A lot of these Feats (I’d say well over half) fall into the category of “that’s so obvious – this should have been a part of the game all along!” For example, the image of two heroic warriors fighting back to back, protecting each other’s blind spots while facing a horde of enemies, has been a staple of heroic literature for centuries. And there it is, exemplified by the very first Feat on the list!

All of the Feats have simple, straightforward, robust mechanics, which are usually described very completely in just a few sentences. This is a powerful benefit for both GM’s and players: If you need to refresh your memory of a Feat in the middle of combat, the succinct descriptions mean that you can do so with a quick glance rather than a long pause. In his introduction the author mentions that he has a decade of experience in designing Feats, and that experience clearly shows in the clean, streamlined design found throughout Cavalier’s Creed.

Even better, each Feat includes a section titled “Commentary”. It is here that Sigfried Trent, the author, speaks directly with us, the audience. This section describes things like where the inspiration for the feat came from, what he was trying to accomplish, and why the rules were designed the way they were. I really like this kind of behind-the-scenes discussion. Providing a little extra insight makes the Feats more fun to use. Furthermore, it can help the GM to fairly adjudicate those occasional weird moments when things happen that no rule could ever anticipate. I also like the friendly, conversational tone it lends to the overall work. I definitely feel that Mr. Trent is sharing these rules with us, not dictating them to us.

There are several sidebar boxes sprinkled throughout the pages. In some we get to learn a bit of historical context, while others discuss rule decisions and consequences in more detail. I found all the sidebars to be very informative and entertaining, but my favorites are the historical ones. They show very clearly the amount of knowledge and research Mr. Trent brought to this project. Also, I really like genuine history!

At the end are three new builds for the Cavalier class, complete with Leveling Guides, which show how to use these new Feats to best advantage. I think GM's will find these builds more useful than players, simply because players (in my game at least) always seem to ignore character builds in favor of going their own way. However, we GM’s benefit greatly from having the groundwork already laid when we need a quick NPC with a particular “flavor”.

This review would not be complete if I didn’t mention something which this supplement lacks: Power Creep! That’s right, these rules are balanced! Nothing here is going to turn your players into little campaign-wrecking mini-gods. These new Feats will noticably improve the Cavaliers in your game without giving them an unfair advantage over the other classes.

Worthy indeed!