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I am doing some research in order to have a build as to have a Half Orc Paladin with the Beast Rider feat out of the Advanced Race Guide for PFS. As I understand it, at the beginning of each turn I can change to any direction and charge while flying. This is the fly skill rules Here. Charging each round is the crux of the character while flying. The feats and class abilities are:
1. Power Attack, this is a fun feat and seems more exciting to have than mounted combat.
3. Mounted combat, the mercy chosen is fatigue.
5. Ride by attack, the Mount class feature is chosen though I do not have the Beast Rider feat yet. Unless I have access to something else, I'll have a very nice low exciting horse.
6. The Mercy chosen is to remove disease.
7. Ahh, I qualify for the Beast Rider feat. The mount is the Pteranodon. The feats for the creature are: Acrobatics, Skill Focus Fly, and a feat that opens up the belt slot for my pet, er mount. In PFS, the only slots available for animal companions or mounts are the neck and barding armor slots.
If you have the Animal Archive(AA), there are slots mentioned for each type of animal. You don't have them available to you unless you have a feat from the AA opening up each slot. The slot used for the feat for my mount is the belt slot. The mount is a little weak cause of its 19 strength and its two legs. The amount the animal can carry with two legs is twice the amount the strength can normally carry. With the Heavy Load belt, I can carry three times that. For the math: 19 strength is 116 lbs normally and times two is 232 lbs. With the Heavy load belt is is 696 lbs.
That is enough to carry me and another fighter or two lighter armored PC's. The armor will have to be padded barding with Griffon Mane added to it. For expected combat I will have to use a wand of Mage Armor. I plan on starting with dangerously curious and having UMD maxed out. My thinking is the animated shield does too little for its costs. Maxed out UMD with a wand of Shield might be cheaper and it lasts longer, 10 rounds, than four rounds for the animated shield.
9. Spirited Charge, This feat seems exciting and worth while getting. I have never played a mounted, flying Paladin before, or any character with a flying mount. The mercy will be remove poison.
11. I believe the feat Death from Above may be the feat to get, but there is getting to be a big negative to this. If I'm in too close quarters to have my mount the majority of my feats are useless. I suspect maybe over half the time I am not fighting with my mount for one reason or another.
Combat Reflexes would be nice if I carry my lance around. Quick draw is convenient when I change weapons and not back up anymore. I notice people sort of not attack the same enemy round to round because of the way the GM puts the creatures. The creature's generally share getting hit. Once the creature's are up to me, quick draw the non reach melee weapon and attack. Dazing Assault is more powerful but has a hefty price to use, -5 to attack. I have to admit, Dazing Assault is the most exciting feat. I havn't decided yet as to which one I'll use.
The next feats will be used in Sanctioned Modules for the levels higher than 12th level.
12. The mercy is remove stunning.
13. Trick Riding, it is a useless feat. I will be wearing adamantine platemail armor. I will not be getting anything at all from this feat, but it is a per-requisite for the next feat.
15. Mounted Skirmisher, this feat is awesome! I charge and get all my attacks at times three damage on each attack as I ride by. Ubber powerful feat if I have the rules right. The mercy is remove Paralyze. Note, these last two mercies are interchangeable.
17. I have not preference here. I figure Greater Mercy may be exciting, I don't know for sure.
18. The mercy will probably be remove exhaustion.
19. Ultimate Mercy, if I have Greater Mercy, I might as well have the feat Ultimate Mercy.
None of these feats are written in stone. I might have Death From Above as my 17th level feat and I don't know what for my 19th. This is my thinking and as for my pets feats for the rest of the way beyond ninth level. Probably Power attack with improved reposition then greater reposition. I actually havn't thought that far yet. This is the rough draft. If you see I have a rule wrong somehow please point it out. Nitpick as you please.
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Quick note, remember that Oath against Fiends removed your 9th level mercy, so you don't get Remove Poison at 9th.
Also, another thing to remember, per this FAQ you only get triple damage on the first attack when using Spirited Charge and Mounted Skirmisher.
"...even if you have an unusual combination of rules that allows you to ignore the above limitation, it doesn’t makes sense that those iterative attacks gain the damage bonus. To make that second attack, you have to pull the lance back and stab forward again, and that stab doesn’t have the benefit of the charge’s momentum. "
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Actually, it says in the oath against fiends that if you have a divine bond with a weapon class feature you do not get your mercy at ninth level.
"Holy Vessel (Su): At 9th level, a paladin whose divine bond is with a weapon can also use her divine bond to augment her armor or shield..."
It clarifies that you have a divine bond with a weapon that you get another class feature. Since, it doesn't say anything having the Mount class feature you get the mercy.
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Actually, it says in the oath against fiends that if you have a divine bond with a weapon class feature you do not get your mercy at ninth level.
"Holy Vessel (Su): At 9th level, a paladin whose divine bond is with a weapon can also use her divine bond to augment her armor or shield..."
It clarifies that you have a divine bond with a weapon that you get another class feature. Since, it doesn't say anything having the Mount class feature you get the mercy.
I'm sorry, but this is incorrect. The whole ability states "Holy Vessel (Su): At 9th level, a paladin whose divine bond is with a weapon can also use her divine bond to augment her armor or shield with enhancement bonuses, or add any of the following armor or shield properties: bashing, fortification, and spell resistance. Adding these properties consumes an amount of bonus equal to the property's cost (see the armor special abilities and shield special abilities tables). She can divide her bonuses from the divine bond ability among her weapon, armor, and shield as she sees fit. This ability has no effect for a paladin whose divine bond is with a mount. This ability replaces the mercy gained at 9th level."
And the rules for Archetypes state:"When an archetype includes multiple class features, a character must take all of them—often blocking the character from ever gaining certain familiar class features, but replacing them with equally powerful options. All of the other class features found in the core class and not mentioned among the alternate class features remain unchanged and are acquired normally when the character reaches the appropriate level (unless noted otherwise). A character who takes an alternate class feature does not count as having the class feature that was replaced when meeting any requirements or prerequisites."
The ability has no effect if you choose the mount, but you still have the ability and it still replaces your 9th level Mercy. You just made a sub-optimal choice for the archetype.
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Actually,...
I'm sorry, but this is incorrect. The whole ability states "Holy Vessel (Su): At 9th level, a paladin whose divine bond is with a weapon can also use her divine bond to augment her armor or shield with enhancement bonuses, or add any of the following armor or shield properties: bashing, fortification, and spell resistance. Adding these properties consumes an amount of bonus equal to the property's cost (see the armor special abilities and shield special abilities tables). She can divide her bonuses from the divine bond ability among her weapon, armor, and shield as she sees fit. This ability has no effect for a paladin whose divine bond is with a mount. This ability replaces the mercy gained at 9th level."I see this as the last sentence explains that the ninth level ability does not count. I do not see this changing in the rest of the class features.
And the rules for Archetypes state:"When an archetype includes multiple class features, a character must take all of them—often blocking the character from ever gaining certain familiar class features, but replacing them with equally powerful options. All of the other class features found in the core class and not mentioned among the alternate class features remain unchanged and are acquired normally when the character reaches the appropriate level (unless noted otherwise). A character who takes an alternate class feature does not count as having the class feature that was replaced when meeting any requirements or prerequisites.""When an archetype includes multiple class features, a character must take all of them..." A character who takes an alternate class feature does not count as having the class feature that was replaced when meeting any requirements or prerequisites.
I think you believe that even if the class feature says, "it does not count", you're thinking you have to have it anyway. I do not see this as the same way. I believe you have to take all of the features that count. It reads to me that the ninth level ability only counts if you have the weapon bond class feature in my point of view.
The ability has no effect if you choose the mount, but you still have the ability and it still replaces your 9th level Mercy. You just made a sub-optimal choice for the archetype.I don't understand what you mean by, "The ability has no effect if you choose the mount, but you still have the ability..." I believe, "no effect" means you can not use it; Therefore, you do not have it. I'm thinking you get an ability at ninth level, the archtype does not eliminate the ninth level ability and you get nothing in return. Are you saying the mount does not get this ability?
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No effect means it doesn't do anything. It doesn't mean you don't have it. When you take the Oathbound Archetype for Oath against Fiends, you have all of the abilities that come with it and they completely replace the features you had before. Since you did not choose to take a mount as your Divine Bond feature, you now have the ability Holy Vessel, which unfortunately does absolutely nothing for you, other than costing you a Mercy. When it says the ability has no effect, it means that under the listed circumstances, the ability doesn't do anything. You still have that class feature, and it still replaces the 9th level Mercy. You've basically just chosen a sub-optimal combination of abilities.
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Wow! They actually gave nothing in return for the ninth level for a paladin. No one else is posting so, I surmise you are right. I don't think I can choose to go with Oath against the Wyrm. It replaces the mount ability with something else even though you are choosing the mount class feature. I might go with the Oath against fiends anyway. Its spells and eighth level ability is worth it even though I am loosing a mercy. I believe the fortitude saves of the Paladin are going to make the loss of the mercy acceptable.