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When playing a mounted character in PFS, you want to be group friendly. I just described a lot of inter-team issues in this thread for someone else who is having this issue.
Our area has a plethora of mounted characters; my husband and I play three of them.
- Cavalier seems to be most common, probably because the tactician ability is a nice team buff or because the loudest mounted character in our region ("The Great Rrrrrrrrrinaldooooo!") happened to be a cavalier build. The cavalier archetypes and orders also allow for a lot of customization.
- I've seen several mounted Hunter builds since ACG came out: they are always very effective. Definitely look at this class.
- Dragoon Fighter archetype is doable, but less common.
- Oddly most druids and rangers in our area don't ride their companions, and I've seen very few mounted paladins (most players in our area seem to trade out the mount with an archetype).
- Sohei monk and Samurai are often discussed on the message boards as great mounted characters, but I can't recall ever seeing one.
Some general suggestions:
Find a way to get Feather Step, even it's just a wand and UMD. There will be difficult terrain. (A wand of Feather Step is a nice "party boost" to carry around. The other members of the party will love you if you let them take hits off your wand.)
Check out the Animal Archive.
Knight of the Inner Sea has a lot of information about the Lastwall Phalanx: read it just for the inspiration, buy it for the awesome feats.
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One thing to note that I just recently discovered is controlling your mount:
Some classes allow complete control over your mount as if that mount were another PC at the table. Paladin mounts fall into this category, but based on the description of a cavalier mount they most likely don't. Read here, because as always GM interpretation may vary.
Charging lanes should not be blocked if your team knows what they are doing, your lance, assuming you are using one, or else why mounted charge?, has a 10' reach, this will allow your melee to fight as you charge from behind and stab. As previously mentioned, having your mount go away from the target, swift dismounting and recharging on foot is also a possibility . Your actions are indepenedent ofyour mount as you go at the same time, so it can spend its turn moving, while you swiftly mount/dismount for leapfrog shennanigans. In one encounter, i charged on my mount at a trio of fleeing cavalrymen. I killed one on the charge, the next turn a teammate killed one of the other riders, so on my turn i rode up to where they had fled to, swiftly dismounted my anklyosaurus as a swift action, remounted the dead guys horse and spurred it forward to catch the third and gored him on the charge covering over 160'. Between your group having any semblence of brains, and your ability to use tactics, as well as your skills such as ride, acrobatics and the like, you should find charging lanes open just fine.
I'm not sure exactly what you are describing, but it begins to sound similar to the 'commoner rail gun' and I can't see many GM's allowing it.
Indoors or outdoors is very campaign dependent. In PFS, I would say around 1/4-1/3 the encounters are outdoors or somewhere large enough that allies can't really be in the way and you have open terrain to charge. In home campaigns, that seems closer to 1/2 the encounters.
In PFS, I've usually found about 4 in 6 have built for melee and/or do NOT consider whether they might be blocking someone else's maneuvers. Home games usually have a lower proportion of melee and people will work together more often. So they are more likely to do things like consider if they might be blocking the mounted guy.
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One option no one has brought up yet - teaming up with a dwarf barbarian and riding them! They get better initiative (you use the rider's) and you get to boost their AC 1-2 times a round. You get an awesome mount without a class ability who can go anywhere, all for a -4 to ride checks for an unusual mount.
(Just make sure you get ride-by attack early so that you can charge with a lance the same round they attack with their greatsword. Or convince them to go with a reach weapon.)
In the fifteen games i have played in PFS so far, 12 of which on my cavalier, only once has a boat been an issue, and only in one other fight were the group in the way of my charging. *shrug* I guess players in Rhode Island are just smarter.
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Yep, gnomes and halflings are small size. I STILL don't think this is a great idea, and i think we disagree about how often you'll actually be able to charge in practice.I'm curious why you think this character build would be able to execute a charge any less often than any other character. In my experience, melee characters get to charge, on average, at least once per combat. Ride by Attack would allow a mounted character to be able to do it even more often since they don't have to end their charge move next to the target of the attack.Maybe this is the result of the people I play with, but i expect to hear 'no, you may not bring your freaky giant lizard into my city/home/ship/place of business' often enough.
That's rarely true concerning a person's feet.
For example, i can't imagine the curators of the Blakros Museum would allow animals inside, just to name one.
Unless the scenario says otherwise, a Pfs gm should not be allowed to deny a player access to their companion. It may be different for home games.
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Unless the scenario says otherwise, a Pfs gm should not be allowed to deny a player access to their companion. It may be different for home games.Yep, gnomes and halflings are small size. I STILL don't think this is a great idea, and i think we disagree about how often you'll actually be able to charge in practice.I'm curious why you think this character build would be able to execute a charge any less often than any other character. In my experience, melee characters get to charge, on average, at least once per combat. Ride by Attack would allow a mounted character to be able to do it even more often since they don't have to end their charge move next to the target of the attack.Maybe this is the result of the people I play with, but i expect to hear 'no, you may not bring your freaky giant lizard into my city/home/ship/place of business' often enough.
That's rarely true concerning a person's feet.
For example, i can't imagine the curators of the Blakros Museum would allow animals inside, just to name one.
My PFS halfling shining knight is 10th level and only once has he run into a spot where someone flat-out refused his mount/companion/celestial dog access to someplace. Being lawful he complied and then used a round to summon the dog to where he was when danger struck a few minutes later.
There are a few where the PC's are at a high class event or an otherwise posh setting. IIRC, at least one of those specifically said no animals. The others kind of hint at it. So expect some table variation on whether they would be allowed.
I actually haven't had to make a decision since no pet classes were at the table when I ran then. But it might depend on what it was. I would probably let someone pass off a sleek cat, well trained heeled dog, or a snake draped over your shoulders as part of you 'outfit' for some outlandish cultural set.
But bringing a large dinosaur into the opera house, a large bear to the wedding, or a giant wasp to the dining room table should probably require some serious convincing (or magic).
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PFS Rodinia has an axebeak boon companion. They are a tag team pair and do not charge. Quite a few PFS scenarios are not appropriate for pets. Perhaps 1 in 6. No 'fragrant' giant carnivorous birds at high-class social events, nor on small row boats. Fortunately, the difficult dungeon situations are viable for pets, especially if the Large pet in question has the Narrow Frame feat.
I know you didn't say one way or the other, but it's important to remember that Narrow Frame doesn't negate the movement penalty for moving through a space too small for you. It only negates the attack and AC penalties.
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Wanderlust Halfling Summoner and an ATE (All Terrain Eidolon). I dipped dragoon Ftr for the feats took Wheeling Charge and never looked back.
Yeah, that's something like my -1. Funny thing about summoners - as long as you're willing to stick with only casting buffs and summons, you don't actually need high mental stats - you can start with a 12 Cha and still be able to cast your highest level spells your entire career. You can also tank your Int, since the actual summoner gets so few skill points as to not matter, you just need 1 point a level for Ride, you just use the Eidolon for skills. Hence, you can sink as many skill points into physical ability scores as a front liner.
Summoner gets almost no weapons, so you need to either dip (Dragoon Fighter is awesome for this, perfect feats), or use Heirloom for your lance proficiency. I'm going with the latter - the Eidolon kind of hurts for HP, especially early, and I wanted to get its HD up as quickly as possible.
This starts to get especially fun when you hit level 6 and can take perfect flight. You no longer care about rough terrain, you just fly right over it. If you're outdoors, you can nearly ignore charge lanes, especially once you get wheeling charge and can effectively charge in an arc over any obstructions. You have reach with the Lance, so give the Eidolon reach with one of its attacks, and you're getting a 2 for 1 on all your AOOs. Especially nasty against casters, since they can't 5' step away from you, and the damage from both attacks increases the concentration DC.
Note: Please use this knowledge responsibly. Summoners are OP enough already without pulling some of this shenanigans into it to be able to use even more of the class features. For my -1, for example, I am limiting myself to keeping the Eidolon looking like a 100% natural grey wolf when at rest. And I still did more damage than any other member of the party in the last couple of sessions. And I remembered at the end of the last session that I had actually forgotten to cast any spells the entire time.
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Summoner gets almost no weapons, so you need to either dip (Dragoon Fighter is awesome for this, perfect feats), or use Heirloom for your lance proficiency.
This doesn't actually give you lance proficiency. It only gives you proficiency with the "heirloom lance". So if you always want to rely on a non-masterwork, non-magical lance for your character's entire career then go ahead.
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Wanderlust Halfling Summoner and an ATE (All Terrain Eidolon). I dipped dragoon Ftr for the feats took Wheeling Charge and never looked back.Yeah, that's something like my -1. Funny thing about summoners - as long as you're willing to stick with only casting buffs and summons, you don't actually need high mental stats - you can start with a 12 Cha and still be able to cast your highest level spells your entire career. You can also tank your Int, since the actual summoner gets so few skill points as to not matter, you just need 1 point a level for Ride, you just use the Eidolon for skills. Hence, you can sink as many skill points into physical ability scores as a front liner.
Summoner gets almost no weapons, so you need to either dip (Dragoon Fighter is awesome for this, perfect feats), or use Heirloom for your lance proficiency. I'm going with the latter - the Eidolon kind of hurts for HP, especially early, and I wanted to get its HD up as quickly as possible.
This starts to get especially fun when you hit level 6 and can take perfect flight. You no longer care about rough terrain, you just fly right over it. If you're outdoors, you can nearly ignore charge lanes, especially once you get wheeling charge and can effectively charge in an arc over any obstructions. You have reach with the Lance, so give the Eidolon reach with one of its attacks, and you're getting a 2 for 1 on all your AOOs. Especially nasty against casters, since they can't 5' step away from you, and the damage from both attacks increases the concentration DC.
Note: Please use this knowledge responsibly. Summoners are OP enough already without pulling some of this shenanigans into it to be able to use even more of the class features. For my -1, for example, I am limiting myself to keeping the Eidolon looking like a 100% natural grey wolf when at rest. And I still did more damage than any other member of the party in the last couple of sessions. And I remembered at the end of the last session that I...
Mine looks like a St Bernard with an acordian neck (reach bite).
Summoner gets almost no weapons, so you need to either dip (Dragoon Fighter is awesome for this, perfect feats), or use Heirloom for your lance proficiency.This doesn't actually give you lance proficiency. It only gives you proficiency with the "heirloom lance". So if you always want to rely on a non-masterwork, non-magical lance for your character's entire career then go ahead.
You magically make the heirloom masterwork then you enchant it like a normal weapon. But you're potentially screwed if it is ever lost.
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You magically make the heirloom masterwork then you enchant it like a normal weapon. But you're potentially screwed if it is ever lost.Summoner gets almost no weapons, so you need to either dip (Dragoon Fighter is awesome for this, perfect feats), or use Heirloom for your lance proficiency.This doesn't actually give you lance proficiency. It only gives you proficiency with the "heirloom lance". So if you always want to rely on a non-masterwork, non-magical lance for your character's entire career then go ahead.
That's true, I forgot about that option. Luckily, if building for PFS, I've never seen a GM screw with a PC's gear (at least in a permanent fashion).
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Mine looks like a St Bernard with an acordian neck (reach bite).
My wolf has Reach on Bite also, but I picture it more like the little mouth inside the big one in Alien - it all tucks nicely inside for day to day use, then pops out of there when it's time to get chomping :)
You magically make the heirloom masterwork then you enchant it like a normal weapon. But you're potentially screwed if it is ever lost.
Yeah, I've currently got Masterwork Transformation and I'm about to upgrade it to +1.
If it were a home game, I'd probably dip Dragoon instead of using the trait, but for PFS, it's extremely unlikely you'll come across anything using Sunder.
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That's true, I forgot about that option. Luckily, if building for PFS, I've never seen a GM screw with a PC's gear (at least in a permanent fashion).You magically make the heirloom masterwork then you enchant it like a normal weapon. But you're potentially screwed if it is ever lost.Summoner gets almost no weapons, so you need to either dip (Dragoon Fighter is awesome for this, perfect feats), or use Heirloom for your lance proficiency.This doesn't actually give you lance proficiency. It only gives you proficiency with the "heirloom lance". So if you always want to rely on a non-masterwork, non-magical lance for your character's entire career then go ahead.
I've seen a weapon destroyed before. (low level - so only masterwork) But you can always just pay to have Make Whole cast on it between sessions.
I've seen a weapon destroyed before. (low level - so only masterwork) But you can always just pay to have Make Whole cast on it between sessions.That's true, I forgot about that option. Luckily, if building for PFS, I've never seen a GM screw with a PC's gear (at least in a permanent fashion).You magically make the heirloom masterwork then you enchant it like a normal weapon. But you're potentially screwed if it is ever lost.Summoner gets almost no weapons, so you need to either dip (Dragoon Fighter is awesome for this, perfect feats), or use Heirloom for your lance proficiency.This doesn't actually give you lance proficiency. It only gives you proficiency with the "heirloom lance". So if you always want to rely on a non-masterwork, non-magical lance for your character's entire career then go ahead.
I have heard there are at least a couple of scenarios where it is written in that the bad guys use sunder.
In home games, we have had to deal with swarms of goblins/kobolds or other creatures that will steal then run off with something. Incredibly annoying and can sometimes take a while to dig them out and get everything back.
In the fifteen games i have played in PFS so far, 12 of which on my cavalier, only once has a boat been an issue, and only in one other fight were the group in the way of my charging. *shrug* I guess players in Rhode Island are just smarter.
On the flip side, my husband's halfling cavalier spend three scenarios in a row on a boat. YMMV.
As far as players being "smarter" about getting in the way of a charge, the main issue with charging builds (I have non-mounted overrun build as well as a cavalier) I've seen is difficult terrain and terrain obstacles.
However, your charging builds will almost always be low stealth/heavy armor, so if you ever want to have any scouts, you can't be in front. Now, you can simply tell the scouts that their services are not welcome because you always need to have that charge lane, but my archer with 90 ft of darkvision, +20 perception, and +20 stealth is likely to call you some choice names before she runs in front (with a 60 ft move) and shoots the bad guys four times before they see her.
The main point, overall, is to make sure your build doesn't completely invalidate someone else's. There are always compromises you can work out. For example, if that particular charging character hadn't been so rude to my scout, she would have scouted in front, stealthed back to the party to tell them where the bad guys are, then stood back and let him charge in with the added benefit of surprise.
But because he always insisted on always being in front so he could always charge (and insisted that him charging was far more important than anything anyone else in the group did), he effectively shut down any scout build he ever played with. And he ended up with growing list of players who didn't want to play with that character ever again.
The Familiar Folio brings up a new good option; a Sohei Monk could feat into a Hawk familiar. With the Mauler archetype the Hawk can grow to medium size at will and therefore functional as a mount. You'd need to go all the way to Improved Familiar Bond to qualify for Mauler, unfortunately, but a Sohei with a flying mount is definitely worth it I think.
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The main point, overall, is to make sure your build doesn't completely invalidate someone else's. There are always compromises you can work out. For example, if that particular charging character hadn't been so rude to my scout, she would have scouted in front, stealthed back to the party to tell them where the bad guys are, then stood back and let him charge in with the added benefit of surprise.
But because he always insisted on always being in front so he could always charge (and insisted that him charging was far more important than anything anyone else in the group did), he effectively shut down any scout build he ever played with. And he ended up with growing list of players who didn't want to play with that character ever again.
Sounds like that wasn't a problem with charge builds, but that the other player just didn't play well with others to such an extent that if it wasn't PFS they'd have stood a decent chance of getting kicked out of their group. If you're cooperating, it's usually not an issue - most situations have enough room that the scout can be forward of the party and still be off to the side to leave a charge lane if something happens that triggers combat before they can get back to the party to relay the situation.
Of course, part of it may have been that they were so 100% specialized in charges that they thought they would be useless if they didn't get one.
But yeah, outside of problem players, terrain is by far a bigger issue - most people are happy to help if you ask nicely and explain how once or twice an encounter you can make an enemy explode into bloody mist :) It should really be standard for a charger build past level 1 to have Feather Step potions (50gp for 10mins of ignoring difficult terrain) until they can get some magic means to avoid the problem, like Feather Step slippers or flight.
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My main PFS character is a human Order of the Sword cavalier on a horse, from Lastwall, with nearly all of his feats for mounted combat.
No regrets.
In a mounted charge he is devastating. Dismounted he is reasonably competent, with good social skills, tactician, and banner (and Order ability for a nice Will save). I'm pretty happy with how often he gets to charge (it doesn't need to be all the time; some scenarios he is entirely dismounted).
He probably could have worked as a dragoon fighter with a Figurine of Wondrous Power or two. The goats in particular are outstanding for their price, given that one effectively comes with both a +5 sword and a +3 lance. Haven't seen much need for flying in PFS through level 9, but the griffin figurine would be an option. Scrolls of Air Walk work for the horse.
Certain scenarios are really awesome for a mounted cavalier, some are middling, and some are less advantageous.
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Definitely a player problem. If we have a scout I give them invis and message if they want them. Since I have a perfect flying mount with wheeling charge I haven't encountered a blocked charge lane. In fact my first rd spell is almost always haste. If you accept that you won't always get a charge and have some way to contribute outside of combat a charger of any stripe can be fun.
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Of course, part of it may have been that they were so 100% specialized in charges that they thought they would be useless if they didn't get one. ...
I have seen that a few times. Players that are so in love with the charge effect, that they will literally do nothing until/unless they can get a charge. Even if it is a crowd of mooks that a normal attack will take down, they will do nothing waiting 4-5 rounds for someone to give them a charge lane.
I have seen that a few times. Players that are so in love with the charge effect, that they will literally do nothing until/unless they can get a charge. Even if it is a crowd of mooks that a normal attack will take down, they will do nothing waiting 4-5 rounds for someone to give them a charge lane....
Of course, part of it may have been that they were so 100% specialized in charges that they thought they would be useless if they didn't get one. ...then they are stupid.
a cavalier or paladin have smite and power attack.
they CAN charge, but can kill without any other feat.
Absolutely agree. But some people get it stuck in their head. "This is a charging PC. I do 400% more damage on a charge. I built this PC to charge. He's great when he charges. He isn't great if he doesn't charge. I must charge. I will wait until I can charge. I will tell/yell at everyone to give me a charge lane."
Never said it is the only thing they can do. But they sometimes/often seem to think it is all they can do.
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When i play my gecko rider i stick to walls or ceiling. So i dont have o Bogart charge lanes.
But if i was on ground level prior to wheeling charge I would demand the charge lane.
To be honest who is more worthy of the charge lane? Me who was 1 shorting many bosses or the crappie rouge who cant even touch my combat efficiency.
I dont get in his way when there is a trap or a chance for him to shine....but combat is mine and if you think thatcrappy S.A. damage can add up your delusional.
Let the charger have his lane...its worth it. Killing enemies so quickly is more beneficial than letting someone else risk life and limb over there own want to attempt to do mediocre damage.
Since your Mount Could just overrun, I don't see the problem. Overrun anyone in your way in your own team, they get a free action to get out of the way.
Hear, hear! After I left one guy with hoof prints on his back, the guys I played with got the message!
Works well for alchemists and blaster wizards, too. "Fire in the hole!!!"
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A mount with Dragon Style, hit the link has no issue with this:
Dragon Style (Combat, Style)
You call upon the spirit of dragonkind, gaining greater resilience, mobility, and fierceness from the blessing of these great beings.
Prerequisites: Str 15, Improved Unarmed Strike, Acrobatics 3 ranks.
Benefit: While using this style, you gain a +2 bonus on saving throws against sleep effects, paralysis effects, and stunning effects. You ignore difficult terrain when you charge, run, or withdraw. You can also charge through squares that contain allies. Further, you can add 1-1/2 times your Strength bonus on the damage roll for your first unarmed strike on a given round.
Normal: You cannot charge or run through difficult terrain, and you cannot charge through a square that contains an ally. With an unarmed strike, you usually add your Strength bonus on damage rolls.
They can move aside as a free action to let you through. Let them know this. If they STILL don't, well, they deserve the hoof prints.
I keed! I keed!
I did let them know, and they did move, actually.
Their look of shock made taking the Charge Through feat worth it!
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When i play my gecko rider i stick to walls or ceiling. So i dont have o Bogart charge lanes.
But if i was on ground level prior to wheeling charge I would demand the charge lane.
To be honest who is more worthy of the charge lane? Me who was 1 shorting many bosses or the crappie rouge who cant even touch my combat efficiency.I dont get in his way when there is a trap or a chance for him to shine....but combat is mine and if you think thatcrappy S.A. damage can add up your delusional.
Let the charger have his lane...its worth it. Killing enemies so quickly is more beneficial than letting someone else risk life and limb over there own want to attempt to do mediocre damage.
It's only worth it to the guy one shotting bosses. To the rest of the party, it's not worth it (and may very well be worth blocking the effort). And scenarios are largely combat based. If I wanted to watch someone else fight battles instead of participate I'd stay home and watch TV for five hours instead of going to what was supposed to be a fun social experience. Just because your character is awesome and optimized doesn't mean I don't want to participate with my character.
Since your Mount Could just overrun, I don't see the problem. Overrun anyone in your way in your own team, they get a free action to get out of the way.
Except you still have to have an un-obstructed path to charge. The overrun rules say nothing about negating needing a clear charge lane.
They can move aside as a free action to let you through. Let them know this. If they STILL don't, well, they deserve the hoof prints.I keed! I keed!
I did let them know, and they did move, actually.
Their look of shock made taking the Charge Through feat worth it!
This, if you want to charge through people via overrun, you need Charge Through (and that's only for one person).
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A mount with Dragon Style, hit the link has no issue with this:
Some mounts have an issue filling all the pre-reqs. Like my gecko has issue reaching that Str and taking improved unarmed strike seems like a wasted feat on a lancer's mount. I can take wheeling charge by the time my gecko reachs the ability to gain that kind of Str score. On flying mounts it really isn't a bother.
On large+ sized ground mounts it seems like a great idea and is for lots of the builds. You would even want to pair it with dragon style just so your mount gets those bonuses.
Dragon style is freaking amazing on pounce ACs tho as no longer do you need to stick your pet out front for that charging pounce and other people can be out front.
It's only worth it to the guy one shotting bosses. To the rest of the party, it's not worth it (and may very well be worth blocking the effort). And scenarios are largely combat based. If I wanted to watch someone else fight battles instead of participate I'd stay home and watch TV for five hours instead of going to what was supposed to be a fun social experience. Just because your character is awesome and optimized doesn't mean I don't want to participate with my character
If I felt someone was intentionally blocking me I would point it out. If the GM didn't enforce the don't be a jerk rule on you, then its going to be 5 hours of trollfest. Followed by more hours of trollfest any other session you're at my table.
Blocking my charge lane in this fight...sure I'll go on ahead and kill the next room...cause I can...might even kill the NPC we have been sent here to save...I don't take Knowledge skills so IDK who he is...I'm just a murderhobo anyways....No boon for you. Oh your trying to Diplomacy your way out of a fight...CHARGE...fight initiated and probably over...Trying to be sneaky? This mount 5 feet from you shining so bright from the wayfinder light makes your checks impossible not to mention the Halfling singing a song of battle as he rides...
damn annoying halflings...now we know why Cheliax hates them so much.
Being a jerk sometimes doesn't get you the response you want and only escalates the situation. Its best to let them have it and try to explain to them that they are taking the fun away from everyone else. If 5 other people "Intervention" him/her perhaps they might make another character for a different role. I stopped playing my mounted character because he was out shining others and made people feel they made bad characters because his damage is out of control. Now I only play him if a table really needs another player to work. DMs in PFS can't change the fight to challenge that single players so its better if I a more advance player tone it down. Escalating Jerkily only ends badly for everyone. Having an intellectual conversation with respect MIGHT gain more. But what do I know I'm a huge jerk in real life anyways.
It's only worth it to the guy one shotting bosses. To the rest of the party, it's not worth it (and may very well be worth blocking the effort). And scenarios are largely combat based. If I wanted to watch someone else fight battles instead of participate I'd stay home and watch TV for five hours instead of going to what was supposed to be a fun social experience. Just because your character is awesome and optimized doesn't mean I don't want to participate with my characterIf I felt someone was intentionally blocking me I would point it out. If the GM didn't enforce the don't be a jerk rule on you, then its going to be 5 hours of trollfest. Followed by more hours of trollfest any other session you're at my table.
This becomes a vicious cycle. When you're trolling your arch-nemesis, you're also trolling the other four innocent players at the table, who are likely to respond badly.
And what do you do if someone says, "Yes, I'm intentionally blocking you...because you've spent the past two hours insisting that you and your charge lane are all that matter and shutting down the whole rest of the party, despite multiple players asking multiple times to be allowed to do what we're built for" ?
Does the GM get to enforce the "don't be a jerk" rule on you?
Do you dial it back and let other people have fun, too?
Or do you tell them it's their own fault for not building a character as awesome as yours, and if they behave themselves, you might let them be your sidekicks?
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And what do you do if someone says, "Yes, I'm intentionally blocking you..
Then they admitting to instigating it.
I'm doing what I was built for..asking for charge lanes in combat. There is plenty of other things left for them to do.
Archers do the same thing but don't need to beg a charge lane. Please mister archer stop so my barbarian can run up and put himself in danger to swing his big greatsword.
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But if i was on ground level prior to wheeling charge I would demand the charge lane.
To be honest who is more worthy of the charge lane? Me who was 1 shorting many bosses or the crappie rouge who cant even touch my combat efficiency.
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I was not referring to you. The couple times I was at the table with your gecko rider, I didn't have any issues with it.
But there have been a couple others that were not reasonable.
The party was ambushed, everyone was in melee with multiple opponents (stupid noisy tactics - separate issue), and opening up the desired charge lane to the boss would have meant leaving the wizard alone in melee unsupported. The charger could have 5' move and spent a round or two killing the mooks in melee with the wizard. He did not. Instead he 'held action waiting for a charge lane to the boss' for 3 rounds in a row. The whole time he kept telling everyone else (including the wizard stuck in melee) to finish off enough of those guys so I can get to the boss. That was all he cared about.
Everyone else trying to save the wizard (which the charger could have done and was in position to do) put them in position to block his charge lane.
That was the most annoying example. But I have seen at least 3 PFS and home game players that when they have a charging build, they can think of absolutely nothing except charging. So everyone else get out of my way no matter what.
I'm having a hard time with the idea that there are guys who think that all they can do is charge. After the first time I ran someone over with my horse, I was an overruning fool! A full attack by a mount plus rider is a thing of beauty, too.
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The party was ambushed,
This should be understandable. And I wouldn't be upset...it happens from time to time.
The charger could have 5' move and spent a round or two killing the mooks in melee with the wizard. He did not. Instead he 'held action waiting for a charge lane to the boss' for 3 rounds in a row. The whole time he kept telling everyone else (including the wizard stuck in melee) to finish off enough of those guys so I can get to the boss. That was all he cared about.
This event I would be annoyed with. I expect everyone to do their best to contribute something....anything.. Even missing attempted attacks is fine...at least you're trying. This guy did have terrible battlefield mindset.
That was the most annoying example. But I have seen at least 3 PFS and home game players that when they have a charging build, they can think of absolutely nothing except charging. So everyone else get out of my way no matter what.
Sorry about that. Perhaps a few of them can learn from the mistakes but others do not. Perhaps luck will have it they do learn and you can enjoy another session with them. If not it happens...we are all people bound to not like certain people. Its human nature.
The couple times I was at the table with your gecko rider, I didn't have any issues with it.
I've admitted it on here that I'm bit of a jerk in real life. I have a vocal tone that everything I say comes off as a jerk or creepy. I'm glad I haven't upset you before with Fruian. I've been trying to tone down my playstyle to include such large groups but in persona I usually play with 3 people. I have to optimize and perform correctly or the DM will kill us. Its pathfinder on hardcore no pulled punches. Sometimes I have to remember PFS is easy mode and small mistakes don't always equal a death.
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My mounted guy keeps a lance in one hand and a scimitar in the other. He'll attack with his lance only if he can't get immediately adjacent. I'm much more dangerous if my mount also threatens my target (because of Pack Flanking, Outflank, Paired Opportunists, and Broke Wing Gambit). But since a lance is a one-handed weapon while mounted, I threat a much wider area.
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My mounted guy keeps a lance in one hand and a scimitar in the other. He'll attack with his lance only if he can't get immediately adjacent. I'm much more dangerous if my mount also threatens my target (because of Pack Flanking, Outflank, Paired Opportunists, and Broke Wing Gambit). But since a lance is a one-handed weapon while mounted, I threat a much wider area.
Not horrible - but it doesn't seem that it'd be worth the AC loss.
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My mounted guy keeps a lance in one hand and a scimitar in the other. He'll attack with his lance only if he can't get immediately adjacent. I'm much more dangerous if my mount also threatens my target (because of Pack Flanking, Outflank, Paired Opportunists, and Broke Wing Gambit). But since a lance is a one-handed weapon while mounted, I threat a much wider area.Not horrible - but it doesn't seem that it'd be worth the AC loss.
I really haven't decided whether or not I want to stick with the lance or grab a shield, but it's only a couple of AC and my AC already isn't that great (agile breastplate 6 + 2 dex mod = 18). Most things that I wouldn't want to hit me already have a ridiculous plus to hit, anyways. So most things are going to hit me whether or not I have a shield.
I suppose I could enchant it. The reason I haven't been using a shield already is that I'm a caster (hunter) and so like the option of being able to drop my lance (since it's not my primary weapon) to be able to cast if needed. I suppose I could take a buckler..
I'm open to suggestions on the matter so if you have any advice I'll hear it.
I just discovered how (potentially) awesome the cavalier can be when I read through the APG again. Not sure why I dismissed it during my first read-through. I would love to build a character for PFS that is awesome either mounted or dismounted.
I've read over TarkXT's guide as well as this thread and others on the topic. It seems like playing a Cavalier in PFS can be fun, but I'm worried a build like this could be difficult to carry out.
At first the halfling on a gecko idea seemed gimmicky, but the more I think about it, the more I like it. I know you built your character this way as a Ranger Fruian, but would it be feasible to do so with cavalier instead?
Would a 1 level dip into Fighter (Dragoon) be worth it? Perhaps more than 1 level since it looks like this build will likely be feat-starved. Especially if I opt for a halfling. I'm all for getting the guy the feats he needs to operate, but I'd like to limit multi-classing as much as possible.
This type of character seems like it would be a lot of fun to play and that is the main draw for me. If trying to make this guy good at two things would make him a chore to play, I would rather just focus on one or the other.
Do you guys think this type of character would be possible? How would you propose he be built?