james taylor 876's page

Does anyone else think the cavalier could use a bonus for saves vs. Fear/Charm?
Ok so I’m currently playing a level 6 order of the sword Cavalier for our group’s campaign and I’m playing him as a bold and noble knight. Now I would not exactly call myself a veteran role player as I’ve only been playing for about 4 maybe 5 months and i have got to say I’m really enjoying playing with the class as it is.

My only real problem with the current incarnation is that the cavaliers will save is still quite poor. Now I don’t have to tell any of you how nasty fear/charm can be and currently this class really suffers against those affects. for the current campaign we had a 20 point buy which left me with a wisdom of 12 leaving me with a will save +5 as I chose this save over the others to get the by my honour bonus although for if I’d been of a different order id of only had +3. Now currently my cavalier is on a par with a fighter of the same level on saves vs. Fear however his save only increases and when we are both at level 20 the fighter will have a save of +12 (assuming he also has a wisdom bonus of +1) where as I have a general will save of +9 (although that would only be +7 for other orders) this may not look like allot at a glance but I believe it could make a big difference. I don’t think I’m asking for much for this class just a relatively minor buff that will make him more playable.

Also as a side note how does a character that lives by strict convictions and ideals have such a low will power?

Well what does everyone think?

Well the new version of the cavalier seems certainly very scary on horseback with a lance in a challenge. You’re looking at level 20.

+5 for a strength 20 cavalier, +10 for his horse, +20 for his levels and +D8 for the lance giving a minimum damage of 108. If you critically hit you have a minimum damage 324 almost enough to instant kill an ancient red dragon (if I read the rules right).

Now the current version of the challenge works allot like the smite ability for the paladin but with a few big differences which I’m fine with as I believe that the classes are different enough in other ways and it gets away from the random precision damage they had before which I wasn’t a fan of (also id like to see an extra challenge feat).

As I said before the cavalier is capable of tremendous damage against his enemies (although if they cause fear he'll still turn and run as his will save vs. fear still sucks) but if he can cause so much damage on the charge potentially slaying most opponents doesn’t that render his level 20 ability a bit useless? After all it’s pointless to be able stun a corpse or even to shake it so perhaps a new ability is needed there with all the damage he can dish out I honestly wouldn’t mind a save or die ability on one of his charge attacks per day or even a supreme challenge ability which removes all his negatives and gives him a bonus to hit.
For the cavaliers mounts I’m fine with them as they are as I like the way they work.
The tactical feats are really pretty good for the cavalier as it gives his allies the ability to really pummel a big monster (paired opportunists or out flank) as unlike the inquisitor he grants it to those around him instead of them mealy counts them as having it for his own use of the feat this makes the cavalier more than a one trick pony and a real team player.
As I mentioned before his save vs. fear still sucks and needs fixing.
I suppose that’s all I have to say for now.

Hi this thread isn't really for discussion rather it’s an amalgamation of ideas in there refined form for the perusal of Jason. Basically I want people to post good ideas (Theirs or other peoples) for class improvements from other threads to help ensure no idea or point of view is missed.

I’ve been looking at some of the threads and there are a few people that think the Cavaliers capstone ability is a little weak so i would like to suggest the following.

Deadly charge (ex): On horseback few can match the cavalier’s skill, putting the full weight of horse and rider behind his lance. Once per day when mounted and armed with a lance a cavalier may make a special charge attack. If the attack hits the foe takes the normal damage and must pass a save or die if the save is passed the opponent is staggered for 1d4 rounds.

I’m aware that a number of these abilities already exist I’m just throwing it out there, as for which save should be taken either fortitude or reflex. Personally i favour reflex as I don’t think it matters how tough you are when a lance is driven through anything vital such as brain, heart, spine, ect you either dodge out of the way of the full force of the impact or die.

As for the Cavaliers other abilities id like to see more that stem from the Cavaliers convictions in the fluff it says they dedicate themselves to ideals. While a Paladins powers come from his faith in his god a cavaliers should come from his faith in himself and he should always strive to push himself to be better perhaps abilities that reflect his self confidence would be a good idea.

Hi im quite new at RP but 1 thing that strikes me about the cavalier is his lack of bonuses vs fear. Paladins, Fighters and Barbarians all have either immunity to fear or a special ability that grants them bonuses against it cavaliers currently don't. I think that possibly a new oath could be introduced something like the oath of courage where the knight swears to act with courage and bravely in the face of danger and gains a bonus to his save vs fear or at a high level even total immunity if that wouldn't be takeing it to far.