Any way for a Cavalier to be able to choose an advanced mount beyond the standard?

[harmor]

There's Improved Familiar...is there an Improved Animal Companion or other way for a Cavalier at mid to higher level to choose something besides the horse/pony/wolf?

What if you multiclass?

[Shifty]

Can I have a large bear yet?

There's an injustice :(

[Name Violation]

from mount(ex) The GM might approve other animals as suitable mounts.

talk to the gm

[harmor]

Hmmm...I'm not sure what I could ask for.

[Demon Lord of Tribbles]

"A pony! Ask for a Pony!...oh wait...hummm never mind"

[harmor]

I walked right into that one... :-P

[STR Ranger]

I asked this awhile ago.

Best LEGAL way is to take leadership and get a griffon cohort (flies AND has pounce) but why blow the feat?

My only issues with the mount are mobility. Horse shoes of spiderclimb and later fly solve all mobility problems.

If you want a DPR mount at level 7 you could get a tiger (large now, so suitable as a mount). Call him 'Battle Cat'

However, the He-man images aside, simply having you horse take Improved Overrun and Charge Through will trip most things while you quick dismount and full attack a prone opponent :)

[ProfPotts]

The text (on page 33 of the APG) says that, '... The creature must be one that he is capable of riding and is suitable as a mount...'. It goes on to mention that a medium Cavalier can (doesn't have to mind you) select a camel or a horse. For small Cavaliers it mentions the pony or wolf, but points out that the guy can go for a boar or dog if he's at least 4th level. Why 4th level? Well, it's because that's the level at which the Animal Companion jumps a size category, and that's the real restriction here. From the Core book only the camel or horse actually start at large size, which is why they're listed as the baseline options for a medium-sized Cavalier's mount.

Obviously you'll always need to ask your DM what's allowed or not in the games you play, but essentially, if you can get a saddle on the thing, and it's a size category bigger than you, then it's a Mount candidate. An ape, for example, probably isn't an allowed choice even if your Cavalier is level 4 and the ape is large-sized, because it's a stretch to see a saddled ape with a rider on its back. But can a 7th level Cavalier have a T-rex as a mount? Sure, why not? Just let your trusty old warhorse retire to stud, and go hang around T-rex country for a bit to find a likely candidate.

[Dudeicuf]

If you had the money and the DM allowed it, you could get animal growth to be cast on your companion and pick a (originally) medium sized creature such as the bear.