Straight up Cavalier or battle herald?

[pimp-dragon]

Been thinking about my character for months and I know I want to play a cavalier being this is the perfect campaign but I also want to do a battle herald. I want to be king! I was thinking maybe battle herald for all those good old buffs and still have great bab and hp but yet straight cavalier is so awesome imo.

I want my character to still be tankish (alternative tank is a monk) and also be able to take out my enemies. I love the higher end cavalier abilities with the challenges and free trip attempts and such but also battle herald would be in general better for the party...

Also is there any good alternative mount that could be useful or cool for this campaign? Haha I have already heard being a goblin on a goblin dog lol.

Thanks for any help :)

[Marie]

Battle herald is nice because it gets more mileage out of charisma, and charisma is crucial for rulers. Mechanically, the king's charisma modifier is the measure of how well he rules the kingdom.

Straight cavalier is much more tankish, since it can wear heavy armor without having its day ruined by arcane spell failure.

As for alternative mounts--if you are size small, you might consider the elk companion from the Kingmaker Player's Guide.

[RedPorcupine]

This was mentioned in another thread, i think it would fit the concept and the campaign:
Chevalier PrC 3 Lvl prestige-class from 6th-level on.

Can´t really comment on the Cavalier or the Battle-Herald, though it will be some time until you actually lead men to battle, so i´d recommend a couple of level cavalier more than strictly neccessary. Also you´ll need the oomph, if you don´t have a paladin ( any specific reason why you don´t want to or serious heavy-duty barbarian or fighter(s) in your group.

PS: The River Elk is great ! Go native as a half-elf cavalier !
Edit: The big River Elk, sacred animal of Erastil ain´t large?
Ask your DM ! A halfling or gnome might be cool too, but harder to sell as a ruler of a most propable mainly human-settled kingdom,... or not.;)

[Cheapy]

If you use WotC or other 3rd party stuff, check out the Secrets of Tactical Archetypes by Rite Publishing. The inspiring commander is basically a cavalier archetype that allows single class entrance into battle herald. No mount abilities tho.

[calagnar]

First what are the other people in the party playing.
Second what role in the kingdom are they taking.

With king maker it is very important to find out what role every one will fill before making characters. If you have two people that want to be king thats fine. If you end up with 4 Cha base character because every one wants to be king thats not going to do you much good.

If the group is melee heavy and has few to no casters. Battle Herald can work well. If your in a group full of casters of one type or another Battle Herald not going to do you much good.