Is there a Cavalier's guide in these here boards ?
I would like to build myself a killa' Cavalier.
Or at least a Cavalier which doesn't suck :-). I may not have an optimizer's soul x-).
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cav's are very simple. halfling on a boar, lepord, cheeta, or bear. they are all good choices. then grab a lance and make sure you get spirited charge asap.
if i were you, i would stay away from medium sized races, only because you wont be able to do your mounted charge if you get sent into an underground dungon.
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I am playing a halfling cavalier on a wolf right now in Kingmaker, and though it is not at all optimized, I easily get to 30 points of damage per round as long as I can keep charging (50 points if I use challenge)
feats to get as soon as possible
mounted combat
spirited charge
ride-by attack
power attack
dodge
mobility
spring attackwith ride-by attack you can continue your movement in a straight line after a mounted charge
once you have spring attack you can deviate from that straight line
order of the sword is a good choice if you want to focus on mounted combat
I used the gendarme archetype for the extrqa feats
If you want to focus more on using your mount as a flanking body I suggest using the beastrider archetype
just to let you know, you cannot charge and spring attack. dodge and mobility are great feats for you and your mount.
i would say power attack over spring attack, and get the vital strike chain to max your damage.
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im not talking about whether or not you can move after the inital attack. by raw a charge is a full round action. spring attack is also a full round action, so you have to choose which one you are going to use as the " movement" for your attack. if you spring, you dont get the aditional damage from charging with a lance, and if you charge you have to obey the rules for charging.
but they have ways to do what you are trying to do, in 3.5.
Charge
Charging is a special full-round action that allows you to move up to twice your speed and attack during the action. Charging, however, carries tight restrictions on how you can move.
they changed how charge works.
I'm having a brain freeze... With how much gold does a Cavalier begin play at 1st level (and where to find this information in the APG) ?
Mount is free. Check out the Cavalier's Code by TarkTX for a guide to cavs.
Don't get locked in to only thinking about mounted.
Order of the shield cavs with twf make great dps tanks.
Order of the cockatrice cav's are great intimidaters and get bonuses in combat for it.
Luring cavs are.great archers.
Cavalier's starting wealth can be found here
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I discussedthis with my GM and he agreed on this, since RAW there is no way of deviating from the straight line after a mounted charge
That's only true if you're not interested in looking at add-ons.
Check out Cities of Golarion, "Wheeling Charge":
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/wheeling-charge-combat-local
Prerequisites: Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack, Ride 5 ranks, Lastwall affinity.
Benefit: When you are mounted and use the charge action, your mount can make one turn of up to 90 degrees as part of the move, as long as each part of the move is at least 10 feet. You may make an attack during any part of this move. Your total movement for the round can’t exceed double your mounted speed. Allied creatures do not impede your charge, though you cannot attack from or end your move in an ally’s space.
Normal: You cannot turn when making a charge.
This feat is a HUGE patch to mounted combat. This not only removes the normal restriction of only attacking the closest square ("you may make an attack during any part of this move") but it lets you move through allies AND veer away from the baddie at the last minute, letting you make use of ride by attack most effectively. (Even silly things like a 90 degree turn after you hit can be done, if you so need to. Bwhaha!)
It does NOT change what direction you must start your charge (you must still start by charging right at your opponent), but it fixes so much with mounted combat it isn't even funny. It might have been nice to see the charging changes worked into the base rules for mounted combat, but the charging through allies is otherwise a 2 feat dip and an int bump for your mount (improved unarmed combat, dragon strike) I won't complain too much.
It's Pathfinder Society legal, if you have some way of claiming you're from or spend time in the area. A 5pp purchase of a shop or land would probably be more than enough suffice if your PFS GM is a stickler about it. If not doing PFS, just work out an excuse to get there; in the lore, the region is always on the lookout for new crusaders looking to help out; it's pretty easy to argue that they'd accept and train a Cavalier who's already invested three or four feats into mounted combat in exchange for helping out with some quest. And if you're not playing in Golarion, just take it anyway, since Lastfall doesn't exist in your world :)
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You might or might not want to focus on Mounted Combat, depending on whether the game will occur mostly outside.
Also, Cavalier Guide. Not completed, I don't believe, but still useful as hell.
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Don't get locked in to only thinking about mounted.
Order of the shield cavs with twf make great dps tanks.
Order of the cockatrice cav's are great intimidaters and get bonuses in combat for it.
Luring cavs are.great archers.
This.
Don't limit yourself to the image of halflings on dinosaurs. While those are cool you can build much more effective cavaliers if you're willing to treat mounted combat as a secondary style to your two handing or archery.
The trouble with mounted combat is that you end up spending a good number of feats making up for the weaknesses of mounted combat rather than making your cavalier more badass.
To this end I always suggest "switch mounting" that is only bothering to get the main mounted combat feats (Mounted Combat, Ride By Attack, Spirited Charge, Trick Riding, Mounted Skirmisher) and then spend the rest of your feats on things your character can use 100% of the time (Power Attack, Furious Focus, Step Up, Combat Reflexes, Dazing Assault, Leadership (for a flying mount), Iron Will, and Lunge).
If you get fancy with it than sure you can have an extra tough mount or pull tricks with wheeling charge but often you find yourself in a situation where none of these thins are available to make use of due to terrain, close quarters or circumstance that prevents you from taking full advantage of the combat style. This is why I emphasize having orders like Lion or Star over Sword. All of their abilities are usable regardless of the status of your bum on a horse or not.
Building an effective cavalier is really all about taking advantage at opportune moments of the abilities you have.
If your GM allows outside content, and you would like a un-mounted Cavalier alternative, check out my Chivalric Knight archetype.