Hey, guys! I'm going to be playing Kingmaker soon, and I'm in a party full of casters and archers. Seriously. Two Sorcerers (air elemental and fire elemental), an Oracle (Life/Fuzzy-eyed or what have you), and a Bow Ranger. What the heck. Also keep in mind that the two sorcerers are Halflings, and the Oracle is a Gnome. The only medium characters are the Half-Elf ranger, and myself.
So I took it upon myself to be the tank/melee character. We're starting at level one, and I've been thinking about Paladin. It's got good DPS, a way to make sure I stay alive (lay on hands) and good weapon/armor proficiency. I've been taking guidance from Thallin's masochistic paladin, and Bhodi's guide to the optimal Paladin/Antipaladin. But, unfortunately, I'm not content with a 'normal' paladin.
I ran across something called the Mammoth Rider and knew then and there that that's what I was going to do with my life. So here's the predicament: How can I play a good melee tank and also be on track to be a mammoth rider by 10th level, if I have to play from 1st level up?
The campaign hasn't started yet (won't start 'til Sunday) so I can still change anything and everything about my character. All races are allowed per DM approval, and we're doing 20 point buy. So far all I've got is 'take Paladin, take divine bond mount, take boon companion, hope it works out'. But if you guys can point out a better way, I'd be very grateful. Thanks for the help, guys.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
You could instead look at the beast rider archtype of the cavalier. And then read order of the sword. And then watch a GM cry when he has to make massive damage rolls for everything.
I think the OP is talking about taking the Mammoth Rider prestige class from Paths of Prestige. I somehow failed to really notice this PrC before, but it looks totally awesome. If I had seen it before making my current Kingmaker PC maybe I would have considered it. Not many campaigns would be so well suited for riding around on a Huge creature.
I think that Paladin/Mammoth Rider sounds like a great plan. As far as Paladin tanking advice goes, consider having a very high Charisma since it will give you more Lay on Hands and a higher AC bonus when you smite. With a high Charisma you can also afford fight defensively while you're smiting, raising AC even more. The Greater Mercy feat will improve your Lay on Hands. In my personal experience, Oath of Vengeance is also pretty great. It lets you trade LoH for Smite Evil (which you get less of per day)
You should check out the Benevolent armor enchantment and the Bodyguard feat. If you and your mount both have those you should be pretty tough to hit. Giving the mount the In Harm's Way feat might help keep you alive too. There's generally a lot of time to craft magic items in Kingmaker, so you might want to consider taking Craft Wondrous Items so you can make half price gear for you and your pet.
The trouble is that Mammoth Rider has a pretty hefty skill rank requirement, and paladins are rather skill-poor. It might be worth a dip for Divine Grace, but you'd probably be better off starting from cavalier.
Whatever your character chooses to pursue, get access to Reduce Animal and then tell your GM he's going to have to increase his encounter levels by one or two for the group that's going to be running.
Hey, guys! Thanks for the replies, and keep em coming! Just to address some stuff:
Halfling Barbarian: Isn't the main draw of the Beast Rider Cavalier that you get to use cool, big creatures? Something that you get automatically with Mammoth Rider?
Blackbloodtroll: I'm not sure I understand the intent of the question? But yeah, sure. That sounds cool. :P
Devilkiller: Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Sorry if I didn't make that super clear. Good suggestions. Will Aid Another come up that often, though? Is it preferable to do that, as opposed to just attacking?
RainyDayNinja: Yeah, that's true. I'd probably have to be Human and/or bump up my intelligence a bit. Any suggestions for good Cavalier builds, viable from a low level?
Troubleshooter: Yeah, I'll definitely have to think of ways to keep my Mount from being TOO big ALL the time. You really think the Mammoth Rider is that over powered? Especially considering I'm going to be the only melee character in the party?
Here's what I would do: take 4 levels of Druid, multiclass for 5 levels Barbarian (Mounted Fury or Mad Dog archetypes), and grab Shaping Focus and Extra Rage (with Boon Companion if you went with Mounted Fury). I prefer Mad Dog, since you get some good tricks with your Animal Companion, but you wouldn't get Rage until your 4th Barb level (probably level 8). From there, take Mammoth Rider all the way through.
This will get you a full-level Animal Companion, Wild Shape as an 8th level Druid, and the ability to Rage for even more ass-kicking. Even starting with a modest 14 STR, your character could easily hit 30 STR (+6 wild shape, +4 Rage, +4 belt of strength, +2 from leveling) by level 10, giving you +19 to hit. Add in an Amulet of Might Fists and flanking bonus from your AnCo (boosted to +4 from Mad Dog), and there shouldn't be much that stands in your way, especially with a massive buddy to help you out.
Another quick mention: Both sorcerers and the ranger are very new to the game. Neither sorcerer has ever played a tabletop RPG, and one of them is ten. The Ranger played back in 1st or 2nd edition. The Oracle has done Pathfinder quite a bit, but has never done an Oracle, or for that matter a divine caster. On to replies!
Agnelcow: Good idea, but what's the survivability like from first level? And would it be a waste to have yet another caster in the party?
Silent Saturn: OK, that's definitely helpful. Any build suggestions for the Cavalier?
|
Well, for a simple smasher:
Human, Eye for Talent alternate racial trait, Racial Heritage(Hobgoblin),
Fell Rider Cavalier archetype.
Huntmaster feat is good for this too.
Mounted Fury barbarian has good synergy with mammoth rider too, and would be good to be the melee character and tank for a party of things that need to not get hit.
There's a thread titled "Path to Mammoth Rider" that has a lot of suggestions.
|
I don't know anything about Mammoth Riders, so I can't really give much build advice.
I will say that you should take Combat Reflexes no matter how you build it. You're mounted, so you'll want a lance anyway, which is a reach weapon. And while mounted, YOU SHARE YOUR MOUNT'S SPACE. That means YOU are treated as being the same size as your mount for purposes of what spaces you're in and where you threaten. So if your mount is a Huge creature and you have a lance, that means you'll threaten an area SEVEN SQUARES ACROSS.
Have fun!
Fey Foundling is always a good feat for a paladin. Thats just a general thing though.