Like the subject line says - my wife plays a gnome cleric of Desna (level 6) and is a slight "bad touch" build and geared and stated for that. She wants her character, named Mikk (pro. Meek), to get a giant badger or some such and ride it around and maybe even use it in combat. She's kind of new to PF and 3.x DnD and is a White Wolf and CoC player and got into PF last year with me. Me and my group are quasi maximizers, she could care less though she understands that she should hold her own (and she does just fine at that) as opposed to juggling bottles during an encounter.
First, we spoke to our GM. We proposed that we buy or have an encounter were we end up with a young dire badger. RAW... or as the PFSRD says - dire anything is a pain in the butt unless the GM says differently. Quite rightly in my opinion our GM said "meh" on the train a dire badger plan.
So, with optimization not as important, I am looking for suggestions on how to get a gnome cleric on a riding badger (or similiar animal) at level 7. Thank you in advance for help. Class dips and anything are on the table.
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In the new Faiths and Philosophies handbook there is a feat called "Animal Ally" (which requires the "Nature Soul" feat, in the same book, as a prerequisite). Animal Ally nets you an Animal Companion at Character Level -3, which you can further boost by taking the feat "Boon Companion", from Animal Archive. Although I don't have the books with me right now, I believe you can pick a Badger from the limited list that Animal Ally gives you.
It's feat intensive, requiring 3 feats to achieve what a Druid gets naturally, but with the new retraining rules from Ultimate Campaign it is certainly doable. If this is for a home game, talk to your GM about ignoring the feat prerequisite, which is something I would probably allow in my game. That lowers the investment from three feats down to two.
I'm sure someone else will suggest another method.
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She should make a strong in-game case for switching domains, and the GM should be merciful and allow it. The 'Seperatist' archetype makes this easy for Desna, and the weapon you lose is not a good one. Roleplay this as the community of Desna clerics banishing her for having radical ideas, but Desna continues to grant her spells so she'll eventually get back in their favor.
She's a Cleric. Take one of the domains Animal, Animal [Feather], or Animal [Fur]. Feather is especially nice, since you become pretty much the best flyer in the game, short of an Air Elemental, at Level 5. Losing either Travel or Luck domain hurts, but is arguably worth a full-level giant badger animal companion. Note that if she rides the badger, the loss of movement doesn't hurt so much.
Mechanically, she can also get an Animal Companion via Eldritch Heritage, but this requires feats and ample CHA. Cavalier is also an outside option. Just taking the domain is simplest.
Once the Giant Badger is Medium Sized (4th level AC) she can ride it and charge from it. Presumably she'll use a Long Spear (which works great for gnomes, as they still get reach) for the relative safety of reach, for the free AoOs, and because it might eventually deliver those Bad Touch spells. Lance would be nice, but is probably not worth the feat. The Giant Badger is the 5th strongest Animal Companion, mechanically, at level 5.
Regardless of which option she chooses, she'll want Boon Companion as a 5th level feat. She might choose a low strength and focus on Bad Touch, but with even moderate STR she could actually inflict a lot of martial damage AND get bonuses to hit for Bad Touches.
She'll want to point out to the GM the nifty movement combinations the Badger can do. Note that Giant Badgers have both a Climb Speed (which amounts to perfect Climb skill) and a Burrow speed.
My gnome-cleric-with-a-giant-badger would always have the badger dig a den where we rest or camp. It's a terrific and effective combination. The badger could dig an underground escape hole for the gnome in seconds, or a fancy camping cave in an hour. Also the badger can 'disappear' into the earth, which solves the problem of what to do with the pet *tiger*roc*dinosaur*whatever when you go into a tavern. Also, if strapped in to a custom saddle, the gnome can *ride* the badger while it *climbs*, for some awesome movement ability.
Also, while it's really nice to buff your pet, don't overlook the Bodyguard archetype. The In Harms Way feat can give you a large margin of safety in tricky situations, and spreads damage around just like Shield Other.
Thanks for the help all. Much appreciated.