So, trying a Hound Master Cavalier as a BBEG henchmen and I'm creating his hounds. I was looking at ways to bump their attacks and I have a few questions.
Quick overview; Human Cavalier 15 has Eye For Talent trait to give each hound +2 Int so they are eligible for Teamwork Feats. All three are specialized around tripping and attacking things that fall down. (Hounds have Lt Armor Prof., Imp. trip, Greater Trip, Gang Up, Feinting Partner, Imp. Feint Partner, Combat Reflexes. Cavalier has most of these and can share Paired Opportunists or Tandem Trip as well) So, with that in mind...
1) Permanent Greater Magic Fang vs. Body Wraps of Mighty Strikes w/Advancing. Since they both give enhancement bonuses, they don't stack, so I have to choose. GMF is far cheaper, but the BW can have abilities like Advancing, which would work well with pack tactics.
2) Mithral chain shirt barding. Is it a) needing a Light Armor Proficiency feat and b) worth it, if so? I could add Tripping Strike or Coordinated Charge if I dumped the Lt Armor Prof.
3) Awaken. There's a couple ways this can be done to the hounds. Should I bother? Is the ability to give voice commands and not having to use Handle Animal worth the expense? Are there other benefits I'm not seeing? I'm leaning towards doing it for flavour purposes, but not married to it if there's better things to invest in. Also, 3a) would the Eye For Talent +2 carry over onto the new Awakened Int score?
4) Cavalier is using a +4 Ominous Menacing Cruel scythe for his tripping. (Did I mention he also dabbles in Intimidation? Order of Cockatrice.) Are there better choices?
No rush, he's a long-term project.
4) It's still not been answered how the order of the cockatrice interacts wich houndmaster. The order challenge ability states that you have to be the only one threatening the target to get the bonus. It's not clear what happens when both the hounds and the cavalier threaten together.
But I might have missed a clarification.
Since it states an exception for the Cavalier's mount, and the hounds replace mount, I'm guessing it rolls over to them as well. But you're right, a clarification would be nice.
Mithral chain shirt has -0 ACP, so being proficient doesn't matter.
Wierd i thought i had answeed this last night. Anyhow how are the dogs getting greater trip? In regards to the chain shirt its 0 acp and they can technically wear it. But any dog not trained to have metal around uts torso is going to do nothing but try and remove it. Awaken is useless to you as it would remove their status as ac.
you need a 13 int on the hounds for imp trip (it requires COMBAT EXPERTISE WHICH NEEDS AN INT OF 13)
Ah! Totally missed that! Ok, so I'm definitely going to have to boost the hound's Int. Would Awakening the hounds really cause them to stop being Animal Companions? *Rereads entry more carefully* Yup, you are correct, Mojorat. Damn, that would have made things a lot easier. Ok, if I throw all their level adjustments into Int, with the Eye For Talent bonus I can get it up to 7. A +6 headband (flavoured as a halter-type item maybe?) would get them to the required 13 Int. Kind of expensive for both hounds though, although that would give them three more sets of skills they wouldn't otherwise get... Still, that makes the bodywraps (reskinned as a harness) even more of a pricey choice! But they would be sooo much better than GMF! Going to have to look at the Cav's WBL and see if I can steal it from something else...
I'm wondering if I shouldn't just drop those two trip feats and replace them with Coordinated Charge and Tandem trip. Looking closer at Tripping Strike, it also needs Combat Expertise, so no good. Plus I think it's redundant with the free trip the Hounds get when they attack (reskinned wolves). That would save me the cost of the Int boosters for the hounds. But that +4 to trip and free AoO on tripped foes would be nice...
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The hounds get a trip attack as part of their attack, so improved trip isn't a necessity. Tandem trip for the cavalier and his hounds is the way to go. If you are concerned about the hounds' CMB not being high enough there's a teamwork feat that boosts all maneuvers by 2. Can't recall the name.
If you have the feats, might want to have the cavalier take boon companion once each per hound. That will raise each of their animal companion levels by 3, making them a bit more effective.
The hounds get a trip attack as part of their attack, so improved trip isn't a necessity. Tandem trip for the cavalier and his hounds is the way to go. If you are concerned about the hounds' CMB not being high enough there's a teamwork feat that boosts all maneuvers by 2. Can't recall the name.
If you have the feats, might want to have the cavalier take boon companion once each per hound. That will raise each of their animal companion levels by 3, making them a bit more effective.
That's a good idea, I'll look into that, and I'll search out that teamwork feat as well. Are there any other ways to boost trip attack CMB? Items or spells, perhaps?
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That's a good idea, I'll look into that, and I'll search out that teamwork feat as well. Are there any other ways to boost trip attack CMB? Items or spells, perhaps?The hounds get a trip attack as part of their attack, so improved trip isn't a necessity. Tandem trip for the cavalier and his hounds is the way to go. If you are concerned about the hounds' CMB not being high enough there's a teamwork feat that boosts all maneuvers by 2. Can't recall the name.
If you have the feats, might want to have the cavalier take boon companion once each per hound. That will raise each of their animal companion levels by 3, making them a bit more effective.
The feat is coordinated maneuvers. And anything that boosts attack rolls boosts CMB. It is an attack roll.
Yes, but certain things, like trip weapons or Imp. trip, specifically target trip attacks to improve. I was wondering if there were more of them out there.