Riding Summoner Build

[HappDude69]

Hi everyone!

So I've been tinkering with some ideas and I've always wanted to play a summoner. It's usually just me and my group of friends that play and the games are usually easy "my little pony campaigns".

However over the past two years our games are starting to become more and more lethal as the our little band of rookies start to mold ourselves into veterans.

With this in mind I've really been excited about the idea of a Summoner that buffs his allies for the first round or two of combat, then over runs the enemies front line in order to jump off the eidolon and engage the back line in melee with both the Summoner and his summoned friend.

The problem I'm having is how to build him? Half elves can get bonus evolution points but is that needed? Would the feat from being a human do me more good?

Also the rules on overrun are... dicey at best. Is this even possible?

And advice would really help me out. Thanks in advance guys.

[Rerednaw]

Not sure on your campaign specifics...but many combats are over after the first couple of rounds.

Because of size issues in dungeons (if you have any) it's better to go with a small race summoner if you want an Eidolon mount.

Now if as your say your game is -> lethal, then a conventional quadraped pounce build may be in order.

Or for a very powerful option go with Master Summoner. Who needs to overrun? Just drop your allied monsters behind enemy lines. Keep your Eidolon as a level-scaling (albeit at 1/2) mount.

Really the summoner class is not quite Tier 1 but is very very powerful and has many options being a hybrid with a combat pet plus summoning as a standard action.

Half-Elves and Humans are among the two better races, but really almost any race works.

If you want to stick with the mounted concept then it is mounted support or mounted combat?

What level is your campaign? Any specific campaign restrictions? What sources?

If mounted combat, the Spirited Charge series may be worth looking into.
Basically:
Your feats
Mounted Combat->Ride-by-Attack->Spirited Charge
Your mount should have:
Form: Quadraped
Evolutions: Claws, Pounce, Mount

Everything else is up to you.

[HappDude69]

Awesome thank you. As for the actual combat I was just going to ride until I got to the back line then hop off and get two attacks of opportunity from both me and my eldelon in case a back line caster tried to cast something.

Pounce is a fantastic idea though and I'm not sure why I didn't think of it! Thank you :)

[Magda Luckbender]

Consider the result if you and your eidolon both take the feat Paired Opportunists. Ride your eidolon and make sure you both have the same reach, so you both always threaten the same targets. Anything that draws one AoO instead gets two AoOs at +4 to hit.

If you're going to ride you might prefer to be a small PC riding a medium size eidolon. This approach can also work for a Large eidolon, but it better take the Narrow Frame feat if you want to use it much in the tight spaces common in PFS play. Broken Wing Gambit also has potential.

[HappDude69]

Some real good stuff there! Thanks for everything so far guys. Spirited charge and paired opportunists are great calls that I would have missed.

Have people found step up to be a good option when fighting spell casters?

[LibraryRPGamer]

If you want to go mounted and are starting before 8th level (when you can finally take the large evolution), you should go with a small race - Halflings get a +2 to Ride w/ the Outlander racial sub.

If you want to cast from your mount, then combat casting and Uncanny Concentration are good choices.

Escape Rout is great for maneuverability.

Jumping off and on a mount requires a consistently high Ride check. Rather than taking skill focus, I recommend Jousting Armor.

[LibraryRPGamer]

Oh, and get the Trample evolution for running everyone over.