Poor Mountless Options Well, not exactly poor. But nothing too great. The huntmaster has the potential to be awesome but it makes the same mistake the broodmaster made by splitting everything between multiple things, which just makes everything bad. Really the best reason to take it is for the bird that blinds. The musketeer would be good but, again, it makes the same mistake every gun archetype ever makes.You appear to be overlooking the standard bearer archetype. What does it do? Basically it swaps the levels you get the standard and the mount at. So mount at 5, flag at 1. It changes one other cavalry charge ability later on. I consider a dual archetyped standard bearer/tactician (no overlap) to be quite an effective infantry cavalier.
Not overlooking it. It's just awful, and doesn't replace the mount.
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Play a samurai -- that archetype is so good that you can completely ignore the mount and not feel like you're in any way underpowered.
Samurai also has the Sword Saint archetype which exchanges the mount for an iajutsu strike that, while not exactly mind-blowing, is fairly solid and eventually makes for a good Vital Strike replacement when you can't make a full attack.
[shameless plug]
Might I suggest Cavalier Mounts for a unique mount.
[/shameless plug]
At work and don't have time to think it through, but what about a Chariot Driving Cavalier? Focus on Handle Animal and other Cha based skills to be the face, If you had the Medium Chariot (100gp) you could be the transport for a party of 4 and your mount could pull the Chariot. Your Party archer/wizard could ride along and have a mobile platform to attack from.
i think people dont like the cavalier because they make it narrow , a single attack charger.
when they cant charge - they are pissed.
instead, look at it as a strong melee with a full AC, that CAN charge.
first learn nice team feats with your partners, power attack and more.
only than learn how to charge.
make sure mount take dragon style so it can charge through allies.a good build cavalier is a power full front liner in any team.
mine took 1 level of fighter, and took stalwart feat. he had high DR, great armor class as a small halfling. power attacking with str of 16 was ok. and the wolf tripped a lot with tandem trip.
was he breaking the game? ofc not.
was he usefull? very.
with order of the sword, at level 12 i also was able to charge supreme.
Good advice! I really like the dragon style on the mount, but what happens mechanically when the beast takes the improved unarmed combat feat? seems weird. Even if it does nothing dragon style might be worth it.
I think the Beast Rider archetype is overall pretty bad. Mostly because of the over-restrictive list of allowed mounts, and leaving little room for any concept that includes riding the same mount through all levels (unless you are small).
I would have preferred something like the following: pick an animal type: canine, feline, ursine, equine, raptor, et al. This way you could have each type gain different features as they level, to better keep in balance. It also allows the player more "fluff" on exactly what kind of creature they are riding.
Alternately, use rules similar to eidolons to "build a mount" that match the concept. Maybe you want to be a mammoth rider someday, but for now, your baby elephant will just be able to carry you initially, and later on gain the ability to overrun/trample/gore/et al.
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Thanks for starting this thread, Tark. Also believe the Cavalier deserves some love. Below is my Cavalier built for a homebrew campaign starting with the module Crypt of the Everflame and hopefully continuing on ..
Calaveras O'Huckabee Beckwhistle
"Roughriding Defender of the Frontier"
RACE: Halfling
CLASS: Emissary Cavalier (Order of the Sword)
ROLE: "striker", "wilderness scout", "hammer", "foil" (for strong female characters or hoity-toity spell casting types)
ALIGNMENT: CG
STR 15
DEX 18
CON 14
INT 10
WIS 12
CHA 10
leveling bonuses goign to STR
TRAITS
Helpful
Militia Veteran
SKILLS
maxing Ride through lvl 6; attention to Survival (via Militia Veteran), K(Nobility), K(Religion), and Sense Motive
FEATS
1. Power Attack
B. Mounted Combat
3. Combat Reflexes
5. Combat Patrol
B. Mobility
6. Ride By Attack
7. Wheeling Charge
B. Spirited Charge
9. Tandem Trip
B. Trick Riding
Thistle
MOUNT: Wolf
CLASS: Charger Archetype
leveling bonuses going to STR
FEATS
1. Toughness
B. Armor (Light)
2. Power Attack
5. Spring Attack
B. Mobility
8. Tandem Trip
10. Impr Overrun
With a mounted speed of 50 ft and relatively quick access to feats like RBA and Wheeling Charge, Calaveras is focused on hit-and-run strikes as a go-to with charge added in when lanes appear to do so. But he also has a few tricks up its sleeve when he has to defend. Fast dismounts are always an option when called for using Thistle as a welcome flanking companion.
Central to the build is Combat Reflexes at lvl 3 that takes advantage of a hi dex and a reach weapon. Then, leveraging Mobility as a bonus feat at level 5 for both Mount and Cavalier by providing easy access to Combat Patrol for the cavalier and Spring Attack for the Mount. Combat Patrol combined w up to 4 AoO's provides a nice option for situations where Calaveras needs to lock down a perimeter for other party members. Or to simply whittle down the competition when a mounted attack and/or charge aren't possible.
Later, the ability to Trip comes into play w Calaveras using secondary attacks on his lance or AoO's to trip (at reach) and Thistle benefiting fr a Large size and a free Trip ability. Tandem Trip as a teamwork feat provides both Mount and Cavalier extra fun.
And of course, charging. Serious damage when it happens through early levels. then, by mid-levels, serous, encounter ending multipliers begin to take hold - the Charger archetype's ability to add half he Cavalier's Challenge damage, the OoSword's ability to pile on mount strength, and of course Spirited Charge. All supported sporadically by other party members creating lanes initially. Later by Wheeling Charge giving a surprise option now and then. And then Impr Overrun near the end of most campaigns.
My Cavalier, which my DM allowed me to qualify for Battle Herald without the Inspiring Courage class feature.
And his Roc mount (I got for story reasons)
Flying mounts make the Cavalier extremely deadly and flexible beyond normal. And a Roc in specific makes a great companion when you have to fight on foot due to CQC due to flanking/grappling/AC buffing with Bodyguard feat.
The biggest problem with the Cavalier imo is 1)The huge inflexibility/limitations on charging that make it a nightmare of positioning and 2) Cavalier's damage typically scales horribly in the game due to lack of iterative attacks - You should be able to apply Vital Strike to the Cavalier, it's ridiculous.
Cavalier just got some AMAZING amount of loving in the book Blood of the Elements. Order of the Flame is insane. Absolutely insane. I'll trade AC for bonus damage any day of the week, the fact that you can drop your AC into the negatives to get a holy smoking amount of damage is nothing to laugh at so long as there are a lot of mooks.
I am playing a Human Cavalier in PFS, actually about to use him for the first time this evening.
He is Taldan, and I plan on getting in arguments with people because he WILL NOT get off his horse. He is the 'Lance of Taldor,' he and Clancy are one, WOULD TELL A CENTAUR THEY HAD TO LEAVE THEIR HORSE HALF OUTSIDE?! I didn't think so.
Going to sword and board, or lance and board depending. I'm not 100% sold on those feats in that order - but I think he should be fine.
Sir Torrick VonClamarus and his faithful steed Clancy
RACE: Human
CLASS: Gendarme Cavalier (Order of the Sword)
ROLE: Melee, heavy hitter, with some skills and whatnot
ALIGNMENT: LG
STR 18
DEX 13
CON 12
INT 10
WIS 10
CHA 14
leveling bonuses going to STR, and then again at 8
TRAITS
Reactionary
SKILLS
Ride, Diplomacy, K(Nobility), K(Religion), Sense Motive, and Intimidate
FEATS
1. Power Attack
B. Mounted Combat
B. Ride-by attack
3. Improved Initiative
5. Iron Will
B. Spirited Charge
Clancy
MOUNT: Horse
leveling bonuses going to STR
FEATS
1. Toughness
B. Armor (Light)
2. Power Attack
5. Spring Attack
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Cavalier just got some AMAZING amount of loving in the book Blood of the Elements. Order of the Flame is insane. Absolutely insane. I'll trade AC for bonus damage any day of the week, the fact that you can drop your AC into the negatives to get a holy smoking amount of damage is nothing to laugh at so long as there are a lot of mooks.
It also comes really close to effectively changing your Challenge to a per encounter ability since you can keep chaining it from opponent to opponent without spending additional uses.
Clancy
MOUNT: Horseleveling bonuses going to STR
FEATS
1. Toughness
B. Armor (Light)
2. Power Attack
5. Spring Attack
How are you getting Spring Attack without prereqs?
How are you getting Spring Attack without prereqs?
Clancy
MOUNT: Horseleveling bonuses going to STR
FEATS
1. Toughness
B. Armor (Light)
2. Power Attack
5. Spring Attack
GREAT QUESTION!
I probably won't :)
I had written it down, and meant to replace it with potentially Armor (Medium). I have all this stuff written out elsewhere and was kind of working of memory. thanks for the catch.
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How are you getting Spring Attack without prereqs?
GREAT QUESTION!
I probably won't :)
I had written it down, and meant to replace it with potentially Armor (Medium). I have all this stuff written out elsewhere and was kind of working of memory. thanks for the catch.
@Ubercroz: Could still get Spring Attack, but would need to go Emissary archetype. Your Mount gets Mobility as a bonus feat at 5. Your Mount's feats would be:
B. Armor (Light)
1. Toughness
2. Power Attack
B. Mobility
5. Spring Attack
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Had a question for any watching this thread. [bold] Any thoughts on the Cm bat Reflexes-Mobility-Combat Patrole chain for a Cavalier? [/bold]
Am about to go Lvl 3 in a homebrew campaign. Have a Dex of 18 w Emissary archetype. Was thinking it synergized well w the Emissary's flavor, and would provide a nice tactic for situations where a charge or RBA are simply not available.
See last Wednesday's post above for the full build.