Summoner Dragon Knight?

[The Fourth Horseman]

Hi!

I'm thinking about making a Summoner whose Eidolon will (when high enough level) be a dragon that he rides. That said, the concept requires that he be a bit of a melee type himself (knight in shining armor with his trusty dragon steed). Anyone know of an Archetype that would allow a Summoner martial weapons and Medium / Heavy Armor? Maybe at the cost of some spell casting? If not, is there some advice you guys might have that might help here? Thanks for your help!

Edit: Needs to be PFS legal.

[sunbeam]

One level dip in Cavalier? Paladin? Fighter? The monk mounted archetype to make it even more interesting?

Most people don't like to dip with this class, but I think there is something for a one level dip.

[The Fourth Horseman]

Crud. I was really hoping to avoid the Eidolon progression loss.

[Dread Knight]

Choose a race that grants weapon proficiency and use feats for the armor proficiency and arcane armor training would be the only way that I know unless you just go for a lightly armored knight.

[lemeres]

You can easily grab (mithraled) medium armor if you simply pick a single trait: armor expert.

The reason for this is simply: the penalty for non-proficient armor use is to apply its armor check penalty to your attack rolls. So if ACP is 0...the penalty is 0. Mithral reduces the penalty by 3, and armor expert reduces it by 1 more. Together, you can grab a mithral breastplate with no problem.

And the fact that mithral allows armors to be treated as "one category lighter than normal for purposes of movement and other limitations" besides proficiency, then you should be golden.

As for weapons-nothing other than a dip into another class will get you all martial weapons, but there are plenty of options if you have any particular one in mind. Half-elves (Who are generally considered rather good summoners due to the favored class bonus) have an alternate racial (Ancestral weapon) trait that lets them simply pick a weapon to be proficient in.You could also grab the martial weapon proficiency feat, since it does not have any real prerequisite like exotic weapon proficiency.

I would not entirely give up on simple weapons though. A nice spear or long spear can also go a long way. The benefits of 2handing for more strength and power attack (and maybe throwing arcane strike on top, since that is an option for you) can go a long way, particularly when you have as many buff spells as a summoner.

[The Fourth Horseman]

Thanks for your help. I'll consider all of this.