I had too many casters lately and i like the idea of cavalier with sohei 1 dip for saves and feat (pounce like).
A cavalier is great, but i think a good cavalier should never focus only on charges, but enjoy them if possible.
Q's:
1) how important is it to gain a flying mount ? (1/2 orc or campaign feats).
2) order of the sword vs order of the dragon?
Sword seem like an overkill. If i can skirmish-charge and also mount attacks, most die any how. But still...
Dragon, with swift aid / body gaurd can offer nice plan b.
We are lvl 10, 25 buy, no items to buy or craft, only found.
They're are both fine orders...Are you more interested in being a team player or in being the star? Also, do you think you'll get to fight on open ground often? If you're doing a lot of dungeon crawling, you might not get to use your mount often (unless you get Hosteling on your armor), so dragon would be more appealing in that case.
Order of the Sword is pretty awesome if you think you'll get a chance to ride your mount in combat often. I'm assuming you're going with a medium sized race, if so you'll have a large sized mount, and they have trouble moving around a dungeon.
Even the beast master can't normally get a flying mount. If your GM is allowing you to pick a flying mount as your animal companion, definitely get a flyer.
They're are both fine orders...Are you more interested in being a team player or in being the star? Also, do you think you'll get to fight on open ground often? If you're doing a lot of dungeon crawling, you might not get to use your mount often (unless you get Hosteling on your armor), so dragon would be more appealing in that case.
Order of the Sword is pretty awesome if you think you'll get a chance to ride your mount in combat often. I'm assuming you're going with a medium sized race, if so you'll have a large sized mount, and they have trouble moving around a dungeon.
Even the beast master can't normally get a flying mount. If your GM is allowing you to pick a flying mount as your animal companion, definitely get a flyer.
i think we gonna be some in and some outdoors.
thing is about order of the sword, it seem like its an overkill & might make the DM annoyed all is 1 shot.
although giving up on 30 charge damage is hard, the dragon order will offer more utility and more things to do when not charging.
i believe a good cavalier is a charging one that also have plan B, for times no charge or no mount is there.
BTW - order of the beast offer a nice niche, of changing the mount whatever is needed. not too bad really although lvl 2 order power sucks.
charge damage:
sword:
base 4.5
str 6
challenge 9
sword order 8
magic 1
bard 2
PA 9
118.5 damage
dragon : 94.5 damage.
sword also has 1 more feat and better to hit .
all this is pre-mount damage.
as for mount , horses i dislike.
flying, every cavalier can gain, with 2 feats (monstrous mount). but i do wonder if a griffon is worth 2 feats...
it's costly, but the stats on the griffon arent bad for a flyer and INT and common makes it a controlled beast .
also, 1/2 orc can add pteranodon, a low CON flyer.
it might allow more charge lanes.
BTW - if not flying, the mount will have imp. unarmed strike & dragon style - so no allies or terrain will hinder charges. if fly, than hover ofc is a must.
Hosteling is indeed a targeted item to gain.
i'll post sword and dragon builds next, and the list of mounts that seem nice.
One thing that is also cool about a flyer is that it should be easier for you to set up a charge lane for lance strikes. The only thing I don't like about the griffon is that it gets half speed when it's carrying a mount...so you're looking at a fly speed of 20. Not that fast... The pteranodon seems like a better fit to me.
It sounds like your leaning towards the Order of the Dragon. I do agree with you that you can't rely too much on your mount. A lot of this depends on your GM and the campaign you're doing; but I only play PFS and most of the time his horse is going to be sitting somewhere by itself because it can't fit through doorways, get on a boat, go down stairs, climb a ladder, etc, etc, etc.
What kind of weapons/fighting style are you going for?
The griffon is move 80, after lvl 7.
So, fly 40 aint bad.
The dino aint a bad flyer, but require 1/2 orc and the really low con worry me.
Weapon is a lance and switch to great sword or heavy flail.
With order of the dragon, and honor gaurd, i plan to take swift aid and bodygaurd.
Swift aid will add 1/rnd +4 to hit. Bodygaurd will add 5/ to ac.
I still think on several build options to when charges arent possible.
But the mount will have dragon style feat so charges will not be stopped by allies or terrain.
But ye, not sure the griffon is worth 2 feats. Other options are :
Trex, rhino, tiger or even a large size gecko.
Build/dip option (all lvl 10):
Cavalier 9, sohei 1 for mounted skirmisher and saves.
Cavalier 6, rouge 4(thug&scout) for sneak charges, amaIng debuff and making for run with fear every attack i make.
(Thug).
the idea is to be amazing and fun to play and to rock.
NO ONE TRICK PONIES allowed, yes, i want to charge and kill - but a great plan B is in ordered.
here are a couple of cavalier Q's: (order of the sword)
size:
small
medium
small = medium mount. (probably one with spider climb).
up side = can charge ALMOST ALWAYS, from walls, ceiling, etc.
very easy to travel, and easy in cites.
down side = mount is nothing but a carrier for charges.
damage is a lot lower (of self and lack of a big mount)
medium = large mount. (a flyer with 2 feats or something like a tiger)
upside = can fight with mount when not charging, and mount is like another character.
when i do charge, it's a charge per kill.
downside = cities. dungeons, climb issues.
topic #2 : multi class.
option 1: cavalier 9, sohei monk 1. (2 to all saves, free feat without pre-req, imp unarmed strike, skills. )
option 2: cavalier 9, rogue thug (archetype) 1:
(with enforcer feat, 1 attack = opponent run away if its not immune to fear) .
OR cavalier 6, thug & scout archetype 4.
(free 2d6 sneak EVERY charge or flank. opponent is flat footed in charges, can cause opponent to run OR shaken&sicken&another -2 on me (no saves)
option 3:
cavalier 8, shadow dancer 2-3.
(dark vision, hide in plain sight for spring attacks when not on mount \ scouting, next level a shadow ally, playing a shadow in big weapon and armor. )
option 4:
last option : weird:
cavalier 6, druid 4.
shaping focus feat = a shape shifter of lvl 8 worth of druid. lvl 2 spells = the spell that allow mount to be a statue. no need for boon companion. can also heal a bit, and make mount medium size \ climb walls etc. )
this option in particular work well with order of the beast (if allowed in the game, not core) that allow at lvl 8 cavalier wild shape for mount...... or order of the sword.
down side is NO ARMOR, or at least, poor armors (no metal = poor choices).
