Halfling Cavalier on Cheetah

[sunbeam]

Well it doesn't have to be a halfling, and eventually I'm sure there is a way to get a large size cheetah...

But the Cheetah has this feature:

"Sprint (Ex)

Once per hour, a cheetah can move at 10 times its normal speed (500 feet) when it makes a charge."

So does that mean that once an hour the rider can also participate in this charge?

Maybe not ultimate cosmic power but still pretty interesting. Particularly if the 30' move you get from Horseshoes of Speed also gets the times 10 to movement.

I get the mental image of a wizard somewhere in the afterlife saying "I never saw him coming. I just turned around and BOOM!"

[Nefreet]

It's still just a charge, so it can still be a mounted charge.

Horseshoes wouldn't work on a cheetah, though.

[Imbicatus]

Also, a Cheetah is not a valid mount choice for a cavalier. Even beast rider has a limited list, and Cheetah/Small Cat isn't on it.

[Saldiven]

I believe a dip into Druid could allow for a Cheetah, though. I seem to remember something about when you have animal companion and mount class abilities, you can (or should) merge them into a single animal.

[Nefreet]

The levels only stack if the critter is on both lists.

[Avoron]

You could be a Roughrider Fighter with Animal Ally.

[NikolaiJuno]

Avoron wrote:

You could be a Roughrider Fighter with Animal Ally.

Wow now I know what to use as a mount for a mounted Scout.

[Avoron]

What's more, it looks like this ability applies to all forms of movement.

So Spirit's Gift with the Heavens spirit could be really cool.

And you can use Evolved Companion to grab a climb speed and pounce.

This is feat intensive, because you also need Nature Soul and Boon Companion, but if there's one thing that fighters tend not to have to worry about, it's feats.

And it's totally worth it.

[NikolaiJuno]

It's worth looking into the Racer companion Archetype. It has this ability.

Sprint (Ex)

At 6th level, once per hour a racer can move at 10 times its normal speed when it makes a charge or uses the run action.

This ability replaces devotion.

That means twice per hour. Also it's speed is +10' while unarmored.

[Avoron]

That's even more useful. Twice per hour is often basically once per combat, with some extra uses in case of an emergency.

Also, it looks like the fast movement ability isn't restricted to land speed either, so it could apply to all of your speeds. All the better, all the better.

[sunbeam]

Okay, my rules fu is weak.

The Cavalier's mount entry says:

"A cavalier gains the service of a loyal and trusty steed to carry him into battle. This mount functions as a druid's animal companion, using the cavalier's level as his effective druid level. The creature must be one that he is capable of riding and is suitable as a mount. A Medium cavalier can select a camel or a horse. A Small cavalier can select a pony or wolf, but can also select a boar or a dog if he is at least 4th level. The GM might approve other animals as suitable mounts."

It just never has occurred to me that you couldn't get a cheetah. The cheetah is listed under "Cat, Small" in the druid's animal companion list.

I know home games can adjust this however the dm wishes to, but apparently if you play PFS or want to really go by the rules it's not so clear cut.

Only thing is I want it clear cut. I really don't get a warm fuzzy over parsing text. I want what they intend for you to use spelled out in clear language that I don't have to spend any time figuring out what they intended.

Actually I want them to spell it out, as far as what they intended, like:

1) The intent is that Cavaliers (or really any class with a mount feature, unless they are a druid or summoner) not to have any way to get a mount with a fly speed.

2) We don't want the mount to have any special abilities like pounce or this sprint thing. So you can only have one of these pre-approved mounts. Oh wait, there is an archetype for animal companions that allows you to do this.

As it is, I get a headache trying to figure this out. I have monstrous mount options, Beast Rider archetypes, Beast Rider feats for orc blood characters, Huntmaster archetypes...

I do not have the slightest bit of interest in having to go through text located in different places, having to make interpretations of what they probably meant, or reading through a bunch of faq or random thread posts to figure this out.

Anyway rant off.

[Jeff Merola]

sunbeam wrote:

I know home games can adjust this however the dm wishes to, but apparently if you play PFS or want to really go by the rules it's not so clear cut.

It couldn't be more clear for PFS play, actually. PFS has a specific ruling that lists like that use only what's explicitly on the list.

[Nefreet]

It's actually spelled out in the PFS FAQ to make it easier to find.

Pathfinder uses language like that to cater to GMs running homegames.

Rule of thumb in PFS is to go by what's actually listed.