One idea is the feat that gives you extra use of your animal focus. I can not remember what it is called.
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I'm still on the fence between melee and range, but I'm liking melee more I think. It seems like a better bet to flank near my companion.Toughness was the first thing I thought of, but I was just wondering if there was a better option.
So if I go with toughness, should I retrain it when I get to the point where I share teamwork feats with my mount? Or are the hit points that important in PFS?
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You could probably retrain it before you hit 2 for free (or later), but the +1 hp per level will help close the gap between you and the other d10+ melee. The melee hunter really screams flanking with your companion, which means you may be placing yourself in slightly more vulnerable positions. I've not taken a hunter very high, but I think you'd probably not regret having the extra hp.I'm still on the fence between melee and range, but I'm liking melee more I think. It seems like a better bet to flank near my companion.Toughness was the first thing I thought of, but I was just wondering if there was a better option.
So if I go with toughness, should I retrain it when I get to the point where I share teamwork feats with my mount? Or are the hit points that important in PFS?
Aiming to pick up the Pack Flanking Feat can help with precarious positioning. As long as you and the animal companion are beside each other and attacking the same guy, you'll be counting as flanking.
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Tribal scars looks good. Unfortunately, grabbing combat expertise would require a stay rebuild, which I don't believe I will have time for before the game begins.
I believe I will go with tribal scars, and possibly retrain it before level two, and rework his stats to grab combat expertise and pack flanking, since I built this character to be all about flanking, and that would help tremendously.
Thanks for all your ideas and if you have more, keep me coming!
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If Anto will be a mount, your will DEFINATLY want Pack Flanking. Outflank closes the gap in BaB between you and fighters/paladins etc. Crit trading with the pet is also fun. Oh, and the bodyguard archetype has most of the abilities requiring you to be adjacent, so to get flanking and bodyguard, this is a must have.
Also, Extend Animal Focus, which allows you to have more uses of focus at low levels. This was the big issue with my Hunter. That said, he is now at 3rd and I am usually ending a scenario with at least 1 use left now. Looks like, at 5th, I will always have a use left over. This is something you could easily retrain later too.
This is a genius plan. I like it. Looks like I'll be grabbing that pre level two rebuild.
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I'm not a big fan of Tengus... It's just a personal thing. Mechanically they're great, but I just don't like the flavor.
I'm thinking of having Elric as a half elf from an Ulfen tribe, which fits tribal scars well, and have Anto be a mount at level seven. Now, that makes mounted combat a necessity, but I haven't run a mount focused character in pathfinder. I have in 3.x though.
What other mounted feats are a must have? Also, I'll be going bodyguard/lookout as well, making flanking feats another necessity. I'll have to wait until I get off work to make a layout of how he'll progress but it looks like I'll retrain at level two to take an Elven Curved Blade and light armor, so I'll need weapon finesse as well.
I worry that this will be a build that needs more feats than it gets...
Mounted Combat (the feat) is not a necessity in PFS. I have a Cavalier who's made it to 7th level without it, and my husband's Bard/Cavalier made it to level 14 and only used it twice. The main value of that feat is the entry into other feats (unless you have a GM that regularly attacks your mount--I've found them to be rare).
Bodyguard and Lookout are adjacent feats, not flanking feats (unless I'm misremembering what ones you're talking about).
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Mounted Combat (the feat) is not a necessity in PFS. I have a Cavalier who's made it to 7th level without it, and my husband's Bard/Cavalier made it to level 14 and only used it twice. The main value of that feat is the entry into other feats (unless you have a GM that regularly attacks your mount--I've found them to be rare).
Bodyguard and Lookout are adjacent feats, not flanking feats (unless I'm misremembering what ones you're talking about).
Bodyguard and Lookout allow both companion and Hunter to act in the surprise round. I actually meant pack flanking, which if I go with then I want to at least get a couple of the teamwork feats that base off of flanking.
I haven't done PFS with a mount based character, so I only assumed mounted combat would be a must. If it isn't, then that helps out a little.
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Look into THIS thread for inspiration. I highly suggest using the Wayang option talked about at the end of the thread.
You can get by with this mounted build with practically no "mounted" feats.
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If you make it STR based (instead of DEX, ECB CAN be used with dex, does not have to be) you can get by with the following feat list
1: Undersized Mount
2: Outflank
3: Combat Expertise
3T: Lookout
5: Pack Flanking
6T: Distracting ChargeIf you wanna go Dex based, you will be short feats till level 7. At 7 you no longer need undersized mount, freeing up the slot if you retrain.
Changing to human, while costing you the low light vision and perception bonus, as well as will bonus, does get you the extra feat to get off the ground sooner (I suggest Weapon Finesse and Undersized Mount for DEX, Undersized Mount and Combat Expertise for STR)
I don't recommend distracting charge. You should never need to charge when you're getting a +4 flanking bonus. The -2 to AC is going to hurt more than help if you're already hitting on everything above a 3. Escape Route is a much better option--always on no AoOs from moving. Or another better option, Paired Opportunists and use a keen scimitar. Then your mount gets an AoO at +4 when you crit (and another +4 from already flanking). Pair that (no pun intended) with Broken Wing Gambit and you'll always get AoOs.
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I don't recommend distracting charge. You should never need to charge when you're getting a +4 flanking bonus. The -2 to AC is going to hurt more than help if you're already hitting on everything above a 3. Escape Route is a much better option--always on no AoOs from moving. Or another better option, Paired Opportunists and use a keen scimitar. Then your mount gets an AoO at +4 when you crit (and another +4 from already flanking). Pair that (no pun intended) with Broken Wing Gambit and you'll always get AoOs.If you make it STR based (instead of DEX, ECB CAN be used with dex, does not have to be) you can get by with the following feat list
1: Undersized Mount
2: Outflank
3: Combat Expertise
3T: Lookout
5: Pack Flanking
6T: Distracting ChargeIf you wanna go Dex based, you will be short feats till level 7. At 7 you no longer need undersized mount, freeing up the slot if you retrain.
Changing to human, while costing you the low light vision and perception bonus, as well as will bonus, does get you the extra feat to get off the ground sooner (I suggest Weapon Finesse and Undersized Mount for DEX, Undersized Mount and Combat Expertise for STR)
That's exactly what I'm doing. Not worried about charging, because my build is all about AoO's and lots of em.
What type of pet are you going to have? I am going human with my hunter build with undersized mount and I'm riding my medium tiger. My tiger is going to be pouncing everything so I might as well be on his back with a lance when he does his claw claw bite.
If you think Human maybe a better option, you can take combat expertise at level 1 and pack flanking at level 3. Or if you forgo the bonus feat for human you can take Eye for talent and give your AC extra INT and take pounce or any feat they are eligible for.
With Pack Flanking it maybe worth while to take a dip class that offers sneak attack(like a brawler archetype Snakebite Striker which also stacks with Wild Child)Then you can sneak attack everything as long as you are mounted.
Also down the chain if you take Escape Route teamwork feat you can run around on your AC and never provoke AOs moving through threatened enemy squares.
That's at least what I'm doing with one of my PFS AC builds.
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What type of pet are you going to have? I am going human with my hunter build with undersized mount and I'm riding my medium tiger. My tiger is going to be pouncing everything so I might as well be on his back with a lance when he does his claw claw bite.
If you think Human maybe a better option, you can take combat expertise at level 1 and pack flanking at level 3. Or if you forgo the bonus feat for human you can take Eye for talent and give your AC extra INT and take pounce or any feat they are eligible for.
With Pack Flanking it maybe worth while to take a dip class that offers sneak attack(like a brawler archetype Snakebite Striker which also stacks with Wild Child)Then you can sneak attack everything as long as you are mounted.
Also down the chain if you take Escape Route teamwork feat you can run around on your AC and never provoke AOs moving through threatened enemy squares.
That's at least what I'm doing with one of my PFS AC builds.
Yours doesn't work how you want it to. Your lance is a reach weapon. Your tiger doesn't have reach. If you're both charging, your tiger is going to fall short of the target and not be close enough to attack. Because the closest spot you can attack from is 10 feet away and your tiger needs to be directly adjacent.
Sure it does, and here is how(someone had to explain it to me too). On your turn make a ride check to control your mount with your knees and then ready an action to attack with the lance when you get in range. Then tell your mount to charge. You're lance attack interrupts the mounts charge when you get in range and after your attack finishes your mount finishes his charge.
It only works with a readied action tho.
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Sure it does, and here is how(someone had to explain it to me too). On your turn make a ride check to control your mount with your knees and then ready an action to attack with the lance when you get in range. Then tell your mount to charge. You're lance attack interrupts the mounts charge when you get in range and after your attack finishes your mount finishes his charge.
It only works with a readied action tho.
This doesn't work.
Mounted Combat: When making a charge while mounted, which creature charges? The rider or the mount?
Both charge in unison, suffer the same penalty to AC, the gaining the same bonus to the attack rolls and following all other rules for the charge. The mounted combat rules are a little unclear on this. Replace the third paragraph under the "Combat while Mounted" section on page 202 with the following text. Note that a "mounted charge" is synonymous with a "charge while mounted," and that when a lance is "when used from the back of a charging mount" it is during a mounted charge not when only the mount charges.A mounted charge is a charge made by you and your mount. During a mounted charge, you deal double damage with your first melee attack made with a lance or with any weapon if you have Spirited Charge (or a similar effect), or you deal triple damage with a lance and Spirited Charge.
If you are charging, then you stop 10 feet away and your mount can't attack. If you are charging, you can't have a readied action. If you have an action readied, you aren't charging. It just doesn't work how you said.
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Basically how he said above. Charges can't be interrupted by a readied action in any way. I even read a thread about this a long time ago that clarified it. It could have even been a 3.x thread. I don't remember. Basically, if your mount has attacks that can be used on a charge, you don't want to use a reach weapon because someone is going to get left out.
Spirit's Gift is a lot of fun. At the beginning of the day you can give your companion a bonus like fast healing or DR adamantine. You could even have a flying mount of any non-flying kind but it's speed would be limited to 5.
I'm thinking of flying elephants and flying pigs. Sure it would be slow as dirt but you would be traveling in style.
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Yeah, I thought about it some more and the only reason to take Distracting Charge is if you are using the lance, and even then, you have to wait till 7th (when your pet goes large and has reach).I don't recommend distracting charge. You should never need to charge when you're getting a +4 flanking bonus. The -2 to AC is going to hurt more than help if you're already hitting on everything above a 3. Escape Route is a much better option--always on no AoOs from moving. Or another better option, Paired Opportunists and use a keen scimitar. Then your mount gets an AoO at +4 when you crit (and another +4 from already flanking). Pair that (no pun intended) with Broken Wing Gambit and you'll always get AoOs.If you make it STR based (instead of DEX, ECB CAN be used with dex, does not have to be) you can get by with the following feat list
1: Undersized Mount
2: Outflank
3: Combat Expertise
3T: Lookout
5: Pack Flanking
6T: Distracting ChargeIf you wanna go Dex based, you will be short feats till level 7. At 7 you no longer need undersized mount, freeing up the slot if you retrain.
Changing to human, while costing you the low light vision and perception bonus, as well as will bonus, does get you the extra feat to get off the ground sooner (I suggest Weapon Finesse and Undersized Mount for DEX, Undersized Mount and Combat Expertise for STR)
Wouldn't you need seize the moment for this work? That one can't key in until level 11 because it requires Improved Critical. Still, a vicious combo I plan on using for sure.