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In Occult Adventures (pp. 117-118) there is the ghost rider cavalier archetype.
At 1st level, a ghost rider gains
the ability to manifest a special mount of conjured
ectoplasm rather than one of flesh and bone. This
spectral companion functions like a spiritualist’s
phantom companion, using the ghost rider’s cavalier
level as her effective spiritualist level.
The ghost rider can manifest her ghost mount only
in ectoplasmic form, and she gains the spiritualist’s
etheric tether class feature, applied to her ghost mount.
The mount shares the cavalier’s alignment. Though the
mount cannot speak, it understands its master’s verbal
commands and gains the phantom’s link ability.
Link (Su): A spiritualist and her phantom share a mental
link that allows for communication across distances (as
long as they are on the same plane). This communication
is a free action that can be performed even when it isn’t
the spiritualist’s turn, but the spiritualist and the
phantom must both be conscious to communicate in
this way. This allows the spiritualist to give orders to
her phantom at any time. (Occult Adventures p. 79)
The spiritualist's phantom companion statistical information can be found in Occult Adventures (p. 77)
Questions:
1) Does the ghost rider's mount start with darkvision at 1st level?
2) As the mount levels up do "STR/DEX" increase like a standard animal companion (CRB p. 52) or do "DEX/CHA" increase just like the spiritualist's phantom companion (Occult Adventures p. 77)?
3) Since there is a phantom mental link between the ghost rider cavalier and its mount are tricks (e.g. down, fetch, attack) even needed and is a DC relevant?
Note: Edit to add description of phantom link.
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1) Yes, the Phantom Mount gets Darkvision as that is not specifically called out as being something they do NOT get (i.e. Deliver Touch Spells).
2) No. It levels as a Phantom on the Phantom table by RAW. Given the link means you have to share gear slots, I'm pretty OK with the DEX bump to help their AC scale.
3) That is an excellent question. On the one hand, they do still have INT 2. But on the other, spells like Speak With Animals imply you can then ask things of an animal who is friendly towards you without necessarily needing a Handle Animal check. This would also really help with the fact that the mount is auto-combat trained and gets no bonus tricks (meaning you can't give it a second Attack trick). I'm wondering now if this is why no effort was made to address the lack of Bonus Tricks by going with the Phantom progression as the Cavalier now has a link which bypasses the need for them.
Re: Other questions.
Boon Companion does not work, as it only speaks of Animal Companion or Familiar. Phantoms are neither. Given this feat was in Animal Archive and made zero mention of Eidolons, I'm assuming it is not intended for the more powerful companion types (Eidolon and Phantom) who are much more integral to the class they come from than an AC or Familiar.
Small rider mount stats are a larger problem. See this thread.
As far as Spiritualist/Ghost Ride stacking, I doubt it given the Phantom Mount specifically does not get an emotional focus or other abilities. Stacking makes no sense given it is a modification , not a duplication, of a class feature. Plus, traditionally companions of the same type from different sources do NOT stack (i.e. An animal companion from Druid Levels and one from Animal Domain via another class).