Just a really simple question.
Is having a longbow wielding Mammoth Rider in a howdah worth essentially losing out on the Pulverizing Assault ability?
Why do they lose the ability? I'm completely new to this class, I've only looked at it through the link you provided, but I don't get why a longbow/howdah would mean you lose that ability?
Tactics. You want to stay at range, not charge right in if your primary attack is a bow. Hence little use for the pulverizing attack.
Staggering is most use against enemies which use normal attacks rather than magic. At the level you get this most such will be either hard to hit for an AnC or will tend to make their Fort saves.
Ah, my bad. I meant Combined Might.
Obviously a character specced out for ranged combat is going to get little to no use out of an ability that enhances melee attacks.
Oh yeah derp =P That makes sense.
I'm not at all familiar with huge steeds, can you fire down on your enemies with impunity while your mammoth is in melee? If so then who cares.
It seems to me like a lot of the benefits of having a mount would be melee benefits, but that doesn't mean having a giant elephant defending you isn't going to help an archer.
It is worth noting that a howdah houses 2 people, so you could even get a follower/hireling with a bow and use a spear or something yourself if you're worried about losing out.
I kind of love the idea of a fur-clad barbarian firing flaming arrows from atop his mammoth, so from that side of things I say go for it. As for the mechanics, it's probably not the most optimized from a mammoth-rider standpoint, but it seems solid from an archer standpoint (even if the enemy can attack you from the ground you have a companion with 15 foot reach & +infinity CMB who follows you everywhere & can make AoO's on anyone who tries to get you) it seems totally fine.
Combined might isn't a game changer unless you specifically build around it; +6-8 or so damage/round at level 14 shouldn't make an amazing difference. If you do build around it then crit fishing or lance charges can make it better, of course. Are you comparing to a bog-standard barbarian with a greataxe or to something more specialised?
My specific build is a grippli bow ranger going into mammoth rider with a sabertooth tiger mount. Also, I'm using the spell-less ranger from the 3p new paths compendium along with a feat from that book that allows me to fire without provoking.
General idea was to race around on top of the death kitty, unleashing ranged destruction as he smashed into things. Perhaps not as powerful as a strength based build, but I hope flexible and fun.
I was just a bit concerned that I might be tilting from "un-optimized but fun" to "you've missed the whole point of the class what's the point?".
You don't get an amazing amount of benefit from the PrC, but it doesn't take a lot to make an archer competent enough to be useful. The howdah providing cover is nice. I think you don't actually need that feat to fire without provoking so long as you either have cover or can maneuver around on the deathkitty's back to stay out of reach. Useful when you're dismounted I guess.