I really want to play a small race (halfling preferred) based on STR and be a melee character.
I don't like Paladin too much, takes a lot of effort to role play, and I had in mind more like a Beast+Beast(mount) wading into melee not caring much about injuries and just having huge bloodlust because this is how you prove how strong you are, by beating up the most dangerous enemies.
I was thinking someone that either grew up on the streets,
I'm open up to suggestion because I honestly have no idea on how to do this.
I know that unless I have an AC, my mount is going to be weak, takes ages to train, and won't have nice features at all.
I'd love to either wield a 2 handed weapon or 2TWF, and wade into combat on my mount!
Wayangs are a small race without a str penalty.
If you're allowed to use blood of angels/fiends then you can use an aasimar/tiefling based around a small race (including halfling if you wish) instead of a human based one.
2 handed fighting is going to be easier both in build and in combat. That said, if you want to get tricky you can invest in the quick draw feat and pair a one handed weapon with a quickdraw light shield. Put the shield away at the start of your turn (free action), attack with your weapon with two hands, then draw the shield back out at the end of your turn (free action).
Classwise you're looking at hunter, druid, summoner, or nature/lunar oracle. The hunter being the most focused on fighting with the AC, including gaining bonus teamwork feats for both you and your companion.
My favorite mounted character is a Halfling cavalier with both Power Attack and Risky Striker. Having a medium sized mount means you can charge pretty much anywhere, so a lance is still viable.
There is a Barbarian archetype(Mounted Fury, I think?) that pretty much does just what you want.
There is a Barbarian archetype(Mounted Fury, I think?) that pretty much does just what you want.
Yep. Mounted Fury. Note that the archetype just gives you mount related things: +10 on its movement (as opposed to for a stock barbarian) and a druid's AC at -4 levels. There are a few restrictions on mounts, but come on, what's cooler than a halfling riding a wolf, BOTH pissed off?
(Note that if you go this route, you're also going to need the supporting rage powers.)
Is it good enough? I really wanted a full bab class because they're easier to play.
Do they have this archetype for bloodrager? It would be awesome to have some spells too.
I never really played a barbarian, but it seems go with my idea!
I don't want a -STR race, but it seems that's the only way to go. Wayang seems a cool race, but not sure if DM will allow it.
No idea about the Aasimar/Tieflign ones, will check.
Any suggestion on feats, rage powers?
One of my favorite small front liners was a Halfling Paladin with Power Attack, Weapon Finesse, and Exotic Weapon Proficiency(Elven Curved Blade). Get the Agile enchantment and go to town.
To do the same with a Lance you need to put Effortless Lace on it before the Agile enchantment.
Is it good enough? I really wanted a full bab class because they're easier to play.
Do they have this archetype for bloodrager? It would be awesome to have some spells too.
I never really played a barbarian, but it seems go with my idea!
I don't want a -STR race, but it seems that's the only way to go. Wayang seems a cool race, but not sure if DM will allow it.No idea about the Aasimar/Tieflign ones, will check.
Any suggestion on feats, rage powers?
Checkout the 'BARBARIAN AM SMASH' guide. Short version, you're full BAB, you're raging. I wouldn't care about oversizing the lance, d8 vs d6 is one measly point.
I don't see much as far as mounted bloodragers, though.
As far as rage powers? Ferocious Mount means your mount gets pissed off too (but uses up YOUR rounds of rage: if Barbie the barbarian and her wolf Bitey are both raging, that uses 2 rounds per actual round). If you have good passive powers running too, then Greater Ferocious Mount gives them to Bitey too. Look for stuff that affects your mount, or gives things you don't have to use actions (even free ones) to activate--those are the ones that Greater Ferocious gives your pet.
Additional item ... there's two barbarian classes out, stock and Unchained. BOTH should allow Mounted Fury. I know it's a little confusing, and there are ... opinions about which is better. (In my group's case, the better one was 'the one the GM decided we were using'.) Both still have access to the stuff I mentioned, though.
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Hunters and cavaliers make great small mounted builds, but you can build around other classes. In PFS, I've played with a strength based Wayang Cavalier who cross-classed with barbarian and had the Axebeak boon so that she could ride around on a "Doom Chicken." On a spirited charge, she added +66 damage to whatever she rolled. It was TERRIFYING.
Both she and the doom chicken could attack at reach.
Hmm
Construct Rider Alchemist is another mounted class option. It's probably not a good fit with this flavor.
Halfing isn't too bad if you are on a 20 point buy. You can get 16/14/14/10x4 with them.
Not great, but at acceptable levels. Their attack rolls would be the same at an 18 (due to the small sized +1), and you just lose out on a few points of damage.
Which you can make up for with lance charges and risky striker (although that has been somewhat nerf to..y'know...not be completely free- see if you can grab an order with DR so you aren't being completely suicidal for going all barbarian).
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I'll chip in a +1 for the Halfling Summoner concept. I have one going in PFS (check profile for my halfling's build) and it has served me very well. There was a dip in effectiveness around levels 3 and 4 when I was still using a 1d6 longspear, but that Dragoon Fighter dip solved pretty much everything with free lance proficiency.
Cavalier might serve you better, what with good BAB and a list of class abilities that actually revolve around mounted charging, but I'm a huge fan of sentient, customizable mounts that can speak and make skill checks all on their own. And this is before you remember all thoze awesome slells you'll be getting.
The only problem is that you'll be feat starved throughout your career, so a 1 level Fighter dip is pretty helpful. Well, that and needing Charisma for a character concept that can otherwise dump it, but the helfling's ability score adjustments are a big help on that front. Even with the Strength penalty, it still beats out the Wayang in my eyes.
EDIT: Eidolon stats aren't in the profile yet. Short version, it's a quadruped medium sized Demon Eidolon with Improved Unarmed Strike and Dragon Style for ignoring common charge blockers. Its Evolutions are Mount, Reach and Climb in that order of priority.
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If you're worried about the survive-ability of your mount, then you should check out this book, which has lots of options for exotic mounts, templates to make your basic mounts tougher, and combat options to make your mount easier to use.
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I have a wayang summoner (not unchained) that does this. I used heirloom weapon to get a lance, and my eidolon is a mount. Spirited charge, wheeling charge, my mount flies, it works out surprisingly well, not a full BAB class, but you get spells like haste to make up for it.
My other friend has a halfling cavalier on a riding dog that also does pretty well, but he is defensive-based. Bodyguard helpful halfling, crane wing and benevolant armor. . . he doesn't do a lot of damage but he can make it so no one else can get hit.
Will take a huge look tonight and check what I can do.
I really like the Hunter idea because of the spellcasting, but I think the 3/4 BAB hurts a lot.
I'm looking to be more martial than anything, so some spellcasting would be nice, none bad (as usual).
I'm trying to get a buffed up mount that can survive, but I will check Barbarian, though the double cost on Rage rounds is hefty.
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You can check my Avatar.
I love playing Halfling Mounted types. I made my guy with the idea of a Giant Gecko above all other options and in PFS and by RAW the Beastmaster Ranger opens the entire Companion List. Something that by RAW or PFS rules not many good mounted classes have that option.
The Hunter class is more of a mounted skirmisher but they shine alot better when off the Animal companion.
So many options that I have no idea what I should take!
My idea is to always be fighting on my mount, even though it's not intelligent, I think with Handle Animal should be enough.
I want to go d10 at least, so I can take some beating. Cavalier sounds really nice class, but I'm not sure/sold about the Edict I have to respect, I was hoping for a class with less restrictions on RPing, but I'll be checking.
I'm kinda worried about the low Will/Ref of Cavalier
Get the Agile enchantment and go to town.
To do the same with a Lance you need to put Effortless Lace on it before the Agile enchantment.
Technically a lance with Effortless Lace attached isn't a weapon that can be used with finesse. It's a weapon that can't be used with finesse, but that has a magic item attached to it which allows it to be used with finesse only when specific conditions are met.
So many options that I have no idea what I should take!
My idea is to always be fighting on my mount, even though it's not intelligent, I think with Handle Animal should be enough.
I want to go d10 at least, so I can take some beating. Cavalier sounds really nice class, but I'm not sure/sold about the Edict I have to respect, I was hoping for a class with less restrictions on RPing, but I'll be checking.
I'm kinda worried about the low Will/Ref of Cavalier
Fortunately edicts come in a wide range of personality options, aren't that big a deal to violate, and can ultimately be changed. Order of the Dragon is all-round great and pretty easy to follow; it's more or less just "cooperate with the group". Or there's Order of the Cockatrice for "be a selfish ass" if that suits better. There are always ways around a low base will save. Note the Chain Challenge Cavalier ability - it's ridiculously useful even if it's only +1 challenge per challenge.
Oh, and Daring Champion is extremely good for agility-based characters - yes, you lose your mount, but there's always Animal Ally...
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I suggest going Small sized Aasimar (Angel Blooded) into Cavalier. My gaming group also allows the players to apply the Alternate Racial trait Scion of Humanity to other races. For example Scion of Halfling would be allowed. Of course check with your GM before doing that.
Aasimar (Angel Blooded) will give you bonuses into Str. AND Cha. Both being key ability scores to the class.
Cavalier is literally built to be the mounted combat class. While other classes have archetypes and build options to get them viable as mounted combat classes, the cavalier will have an option for whichever style you prefer. Plus bonuses like free Light Armor Training for your mount.
So, it would seem that Cavalier is the go to for mounted combat? Are there any ways to get a flying mount or make it intelligent?
I was trying to go for a DEX based but it's impossible, so I'm going Halfling STR, my GM doesn't like much other races or those that aren't core.
It seems Power Attack, Mounted Combat are a must.
I'm worried about REF/WILL low saves, and there are some features that I don't like much, specially my mount not being smart.
Is it to hard to get a flying mount? I think Cavalier is best class because of full bab, I don't need much preparing to hit a lot.
With a 20 pt buy system, an 20 -2 on STR is not likely.
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I know that unless I have an AC, my mount is going to be weak, takes ages to train, and won't have nice features at all.
That's only if you insist upon riding an animal. A fellow PC can make an AMAZING mount, and they get the advantage of Mounted Combat boosting their defenses! You just need an exotic saddle and take a bit of a penalty on Ride checks due to their not being suitable for riding.
With the +1 size bonus to attack rolls and some other ability padding to sacrifice, it's not too bad to go strong halfling. Even going for 18\16 STR, you could do 18\16STR, 10/12DEX, 14CON, 10INT, 12WIS, 7/9CHA.
One other option for a mount is the Animal Ally feat, which gives you an Animal Companion based on character level -3; so you can basically do anything you want and still get a mount.
Cavalier gets some nice bonuses with a mount, but it's not necessarily the only way to go. A Sohei Monk with Animal Ally is possibly the single most exploitable setup, since you can grant Ki bonuses (including Barkskin) to your Animal Ally mount, snap up things like Mounted Skirmisher as bonus feats without prerequisites (which is amazingly strong), and flurry a weapon from an expanded list that includes the lance and the nodachi. Sohei also gets Weapon Training.