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Help me understand this archetype. I love the concept, but can't make heads or tails how it functions in-game:
Ghost Mount (Su): 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 phantom takes the form of a ghostly creature analogous to one of a cavalier’s normal mount options for her size and class level, such as a Large horse for a Medium ghost rider or a wolf for a Small ghost rider. A ghost rider must choose a mount that is capable of bearing her weight, that has four or more legs, and that lacks a fly speed (although the GM may allow mounts with a swim speed in certain environments). The GM might approve other animals as suitable mounts.
Sounds simple. I use the phantom from the spiritualist instead of the animal companion for the mount. Says I pick base form as normal for an animal companion, small characters getting wolves and big characters getting horses.
Ghost Mount Starting Statistics: Type animal (phantom); Size one size category larger than the ghost rider; Speed 50 ft.; AC +4 natural armor; Attack bite (1d4), 2 hooves (1d6; this is a secondary natural attack); Ability Scores Str 16, Dex 13, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6.
And now I'm confused. Seems like I disregard the first paragraph about horses and wolves, and instead use this profile. I also have a creature type: animal instead of outsider, despite using the phantom companion which is designed for outsiders. Unclear if I'm supposed to use the BAB there, or adjust for animals.
Also, my phantom ghost mount lacks a slam attack, which seems to be a big part of the phantom companion rules. Yet, there's nothing explaining if the slam goes away, or if I gain two slam attacks to the above (as per the phantom rules). Not to mention that I seem to retain the Magic Attacks Su, despite it only applying to my slam attacks (which I'm not sure I have).
How is this supposed to work in PFS?
Also, since I don't lose Order with this archetype, is the Ghost Mount Su considered a Mount for the purposes of order abilities which apply to the Cavalier's Mount? Matters to lots of the Orders.
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You follow the phantom progression and everything and it's giving you your starting stats for your phantom.
You don't have slams, you have hooves. Yes, your ghost wolf has hooves now. Yes, some
Orders work for this, this is your mount.
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You follow the phantom progression and everything and it's giving you your starting stats for your phantom.
You don't have slams, you have hooves. Yes, your ghost wolf has hooves now. Yes, some
Orders work for this, this is your mount.
So we ignore or modify these bits?
Slam Damage: Phantoms have two slam natural weapon attacks. Those attacks’ damage is based on the size of the phantom and is sometimes modified by the abilities of the phantom’s emotional focus. Table 1–11 gives the damage by spiritualist level of the slam attacks made by a Medium phantom. See Table 1–12 for the damage of such attacks for Small and Large phantoms. Often, an individual phantom manifests in a form that makes it appear as if it had weapons or other natural attacks. Regardless of their apparent forms, the phantom’s attacks still deal the slam attack damage listed on Table 1–11 or Table 1–12.
Magic Attacks (Su): When the phantom manifests in ectoplasmic form, it treats its slam attacks as if they were magic for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction. If the spiritualist is 10th level or higher, all of the phantom’s weapons are treated as the alignment of the phantom for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
yup.
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ignore the slams, your form doesn't get them.
The abilities that affect your slams are there if you somehow gain a slam, but they do nothing for your hooves.
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for that matter is this thing going to gain dex/cha advancement? kinda bad if so without emotional focus
That's the way it reads. But it does have different starting stats over the normal phantom:
+4str, -1dex, +2con, -5int, +2wis, -7cha.
At 20th level, the dex and cha bonus is +8. So cha will only get 1 higher than the base normal phantom. Dex will increase +7 over the base phantom (which is still -1 over the 20th level normal phantom). A starting ghost mount already has the same strength as an Anger Phantom who is enlarged.
So while it won't be as strong as an animal companion, it will still be impressive compared with other phantoms.
The main loss is INT, though it is an animal. I will note that there's nothing in the archetype that limits feat selection by INT, as with normal companion animals. I suspect this is an oversight, but at present, you don't need to increase the ghost mount's INT to get more feat access or to choose skill point placement.
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The main loss is INT, though it is an animal. I will note that there's nothing in the archetype that limits feat selection by INT, as with normal companion animals. I suspect this is an oversight, but at present, you don't need to increase the ghost mount's INT to get more feat access or to choose skill point placement.
There doesn't need to be. That is built into the "Animal" base type (hence why it's base type is Animal (Phantasm) as opposed to Outsider (Phantasm)
All the normal Animal rules that apply to a mount apply here, including tricks, Feat limitations, etc.
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All the normal Animal rules that apply to a mount apply here, including tricks, Feat limitations, etc.Going to have to disagree on tricks here. The archetype goes out of its way to tell you the phantom mount understands your verbal commands and you keep the phantom's link ability(mental commands)
Animals with 3 int and linguistics also understand your verbal commands, but still respond to tricks.
The difference is that the GM has more leeway to let the animal respond in a more open fashion.
For example:
Animal's current attack target goes down. There are two targets left. Normally designating a target is a free action, which means you can only do it on your turn. You yell "Attack that target." Animal is already going to attack *something* so it attacks the target you pick
You want the animal to cross the bridge. The bridge looks like it will collapse at any second. It really does not want to cross the bridge. You tell it "cross the bridge". This does nothing. You need the Come trick to make it go where it doesn't believe it is safe.
Just like the GM can (and should) allow the animal to attack someone who is attacking it or it's master without needing an order. (For example, the bad guy casts sleep on the master and then goes after the AC with a knife, the AC is *going* to defend itself. Animal Companions are independent PCs. Tricks are only needed to make them do something *they* don't want to do or would need extra training and coaxing to do. (The perform trick, for example)
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@jared: While I agree that what you are saying is probably the way it is intended to function, that isn't what it says.
I did find some interesting ones:
The RAW Ghost mount doesn't gain full access to skills, with or without increases to intelligence.
The ghost mount has good Fortitude and Reflex saves, and can have ranks in any of the following skills: Acrobatics (Dex), Climb (Str), Escape Artist (Dex), Fly (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Perception (Wis), Stealth (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).
As written, only the above skills can be selected at all.
By contrast, as written, they have access to any feat they qualify for as per the phantom rules, without regard to the phantom's intelligence.
Feats: This is the total number of feats possessed by a phantom. A phantom can select any feat it qualifies for, but it must possess the appropriate appendage in order to use some feats. Phantom feats are set once chosen.And despite lacking access to linguistics
Though the mount cannot speak, it understands its master’s verbal commands and gains the phantom’s link ability.
So the Cavalier can issue orders in any language and the mount will understand the commands.
The interesting bit is that the Ghost mount doesn't seem to have any ability to be understood by, or understand, other characters.
Anyway, I'm done with the Ghost Rider for now. Died in Confirmation for my first session with the characters. That Minotaur killed him in one hit (managed to hit AC 22 with a power attack and dealt 25pts of damage). It was a glorious death.
Did your GM account for the broken axe?
It should have a penalty to hit and damage and only be a x2 crit instead of the normal x3 crit.
You could look into that if you'd like your character to be alive.
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He was totally by the book. Rolled an 18, with only a +4 mod to the attack to equal my AC, then rolled almost max damage with two-handed power attack for 25pts of damage. I had 11 hp and 12 con.
Except the minotaurs damage is 2d6+12 with adjustment from 2h weapon and power attack. For a maximum of 24 on a double six.
He was totally by the book. Rolled an 18, with only a +4 mod to the attack to equal my AC, then rolled almost max damage with two-handed power attack for 25pts of damage. I had 11 hp and 12 con.Except the minotaurs damage is 2d6+12 with adjustment from 2h weapon and power attack. For a maximum of 24 on a double six.
And the tactics listed say he does NOT use power attack against the PCs. Seems like you got hosed.
The +4 listed in his block is with the 2h weapon adjustment, the weapon is broken, so it takes a -2 to damage.
So max PA damage is 22 damage. Not enough to take the guy from full to dead in one hit.