Hey All!
about to be starting a new character with my local PFS group, and i was thinking about playing the new hunter class.
I wanted to play a halfling and do mounted combat with my animal companion, then i got to thinking...
Hunter gets access to alot of different animal companions, including the Roc.
is there any reason i cant use my flying animal companion as a mount at level 1?
Hey All!
about to be starting a new character with my local PFS group, and i was thinking about playing the new hunter class.
I wanted to play a halfling and do mounted combat with my animal companion, then i got to thinking...
Hunter gets access to alot of different animal companions, including the Roc.
is there any reason i cant use my flying animal companion as a mount at level 1?
No there is not...
My only concern is not enough room to fly inside dungeons and houses that you will be diving into.
I enjoyed playing my Halfling Beastmaster Ranger riding a Giant Gecko in PFS. Combat Trained Giant Gecko with Military Saddle costs less than 200gp. I made him my Companion at level 4. Giant Gecko is one of the best mounts in the game. It has Spider Climb naturally. Means you can use walls, Ceilings and other stranger routes to open a charge lane. Means you can charge more often. He also makes an amazing scout as there were a few times I rode up walls with a grappling hook and dropped it for my team to climb up. Offensively it was not terrible I 1 shotted even bosses up till level 7 and then they were living with just a few HP. By level 9 I was back to 1 Hitting most things (other than bosses) with Power Attack + Favored Enemy + Risky Striker on a spirited Charge.
You can easily make the kind of person you are thinking..but from my experience the Hunter is better Off his AC using teamwork feats than he is ON the AC. Most teamwork feats other than Escape Route are very poor on a Lancer type. Mounted Archery is different but when I hear Mounted Combat I think Lancer....If you meant Mounted Archery then I apologize. I would still Plug the Gecko on a Archer as well. But the Best Lancers are: Cavalier>Paladin>Barbarian=Ranger IMHO due to the damage output and ability to kill usually in a single Hit at a Full BaB.
honestly my initial idea was to run a big cat, charge on round one for pounce/lance damage, then hop off and be a flank buddy using the teamwork feats. i only decided to switch to flying combat when i saw that i could use a Roc. i believe i am going to try it out at level one and two when no matter what i decide to go with my feats will be largely the same, and then maybe switch if its not working out. the celing height was something i had thought of, but i know for sure we're doing emerald spire part 1 on saturday. i had not thought of a Giant Gecko, but that sounds awesome too.
remember this is the hunter class.
the issue i had with giant gecko is it's a small creature, and i wanted to be mounted at level 1.
honestly my initial idea was to run a big cat, charge on round one for pounce/lance damage, then hop off and be a flank buddy using the teamwork feats. i only decided to switch to flying combat when i saw that i could use a Roc. i believe i am going to try it out at level one and two when no matter what i decide to go with my feats will be largely the same, and then maybe switch if its not working out. the celing height was something i had thought of, but i know for sure we're doing emerald spire part 1 on saturday. i had not thought of a Giant Gecko, but that sounds awesome too.
remember this is the hunter class.
the issue i had with giant gecko is it's a small creature, and i wanted to be mounted at level 1.
First if you buy a war trained Gecko it is the Medium Version of the creature....so it is a mount by Level 1. Still all under 200gp which is easy to afford after 1 adventure. (Never use a Created character for your 1st session...Pre-mades are better due to having more Wealth and consumables you can burn.)
You can also Own a Gecko to ride and Use your Animal Companion Class feature for a more Combat critter (Like a cat) until level 4 when you can bond the Gecko for your mount.
I am aware it is for the Hunter class...My Opinion of the Class as a Mounted Lancer stands...it is doable but it is not even in the top 5 of best classes for mounted Lancer builds. Hunter is a class that Shines fighting beside the Animal, not on the animal. Very few Teamwork feats work for mounted purposes and you are feat starved AND not full BaB.