I have not played in about 3 years now and I am coming back playing a class I am unfamiliar with. All previous characters have been melee or casters.
No experience with bows or animal companions.
I'll be playing in a campaign in a couple days as a level 5 Ranger Sky Stalker and with the DMs approval he has Homebrewed the fact I can use a Griffin instead of a hippogriff.
My overall goal is to have my companion do all the work and I stay back ranged. And at one point ride the Griffin and fire arrows off his back.
What feats should I be looking at to achieve this?
This is a pretty basic feat setup for a ranger with the archery combat style.
P is for Progression, B is for Bonus feats.
1 Point Blank Shot (P), Deadly Aim (Human)
2 Monstrous Mount (B)
3 Rapid Shot (P)
5 Precise Shot (P)
6 Improved Precise Shot (B)
7 Manyshot (P)
9 Monstrous Mount Mastery (P)
10 Point Blank Master (B)
****
Bear in mind that you will not take any penalties from firing arrows from your flying mount, as long as your mount doesn't take more than one move action. If you're planning to move around a lot while riding, then you could consider taking the Mounted Archery feat.
You can use ranged weapons while your mount is taking a
double move, but at a –4 penalty on the attack roll. You can
use ranged weapons while your mount is running (quadruple
speed) at a –8 penalty. In either case, you make the attack roll
when your mount has completed half its movement. You can
make a full attack with a ranged weapon while your mount is
moving.
Monstrous Mount
You have learned how to tame and ride exotic beasts.Prerequisite(s): Handle Animal 4 ranks; Ride 4 ranks; divine bond (mount), hunter’s bond (animal companion), or mount class feature with an effective druid level of 4.
How do you get this feat at level 2?
Check the link OP provided. The archetype adds that feat to the list of bonus feats available at level 2.
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Check the link OP provided. The archetype adds that feat to the list of bonus feats available at level 2.Monstrous Mount
You have learned how to tame and ride exotic beasts.Prerequisite(s): Handle Animal 4 ranks; Ride 4 ranks; divine bond (mount), hunter’s bond (animal companion), or mount class feature with an effective druid level of 4.
How do you get this feat at level 2?
I likey. I'll have to play around with that archetype.
These are all perfect examples thank you. Gravity how is something I must need and wonderfully broke down it perfectly with level progressions.
When leveling my animal companion is there something I MUST grab or is every fest for them situational within the campaign?
I'm skimming through and nothing stands out.
* If the GM already has permitted a griffon, then there's no need for the character to take Monstrous Mount. (I.e., don't go looking for reasons to nerf yourself.) Monstrous Mount Mastery you'll take later sans prerequisites (because that's a cool thing that rangers get to do with their bonus feats).
* YOU RIDE A FLYING MOUNT; JOB #1 IS MAKING SURE IS DOESN'T SUCK OR PUKE.
-- Mounted Combat
-- Indomitable Mount
* Archery: ...you're flying -- you don't need a bow when *you* are the arrow.
~ ~ ~
Traits: Birthmark, Rider of Paresh
1. RSS1 Mounted Combat, Iron Will or FEAT(g)
2. RSS2 (Mounted Combat Style: Ride-by-Attack)
3. RSS3 Boon Companion
4. RSS4 ...
5. RSS5 Indomitable Mount
6. Fighter1 [Dragoon: Mounted Combat/retrain 1st feat to Wheeling Charge, Skill Focus:Ride]
7. RSS6 (Monstrous Mount Mastery)
8. Cavalier1 [Gendarme: Spirited Charge]
9. RSS7 or (?), etc., FEAT(g)
...The ideal way to do this would be with Cavalier at 1st level (so you'd at least be on a mount right away instead of waiting until 7th or 8th with RSS). Ah well, at least your store-bought warhouse won't die like a mouse all the time while waiting for the bird to grow up. Fortunately you're parachuting into play at 5th level so there's only two levels of myeh before you're airborne.
This multiclass build packs in the feats, but will save will be irksome, so shore up in that area as best you can.
* If the GM already has permitted a griffon, then there's no need for the character to take Monstrous Mount. (I.e., don't go looking for reasons to nerf yourself.) Monstrous Mount Mastery you'll take later sans prerequisites (because that's a cool thing that rangers get to do with their bonus feats).
The GM allowed OP to "use a Griffin instead of a hippogriff".
The Sky Stalker archetype doesn't grant you a Griffin if you don't take the Monstrous Mount feat. And Monstrous Mount Mastery only affects your Monstrous Mount, meaning that it grants you no benefit if you haven't already taken the Monstrous Mount feat.
When leveling my animal companion is there something I MUST grab or is every fest for them situational within the campaign?
I'm skimming through and nothing stands out.
Okay, so that list of feats are for Animal Companions of Animal Intelligence (intelligence below 3). A common trick is to place an Ability Score Increase in intelligence to allow for all other feats. Since your Griffin has an intelligence of 5, it can already take any feat.
Your Griffin will gain feats at your following levels.
2 (HD 2)
3 (HD 3)
6 (HD 5)
9 (HD 7)
11 (HD 9)
So a non-typical feat progression could look like this.
2. Dodge
3. Improved Unarmed Strike
6. Deflect Arrows
9. Crane Style
11. Crane Wing
****
You will want to pimp your ride, so there are a couple of things you might consider buying.
Armor:
MWK Parade Armor (250 gp for large barding)
Your Griffin can't fly if it carries more than a light load or wears anything more than light armor, so that's the only armor it can wear. As long as the ACP is 0, it doesn't need armor proficiency since the non-proficiency penalty of armors is tied to the ACP.
Headband of Vast Intelligence:
Okay, so your Animal Companion will at (your) level 9 have a total of 7 skill ranks. If you place all of them into the Fly skill your Griffin would have a Fly skill bonus of +12 (7 ranks, 3 class skill, 4 from Dexterity, -2 from being large). Add in another 2 from a Griffon Cloak (Cloak made from the Griffon special material, 50 gp), and it will have a +14 bonus to fly.
If you want your Animal Companion to also be able to place skill ranks in other skills, then you can buy a Headband of Vast Intelligence with Fly as it's keyed skill for 4,000 gp. If you do so, then I'd recommend you to place 3 ranks in Acrobatics, and the rest in Perception.
Since the Griffin has scent, it would (at your level 9) have a Perception skill bonus of +16 (4 ranks, 3 class skill, 1 from Wisdom, 8 from scent) to notice anything by scent. In addition to automatically noticing if anything moves within 30 ft.
The ranks in Acrobatics are to grant it increased Dodge bonuses from Fighting Defensively/Total Defense.
You can wait until you're level 9 before buying the headband, so it shouldn't be a big deal by then.
Cloak of Resistance
Cheap and good.
I bet there are several other items a quick google search will give you.
****
With 3 ranks in Acrobatics and Crane Style, your mount can use its Standard Action to take the Total Defense action and gain a +7 Dodge bonus to AC while you're flying. Since you don't want it to move around too much, I find this tactic to be quite effective.
His games usually go to 20 as a fast pace campaign.
I was planning on taking 10 levels of Skylar stalker Ranger and then 10 levels of the prestige class of Nature Warden
2. Dodge
3. Improved Unarmed Strike
6. Deflect Arrows
9. Crane Style
11. Crane Wing****
You will want to pimp your ride, so there are a couple of things you might consider buying.
Armor:
MWK Parade Armor (250 gp for large barding)
Your Griffin can't fly if it carries more than a light load or wears anything more than light armor, so that's the only armor it can wear. As long as the ACP is 0, it doesn't need armor proficiency since the non-proficiency penalty of armors is tied to the ACP.Headband of Vast Intelligence:
Okay, so your Animal Companion will at (your) level 9 have a total of 7 skill ranks. If you place all of them into the Fly skill your Griffin would have a Fly skill bonus of +12 (7 ranks, 3 class skill, 4 from Dexterity, -2 from being large). Add in another 2 from a Griffon Cloak (Cloak made from the Griffon special material, 50 gp), and it will have a +14 bonus to fly.If you want your Animal Companion to also be able to place skill ranks in other skills, then you can buy a Headband of Vast Intelligence with Fly as it's keyed skill for 4,000 gp. If you do so, then I'd recommend you to place 3 ranks in Acrobatics, and the rest in Perception.
Since the Griffin...
Those are perfect
His games usually go to 20 as a fast pace campaign.
2. Dodge
3. Improved Unarmed Strike6. Deflect Arrows
9. Lunge
11. Crane Style
14. Crane Wing
17. Iron Will
19. Improved Iron Will
As the Griffon is large, it can fly above enemies and attack them from 15 ft away with the Lunge feat. If you're facing enemies without means to reach your mount, you can let it full-attack from safety.
At your starting level, it has one Bite attack. When you take the Monstrous Mount Mastery feat at level 9, it gains two Talon attacks in addition to that bite attack. And since it gains the Pounce and Rake special abilities, it can Full-Attack on charges and will add another two Claw attacks while doing so.
So, 3 primary natural attacks when Full-Attacking, and 5 primary natural attacks when charging. Your mount is gonna love an Amulet of Mighty Fists, so keep it upgraded.
I was planning on taking 10 levels of Skylar stalker Ranger and then 10 levels of the prestige class of Nature Warden
Any particular reason? The prestige class doesn't seem to give you any new ability, while halting your BAB progession, skills, HP, Spells and preventing you from gaining the higher level Ranger class features.