Howdy all,
I wanna give my Paladin player a Gorthek. It fits with what he mentioned he'd be interested in, it fits the environment, and (most importantly) it fits my story.
There was a planned Gorthek and Gorthek Rider fight planned, and they bypassed it for a short time. In that time, the Half-Orc Paladin hit level five. Likely, he will be level six or even seven by the time they all get to the fight.
Now, my question is, is this too powerful a mount? What steps would you do to power down this mount to make it level appropriate? I've noticed a lot of the Animal Companions have a total stat bonus around +-0 to +2; the Gorthek has a +8.
My thoughts are thus: it won't be a normal Divine Bonded creature. The Gorthek will resist, be ornery, and have a stubborn personality. When they first encounter it, it will hate the Paladin, because it knows the Bond is there. The party will need to kill the Rider and down the Gorthek, without killing it. Maybe that fight/injury will give it a permanent Strength drain to balance it some? What have been all of your experiences in this field? Thanks a bunch!
The Archives of Nethys lists the statistics for a Gorthek animal companion here.
If you don't want to overwhelm them, and want some consistency, you could probably use the statistics of a level 7 Gorthek bonded mount, since it will be large by then, and would likely be something like this (trying to be as faithful to the original Gorthek as possible):
Gorthek AnC:
N Large animal
Init +0; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +9
Defense
AC 20, touch 9, flat-footed 20 (+0 Dex, +11 natural, –1 size)
hp 60 (6d8+30)
Fort +11, Ref +5, Will +2 (+6 vs. enchantment spells / effects)
Special Defenses: Evasion
Offense
Speed 40 ft.
Melee gore +11 (2d6+16)
Space 10 ft., Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks: Powerful charge (gore, 4d6+16)
Statistics
Ability Scores: Str 26, Dex 11, Con 18, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 5;
Base Atk +4; CMB +13; CMD 23 (27 vs. trip)
Feats: Great Fortitude, Power Attack, Toughness
Skills: Perception +9
Oh man that helps a bunch, I did not see the Archives Animal Companion page. Thanks so much!