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Hey, there. This is just a long rant with little in the form of analysis or suggestions. This just the tale of a goblin and his dog
So, I made myself a goblin paladin for a homebrew campaign. I'm still level 2, but I'm planning my build up to 20.
On level 3 I'm going to pick steed ally, but as goblins hate horses, I'm picking a goblin dog (technically a wolf, but it's supposed to stand in for any canid). The problem is, it doesn't have the mount trait, and there is no way for it to gain it.
There is only one mount (the horse), and it's an animal goblins are known to hate. I've looked for solutions, but to no avail:
1-there are goblin dogs and riding dogs in the bestiary. They don't have the mount trait
2-there is a goblin ancestry feat that looks tailor made for this fluffwise, but it fails crunchwise because it doesn't give your mount the "mount" trait:
ROUGH RIDER FEAT 1
Any creature that will bear your weight can
become your loyal steed, and you know how to coax even the
strangest beasts into service. You gain the Ride feat, even if you
don’t meet the prerequisites. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus
to Nature checks to Handle a goblin dog or wolf mount. For more
about the Nature skill, see page 152.
3-There are many paladin class feats that empower your steed, including the option to have a specialized companion. (As an aside, specialized companions gain by default +2 to their int bonus. The paladin exclusive specialization, auspicious, gives +2 to their int bonus. By RAW, your steed gains 4 to int bonus and reaches companions the equivalent of an intelligence of 10/ end aside). So, lucky me, there's a specialization just for this: Racer, but IT UNBELIEVABLY DOES NOT GIVE THE ANIMAL THE MOUNT TRAIT
Sooooo, it kind of feels that the game is fighting against the concept, and it really really shouldn't, because goblins are kind of paizo's thing. They wanted them to be core. They are little and angry and funny and ugly and scrappy and they love fire and they hate horses and dogs. I'm not usually uptight about respecting the canon fluff, and in fact I usually don't even read it. But this time you (paizo) succeeded! I actually care about goblins and want to play as a goblin and want it to feel like a goblin. And the damn rules won't let me!
Proposed solutions, because I'm not just going to rant:
A- first of all, please clarify that auspicious does not give +4 int bonus. Or clarify if it does
B-please just do one of these:
1-just give the wolf the mount trait
2-add the mount trait to the benefits of Rough Rider
3-add the mount trait to the benefits of theracer specialization
4-add the mount trait to one benefits of one of the paladin steed feats
4-add a riding saddle item that lets you add the mount trait to the animal
Any of these would do. You got me good, paizo. I'm hooked on your silly, horse hating goblins. Just let me play that concept.
You will make a goblin and his dog very happy
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I'm picking a goblin dog (technically a wolf, but it's supposed to stand in for any canid)
Goblin dogs are rats.
Despite their name, goblin dogs are in fact a species of large rodent that some goblins use as mounts.
Otherwise, carry on! One of my players made a goblin paladin, and had much the same rant as you do. We won't even get into the fact that...
So, yeah. Right there with you.
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Noted, thanks! I already have this one on my list; Rough Rider and similar abilities really need to allow you to select those other options with paladin/cavalier/other options that normally require the mount trait, even though they don't have the mount trait.
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One of my players made a goblin paladin, and had much the same rant as you do.
It's true: I was deeply disappointed that my goblin paladin (adopted by halflings!I took the feat, the language and everything! I even wrote backstory!) couldn't utilize a Halfling Riding Dog as his allied steed. I wound up going with an allied weapon instead (because it seemed super dumb to drag a horse/pony through Sombrefell Hall), but I pouted.
Noted, thanks! I already have this one on my list; Rough Rider and similar abilities really need to allow you to select those other options with paladin/cavalier/other options that normally require the mount trait, even though they don't have the mount trait.
For what it's worth - it was really nice to see that this is on the radar to be fixed. Thank you! :)
I feel the same way about Gnomes riding badgers.
Personally I oppose the whole Core (CRB) Goblin PC thing (from both sides, disruptivity and watering down trope), but this is really a mechanical problem that should be fixed even if Goblins are not Core (CRB) PC class, but only in Bestiary.
It does seem like maybe Goblin "Dogs" shoudn't use Wolf stats since they are not Canine, and going to trouble of having unique stats seems reasonable for important aspect of Goblin trope (regardless of Core CRB status or not).
And Camels should just have Mount trait to begin with.
So I'm necro'ing this thread because I was just looking at the possibility of building a Goblin Champion, with a Wolf steed, but it looks like the Goblin still wouldn't be able to ride the wolf, since they are both the same size (small). Am I missing something?
It looks like a goblin can't ride a wolf until it matures and grows from size Small to size Medium. For a Champion, that appears to require a 6th level class feat.