I was re-reading some old books yesterday when I came across an unexpected concept: dwarven cavaliers.
(If you're curious it's on p. 24 of Varisia, Birthplace of Legends).
I'm trying to find anything about traditional dwarven mounts (if such a thing exists) - the rules let you choose from horse, camel or zebra if you're medium-sized, but none of these really strike me as very dwarven. Dwarves of Golarion doesn't talk about possible mounts AFAIK. Torag's sacred animal is the badger but the biggest I could find was the medium-sized dire badger - I think these and their normal-sized variants would make great animal companions for dwarves (Harsk is sometimes depicted with one) - but mounts are a different story.
So I'm asking you - have you ever read about any traditional/typical mounts for Golarion (Janderhoff/5 Kings Mountains) dwarves?
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Yeah, being a cavalier isn't really a dwarven thing. They even have a racial bonus that is applicable only when they are standing on the ground. Considering they spent most of the time underground, where moving on a mount may be problematic, it's understandable.
I haven't heard about them using any other mounts than other surface dwellers, actually smelly, hardy camel seems to me like a good fit for a dwarf in warm climate. In temperate climate I think they could also use some animal that is good at traversing mountains, for example rams. Dwarves from other setting are also sometimes depicted riding boars.
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Lord of the Rings says boar or goats/sheep, but you may have a hard time finding one the right size in Pathfinder. Bears seem nice and thematic.
For semiaquatic dwarves (if those are a thing) hippos, walruses, and polar bears seem appropriate.
Yeah, being a cavalier isn't really a dwarven thing. They even have a racial bonus that is applicable only when they are standing on the ground. Considering they spent most of the time underground, where moving on a mount may be problematic, it's understandable.
I haven't heard about them using any other mounts than other surface dwellers, actually smelly, hardy camel seems to me like a good fit for a dwarf in warm climate. In temperate climate I think they could also use some animal that is good at traversing mountains, for example rams. Dwarves from other setting are also sometimes depicted riding boars.
Janderhoff is in a temperate climate, alas. I'm sure if any Pahmet or Tar Kuata monk had to really really really ride something they would choose a stubborn, unpleasant beast like them, so a camel fits the bill, but in Varisia you won't find them.
Yeah, cavalier is definitely not a class I would ever associate with a Golarion dwarf (as Ouachitonian points out, in the movies they ride boars and goats, but they're both too small rules-wise and what's more they're never mentioned in any PF material). A mountless cavalier archetype like castellan or squire would do, perhaps, but neither really works for the Sky Magistrates of Janderhoff mentioned in Birthplace of Legends.
I guess if nobody heard/read about canon dwarven mounts I'll just houserule something. A fighter would probably be more adequate all in all, but the Order of the Blue Rose's flavor is hard to replicate in that case.
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Either a mountless cavalier archetype, or a cave lizard. They are from the darklands after all.
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This isn't official, but to me large mountain goats bred for riding seems like a great fit for dwarves.
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Homebrewing some large goats and boars for dwarves would seem a logical choice.
Similarly, I'd expect some other races to have some non-horse options. Elves riding gazelle (for Mwangi elves), stags (for 'standard' elves) or reindeer (for Snowcaster elves) could be another option.
Gnomes riding bizarre mounts like axebeaks or giant frogs or enormous dragonflies seems like a thing that *must* exist.
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Yak maybe? Giant mountain goat does sound good to me as well.
I'm sure I read somewhere about boar/dire boar mounted cavalry.
AP118 had the Burstigeit, http://aonprd.com/MonsterDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Burstigeit
I would also note, that I wouldn't worry about boars being medium - an large adult male, real world, can weigh 600+ lbs, and would have no trouble carrying a short legged humanoid like a dwarf. Temperment on the other hand might be an issue - pigs are not domesticated like dogs or horses...
Torag bless you, pad300 - the burstigeit is exactly what I was looking for! It's a pack animal (which is already great) but the article goes on to detail warbeast burstigeits, using the advanced template, difficult to train because of their temperament but nonetheless used as mounts! And they're appropriately ugly, mean, stubborn beasts XD
It also talks a lot about other animals dwarves use for various tasks.
Whereas I just discovered dire boars (which are identified as daeodons, btw, nice to know!) are one of the favorite mounts of orcs. Pretty cool!
Normal boars are used, again, by orcs, to keep their fortresses and caves clean, it appears. Dwarves should indeed be able to ride trained boars, given their size and strength, even though it's not RAW. The temper problem would have to be taken into account, but since apparently there are cavaliers who ride zebras (who will kick up a storm if you try to tame them and are absolutely impossible to ride IRL) that wouldn't necessarily be a big obstacle - magic can accomplish a lot apparently (and orcs ride daeodons even without it, it appears - Artistic License Biology, rule of cool and all that...).
You're right, Set, most races should have different domesticated animals than the typical human fare.
At the moment I can only report medium cavaliers can choose among camel, horse and zebra (!!), while small cavaliers have a longer list: capybara, pony, wolf, boar (they turn up everywhere), and dog.
But it's also true GMs are officially allowed to approve other animals. I would certainly let gnomes, elves and other ancestries pick more exotic mounts, and I think I'll give a read to a couple pdfs and the srd, perhaps I can find details about them (I don't remember elves favoring a particular mount or another, but maybe it's in the individual animals' description - or perhaps somewhere in the Second Darkness AP...).
There are also mount archetypes that might make a mount a better fit for various humanoids, like aberrant, deathtouched, draconic, elemental, feytouched and more.
Garretmander, mountless cavalier archetypes are the castellan, constable, daring champion, disciple of the pike, esquire, green knight, huntmaster, musketeer and sister-in-arms.
None of these, for one reason or another, seems to fit with the flavor of Janderhoff Sky Magistrates - skilled intermediaries and peacekeepers who keep trade flowing between their Citadel and the various markets of Varisia, and most of all between Shoanti and Korvosa so that they don't go to war (which would impact trade).
The castellan works in a fortress, while they have to roam; the constable is practically a guard captain; the daring champion is a lot like a swashbuckler; the disciple of the pike uses, expectedly, pikes, which aren't the epitome of dwarven weaponry; the esquire has an aide instead of a mount (meh?); the green knight is obviously the faery knight of legend & folklore; the huntmaster looks more appropriate running after a fox in the English country; the musketeer has a firearm instead of a mount, so perhaps in Dongun's Hold/Alkenstar, even though a straight gunslinger would probably fit better; and the sister-in-arms is a Gray Maiden. So, unless we turn to 3rd party material (which is something I'm not too keen on, I like Paizo stuff), the Sky Magistrate should either be a mounted cavalier, or simply another, more thematically fitting class.
But with burstigeits around I honestly think, problem solved.
Thank you again, pad300, you were awesome.
I'll try to be back with more info about other ancestries and their canon favored animals, it might prove of interest.
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^_^
Motorcycles of course, the average crude dwarf is going to find a mount that sounds like a continuous obnoxious fart to be quite charming. Orcs too. Think of the rumbles, pity the elves and hobbits in the area though.
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A dire corgy.