New to PF2, but just like every other system I like to over think and overanalyze character creation (call it a sickness, call it an obsession, call it an escape from life, call it being a normal behavior for TTRPG players, whatever).
How useful is a Beastmaster dedication and companion? Does a mount give you a big advantage in a dungeon crawl? PC is small, mount would start out medium size of that helps.
Mounts can be tricky in dungeons due to size issues. However, spellcasters often hit that "what do I with my third action" if they don't see any reason to move since most spells are two actions. Commanding your animal companion is 1 action, then they get to move in and provide flanks to your frontliners and chip away at enemies. They're reasonably accurate and durable, though they do fall a little behind at high levels is my understanding (at level 4 specifically they're actually silly and basically an additional PC in a fight in terms of stats, but that's the peak). You'll need to be able to heal them but a Warpriest shouldn't have issues there I think.
That said... I think I'd lean more towards using one on a Cloistered Cleric, because a Warpriest is more likely to already be in the thick of things? I'm not 100% sure. If you're focusing on buff spells heavily I suppose it makes sense, as you'd probably end up switching over to moving/striking on both the PC and AC after getting some buffs up until you need to heal, but I can't say for sure.
The archetype itself works very well - it does require a fair number of feats (Mature Animal Companion etc are basically mandatory to take at the first level you can for your companion's stats to keep up), but spellcasters usually can manage that I think.
War Priest action economy is super tight. I think you'll have a hard time finding actions to command your animal. If you need another body, you can use summon spells.
Beastmaster would work better on your traditional casters, like the cloistered cleric.
What they said. Between striking, raising their shield, casting spells, and maybe demoralize/bon mot if they have the charisma for it, a war priest has too much to do as is. Might be handy as a mount for a free movement at level 4, but that's about it.
I don't have intimidation trained currently since at least one, possibly two, other PC will have it trained and will be using it. I will check out Bon Mot to see if it will work though since I'm training in Diplomacy already and have 14 Cha at level 1 with the intend to boost it over time.
I was thinking from an action economy aspect, I would strike with his scimitar, raise shield, and command the Beastmaster Mount. The Mount would then be able to attack/support and move a little bit out of melee to force the enemies to use a move action to get to me.
I do appreciate the input though, it really does help since I am still not completely sure how it will all play.
I should note that being mounted means you share MAP with your mount, it removes the advantage animal companions otherwise have there.
Actually, thinking about it more, Cavalier would probably be a better choice. An independent animal might not be a great call, but a mount has merit, especially once it gets one action a turn without your command. Being able to reposition and still strike+cast is like having haste. And with 8hp a level and a slower armor progression, having an extra hit point battery between your legs is nice. The shared MAP also matters less than it would for a martial because you won't be attacking more than once a turn, generally speaking.
Beastmaster still gives you a lot of these benefits, but Cavalier also gives you additional feat options.
Cavalier is an interesting option and worth looking into, thanks. My party is light on frontliners, so having some extra HP around could be very helpful. Especially since you can get some cool feats to protect them with a shield.
It depends on your weapon load out and whether you have the feat space.
If you are using a two handed weapon it is probably worth it. Being mounted gives you an +1 AC Circumstance bonus and -2 to Reflex. It is a waste if you were planning on a shield.
An Independant mount can give you a free move a turn and that is probably the best feature.
You can ignore the Mount trait entirely if you don't care about the mounts special maneuver. Which is often the case for me.
Gortle wrote: It depends on your weapon load out and whether you have the feat space.
If you are using a two handed weapon it is probably worth it. Being mounted gives you an +1 AC Circumstance bonus and -2 to Reflex. It is a waste if you were planning on a shield.
An Independant mount can give you a free move a turn and that is probably the best feature.
You can ignore the Mount trait entirely if you don't care about the mounts special maneuver. Which is often the case for me.
What about using one of those new +3 shields with the speed penalty from treasure vault? Do those work mounted?
Also, I'll note shield block/defend mount is a viable reaction use for War Priests who don't have easy AoO access or a great attack bonus to leverage with it. (Though that new shield doesn't come in a sturdy variety, does it...)
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