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It recently occurred to me that there is a part of the Commander class fantasy that could be better represented in the rules.
Currently, we have well represented symbols and heraldry through the Commander's banner.
But another facet that also represents class may be that of the Commander who blows a horn (think Boromir blowing the horn of Gondor or the classic American officer sounding commands through a trumpet).
I know one could argue that these would be just warrior muse bards, but I feel that there is space for Commanders to also employ sound instruments, whether through a feat that shapes the banner’s area or extends it temporarily or a dedicated item.
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I really hope the banner becomes more abstract on release and allows for more stuff than just having a flag on a pole lol. A warhorn, a symbol on your armor, a family heirloom, a weapon, or even your own aura should be allowed as your "banners".
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it is already allowed to put your banner onto a weapon or shield
But I don't want to have a banner on my weapon or shield, I want the weapon or shield to be the banner itself. IMO the image of a dude running around with a flag isn't really that...exciting. More so when we already have an example of a warlord-type playstyle in the system with the marshal that has an aura.
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would love to incorporate a warhorn
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I could see a warhorn as a way to extend the radius of your banner in a burst or increase # of targets (though likely not for those that only target 1). Kinda like metamagic/spellshaping, adding an auditory component (if lacking). Whether it costs one free hand, one action, or what depends on balance, but I'd think one would at least get a Reach effect for a specific Tactic.
It could be a whole pool of feats, including at least one fear effect I'd hope.
It might need to replace one's banner if only for reasonableness re: free hands, though that impacts other aspects then, likely maybe it does take blowing the horn simply to maintain static effects, but in return the Commander effects more targets, gets more range, et al.
And it'd be perfect for a Commander/Bard combo, which now has me thinking about other instruments used to command troops, namely drums. Hmm.
Maybe an archetype?
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Ordering tactics (that don't have the Banner trait) has to have either the Visual or Auditory trait, but doesn't have the Linguistic trait, so you could absolutely be using a warhorn to signal the tactic.
It doesn't interact with the mechanic, but you can easily incorporate it.
If the idea is that tactics are balanced around the assumption the commander has one of their hands occupied with the banner (similar to a thaumaturge and their implements) I think a nice alternative would for "banners" to have the auditory and visual traits to symbolize that, regardless of what you are using as an actual banner, to whole point is that you are giving both verbal orders and visual signs when rallying your allies. This hyphotetically allows you to avoid having a banner at all if you don't want one, but still have that hand free since your allies would need to see your hand gestures and a weapon or other item would interfere with that. Assuming Paizo removes the whole "if your banner is destroyed your whole party is frightened 1".
IMO, the Warhorn takes a hand and increases the "banner" range to 60'.
I’d be alright with just magical warhorn items that give bonuses to squad mates affected by a tactic. Like bonus damage for a round.