Help on paladin's mount survival, please

[Artoomis]

If you start making feats as requirtements to making a paladin/mount as effective as you believe he should be, than you are almost requiring that the paladin multiclass into fighter.

Yes, well, I am trying to figure out ways to make the mount more survivable so as to be one-half of a fighting team.

Anyway - house rule methods are over on the house rules side.

Within the rules as published I guess it will just cost a small fortune in creating magic items. *sigh* Money he doesn't have.

 

[reapersaurus]

Artoomis - I hate to say it again, but it REALLY seems like you've been doing a LOT of work, energy, and had a LOT of feedback about your ideas.

You don't seem any closer to BY THE RULES getting what you're looking for out of a paladin (and his combat-mount).

It seems like it's going to be up to your DM to be a LITTLE lenient with you to fix this.

Why he has rejected your many quite-reasonable suggestions up to now is not for me to conclude.
I have my OPINION, but apparently to guess based on observation is not kosher.

 

[Artoomis]

Well, my DM hasn't seen any ideas based on feats, maybe he'll be more friendly to me there.

He obviously does not agree with me on the value of losing 5 levels of spell-casting for a paladin.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Artoomis, have you considered the following idea:

1. Get a friendly druid to cast "Awaken" on your mount. He gets 3d6 Int, +1d3 Cha and +2HD.
2. Mount then starts gaining experience and advancing by character class. Maybe the dog can become a Paladin too!

Since you are 11th level, your mount should already have +6d8 HD on top of normal (+CON bonus). The increased HD also improve its saves

SRD
Bonus HD: These are extra eight-sided (d8) Hit Dice, each of which gains a Constitution modifier, as normal. Remember that extra Hit Dice improve the mount's base attack and base save bonuses.

It may be that you are already taking all this into account, but we don't have many details about the current state of the dog, so I thought I ought to put it in here.

 

[Madfox]

If I remember correctly 'awaken' only works on animals. A paladins mount is NOT an animal, but a magical beast.

 

[Artoomis]

If I remember correctly 'awaken' only works on animals. A paladins mount is NOT an animal, but a magical beast.

Correct. Oddly enough, it seems to get no advantage of being a Magical Beast, though, except spells that work against animals won't work. Of course, they wouldn't anyway due to the increased intelligence of the mount - I think all the "animal" spells require "animal" - level intelligence, which is lower than the mounts.

 

[Artoomis]

Artoomis, have you considered the following idea:

1. Get a friendly druid to cast "Awaken" on your mount. He gets 3d6 Int, +1d3 Cha and +2HD.
2. Mount then starts gaining experience and advancing by character class. Maybe the dog can become a Paladin too!

Since you are 11th level, your mount should already have +6d8 HD on top of normal (+CON bonus). The increased HD also improve its saves

It may be that you are already taking all this into account, but we don't have many details about the current state of the dog, so I thought I ought to put it in here.

Good point on the HD - I am already taking this into account. My mount currently has +4 HD beacuse I have him one level behind in order to be celestial - the is per DotF. At paladin 12th level he'll go to +6HD.

The whole problem is that I am fighting a flawed character concept - flawed based on an incorrect reading of the rules - that is, I thought the mount got the paladin's modified saves and based everything off of that, then my DM pointed out that he gets the paladin's base saves.

So now I'm trying whatever I can to work around that problem. It looks like custom feats (if allowed) and everything I get from the "spoils of war" will go to boosting the mounts saves.

Now I just need to convince my DM that the mount has "slots" so that I do not have to pay double cost for all magic itmes.

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

Now I just need to convince my DM that the mount has "slots" so that I do not have to pay double cost for all magic itmes.

One point toremind your DM is that "slotless" is really in relationship to your own PC. If the magic item does not directly affect your PC, e.g. a Saddle Blanket of Resistance that improves the mount's and the rider's saves, then the slotless cost modifier should not apply.

If you look at the Horseshoes of Speed/Zephyr, you can see they actually get significant discounts. Presumably these would be classified as highly restricted items which qualify for a price break.

Good luck!

 

[apsuman]

In Tome and Blood, they address the issue of slots for familiars, but the information should apply to mounts as well. For starters, animal type companions do have slots.

Some equipment might not have to be modified at all for the mount to use. Think of a necklace or a choaker. Other equipment would have to be modifed for the mount.

Get a friends copy of T&B and read up on the part about familiars and then have you DM read it as well.


g!

 

[apsuman]

Share Saving Throws: The mount uses its own base save or the paladin's, whichever is higher.



I know my English skills are not the best, but that statement (to me) still lends some ambiguity to the save issue.


g!