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Holy Riders: The Cavalier's Guide (By Litigation)
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<blockquote data-quote="Veep" data-source="post: 6707848" data-attributes="member: 6793297"><p><span style="font-size: 22px"><p style="text-align: center"><strong><u>Expectations for the Ride: </u></strong></p></span></p><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 22px"><strong><u></u></strong></p></span></p><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 22px"><strong><u>Power source and Role</u></strong></p><p></span></p><p></p><p>Like your parent class, the Paladin, you are a <strong>Divine Defender</strong>, and like your parent class you deal your punishment with unavoidable radiant damage rather than a sword to the face, preferring a sure sting over something less reliable (but potentially a lot more painful). You complement that punishment with some healing abilities and, in some cases, a dutiful propensity for directly taking damage in place of your squishier allies. Compared to the original Paladin, you focus more on constant threat to multiple foes and more of an emphasis on punishing enemy movement.</p><p></p><p><strong>Battlefield Control</strong> - You have some daily powers that inflict some rather crippling status effects, which makes you decent at this. Your encounter attack buff, Holy Smite, dazes your enemies, although since it works off your weapon-based at-wills that's mostly single target fare.</p><p></p><p><strong>Damage</strong> - Dependent on your build, although you're generally decent at this. Charging, especially in <span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>mounted combat</strong></span>, is where you tend to be at your best in this category.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #800080"><strong>Mobility</strong></span> - Your movement on foot will leave a lot to be desired. Of course, if you're on a mount, which you can easily access after Lv. 4, this all of a sudden becomes <span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>your strong suit</strong></span>.</p><p></p><p><strong>Stickiness</strong> - A measure of how likely enemies are to attack you, as well as how well you control the enemy's ability to move when you're near them. You have the the theoretical edge over the O-Paladin in terms of controlling enemy movement, because your Defender Aura punishment triggers when enemies shift away from you. However, the radiant damage you inflict isn't quite as scary as what a Knight is capable of with his Battle Guardian. As for getting enemies to attack you, you have certain abilities and synergies with the likes of Holy Smite and Righteous Shield that sometimes compensate for your rather weak punishment damage, and you can take some O-Paladin Divine Sanction powers and their feat support to round you out in that part.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Survivability</strong></span> - You can wear plate mail from the start and you start with a lot of healing surges by default. That alone makes you quite solid in this category. Some of your feats and paragon path options also do things like give you bonuses to saves or conditional bonuses to defenses.</p><p></p><p><strong>Secondary role effectiveness</strong></p><p> </p><p><strong>Controller</strong> - A few AoE daily powers, an encounter buff that dazes and a defender mechanic that can auto-kill minions makes you decent here.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Leader</strong></span> - Access to O-Paladin utilities at most levels, as well as a few of your dailies, let you ably pitch in the healing and buffing role.</p><p></p><p><strong>Striker</strong> - If <span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>mounted</strong></span>, Cavaliers can actually become quite competent and consistent in this role.</p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 22px"><p style="text-align: center"><strong><u>Basics of the Ride: Baseline mechanics</u></strong></p><p></span></p><p></p><p><strong>Game mechanics</strong></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Hit Points</strong></span>: 15 + CON score at Lv. 1, and 6 for every level after. Standard defender hit points, which you can't complain about.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff"><strong>Healing Surges</strong></span>: 10 + CON mod, which is the highest of all classes.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff"><strong>Defenses</strong></span>: +1 to all NADs, which is as good as it gets.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff"><strong>Proficiencies</strong></span>: Even better than O-Paladins. Unlike them, you start out with proficiency in military ranged weapons, on top of the expected proficency in all military melee weapons. You can go plate and heavy shield from the start, which is awesome. And to top it off, you get implement proficiency for the holy symbol, which is the only implement type other than the ki focus that doesn't take up a weapon or shield slot.</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><strong>Class features</strong></p><p> </p><p><u><strong>Lv. 1</strong></u></p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: #0000ff">Defender Aura</span> (E:HFK)</strong>: Just like the Knight's, any enemy caught within this aura 1 takes a -2 penalty to all attack rolls that don't include either you or an ally who also has this aura active. This aura doesn't affect marked enemies, and since some of you will want to swipe a few Divine Sanction powers, your aura not affecting those can work out to be a good thing. The downside to the Defender Aura is that your ability to defend is affected more by forced movement than a defender who uses marks, but if you have forced movement, mobility enhancement or DS powers on hand you can alleviate this negative.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: #0000ff">Holy Smite</span> (E:HFK)</strong>: Your canned Essentials encounter attack booster. Unfortunately, it has one snag in that it's a free action to activate, which can conflict with any additional attacks your Leader or some effect might grant you. Still, this one does have a lot going for it. The radiant damage, your CHA-modifier + a level-scaling amount, happens regardless of whether you hit or miss with the triggering attack, and if your attack hits, the target is also dazed. As you gain levels you get more uses of this power, so you can potentially keep an enemy locked in a daze for multiple rounds if you find a way to land sure hits (the at-will power Valiant Strike is good for this). Also important to note: This power works on <em>any</em> at-will weapon attack power, not just Paladin powers. It even works with melee basic attacks. And OAs, which can deny the enemy a standard for its turn if a move triggered it. And anything a Half-Elf picks up with Dilletante, which should definitely get some ideas rolling.</p><p></p><p><strong>Righteous Radiance (E:HFK)</strong>: This is how a Cavalier punishes enemies in his Defender Aura. It works whenever an enemy violates the attack conditions while within the aura, or <span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>if the enemy shifts</strong></span>. The radiant damage it deals is the same scaling amount + CHA modifier as the O-Paladin's Divine Challenge, but unlike Divine Challenge this damage <span style="color: #800080"><strong>costs an opportunity action</strong></span> to deliver, so getting dazed disables this feature. Also, there's no ignoring the fact that <span style="color: #800080"><strong>the damage</strong></span>, while functional, pales in comparison to the Knight's Battle Guardian. It does auto-kill minions who violate your aura, but that's hardly a niche to be proud of. This feature would be a lot better if either the punishment cost no action or if it simply did more damage, or both. Sadly, it kind of stands as the Cavalier's one shortcoming.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: #00ccff">Righteous Shield</span> (E:HFK)</strong>: However tepid Righteous Radiance's damage is, the Cavalier redeems himself as a defender with this excellent encounter feature, a martyr-style power done right. An immediate interrupt with a close burst 3 range, this lets you take all the damage the ally would have taken from an enemy's attack, and you get a +2 power bonus to attack rolls until the end of your next turn (perfect time to go for a Holy Smite). It also gets some neat upgrades later in your career.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Blue">Valiant Strike</span> (PHB/E:HFK)</strong>: The fixed at-will power that every Cavalier gets, one you'll be familiar with if you played a STR-based O-Paladin. Too bad it's a fixed class feature, but at least it's a good one. +1 bonus to hit for each enemy next to you. In a crowd, this one strikes true quite often, and unless you use a reach weapon, you're always going to get at least a +1 bonus to hit out of this. This is a good one to use when you want to increase your chances of hitting with Holy Smite. And this power does get very good domain support, which is more likely to work its effects thanks to this power's enhanced hitting chances.</p><p></p><p><em>Associated Domains</em>: Civilization, Hope, Protection, Skill, Storm, Wilderness</p><p></p><p><strong>Spirit of Virtue</strong></p><p> </p><p>This is your fundamental build choice. Your choice of Virtue to follow here will determine several of your future gains, such as fixed powers (including one of your at-wills), the types of improvements to your Righteous Shield and the features you get from the Valiant Cavalier PP, if you take it.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: #0000ff">Spirit of Sacrifice</span> (E:HFK)</strong>: Must be lawful good at the start to take this. An extra healing surge right off the bat is nice, but the best part of this one is the ability to use your second wind to heal an ally within 5 squares instead of yourself. If you use it this way it's a minor action. Essentially, this ability works like a ranged version of the O-Paladin's Lay on Hands. </p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: #0000ff">Spirit of Valor</span> (E:HFK)</strong>: As long as you're not evil, you qualify. Don't underestimate the effect a +4 untyped bonus to initiative can have on your ability to defend. Defenders love to act before the enemy does, and with just a little extra feat support and perhaps some Dexterity you will rarely be beaten to the punch. You also get +2 to your healing surge value, which can really add up in favor of your survivability over the course of a day.</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><strong>Virtue at-will</strong></p><p> </p><p>Your other at-will power besides Valiant Strike is fixed based on which Virtue you selected.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: #0000ff">Strike of Hope</span> (E:HFK)</strong>: Sacrifice Cavaliers get this one. A fine power, granting extra protection to allies by tossing around THPs, even more if they're bloodied. It also has the Radiant keyword.</p><p></p><p><em>Associated Domains</em>: None</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: #0000ff">Vengeful Strike</span> (E:HFK)</strong>: Valor Cavaliers get this one. A solid, Radiant-keyworded power with the real possibility of doing nice damage. The extra CHA-mod damage only happens when an ally nearby is bloodied, but that's probably going to happen quite a bit despite your best efforts. And if you miss with this power at any time, you get a nice little damage boost on your next damage roll to make amends.</p><p></p><p><em>Associated Domains</em>: None</p><p> </p><p><u><strong>Lv. 2</strong></u></p><p></p><p><strong>Restore Vitality (E:HFK)</strong>: Your fixed utility power at this level. A minor-action surgeless heal, worth your healing surge value for all uses, at melee range, with a saving throw attached. Too bad it's fixed, but it's a pretty decent little healing spell, and it's reminiscent of the AD&D Paladin's Lay on Hands.</p><p></p><p><u><strong>Lv. 4</strong></u></p><p></p><p><strong>Mount-related feature</strong></p><p> </p><p><strong><span style="color: #ff0000">Pace of the Virtuous Charger</span> (E:HFK)</strong>: A +2 bonus to party mount speed, but only when you're out of combat. Surely you're not taking this weaksauce garbage ...</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: #00ccff">Summoned Steed</span> (D 393)</strong>: This is what you meant to take. Nothing like getting a level-scaling mount on command. Mounts aren't suitable in all situations, but when they are feasible they are a HUGE asset. And just having the ability to call a mount for such situations, even if they don't turn up as often as you'd like, sure beats a bonus to non-combat mount speed any day. The power, Call Celestial Steed, can be cast twice a day, so you have some leeway on how you handle situations that come up during the day when a mount is or isn't feasible. The default mount is a celestial warhorse, which comes with a speed of 8, a +5 bonus to your charge damage with the Mounted Combat feat and a solid Trample encounter power against Medium or smaller targets. A good starter mount, and you can take feats later to claim an even better one.</p><p></p><p>*NOTE: It's actually possible to take the Pace of the Virtuous Charger feature at Lv. 4, and then two levels later take Call Celestial Steed as your utility power at Lv. 6 (since that power has a Paladin level). However, in this case involving two Lv. 6 Cavaliers with mounts, this essentially means that one Cavalier is stuck with a bonus to non-combat mount speed while the other has his mount and a free choice of a Lv. 6 utility power. The utility power, obviously, is better, so taking Pace of the Virtuous Charger and then the mount 2 levels later is a <span style="color: #ff0000"><strong>trap</strong></span>.</p><p> </p><p><strong><u>Lv. 7</u></strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Improved Righteous Shield</strong></p><p> </p><p><strong><span style="color: #00ccff">Virtue of Sacrifice</span> (E:HFK)</strong>: Reduce the damage you take from absorbing the enemy's attack by 10, and at Lv. 23, by 20. Hence resulting in a nice net decrease to damage taken by the party. Awesome.</p><p></p><p><strong>Virtue of Valor (E:HFK)</strong>: A good amount of extra damage (2 + CHA mod, 5 + CHA mod at Lv. 23) on your next roll after you use Righteous Shield. Fair enough.</p><p></p><p> </p><p><u><strong>Lv. 8</strong></u></p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: #0000ff">Spirit of the Virtuous Charger</span> (E:HFK)</strong>: A daily utility that gives you extra speed on a charge and CHA-modifier power bonus to charge damage for a whole encounter. Good start, but it's at Lv. 18 when this power <span style="color: #00ccff"><strong>really begins to shine</strong></span>, giving you encounter-long flight. At Lv. 28 this power affects all your allies within 2 squares of you as well.</p><p></p><p><u><strong>Lv. 17</strong></u></p><p></p><p><strong>Encouraging Presence (E:HFK)</strong>: Essentially works out to a CHA-modifier bonus to adjacent allies' healing surge usage (in the form of THPs). A neat benefit, although you won't be adjacent to your allies all the time. Probably better in melee-heavy groups.</p><p></p><p><u><strong>Lv. 22</strong></u></p><p></p><p><strong>Shared Virtue</strong></p><p> </p><p>Your Lv. 22 utility power is fixed, and which one you get depends on which Virtue you took.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: #0000ff">Shared Sacrifice</span> (E:HFK)</strong>: The effect of this daily is certainly a good thing: Free exchange of healing surges among you and all allies within your aura 5. However, a Cleric at this level should have the Shared Healing feat, which accomplishes much the same thing, so if you're led by one, this power's value <span style="color: #800080"><strong>diminishes drastically</strong></span>.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: #00ccff">Shared Valor</span> (E:HFK)</strong>: How do you like starting one fight per day with yourself and your allies in perfect attack formation, all of you buffed with a solid amount of THPs? This is a fantastic positioning enabler for a party with multiple melee units, one that a Bard would envy.</p><p></p><p> </p><p><u><strong>Lv. 23</strong></u></p><p></p><p><strong>Righteous Rescue (E:HFK)</strong>: On paper, this teleportation feature looks like an excellent boost to your Righteous Shield power, not to mention your overall mobility. And if you're <span style="color: #00ccff"><strong>not mounted</strong></span>, it is. But if you <span style="color: #ff0000"><strong>are mounted</strong></span>, you will never use this, as it's highly unlikely you will ever want to teleport off your mount.</p><p></p><p><u><strong>Lv. 27</strong></u></p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: #0000ff">Divine Grace</span> (E:HFK)</strong>: Resist 20 to both necrotic and poison is pretty nice.</p><p></p><p><u><strong>Lv. 29</strong></u></p><p></p><p><strong>Avatar of Virtue (E:HFK)</strong>: This capstone daily power is a fixed deal, unfortunately, and it replaces your Lv. 15 power whether you want it to or not. It's not a spectacular capstone, but at least it's serviceable. This STR-based weapon attack does 5[W] hit with half-damage on miss, and regardless of hit or miss a mass-surge trigger, followed by CHA-mod power bonus to your damage and some free healing to throw around on all your turns after.</p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 22px"><p style="text-align: center"><strong><u>The Ride Need Not Be Violent: Skills</u></strong></p><p></span></p><p></p><p>You can pick four out of your list, and unlike the O-Paladin, you're not tied to Religion by default. And you do have a solid list, indeed. A strong mix of survivability and conversation skills.</p><p></p><p><strong>Class skills</strong></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #00ccff"><strong>Athletics</strong></span>: Yes, this is on your list, unlike for the O-Paladin. And yes, you definitely want it. It's great for moving around and escaping grabs. With STR being your highest score you'll make great use of this one.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff"><strong>Diplomacy</strong></span>: With a high CHA, you're likely to be the party face.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff"><strong>Endurance</strong></span>: Resist diseases and generally survive in a lot of adverse conditions. A great choice.</p><p></p><p><strong>Heal</strong>: You probably won't have the WIS to put it to the best use, but it can still come in handy.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #800080"><strong>History</strong></span>: Don't know much about it. Unless you need it trained as a prerequisite for something, leave this knowledge skill to those who aren't so slow in the head.</p><p></p><p><strong>Insight</strong>: Counters Bluff, which can help prevent an ambush. Generally a nice skill, although you won't be the greatest at it considering it's WIS-based.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff"><strong>Intimidate</strong></span>: You'll have the CHA to be very effective with this skill. Useful in many skill challenges, and even has an arguably broken combat application.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #800080"><strong>Religion</strong></span>: Be glad this isn't a fixed skill for you like it is for the O-Paladin. To be fair, it does have some nice skill powers, but I'm not sure that's enough of a sell.</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><strong>Other skills of interest</strong></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Bluff</strong></span>: You'll have the CHA to put this one to good use in skill challenges.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff"><strong>Perception</strong></span>: Even if your WIS isn't the greatest, this is still a vital skill that you should get if you can (typically via multiclassing feats). Acting in a surprise round against sneaky enemies is very, very, very nice.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Streetwise</strong></span>: Good for gathering information, and with a high CHA you'll be great at it.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Veep, post: 6707848, member: 6793297"] [SIZE=6][CENTER][b][u]Expectations for the Ride: Power source and Role[/u][/b][/CENTER] [/SIZE] Like your parent class, the Paladin, you are a [b]Divine Defender[/b], and like your parent class you deal your punishment with unavoidable radiant damage rather than a sword to the face, preferring a sure sting over something less reliable (but potentially a lot more painful). You complement that punishment with some healing abilities and, in some cases, a dutiful propensity for directly taking damage in place of your squishier allies. Compared to the original Paladin, you focus more on constant threat to multiple foes and more of an emphasis on punishing enemy movement. [b]Battlefield Control[/b] - You have some daily powers that inflict some rather crippling status effects, which makes you decent at this. Your encounter attack buff, Holy Smite, dazes your enemies, although since it works off your weapon-based at-wills that's mostly single target fare. [b]Damage[/b] - Dependent on your build, although you're generally decent at this. Charging, especially in [COLOR=#0000ff][b]mounted combat[/b][/COLOR], is where you tend to be at your best in this category. [COLOR=#800080][b]Mobility[/b][/COLOR] - Your movement on foot will leave a lot to be desired. Of course, if you're on a mount, which you can easily access after Lv. 4, this all of a sudden becomes [COLOR=#0000ff][b]your strong suit[/b][/COLOR]. [b]Stickiness[/b] - A measure of how likely enemies are to attack you, as well as how well you control the enemy's ability to move when you're near them. You have the the theoretical edge over the O-Paladin in terms of controlling enemy movement, because your Defender Aura punishment triggers when enemies shift away from you. However, the radiant damage you inflict isn't quite as scary as what a Knight is capable of with his Battle Guardian. As for getting enemies to attack you, you have certain abilities and synergies with the likes of Holy Smite and Righteous Shield that sometimes compensate for your rather weak punishment damage, and you can take some O-Paladin Divine Sanction powers and their feat support to round you out in that part. [COLOR=#0000ff][b]Survivability[/b][/COLOR] - You can wear plate mail from the start and you start with a lot of healing surges by default. That alone makes you quite solid in this category. Some of your feats and paragon path options also do things like give you bonuses to saves or conditional bonuses to defenses. [b]Secondary role effectiveness[/b] [b]Controller[/b] - A few AoE daily powers, an encounter buff that dazes and a defender mechanic that can auto-kill minions makes you decent here. [COLOR=#0000ff][b]Leader[/b][/COLOR] - Access to O-Paladin utilities at most levels, as well as a few of your dailies, let you ably pitch in the healing and buffing role. [b]Striker[/b] - If [COLOR=#0000ff][b]mounted[/b][/COLOR], Cavaliers can actually become quite competent and consistent in this role. [SIZE=6][CENTER][b][u]Basics of the Ride: Baseline mechanics[/u][/b][/CENTER] [/SIZE] [b]Game mechanics[/b] [COLOR=#0000ff][b]Hit Points[/b][/COLOR]: 15 + CON score at Lv. 1, and 6 for every level after. Standard defender hit points, which you can't complain about. [COLOR=#00ccff][b]Healing Surges[/b][/COLOR]: 10 + CON mod, which is the highest of all classes. [COLOR=#00ccff][b]Defenses[/b][/COLOR]: +1 to all NADs, which is as good as it gets. [COLOR=#00ccff][b]Proficiencies[/b][/COLOR]: Even better than O-Paladins. Unlike them, you start out with proficiency in military ranged weapons, on top of the expected proficency in all military melee weapons. You can go plate and heavy shield from the start, which is awesome. And to top it off, you get implement proficiency for the holy symbol, which is the only implement type other than the ki focus that doesn't take up a weapon or shield slot. [b]Class features[/b] [u][b]Lv. 1[/b][/u] [b][COLOR=#0000ff]Defender Aura[/COLOR] (E:HFK)[/b]: Just like the Knight's, any enemy caught within this aura 1 takes a -2 penalty to all attack rolls that don't include either you or an ally who also has this aura active. This aura doesn't affect marked enemies, and since some of you will want to swipe a few Divine Sanction powers, your aura not affecting those can work out to be a good thing. The downside to the Defender Aura is that your ability to defend is affected more by forced movement than a defender who uses marks, but if you have forced movement, mobility enhancement or DS powers on hand you can alleviate this negative. [b][COLOR=#0000ff]Holy Smite[/COLOR] (E:HFK)[/b]: Your canned Essentials encounter attack booster. Unfortunately, it has one snag in that it's a free action to activate, which can conflict with any additional attacks your Leader or some effect might grant you. Still, this one does have a lot going for it. The radiant damage, your CHA-modifier + a level-scaling amount, happens regardless of whether you hit or miss with the triggering attack, and if your attack hits, the target is also dazed. As you gain levels you get more uses of this power, so you can potentially keep an enemy locked in a daze for multiple rounds if you find a way to land sure hits (the at-will power Valiant Strike is good for this). Also important to note: This power works on [i]any[/i] at-will weapon attack power, not just Paladin powers. It even works with melee basic attacks. And OAs, which can deny the enemy a standard for its turn if a move triggered it. And anything a Half-Elf picks up with Dilletante, which should definitely get some ideas rolling. [b]Righteous Radiance (E:HFK)[/b]: This is how a Cavalier punishes enemies in his Defender Aura. It works whenever an enemy violates the attack conditions while within the aura, or [COLOR=#0000ff][b]if the enemy shifts[/b][/COLOR]. The radiant damage it deals is the same scaling amount + CHA modifier as the O-Paladin's Divine Challenge, but unlike Divine Challenge this damage [COLOR=#800080][b]costs an opportunity action[/b][/COLOR] to deliver, so getting dazed disables this feature. Also, there's no ignoring the fact that [COLOR=#800080][b]the damage[/b][/COLOR], while functional, pales in comparison to the Knight's Battle Guardian. It does auto-kill minions who violate your aura, but that's hardly a niche to be proud of. This feature would be a lot better if either the punishment cost no action or if it simply did more damage, or both. Sadly, it kind of stands as the Cavalier's one shortcoming. [b][COLOR=#00ccff]Righteous Shield[/COLOR] (E:HFK)[/b]: However tepid Righteous Radiance's damage is, the Cavalier redeems himself as a defender with this excellent encounter feature, a martyr-style power done right. An immediate interrupt with a close burst 3 range, this lets you take all the damage the ally would have taken from an enemy's attack, and you get a +2 power bonus to attack rolls until the end of your next turn (perfect time to go for a Holy Smite). It also gets some neat upgrades later in your career. [b][COLOR=Blue]Valiant Strike[/COLOR] (PHB/E:HFK)[/b]: The fixed at-will power that every Cavalier gets, one you'll be familiar with if you played a STR-based O-Paladin. Too bad it's a fixed class feature, but at least it's a good one. +1 bonus to hit for each enemy next to you. In a crowd, this one strikes true quite often, and unless you use a reach weapon, you're always going to get at least a +1 bonus to hit out of this. This is a good one to use when you want to increase your chances of hitting with Holy Smite. And this power does get very good domain support, which is more likely to work its effects thanks to this power's enhanced hitting chances. [i]Associated Domains[/i]: Civilization, Hope, Protection, Skill, Storm, Wilderness [b]Spirit of Virtue[/b] This is your fundamental build choice. Your choice of Virtue to follow here will determine several of your future gains, such as fixed powers (including one of your at-wills), the types of improvements to your Righteous Shield and the features you get from the Valiant Cavalier PP, if you take it. [b][COLOR=#0000ff]Spirit of Sacrifice[/COLOR] (E:HFK)[/b]: Must be lawful good at the start to take this. An extra healing surge right off the bat is nice, but the best part of this one is the ability to use your second wind to heal an ally within 5 squares instead of yourself. If you use it this way it's a minor action. Essentially, this ability works like a ranged version of the O-Paladin's Lay on Hands. [b][COLOR=#0000ff]Spirit of Valor[/COLOR] (E:HFK)[/b]: As long as you're not evil, you qualify. Don't underestimate the effect a +4 untyped bonus to initiative can have on your ability to defend. Defenders love to act before the enemy does, and with just a little extra feat support and perhaps some Dexterity you will rarely be beaten to the punch. You also get +2 to your healing surge value, which can really add up in favor of your survivability over the course of a day. [b]Virtue at-will[/b] Your other at-will power besides Valiant Strike is fixed based on which Virtue you selected. [b][COLOR=#0000ff]Strike of Hope[/COLOR] (E:HFK)[/b]: Sacrifice Cavaliers get this one. A fine power, granting extra protection to allies by tossing around THPs, even more if they're bloodied. It also has the Radiant keyword. [i]Associated Domains[/i]: None [b][COLOR=#0000ff]Vengeful Strike[/COLOR] (E:HFK)[/b]: Valor Cavaliers get this one. A solid, Radiant-keyworded power with the real possibility of doing nice damage. The extra CHA-mod damage only happens when an ally nearby is bloodied, but that's probably going to happen quite a bit despite your best efforts. And if you miss with this power at any time, you get a nice little damage boost on your next damage roll to make amends. [i]Associated Domains[/i]: None [u][b]Lv. 2[/b][/u] [b]Restore Vitality (E:HFK)[/b]: Your fixed utility power at this level. A minor-action surgeless heal, worth your healing surge value for all uses, at melee range, with a saving throw attached. Too bad it's fixed, but it's a pretty decent little healing spell, and it's reminiscent of the AD&D Paladin's Lay on Hands. [u][b]Lv. 4[/b][/u] [b]Mount-related feature[/b] [b][COLOR=#ff0000]Pace of the Virtuous Charger[/COLOR] (E:HFK)[/b]: A +2 bonus to party mount speed, but only when you're out of combat. Surely you're not taking this weaksauce garbage ... [b][COLOR=#00ccff]Summoned Steed[/COLOR] (D 393)[/b]: This is what you meant to take. Nothing like getting a level-scaling mount on command. Mounts aren't suitable in all situations, but when they are feasible they are a HUGE asset. And just having the ability to call a mount for such situations, even if they don't turn up as often as you'd like, sure beats a bonus to non-combat mount speed any day. The power, Call Celestial Steed, can be cast twice a day, so you have some leeway on how you handle situations that come up during the day when a mount is or isn't feasible. The default mount is a celestial warhorse, which comes with a speed of 8, a +5 bonus to your charge damage with the Mounted Combat feat and a solid Trample encounter power against Medium or smaller targets. A good starter mount, and you can take feats later to claim an even better one. *NOTE: It's actually possible to take the Pace of the Virtuous Charger feature at Lv. 4, and then two levels later take Call Celestial Steed as your utility power at Lv. 6 (since that power has a Paladin level). However, in this case involving two Lv. 6 Cavaliers with mounts, this essentially means that one Cavalier is stuck with a bonus to non-combat mount speed while the other has his mount and a free choice of a Lv. 6 utility power. The utility power, obviously, is better, so taking Pace of the Virtuous Charger and then the mount 2 levels later is a [COLOR=#ff0000][b]trap[/b][/COLOR]. [b][u]Lv. 7[/u][/b] [b]Improved Righteous Shield[/b] [b][COLOR=#00ccff]Virtue of Sacrifice[/COLOR] (E:HFK)[/b]: Reduce the damage you take from absorbing the enemy's attack by 10, and at Lv. 23, by 20. Hence resulting in a nice net decrease to damage taken by the party. Awesome. [b]Virtue of Valor (E:HFK)[/b]: A good amount of extra damage (2 + CHA mod, 5 + CHA mod at Lv. 23) on your next roll after you use Righteous Shield. Fair enough. [u][b]Lv. 8[/b][/u] [b][COLOR=#0000ff]Spirit of the Virtuous Charger[/COLOR] (E:HFK)[/b]: A daily utility that gives you extra speed on a charge and CHA-modifier power bonus to charge damage for a whole encounter. Good start, but it's at Lv. 18 when this power [COLOR=#00ccff][b]really begins to shine[/b][/COLOR], giving you encounter-long flight. At Lv. 28 this power affects all your allies within 2 squares of you as well. [u][b]Lv. 17[/b][/u] [b]Encouraging Presence (E:HFK)[/b]: Essentially works out to a CHA-modifier bonus to adjacent allies' healing surge usage (in the form of THPs). A neat benefit, although you won't be adjacent to your allies all the time. Probably better in melee-heavy groups. [u][b]Lv. 22[/b][/u] [b]Shared Virtue[/b] Your Lv. 22 utility power is fixed, and which one you get depends on which Virtue you took. [b][COLOR=#0000ff]Shared Sacrifice[/COLOR] (E:HFK)[/b]: The effect of this daily is certainly a good thing: Free exchange of healing surges among you and all allies within your aura 5. However, a Cleric at this level should have the Shared Healing feat, which accomplishes much the same thing, so if you're led by one, this power's value [COLOR=#800080][b]diminishes drastically[/b][/COLOR]. [b][COLOR=#00ccff]Shared Valor[/COLOR] (E:HFK)[/b]: How do you like starting one fight per day with yourself and your allies in perfect attack formation, all of you buffed with a solid amount of THPs? This is a fantastic positioning enabler for a party with multiple melee units, one that a Bard would envy. [u][b]Lv. 23[/b][/u] [b]Righteous Rescue (E:HFK)[/b]: On paper, this teleportation feature looks like an excellent boost to your Righteous Shield power, not to mention your overall mobility. And if you're [COLOR=#00ccff][b]not mounted[/b][/COLOR], it is. But if you [COLOR=#ff0000][b]are mounted[/b][/COLOR], you will never use this, as it's highly unlikely you will ever want to teleport off your mount. [u][b]Lv. 27[/b][/u] [b][COLOR=#0000ff]Divine Grace[/COLOR] (E:HFK)[/b]: Resist 20 to both necrotic and poison is pretty nice. [u][b]Lv. 29[/b][/u] [b]Avatar of Virtue (E:HFK)[/b]: This capstone daily power is a fixed deal, unfortunately, and it replaces your Lv. 15 power whether you want it to or not. It's not a spectacular capstone, but at least it's serviceable. This STR-based weapon attack does 5[W] hit with half-damage on miss, and regardless of hit or miss a mass-surge trigger, followed by CHA-mod power bonus to your damage and some free healing to throw around on all your turns after. [SIZE=6][CENTER][b][u]The Ride Need Not Be Violent: Skills[/u][/b][/CENTER] [/SIZE] You can pick four out of your list, and unlike the O-Paladin, you're not tied to Religion by default. And you do have a solid list, indeed. A strong mix of survivability and conversation skills. [b]Class skills[/b] [COLOR=#00ccff][b]Athletics[/b][/COLOR]: Yes, this is on your list, unlike for the O-Paladin. And yes, you definitely want it. It's great for moving around and escaping grabs. With STR being your highest score you'll make great use of this one. [COLOR=#00ccff][b]Diplomacy[/b][/COLOR]: With a high CHA, you're likely to be the party face. [COLOR=#00ccff][b]Endurance[/b][/COLOR]: Resist diseases and generally survive in a lot of adverse conditions. A great choice. [b]Heal[/b]: You probably won't have the WIS to put it to the best use, but it can still come in handy. [COLOR=#800080][b]History[/b][/COLOR]: Don't know much about it. Unless you need it trained as a prerequisite for something, leave this knowledge skill to those who aren't so slow in the head. [b]Insight[/b]: Counters Bluff, which can help prevent an ambush. Generally a nice skill, although you won't be the greatest at it considering it's WIS-based. [COLOR=#00ccff][b]Intimidate[/b][/COLOR]: You'll have the CHA to be very effective with this skill. Useful in many skill challenges, and even has an arguably broken combat application. [COLOR=#800080][b]Religion[/b][/COLOR]: Be glad this isn't a fixed skill for you like it is for the O-Paladin. To be fair, it does have some nice skill powers, but I'm not sure that's enough of a sell. [b]Other skills of interest[/b] [COLOR=#0000ff][b]Bluff[/b][/COLOR]: You'll have the CHA to put this one to good use in skill challenges. [COLOR=#00ccff][b]Perception[/b][/COLOR]: Even if your WIS isn't the greatest, this is still a vital skill that you should get if you can (typically via multiclassing feats). Acting in a surprise round against sneaky enemies is very, very, very nice. [COLOR=#0000ff][b]Streetwise[/b][/COLOR]: Good for gathering information, and with a high CHA you'll be great at it. [/QUOTE]
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Holy Riders: The Cavalier's Guide (By Litigation)
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