Knight/Cavalier - Missing the Palidans mount.

[Garthanos]

Does anyone have house rules for giving the Palidan back his mount??

A knight without his mount... well just isnt a knight. The holy knight (aka Palidan) - needs at least mounted combat to be what he is "supposed" to be as a foot soldier he might as well be a priest, feh.

And yes I liked the 3.5 summonable Palidans mount, it seems quite appropriate in the rife with magic world of D&D. (I always visualized it as a sort of telepathic connection with the mount.)
The horses from the Chronicles of Thomas Covenent who chose there own riders... and would arrive when needed ... with very little delay even though they might have had to travel incredible distances.

 

[Wannamingo]

I've seen no house rules for this specific subject, but I'm sure Divine Power will have a mounted Paladin build.

For now, you should just get the Mounted Combat feat (it has no requirements at all) and buy a mount.

 

[Jack7]

I happen to very much like the Covenant books. I wish he'd finish up the last one already, I've been waiting to read it for awhile now.

As for me I created a Kavalier (as a separate class) who goes on a sort of Quest for his mount. His mount must be a horse, but it is a special steed. The Kavalier is the knightly cousin of the Paladin. The Kavalier has a special relationship with his mount which is more magical than divine. So the Kavalier quests to find his mount. The Kavalier goes out questing about third to fifth level for his special mount, which is more a warhorse in nature.

As for the Paladin I rewrote him for a special mount which is more like a personal familiar as well as an adventuring companion, and that mount can be summoned, but once summoned the Paladin and mount must then go on a special quest to prove themselves worthy servants of God, and this quest will cement their relationship as Paladin and Steed. Though in the case of the Paladin the mount does not necessarily have to be a horse, though I try and closely match the steed to the nature of the player and the character. So in the case of the Paladin the Steed Quest follows the summoning.

Don't know if that helps ya or not Gar but that's the way I do it.

 

[Garthanos]

Familars are one model (which we probably wont see until Arcane Powers expansion) but they usually lack the.. "I am a combat companion" element that seems relatively necessary. Rangers with BeastMaster Option seem a more appropriate model but then.... you are pretty heavily focused on the mount. Optimally an intermediate solution something between the Beastmasters always focusing on the critter and the ... take Mounted Combat and buy a mount bandaid is what I would like ;-) I know having my cake and eating it too ... I am greedy.

 

[FireLance]

I came up with the following 10th-level utility power for a paladin. I should probably re-write it to make it more in line with the summon rules, though:

Summon Mount
Paladin Utility 10
Daily * Divine
Standard Action
Ranged 5
Effect: You conjure a celestial charger (see Monster Manual) to use as a mount. It appears in a suitable space within range, and comes equipped with a saddle. If there is no space within range large enough for it to appear, the prayer fails.
The celestial charger does not take any actions unless you ride it. If you have the Mounted Combat feat, you may also use its mount ability.
The celestial charger disappears after 5 minutes, if it is slain, or if you dismiss it as a free action.​

I also came up with the following feat, but now that Adventurer's Vault has priced a celestial charger as a 12th-level magic item, I think it might work better if the feat granted access to a ritual that the paladin can use to allow the mount to stay longer:

Loyal Mount (Paladin, Power Enhancement)
Prerequisite: summon mount power
Benefit: The celestial charger you summon with your summon mount power disappears after 24 hours or if you take an extended rest. It disappears as normal if it is slain or if you dismiss it as a free action.​

 

[Garthanos]

That isnt a half bad technique, a ritual seems most appropriate... and the celestial charger does work for me. I do say that the out of combat uses, ie is your paly going to cast that Loyal Mount as an every day thing... given the price tag on that mount I think its appropriate and materials could also be visualized as a combination of special feed that helps ground the celestial charger to this world and helps induce the loyalty and actions which reinforce the psychic bond.

 

[RangerWickett]

Paladin mounts could be the equivalent of magic items, or else cost as much, and be acquired (or improved) through rituals.

 

[Garthanos]

Paladin mounts could be the equivalent of magic items, or else cost as much, and be acquired (or improved) through rituals.

How about a ritual for the initial summoning (that costs like the mount price). Then giving the Palidan a class feature something like the weapon bond of the SwordMage.... for calling it.

 

[Garthanos]

Or does the knightly Palidan start with Mounted Combat.

And we make a ritual which is called bond mount.... with nature or religion or arcane versions which allows "any" mount targetted to be summonable later. The skill roll indicates how long it takes the mount to arrive. Some mounts only accept the divine version of course.

And there is indeed summoning rituals for summoning various mounts and this is independent of the Palidan background.

In other words if you have the right background and access to the summoning rituals or direct acess to the creature... and bonding rituals you wouldnt need to be a palidan to have a "special mount you can call".

 

[Jack7]

I like the idea of a Ritual and a Quest being associated with the Paladin's mount, as well as possibly other things.

Since I already have a Quest associated I think I'm gonna add an associated Ritual regarding these matters into my setting.