Mount for Paladin. DM needs advice.

[reveal]

A player in my campaign is about to hit 3rd level Paladin. I want to start "teasing" him about his mount. He has stated to me, in prior conversations, that he would like a "non-typical" mount. So... I looked into DotF and found some alternate mounts.

I am thinking about the Unicorn (this is a Half-Orc Paladin, so I'm going against the grain here) but I'm not sure if that would be uber-powerful, especially compared to the standard warhorse.

Any advice on this one? Has anyone had a character, as a player or as a DM, use an alternate mount? If so, how did it work out?

Thanx for any advice!

 

[Sodalis]

He is only lvl 3. I would make him have a horse mount for a while so thathe can get all the basics down. After you feel that he is able to work his mount as if an animal companion, then you can allow him to have something else.

Follow the rules- I think it is 2x his HD for the mount (although it could be 1.5x)

After a couple levels, I would work in a drake mount. It is like a dragon, except far less powerful.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Mmmmmm an unicorn, guess your paladin's take that "vow".

I have used dinos (raptors), drakes, dire boars, and such. Just make sure that you keep things balanced and that the creature fits into your game. Riding some animals could cause issues!

Now, let me tell you a story about an unicorn, a wizard and a paladin...it is about the need of a spell componet!

 

[Pyske]

I'd say either go with the standard warhorse, or allow him to trade benefits for other types of mount. For example, a mundane or dire animal with equal HD (remember that his warhorse is at +2HD, which I always assumed meant advancing it by 2 HD including BAB gain, etc.) and no major magical abilities are about equal.

If he wants something really cool, let him "buy" his mount using the leadership feat (at lvl 6), and then tack on the "paladin's mount" special abilities.

Of course, be prepared if he comes back and tells you his cohort / mount is a level 3 Barbarian Weretiger. Sounds like a lot of fun to me, but you should judge powerlevel based on what you think works for your campaign.

. . . . . . . -- Eric

 

[The Dungeon Nazi]

We were still about half a day's ride outside Shadowdale, on our way back from a keep infested with Cult-allied bandits where we encountered a green dragon. I think we wound up taking refuge below ground until it left. We looked skyward with relief to see a four-man hippogriff-mounted patrol headed our way. As they landed, we listened with much chagrin as we learned that the green wyrm had already come this way and they were scouring the area for it.

Instantly, we were beset upon by another group of the brigands from all sides. In the ensuing melee, three of the patrolmen were dropped, and as we secured the clearing and took out the opposition with extreme prejudice, the beast found us as he passed overhead, apparently drawn to the sound of the battle.

Our party leader, the ranger, mounted one and took to the sky after him, and the paladin of Helm followed suit. In that single dramatic moment, the rest of us PCs were just blown away at how awe-inspiring and just plain *right* he looked on that animal, and we knew he'd found his mount.

It r0x0r3d!

Anyway, yes, the hippogriff was quite the interesting mount, and if nothing else, served as a paper-thin excuse to tell this story.

 

[Quickbeam]

Our group's paladins (over the years) have used a celestail warhorse, a griffon, and a pegasus along with the standard mounts. None of these creatures has been unbalancing, because we've bestowed them at appropriate points in time, the campaign, and character level.

If you've got a reason to award this paladin a unicorn, and the player/character are willing to wait past 5th level before calling a mount, then I say go for it.

 

[Richards]

Well, since Sodalis mentioned drakes...

I just posted the 3E conversions stats to the original greater drakes that appeared in Dragon #260. You can find them here:

http://test.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13264

Johnathan

[EDIT: fixed link to the new ENBoard location]

 

[Breakstone]

One word: Rhinoceros.

 

[Rashak Mani]

I do suppose your "maiden" half orc is in fact a maiden ? You can only stretch so far a Unicorns willingness to serve.

We had a Dire Wolf and a Unicorn... I liked the Dire Wolf because its very tough and the Paladin followed Tyr who had lost a hand to fenris... this was an inteligent and repentant wolf leaving his kinds abominations behind.

The Unicorn I think is a very powerful creature... high attack and defenses... some magical abilities that arent exactly weak... in fact I thought the Unicorn was more combat able than her so called "master"...

Anyway Unicorn isnt a original choice... go for Dire or Celestial Creatures.... my opinion... no flying too... complicates too much. A Celestial Horse with an extra good CON or STR stats makes for a different mount.

 

[Klaus]

Since it fills out the archetype so well, I'd cast my vote for an advanced wolf (4HD), or perhaps wait until 5th level (instead of 4th) and have him quest for a celestial wolf (4HD). It'd be large, and very strong (follow the rules for size change due to HD).

Of course, this is assuming that the half-orc paladin isn't quite the same as a human one. Otherwise I'd say warhorse. But a wolf would enter dungeons more easily (more surefooted). That is the main consideration. Will the mount be of use in the campaign?

OTOH, if the half-orc got polymorphed into a halfling, I'd say blink dog all the way!