opinions on Cavalier prestige class

[Jairami]

Except that full mounted attack, if it ever gets properly errata'd is meant to work like the kishi charger's ability where in you get a full mounted attack even when your horse moves more than 5 feet.

Scary stuff.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

I think the cavalier is an outstanding example of the Prestige Class concept at its best. Too many Prestige Classes seem to be an attempt to do everything, making them more attractive than other classes. What they should be is like the cavalier: focused, good at doing one particular thing, but with enough weaknesses to make taking the class clearly a trade-off of versatility for specialization.

 

[el Voz]

Thanks to Tower's website

http://www.geocities.com/towerthebroken/cavalier.html

I only know about the above cavalier PrC. His needs a BAB +6. Where are you getting you BAB +8 from? Is this from a book, a magizine article or what?

In the future it would be nice if people post were they recieved their information from. Not all of us of access to everything. Nor do we always notice every new thing that comes out.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

It's from Sword and Fist, the first of the class books from WotC.

 

[Jairami]

The cavalier is a mostly different class in Sword & Fist. Different prerequisites, different abilities.

 

[RangerWickett]

Ugh, I have to say, I really don't like that class. I didn't see the need to make a class out of it, when Sword & Fist could've just introduced some high-end mounted combat feats. The class is so bland.

Imagine this idea for a class.

Fireball Master

1st level - +1d6 damage for all your fireballs.
2nd level - +1 to DCs of your fireballs.
3rd level - +5 ft. radius to your fireballs.
4th level - +2d6 damage . . .
5th level - +2 to DCs . . .
6th level - +10 ft. radius . . .
etc.

The class is just pretty bland. As said above, the Oriental Adventures mounted warrior class whose name I forget is much more interesting.

 

[Epametheus]

One of the more vicious characters that I've witnessed is a fighter/wizard/cavalier who used a leadership feat to get a dragon mount (in this case, a juvenile silver dragon).

He's a one-trick pony, but that one trick -- True Strike + Full Power attack + Deadly charge -- is really nasty; his damage easily clears 100 points -- and he winds up about 300 feet away from whoever got impaled, since the dragon usually casts Expeditious Retreat on herself.

Full mounted attack is an irrelevant ability, since doing a single spirited charge is just as good (or better) than attempting 3 to 4 melee attacks against the target.

The key thing is that the knight in question has that dragon, though -- his damage capacity is much higher, but defensively, the mount's harder to kill than he is.

 

[jdfrenzel]

I think the cavalier is an outstanding example of the Prestige Class concept at its best. Too many Prestige Classes seem to be an attempt to do everything, making them more attractive than other classes.

Yes! I'm glad I'm not the only one left who feels the "bland" PrCs are more appropriate. Add Thief-Acrobat, Duelist and Templar to my A list. Sorry, but Alienist, Oozemaster and Fang of Lolth are what we used to call "monsters", not heroes.

Back to Cavalier, I think it's great. It's a solid concept and is the best fit I've seen for mounted warriors (though in fairness I haven't seen the OA version, which sounds like it's well worth a look). And ditto about a mount's vulnerability in a fight, especially vs higher level characters. Consider rolling stats for the mount if you aren't already. A hero needs a heroic mount, and the MM stats are based on rolls of 10.

--- John

 

[mmadsen]

I think the cavalier is an outstanding example of the Prestige Class concept at its best. Too many Prestige Classes seem to be an attempt to do everything, making them more attractive than other classes. What they should be is like the cavalier: focused, good at doing one particular thing, but with enough weaknesses to make taking the class clearly a trade-off of versatility for specialization.

Except that there's no need for a Prestige Class when a few extra Feats could do the same job -- and they easily could. I think this points to the need for class "paths" or "templates" for what used to be classes or kits. The game should layy out what a "cavalier" or "knight" would look like at each level, but we don't need a new Class or Prestige Class necessarily.

 

[hong]

Except that there's no need for a Prestige Class when a few extra Feats could do the same job -- and they easily could. I think this points to the need for class "paths" or "templates" for what used to be classes or kits. The game should layy out what a "cavalier" or "knight" would look like at each level, but we don't need a new Class or Prestige Class necessarily.

You are very boring.