Age of Ice and Blood: A Pathfinder System Heroic Fantasy Quest

Voting is open
I'm not as familiar with Pathfinder as some but I thought I'd give making a different style of cavalier a try, this one still focusses on social skills to some degree but is generally much more selfish.
[X] Glorious Knight
-[X] Point Buy: STR 14, DEX 10, CON 14, INT 10, WIS 10, CHA 16 (14 +2 racial)
-[X] Archetypes: Courtly Knight
-[X] Order: Order of the Cockatrice
-[X] Feats: Power Attack, Furious Focus
-[X] Traits: Influence(Diplomacy), Cooperative Combatant
-[X] Skill Ranks (12): 2 Diplomacy, 2 Handle Animal, 2 Intimidate, 2 Perception, 1 Ride, 2 Sense Motive, 1 Survival
-[X] Mount: Horse! (Bodyguard Companion Archetype)
 
Last edited:
Added a new rule;

Wealth by Level does not exist, your access to magic may be limited by circumstance and the relative scarcity of such works, but you will not be limited in amount of wealth you will be able to acquire and make use of by arbitrary limits

For all this quest is working to avoid many of the pitfalls of the last one there are some things ASWAH did right in my humble opinion, and one of those was getting rid of wealth by level. Having to fight both the players and the basic logic of the world to keep the PC within a strict bracket of wealth was painful and I think useless. Granted the way this interacted with widely available magic and the planes in general came out as an issue, but making money by other means than killing enemies for their stuff was not one of them and neither was being able to go over a certain wealth cap.
 
Last edited:
[X] My Body Was To Guard the Servants of the Lord
-[X] Point Buy: STR 12, DEX 13, CON 13, INT 12, WIS 10, CHA 16 (14 +2 racial)
-[X] Archetypes: Courtly Knight, Honor Guard
-[X] Order: Order of the Dragon
-[X] Feats: Combat Reflexes, Noble Scion of War
-[X] Traits: Influence(Diplomacy), Cooperative Combatant
-[X] Skill Ranks (12): 2 Diplomacy, 2 Handle Animal, 2 Intimidate, 2 Perception, 1 Ride, 2 Sense Motive, 1 Survival
--[X] Final skill bonuses: Diplomacy +10, Handle Animal +8, Intimidate +9, Knowledge (Nobility) +3, Perception +5(+7 when adjacent to Mount), Ride +5, Sense Motive +6 (+8 when adjacent to Mount), Survival +4 (+5 when to provide food and water for his allies or to protect his allies from harsh weather)
-[X] Mount: Horse! (Bodyguard Companion Archetype)
-[X] Order Ability: Aid Allies

Now for the fluff that drove this so hard.

My intent here builds off of what @DragonParadox has already given us, with the idea that part of what so disgusted Sir Verely and indeed broke his faith in Christendom was how those meant to lead it would abandon their own for conversation or peace with those he'd been taught were ungodly. They would betray the cause that so many had died for, and do so seemingly without care. This slams hard into the core tenets of Order of the Dragon, and the build presented here only makes it worse because the combination of social skills and social awareness via a not-terrible Sense Motive bonus meant he'd probably be able to see the corruption and self-service in those 'Chosen By God' to lead the failed Crusade.

This can also be shown in his training, in that he was never one who took a path towards singular glory. All of his martial training was focused towards protecting his comrades on the battlefield, and this would make the betrayal of their sacrifices cut all the deeper.

Thoughts? Opinions? Declarations of my insanity (as if I needed more of those)? All are welcome.
Not doing the social voting (yet) but I like the options from @Crake and @Raichu1972.
I'm not really seeing any great benefit to a starting DEX of 13, not for a Cavalier in Full Plate. Why not dial it back to 10, put two points into CON to raise it to 14 and one in STR to get it to 13. Then we could push STR to 14 at 4th level.
 
I'm not really seeing any great benefit to a starting DEX of 13, not for a Cavalier in Full Plate. Why not dial it back to 10, put two points into CON to raise it to 14 and one in STR to get it to 13. Then we could push STR to 14 at 4th level.
Dex is God Stat, you don't wanna miss that dex save against Fireball do you?
 
Last edited:
I'm not as familiar with Pathfinder as some but I thought I'd give making a different style of cavalier a try, this one still focusses on social skills to some degree but is generally much more selfish.
[X] Glorious Knight
-[X] Point Buy: STR 14, DEX 10, CON 14, INT 10, WIS 10, CHA 16 (14 +2 racial)
-[X] Archetypes: Courtly Knight
-[X] Order: Order of the Cockatrice
-[X] Feats: Power Attack, Furious Focus
-[X] Traits: Influence(Diplomacy), Cooperative Combatant
-[X] Skill Ranks (12): 2 Diplomacy, 2 Handle Animal, 2 Intimidate, 2 Perception, 1 Ride, 2 Sense Motive, 1 Survival
-[X] Mount: Horse! (Bodyguard Companion Archetype)
If you go full single combatant, I would definitly remove Cooperative Combatant.
Actually, I would propably go for a completly different build for a damage-dealer.

[X] Riding to Glory
-[X] Point Buy: STR 16 (including +2 racial), DEX 12, CON 12, INT 10, WIS 10, CHA 14
-[X] Archetypes: None
-[X] Order: Order of the Sword
-[X] Flaws: Bravado
-[X] Feats: Cavalry Formation (Bonus from Tactician), Power Attack, Mounted Combat, Ride-by Attack
-[X] Traits: Influence (Diplomacy)
-[X] Skill Ranks (12): 2 Diplomacy, 2 Handle Animal, 2 Intimidate, 1 Perception, 2 Ride, 2 Sense Motive, 1 Survival
-[X] Mount: Horse! (Charger Archetype)

Ready to take Spirited Charge next level.
 
Last edited:
I'm not really seeing any great benefit to a starting DEX of 13, not for a Cavalier in Full Plate. Why not dial it back to 10, put two points into CON to raise it to 14 and one in STR to get it to 13. Then we could push STR to 14 at 4th level.
Problay for our attacks of opportunity which come from combat reflexes. Idk about dialing it back to 10. But maybe to 12 and 1 to CON or STR.
 
If you go full single combatant, I would definitly remove Cooperative Combatant.
Actually, I would propably go for a completly different build for a damage-dealer.

[X] Riding to Glory
-[X] Point Buy: STR 16 (including +2 racial), DEX 12, CON 12, INT 10, WIS 10, CHA 14
-[X] Archetypes: None
-[X] Order: Order of the Sword
-[X] Flaws: Bravado
-[X] Feats: Cavalry Formation (Bonus from Tactician), Power Attack, Mounted Combat, Ride-by Attack
-[X] Traits: Influence (Diplomacy)
-[X] Skill Ranks (12): 2 Diplomacy, 2 Handle Animal, 2 Intimidate, 1 Perception, 2 Ride, 2 Sense Motive, 1 Survival
-[X] Mount: Horse! (Charger Archetype)

Ready to take Spirited Charge next level.

I do like this build but I don't like the order, I hope you don't mind if I steal it and swap the order.
[X] Riding to Glory with a slight change
-[X] Point Buy: STR 16 (including +2 racial), DEX 12, CON 12, INT 10, WIS 10, CHA 14
-[X] Archetypes: None
-[X] Order: Order of the Cockatrice
-[X] Flaws: Bravado
-[X] Feats: Cavalry Formation (Bonus from Tactician), Power Attack, Mounted Combat, Ride-by Attack
-[X] Traits: Influence (Diplomacy)
-[X] Skill Ranks (12): 2 Diplomacy, 2 Handle Animal, 2 Intimidate, 1 Perception, 2 Ride, 2 Sense Motive, 1 Survival
-[X] Mount: Horse! (Charger Archetype)
 
The cavaliers of the order of the blue rose dedicate themselves to promoting peace in the lands they roam. Skilled warriors and adept diplomats, these cavaliers counsel wisdom, patience, and understanding, but are ever mindful of the need to take up arms to strike down aggressors, tyrants, or evil usurpers. Although they believe wholeheartedly in peace as an aim and a final goal, cavaliers of the blue rose are warriors first, and embrace their role as guardians of those who cannot or will not take up arms to defend themselves.

So this build is based on what I perceive to be the critical point of Roland's character right now, as explained by DragonParadox here:

Ser Verley was actually horrified not just at the fact that his fellow knights were betrayed by the swift negotiated withdrawal from Egypt but by the fact that the Sack of Damieta was well a sack. It was the contradiction of 'they are heathens so nothing done to them matters' when it comes to the common people and 'yeah we are totally striking a deal with their leadership'. It is not just that he sees that as a war that meant nothing but as being from the start a war that for the aggrandizement of princes, be they secular or of the Church.

I believe that Sir Verley would walk away from the Crusade highly disillusioned with the idea of pursuing war, and desperate for something to fill the aching loss of the moral center of his life, the church. I can see him poring over his bible, trying to find something to restore his faith, and coming back to the basic strictures to be a good person. Blessed are the peacemakers, he reads, and thinks, 'then I shall make peace'.

I went with Scholar of Ruins here because I think it makes a super-flavorful fit with his character story. He sees the burning of a civilization, and becomes sadly fascinated with the ruins that remain. I picture him riding on horseback past the demolished ruins of a mosque, and stopping to walk through the rubble.

[X] Blessed Are The Peacemakers
-[X] Point Buy: STR 13, DEX 12, CON 12, INT 10, WIS 12, CHA 16 (14 +2 racial)
-[X] Archetypes: Courtly Knight, Gallant
-[X] Order: Order of the Blue Rose
-[X] Feats: Mounted Combat, Ride-by Attack,
-[X] Traits: Influence(Diplomacy), Scholar of Ruins
-[X] Skill Ranks (8): 1 Diplomacy, 1 Handle Animal, 1 Intimidate, 1 Perception, 1 Ride, 1 Sense Motive, 1 Survival, 1 Knowledge (Dungeoneering)
--[X] Final skill bonuses: Diplomacy +8, Handle Animal +7, Intimidate +7, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) +4, Perception +5 (+7 when adjacent to Mount), Ride +5, Sense Motive +6 (+8 when adjacent to Mount), Survival +5
-[X] Mount: Horse! (Bodyguard Companion Archetype)
-[X] Order Ability: Flat of the Blade
 
I do like this build but I don't like the order, I hope you don't mind if I steal it and swap the order.
[X] Riding to Glory with a slight change
-[X] Point Buy: STR 16 (including +2 racial), DEX 12, CON 12, INT 10, WIS 10, CHA 14
-[X] Archetypes: None
-[X] Order: Order of the Cockatrice
-[X] Flaws: Bravado
-[X] Feats: Cavalry Formation (Bonus from Tactician), Power Attack, Mounted Combat, Ride-by Attack
-[X] Traits: Influence (Diplomacy)
-[X] Skill Ranks (12): 2 Diplomacy, 2 Handle Animal, 2 Intimidate, 1 Perception, 2 Ride, 2 Sense Motive, 1 Survival
-[X] Mount: Horse! (Charger Archetype)
I don't like Cockatrice.
For fluff reasons, because our knight does not seem to be a selfish bastard, and for mechanical reasons, as the boni only apply when he fights alone, which is hopefully rarely or never the case.
We are not, nor are we ever going to be, capable of soloing great threats, be they groups of men or monsters, so it is good to have comrades at our side.
 
Assuming that the mount will always be by MC's side is a bit presumptious.
Riding builds can be massively OP (as all cavalry, really), but it comes with the need to keep the mount alive.
And in a low-magic setting, that becomes a massive hassle.
Let alone the fact one can't utilize all of the combat ability in place you can't mount/ride properly.

[X] Crake
[X] Snowfire

I'm not 100% sold on the Snowfire Tank approach, but mount-centric DPS one I definitely find less viable.
 
Last edited:
The boni definetly apply one fighting in a group as well, hell one of the abilities literally triggers when someone else crits.
 
Assuming that the mount will always be by MC's side is a bit presumptious.
Riding builds can be massively op (as all cavalry, really), but it comes with the need to keep the mount alive.
And in a low-magic setting, that becomes a massive hassle.
Let alone the fact one can't utilise all of the combat ability in place you can't mount/ride properly.
RIght, but also the horses are our starting advantage as named in the first post, so I dare to hope that we can at least use one most of the time, if not in all cases.
Keeping them alive is important regardless of the details of our build.
 
I'm not really seeing any great benefit to a starting DEX of 13, not for a Cavalier in Full Plate. Why not dial it back to 10, put two points into CON to raise it to 14 and one in STR to get it to 13. Then we could push STR to 14 at 4th level.
We need it for AoO count to trigger Bodyguard. Unless @DragonParadox would be willing to accept a Spheres of Might feat that lets you base AoO count off of Strength instead of Dex, which is a bit of an ask.
I am not sure the tally can make sense of name-voting two different people, it is probably best to copy/paste the plans you like.
It can. I just checked.
 
Last edited:
We need it for AoO count to trigger Bodyguard. Unless @DragonParadox would be willing to accept a Spheres of Might feat that lets you base AoO count off of Strength instead of Dex, which is a bit of an ask.

Yeah, I am going to have to nix that one, it is one of those feats that tries to replace one stat with another with no downside and no real fluff. I am using my raw physical might for reflexes is not that far from 'I'm casting spells with dexterity '. It just feels a little gamey.
 
Last edited:
Yeah, i am going to have to nix that one, it is one of those feats that tries to replace one stat with another with no downside and no real fluff. I am using my raw physical might for reflexes is not that far from 'I'm casting spells with dexterity '. It just feels a little gamey.
Would it surprise you that I'm glad you said no? Because I am.
If you go full single combatant, I would definitly remove Cooperative Combatant.
I'm not. We get Bodyguard at level 3 via Honor Guard.
 
[X] Blessed Are The Peacemakers

I like the vibe of this character more.
 
Last edited:
Voting is open
Back
Top