Seelah level 2

[Razer]

Just wanted to share something I did that makes the start of the game a lot easier. I put Seelah level 2 as Beast Rider and gave her a Dog animal companion. Full Paladin isn't necessary, you delay her progression by 1 level which is fine and the capstone isn't worth anything at all. From level 5 Paladin you get an animal companion (horse = suck), but will allow existing animal companion to progress normally. You do need boon companion of course as normal.

Beast rider is a Cavalier class. So full BAB progression. You get a teamwork feat at level 1, which you can share with your party once per day. You get an animal companion at level 1 which can be any of the animals due to the Beast Rider archetype. You also get a new class skill and the Challenge ability. Order of the Lion is probably the best due to Challenge giving Dodge to AC which stacks. The other orders only give morale bonus to attack which is useless when you use Bless or Heroism and the like.

I found this to be a really good class starter for Seelah and you basically let her stay a full Paladin on top of this.

You can do this with any class that doesn't require full progression and gets a pet you don't like. Sohei for instance will be able to ride whatever you want.

Thoughts?

[drchaos]

if you go beast rider at level 4... then you can pick outflank as your bonus feat. and since paladins are extremely feat starved that is big.

and helps a lot more in the long run, sure the tutorial dungeoun and a bit of first act you miss out on the pet but the extra useful feat is worth it

[revan1229]

This is a common thing to do, especially on Unfair, where pets can generally reach high AC levels early. People were excited about doing this with Sable Marine Company, but I haven't heard much about the effectiveness of that pet in the long run.

[Razer]

Originally posted by drchaos:

if you go beast rider at level 4... then you can pick outflank as your bonus feat. and since paladins are extremely feat starved that is big.

and helps a lot more in the long run, sure the tutorial dungeoun and a bit of first act you miss out on the pet but the extra useful feat is worth it

Good idea. Ok, well good point for respeccing her then. At least you can still have the dog at level 1.

[GunStarX]

I tried a sable marine dip, but with 2 levels to get TWF for free for shield bash later on. I like animals that start large for a strength based characters since you can ride with legendary proportions. It's also nice to immediately get Seelah off the ground since she's so slow in act 1

[forkofspite]

Out of curiosity, would the beast rider companion progress with paladin levels (presuming you take the bonded mount option at Paladin 5)?

I've been contemplating if I want to force myself through an unfair run, so the early game help would be essential. However, I might not be able to handle having an irrelevant pet attached to Seelah for most of the game. I guess I could get a merc replacement for Seelah (just for an unfair run), but I also prefer taking the companions.

[Razer]

Originally posted by forkofspite:

Out of curiosity, would the beast rider companion progress with paladin levels (presuming you take the bonded mount option at Paladin 5)?

I've been contemplating if I want to force myself through an unfair run, so the early game help would be essential. However, I might not be able to handle having an irrelevant pet attached to Seelah for most of the game. I guess I could get a merc replacement for Seelah (just for an unfair run), but I also prefer taking the companions.

Yes that's exactly how that works. Animal companions level stack with other classes, even if the other class doesn't allow a specific companion. They do allow continuing progression of an existing one.

So with the animal companion from the Divine Bond class ability and Boon Companion feat (to make up for the 4 Paladin levels) you will have a level 20 animal companion.

https://i.imgur.com/js7Srx5.png

[Deo]

Originally posted by revan1229:

People were excited about doing this with Sable Marine Company, but I haven't heard much about the effectiveness of that pet in the long run.

It allows rider (and pet) to full attack flat-footed AC (which is what you need for Unfair), and trips everything in 5 meters around landing with half-level bonus to CMB (which is what you need for Unfair). I found both abilities extremely useful since the nerf of Shatter Defenses.

Overall I would not go more than 1 level in Sable, unless you are playing main character lunge dual-wielder. And as a tank Dog or Leopard is better (Leopard has 2 more AC with full buffs compared to dog).

[Cutlass Jack]

For Me mounted Seelah must always use the horse that pulled the Inspiring Cart.
My internal Roleplay wont allow otherwise.

But yeah its pretty easy to dip her into a class that gets a pet sooner.

[Soul]

Originally posted by Cutlass Jack:

For Me mounted Seelah must always use the horse that pulled the Inspiring Cart.
My internal Roleplay wont allow otherwise.

But yeah its pretty easy to dip her into a class that gets a pet sooner.

yeah... my OCD wont allow me to change the companions main classes.... with very few exceptions...

[Razer]

Originally posted by Soul:

Originally posted by Cutlass Jack:

For Me mounted Seelah must always use the horse that pulled the Inspiring Cart.
My internal Roleplay wont allow otherwise.

But yeah its pretty easy to dip her into a class that gets a pet sooner.

yeah... my OCD wont allow me to change the companions main classes.... with very few exceptions...

If I get a penny for every time I see someone say they have OCD online I'd be a billionaire.