Cavalier [4E new class]

[CDR_Doom]

Hey all, I wanted a class that was focused on mounted combat, in a striker role. It's similar to a ranger variant, but gains bonuses for fighting mounted instead of fighting ranged or with two weapons. I'm pretty new to tabletop gaming, and this is the first time I've tried to homebrew something, so any help you guys could give me (suggestions, problems, balance issues you see) would be very much appreciated. I haven't yet created powers for the class, but the low-level ones should be forthcoming soon if I get the sense that what I have so far isn't terribly unbalanced/broken in some way.


Cavalier
Key Abilities: Dex, Wis, Str
Armor Proficiency: cloth, leather, hide, chainmail, light shield
Weapon Proficiency: simple melee, military melee, simple ranged
Defense bonus: +2 Reflex

HP at 1st level: 13 + Constitution score
HP gained per level: 5
Healing Surges per day: 8 + Constitution modifier

Trained skills: choose 4 class skills
Class skills: Nature, Athletics, Endurance, Heal, Perception, Intimidate

Build options: Proud Warrior, Skilled Rider

Class features: Mount Empathy, Training Focus, Combat Rider

Mount Empathy: You form an empathic link to a single rideable creature. If the link is severed, you may form another link, but it takes (some amount of time) to form.

Training Focus: If you chose Proud Warrior as your build option, you gain the Warrior Training class feature; if you chose Skilled Rider, you gain the Rider Training class feature.
Warrior Training: You gain +1(increased to +2 at level 11) to all attack rolls while on your empathicly linked mount.
Rider Training: You gain +1(increased to +2 at level 11) to either your AC or Reflex defenses(you must choose at time of character creation) while on your empathicly linked mount

Combat Rider: You gain Mounted Combat as a bonus feat at level 1



I need to refine the Mount Empathy class feature still, I'm not sure how long a time it should take to form the link, or all the ways that it can be broken; death of either mount or rider would break the link, you can voluntarily sever the link, and I think maybe if an attack against your Will defense hits, you have to make a saving throw to keep the link from severing.

Since a Cavalier is kinda useless without a mount,I also need to come up with a cheap mount that's affordable for a level 1 character. I'm thinking maybe some sort of young horse that has no special combat abilities, a speed of 7 or 8, and a slightly reduced carrying load.

Thanks in advance for all of your thoughts/comments/solutions/wisdom.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Wowsa. IMO, you need to do two things to that Training Focus feature. One: tone it down. Two: varietize it. It doesn't provide a whole lot of flavor or unique feel, and it's insanely powerful. That gives you a potential AC of +8, +9, I think, if you build it right. Defender-level AC. Or on the other hand, an incredibly potent attack. With the attack-bonusing class feature, you can practically use Wisdom as your primary, and gain bonuses from Dexterity.

Try ideas of interesting things you can do, creative ways to apply the mount.

For the mount itself, check out the Beastmaster build for ideas.

[Yakk]

No, you don't add a 2ndary stat to all to-hit rolls. Nor do you add it to defences. :)

I'd be tempted to start with the Ranger Beastmaster from Martial Power.

However, instead you are mounted on your Beast (your mount).

Your attacks would end up being a mixture of mount attacks and your own attacks.

[CDR_Doom]

Wowsa. IMO, you need to do two things to that Training Focus feature. One: tone it down. Two: varietize it. It doesn't provide a whole lot of flavor or unique feel, and it's insanely powerful. That gives you a potential AC of +8, +9, I think, if you build it right. Defender-level AC. Or on the other hand, an incredibly potent attack. With the attack-bonusing class feature, you can practically use Wisdom as your primary, and gain bonuses from Dexterity.

Yeah, crap. I wasn't considering higher level play when I was brainstorming it. Something along the lines of +1/increased to +2 at level 11 is probably better. It should probably be a much lower fixed-bonus. As for flavor, I didn't write any out, but the idea is that your specialized area of training results in you being able to work together with your mount to improve your aim, or working to reduce being hit. now that I think about it, it may be better to reduce it from attack & damage to just attack, and choose AC or Reflex, not both.


I'd be tempted to start with the Ranger Beastmaster from Martial Power.

However, instead you are mounted on your Beast (your mount).

Your attacks would end up being a mixture of mount attacks and your own attacks.
I don't have Martial Power, so I didn't think about that one, I'll have to get it and look through it. I was thinking of avoiding using mount attacks, instead trying to confer a sense of mount and rider working together to make the rider's attack more powerful.

[Mando Knight]

Even just attack makes the ability indispensable. If the class is Dexterity primary, Wisdom secondary, and the character in question is an Elf, then the character could easily start with an 18/16 in Dex and Wis, meaning that it's a total +7 bonus to attack rolls before proficiency bonuses. If these two scores are boosted every time and the player picks Demigod or Chosen as the Epic Destiny, the final scores are 26/24, meaning that at level 30, the character has +30 to attack rolls before figuring in proficiency bonuses (another +2/3), magic item bonuses (+6), or Weapon Expertise (+3 again).

For a +3 proficiency weapon, this means that the theoretical attack bonus of the character for any power is +42, sufficient to hit an Ancient Red Dragon (level 30 Solo Soldier) on a six. And this is also before adding in Warlord bonuses, easily knocking the total attack bonus to make it a 5% chance of missing one of the highest ACs in the game.

Put it in damage only, similar to the Sorcerer (PHB2).

...Also, I'd make it Strength primary, and give it the Avenger's HP progression.

[CDR_Doom]

Even just attack makes the ability indispensable. If the class is Dexterity primary, Wisdom secondary, and the character in question is an Elf, then the character could easily start with an 18/16 in Dex and Wis, meaning that it's a total +7 bonus to attack rolls before proficiency bonuses. If these two scores are boosted every time and the player picks Demigod or Chosen as the Epic Destiny, the final scores are 26/24, meaning that at level 30, the character has +30 to attack rolls before figuring in proficiency bonuses (another +2/3), magic item bonuses (+6), or Weapon Expertise (+3 again).

For a +3 proficiency weapon, this means that the theoretical attack bonus of the character for any power is +42, sufficient to hit an Ancient Red Dragon (level 30 Solo Soldier) on a six. And this is also before adding in Warlord bonuses, easily knocking the total attack bonus to make it a 5% chance of missing one of the highest ACs in the game.

Put it in damage only, similar to the Sorcerer (PHB2).

...Also, I'd make it Strength primary, and give it the Avenger's HP progression.

Something seems off here, is your math from before or after I adjusted the class feature? I changed it a little before your post so that your Wis. mod had no effect on it, it's a simple +1 and then at level 11, it becomes +2. When I did it, it came out that the 18 Dex elf Cavalier had, at level 1, +5 attack on a Dex-based power (4 from Dex mod and 1 from feature). At level 30 with 26 Dex, he has +25 (23 from Dex+half level and 2 from feature). With every other bonus you listed, he ends up at +37, which means he hits that dragon on an 11. While that is certainly still good odds, if that same elf were an archer-style ranger, he would be at +35, hit on a 13, not all that far away. Plus that bonus +2 is completely dependent on him being on his specific linked mount. Dragon lives in a deep dungeon and you can't get your mount down there? no bonus. Dragon eats your horse? no more bonus. It's a new mount and you haven't spent enough time with it to develop the link? no bonus.

Like I said earlier, I haven't cooked up the powers yet, but I was planning on making the ones that appeal to the proud warrior (powers that focus more on damage) Str. based and the ones for the skilled rider (more varied effects) Dex. based, with Wis. providing the various extra modifiers in both power sets.