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TheLogman
2010-03-29, 10:01 PM
So usually Paladins get the Heavy War Horse as a Mount.

But the rules state the a Paladin in an aquatic campaign can get a Large Shark as a mount.

Large Sharks are strong for a mount (High HD, Deals good Damage, a CR 2 Monster).

What's the acceptable limit on Land-Based Mounts other than horses?

Would, for example, a Tiger be acceptable? Tigers have less HD, are slower, have worse AC, and deal equivalent damage to Sharks, and since Sharks are used in Aquatic campaigns, it can be presumed that in an aquatic campaign Sharks would be in combat almost 100% of the time.

So, thoughts? I know Druids have hard and fast rules about switching Companions for stronger ones, but Paladins don't seem to have such rules.

Also, this is a campaign I'm DMing, I'm just trying to be fair. I don't want to give the Paladin player a massive advantage with a really good mount.

Mystic Muse
2010-03-29, 10:09 PM
yay! my thread has a use!

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=143548

there are all the possible options for Paladin mounts I could find with the books I have.

reptilecobra13
2010-03-29, 10:13 PM
What is appropriate for the area your campaign will be set in? Is the paladin from a different area? He/she might have a mount that is appropriate for the home region but not as ideal for the current situation. Do you want the mount to be able to engage in combat, or just be for travel? If it's going to be a lot of dungeon crawl, then you're not likely to see the paladin using the mount very often. If you're on the surface, the paladin is going to be more likely to use the mount for travel/carrying of supplies. Just some things to consider beforehand.

TheLogman
2010-03-29, 10:17 PM
The campaign is going to be almost exclusively outside, and the location of the campaign is diverse enough that the player could justify using the Tiger as a mount.

With regards to these alternate mounts, some of these seem sort of powerful (Dire Lion!?, Giant Owl/Eagle?!, Unicorn?!).

Are these mounts that can be taken just like a Horse would have been at level 4?

Or do these mounts carry some sort of penalty or level requirement?

Mystic Muse
2010-03-29, 10:19 PM
some require certain levels but they can be taken as mounts. The templates also add LA. I think your total Paladin level has to be equal to the mounts ECL. hence why a young gold dragon can only be used at level 20. (14RHD+6 LA)

TheLogman
2010-03-29, 10:23 PM
So, for example, a 5th Level Paladin could have a Dire Lion Mount, because its CR is 5?

Mystic Muse
2010-03-29, 10:26 PM
So, for example, a 5th Level Paladin could have a Dire Lion Mount, because its CR is 5?

oh no,no,no no. A level 8 Paladin can have a Dire Lion since its Racial hit dice (or just hit dice) is 8. man, if that were the case Paladins would consistently have mature adult Gold dragons.

TheLogman
2010-03-29, 10:36 PM
Okay, so, final confirmation of sorts:

Balance wise, a 5th Level Paladin could have pretty much anything with 5 HD within reason?

So like a regular Lion, an Advanced Wolf, an Advanced Cheetah, would all be fair game?

Mystic Muse
2010-03-29, 10:37 PM
Okay, so, final confirmation of sorts:

Balance wise, a 5th Level Paladin could have pretty much anything with 5 HD within reason?

So like a regular Lion, an Advanced Wolf, an Advanced Cheetah, would all be fair game?

As long as LA doesn't push the mount to a higher ECL then yes, I believe so. for example, a half dragon Dire Lion couldn't be used until level 11

dspeyer
2010-03-29, 10:43 PM
There's a big table in the DMG, plus dragon rules in the draconomicon. It's based on CR, not hit dice, but I forget the formula.

Mystic Muse
2010-03-29, 10:57 PM
There's a big table in the DMG, plus dragon rules in the draconomicon. It's based on CR, not hit dice, but I forget the formula.

Really? Everything I've seen seems to say something along the lines of ECL, not CR.

EDIT: huh. you're right. it says in the DMG the mount should be no more than 3 CR below the rider (if it is incapable of flying) or 4 below CR. (if it is capable of flying) This seems odd though since if that were the case a level 20 Paladin should have an adult gold dragon as its mount but the oldest gold dragon you can get pre-epic is young which is CR 9.:smallconfused:

PlzBreakMyCmpAn
2010-03-30, 12:06 AM
Paladins would consistently have mature adult Gold dragons.hehe. Just like an old version of my world record ubermount. Mature was the age category before the HD advancements iirc

Vizzerdrix
2010-03-31, 05:29 AM
Paladin on a Rust Monster? Paladin on a Chuul? An aberration paladin.

Critical
2010-03-31, 06:38 AM
Epic paladin on Tarrasque, anyone?

MickJay
2010-03-31, 07:28 AM
An elephant, perhaps? They come in the standard range of 11-22HD

Mystic Muse
2010-03-31, 10:27 AM
An elephant, perhaps? They come in the standard range of 11-22HD

Except it's based off CR. So an epic level Paladin could very well have a great wyrm gold dragon depending on its level. Heck, an epic level Paladin could have the Tarrasque like somebody else in this thread said.