Prestige Classes to Advance Paladin

[Turelim]

Hi Guys from the playground,

I'm asking for your help to check if exists Prestige Classes that advance a Paladin's Class level?
Right now in my current adventure (Paladin 5/Ranger 3) i'm focusing on my mount, but my DM don't let me use Holy Mount (Dragon #325) so i'm trying to let my mount advance only with paladin levels.

Anyone has suggestions?

[The Viscount]

Knight of the Iron Glacier, Wild Plains Outrider, Windrider, and Cavalier all fully advance mount, though several have some heavy entry prereqs. Knight of the Iron Glacier gives you a megaloceros, which is like a caribou on steroids.

[Turelim]

Cavalier sounds interesting... i see some players using it very well.
Focusing on the Paladin, there is any way to continue advancing it with a Prestige class?

[Doc_Maynot]

Which feature are you aiming at?

[sakuuya]

There aren't any prestige classes, to my knowledge, that flat-out increase your Paladin level. If you want to increase your actual Paladin level, you need to take levels in Paladin. There are, however, prestige classes that increase your effective Paladin level for various things, some of which The Viscount pointed out. If you take a level in Cavalier, for instance, you'd count as a 6th-level Paladin for the purposes of determining your mount abilities, although you'd be a 5th-level Paladin in all other respects (spells, Lay on Hands, etc.).

[Turelim]

This is my first RPG game, so i develop a very big plot for my Character, in the end she will need to fight a very very very corrupted Aasimar aunt who is trying to release a demon prince from Carceri.
My initial build was Paladin 10/Knight of the Chalise 10, but i get in love with mounted combat so i changed my build to Paladin 5/Planar Ranger 5/Knight of the Chalise 10, but in the end my DM doesn't let me take Holy Mount feat from Dragon #325 so my mount will not progress as i planned. Right now i'm looking for suggestions to do mounted combat or mount sidekick meanwhile I destroy the evil from the world :)

Note: I'm Playing "The Shackled City".

[gorfnab]

Take a look at the Devoted Tracker feat. You have a variant of an "ubermount" build going. Usually the ubermount build is Strongheart Halfling Paladin 5/ Beastmaster 2/ Wild Plains Outrider 3/ Halfling Outrider 10. It nets a combined animal companion mount of something like 18 level equivalent progression of mount and animal companion abilities.

[Turelim]

Take a look at the Devoted Tracker feat. You have a variant of an "ubermount" build going. Usually the ubermount build is Strongheart Halfling Paladin 5/ Beastmaster 2/ Wild Plains Outrider 3/ Halfling Outrider 10. It nets a combined animal companion mount of something like 18 level equivalent progression of mount and animal companion abilities.

yeah, that's why i decide for planar ranger on lvl6 i get the Devouted Tracker feat, but my initial plans was to pick Holy Mount for dragon, but my DM doesn't let me. i like the way KoTC works with evil outsiders. the problem is i can't continue progressing it after level 10 as i planned. so or continue with my evill killing skills or continue developing my mount.

Suggestions or what can i do to progress both?

[Red Fel]

If you're interested in becoming an animal-oriented Paladin, the Vadalis Beastkeeper class is an option. It requires membership in House Vadalis, but that can be refluffed; its levels stack with Paladin for Special Mount purposes, and it grants your mount (and ultimately you) the Magebred template. It also has full BAB, a bunch of riding-based bonus feats, and its own spell list. Aglarondan Griiffonrider (warning: 3.0) can turn your Paladin into a dogfighter.

You could also take some feats to upgrade the mount. Celestial Mount applies the Celestial template, Winter's Mount applies the (Cold) subtype, and Dragon Steed gives you a Dragonnel. In the alternative, if your DM is willing, you could go back and switch out your Special Mount class feature for the Drakkensteed Mount ACF, which gives you a flying Drakkensteed.

But yeah. The easiest way to progress Paladin-ing and mounted goodness is simply with more Paladin levels. The things that best boost your mount do very little for your smitery, and vice-versa.

[GreyBlack]

Cavalier sounds interesting... i see some players using it very well.
Focusing on the Paladin, there is any way to continue advancing it with a Prestige class?

Long story short, no. Paladin is not the sort of class you want to focus on as its features and spellcasting isn't great.

HOWEVER...

I suggest to you Justicar. Your build right now sounds like a sort of Batman Paladin, tracking them down and bringing them to justice.

So the moral of the story is be yourself unless you can be Batman. Then be Batman.

[toapat]

Hi Guys from the playground,

I'm asking for your help to check if exists Prestige Classes that advance a Paladin's Class level?
Right now in my current adventure (Paladin 5/Ranger 3) i'm focusing on my mount, but my DM don't let me use Holy Mount (Dragon #325) so i'm trying to let my mount advance only with paladin levels.

Anyone has suggestions?

You need Devoted Tracker. Its the same feat but better. and First Party. Because it lets you combine Mount with Animal Companion. (although Wild Companion is even better)

as has been said, this is the general basis for the Ubermount, but not the exact typical form for the Ubermount

[Turelim]

You need Devoted Tracker. Its the same feat but better. and First Party. Because it lets you combine Mount with Animal Companion. (although Wild Companion is even better)

as has been said, this is the general basis for the Ubermount, but not the exact typical form for the Ubermount

What is "First Party"? because i'm not really aware of it.

[Doc_Maynot]

Made by WoTC, third party means it was made by someone else

[Turelim]

You need Devoted Tracker. Its the same feat but better. and First Party. Because it lets you combine Mount with Animal Companion. (although Wild Companion is even better)

as has been said, this is the general basis for the Ubermount, but not the exact typical form for the Ubermount

Ok, i get it when you are talking about of "First Party", but i still have a doubt about your comment... "although Wild Companion is even better", what are you trying to say?

[toapat]

Ok, i get it when you are talking about of "First Party", but i still have a doubt about your comment... "although Wild Companion is even better", what are you trying to say?

Wild companion can be applied to an animal before Paladin mount. for pure optimization sake, if you arent willing to dumpsterdive into Ubermount/Uberestmount, its a feat on the dnd site that gives something slightly better then the half level progression on animal companion that ranger gives without sacrificing anything from paladin.

As far as Magic item builds are concerned, the exact percentile of optimization determines how useful a feat is. Holy Mount, for instance, is better in builds focusing on using Prestiege Paladin. Devoted tracker for Paladin/Druid, and Wild Companion for just mount paladin

[Turelim]

Wild companion can be applied to an animal before Paladin mount. for pure optimization sake, if you arent willing to dumpsterdive into Ubermount/Uberestmount, its a feat on the dnd site that gives something slightly better then the half level progression on animal companion that ranger gives without sacrificing anything from paladin.

As far as Magic item builds are concerned, the exact percentile of optimization determines how useful a feat is. Holy Mount, for instance, is better in builds focusing on using Prestiege Paladin. Devoted tracker for Paladin/Druid, and Wild Companion for just mount paladin

Where can i found this "Wild Companion" info, you have a sourcebook or a reference link?

[toapat]

Where can i found this "Wild Companion" info, you have a sourcebook or a reference link?

www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a

I always think of it as companion, not Cohort, my mistake there. its online only material.

You need Devoted tracker from Complete Adventurer though. Wild Cohort is only good when you dont multiclass out of paladin

[Turelim]

www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a

I always think of it as companion, not Cohort, my mistake there. its online only material.

You need Devoted tracker from Complete Adventurer though. Wild Cohort is only good when you dont multiclass out of paladin

Thanks for the link, but this is not what i'm looking for... i guess i will continue with my Original Build Paladin 5/Planar Ranger 5/Knight of the Chalise 10; maybe i will improve my mount a little bit with some feats.

[T.G. Oskar]

Seconding Vadalis Beastkeeper.

If you're interested in having your mount work wonders for you, Knight of the Chalice won't give you anything. If you're going KotC, you might be expecting multiple fiends later on, or you want the spellcasting progression. If it's the former, then note that the mount won't be so great compared to a full Paladin or a Paladin/Ranger. On the other hand, if it's the latter, then Vadalis Beastkeeper grants its own spellcasting progression, something that you're pretty much removing from your Paladin progression by stopping at 5th level. You get a few good spells, including Polymorph, which opens the way for the Minor Shapeshift feat if you get the ability to cast the spell before 17th-18th level (the feat is pretty good, since you can gain bonuses to damage or speed, a good amount of temporary hit points or even a natural attack for about 4 rounds as a swift action). Arguably, the spell list is shorter and involves more Ranger spells than Paladin spells, so keep your Paladin spellcasting potential if only for the wands and scrolls, and replace your Ranger spellcasting with Champion of the Wild and gain an extra feat related to your chosen combat style.

Do not underestimate the Magebred template. It's a very good template, and you can eventually partake from it as the Beastkeeper capstone. This, plus Devoted Tracker, should give you a very strong mount. Note that you can also summon animals through your spellcasting (by means of Summon Nature's Ally) with the Magebred template, so you'll have pretty strong creatures all around.

Also, since you'll probably require getting one dragonmark feat, you have access to all Dragonmark feats. Mark of the Dauntless and Mark of Purity give you protection against very nasty status effects like Daze, Stun, Sickness and Nausea, and you can remove those effects from anyone (such as your mount) by touch.

[Turelim]

Seconding Vadalis Beastkeeper.

If you're interested in having your mount work wonders for you, Knight of the Chalice won't give you anything. If you're going KotC, you might be expecting multiple fiends later on, or you want the spellcasting progression. If it's the former, then note that the mount won't be so great compared to a full Paladin or a Paladin/Ranger. On the other hand, if it's the latter, then Vadalis Beastkeeper grants its own spellcasting progression, something that you're pretty much removing from your Paladin progression by stopping at 5th level. You get a few good spells, including Polymorph, which opens the way for the Minor Shapeshift feat if you get the ability to cast the spell before 17th-18th level (the feat is pretty good, since you can gain bonuses to damage or speed, a good amount of temporary hit points or even a natural attack for about 4 rounds as a swift action). Arguably, the spell list is shorter and involves more Ranger spells than Paladin spells, so keep your Paladin spellcasting potential if only for the wands and scrolls, and replace your Ranger spellcasting with Champion of the Wild and gain an extra feat related to your chosen combat style.

Do not underestimate the Magebred template. It's a very good template, and you can eventually partake from it as the Beastkeeper capstone. This, plus Devoted Tracker, should give you a very strong mount. Note that you can also summon animals through your spellcasting (by means of Summon Nature's Ally) with the Magebred template, so you'll have pretty strong creatures all around.

Also, since you'll probably require getting one dragonmark feat, you have access to all Dragonmark feats. Mark of the Dauntless and Mark of Purity give you protection against very nasty status effects like Daze, Stun, Sickness and Nausea, and you can remove those effects from anyone (such as your mount) by touch.

Thanks for the Suggestions, i'm planning to take KoTC because later on my party will be facing a lot of demons and evil outsiders, i think maybe i will continue progressing paladin and ranger a litte bit before entering KoTC 5 levels more or taking another Prestige class that can progress my mount in the very beginning of its progression.

EDIT: The decision of taking KoTC i just commented before, My Party are playing "The Shackled City", this is my first character... so I created a very big plot around her that matches the background, and change how this adventure will be ending (my DM played this adventure path like 5th times so far). I get in love with mounted mechanics but is too late to really maximizing it, so i't trying to fix it on my way so she can follow his desire of defeat the evil plot around her life.