Spider Riding Paladin?

[TheYell]

I'm thinking of a monk/paladin from a realm founded by escaped slaves of drow. Part of his cultural inheritance is a tactical sign language and a preference for large monstrous spider as a mount ("Spider eat drow. Good joke!") For an advanced mount he'd get a magebred hunter spider. Is this contrary to all reason or playability? If a neutral predator serves a paladin as a mount, does it become safe around small children?

[Xefas]

For an advanced mount he'd get a magebred hunter spider. Is this contrary to all reason or playability? If a neutral predator serves a paladin as a mount, does it become safe around small children?

This is really a question for your group. Just because this forum tells you that a spider can be trained to be safe around small children, doesn't mean the other players, and DM, will agree.

That said, if they're of the opinion that it's impossible to properly domesticate a giant spider, then you can look into the 'Celestial Mount' feat, which gives your special Paladin mount the Celestial template. This makes it intelligent (Int 3), and gives it an explicitly Good alignment. It won't eat children any more than a Good-aligned person would. And it might know a language (probably Celestial).

Flavor-wise, in the default cosmology, the Second Heaven, Mercuria, probably has Celestial Spiders in it. It's basically a giant cemetery, full of all kinds of sacred tombs and catacombs. You could be summoning a Lawful Good Spider that used to work as a tomb-guardian or something.

[TheYell]

This is really a question for your group. Just because this forum tells you that a spider can be trained to be safe around small children, doesn't mean the other players, and DM, will agree.

That said, if they're of the opinion that it's impossible to properly domesticate a giant spider, then you can look into the 'Celestial Mount' feat, which gives your special Paladin mount the Celestial template. This makes it intelligent (Int 3), and gives it an explicitly Good alignment. It won't eat children any more than a Good-aligned person would. And it might know a language (probably Celestial).

Flavor-wise, in the default cosmology, the Second Heaven, Mercuria, probably has Celestial Spiders in it. It's basically a giant cemetery, full of all kinds of sacred tombs and catacombs. You could be summoning a Lawful Good Spider that used to work as a tomb-guardian or something.

Thanks! I'll look into that, I expect to have some explaining to do.

[Pokonic]

Thanks! I'll look into that, I expect to have some explaining to do.

"So, guys, this is our new Celestial Giant Spider friend. Her fur smells like lavender and she makes silk clothing for orphans on her spare time."

"Scitter-scree?"

"She also want's us to know that she appreciates belly rubs. "

[Xefas]

Everyone will laugh at the Giant Celestial Spider.

Until the Giant Fiendish Wasps show up. Then the shoe will be on the other pedipalp.

http://i.imgur.com/y6KobEC.gif

[TheYell]

Everyone will laugh at the Giant Celestial Spider.

Until it stops, ports arms and bellows "It is requested that everyone maintain a level of silence and respect." Tomb guardian, ya know.

[Manly Man]

Actually, having given things a look, a Large monstrous spider is about on par with a heavy warhorse, which is typically what a Paladin has for a mount. I'd allow it, especially since one of its best defenses, the Mindless property, is null and void when it gets the Intelligence score from being a Special Mount. They are to loyally follow the Paladin, and so even if their mount is a spider the size of a Volkswagen Beetle with legs, it's not going to start eating people just because.