First time pathfinder player, any advice?

[Poblobo]

Hey people's, not sure if this is the correct subforum to post this on, but I'm assuming it is, pathfinder being based on 3.5e originally and all.

I'm playing my first game of pathfinder this weekend or the next, and it's the first time I've actually played a tabletop game. There's a lot of new players in the group (read: most of them), but I'm fairly well read on pathfinder myself from reading a ton of stuff on this site.

I'm playing a cavalier of the Order of the Sword in this game and was wondering if anyone had any advice for first time players, about the game in general or even how to use my class effectively. Any tips would be much appreciated.

[Geddy2112]

Order of the sword is the sterotypical classic knight-you ride in on horseback, wielding a sword/board or lance/shield or whatever, kill bad things. Outside of combat you can be suave with the noble lords, ladies, stuff like that.

Mechanically, you want a decent strength for hitting/hurting things, decent wisdom so you don't fail will saves, nothing below a 10 in dex and con, then the rest is up to you. You can have a charisma modifier if you want to be a social character, but that might be a bit harder so if you wanna leave the talking to another player dump charisma and don't put ranks into social skills. Perception won't be a class skill but you want ranks in it anyways. Can't go wrong with being human, but small races make great cavilers as their mounts are easier to manage.

[CockroachTeaParty]

I think one thing that isn't reiterated enough, especially in the various guides (mine included!), is that no singular character will ever be as powerful, useful, or effective than the whole party working together.

Hopefully your first few sessions will be easy enough to let you work out the kinks, but it's important you get a feel for what your fellow players are capable of, mechanically and personally.

Your cavalier will be a competent fighter, certainly, but he won't shine unless someone is sparing a few defensive and offensive buffs for him. Indeed, I wouldn't be surprised if your allies figuring out how to line you up for the perfect charge becomes their primary offensive strategy; the wizard can run out of fireballs, but you can keep charging with your lance as long as you've got the hp to remain on your horse.

If you've got a druid or other nature-themed character in your party, start working with them to see if they can improve your mount. It can go a long way toward keeping your steed alive, and even making it a scary offensive powerhouse in its own right.

When your party begins to fight and function like a unified organism, that's when you can rise to meet any challenge. So take pride in your role as a warrior; you will become the hammer, your supporting party the anvil.

[Tobimaro]

You'll also want to plan out your feat selection. The Mounted Combat feats are a given, but do not become a one-trick pony, as the GM will want to try to deny you your advantage. So, combat feats like Power Attack, Weapon Focus, and Vital Strike (+6 BAB) will also be good ones to look at. (I've been playing a Tengu cavalier in Pathfinder Society, and I have a boon which lets me ride an axebeak mount.)

After looking over the Order of the Sword, you may want to have a positive Charisma score to help out with the 15th level Knight's Challenge ability. You get to add your charisma to attack and damage to the target of your knight's challenge. Of course, once you get to this level, you would most likely have bought a decent headband that can add to Charisma.

If you do want to have Perception as a class skill, talk to your GM to see if you can take a Trait from a book other than the Advanced Player's Guide. The trait Seeker from Ultimate Campaign allows you to add +1 to Perception and makes it a class skill.