Magical items for a Griffon rider

[Blu]

So i would like to ask the playground for tips on what magical items to get for my character.
The character is a strongheart hafling, Paladin 5/Beastmaster 2/Hafling outrider 3 and has 27.000 gp on his pocket.
I can't use any magical items on the griffon and can only use a normal saddle, so I would like to know about items for the hafling.
Up until now i came up with:
+2 Vest of resistance
Handy haversack
Cloak of carisma +2
+1 Full plate with a Restful crystal
+1 Lance
Exotic saddle for the Griffon
Wich leaves me with 11.510 GP to spend. If you have a better recommendation that the items cited above, i would be glad to hear those out.

Edit: Also, Wands are out of the question since i traded spellcasting in an ACF

[BowStreetRunner]

Ring of Feather Falling

[zlefin]

out of curiosity: what prevents you from using magic items on the gryphon or a special saddle?


at any rate:
for style, a +1 returning light hammer would be cool (a la warcraft gryphon riders).

or if you just wanna be simple and effective having a +1 bow would be fine. even if you're specced for lance work, i'm sure there'd be times when it'd be better to just plink from a distance.


if the dm allows custom magic items getting a ring that boosts the riding skill might be worthwhile.

[Thurbane]

Riding Boots (MIC) are good, but 12,000gp. Depending on the feats you already have, the item may be redundant through.

[Blu]

out of curiosity: what prevents you from using magic items on the gryphon or a special saddle?

Basically i picked Celestial mount for the Griffon to get VoP.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

First of all, check MIC p234, that says you can add certain bonuses to other items of an appropriate slot for the same price as a standalone item of that same bonus. For example, you can put a +2 Enhancement to Charisma (as Cloak of Charisma) and a +2 Resistance bonus to saving throws (as Vest of Resistance) onto something like a Cloak of Elemental Protection (MIC) and it costs the same amount as all three if they were separate items, but it only takes a single item slot.

Second, you have Paladin levels so if you didn't take the terrible ACF that removes spellcasting, you can use wands of any spell on the Paladin list. Per the Rules Compendium any spell trigger or spell completion item takes the same action to activate as the casting time of the spell being used. Put a wand chamber (Dungeonscape) in that lance and put a Wand of Rhino's Rush (SC) in that to double* your damage when charging. *Normal stacking multipliers applies, so with Rhino's Rush and a lance you get x3 damage when charging, or if you also have Spirited Charge it's x4 damage. A Wand of Knight's Move (SC) with a decent caster level (and fewer than the maximum charges, price is 1/50th the normal price per charge it currently has) is handy for quick positioning.

Third, be sure to check out the Necessary Magic Items (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?187851-3-5-Lists-of-Necessary-Magic-Items) and try to have something from each category if possible. Your griffon can serve as a flying mount, Mind Blank is too expensive at this level (but you can carry a partially charged wand of Protection from Evil), Third Eye Clarity and Scout's Headband are amazing, Anklet of Translocation or the aforementioned Wand of Knight's Move covers teleportation, etc.

Always be sure everyone gets a Healing Belt (MIC), and you can also use wands of Cure Light Wounds or Faith Healing to top people off between encounters (but a Cleric or Druid with a wand of Lesser Vigor gets more efficient gp-to-hp).

If possible, consider putting Valorous (UE) on your lance. It costs a +1, and makes it deal double* damage on a charge. *Again normal stacking rules apply, so this with Rhino's Rush, the lance, and Spirited Charge gets you x5 damage on a charge (x7 on a critical hit with a charge).

[Blu]

First of all, check MIC p234, that says you can add certain bonuses to other items of an appropriate slot for the same price as a standalone item of that same bonus. For example, you can put a +2 Enhancement to Charisma (as Cloak of Charisma) and a +2 Resistance bonus to saving throws (as Vest of Resistance) onto something like a Cloak of Elemental Protection (MIC) and it costs the same amount as all three if they were separate items, but it only takes a single item slot.

I know of the MiC rules about Common Enchantment but since i barely got to talk to the DM I still don't know his position on those rules. I even intended to do that if he gave an ok, since it spares me the slot.


Second, you have Paladin levels so if you didn't take the terrible ACF

Saddly i traded my spellcasting for a Feat.


Third, be sure to check out the Necessary Magic Items (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?187851-3-5-Lists-of-Necessary-Magic-Items) and try to have something from each category if possible. Your griffon can serve as a flying mount, Mind Blank is too expensive at this level (but you can carry a partially charged wand of Protection from Evil), Third Eye Clarity and Scout's Headband are amazing, Anklet of Translocation or the aforementioned Wand of Knight's Move covers teleportation, etc.

I'll take a lot on those.


Always be sure everyone gets a Healing Belt (MIC)

Totally forgot about those, thanks i'll get one.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Gotta look at the items listed under Crown of the White Raven in Tome of Battle. 3k gets you any maneuver up to 3rd level for which you qualify. Good stuff.

[Elricaltovilla]

What the heck kind of feat would even be worth trading your spellcasting for?

[Kelb_Panthera]

What the heck kind of feat would even be worth trading your spellcasting for?

It's a super mount build. He wasn't getting the vast majority of his native casting anyway. He essentially traded away the ability to use wands and staves without a check for a feat in a fairly feat-starved build. It's really not a definitely-bad move.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

A Paladin 5 will have one 1st level spell slot with Wis 12+. That can be used to prepare Rhino's Rush (SC), which is super good with a mounted charger. He can get a few 1st level Pearls of Power for 1k each to recover that between encounters, and he's using that many fewer charges from a wand of Rhino's Rush each day. Without any spellcasting at all he can't even use the wand.

When needed he could use that spell slot to cast Endure Elements on himself (and others using the pearls of power) every day. That plus the amount of utility he could get from wands of Paladin spells (Protection from Evil, Knight's Move, Cure spells, etc.) and other benefits afforded to divine spellcasters (being able to use a Strand of Prayer Beads, for example), I'd say it's worth keeping the spellcasting even with so few Paladin levels.

[Blu]

I'd say it's worth keeping the spellcasting even with so few Paladin levels.

It's a hard choince on me actually. Thing is, as Kelb said, it's a Supermount build and it's pretty feat starved. I would say that 70% of the build feats are spended on either improving the griffon or getting PrC's pre-reqs. I guess I could nab Paladin spellcasting back but i really wonder if it's worth it since by getting it back i'm either sacrificing Tremendous Charge or Spirited charge so i really.

But the idea of using the spellcasting to spam Rhino's Rush is appealing since i get to share it with the Griffon, and honestly, the beast is the star of the show when it comes to combat.

[Kelb_Panthera]

It's a hard choince on me actually. Thing is, as Kelb said, it's a Supermount build and it's pretty feat starved. I would say that 70% of the build feats are spended on either improving the griffon or getting PrC's pre-reqs. I guess I could nab Paladin spellcasting back but i really wonder if it's worth it since by getting it back i'm either sacrificing Tremendous Charge or Spirited charge so i really.

But the idea of using the spellcasting to spam Rhino's Rush is appealing since i get to share it with the Griffon, and honestly, the beast is the star of the show when it comes to combat.

Honestly, the biggest error I'm seeing is putting VoP on the super mount when it -is- the star of the show. There aren't that many good exalted feats unless you're a paladin or ranger and kitting it out with most of your WBL gets better bonuses and more utility; a fact established quite a long time ago.

[Blu]

Honestly, the biggest error I'm seeing is putting VoP on the super mount when it -is- the star of the show. There aren't that many good exalted feats unless you're a paladin or ranger and kitting it out with most of your WBL gets better bonuses and more utility; a fact established quite a long time ago.

I was taking into consideration that the campaign was using a lower WBL and felt that spreading the money on two characters could leave it too thin, so easy auto-progressions sounded okay.
Are there really that many magical items that i could put on the griffon?

[Kelb_Panthera]

I was taking into consideration that the campaign was using a lower WBL and felt that spreading the money on two characters could leave it too thin, so easy auto-progressions sounded okay.
Are there really that many magical items that i could put on the griffon?

It's a sapient creature with mostly the same body slots as any PC. Command word activation is out as it's anything requiring fine manipulation but they can otherwise use anything the halfling can.

Given the low WBL though, you can consider my objection withdrawn. I've got one for your DM now though.

Reducing or dispensing with WBL is a nerf to everybody but it's a much bigger one to the non- and partial casters. Big mistake IMO.

[Troacctid]

I think you'll definitely want Feather Fall. Ring of Feather Falling is a good option, but single-use Feather Fall Talismans are also a good low-budget alternative at 50 gp each. There's also Ring of the Four Winds, although I personally prefer not having to spend the immediate action (what if you fall off your mount because you were knocked unconscious?).

[DwarvenWarCorgi]

Drogue wing from one of the forgotten realms books is a cheap armor add on that's basically a reusable parachute, much cheaper than ring of feather fall, also activates on its own in case of loss of consciousness.

Edit: found it, races of faerun pg159