Rebuilding an ubercharger for a nostalgia oneshot

[Spore]

Years ago, I had this Halfling Beastrider that gradually replaced its levels with Vengeance Paladin. the Griffon then was semi-legal (with full mount speed). Now I want to rebuild it legally, with a bit of optimization and perusing the Monstrous Mount feat: https://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/monstrous-mount/

Things that need to stay:
1) Ubercharging should be the modus operandi but the character should not be screwed off his mount.
2) The character is part of a group of a dual wielding ranger (bounty hunter with undead slaying swords), a black blade magus and probably a terribly built fighter. He should have his moments but should not overshadow his allies.
3) The attributes should most likely stay: 14/14/16/12/10/17
4) 10th level, WBL, though most of the cash is focussed on his small longsword/short sword and his lance (cannot rebuild his sword since it uses custom rules, that increase the weapon bonus the larger the enemy is), stuff along the side of: +1 holy lance, +2 shortsword with said enchantment, +1 mithril chainmail and +1 heavy shield, chain shirt barding for the griffon.

I got the following from the old sheet:
1) Mounted Combat
1cavalier) Tactics: Lookout
3) Power Attack
5) Rideby attack
7) Spirited Charge
9) Trick Rider
9cavalier) Outflank

As I got him at around 9th level, I could change Trick Rider for Monstrous Mount. Of course I could optimize the weapon enchantment a bit but that depends. Should I ignore Paladin and focus on Beastrider Cavalier? Should I go full Paladin? Do a hybrid?

[Geddy2112]

Holy on a lance seems like overkill if you go paladin. Also, a lot of evil enemies are undead so if you want to let the ranger shine, I would dump the pally and/or holy off the lance.

If you go cavalier, the order of the dragon is always good, and moreso with halfling to aid another outside combat(or even in). See if your DM will rule that helpful trait and the order abilities will stack to make a serious buffer.

Trick riding is really a meh feat, only needed for the prereq of mounted skirmisher, and as a one shot you won't be needing that. With the 9 required ranks, you will already have a +14 to ride(9 ranks 3 class skill 2 dex) meaning you auto pass checks of a 15 anyways. A second use of mounted combat is cool but not required. If you go cavalier you can wear heavier armor since you won't take ACP to ride checks for your mount(a single rank will give you this too if you wanna mix and match pally).

Have you considered hunter? You would have to respec your ability scores but it is a very powerful alternative. With magic, maybe a bit too strong if you don't want to overshine the party. Paladin is already going to be one of the stronger party members as a strong tier 4.

Beastrider is pointless for your build, since it won't let you get a griffin anways. You could take another archetype if you went cavalier. There is the drake rider which gives you an in class flying mount, as well as the silver champion paladin which does the same thing.

[upho]

Hmm... I think Geddy gave good advice, especially about the lance overkill and overshadowing risks, and maybe putting a bit more emphasis on the buff/leader aspects.

But on the other hand, the griffon can be one seriously hardcore supercharger mount, and it would be kinda sad not to make the most of it...

A few tips:

1 level of Sohei monk lets you nab Mounted Skirmisher immediately if you wanna join in your mount's pounce-splattering fun (though you won't be making a mounted charge); no prereqs, no questions asked. And the dip's synergy with Lookout is amazing, allowing both you and your mount to basically always take all actions you'd be able to take in a normal full turn also in surprise rounds.
You and your murder-mount can do absolutely insane co-op overkill stuff with Paired Opportunist. For a very simple example, imagine if your mount has Greater Overrun and Charge Through... Or say Forceful Charge and Greater Bull Rush. You can complement with for example a Leveraging Tempest Shield (plus Shield Brace) for AoOs with free bull rushes, or a Dueling (PSFG) (https://www.aonprd.com/MagicWeaponsDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Dueling%20(PSFG) ) Maelstrom Shield for a tripping version, to really get your AoO fiesta going, ending in a great double full attack finale. I mean, you should really spread all that DPR love around a bit, and since your mount has to move in order to charge anyways, why not murder another bad guy on your way to your main target? :smallbiggrin:
Horn of the Criosphinx may be the ultimate natural attack monstercharger feat, but it sure works for the less ridiculous lance charge builds as well, provided you can pump your Str a bit.
Training weapons are your best friends. Seriously. Much more bang for your buck than Holy. And ask your GM whether your magic kitty-raptor can benefit from a training AoMF (the RAW and RAI of Training is unfortunately quite a mystery that most likely never will be explained by the devs).
If you can afford it, a Horsemaster's Saddle (12k) is fantastic, allowing you to share your teamwork feats with your mount without the need of Hunter levels.
I'd probably ditch the sword and use the lance also if needing to fight foot, preferably with a heavy mithral shield and Shield Brace. Reach is king.

And speaking of, yes few things will give you more than 3+ levels of Hunter. But it's probably just even more overkill for this game.

[JyP]

there's the Aglarondan Griffonrider prestige class also, in Unapproachable East.