Doctor Despair
2020-11-28, 02:24 AM
While it is hidden away in an obscure class spell list, this spell from Oriental Adventures has an interesting effect:
Necromancy
Level: Shugenja 3 (Water),
Components: V, S, DF,
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 round/level (D)
When you cast this spell, your spirit enters the body of your horse (which you must be riding when you cast the spell) and merges with the horse's own. Your own body hunkers low on the horse's back and holds on tight for the duration of the spell; it is a part of the body you and your steed share, but not a particularly useful part.
As a joint creature, you and your mount share all your skills, feats, and abilities. You make all checks, saves, and attack rolls using the better base number (yours or your horse's) and the better ability score modifier. You retain your own Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, memory, personality, level and class, alignment, and extraordinary and supernatural abilities. You gain your horse's Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, speed, natural armor and weapons, and extraordinary abilities.
Opponents can attack either your body or your mount's. Your body uses the mount's Dexterity bonus to AC, not subject to the maximum Dexterity bonus for your armor type, with your own size modifier, armor bonus, and magical bonuses.Your mount's body uses its own Dexterity bonus, size modifier, armor bonus, natural armor bonus, and any magical bonuses derived from items on your body other than armor (such as an amulet of natural armor or ring of protection).
You and your mount share a pool of hit points equal to your combined total hit points. When an opponent hits either your body or your mount's, the damage is subtracted from this combined pool. Neither you nor your mount becomes disabled or dying until all these combined hit points are exhausted. When the spell ends, you divide the hit points remaining in the pool as you choose between you and your mount.
https://tylerhuckabee.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/450ba7537cde08a610f35b2355db5547.jpg
While the spell is active, you use:
Both creatures' feats
Both creatures' skills (which should include Speak Language)
Both creatures' abilities
The better score between your mount or you for all checks, saves, and attacks
Your mental stats, memory, personality, level, class, alignment, ex abilities, and su abilities
Your horse's physical stats, speed, natural armor, weapons, and ex abilities
A shared pool of hitpoints
If this spell were persisted, we'd gain access to these abilities all day -- but what horseplay exactly does that entail? We gain the physical stats of our mount, certainly, but we also gain access to the feats and skills of our mount, as well as the hp, while retaining all of our own abilities. If online all day, this spell opens up a lot of options for horsing around, both with regard to power and versatility.
How to Leverage This Ability
Apart from purchasing a mount or finding a mount in the wild, there are few reliable ways to get a horse to use this ability on.
Animal Companion: Druids and friends can summon a horse from level 1 with 100% uptime.
Celestial Companion: Holy Liberators gain the ability to summon a horse with the celestial template at class level 5.
Special Mount: Paladins and all their prestige-class cousins can summon a horse for a duration based on their class level. Duration is problematic if you don't take at least 8 paladin levels. Of course, this can be circumvented if you can get a few Eternal Wands of Call Mount on hand; that's dependent on the setting, however.
Summon Skeletal Steed: Bone Knights may summon a steed as a paladin, but with the skeletal template. The template helps the mount, but the duration is still problematic. It explicitly stacks with paladin levels to determine the length though.
Summon Animal: An Animal Lord (specifically a Horselord) can summon horses 1/day for 1 min/level. Sub-optimal by most measures.
A decision needs to be made about Polymorph and how it interacts with When Two Become One.
If WTBO checks your mount's real race (and wouldn't function with a different creature 'morphed into a horse), then we should be able Polymorph our horse into another creature and still have it work for the purposes of the spell, gaining the extraordinary special qualities and physical stats of the persisted new form.
If WTBO checks your mount's current form (and would therefore not work on a horse polymorphed into a different creature), then we should be able to take a different companion and polymorph it into a horse to qualify for the spell, then let the polymorph lapse after the spell has resolved, as there's no mechanism to undo the effects of WTBO.
Additionally, there's no provisions to prevent us from changing the horse's shape after we've used WTBO. Even without involving Polymorph, Wildshape is another strong option. Arguably, if our body is part of the horse's body during the spell, wildshape or Polymorph may even meld our shapes together, although that raises a whole host of DM fiat questions.
Getting access to the Shugenja spell list is a little tricky. To my knowledge, there are three main methods (apart from copying it with Wish or something similar):
Learning it with a two-level dip into Wyrm Wizard
Copying it into our prayerbook as an Archivist
Learning it with a two-level dip into Recaster (if you are a Changeling)
Once we've learned it, there are a lot of methods to apply Persistent Spell without actually paying the 9th level slot, but a few are:
Divine Metamagic and Nightsticks
A three-level dip into Incantatrix to persist it after casting
Anima Mage 4
Spelldancer's Spelldance
Ultimate Magus (sacrifice a 6th to cast the 3rd when at class level 6)
Arguably, you may be able to use Imprison Possessor, a 5th level sorc/wizard spell, to stay as one form indefinitely. The spell reads:
The caster traps one creature that can possess or inhabit other creatures, or one that can move its mind out of its body, within the creature it currently inhabits. Potential targets include possessing demons, malevolent ghosts, and a caster currently using a magic jar spell. The possessing creature cannot leave the body it is currently in, whether or not it is its own, by any means.
It requires first that your DM allow you to qualify as a creature that inhabits other creatures; WTBO lists that your body becomes part of the body you and your steed share, and that your souls merge together. Does it count as inhabiting another creature if you become the same creature? DM fiat area.
Then, it requires that your DM allow being unable to "leave the body it is currently in, whether or not it is its own, by any means" as extending the effects of WTBO. The DM would be in their rights to state that when the spell expires, your souls separate, and your soul just happens to be trapped in the horse's body with no means to control it anymore. What happens then? DM fiat will dictate if you are powerless, if you can make opposed charisma checks to control the body, or if you essentially make the spell permanent.
Finally, unless your original body has a ring of sustinence on it, it requires the DM to work with you on sustaining your original body which explicitly does nothing other than cling to the horse's back. If you can't dismount for a few minutes every 24 hours, it could be problematic for the longevity of your character.
Overall, it's a powerful option if it works optimally, but it is not a surefire RAW technique to predicate your entire build on without first talking to your DM.
Animal Companion: Animal companions advance by HD relatively quickly, and Natural Bond/Beastmaster offer lots of ways to advance it more quickly than other options. Definitely a strong choice worthy of consideration.
Special Mount: Paladins advance their mounts (albeit more slowly than druids), but also offer a lot of ACF support for boosts (such as Lightbringer Paladan 6's free pseudo-Soulfire).
Familiar: Having your horse count as a familiar doesn't confer bonus HD, but it does confer bonus Int. Having a higher int means our mount qualifies for more restrictive feats and, notably, will get more skill points for each HD they have, effectively giving us bonus ranks for any skills we'd like.
Chosen Mount: Windriders may select and train a mount over a span of three days before confering bonus HD; they hav eno mechanism to summon a mount, though, so the quality of the mount depends on what the DM allows you to find or purchase. It explicitly doesn't function with bonded animals, such as animal companions, familairs, or special mounts, but the ability to use templated animals opens up a lot of shenanigans (see below).
Special Mount (Battle Maiden): Although they don't seem to have a mechanism for summoning a mount, Battle Maidens explicitly advance their mount's HD for each class level they have. Without a mechanism to select a specific mount, it seems this applies to any horse they choose to apply it to. It's a fairly powerful recovery mechanism, so it is worth noting, but it wouldn't be entirely against RAW to rule that it is summoned in the same manner (and duration) as a paladin's mount, as it also shares many qualities in common with a paladin's mount. The sentence itself seems to be in reference to the mount's qualities, but a DM might treat it as applying to the ability writ large. If it applies to any mount, it's a strictly superior option to Windrider; if it functions as a paladin's mount, it is probably worse than Windrider.
As our mount will earn various feats, it is of note that each of these choices allow you to cycle through different mounts over various spans (as short as a free action in the case of the Battle Maiden, or as long as a month in the case of the paladin). When you select and advance a new mount, you may select new skills and feats for your mount to advance, and, of course, you gain the benefit of these feats and skills when you merge with your horse. This means that we can effectively swap out the 1-3 empty feat slots and skill ranks on our companion with a modicum of notice and use them for ourselves. Effectively, we gain a similar ability to the Chameleon's floating feat in addition to our pseudo-wildshape, limited by the feats our horse is eligible to select on its own. Among those feat slots should presumably be Surrogate Spellcasting, as we don't personally benefit from it when not in horse-shape, but definitely need it if we want to be in that form for any significant amount of time.
https://c4.wallpaperflare.com/wallpaper/186/141/278/horse-magic-art-hood-wallpaper-preview.jpg
Human/Strongheart Halfling Build: Wizard 16, Druid 13, Companion 17, Familiar 12
Level
Class
Feats
Class Features
Notes
1
Martial Wilderness Companion Wizard
Extend Spell, Precocious Apprentice, Improved Initiative
-
-
2
Martial Wilderness Companion Wizard
-
Gain Animal Companion with an effective druid level of 1
We gain an animal companion here which, for the sake of the theme of the thing, may as well be a horse. Ride isn't a class skill for us, but we can attempt it with some gear, or just walk alongside Epona/Agro/Roach/etc.
3
Druid
Sanctum Spell
Animal Companion, Nature Sense, Wild Empathy
Precocious Apprentice let us qualify as casting level 2 arcane spells; Sanctum Spell lets us qualify for being able to cast level 3s. We get access to Druid spells and conversions here, which are nice, and will help make up for the fact that we're missing out on level 2s at this level.
4
Druid
-
Woodland Stride
Our mount improves here for the first time, which helps us remain relevant (somewhat). Between our hybrid casting and our horse, we are probably still relevant relative to the martial characters, but full casters have a sizable leg up on us.
5
Druid
Iron Will
Trackless Step
This is the last level we need to begin entering our prestige classes. We take Iron Will using the Otyugh Hole (or whatever alternate method you prefer). Our Druid casting briefly outpaces our wizard casting here, and we get access to level 2s for the first time.
6
Incantatrix
Natural Bond, Persistent Spell
Focused Study
Our familiar improves dramatically with the selection of Natural Spell. We get Persistent Spell, but we certainly have no way to use it for now. We get level 2 wizard spells now, only 3 levels late.
7
Incantatrix
-
Cooperative Metamagic
Suddenly, we are every caster's best friend. With our relatively early entry to Incantatrix, we can now apply Persistent Spell to our allies' spells when they cast them. Aside from the emphasis on When Two Become One in this build, Incantatrix really is just one of the most powerful prestige classes out there.
8
Arcane Hierophant
-
Companion Familiar, Ignore ASF
We finally meet the BAB requirement to take Arcane Hierophant, so we do. Our companion now counts as our familiar and gets a commensurate boost in intelligence and combat ability.
9
Incantatrix
Eschew Materials
Metamagic Effect
We finally get a method to persist our own spells (at least a few times each day). Eschew Materials is a nice QoL feat here, but will be more relevant in two levels when we start living as a horse.
10
Wyrm Wizard
-
Knowledge of the Wyrm
Somewhat of a dead level, but it is what it is. Our Knowledge (Arcana) may never look the same.
11
Wyrm Wizard
-
Spell Research (When Two Become One)
This is the "sweet spot" where the build really comes to fruition and we reap the benefits of the set-up we've done. Using Wyrm Wizard, we learn the spell, cast it on ourselves, and quickly use our Incantatrix Metamagic Effect to persist it. We can spend all day in the body of the horse (or longer, if we extend it after we persist it). We are tankier than any fighter or barbarian on our team, and we retain all of our spellcasting ability (save for those spells that require costly material components; we have to be a gift horse and pick those up with our mouth, I suppose, and hope no one looks in it. Things only get better from here; every two levels or so our horse's stats will improve, and as a result, so will ours. While in horse-form, we get access to the horse's skills and feats, too; with a day's notice, we can swap out the horse's selections for new ones, giving us a lot more versatility.
12
Arcane Hierophant
Free - Player's Preference
Wild Shape 1/day (small/med animal, 5 hours/use)
We gain access to wildshape, although we can't use it for very long. I'm not sure how this will function, exactly, as we are a joint creature of sorts, but the most restrictive reading would have the horse wildshape underneath us, still granting us the benefits of the new form. With that said, unless we are a Strongheart Halfling, that reading would probably mean we'd have to wait on the wildshape until we can access large forms for them to count as a suitable mount -- although being an unsuitable mount may not preclude us to clinging to their back. Still, we are progressing our druid and wizard casting in tandem here, as well as our animal companion/familiar class features, so every level of AH is rewarding.
13
Arcane Hierophant
-
Wild Shape 2/day (small/med animal, 6 hours/use)
Still not 24 hours, and still not large creatures, but it's notable. Our horse can talk to us now, too, which opens up some interesting roleplay opportunities.
14
Arcane Hierophant
-
Wild Shape 3/day (small/med animals, 7 hours/use), Channel Animal 2/day
-
15
Arcane Hierophant
Free - Player's Preference
Wild Shape 3/day (small/med/large animals, 8 hours/use)
Finally wildshape is online for large creatures, and we can stay wildshaped all day long.
16
Arcane Hierophant
-
Wild Shape 3/day (small/med/large animals, 9 hours/use), Channel Plant 1/day
-
17
Arcane Hierophant
-
Wild Shape 4/day (small/med/large animals, 10 hours/use)
At this point, it becomes "safe" to use a wildshape for combat, as we only need 2 uses to stay wildshaped for the adventuring day, or 3 for the 24-hour cycle.
18
Arcane Hierophant
Free - Player's Preference
Wild Shape 4/day (tiny/small/med/large animals, 11 hours/use), Channel Animal 4/day
Our mount gets access to a second floating feat for us to select from, which opens up a lot of versatility.
19
Arcane Hierophant
-
Wild Shape 4/day (tiny/small/med/large animals/plants, 12 hours/use)
We get access to scaling spell resistance here.
20
Arcane Hierophant
-
Wild Shape 4/day (tiny/small/med/large animals/plants, 13 hours/use), Channel Plant 2/day
At level 20, we are eligible to continue into Epic Arcane Hierophant.
https://i.imgur.com/yLS65to.png
Master ECL
HD
Feats (cumulative)
Familiar Bonuses (cumulative)
Companion Bonuses (cumulative)
2-3
3
Endurance, Run
-
Bonus Tricks +1, Link, Share Spells
4-5
5
Endurance, Run
-
Natural Armor +2, Str/Dex +1, Attribute +1, Bonus Tricks +2, Link, Share Spells, Evasion
6-7
7
Endurance, Run, Any
-
Natural Armor +4, Str/Dex +2, Attribute +1, Bonus Tricks +3, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion
8-10
7
Endurance, Run, Any
Natural Armor +2, Int = 7, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Alertness (to master)
Natural Armor +4, Str/Dex +2, Attribute +1, Bonus Tricks +3, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion
11
7
Endurance, Run, Surrogate Spellcasting
Natural Armor +2, Int = 7, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Alertness (to master)
Natural Armor +4, Str/Dex +2, Attribute +1, Bonus Tricks +3, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion
12
9
Endurance, Run, Surrogate Spellcasting, Any
Natural Armor +2, Int = 7, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Alertness (to master)
Natural Armor +6, Str/Dex +3, Attribute +2, Bonus Tricks +4, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion, Multiattack
13-14
9
Endurance, Run, Surrogate Spellcasting, Any
Natural Armor +3, Int = 8, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Speak with Master, Alertness (to master)
Natural Armor +6, Str/Dex +3, Attribute +2, Bonus Tricks +4, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion, Multiattack
15-16
11
Endurance, Run, Surrogate Spellcasting, Any
Natural Armor +4, Int = 9, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Speak with Master, Speak with Animals of Its Kind, Alertness (to master)
Natural Armor +8, Str/Dex +4, Attribute +2, Bonus Tricks +5, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion, Multiattack
17
11
Endurance, Run, Surrogate Spellcasting, Any
Natural Armor +5, Int = 10, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Speak with Master, Speak with Animals of Its Kind, Alertness (to master)
Natural Armor +8, Str/Dex +4, Attribute +2, Bonus Tricks +5, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion, Multiattack
18
13
Endurance, Run, Surrogate Spellcasting, Any x2
Natural Armor +5, Int = 10, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Speak with Master, Speak with Animals of Its Kind, Alertness (to master)
Natural Armor +10, Str/Dex +5, Attribute +3, Bonus Tricks +6, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion, Multiattack, Improved Evasion
19-20
13
Endurance, Run, Surrogate Spellcasting, Any x2
Natural Armor +6, Int = 11, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Speak with Master, Speak with Animals of Its Kind, Spell Resistance (16-17), Alertness (to master)
Natural Armor +10, Str/Dex +5, Attribute +3, Bonus Tricks +6, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion, Multiattack, Improved Evasion
https://c4.wallpaperflare.com/wallpaper/186/141/278/horse-magic-art-hood-wallpaper-preview.jpg
Elf or Half-Elf Build: Wizard 17, Druid 11, Companion 18, Familiar 12
Level
Class
Feats
Class Features
Notes
1
Martial Wilderness Companion Wizard
Extend Spell, Improved Initiative
-
Trades out familiar for 1/2 wizard levels to animal companion; trades out scribe scroll for fighter feat.
Effective Wizard Level: 1
Effective Archivist Level: 0
Effective Companion Level: 0.5
Effective Familiar Level: 0
2
Martial Wilderness Companion Wizard
-
Gain an Animal Companion; thematically, it may as well be a light horse.
Effective Wizard Level: 2
Effective Archivist Level: 0
Effective Companion Level: 1
Effective Familiar Level: 0
3
Archivist
Sanctum Spell, Scribe Scroll
Dark Knowledge (tactics) 3/day
Effective Wizard Level: 2
Effective Archivist Level: 1
Effective Companion Level: 1
Effective Familiar Level: 0
4
Geomancer
-
Drift 1, spell versatility 0
We use Sanctum Spell to qualify for being able to cast arcane/divine 2nds. We would take levels in Mystic Theurge instead, but we wouldn't be able to meet the skill requirements for Wildrunner, as it requires 8 ranks in survival (which would never be a class skill for us). We would take a level of Mystic Theurge and a level of Ruathar, but then we would not meet the BAB requirements to go into Arcane Hierophant on time.
Effective Wizard Level: 3
Effective Archivist Level: 1
Effective Companion Level: 1
Effective Familiar Level: 0
5
Geomancer
Iron Will
Drift 1, ley lines +1, spell versatility 1
We purchase Iron Will for 3000gp via the Otyugh Hole or the closest setting equivalent.
Effective Wizard Level: 4
Effective Archivist Level: 1
Effective Companion Level: 1
Effective Familiar Level: 0
6
Incantatrix
Endurance, Persistent Spell
Focused Study
Effective Wizard Level: 5
Effective Archivist Level: 1
Effective Companion Level: 1
Effective Familiar Level: 0
7
Incantatrix
-
Cooperative Metamagic
Effective Wizard Level: 6
Effective Archivist Level: 1
Effective Companion Level: 1
Effective Familiar Level: 0
8
Incantatrix
-
Metamagic Effect
Effective Wizard Level: 7
Effective Archivist Level: 1
Effective Companion Level: 1
Effective Familiar Level: 0
9
Wildrunner
Natural Bond
Trackless Step, Fast Movement
Effective Wizard Level: 7
Effective Archivist Level: 1
Effective Companion Level: 4
Effective Familiar Level: 0
10
Arcane Hierophant
-
Companion Familiar, Ignore ASF
Effective Wizard Level: 8
Effective Archivist Level: 2
Effective Companion Level: 5
Effective Familiar Level: 3
11
Arcane Hierophant
-
-
Effective Wizard Level: 9
Effective Archivist Level: 3
Effective Companion Level: 6
Effective Familiar Level: 4
12
Arcane Hierophant
Eschew Materials
-
Effective Wizard Level:10
Effective Archivist Level: 4
Effective Companion Level: 7
Effective Familiar Level: 5
13
Arcane Hierophant
-
Channel animal 2/day
We've delayed access to When Two Become One by two levels, but we entered while losing only two levels of wizard casting instead of four. This means we still get access to 9ths pre-epic.
Effective Wizard Level: 11
Effective Archivist Level: 5
Effective Companion Level: 8
Effective Familiar Level: 6
14
Beastmaster
-
Animal companion, wild empathy
We use one of our horse's bonus feats to qualify for having the Skill Focus: Handle Animal prerequisite. While not necessary, it seems like a decent trade-off to advance our animal companion, as we still get casting access to 9ths with casting as of a level 17 wizard.
Effective Wizard Level: 11
Effective Archivist Level: 5
Effective Companion Level: 12
Effective Familiar Level: 6
15
Arcane Hierophant
Free - Player's Preference
-
Effective Wizard Level: 12
Effective Archivist Level: 6
Effective Companion Level: 13
Effective Familiar Level: 7
16
Arcane Hierophant
-
Channel Plant 1/day
Effective Wizard Level: 13
Effective Archivist Level: 7
Effective Companion Level: 14
Effective Familiar Level: 8
17
Arcane Hierophant
-
-
Effective Wizard Level: 14
Effective Archivist Level: 8
Effective Companion Level: 15
Effective Familiar Level: 9
18
Arcane Hierophant
Free - Player's Preference
Channel Animal 4/day
Effective Wizard Level: 15
Effective Archivist Level: 9
Effective Companion Level: 16
Effective Familiar Level: 10
19
Arcane Hierophant
-
-
Effective Wizard Level: 16
Effective Archivist Level: 10
Effective Companion Level: 17
Effective Familiar Level: 11
20
Arcane Hierophant
-
Channel Plant 2/day
Effective Wizard Level: 17
Effective Archivist Level: 11
Effective Companion Level: 18
Effective Familiar Level: 12
Master ECL
HD
Feats (cumulative)
Familiar Bonuses (cumulative)
Companion Bonuses (cumulative)
2-8
3
Endurance, Run
-
Bonus Tricks +1, Link, Share Spells
9
5
Endurance, Run
-
Natural Armor +2, Str/Dex +1, Attribute +1, Bonus Tricks +2, Link, Share Spells, Evasion
10
5
Endurance, Run, Bonusx1
Int = 7, Natural Armor +2, Alertness, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells
Natural Armor +2, Str/Dex +1, Attribute +1, Bonus Tricks +2, Link, Share Spells, Evasion
11
7
Endurance, Run, Bonusx1
Int = 7, Natural Armor +2, Alertness, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells
Natural Armor +4, Str/Dex +2, Attribute +1, Bonus Tricks +3, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion
12-13
7
Endurance, Run, Bonusx1
Int = 8, Natural Armor +3, Alertness, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Speak with Master
Natural Armor +4, Str/Dex +2, Attribute +1, Bonus Tricks +3, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion
14
11
Endurance, Run, Bonusx2
Int = 8, Natural Armor +3, Alertness, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Speak with Master
Natural Armor +8, Str/Dex +4, Attribute +2, Bonus Tricks +5, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion, Multiattack
15-16
11
Endurance, Run, Bonusx2
Int = 9, Natural Armor +4, Alertness, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Speak with Master, Speak with Animals of Its Kind
Natural Armor +8, Str/Dex +4, Attribute +2, Bonus Tricks +5, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion, Multiattack
17-18
13
Endurance, Run, Bonusx3
Int = 10, Natural Armor +5, Alertness, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Speak with Master, Speak with Animals of Its Kind
Natural Armor +10, Str/Dex +5, Attribute +3, Bonus Tricks +6, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion, Multiattack, Improved Evasion
19
13
Endurance, Run, Bonusx3
Int = 11, Natural Armor +6, Alertness, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Speak with Master, Speak with Animals of Its Kind, Spell Resistance 16
Natural Armor +10, Str/Dex +5, Attribute +3, Bonus Tricks +6, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion, Multiattack, Improved Evasion
20
15
Endurance, Run, Bonusx4
Int = 11, Natural Armor +6, Alertness, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Speak with Master, Speak with Animals of Its Kind, Spell Resistance 17
Natural Armor +12, Str/Dex +6, Attribute +3, Bonus Tricks +7, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion, Multiattack, Improved Evasion
While there is something to be said for being able to swap out our feats each day with a modicum of notice for what sort of effects we might need, we may also wish to benefit from the raw buffs templates can offer. For the purposes of our summoned mounts (animal companions, special mounts, etc), most inherited templates are out of the question. Warbeast is a possibility for any mount that doesn't become a magical beast, so briefly for druids, but the costs to continue training creatures as you swap them out for new feats and skills could become prohibitive.
Some of these options allow you to select a mount from a creature you purchase or find in the wild, however. Windriders can select any creature they find as their mount, and that opens up a world of inherited templates to consider. Some strong options are:
Magebred (inherited)
Dungeonbred (inherited, making a large horse medium)
Horrid (inherited, if the base animal is a Dire Horse)
Titanic (acquired, making a medium horse gargantuan)
Warbeast (acquired)
Of course, the ability to find a mount with all (or any, save for Warbeast) of these qualities is heavily subject to DM fiat, but if you think your DM will fail their save against your Suggestion, then you, too, could add the spoilered stats below to your character. Of course, having this creature at your disposal is already going to break the game even without using When Two Become One, but being able to keep the body for yourself has an extra sort of appeal to it.
Gargantuan Animal
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Initiative: +1 (Dex); Senses: low-light vision, scent, Listen +8, and Spot +8
AC: 41 (-4 size, +35 natural); touch 10, flat-footed 41
Hit Dice: 26d8+468 (487 HP)
Fort +34, Ref +14, Will +17
Speed: 80 ft.
Space: 20 ft./20 ft.
Base Attack +19
Attack: Hoof +11 melee
Full Attack: 2 hooves and bite
Damage: Hoof 3d6+22, bite 3d8+11
Special Attacks/Actions:
Acidic Attack (Ex): A horrid animal’s primary attack deals an extra 1d6 points of acid damage per 4 HD of the horrid animal (maximum 5d6).
Increased Damage (Ex): Damage from a special attack other than poison or trample is tripled, if the attack deals hit point damage.
Trample (Ex): As a standard action during its turn each round, a titanic creature can trample Huge or smaller opponents. This attack deals points of damage equal to 3d8 + 1 1/2 times the creature's Strength bonus. A trampled opponent can attempt either an attack of opportunity at a -4 penalty or a Reflex save (DC 22 the titanic creature's Str bonus) for half damage.
Abilities: Str 55, Dex 10, Con 47, Int 2, Wis 17, Cha 11 (Additional +4 to primary physical stat, +2 to other physical stats)
Special Qualities:
Improved Natural Healing (Ex)
-4 to checks to handle this animal
Immunity to Acid (Ex)
Combative Mount (Ex)
Easy Maintenance (Ex)
Racial Bonus: Survival (tracking) +4, Saves (Poison/Disease) +2. Listen +1, Spot +1
Feats: Endurance; Run; Toughness; Improved Natural Attack; Great Fortitude; (Alertness, or Athletic, or Multiattack)
Skills: Listen +8 and Spot +8
Tricks: 8
Climate/Terrain: Any land
Organization: Solitary or herd (6-30)
Treasure/Possessions: None
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f9/a4/51/f9a451926303b7d5c514f74364ff0f10.jpg
If you don't want to play as the standard Heavy Horse I described in the build stub above, and your DM doesn't want to greenlight that templated monstrosity, don't fear; there are still plenty of RAW options for a character to consider, both as purchased/discovered steeds and as animal companions. Thanks to Thurbane for compiling a list of many of these downthread!
Light Horse: The light horse is as the heavy horse, but trades 2 strength for 10 more feet of movement. Given you're probably faster than most things anyway, the heavy horse is probably the superior option, but if speed is important to you, this is there.
Pony: Medium size makes this a more compact option for those that can't find Dungeonbred mounts.
Donkey: A slightly weaker, slower version of the pony. Its bite is significantly more accurate than a pony's, and it has a racial bonus to balance.
Mule: A cross between the donkey and the light horse. It's as a light horse, but with two more points in strength, two more to spot and listen, three more hp, a significantly stronger attack routine, and 30 less movespeed.
Pony, War: As the pony, but with 2 more hp, an improved attack routine, and +2 to str and con.
Warhorse, Heavy: As the heavy horse, but with 11 more hp (+1HD), 1 more natural armor, a significantly improved attack routine, +2 to str and con, +1 to wis, and +1 to listen.
Warhorse, Light: As the light horse, but with 3 more hp, 1 more natural armor, a significantly improved attack routine, +1 to fort and ref saves, +2 to str and con, and +1 to wis.
The following is a list of variants on the base types of horses presented in Champions of Valor; they have slightly modified stats, but are otherwise identical:
Equine, Amphail (CoV)
Equine, Calimite (CoV)
Equine, Chionthar (CoV)
Equine, Cormyrean Destrier (CoV)
Equine, Dales Pony (CoV)
Equine, Dambraii (CoV)
Equine, Hammer Pony (CoV)
Equine, Island Pony (CoV)
Equine, Kromlor (CoV)
Equine, Lhesperan (CoV)
Equine, Meth (CoV)
Equine, Nars (CoV)
Equine, Raurin (CoV)
Equine, Semphari (CoV)
Equine, Shaaran Zebra (CoV)
Equine, Shad'iar (CoV)
Equine, Sosser (CoV)
Equine, Steppe (CoV)
Equine, Tharurr (CoV)
Equine, Uglib (CoV)
Equine, Whiteshield (CoV)
Valenar Warhorse: (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebds/20051114a) This animal can explicitly be summoned by Tairnadal druids. If your DM will let your character be from that region, or will waive the regional requirement, this horse is strictly better than the heavy horse at all levels except for levels 12, 13, and 14, where it costs us one of our bonus feats by merit of lowering our effective druid level by 3. If your DM allows it, this is a powerful option.
Pros to Using Valenar Horses
It increases our strength by 2, our dex and con by 3, and the horse's wis/cha by 4
It gives us access to Combative Mount, granting a small ride bonus
It grants us low-light vision
It grants us Scent (very notable, both for foiling the disguises of folks we've seen before and foiling stealth for those without Darkstalker)
It gives us an extra 40 feet of movement, which is nothing to sneeze at
It gives us +2 to listen relative to the base heavy horse, +1 to spot, and a whopping +26 to jump!
It SEEMS to give us what amounts to proficiency with our natural weapons, as a normal heavy horse has a -1 to their hoof attacks (despite their BAB and positive strength modifier), and the Valenar horse has a +6, as of a warhorse.
Cons of Using Valenar Horses
It lowers our natural armor by 2. This is offset somewhat by the +3 to dex (and commensurate increase to AC). Dex is a more valuable stat than natural armor most of the time, not least of which because it also protects our body on the horse's back.
It loses us 1 trick. We will be possessing the horse, so this is a nonfactor as far as I know.
We miss out on improved evasion at later levels, but we gain that by merit of being a familiar, so that's fine.
Our shared HP pool is lower by 1 HD at all levels (which isn't very crippling, but is still worth mentioning)
We miss out on a bonus feats at certain levels due to our lower EDL; this can be offset somewhat by just dismissing the Valenar horse for those levels and using a regular horse, and switching back when doing so would not cause us to lose a feat.
Mount: Gets you a light horse or pony for 2 hours/level; helps in a pinch if you can persist it and you can't find a mount some other way.
Phantom Steed: Grabs you another mount, but with a decently high AC, 20 feet of movement per caster level, and buffs that scale with caster level (up to flight). On the plus side, animals refuse to attack you. Lasts for 1 hour/level, but persisted, as with mount, it will help in a pinch.
Horse, Dire (MM2): A powerful horse with a staggering 8HD, 60 movespeed, +6 BAB, 22 str and con, 13 dex, +8 to spot/listen, endurance, run, toughness... If you can find one, this is a decent chassis for a Windrider.
Horse, Valenar Riding (ECS): 3HD, 80 feet of movement, a sub-bar attack routine (2x hoof attacks at -2), low-light vision and scent, 14 str, 15 dex, 15 con... Notably, +24 to jump, and +4 to spot and listen. Does have endurance and run. This is a fast mount, and its jump certainly opens up a lot of mobility.
Legendary Horse (MM2): An absolute behemoth of an animal with an astounding 18HD, 29 str, 14 dex, 27 con, +9 to listen and spot, low-light vision, and spot. It has a great attack routine, too (+21 on its primary!). It is legendary, so don't count on finding one, but if you do, don't let it get away.
Brass Steed (HoB): Is this golem a horse? If it counts, this is a relatively cheap way to get immunity to magic and a number of other effects (19k gp). Its 8HD and 23 str aren't too shabby either, and it gets a long-range ray attack with a 4 round cooldown.
Clockwork Stallion (MMV): 6HD, 50 speed, 20 str, 8 dex, +13 to jump, and the option to upgrade to gain armor proficiency, DR, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Overrun, Improved Trip, or Trample.
Clockwork Pony: As the stallion above, but with 18 str, 10 dex, and +8 to jump.
Some additional options are presented in the Kingdoms of Kalamar book Dangerous Denizens: The Monsters of Tellene:
Horse, Drhokkeran Charger: 5HD, 18 str, 13 dex, 17 con, +7 spot/listen, 40 speed
Horse, Highland Dancer: 3HD, 17 str, 15 dex, 17 con, +6 spot/listen, 60 speed
Horse, Gaketan Mare: 3HD, 15 str, 13 dex, 15 con, +6 spot/listen, 60 speed
Horse, Draft: 3HD, 18 str, 13 dex, 15 con, +6 spot/listen, 50 speed
Horse, Middling: 3HD, 14 str, 13 dex, 15 con, +6 spot/listen, 55 speed
Horse, Middling War: 3HD, 16 str, 13 dex, 17 con, +7 spot/listen, 55 speed
Horse, Miniature: 1/2HD, 3 str, 18 dex, 10 con, 40 speed, tiny size
Blood Horse (Dragon 299): 4HD, 18 str, 18 dex, 17 con, +11 spot, +10 listen, +7 move silently, 40 speed, 80 fly, blindsight, multiattack, detect good at will, pounce, rake, sonic screech, blood drain... They have an explicit pricing to purchase and train them, too. Definitely a powerhouse, but of questionable use-ability, as it is Dragon material. If it is legal, you can use Alter Self on your Companion Familiar to take its shape and copy some of its qualities.
There are several items that could be of note to us though!
The Horseshoes of Flame are a very tempting option and offer some very solid buffs for your mount. They are questionable under the RAW, however. They say they work for an "ordinary horse." Ordinary isn't a defined game term, but an animal companion is explicitly typical for its kind, and a purchased horse would presumably qualify. However, would the horse be disqualified by merit of us merging with it? A horse with half the soul of a player character may not be considered "ordinary" anymore. Does the mount itself disqualify if it becomes a familiar? Does it disqualify if it takes a single template? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then the horseshoes are of much less use. If the answer is no to all of them, however, a long-duration +10 to our int can never go poorly, and there are plenty of other buffs to boot.
The humble Military Saddle is cheap and gives a bonus to ride
The Battle Bridle is useful for allowing you to defend your mount (and, by extension, your shared hp pool).
The Riding Boots offer a similar effect and a bonus to ride checks.
A Monk's belt fits your horse's slots and provides a lot of combat benefits
The Collar of Healing allows an in-game way to know your mount's hp (or total hp pool), and allows you to instantly heal 50 points of damage to your mount once per day.
Horseshoes of Speed are cheap and give +30 to movement
Horseshoes of a Zephyr are also cheapish and gives the horse a pseudo-levitation (four inches above the ground), leaving no tracks and passing over unstable terrain
A Collar of Obedience gives a bonus to train the animal (probably not necessary or worth the money)
The Sea Steed’s Bridle makes your mount a seahorse (not literally)
A Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis literally makes your mount a dark horse
Exalted Companion: Exalted Companion allows you to apply the celestial template to your horse (at -1 to your effective druid level). It adds the extraplanar subtype to your companion, which could be problematic, but grants a number of benefits: smite evil 1/day, darkvision to 60ft, scaling DR/magic, scaling resistance to acid, cold, and electricity, and spell resistance equal to HD + 5. As an exalted feat, however, it does require you to be neutral good.
Exotic Shield Proficiency: Rider's Shield: Give your body and your mount +2 to their AC. Simple, but a tangible combat benefit worth considering.
Feral Animal Companion: Give your companion a disease rider to any bite attack (DC 15 or contract the red ache), +2 strength, and +2 constitution. Additionally, your companion resists others' attempts to control them, increasing the DC by 10. This feat is... underwhelming.
Natural Spell: This feat's usefulness depends entirely on how the DM rules wildshape works with regard to your horse. If your forms meld together, then there is no issue; if they do not, you may be limited in whether or not you can actually use wildshape once you are merged with your mount (unless you are a Strongheart Halfling) until you can wildshape into large forms.
Wild Cohort: This is a tricky feat to adjudicate, and its value depends entirely on how your DM interprets a few questions. If it does not count as an animal companion, you have no mechanism to dismiss it or summon a new one, so the feats they gain as they level-up are static, and you can't give it the intelligence of a familiar for the purposes of qualifying for new feats. If it does count as an animal companion, I believe you'd have to take the feat after taking your first level in Arcane Hierophant, as the class feature makes you dismiss extra animal companions you have before gaining the class -- but doesn't specify you must never gain more companions later.
Once we are in the horse, there is no mechanism stopping us from casting the spell again apart from our ability to ride a horse while in the shape of a horse. If a horse can ride another horse, and if there is no major barrier to temporarily "riding" an unsuitable mount (i.e., one that is too small for its rider), then we should be able to nest ourselves in a series of horses to gain the HP, feats, and skills of the collective hive mind. If our shape or size is an issue, then using polymorph or wildshape to temporarily take the shape of an appropriate creature should resolve the issue.
If you're chomping at the bit to play as a horse, this build sets you up for it. To my eyes, this seems like a mid-OP build that offers enough versatility to lend itself to any style of play without overshadowing the dedicated casters or martial characters in the party.
Necromancy
Level: Shugenja 3 (Water),
Components: V, S, DF,
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 round/level (D)
When you cast this spell, your spirit enters the body of your horse (which you must be riding when you cast the spell) and merges with the horse's own. Your own body hunkers low on the horse's back and holds on tight for the duration of the spell; it is a part of the body you and your steed share, but not a particularly useful part.
As a joint creature, you and your mount share all your skills, feats, and abilities. You make all checks, saves, and attack rolls using the better base number (yours or your horse's) and the better ability score modifier. You retain your own Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, memory, personality, level and class, alignment, and extraordinary and supernatural abilities. You gain your horse's Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, speed, natural armor and weapons, and extraordinary abilities.
Opponents can attack either your body or your mount's. Your body uses the mount's Dexterity bonus to AC, not subject to the maximum Dexterity bonus for your armor type, with your own size modifier, armor bonus, and magical bonuses.Your mount's body uses its own Dexterity bonus, size modifier, armor bonus, natural armor bonus, and any magical bonuses derived from items on your body other than armor (such as an amulet of natural armor or ring of protection).
You and your mount share a pool of hit points equal to your combined total hit points. When an opponent hits either your body or your mount's, the damage is subtracted from this combined pool. Neither you nor your mount becomes disabled or dying until all these combined hit points are exhausted. When the spell ends, you divide the hit points remaining in the pool as you choose between you and your mount.
https://tylerhuckabee.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/450ba7537cde08a610f35b2355db5547.jpg
While the spell is active, you use:
Both creatures' feats
Both creatures' skills (which should include Speak Language)
Both creatures' abilities
The better score between your mount or you for all checks, saves, and attacks
Your mental stats, memory, personality, level, class, alignment, ex abilities, and su abilities
Your horse's physical stats, speed, natural armor, weapons, and ex abilities
A shared pool of hitpoints
If this spell were persisted, we'd gain access to these abilities all day -- but what horseplay exactly does that entail? We gain the physical stats of our mount, certainly, but we also gain access to the feats and skills of our mount, as well as the hp, while retaining all of our own abilities. If online all day, this spell opens up a lot of options for horsing around, both with regard to power and versatility.
How to Leverage This Ability
Apart from purchasing a mount or finding a mount in the wild, there are few reliable ways to get a horse to use this ability on.
Animal Companion: Druids and friends can summon a horse from level 1 with 100% uptime.
Celestial Companion: Holy Liberators gain the ability to summon a horse with the celestial template at class level 5.
Special Mount: Paladins and all their prestige-class cousins can summon a horse for a duration based on their class level. Duration is problematic if you don't take at least 8 paladin levels. Of course, this can be circumvented if you can get a few Eternal Wands of Call Mount on hand; that's dependent on the setting, however.
Summon Skeletal Steed: Bone Knights may summon a steed as a paladin, but with the skeletal template. The template helps the mount, but the duration is still problematic. It explicitly stacks with paladin levels to determine the length though.
Summon Animal: An Animal Lord (specifically a Horselord) can summon horses 1/day for 1 min/level. Sub-optimal by most measures.
A decision needs to be made about Polymorph and how it interacts with When Two Become One.
If WTBO checks your mount's real race (and wouldn't function with a different creature 'morphed into a horse), then we should be able Polymorph our horse into another creature and still have it work for the purposes of the spell, gaining the extraordinary special qualities and physical stats of the persisted new form.
If WTBO checks your mount's current form (and would therefore not work on a horse polymorphed into a different creature), then we should be able to take a different companion and polymorph it into a horse to qualify for the spell, then let the polymorph lapse after the spell has resolved, as there's no mechanism to undo the effects of WTBO.
Additionally, there's no provisions to prevent us from changing the horse's shape after we've used WTBO. Even without involving Polymorph, Wildshape is another strong option. Arguably, if our body is part of the horse's body during the spell, wildshape or Polymorph may even meld our shapes together, although that raises a whole host of DM fiat questions.
Getting access to the Shugenja spell list is a little tricky. To my knowledge, there are three main methods (apart from copying it with Wish or something similar):
Learning it with a two-level dip into Wyrm Wizard
Copying it into our prayerbook as an Archivist
Learning it with a two-level dip into Recaster (if you are a Changeling)
Once we've learned it, there are a lot of methods to apply Persistent Spell without actually paying the 9th level slot, but a few are:
Divine Metamagic and Nightsticks
A three-level dip into Incantatrix to persist it after casting
Anima Mage 4
Spelldancer's Spelldance
Ultimate Magus (sacrifice a 6th to cast the 3rd when at class level 6)
Arguably, you may be able to use Imprison Possessor, a 5th level sorc/wizard spell, to stay as one form indefinitely. The spell reads:
The caster traps one creature that can possess or inhabit other creatures, or one that can move its mind out of its body, within the creature it currently inhabits. Potential targets include possessing demons, malevolent ghosts, and a caster currently using a magic jar spell. The possessing creature cannot leave the body it is currently in, whether or not it is its own, by any means.
It requires first that your DM allow you to qualify as a creature that inhabits other creatures; WTBO lists that your body becomes part of the body you and your steed share, and that your souls merge together. Does it count as inhabiting another creature if you become the same creature? DM fiat area.
Then, it requires that your DM allow being unable to "leave the body it is currently in, whether or not it is its own, by any means" as extending the effects of WTBO. The DM would be in their rights to state that when the spell expires, your souls separate, and your soul just happens to be trapped in the horse's body with no means to control it anymore. What happens then? DM fiat will dictate if you are powerless, if you can make opposed charisma checks to control the body, or if you essentially make the spell permanent.
Finally, unless your original body has a ring of sustinence on it, it requires the DM to work with you on sustaining your original body which explicitly does nothing other than cling to the horse's back. If you can't dismount for a few minutes every 24 hours, it could be problematic for the longevity of your character.
Overall, it's a powerful option if it works optimally, but it is not a surefire RAW technique to predicate your entire build on without first talking to your DM.
Animal Companion: Animal companions advance by HD relatively quickly, and Natural Bond/Beastmaster offer lots of ways to advance it more quickly than other options. Definitely a strong choice worthy of consideration.
Special Mount: Paladins advance their mounts (albeit more slowly than druids), but also offer a lot of ACF support for boosts (such as Lightbringer Paladan 6's free pseudo-Soulfire).
Familiar: Having your horse count as a familiar doesn't confer bonus HD, but it does confer bonus Int. Having a higher int means our mount qualifies for more restrictive feats and, notably, will get more skill points for each HD they have, effectively giving us bonus ranks for any skills we'd like.
Chosen Mount: Windriders may select and train a mount over a span of three days before confering bonus HD; they hav eno mechanism to summon a mount, though, so the quality of the mount depends on what the DM allows you to find or purchase. It explicitly doesn't function with bonded animals, such as animal companions, familairs, or special mounts, but the ability to use templated animals opens up a lot of shenanigans (see below).
Special Mount (Battle Maiden): Although they don't seem to have a mechanism for summoning a mount, Battle Maidens explicitly advance their mount's HD for each class level they have. Without a mechanism to select a specific mount, it seems this applies to any horse they choose to apply it to. It's a fairly powerful recovery mechanism, so it is worth noting, but it wouldn't be entirely against RAW to rule that it is summoned in the same manner (and duration) as a paladin's mount, as it also shares many qualities in common with a paladin's mount. The sentence itself seems to be in reference to the mount's qualities, but a DM might treat it as applying to the ability writ large. If it applies to any mount, it's a strictly superior option to Windrider; if it functions as a paladin's mount, it is probably worse than Windrider.
As our mount will earn various feats, it is of note that each of these choices allow you to cycle through different mounts over various spans (as short as a free action in the case of the Battle Maiden, or as long as a month in the case of the paladin). When you select and advance a new mount, you may select new skills and feats for your mount to advance, and, of course, you gain the benefit of these feats and skills when you merge with your horse. This means that we can effectively swap out the 1-3 empty feat slots and skill ranks on our companion with a modicum of notice and use them for ourselves. Effectively, we gain a similar ability to the Chameleon's floating feat in addition to our pseudo-wildshape, limited by the feats our horse is eligible to select on its own. Among those feat slots should presumably be Surrogate Spellcasting, as we don't personally benefit from it when not in horse-shape, but definitely need it if we want to be in that form for any significant amount of time.
https://c4.wallpaperflare.com/wallpaper/186/141/278/horse-magic-art-hood-wallpaper-preview.jpg
Human/Strongheart Halfling Build: Wizard 16, Druid 13, Companion 17, Familiar 12
Level
Class
Feats
Class Features
Notes
1
Martial Wilderness Companion Wizard
Extend Spell, Precocious Apprentice, Improved Initiative
-
-
2
Martial Wilderness Companion Wizard
-
Gain Animal Companion with an effective druid level of 1
We gain an animal companion here which, for the sake of the theme of the thing, may as well be a horse. Ride isn't a class skill for us, but we can attempt it with some gear, or just walk alongside Epona/Agro/Roach/etc.
3
Druid
Sanctum Spell
Animal Companion, Nature Sense, Wild Empathy
Precocious Apprentice let us qualify as casting level 2 arcane spells; Sanctum Spell lets us qualify for being able to cast level 3s. We get access to Druid spells and conversions here, which are nice, and will help make up for the fact that we're missing out on level 2s at this level.
4
Druid
-
Woodland Stride
Our mount improves here for the first time, which helps us remain relevant (somewhat). Between our hybrid casting and our horse, we are probably still relevant relative to the martial characters, but full casters have a sizable leg up on us.
5
Druid
Iron Will
Trackless Step
This is the last level we need to begin entering our prestige classes. We take Iron Will using the Otyugh Hole (or whatever alternate method you prefer). Our Druid casting briefly outpaces our wizard casting here, and we get access to level 2s for the first time.
6
Incantatrix
Natural Bond, Persistent Spell
Focused Study
Our familiar improves dramatically with the selection of Natural Spell. We get Persistent Spell, but we certainly have no way to use it for now. We get level 2 wizard spells now, only 3 levels late.
7
Incantatrix
-
Cooperative Metamagic
Suddenly, we are every caster's best friend. With our relatively early entry to Incantatrix, we can now apply Persistent Spell to our allies' spells when they cast them. Aside from the emphasis on When Two Become One in this build, Incantatrix really is just one of the most powerful prestige classes out there.
8
Arcane Hierophant
-
Companion Familiar, Ignore ASF
We finally meet the BAB requirement to take Arcane Hierophant, so we do. Our companion now counts as our familiar and gets a commensurate boost in intelligence and combat ability.
9
Incantatrix
Eschew Materials
Metamagic Effect
We finally get a method to persist our own spells (at least a few times each day). Eschew Materials is a nice QoL feat here, but will be more relevant in two levels when we start living as a horse.
10
Wyrm Wizard
-
Knowledge of the Wyrm
Somewhat of a dead level, but it is what it is. Our Knowledge (Arcana) may never look the same.
11
Wyrm Wizard
-
Spell Research (When Two Become One)
This is the "sweet spot" where the build really comes to fruition and we reap the benefits of the set-up we've done. Using Wyrm Wizard, we learn the spell, cast it on ourselves, and quickly use our Incantatrix Metamagic Effect to persist it. We can spend all day in the body of the horse (or longer, if we extend it after we persist it). We are tankier than any fighter or barbarian on our team, and we retain all of our spellcasting ability (save for those spells that require costly material components; we have to be a gift horse and pick those up with our mouth, I suppose, and hope no one looks in it. Things only get better from here; every two levels or so our horse's stats will improve, and as a result, so will ours. While in horse-form, we get access to the horse's skills and feats, too; with a day's notice, we can swap out the horse's selections for new ones, giving us a lot more versatility.
12
Arcane Hierophant
Free - Player's Preference
Wild Shape 1/day (small/med animal, 5 hours/use)
We gain access to wildshape, although we can't use it for very long. I'm not sure how this will function, exactly, as we are a joint creature of sorts, but the most restrictive reading would have the horse wildshape underneath us, still granting us the benefits of the new form. With that said, unless we are a Strongheart Halfling, that reading would probably mean we'd have to wait on the wildshape until we can access large forms for them to count as a suitable mount -- although being an unsuitable mount may not preclude us to clinging to their back. Still, we are progressing our druid and wizard casting in tandem here, as well as our animal companion/familiar class features, so every level of AH is rewarding.
13
Arcane Hierophant
-
Wild Shape 2/day (small/med animal, 6 hours/use)
Still not 24 hours, and still not large creatures, but it's notable. Our horse can talk to us now, too, which opens up some interesting roleplay opportunities.
14
Arcane Hierophant
-
Wild Shape 3/day (small/med animals, 7 hours/use), Channel Animal 2/day
-
15
Arcane Hierophant
Free - Player's Preference
Wild Shape 3/day (small/med/large animals, 8 hours/use)
Finally wildshape is online for large creatures, and we can stay wildshaped all day long.
16
Arcane Hierophant
-
Wild Shape 3/day (small/med/large animals, 9 hours/use), Channel Plant 1/day
-
17
Arcane Hierophant
-
Wild Shape 4/day (small/med/large animals, 10 hours/use)
At this point, it becomes "safe" to use a wildshape for combat, as we only need 2 uses to stay wildshaped for the adventuring day, or 3 for the 24-hour cycle.
18
Arcane Hierophant
Free - Player's Preference
Wild Shape 4/day (tiny/small/med/large animals, 11 hours/use), Channel Animal 4/day
Our mount gets access to a second floating feat for us to select from, which opens up a lot of versatility.
19
Arcane Hierophant
-
Wild Shape 4/day (tiny/small/med/large animals/plants, 12 hours/use)
We get access to scaling spell resistance here.
20
Arcane Hierophant
-
Wild Shape 4/day (tiny/small/med/large animals/plants, 13 hours/use), Channel Plant 2/day
At level 20, we are eligible to continue into Epic Arcane Hierophant.
https://i.imgur.com/yLS65to.png
Master ECL
HD
Feats (cumulative)
Familiar Bonuses (cumulative)
Companion Bonuses (cumulative)
2-3
3
Endurance, Run
-
Bonus Tricks +1, Link, Share Spells
4-5
5
Endurance, Run
-
Natural Armor +2, Str/Dex +1, Attribute +1, Bonus Tricks +2, Link, Share Spells, Evasion
6-7
7
Endurance, Run, Any
-
Natural Armor +4, Str/Dex +2, Attribute +1, Bonus Tricks +3, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion
8-10
7
Endurance, Run, Any
Natural Armor +2, Int = 7, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Alertness (to master)
Natural Armor +4, Str/Dex +2, Attribute +1, Bonus Tricks +3, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion
11
7
Endurance, Run, Surrogate Spellcasting
Natural Armor +2, Int = 7, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Alertness (to master)
Natural Armor +4, Str/Dex +2, Attribute +1, Bonus Tricks +3, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion
12
9
Endurance, Run, Surrogate Spellcasting, Any
Natural Armor +2, Int = 7, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Alertness (to master)
Natural Armor +6, Str/Dex +3, Attribute +2, Bonus Tricks +4, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion, Multiattack
13-14
9
Endurance, Run, Surrogate Spellcasting, Any
Natural Armor +3, Int = 8, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Speak with Master, Alertness (to master)
Natural Armor +6, Str/Dex +3, Attribute +2, Bonus Tricks +4, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion, Multiattack
15-16
11
Endurance, Run, Surrogate Spellcasting, Any
Natural Armor +4, Int = 9, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Speak with Master, Speak with Animals of Its Kind, Alertness (to master)
Natural Armor +8, Str/Dex +4, Attribute +2, Bonus Tricks +5, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion, Multiattack
17
11
Endurance, Run, Surrogate Spellcasting, Any
Natural Armor +5, Int = 10, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Speak with Master, Speak with Animals of Its Kind, Alertness (to master)
Natural Armor +8, Str/Dex +4, Attribute +2, Bonus Tricks +5, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion, Multiattack
18
13
Endurance, Run, Surrogate Spellcasting, Any x2
Natural Armor +5, Int = 10, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Speak with Master, Speak with Animals of Its Kind, Alertness (to master)
Natural Armor +10, Str/Dex +5, Attribute +3, Bonus Tricks +6, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion, Multiattack, Improved Evasion
19-20
13
Endurance, Run, Surrogate Spellcasting, Any x2
Natural Armor +6, Int = 11, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Speak with Master, Speak with Animals of Its Kind, Spell Resistance (16-17), Alertness (to master)
Natural Armor +10, Str/Dex +5, Attribute +3, Bonus Tricks +6, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion, Multiattack, Improved Evasion
https://c4.wallpaperflare.com/wallpaper/186/141/278/horse-magic-art-hood-wallpaper-preview.jpg
Elf or Half-Elf Build: Wizard 17, Druid 11, Companion 18, Familiar 12
Level
Class
Feats
Class Features
Notes
1
Martial Wilderness Companion Wizard
Extend Spell, Improved Initiative
-
Trades out familiar for 1/2 wizard levels to animal companion; trades out scribe scroll for fighter feat.
Effective Wizard Level: 1
Effective Archivist Level: 0
Effective Companion Level: 0.5
Effective Familiar Level: 0
2
Martial Wilderness Companion Wizard
-
Gain an Animal Companion; thematically, it may as well be a light horse.
Effective Wizard Level: 2
Effective Archivist Level: 0
Effective Companion Level: 1
Effective Familiar Level: 0
3
Archivist
Sanctum Spell, Scribe Scroll
Dark Knowledge (tactics) 3/day
Effective Wizard Level: 2
Effective Archivist Level: 1
Effective Companion Level: 1
Effective Familiar Level: 0
4
Geomancer
-
Drift 1, spell versatility 0
We use Sanctum Spell to qualify for being able to cast arcane/divine 2nds. We would take levels in Mystic Theurge instead, but we wouldn't be able to meet the skill requirements for Wildrunner, as it requires 8 ranks in survival (which would never be a class skill for us). We would take a level of Mystic Theurge and a level of Ruathar, but then we would not meet the BAB requirements to go into Arcane Hierophant on time.
Effective Wizard Level: 3
Effective Archivist Level: 1
Effective Companion Level: 1
Effective Familiar Level: 0
5
Geomancer
Iron Will
Drift 1, ley lines +1, spell versatility 1
We purchase Iron Will for 3000gp via the Otyugh Hole or the closest setting equivalent.
Effective Wizard Level: 4
Effective Archivist Level: 1
Effective Companion Level: 1
Effective Familiar Level: 0
6
Incantatrix
Endurance, Persistent Spell
Focused Study
Effective Wizard Level: 5
Effective Archivist Level: 1
Effective Companion Level: 1
Effective Familiar Level: 0
7
Incantatrix
-
Cooperative Metamagic
Effective Wizard Level: 6
Effective Archivist Level: 1
Effective Companion Level: 1
Effective Familiar Level: 0
8
Incantatrix
-
Metamagic Effect
Effective Wizard Level: 7
Effective Archivist Level: 1
Effective Companion Level: 1
Effective Familiar Level: 0
9
Wildrunner
Natural Bond
Trackless Step, Fast Movement
Effective Wizard Level: 7
Effective Archivist Level: 1
Effective Companion Level: 4
Effective Familiar Level: 0
10
Arcane Hierophant
-
Companion Familiar, Ignore ASF
Effective Wizard Level: 8
Effective Archivist Level: 2
Effective Companion Level: 5
Effective Familiar Level: 3
11
Arcane Hierophant
-
-
Effective Wizard Level: 9
Effective Archivist Level: 3
Effective Companion Level: 6
Effective Familiar Level: 4
12
Arcane Hierophant
Eschew Materials
-
Effective Wizard Level:10
Effective Archivist Level: 4
Effective Companion Level: 7
Effective Familiar Level: 5
13
Arcane Hierophant
-
Channel animal 2/day
We've delayed access to When Two Become One by two levels, but we entered while losing only two levels of wizard casting instead of four. This means we still get access to 9ths pre-epic.
Effective Wizard Level: 11
Effective Archivist Level: 5
Effective Companion Level: 8
Effective Familiar Level: 6
14
Beastmaster
-
Animal companion, wild empathy
We use one of our horse's bonus feats to qualify for having the Skill Focus: Handle Animal prerequisite. While not necessary, it seems like a decent trade-off to advance our animal companion, as we still get casting access to 9ths with casting as of a level 17 wizard.
Effective Wizard Level: 11
Effective Archivist Level: 5
Effective Companion Level: 12
Effective Familiar Level: 6
15
Arcane Hierophant
Free - Player's Preference
-
Effective Wizard Level: 12
Effective Archivist Level: 6
Effective Companion Level: 13
Effective Familiar Level: 7
16
Arcane Hierophant
-
Channel Plant 1/day
Effective Wizard Level: 13
Effective Archivist Level: 7
Effective Companion Level: 14
Effective Familiar Level: 8
17
Arcane Hierophant
-
-
Effective Wizard Level: 14
Effective Archivist Level: 8
Effective Companion Level: 15
Effective Familiar Level: 9
18
Arcane Hierophant
Free - Player's Preference
Channel Animal 4/day
Effective Wizard Level: 15
Effective Archivist Level: 9
Effective Companion Level: 16
Effective Familiar Level: 10
19
Arcane Hierophant
-
-
Effective Wizard Level: 16
Effective Archivist Level: 10
Effective Companion Level: 17
Effective Familiar Level: 11
20
Arcane Hierophant
-
Channel Plant 2/day
Effective Wizard Level: 17
Effective Archivist Level: 11
Effective Companion Level: 18
Effective Familiar Level: 12
Master ECL
HD
Feats (cumulative)
Familiar Bonuses (cumulative)
Companion Bonuses (cumulative)
2-8
3
Endurance, Run
-
Bonus Tricks +1, Link, Share Spells
9
5
Endurance, Run
-
Natural Armor +2, Str/Dex +1, Attribute +1, Bonus Tricks +2, Link, Share Spells, Evasion
10
5
Endurance, Run, Bonusx1
Int = 7, Natural Armor +2, Alertness, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells
Natural Armor +2, Str/Dex +1, Attribute +1, Bonus Tricks +2, Link, Share Spells, Evasion
11
7
Endurance, Run, Bonusx1
Int = 7, Natural Armor +2, Alertness, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells
Natural Armor +4, Str/Dex +2, Attribute +1, Bonus Tricks +3, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion
12-13
7
Endurance, Run, Bonusx1
Int = 8, Natural Armor +3, Alertness, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Speak with Master
Natural Armor +4, Str/Dex +2, Attribute +1, Bonus Tricks +3, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion
14
11
Endurance, Run, Bonusx2
Int = 8, Natural Armor +3, Alertness, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Speak with Master
Natural Armor +8, Str/Dex +4, Attribute +2, Bonus Tricks +5, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion, Multiattack
15-16
11
Endurance, Run, Bonusx2
Int = 9, Natural Armor +4, Alertness, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Speak with Master, Speak with Animals of Its Kind
Natural Armor +8, Str/Dex +4, Attribute +2, Bonus Tricks +5, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion, Multiattack
17-18
13
Endurance, Run, Bonusx3
Int = 10, Natural Armor +5, Alertness, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Speak with Master, Speak with Animals of Its Kind
Natural Armor +10, Str/Dex +5, Attribute +3, Bonus Tricks +6, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion, Multiattack, Improved Evasion
19
13
Endurance, Run, Bonusx3
Int = 11, Natural Armor +6, Alertness, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Speak with Master, Speak with Animals of Its Kind, Spell Resistance 16
Natural Armor +10, Str/Dex +5, Attribute +3, Bonus Tricks +6, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion, Multiattack, Improved Evasion
20
15
Endurance, Run, Bonusx4
Int = 11, Natural Armor +6, Alertness, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Speak with Master, Speak with Animals of Its Kind, Spell Resistance 17
Natural Armor +12, Str/Dex +6, Attribute +3, Bonus Tricks +7, Link, Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion, Multiattack, Improved Evasion
While there is something to be said for being able to swap out our feats each day with a modicum of notice for what sort of effects we might need, we may also wish to benefit from the raw buffs templates can offer. For the purposes of our summoned mounts (animal companions, special mounts, etc), most inherited templates are out of the question. Warbeast is a possibility for any mount that doesn't become a magical beast, so briefly for druids, but the costs to continue training creatures as you swap them out for new feats and skills could become prohibitive.
Some of these options allow you to select a mount from a creature you purchase or find in the wild, however. Windriders can select any creature they find as their mount, and that opens up a world of inherited templates to consider. Some strong options are:
Magebred (inherited)
Dungeonbred (inherited, making a large horse medium)
Horrid (inherited, if the base animal is a Dire Horse)
Titanic (acquired, making a medium horse gargantuan)
Warbeast (acquired)
Of course, the ability to find a mount with all (or any, save for Warbeast) of these qualities is heavily subject to DM fiat, but if you think your DM will fail their save against your Suggestion, then you, too, could add the spoilered stats below to your character. Of course, having this creature at your disposal is already going to break the game even without using When Two Become One, but being able to keep the body for yourself has an extra sort of appeal to it.
Gargantuan Animal
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Initiative: +1 (Dex); Senses: low-light vision, scent, Listen +8, and Spot +8
AC: 41 (-4 size, +35 natural); touch 10, flat-footed 41
Hit Dice: 26d8+468 (487 HP)
Fort +34, Ref +14, Will +17
Speed: 80 ft.
Space: 20 ft./20 ft.
Base Attack +19
Attack: Hoof +11 melee
Full Attack: 2 hooves and bite
Damage: Hoof 3d6+22, bite 3d8+11
Special Attacks/Actions:
Acidic Attack (Ex): A horrid animal’s primary attack deals an extra 1d6 points of acid damage per 4 HD of the horrid animal (maximum 5d6).
Increased Damage (Ex): Damage from a special attack other than poison or trample is tripled, if the attack deals hit point damage.
Trample (Ex): As a standard action during its turn each round, a titanic creature can trample Huge or smaller opponents. This attack deals points of damage equal to 3d8 + 1 1/2 times the creature's Strength bonus. A trampled opponent can attempt either an attack of opportunity at a -4 penalty or a Reflex save (DC 22 the titanic creature's Str bonus) for half damage.
Abilities: Str 55, Dex 10, Con 47, Int 2, Wis 17, Cha 11 (Additional +4 to primary physical stat, +2 to other physical stats)
Special Qualities:
Improved Natural Healing (Ex)
-4 to checks to handle this animal
Immunity to Acid (Ex)
Combative Mount (Ex)
Easy Maintenance (Ex)
Racial Bonus: Survival (tracking) +4, Saves (Poison/Disease) +2. Listen +1, Spot +1
Feats: Endurance; Run; Toughness; Improved Natural Attack; Great Fortitude; (Alertness, or Athletic, or Multiattack)
Skills: Listen +8 and Spot +8
Tricks: 8
Climate/Terrain: Any land
Organization: Solitary or herd (6-30)
Treasure/Possessions: None
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f9/a4/51/f9a451926303b7d5c514f74364ff0f10.jpg
If you don't want to play as the standard Heavy Horse I described in the build stub above, and your DM doesn't want to greenlight that templated monstrosity, don't fear; there are still plenty of RAW options for a character to consider, both as purchased/discovered steeds and as animal companions. Thanks to Thurbane for compiling a list of many of these downthread!
Light Horse: The light horse is as the heavy horse, but trades 2 strength for 10 more feet of movement. Given you're probably faster than most things anyway, the heavy horse is probably the superior option, but if speed is important to you, this is there.
Pony: Medium size makes this a more compact option for those that can't find Dungeonbred mounts.
Donkey: A slightly weaker, slower version of the pony. Its bite is significantly more accurate than a pony's, and it has a racial bonus to balance.
Mule: A cross between the donkey and the light horse. It's as a light horse, but with two more points in strength, two more to spot and listen, three more hp, a significantly stronger attack routine, and 30 less movespeed.
Pony, War: As the pony, but with 2 more hp, an improved attack routine, and +2 to str and con.
Warhorse, Heavy: As the heavy horse, but with 11 more hp (+1HD), 1 more natural armor, a significantly improved attack routine, +2 to str and con, +1 to wis, and +1 to listen.
Warhorse, Light: As the light horse, but with 3 more hp, 1 more natural armor, a significantly improved attack routine, +1 to fort and ref saves, +2 to str and con, and +1 to wis.
The following is a list of variants on the base types of horses presented in Champions of Valor; they have slightly modified stats, but are otherwise identical:
Equine, Amphail (CoV)
Equine, Calimite (CoV)
Equine, Chionthar (CoV)
Equine, Cormyrean Destrier (CoV)
Equine, Dales Pony (CoV)
Equine, Dambraii (CoV)
Equine, Hammer Pony (CoV)
Equine, Island Pony (CoV)
Equine, Kromlor (CoV)
Equine, Lhesperan (CoV)
Equine, Meth (CoV)
Equine, Nars (CoV)
Equine, Raurin (CoV)
Equine, Semphari (CoV)
Equine, Shaaran Zebra (CoV)
Equine, Shad'iar (CoV)
Equine, Sosser (CoV)
Equine, Steppe (CoV)
Equine, Tharurr (CoV)
Equine, Uglib (CoV)
Equine, Whiteshield (CoV)
Valenar Warhorse: (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebds/20051114a) This animal can explicitly be summoned by Tairnadal druids. If your DM will let your character be from that region, or will waive the regional requirement, this horse is strictly better than the heavy horse at all levels except for levels 12, 13, and 14, where it costs us one of our bonus feats by merit of lowering our effective druid level by 3. If your DM allows it, this is a powerful option.
Pros to Using Valenar Horses
It increases our strength by 2, our dex and con by 3, and the horse's wis/cha by 4
It gives us access to Combative Mount, granting a small ride bonus
It grants us low-light vision
It grants us Scent (very notable, both for foiling the disguises of folks we've seen before and foiling stealth for those without Darkstalker)
It gives us an extra 40 feet of movement, which is nothing to sneeze at
It gives us +2 to listen relative to the base heavy horse, +1 to spot, and a whopping +26 to jump!
It SEEMS to give us what amounts to proficiency with our natural weapons, as a normal heavy horse has a -1 to their hoof attacks (despite their BAB and positive strength modifier), and the Valenar horse has a +6, as of a warhorse.
Cons of Using Valenar Horses
It lowers our natural armor by 2. This is offset somewhat by the +3 to dex (and commensurate increase to AC). Dex is a more valuable stat than natural armor most of the time, not least of which because it also protects our body on the horse's back.
It loses us 1 trick. We will be possessing the horse, so this is a nonfactor as far as I know.
We miss out on improved evasion at later levels, but we gain that by merit of being a familiar, so that's fine.
Our shared HP pool is lower by 1 HD at all levels (which isn't very crippling, but is still worth mentioning)
We miss out on a bonus feats at certain levels due to our lower EDL; this can be offset somewhat by just dismissing the Valenar horse for those levels and using a regular horse, and switching back when doing so would not cause us to lose a feat.
Mount: Gets you a light horse or pony for 2 hours/level; helps in a pinch if you can persist it and you can't find a mount some other way.
Phantom Steed: Grabs you another mount, but with a decently high AC, 20 feet of movement per caster level, and buffs that scale with caster level (up to flight). On the plus side, animals refuse to attack you. Lasts for 1 hour/level, but persisted, as with mount, it will help in a pinch.
Horse, Dire (MM2): A powerful horse with a staggering 8HD, 60 movespeed, +6 BAB, 22 str and con, 13 dex, +8 to spot/listen, endurance, run, toughness... If you can find one, this is a decent chassis for a Windrider.
Horse, Valenar Riding (ECS): 3HD, 80 feet of movement, a sub-bar attack routine (2x hoof attacks at -2), low-light vision and scent, 14 str, 15 dex, 15 con... Notably, +24 to jump, and +4 to spot and listen. Does have endurance and run. This is a fast mount, and its jump certainly opens up a lot of mobility.
Legendary Horse (MM2): An absolute behemoth of an animal with an astounding 18HD, 29 str, 14 dex, 27 con, +9 to listen and spot, low-light vision, and spot. It has a great attack routine, too (+21 on its primary!). It is legendary, so don't count on finding one, but if you do, don't let it get away.
Brass Steed (HoB): Is this golem a horse? If it counts, this is a relatively cheap way to get immunity to magic and a number of other effects (19k gp). Its 8HD and 23 str aren't too shabby either, and it gets a long-range ray attack with a 4 round cooldown.
Clockwork Stallion (MMV): 6HD, 50 speed, 20 str, 8 dex, +13 to jump, and the option to upgrade to gain armor proficiency, DR, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Overrun, Improved Trip, or Trample.
Clockwork Pony: As the stallion above, but with 18 str, 10 dex, and +8 to jump.
Some additional options are presented in the Kingdoms of Kalamar book Dangerous Denizens: The Monsters of Tellene:
Horse, Drhokkeran Charger: 5HD, 18 str, 13 dex, 17 con, +7 spot/listen, 40 speed
Horse, Highland Dancer: 3HD, 17 str, 15 dex, 17 con, +6 spot/listen, 60 speed
Horse, Gaketan Mare: 3HD, 15 str, 13 dex, 15 con, +6 spot/listen, 60 speed
Horse, Draft: 3HD, 18 str, 13 dex, 15 con, +6 spot/listen, 50 speed
Horse, Middling: 3HD, 14 str, 13 dex, 15 con, +6 spot/listen, 55 speed
Horse, Middling War: 3HD, 16 str, 13 dex, 17 con, +7 spot/listen, 55 speed
Horse, Miniature: 1/2HD, 3 str, 18 dex, 10 con, 40 speed, tiny size
Blood Horse (Dragon 299): 4HD, 18 str, 18 dex, 17 con, +11 spot, +10 listen, +7 move silently, 40 speed, 80 fly, blindsight, multiattack, detect good at will, pounce, rake, sonic screech, blood drain... They have an explicit pricing to purchase and train them, too. Definitely a powerhouse, but of questionable use-ability, as it is Dragon material. If it is legal, you can use Alter Self on your Companion Familiar to take its shape and copy some of its qualities.
There are several items that could be of note to us though!
The Horseshoes of Flame are a very tempting option and offer some very solid buffs for your mount. They are questionable under the RAW, however. They say they work for an "ordinary horse." Ordinary isn't a defined game term, but an animal companion is explicitly typical for its kind, and a purchased horse would presumably qualify. However, would the horse be disqualified by merit of us merging with it? A horse with half the soul of a player character may not be considered "ordinary" anymore. Does the mount itself disqualify if it becomes a familiar? Does it disqualify if it takes a single template? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then the horseshoes are of much less use. If the answer is no to all of them, however, a long-duration +10 to our int can never go poorly, and there are plenty of other buffs to boot.
The humble Military Saddle is cheap and gives a bonus to ride
The Battle Bridle is useful for allowing you to defend your mount (and, by extension, your shared hp pool).
The Riding Boots offer a similar effect and a bonus to ride checks.
A Monk's belt fits your horse's slots and provides a lot of combat benefits
The Collar of Healing allows an in-game way to know your mount's hp (or total hp pool), and allows you to instantly heal 50 points of damage to your mount once per day.
Horseshoes of Speed are cheap and give +30 to movement
Horseshoes of a Zephyr are also cheapish and gives the horse a pseudo-levitation (four inches above the ground), leaving no tracks and passing over unstable terrain
A Collar of Obedience gives a bonus to train the animal (probably not necessary or worth the money)
The Sea Steed’s Bridle makes your mount a seahorse (not literally)
A Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis literally makes your mount a dark horse
Exalted Companion: Exalted Companion allows you to apply the celestial template to your horse (at -1 to your effective druid level). It adds the extraplanar subtype to your companion, which could be problematic, but grants a number of benefits: smite evil 1/day, darkvision to 60ft, scaling DR/magic, scaling resistance to acid, cold, and electricity, and spell resistance equal to HD + 5. As an exalted feat, however, it does require you to be neutral good.
Exotic Shield Proficiency: Rider's Shield: Give your body and your mount +2 to their AC. Simple, but a tangible combat benefit worth considering.
Feral Animal Companion: Give your companion a disease rider to any bite attack (DC 15 or contract the red ache), +2 strength, and +2 constitution. Additionally, your companion resists others' attempts to control them, increasing the DC by 10. This feat is... underwhelming.
Natural Spell: This feat's usefulness depends entirely on how the DM rules wildshape works with regard to your horse. If your forms meld together, then there is no issue; if they do not, you may be limited in whether or not you can actually use wildshape once you are merged with your mount (unless you are a Strongheart Halfling) until you can wildshape into large forms.
Wild Cohort: This is a tricky feat to adjudicate, and its value depends entirely on how your DM interprets a few questions. If it does not count as an animal companion, you have no mechanism to dismiss it or summon a new one, so the feats they gain as they level-up are static, and you can't give it the intelligence of a familiar for the purposes of qualifying for new feats. If it does count as an animal companion, I believe you'd have to take the feat after taking your first level in Arcane Hierophant, as the class feature makes you dismiss extra animal companions you have before gaining the class -- but doesn't specify you must never gain more companions later.
Once we are in the horse, there is no mechanism stopping us from casting the spell again apart from our ability to ride a horse while in the shape of a horse. If a horse can ride another horse, and if there is no major barrier to temporarily "riding" an unsuitable mount (i.e., one that is too small for its rider), then we should be able to nest ourselves in a series of horses to gain the HP, feats, and skills of the collective hive mind. If our shape or size is an issue, then using polymorph or wildshape to temporarily take the shape of an appropriate creature should resolve the issue.
If you're chomping at the bit to play as a horse, this build sets you up for it. To my eyes, this seems like a mid-OP build that offers enough versatility to lend itself to any style of play without overshadowing the dedicated casters or martial characters in the party.