Junkyard Wars XXXI: Giddy-Up!

**Glimbur** · 2021-07-19, 10:36 AM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by Thurbane

Couple of days left for entries; glad to see a bit more interest in this one than the last.

Not gonna lie, I had been reading the various competitions for a couple months now but seeing only one person enter this one last time made me want to try this. I can't do worse than like fifth right?

**Thurbane** · 2021-07-19, 03:55 PM (ISO 8601)

Time for the reveal, please don't post until I give the all clear.

**Thurbane** · 2021-07-19, 03:56 PM (ISO 8601)

Spoiler: Intro

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My thoughts on the combination :

The purpose of silverwood outrider is making it viable using the wild cohort while still retaining use of our own action / full action.

From that point of view, only the first level is relevant and useful, the rest is a pile of junk. The capstone is mildly interesting because not even druids can push as a free action, but it's not a feature that's really applicable because the urgency of "I need a free action" is there only during combat situation, and the tricks we'd teach the animal companion are those relevant for combat anyway, so the capstone gives a big fat nothing.

Using a class with animal companion/special mount is "missing the point" of Silverwood outrider, the point being "making wild cohort viable for those classes without animal companion/special mount"

Cavalry charger : the first manouver is situational, the second manouver is mildly interesting when you consider that it's extra damage, not bonus damage, so it's in actuality 16 damage when you take into consideration the spirited charger prerequisite and using a valorous lance, so kinda close to Craven in value

Fell trample is what really appeals to me, at least with the concession "you can mounted overrun a target more than once in a round with it!" I made this build around that assumption, before Thurbane FAQ'ed it "only once per round per enemy", but by then this stub was over 30k characters already, so I'm not scrapping it, merely Adapt Overcome!

Anyway, Silverwood outrider points me to use subsystem that don't traditionally do animal companion/mount things, so psionics or tome of battle or incarnum.

I went psionics, because in the forefront of my mind when stubbing around was "I wish I could choose the cohort feats", and I self-solved that with going psionics for psychic reformation!

in the pursuit of "I want to have a big cohort to 'missile' around with fell trample ", animal growth seemed something obvious, but the obvious entries didn't mesh well with silverwood outrider : Ranger and druid already have animal companion and already handle as a free action, and arcane casters will have very little reasont o pick silverwood outrider over silverwood arcanist.

The only other ways I could think of getting access to animal growth were 3 : spell to power erudite, archivist, chamaleon.

In the end I went for an ardent/chamaleon combination because it didn't feel right to take the full BAB outrider on a poor BAB d4/d6 base, plus I liked the extreme versatility that combination brings.

This makes this build more a showcase of Cavalry charger, rather than Silverwood outrider.

Spoiler: The Norse whisperer

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NG Silverbrow Human, Ardent 9 / Chameleon 10 / Silverwood Outrider 1
Str 12, Dex 14 (10 +4 item), Con 20 (15 +1 levelup +4 Item), Int 18 (14 +4 Item), Wis 32 (16 +4 levelup +6 boon +6 Item), Cha 10
HP 6+4d6+15d8+100 (187)

Spoiler: leveling table

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Ardent 1	+0	+0	+0	+2	Bluff +4, Disguise +4, Handle Animal +4, Spellcraft +4	Able Learner, Wild Cohort	Energy Mantle, Physical Power Mantle, Featherfall SLA 1/day
2nd	Ardent 2	+1	+0	+0	+3	Bluff 4+1, Disguise 4+1, Handle Animal 4+1, Sense Motive +1, Spellcraft 4		Mental Power Mantle
3rd	Ardent 3	+2	+1	+1	+3	Bluff 5+1, Disguise 5+1, Handle Animal 5+1,Ride +1, Sense Motive 1, Spellcraft 4	Mounted Combat
4th	Ardent 4	+3	+1	+1	+4	Bluff 6+1, Disguise 6+1, Handle Animal 6+1,Ride 1, Sense Motive 1+1, Spellcraft 4		Ability Score increase(+1CON)
5th	Ardent 5	+3	+1	+1	+4	Bluff 7+1, Disguise 7+1, Handle Animal 7,Ride 1, Sense Motive 2+2, Spellcraft 4		Guardian Mantle, Featherfall 2/day
6th	Ardent 5 / Chameleon 1	+3	+1	+1	+4	Bluff 8, Disguise 8, Handle Animal 7, Psicraft +4, Ride 1+2, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 4	Practiced Manifester(Ardent)	Aptitude focus 1/day (+2)
7th	Ardent 5 / Chameleon 2	+4	+1	+1	+4	Bluff 8, Disguise 8, Handle Animal 7+1, Knowledge(Nature) +3, Psicraft 4, Ride 3+2, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 4		Bonus feat
8th	Ardent 5 / Chameleon 3	+5	+2	+2	+5	Bluff 8, Disguise 8, Handle Animal 8+3, Knowledge(Nature) 3, Psicraft 4, Ride 5+3, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 4		Ability Score Increase(WIS+1), Mimic class feature 1/day
9th	Ardent 5 / Chameleon 3 / Silverwood outrider 1	+6/+1	+2	+4	+5	Bluff 8, Concentration +1, Disguise 8, Handle Animal 11+1, Knowledge(Nature) 3, Psicraft 4, Ride 8+4, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 4	Spirited Charge	Fast handling, skilled rider
10th	Ardent 6 / Chameleon 3 / Silverwood outrider 1	+7/+2	+3	+5	+6	Bluff 8, Concentration 1+2 Disguise 8, Handle Animal 12+1, Knowledge(Nature) 3, Psicraft 4, Ride 12+1, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 4		Featherfall 3/day
11th	Ardent 6 / Chameleon 4 / Silverwood outrider 1	+8/+3	+3	+5	+6	Bluff 8, Concentration 3+2 Disguise 8, Handle Animal 13+1, Knowledge(Nature) 3, Psicraft 4, Ride 13+1, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 4+2		Ability boon +2
12th	Ardent 6 / Chameleon 5 / Silverwood outrider 1	+8/+3	+3	+5	+6	Bluff 8, Concentration 5+2 Disguise 8, Handle Animal 14+1, Knowledge(Nature) 3, Psicraft 4, Ride 14+1, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 6+2	Cavalry Charger	Ability Score increase(WIS+1), Aptitude focus 2/day (+4)
13th	Ardent 6 / Chameleon 6 / Silverwood outrider 1	+9/+4	+4	+6	+7	Bluff 8, Concentration 7+2 Disguise 8, Handle Animal 15+1, Knowledge(Nature) 3, Psicraft 4, Ride 15+1, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 8+2		Mimic class feature 2/day
14th	Ardent 6 / Chameleon 7 / Silverwood outrider 1	+10/+5	+4	+6	+7	Bluff 8, Concentration 9+2 Disguise 8, Handle Animal 16+1, Knowledge(Nature) 3, Psicraft 4, Ride 16+1, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 10+2		Ability boon +4, double aptitude
15th	Ardent 6 / Chameleon 8 / Silverwood outrider 1	+11/+6/+1	+4	+6	+7	Bluff 8, Concentration 11+2 Disguise 8, Handle Animal 17+1, Knowledge(Nature) 3, Psicraft 4, Ride 17+1, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 12+2	Trample	Rapid refocus, Featherfall 4/day
16th	Ardent 6 / Chameleon 9 / Silverwood outrider 1	+11/+6/+1	+5	+7	+8	Bluff 8, Concentration 13+2 Disguise 8, Handle Animal 18+1, Knowledge(Nature) 3, Psicraft 4, Ride 18+1, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 14+2		Ability Score increase(WIS+1), Mimic class feature 3/day
17th	Ardent 6 / Chameleon 10 / Silverwood outrider 1	+12/+7/+2	+5	+7	+8	Bluff 8, Concentration 15+3 Disguise 8, Handle Animal 19+1, Knowledge(Nature) 3, Psicraft 4, Ride 19+1, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 16+1		Ability boon +6, aptitude focus 3/day (+4)
18th	Ardent 7 / Chameleon 10 / Silverwood outrider 1	+13/+8/+3	+5	+7	+8	Bluff 8, Concentration 18+2 Disguise 8, Handle Animal 20+1, Knowledge(Nature) 3, Psicraft 4, Ride 20+1, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 17	Psionic Meditation
19th	Ardent 8 / Chameleon 10 / Silverwood outrider 1	+14/+9/+4	+5	+7	+9	Bluff 8, Concentration 20+2 Disguise 8, Handle Animal 21+1, Knowledge(Nature) 3, Psicraft 4, Ride 21+1, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 17
20th	Ardent 9 / Chameleon 10 / Silverwood outrider 1	+14/+9/+4	+6	+8	+9	Bluff 8, Concentration 22+1 Disguise 8, Handle Animal 22+1, Knowledge(Nature) 3, Psicraft 4, Ride 22+1, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 17+1		Ability Score Increase(WIS+1), Featherfall 5/day

Spoiler: Powers and spells

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Foreword : We are a chameleon, and the cheesy silverbrow human was picked specifically because with a SLA, we have a caster level, so we qualify for item creation feats.
As such, I'm going to fill this table with the assumption that we will have made ourselves a +2 Wis Item, later upgraded to +4/+6, same for a + Int item because we don't have a reason to not have it. I'm putting about 10% of WBL toward "Improving casting stat", and we can craft the relevant item ourselves from 8th level onward, so the breakdown for that is +2WIS item at level 8, +4WIS at level 12, and +2 INT at level 14, +4 INT at level 16, +6 WIS at level 18. The chameleon ability boon is more or less always wisdom, so I'm including that. Do remember that for the purpose of Power point reserve, our wisdom is considered 2 higher thanks to the mental power mantle. Only changes when they are relevant are listed on the table.

For spell slots, the notation will be "X/Y" before level 14, then "X+Y", meaning that on a given day, before level 14 we'll have either X divine spell slot OR Y Arcane spell slots depending which Aptitude we picked for the day, after level 14 we will have X divine spell slots AND Y arcane spell slots, since the most powerful combination is obviously theurging the two casting aptitudes. Spell known are "all", since the aptitudes behaves like the prepared spellcasters. We also have 4 cantrips/orizons, but that number never changes so they don't need a column. They're unlocked from 6th level onward.

The "New power learned" column is both from leveling up In Ardent and from using the chamaleon bonus feat on Expanded knowledge, We can use the chameleon bonus feat on Expanded knowledge, which adds to the power known, therefore the "all" in the table. we're missing learning a new power at 19th level from advancing Ardent, but there are no other 6th level powers in our mantles and we already know all lower level powers at that point.

ML and CL stands for Manifester Level and Caster Level

Level	ML, CL	Wisdom, Intelligence	Power Point Reserve	New powers learned	1st level slots	2nd level slots	3rd level slots	4th level slots	5th level slots	6th level slots
1st	1, -	16, 14	3	Energy Ray, Vigor	-	-	-	-	-	-
2nd	2, -	16(18), 14	10	mind Trust	-	-	-	-	-	-
3rd	3, -		17	Energy Push	-	-	-	-	-	-
4th	4, -		25	Animal Affinity	-	-	-	-	-	-
5th	5, -		35	Energy Bolt	-	-	-	-	-	-
6th	6, 2		37	-	3/3	1/1	-	-	-	-
7th	7, 4		39	All 2nd level and lower	4/4	2/2	-	-	-	-
8th	8, 6	19(21), 14	45	-	4/4	3/3	1/0	-	-	-
9th	9, 6		47	-	4/4	3/3	1/0	-	-	-
10th	10, 6		60	Protection from psionics, All 3rd and 4th level powers	4/4	3/3	1/0	-	-	-
11th	10, 8	21(23), 14	65		6/5	4/4	2/1	-	-	-
12th	10, 10	24(26), 14	75		6/5	5/4	4/2	1/0	-	-
13th	10, 12		75		6/5	6/5	5/3	2/1	-	-
14th	10, 14	26(28), 16	80		6+5	6+5	6+5	4+2	1+0	-
15th	10, 16		80		6+5	6+5	6+5	5+3	2+1	-
16th	10, 18	27(29), 18	80		6+5	6+5	6+5	6+5	3+2	1+0
17th	10, 20	29(31), 18	85		7+5	6+5	6+5	6+5	5+3	2+1
18th	11, 20	31(33), 18	106	Mind Over Energy, all 5th level powers	7+5	7+5	6+5	6+5	5+3	3+1
19th	12, 20		124		7+5	7+5	6+5	6+5	5+3	3+1
20th	13, 20	32(34), 18	150	Energy Wave, all 6th level powers	7+5	7+5	7+5	6+5	5+3	3+1

Spoiler: build decisions

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Once my mind was settled on going for "Fell trample+Animal growth", and "psionics + chamaleon", Ardent felt like the best choice, to stay SAD on wisdom, and also because it rubbed me the wrong way to go for Psychic warrior when Fighter is banned.

With that said, after we got the Fast handling feature, more levels of outriders don't compare at all with pretty much anything else we could do with those level, so once I settled for an ardent base, unlocking higher powers was just, no brainer.

At first this was vaguely built in a more martial fashion, divine + martial aptitude, to make actual use of spirited charge, plus the tremendous charge feat since the STR of the mount is noticeably higher than ours.

But, the siren song of optimizing lured me back to making heavier use of the casting, because we all know where that stand in the scope of power, yeah?

With that in mind, I uggggh about having to pick Silverbrow human, but otherwise we wouldn't qualify for item creation feats :( we'd qualify for psionic creation feats, but those just aren't the same.

You may notice the feat order is peculiar, the reason for that is using the "floating" chamaleon feat for qualification purposes. At the end of the day our mount is going to be either gargantuan or colossal, we won't ever be in actual range to hit anything! So spirited charge goes unused. when we are doing the 9th level up, the floating feat will be Ride-by attack to qualify for spirited charge. at 12th level, it will be Trample, that will let us qualify for Cavalry Charger, because we have the Prerequisites, even if we can't use spirited charge. at 15th level we take Trample to free up our floating feat to be something else even on "combat days".

Do note that we will have access to Psychic reformation, so the actual ordering is immaterial, but I wanted to play around with Cavalry charger "early as possible", which will be the 13th level when we unlock our first huge-size mount

You all know the terrible wording of Ardent, which let us pick high level power based only on the manifester level. This works great with chamaleon, since we can pick Expanded knowledge with the floating feat. That adds one power to our powers known, and those aren't removed when we change the floating feat to something else.
Doing practiced manifester shenanigans isn't stricly needed, since we would unlock psychic reformation anyway, but that would come so much late in the levels, which is bleh.

Anyway, at 20th level, with a manifester level of 13, we learn one 7th level power from one of our mantles, and given enough days, we get to add all 6th and lower powers to our power knowns. We do that by choosing expanded knowledge as the chamaleon floating feat. that feat adds a power known, the power isn't forgotten if the feat is changed to something else.
the 10th level is ardent because it's that point of time that let's us have psychic reformation, both for our own purposes and for "fixing" our wild cohort with actual good feats and not those that are the default for that creature statblock.

Once "all powers" are learned, the floating feat will probably be crafting related, assuming adeguate downtime.

We can also use the floating feat to shape soulmelds. they don't unshape unless we chose to, or are dispelled, so we get the benefit of what soulmelds we fancy, with the usual limitations of no more than CONSCORE-10 and only one soulmeld per chakra

On combat days, the most likely feat we will settle on is the Quicken power metamagic, that way we can standard action Fell Trample, swift action power, then move action recover our psionic focus. Free Action handle our wild cohort to command them to do their own trample special attack, SQUISH THEM ENEMIES!

Alternative build : Ardent 13/ Chamaleon 6 / Silverwood Outrider 1, for access to one 9th level power plus every powers 8th or lower and still unlocking 4th level divine spells, but I absolutely don't want to be anywhere near the temptation of the dominant ideal ACF, I'm strongly milk flavoured already as is!

Spoiler: Wild cohort

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I'm operating with the assumption that the extended animal companion list is open to us, and not take the wild cohort feat literally when it says "phb animal companion list". That said, I will list here also the "PHB only" cohort, in case your DM rules it so. We won't deviate from PHB choices until level 13 anyway.

level 1-6 : we'll have a heavy horse. At this time we won't have psychic reformation so the feats are the default for it species. Note that between 3 and 5th level it'll have +1 HD/NA, and at 6th level it'll upgrade to 6HD, so it gains one feat of our choice, Does qualify for alot, I'll go safe with Improved toughness and call it a day :)

level 7-9 : we can start using a Bison, we like the Bison over the horse because it has higher STR and CON. it will have 8HD (ECL for the purpose of wild cohort is -3, so we're as a 6th level character for that table of bonuses) but we don't have psychic reformation yet, so it's one feat we can pick will be Improved toughness again, LIVE BISON LIVE!

level 10-12 : Psychic reformation AND Rhinoceros ! We will also have the Cavalry charger feat at this point AND handling our cohort is a free action thanks to outrider. on top of all that the unlock of 4th level slot gives us sweet animal growth, the only reason 13 is the sweet spot is that the animal companions from splatbooks are insane.
Our Rhino has 11HD, thanks to psychic reformation has these feats :Quick Reconnoiter, Powerful charge, improved natural attack(gore), mage slayer.
we animal growth him, so he's huge size with 35 STR, let's do some quick napkin math?
our caster level is 10 at 12th level, so Nature's favor is +3 luck, greater magic fang is +2, his gore attack is baseline 3d6 at huge size.

Our standard action is "Fell trample", toward the farthest enemy. we free action order him to "charge" that far away enemy.

so, it's a 15ft wide, 60 ft long "line", each enemy must make an opposed strength check or be knocked prone, against our Rhino strength, with the relevant size modifiers. Then, just to kick them while they're down ( ha!) they also get a free hoof attack on their face. "huge" hoof should be a 1d8, so that's some free 1d8+17 damage, or +11 if the hoof is ruled to only get 1/2 str.

and at the end of the line, the poor sod that get horned takes 9d6 + 44 damage, on top of the hoof to the face, of course.

Level 13-17 : nonPHB animal companion : Dire tortoise. the poor fools.
straight away when we unlock this baby at level 13 it's a 15HD monstruosity that has the trample(ex) special ability. It's natively huge so we AG it to gargantuan, let's see what we can do , yeah ? (15 HD because our level equivalent is -10 for the purpose of wild cohort, per Thurbane QA)
Baseline 15HD, 26 STR, 25 CON. Feats : Quick Reconnoiter, Ability Focus(Trample), improved natural attack(Bite), mage slayer, blind-fight, pierce magical concealment
+ Animal growth STR 34 , nature favor +4, greater magic fang +2
Free action order "trample!", our standard action "Fell trample" = everything on a 20ft large x 40ft long line gets probably prone, plus 6d8+24 trample damage reflex half DC 31, plus a free "hoof" damage of 2d6 + 18 damage
that's at level 13, at level 17 she's up trample is 6d8+29 and the hoof is 2d6 + 23 between the HD increase and higher caster level (+2 str, one from the 16th HD and oen form wild cohort table)

level 18-20 : MM2 Dire elephant
We only ever advance it by 1 HD, since it's a ECL-15 boy, but what a big boy!
21HD, gargantuan size, 40STR and 30 CON, feats : Quick Reconnoiter, Ability Focus(Trample), improved natural attack(Slam), mage slayer, blind-fight, pierce magical concealment, pierce magical protection, Improved overrun
So, let's animal growth to colossal and 48STR, +5 luck from nature's favor, +5 from greater magic fang, put an easy haste for good measure
Again, trample+fell trample c-c-c-combo!, 30ft large x30ft tall x 120 ft long... tube, 8d6+38 trample DC 41, 4d6+29 hoof. the Zōhameha!

PHBonly cohort for later levels : we "upgrade" the Rhinoceros to a Elephant at level 16, and the Elephant to a Triceratops at level 18. both get +1HD from being a cohort. That's enough to push the elephant to 12HD so it will have the same feats that the tortoise has, minus the Improved natural attack, meanwhile Triceratops has one less feat than the dire elephant, so no improved overrun.

Sadly, they're only huge, so they aren't as big a difference as the nonPHB choices, but at least they get trample! it's just a smaller trample sobs
Elephant trample is 3d8+27 DC 32, hoof 2d6 + 20
Triceratops trample is 3d12+31 DC 34, hoof 2d6 + 24

As mentioned in the intro and evidenced in the tactics section below, the idea was of doing the "mounted overrun" free hoof attack multiple times per target per round, that's where the viability is

Spoiler: tactics

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Spoiler: Levels 1-5

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We are a blaster with a horse. Until we get the outrider level we are limited to use move actions for ordering our horse around, it's 2 intelligence means he can know 6 tricks at most, combat riding training locks these tricks to attack, come, defend, down, guard, and heel. being a cohort we can teach one extra trick, but it isn't really needed if we have the space to manouver / keep the range advantage to blast away from far away :). There isn't really much to say about our tactics at these levels. Blast with the blasting powers, stay alive with Vigor. That's that. Energy bolt was picked over Energy burst because the burst has serious friendly fire problems :(

Spoiler: 6th level

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Spellcasting! Fairly delayed in comparison, only 3 first level spell and one second level, but that's comparatively better spellcasting than a ranger of the same level has! And the limitation of Divine focus is "chosen form the spell list of any divine spellcasting class", that means we can play around with picking spells from divine PrC that puts some old staples at a lower slot than usual :) I'm going to put elipses around the class whose spell list we're picking each spell from (only the first time they appear)

Average combat day spells loadout (it's divine OR arcane until level 14):
Divine aptitude focus spells prepared:
1st level: Barkskin x2 (Nentyar Hunter), Linked Perception x1 (Ranger)
2nd level: Blur x1 (Nentyar Hunter)
Arcane aptitude focus spells prepared:
1st level: haste x3 (Trapsmith)
2nd level: Blur x1 (Wizard)

The preference is Divine because we might not get our hands on the scroll for scribing that specific lower level spell.

What do you want me to say about tactics? it's not like we got a lot of choices for combat scenario, a blaster we were and a blaster we still are, pewpew!

Two barskin because one is for our mount, of course, Blur too, probably.

Spoiler: 7th level

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we have the opportunity of upgrading our mount from a horse to a bison, it's a marginal improvement on it's strength and constitution. I'm partial to make the change because the 1d8+9 Gore attack is significantly better than the 1d6+1 hoof attack of the horse.
We've unlocked the floating feat, but what we do with it is highly dependant on the amount of downtime we have. We can start adding 2nd or lower powers known, or as much as 6 soulmelds, or craft some wondrous items.

In general terms, the first 6 days of "freedom", we pick shape soulmeld for our floating feat, and pick the 6 utility soulmelds that most appeals to us, keeping in mind that a shaped soulmeld needs not be unshaped unless you plan to change what meld you're putting in that specific chakra slot. We're a bit sour we don't qualify for share soulmelds, but oh well.

After we've got the soulmelds taken care of,we grab the "critical" low level powers with expanded knowledge. Critical in the sense that they do a somewhat unique thing not easily replicated with a spell slot. After that comes the situationally useful ones,

The only crafting I'm "adamant" gets done is a +2 Wisdom item at level 8th, because it's difficult to have a gauge about how much downtime there will be, and unlocking "all the powers" is a slog at one per day, so not that much crafting this early on.

soulmelds unlock order :
Strongheart vest (waist) : ability damage reduction is kinda unique, and if we're feeling evil it opens up "inifnite PP" shenanigans with body fuel.
Apparition Ribbon (throat) : not much competition for the throat slot, the others are mostly skill bonuses to skills we don't care about, this at least is a situational but useful effect.
Mage spectacles (brows) : bonus to spellcraft for easier copying of spells to the arcane spellbook, when we have the time for that
Pauldron of health (shoulders) : immunity to disease and the "nausea" line of effect isn't bad
Enigma helm (Crown) : being protected form divination is not so good when they can just divine on our mount/friends, but it's still a nice thing to have for "no cost"
Riding bracers (Arms) : Ride and handle animal are our bread and butter skills.
Honorable mention to spellward shirt (heart) : if your table houserules that nat1 is a fail even on caster levle checks, getting SR 5 still means at least 5% fail rate of spells that allows spell resistance

"Critical" new power known:
damp power : it's effect is fairly unique
Dispel psionics : given the transparency, it's good to have in the back pocket
Energy missile : it's a bummer that this isin't in the energy mantle, but them's the breaks
Clairvoyant Sense: Scry but better, basically
Body purification: easier than preparing restoration
Energy adaption, specified: easier than preparing resist energy
Inertial Armor, Force Screen, Precognition(defensive): in preparation for a monk belt, also free up WBL
Concealing Amorpha : no more preparing blur for ourselves, just the cohort :)

combat days floating feat: we're probably going to have a crafting feat or expanded knowledge (something) as the floating feat, delaying our "acquisition" of new powers isn't worth having a tiny bit more combat power, it's not like our blasting isn't still as good as it can be. At most we can put the floating feat to psychic meditation for 7 more PP I suppose.

Average combat day spells loadout:
if Divine
1st level: Barkskin x2, Linked Perception x1, Resist energy x1 (Ranger)
2nd level: Blur x1, Nature's favor x1 (Ranger)
if Arcane
1st level: haste x2 , Dispel Magic x2 (Trapsmith)
2nd level: Blur x1 , Lesser globe of invulnerability x1 (Trapsmith)

let's start handing out some more buffs to our beatstick shall we? since we have buffing ourselves covered with psionic powers, given that almost all of them are personal.

Spoiler: 8th level

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We can now mimic one class feature, the two we are most likely to make use of are Evasion or turn undead, we might consider having the floating feat be one of the devotion feats form complete divine, especially if we combo it with preparing primal instinct, since we do have the dragonblood subtype that let us make knowledge checks untrained. but maaaan is knowledge devotion overused.

Average combat day spells loadout:
If Divine
1st level: Barkskin x2, Linked Perception x1, Resist energy x1
2nd level: Blur x1, Nature's favor x1, Elation x1 (cleric)
3rd level: Fly x1 (Travel domain) or Freedom of movement x1 (Runescarred berserker)
If Arcane
1st level: haste x2 , Dispel Magic x2
2nd level: Blur x1 , Lesser globe of invulnerability x1, Stoneskin x1 (Trapsmith)

Fly is an obvious pick if your GM rules that you can pick domain spells by accessing the divine crusader spell list, otherwise the backup plan is good old FoM.

for the CL we have nature's favor is a +2 and magic fang greater is a +1, so we could have 6 hours of magic fang, but we're getting to the levels where fly/FoM are kinda necessary.

Our tactical plan didn't really change yet, since our energy mantle blasting hasn't stopped scaling yet

Spoiler: 9th level

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this is more of a set-up level, fast handling free up our move action to do other things, so starting from next level where our cohort can actualyl contribute in a somewhat meaningful way, we can have the flaoting feat be psionic meditation. that way we can have the psionic focus to use the guardian mantle power every turn and still blast away with our standard action, or use the physical power for some cushioning extra ability.

we qualify for spirited charge by having the floating feat be ride-by attack when we level up.

Tactically, for now, we just blast blast blast like we've been doing for the past 8 levels.

Spoiler: 10th level

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This level is PACKED, it's almost a second sweet spot., but I nominate 13th level as the sweet spot!
Anyway, this level of ardent gives us psychic reformation by way of floating expanded knowledge, that's like the first thing we do with our floating feat, since it will let us pick actually useful feats for our wild cohort!

and the cohort is FasterStrongerBetter in the form of a Rhinoceros, with a special attack to boot, oh my! he's a 9HD meanie at this level, with the feats listed above.
We can't supersize him yet, but he still does a mean 6d6+29 on a charge.

having said that, we can go on with unlockign two whole new level of powers with floating expanded knowledge.

Most obvious is the fourfecta of the psionic version of Freedom of movement, Dimension Door, Divination Fly.
Dispel Psionic, of course.
Then some upgraded blasting int he form of energy ball and energy cone ( why they aren't in the energy mantle, I just don't know)

In light of having FoM/Fly for ourself from powers, we might still prepare it for our Rhino, but otherwise we might consider preparing Death ward (Runescarred berserker) with our 3rd level slot.

We could honestly have completely different feats ourselves before that point, and adjust to qualify for cavalry charger by way of psychic reformating ourselves, but I would totally rule that I'd lose all those extra powers gained by abusing the chamaleon floating feat if I were to psychic reformation myself, so I'm not going to psychic reformation myself!

Actual tactics : you guessed it.. blast! pewpewpew with a side of charging rhino!

Spoiler: 11th level

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We're back to advancing chamaleon.
This is a bit of a weird level, because we haven't unlocked 4th level spells yet, and if we were to put ability boon on intelligence, we'd almost have the same amount of arcane spells as we would have divine spells. by comparison if we put ability boon on intelligence what we lose out is one first level slot and 5 power points.

Why would we do that? well, if we can't get fly with the travel domain as a divine spell, the if we use arcane aptitude we *can* give him fly, plus by now we might have found those yummy scroll of "1st level haste" and those other chameleon shenanigans, especially with the stronger suit of divination we now have. (and we're finally starting to advance spellcraft again, specifically for copying spells, we're at a 15 modifier with a masterwork item at this level)

Average combat day spells loadout:
If Divine
1st level: Barkskin x2, Linked Perception x1, Resist energy x1, Lesser restoration x2 (Paladin)
2nd level: Blur x1, Nature's favor x1, Elation x2
3rd level: Fly x1 Or Death ward x1 (Runescarred berserker) , Freedom of movement x1
If Arcane
1st level: haste x2 , Dispel Magic x2, Protection from energy x1 (Trapsmith)
2nd level: Blur x1 , Lesser globe of invulnerability x1, Stoneskin x1 , Heroism x1 (Bard)
3rd level: Fly x1 (Wizard), greater dispel x1 (Trapsmith)

Tactics : Rhino charge and we blast, what do you mean we've been doing that for the past forever ? not my fault cavalry charger is at the end of a 5 feat chain and fighter is banned!, we're even "early entrying" it at next level by doing chamaleon floating feat shenanigans!

Spoiler: 12th level

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Cavalry charger is here! We can overrun multiple times with that standard action it costs!

So, why am I excited about this, why am I "selling" cavalry charger to you? Well.. nothing says we can't overrun a target more than once per turn. The limitation is built in in the "standard action" cost of making an overrun attempt, but Cavalry charger is "limiter off" on that ... so, to put it simply, if our hugefied Rhino crosses over that medium enemy ,well, he spends "3 squares" of movement to run over him, so we do the hoof attack 3 times!, provided the Rhino hits, of course. That 1d8+17 hoof attack that seemed so paltry in the cohort section? suddenly it's 3d8+51 ! And it's only going to get better as we unlock bigger mounts! yay!

Also, 4th level spells! Animal growth here we come!

Average combat day spells loadout:
If Divine
1st level: Barkskin x2, Linked Perception x1, Resist energy x1, Lesser restoration x2
2nd level: Blur x1, Nature's favor x2, Elation x2
3rd level: Fly x1 Or Death ward x1, Freedom of movement x2, Greater magic fang x1 (Druid)
4th level: Animal Growth x1 (Ranger)
If Arcane
1st level: haste x2 , Dispel Magic x2, Protection from energy x1
2nd level: Blur x1 , Lesser globe of invulnerability x1, Stoneskin x1 , Heroism x1
3rd level: Fly x1, 2x greater dispel x2

Tactics : we have our floating feat locked onto trample if we want to use cavalry charger, so the question is : is it worthy over blasting with our psionic blasting powers as we've done so far? I feel that 3d8+51 is significant enough that we can keep our power points in the back pocket for utility uses, thus our combat tactic is shifted to free action ordering Rhino to charge "that guy", and our standard action is making sure he stamps on "all the things".

Besides, if we really need to put some extra blasting, we can always schism!

Spoiler: 13th level Sweet spot

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It's here, the sweet spot!
Why is this the sweet spot? we've unlocked cavalry charger last level you'll say!
Well, if we have splatbook support for the cohort, at this level we unlock the insane dire tortoise, that's pretty much all there is to it. Enemies will be CR appriopriate, so while we'd have more things at later level, enemies will also be stronger. This is a point in time where at most we'll have 7th level spells to contend with. We could conceivabely call the sweet spot at 14th level where we'll have Divine AND Arcane spells, but I'm just too excited about trampling about with a dire tortoise to not call it as soon as we got her!

Average combat day spells loadout:
If Divine
1st level: Barkskin x2, Linked Perception x1, Resist energy x1, Lesser restoration x2
2nd level: Blur x1, Nature's favor x2, Elation x3
3rd level: Fly x2 Or Death ward x2, Freedom of movement x2, Greater magic fang x1
4th level: Animal Growth x2
If Arcane
1st level: haste x2 , Dispel Magic x2, Protection from energy x1
2nd level: Blur x2 , Lesser globe of invulnerability x1, Stoneskin x1 , Heroism x1
3rd level: Fly x2, greater dispel x2
4th level: Break enchantment x1 (Bard)

So, are we ready to Fell trample AND Trample? :) the napkin math trample (ex) is 6d8+24, whoever Tortoise tramples can Aoo her but to do that they forfeit the DC41 reflex for half damage... and then we have the fell trample :D 2d6+18 * 4 squares of size, 8d6 +72! Stomp! On every enemy in sizeable area!

Spoiler: 14th level

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Aaaaaah, sweet double aptitude, plus 5th level divine slot!

Average combat day spells loadout:
Divine
1st level: Barkskin x2, Linked Perception x1, Resist energy x1, Lesser restoration x2
2nd level: Blur x1, Nature's favor x2, Elation x3
3rd level:Death ward x3, Freedom of movement x2, Greater magic fang x1
4th level: Animal Growth x4
5th level: Heal x1 (Runescarred berserker)
Arcane
1st level: haste x2 , Dispel Magic x2, Protection from energy x1
2nd level: Blur x2 , Lesser globe of invulnerability x1, Stoneskin x1 , Heroism x1
3rd level: Fly x3, greater dispel x2
4th level: Break enchantment x1, Spell Theft x1 (Bard)

Our beloved tortoise doens't advance in HD at this level, so the actual tactis is more or less the same, except for the explosion of spell slot that the double aptitude brings us, the increased CL also means that nature's favor is at +4 and greater magic fang is at +3, but those are small potatoes in relative value.

The Tortoise Ac is terribly low, so we better make sure she can survive traipsing about, considering she provokes Aoo something like, 3 times from each enemy she steps on. WE better be ready to halve that damage with Share pain, or empathic transfer it, or guardian mantle power prevent it, we probably need her to survive just the one round of stomping about after all, at least she has some nice beefy HP values.

Spoiler: 15th level

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Finally the floating feat is free to be something else than trample when we want to make use of Cavalry charger :)

This is a bit of a special level if we're under PHBonly wild cohort : The Rhinoceros upgrades form 11 to 13HD at this level, he get's an extra feat, meaning we can drop the Quick Reconnoiter for blind-fight, thus letting him take pierce magical concealment with his shiny new feat. but that's only the case if we don't have the juicy tortoise to traipse about with :3

Average combat day spells loadout:
Divine
1st level: Barkskin x2, Linked Perception x1, Resist energy x1, Lesser restoration x2
2nd level: Blur x1, Nature's favor x2, Elation x3
3rd level:Death ward x3, Freedom of movement x2, Greater magic fang x1
4th level: Animal Growth x4, Stoneskin x1 (Adept)
5th level: Heal x2
Arcane
1st level: haste x2 , Dispel Magic x2, Protection from energy x1
2nd level: Blur x2 , Lesser globe of invulnerability x1, Stoneskin x1 , Heroism x1
3rd level: Fly x3, greater dispel x2
4th level: Break enchantment x1, Spell Theft x2
5th level: Greater heroism x1 (Bard)

what's the tactic? oyu guessed it: STOMP!!

Spoiler: 16th level

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6th level spells, divine ones at least!, and this is the level we get an actual trampling cohort (elephant) if the noncore ones aren't open to us.
This is probably also when I'd get at least a +2 CON item, so I'll list 2 more soulmelds now

soulmelds unlocked:
Totem Avatar(feet): nothing else really appeals to me for this slot, and 8-10 HP more at no cost are still 8-10 hp more :)
Spellward shirt or Dragon mantle(heart): as said, if your GM houserules oyu can nat1 on caster level checks, even 5 SR is still 5% spell resistance, otherwise, +2 fort save is good enough to me.

Average combat day spells loadout:
Divine
1st level: Barkskin x2, Linked Perception x1, Resist energy x1, Lesser restoration x2
2nd level: Blur x1, Nature's favor x2, Elation x3
3rd level:Death ward x3, Freedom of movement x2, Greater magic fang x1
4th level: Animal Growth x4, Stoneskin x2
5th level: Heal x2, Antimagic field x1 (Runescarred berserker)
6th level: Word of recall x1 (Cleric)
Arcane
1st level: haste x2 , Dispel Magic x2, Protection from energy x1
2nd level: Blur x2 , Lesser globe of invulnerability x1, Stoneskin x1 , Heroism x1
3rd level: Fly x3, greater dispel x2
4th level: Break enchantment x2, Spell Theft x3
5th level: Greater heroism x2

Worth mentioning that on off day we can use the druidic Spellstaff spell to store a spell, so we are at "+1" capacity for 5th level spell slots if we have time off between combat days.

Spoiler: 17th level

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And so we're done with chamaleon :) one more ability boon tier for some extra spell slot and power points, plus a lonely 6th level arcane spell

Average combat day spells loadout:
Divine
1st level: Barkskin x2, Linked Perception x1, Resist energy x2, Lesser restoration x2
2nd level: Blur x1, Nature's favor x2, Elation x3
3rd level:Death ward x3, Freedom of movement x2, Greater magic fang x1
4th level: Animal Growth x4, Stoneskin x2
5th level: Heal x2, Antimagic field x1, Spell resistance x1 (Cleric), true seeing x1 (Cleric)
6th level: Word of recall x1 , Energy Immunity x1 (Cleric)
Arcane
1st level: haste x2 , Dispel Magic x2, Protection from energy x1
2nd level: Blur x2 , Lesser globe of invulnerability x1, Stoneskin x1 , Heroism x1
3rd level: Fly x3, greater dispel x2
4th level: Break enchantment x2, Spell Theft x3
5th level: Greater heroism x3
6th level: Contingency x1 (Wizard)

trampletrain!

Spoiler: 18-19th level

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Dire Elephant is CHONK, 21 yummy HD for a bunch of feats. Plus now that we're back to Ardent we're upping our expanded knowledge to include all 5th level powers. The increase in wisdom also nets us an extra 2nd and 6th spell slots, yum!
We can like, permanency some powers with Incarnate, shift haivng the true seeing covered by psionic, take care of your teleportaiton needs without using spell slots for that. Just pen down all 5th level power will ya? :)

Average combat day spells loadout:
Divine
1st level: Barkskin x2, Linked Perception x1, Resist energy x2, Lesser restoration x2
2nd level: Blur x1, Nature's favor x3, Elation x3
3rd level: Death ward x3, Freedom of movement x2, Greater magic fang x1
4th level: Animal Growth x4, Stoneskin x2
5th level: Heal x2, Antimagic field x1, Spell resistance x1, true seeing x1
6th level: Word of recall x1 , Energy Immunity x1, Superior Resistance (Cleric)
Arcane same as 17th level

COLOSSAL TRAMPLING sounds the horns, did someone say 24d6 + 174 or thereabouts?

nothing "new" is particularly gained at 19th level, except maybe upgrading the CON item form +2 to +4, netting us the last two soulmelds, but only soul and hand chakra are free for that, and nothing offered there interestes me.

Spoiler: 20th level

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Our last pip up in power, one more third level divine spell slot (one more FoM for semplicity) from the increased wisdom, and we're ranking up to all 6th level powers!
Personal mind blank is just the least of it, what about Greater Precognition? no?, Well, allow me to introduce you to the fairly unique Dispelling Buffer?

TLDR: Q: why fell trample when you can blast A: fell trampling doesn't cost daily resources!

Spoiler: Possible controversies

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Q: How are you using those soulmelds!? A: I'm taking the shape soulmeld feat with the chamaleon "floating" feat, the rules about incarnum stipulates that a soulmeld stay shaped until we will it to unshape, so even if we change the feat, the soulmeld stays shaped.

Q: How are you getting "all" the powers!? A: I'm taking the expanded knowledge feat with the chamaleon "floating" feat, it's benefit is "add to your powers known one additional power" etc, losing the feat does not make us forget the added power

Q: How are you crafting stuff!? chamaleon caster level can't be used to qualify for feats! A: that is correct, I specifically used the silverbrow human because it has a SLA, since we have a SLA we have a caster level equal to our HD for when we cast the SLA, hence that featherfall qualifies us for crafting feats.

Q: you can't overrun the same enemy more than once! A: that is, essentially correct, but to elaborate, Cavalry charger fell trample is disfunctional, since doing a mounted overrun is a standard action, that "permission" we get from Cavalry charger to use mounted overrun against more than one foe.. does nothing at all, because we're still limited to the one standard action. I find it acceptable to rule/houserule that cavalry charger let us do "as many overrun as we can" within the scope of that move action. it's a 5 feat investment! You think we would care about doing "as many overrun as we can, limit once per target" for 5 feats? why putting that arbitrary limitation? is our cohort splattering that medium creature with all of his glorious colossal weight?
Revision:I've made (and submitted!) this entry like, the day before the chair ruled that fell trample is a full action and you can hoof an enemy only once per turn, but I'm at the limit of 50k characters so editing around that is a delicate manner!

Q: how are you doing hoof attacks with creatures that don't have hoof attack A: I'm taking the conservative reading that a hoof as this damage profile : large 1d6, huge 1d8, gargantuan 2d6, colossal 3d6., instead of using the more liberal reading that we'd use the mount primary attack. if it gets ruled that "no hoof, no free attack". I have to ask, if we take away reasons to use cavalry charger, why are we doing a showcase of it in the first place?

Q: wild cohort is specifically limited to PHB animal companions! A: that's fair, not fun, but fair, hence the reason I listed the alternative animals I would use with that ruling, too. My argument in favor of using the expanded list is that I reference the PHBII as the most recent source of animal companion list, and it's publication date is more recent than the wild cohort article

Spoiler: Sources

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All the psionic stuff : Complete psionics and Expanded psionic handbook
Chameleon PrC : Races of Destiny
Silverbrow human : Dragon Magic
Nentyar hunter and Runescarred berserker : Unapproachable East
Trapsmith : Dungeonscape
Shape soulmeld and soulmelds : Magic of Incarnum
Linked perception spell and List of expanded animal companions : PHB II
Dire tortoise : sandstorm
Dire elephant : monster manual II
Wild cohort
Elation spell : book of exalted deeds
Spell theft spell : Complete Scoundrel
other noncore spells : spell compendium

**Thurbane** · 2021-07-19, 03:57 PM (ISO 8601)

Spoiler: Afterword

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Firstly, an apologize to Thurbane for ending up with more than 50k words. Sorry you can't fit this in a single post :(

Anyway, I want to put some emphasis (again) that the build flowed from a "Fell trample" first. I probably said this already at least 3 times, But the thought process was fairly simple.

"Ok, what do I want to do if I am makgin a fell trample build?"
"Animal growth!!"
"But the natural choice, druid, has no reason to take Silverwood outrider, I suppose I could make a druid 17/outrider 1 / beastmaster 2, and double dip on animal companion+wild cohort, but UGHHH and I'm sure I'd get tons of flak for the druid 17, and ranger has the same 'problem' "
"Arcane source of animal growth has the same problem, no one would pick silverwood outrider over silverwood arcanist when starting from an arcane caster"
BOOM CHAMALEON

I want to defend all the chamaleon shenanigans, or rather, defend the build : the shenanigans are not needed at all, the build functions perfectly well without any of them, at most only needing a bit of feat reordering. There's even further shenanigans by using the floating feat on Open minded for "max rank on all class skills". Only psychic reformation is "kinda needed" for the purpose of making the cohort take a bit better feats.

I only listed all the shenanigans because, well, those are the tools we have access to, I'd be remiss in my duty if I didn't exploit them

With peace and no hard feeling for the probably terrible elegance I will end up with ^^

**Thurbane** · 2021-07-19, 04:00 PM (ISO 8601)

Spoiler: BEARS!! (Intro)

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Hello!
My though process was : "Okay, let's use that lance multiplier of spirited charger, maybe with those white raven manouvers?" "Uh, this mounted fury feat sounds nice, and I was already thinking of doing barbarian since it feels like it's the "intended user" of wild cohort feat, now what can I do to pump it up?" "BEARS!!! I GET TO MAKE BEARS BE BEAREST!" "It sounds cool to make a caveman riding dinosaurs, maybe?"

the rest was tinkering :)

Why only one level of Silverwood outrider you may ask? Well, the capstone it has is relatively unique, "push as a free action", but the problem with that is the only time when it's relevant is in combat, and in combat we'd be using taught tricks anyway.

Fast handling, on the other hand, fits our purpose, because it lets us command the mount to do his special gimmick ( Powerful charge special ability ) and still have our full action for charging.

I thought of going (Bear totem) Barbarian 5/ Silverwood Outrider 5 /bear warrior 10 for a little while, but even if we took those levels we woulnd't be making use of the features! Taking those levels just to chase after UotSI points feels wrong to me.
One level we take and it does give us one feature that's "build enabler" otherwise we can't both charge, more? useless!.

That said I hope to see someone making a build that abuses the free push, maybe with some cohort that has a "free action" action available to them but that can't be taught as a trick? can't think of any, but it would be cool to see!

Anyway, I like bears, in case that wasn't clear :D it pains me to not go bear totem barbarian, but a grapple build didn't feel right as a combo to cavalry charger to me.
The other idea I had was warblade / silverwood outrider / cavalier, with that deadly charge! but it felt *wrong* not using a paladin entry for a Cavalier build

Spoiler: TOP BEAR(character)

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CG Neanderthal, Barbarian 4 / Bear warrior 10 / Silverwood outrider 1 / Warblade 5
Str 24 (17 +2 racial +5 level), Dex 10 (12 -2 racial), Con 18 (16 +2 racial), Int 8 (10 -2 racial), Wis 11 , Cha 8
HP 12 +18d12 +1d8 +80 (213) (333 while raging)

Weapon : +1 Valorous Lance with either mouthpick or opposable weapon quality

charge damage while raging : baseline +39 (20BAB+17STR-1Size+1weapon+2 charge) to hit for (2d6+30)*4, plus war leader charge manouver (35*4), plus Leading the charge 12
Rhinoceros powerful charge in the same turn :
+30 to hit charge for 2d6+28, plus powerful charge 4d6+57, plus 12 Leading the charge

Spoiler: ANATOMY OF A BEAR (leveling table)

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	(Ape totem) Barbarian 1	+1	+2	+0	+0	Handle Animal +4, Ride +4, Survival +4	Wild Cohort	Climate Tolerant, Climb Speed (15 ft.), Illiteracy x2, Primitive Weapon Mastery, Rage 1/day
2nd	Barbarian 2	+2	+3	+0	+0	Handle Animal 4+1, Ride 4+1, Survival 4+1		Intimidate Bonus
3rd	Barbarian 3	+3	+3	+1	+1	Handle Animal 5+1, Ride 5+1, Survival 5+1	Mounted Combat, Power Attack (B)
4th	Barbarian 4	+4	+4	+1	+1	Handle Animal 6, Knowledge(Nature) 1.5 (+3), Ride 6, Survival 6		Rage 2/day
5th	Barbarian 4 / Warblade 1	+5	+6	+1	+1	Handle Animal 6, Knowledge(Nature) 3 (3+3), Ride 6, Survival 6		Battle Clarity (Reflex saves), Weapon Aptitude
6th	Barbarian 4 / Silverwood Outrider 1 / Warblade 1	+6/+1	+6	+3	+1	Handle Animal 6+3, Knowledge(Nature) 3, Ride 6, Survival 6	Ride-by Attack	Fast Handling, Skilled Rider
7th	Barbarian 4 / Silverwood Outrider 1 / Warblade 2	+7/+2	+7	+3	+1	Handle Animal 9, Knowledge(Nature) 3, Ride 6+3, Survival 6		Uncanny Dodge
8th	Barbarian 4 / Bear Warrior 1 / Silverwood Outrider 1 / Warblade 2	+8/+3	+9	+3	+1	Handle Animal 9+2, Knowledge(Nature) 3, Ride 9+1, Survival 6		Bear Form (Black)
9th	Barbarian 4 / Bear Warrior 2 / Silverwood Outrider 1 / Warblade 2	+9/+4	+10	+3	+1	Handle Animal 11+1, Knowledge(Nature) 3, Ride 10+2, Survival 6	Spirited Charge
10th	Barbarian 4 / Bear Warrior 3 / Silverwood Outrider 1 / Warblade 2	+10/+5	+10	+4	+2	Handle Animal 12+1, Knowledge(Nature) 3, Ride 12+1, Survival 6+1		Scent
11th	Barbarian 4 / Bear Warrior 4 / Silverwood Outrider 1 / Warblade 2	+11/+6/+1	+11	+4	+2	Handle Animal 13+1, Knowledge(Nature) 3, Ride 13+1, Survival 7+1
12th	Barbarian 4 / Bear Warrior 5 / Silverwood Outrider 1 / Warblade 2	+12/+7/+2	+11	+4	+2	Handle Animal 14+1, Knowledge(Nature) 3, Ride 14+1, Survival 8+1	Mounted Fury	Bear Form (Brown)
13th	Barbarian 4 / Bear Warrior 6 / Silverwood Outrider 1 / Warblade 2	+13/+8/+3	+12	+5	+3	Handle Animal 15+1, Knowledge(Nature) 3, Ride 15+1, Survival 9+1
14th	Barbarian 4 / Bear Warrior 7 / Silverwood Outrider 1 / Warblade 2	+14/+9/+4	+12	+5	+3	Handle Animal 16+1, Knowledge(Nature) 3, Ride 16+1, Survival 10+1		Rage 3/day
15th	Barbarian 4 / Bear Warrior 7 / Silverwood Outrider 1 / Warblade 3	+15/+10/+5	+12	+6	+4	Handle Animal 17+1(2), Knowledge(Nature) 3, Ride 17+1, Survival 11	Trample	Battle ardor (critical confirmation)
16th	Barbarian 4 / Bear Warrior 7 / Silverwood Outrider 1 / Warblade 4	+16/+11/+6/+1	+13	+6	+4	Handle Animal 18+1(2), Knowledge(Nature) 3, Ride 18+1, Survival 11
17th	Barbarian 4 / Bear Warrior 7 / Silverwood Outrider 1 / Warblade 5	+17/+12/+7/+2	+13	+6	+4	Handle Animal 19+1(2), Knowledge(Nature) 3, Ride 19+1, Survival 11	Improved Initiative(Bonus)
18th	Barbarian 4 / Bear Warrior 8 / Silverwood Outrider 1 / Warblade 5	+18/+13/+8/+3	+14	+6	+4	Handle Animal 20+1, Knowledge(Nature) 3, Ride 20+1, Survival 11+1	Cavalry Charger
19th	Barbarian 4 / Bear Warrior 9 / Silverwood Outrider 1 / Warblade 5	+19/+14/+9/+4	+14	+7	+5	Handle Animal 21+1, Knowledge(Nature) 3, Ride 21+1, Survival 12+1
20th	Barbarian 4 / Bear Warrior 10 / Silverwood Outrider 1 / Warblade 5	+20/+15/+10/+5	+15	+7	+5	Handle Animal 22+1, Knowledge(Nature) 3, Ride 22+1, Survival 13+1		Bear Form (dire)

Spoiler: BEAR POWER (manouvers and all the rage)

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Level	Initiator Level	Manouvers/stances learned	Rage things
5th	3	Leading the charge, Battle Leader’s Charge, Rabid Wolf Strike, Sudden Leap	+4STR, +4CON, -2AC, +2Will, 9 rounds 2/day
7th	4	Douse The flames	-
8th	5	-	+8STR, +2DEX, +4CON, -2AC, +2Will, NAB (Natural Armor Bonus) 2, two 1d4 claws + 1d6 bite, 9 rounds 2/day
12th	7	-	+16STR, +2DEX, +8CON, -2AC, +2Will, NAB 5, Large size, two 1d8 claws + 2d6 bite, Improved grab, 11 rounds 2/day
14th	8	-	3/day
15th	9	Pouncing Charge	-
16th	10	Douse The Flames --> White Raven Tactics	-
17th	11	War Leader’s Charge	-
20th	12	-	+20STR, +2DEX, +8CON, -2AC, +2Will, NAB 7, Large size, two 2d4 claws + 2d8 bite, Improved grab, 11 rounds 3/day

Spoiler: HERE BE MOUNTS (wild cohort PHB only "mountish" selection)

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Spoiler: HORSEY (level 1-6)

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	ECL 1-2	ECL 3-5	ECL 6
Wild Cohort Bonuses (absolute):	-	1HD, 1 NA, 1 Trick, Evasion	3HD, 3 NA, 1STR/DEX, 2 Tricks, Evasion, HD feat (Improved toughness)
Name(Creature):	Radish(Heavy Horse)
Size/Type:	Large Animal
Hit Dice:	3d8+6 (19)	4d8+12 (30)	6d8+24 (51)
Initiative:	+1		+2
Speed:	50 ft.
Armor Class (Cumulative):	13 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +3 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 12	+1 natural	+1 Dex +2 natural
Base Attack/Grapple:	+2/+9	+3/+10	+4/+11
Attack:	Hoof -1 melee (1d6+1*)	Hoof +0 melee (1d6+1*)	Hoof +1 melee (1d6+1*)
Full Attack:	2 hooves -1 melee (1d6+1*)	2 hooves +0 melee (1d6+1*)	2 hooves +1 melee (1d6+1*)
Space/Reach:	10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks:	-
Special Qualities:	Low-light vision, scent
Saves:	Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +2	Fort +7, Ref +5, Will +2	Fort +8, Ref +7, Will +3
Abilities (Cumulative):	Str 16, Dex 13, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6	+1 Con	+1 Str, +1 Dex
Skills (extra ranks):	Listen +4, Spot +4	Listen +4, Spot +5(1)	Listen +5(1), Spot +6(2)
Default feats:	Endurance, Run

Spoiler: FLUFFY (level 7-9)

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	ECL 7-8	ECL 9
Wild Cohort Bonuses (Absolute, ECL-3):	1HD, 1 NA, 1 Trick, Evasion, HD feat (Improved Natural Attack(Gore))	3HD, 3 NA, 1STR/DEX, 2 Tricks, Evasion, HD feat (Improved Natural Attack(Gore))
Name(Creature):	Beefalo(Bison)
Size/Type:	Large Animal
Hit Dice:	6d8+18 (45)	8d8+24 (60)
Initiative:	+0
Speed:	40 ft.
Armor Class (cumulative):	14 (-1 size, +5 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 14	+2 natural
Base Attack/Grapple:	+4/+14	+6/+17
Attack:	Gore +10 melee (2d6+9)	Gore +13 melee (2d6+10)
Full Attack:	Gore +10 melee (2d6+9)	Gore +13 melee (2d6+10)
Space/Reach:	10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks:	Stampede
Special Qualities:	Low-light vision, scent
Saves:	Fort +8, Ref +5, Will +2	Fort +9, Ref +6, Will +2
Abilities (cumulative):	Str 22, Dex 10, Con 16, Int 2, Wis 11, Cha 4	+2 Str, +1 Dex
Skills (extra ranks):	Listen +7, Spot +6(1)	Listen +8(1), Spot +7(2)
Default feats:	Alertness, Endurance

Spoiler: HORNY (level 10-18)

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	ECL 10-11	ECL 12-14	ECL 15-17	ECL 18-20
Wild Cohort Bonuses (absolute, ECL-6):	1HD, 1 NA, 1 Trick, Evasion, HD feat (Steadfast determination)	3HD, 3 NA, 1STR/DEX, 2 Tricks, Evasion, HD feat (Steadfast determination)	5HD, 5 NA, 2STR/DEX, 3 Tricks, Evasion, HD feats (Steadfast determination, Mage Slayer)	7HD, 7 NA, 3STR/DEX, 4 Tricks, Evasion, Devotion, HD feats (Steadfast determination, Mage Slayer, Improved toughness)
Name(Creature):	Spike(Rhinoceros)
Size/Type:	Large Animal
Hit Dice:	9d8+45 (85)	11d8+55 (104)	13d8+78 (136)	15d8+105 (168)
Initiative:	+0		+1
Speed:	30 ft.
Armor Class (cumulative):	17 (-1 size, +8 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 17	+2 natural	+1 Dex, +2 natural	+2 natural
Base Attack/Grapple:	+6/+18	+8/+20	+9/+22	+11/+24
Attack:	Gore +13 melee (2d6+12)	Gore +15 melee (2d6+12)	Gore +17 melee (2d6+13)	Gore +19 melee (2d6+13)
Full Attack:	Gore +13 melee (2d6+12)	Gore +15 melee (2d6+12)	Gore +17 melee (2d6+13)	Gore +19 melee (2d6+13)
Space/Reach:	10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks:	Powerful charge
Special Qualities:	Low-light vision
Saves:	Fort +11, Ref +6, Will +8	Fort +12, Ref +7, Will +8	Fort +14, Ref +8, Will +10	Fort +15, Ref +9, Will +11
Abilities (cumulative):	Str 26, Dex 10, Con 21, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 2	+1 Str, +1 Dex	+1 Str, +1 Dex, +1 Con	+1 Str, +1 Dex
Skills (extra ranks):	Listen +14, Spot +4(1)	Listen +14, Spot +4(1), Spellcraft -3(1 CC)	Listen +14, Spot +4(1), Spellcraft -2(2 CC)	Listen +14, Spot +6(3), Spellcraft -2(2 CC)
Default feats:	Alertness, Endurance, Improved Natural Attack (gore)

Spoiler: THRICE HORNY (level 19-20)

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	ECL 19-20
Wild Cohort Bonuses (absolute, ECL-15):	1HD, 1 NA, 1 Trick, Evasion
Name(Creature):	Tooth(Triceratops)
Size/Type:	Huge Animal
Hit Dice:	17d8+131 (207)
Initiative:	-1
Speed:	30 ft.
Armor Class (cumulative):	19 (-2 size, -1 Dex, +12 natural), touch 7, flat-footed 19
Base Attack/Grapple:	+12/+30
Attack:	Gore +20 melee (2d8+15)
Full Attack:	Gore +20 melee (2d8+15)
Space/Reach:	15 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks:	Powerful charge, trample 2d12+15
Special Qualities:	Low-light vision, scent
Saves:	Fort +19, Ref +9, Will +6
Abilities (cumulative):	Str 30, Dex 9, Con 25, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 7
Skills (extra ranks):	Listen +13, Spot +13(1)
Default feats:	Alertness, Great Fortitude, Toughness (4)

Spoiler: HERE BE BEARS (wild cohort All you can bear, PHB+Frostburn)

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Spoiler: SMOL (level 1-6)

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	ECL 1-2	ECL 3-5	ECL 6
Wild Cohort Bonuses (absolute):	-	1HD, 1 NA, 1 Trick, Evasion	3HD, 3 NA, 1STR/DEX, 2 Tricks, Evasion, HD feat (Reckless Rage)
Name(Creature):	Tanuki(Badger)
Size/Type:	Small Animal
Hit Dice:	1d8+2 (6)	2d8+4 (13)	4d8+12 (31)
Initiative:	+3		+4
Speed:	30 ft., burrow 10 ft.
Armor Class (Cumulative):	15 (+1 size, +3 Dex, +1 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 12	+1 natural	+1 Dex,+2 natural
Base Attack/Grapple:	+0/-5	+1/-4	+3/-2
Attack:	Claw +4 melee (1d2-1)	Claw +5 melee (1d2-1)	Claw +8 melee (1d2-1)
Full Attack:	2 claws +4 melee (1d2-1) and bite -1 melee (1d3-1)	2 claws +5 melee (1d2-1) and bite +0 melee (1d3-1)	2 claws +8 melee (1d2-1) and bite +3 melee (1d3-1)
Space/Reach:	5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks:	Rage
Special Qualities:	Low-light vision, scent
Saves:	Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +1	Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +1	Fort +7, Ref +8, Will +2
Abilities (Cumulative):	Str 8, Dex 17, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6		+1 Str, +1 Dex, +1 Con
Skills (extra ranks):	Balance +5, Escape Artist +9, Listen +3, Spot +3	Balance +5, Escape Artist +9, Listen +3, Spot +4(1)	Balance +6, Escape Artist +10, Listen +4(1), Spot +5(2)
Default feats:	Agile, Track(B), Weapon Finesse(B)

Spoiler: SHEEPLE (level 7-9)

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	ECL 7-8	ECL 9
Wild Cohort Bonuses (Absolute, ECL-3):	1HD, 1 NA, 1 Trick, Evasion	3HD, 3 NA, 1STR/DEX, 2 Tricks, Evasion, HD feat (Improved Natural Attack(Claw))
Name(Creature):	Panda(Black Bear)
Size/Type:	Medium Animal
Hit Dice:	4d8+12 (30)	6d8+18 (45)
Initiative:	+1	+2
Speed:	40 ft.
Armor Class (cumulative):	14 (+1 Dex, +3 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 13	+1 Dex, +2 natural
Base Attack/Grapple:	+3/+7	+4/+9
Attack:	Claw +7 melee (1d4+4)	Claw +9 melee (1d6+5)
Full Attack:	2 claws +7 melee (1d4+4) and bite +2 melee (1d6+2)	2 claws +9 melee (1d6+5) and bite +4 melee (1d6+2)
Space/Reach:	5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks:	-
Special Qualities:	Low-light vision, scent
Saves:	Fort +7, Ref +5, Will +2	Fort +8, Ref +6, Will +3
Abilities (cumulative):	Str 19, Dex 13, Con 16, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6	+1 Str, +1 Dex
Skills (extra ranks):	Climb +4, Listen +4, Spot +5(1), Swim +8	Climb +5, Listen +5(1), Spot +6(2), Swim +9
Default feats:	Endurance, Run

Spoiler: GRIZZ (level 10-18)

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	ECL 10-11	ECL 12-14	ECL 15-17	ECL 18-20
Wild Cohort Bonuses (Absolute, ECL-6):	1HD, 1 NA, 1 Trick, Evasion	3HD, 3 NA, 1STR/DEX, 2 Tricks, Evasion, HD feat (Improved Natural Attack(Claw))	5HD, 5 NA, 2STR/DEX, 3 Tricks, Evasion, HD feat (Improved Natural Attack(Claw))	7HD, 7 NA, 3STR/DEX, 4 Tricks, Evasion, Devotion HD feats (Improved Natural Attack(Claw), Mage slayer)
Name(Creature):	Grizzly(Brown Bear)
Size/Type:	Large Animal
Hit Dice:	7d8+28 (59)	9d8+45 (85)	11d8+55 (104)	13d8+65 (123)
Initiative:	+1	+2		+3
Speed:	40 ft.
Armor Class (cumulative):	16 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +6 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 15	+1 Dex, +2 natural	+2 natural	+1 Dex, +2 natural
Base Attack/Grapple:	+5/+17	+6/+19	+8/+21	+9/+22
Attack:	Claw +12 melee (1d8+8)	Claw +14 melee (2dd6+9)	Claw +16 melee (2dd6+9)	Claw +18 melee (2dd6+10)
Full Attack:	2 claws +12 melee (1d8+8) and bite +7 melee (2d6+4)	2 claws +14 melee (2d6+9) and bite +9 melee (2d6+4)	2 claws +16 melee (2d6+9) and bite +11 melee (2d6+4)	2 claws +18 melee (2d6+10) and bite +13 melee (2d6+5)
Space/Reach:	10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks:	Improved grab
Special Qualities:	Low-light vision, scent
Saves:	Fort +9, Ref +6, Will +3	Fort +11, Ref +7, Will +4	Fort +12, Ref +8, Will +4	Fort +13, Ref +9, Will +5
Abilities (cumulative):	Str 27, Dex 13, Con 19, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6	+1 Str, +1 Dex, +1 Con	+1 Str, +1 Dex	+2 Str, +1 Dex
Skills (extra ranks):	Listen +4, Spot +8(1), Swim +12	Listen +4, Spot +10(3), Swim +13	Listen +4, Spot +10(3), Spellcraft -3 (1 CC) Swim +13	Listen +4, Spot +10(3), Spellcraft -2 (2 CC) Swim +14
Default feats:	Endurance, Run, Track

Spoiler: BEST BEAR (level 19-20)

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	ECL 19-20
Wild Cohort Bonuses (Absolute, ECL-15):	1HD, 1 NA, 1 Trick, Evasion
Name(Creature):	Ice Bear(Dire polar Bear)
Size/Type:	Huge Animal
Hit Dice:	19d8+120 (205)
Initiative:	+0
Speed:	50 ft., Swim 20ft.
Armor Class (cumulative):	20 (–2 size, +12 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 20
Base Attack/Grapple:	+14/+36
Attack:	Claw +26 melee (2d6+14)
Full Attack:	2 claws +26 melee (2d6+14) and bite +21 melee (3d8+7)
Space/Reach:	15 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks:	Improved grab
Special Qualities:	Low-light vision, scent
Saves:	Fort +17, Ref +11, Will +12
Abilities (cumulative):	Str 39, Dex 11, Con 23, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 10
Skills (extra ranks):	Hide –6*, Listen +11, Spot +12(1), Swim +17
Default feats:	Alertness, Endurance, Improved Natural Armor, Run, Toughness (2), Track(B), Weapon Focus (claw)

Spoiler: HERE BE DINOS (wild cohort Dinos, all sources)

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Spoiler: MALICE (level 1-6)

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	ECL 1-2	ECL 3-5	ECL 6
Wild Cohort Bonuses (absolute):	-	1HD, 1 NA, 1 Trick, Evasion, HD feat (Ability Focus(Poison Spray))	3HD, 3 NA, 1STR/DEX, 2 Tricks, Evasion
Name(Creature):	Spite(Swindlespitter)
Size/Type:	Small Animal
Hit Dice:	2d8+2 (11)	3d8+3 (16)	5d8+10 (32)
Initiative:	+5		+6
Speed:	30 ft.
Armor Class (Cumulative):	18 (+1 size, +5 Dex, +2 natural), touch 16, flat-footed 13	+1 natural	+1 Dex,+2 natural
Base Attack/Grapple:	+1/-4	+2/-3	+3/-2
Attack:	Beak +7 melee (1d4-1)	Beak +8 melee (1d4-1)	Beak +10 melee (1d4)
Full Attack:	Beak +7 melee (1d4-1)	Beak +8 melee (1d4-1)	Beak +10 melee (1d4)
Space/Reach:	5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks:	Poison spray
Special Qualities:	Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent, uncanny dodge
Saves:	Fort +4, Ref +8, Will +3	Fort +4, Ref +8, Will +4	Fort +6, Ref +10, Will +4
Abilities (Cumulative):	Str 9, Dex 21, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 16, Cha 14		+1 Str, +1 Dex, +1 Con
Skills (extra ranks):	Hide +9, Listen +5, Move Silently +5, Sleight of Hand +10, Spot +5	Hide +9, Listen +5, Move Silently +5, Sleight of Hand +10, Spot +6(1)	Hide +10, Listen +5, Move Silently +6, Sleight of Hand +11, Spot +8(3)
Default feats:	Mobility(B), Run, Weapon Finesse(B)

Spoiler: WABBIT (level 7-9)

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	ECL 7-8	ECL 9
Wild Cohort Bonuses (absolute, ECL-3):	1HD, 1 NA, 1 Trick, Evasion	3HD, 3 NA, 1STR/DEX, 2 Tricks, Evasion, HD feat (Ability Focus(Poison))
Name(Creature):	Leaper(Fleshraker)
Size/Type:	medium Animal
Hit Dice:	5d8+10 (32)	7d8+14 (45)
Initiative:	+4	+5
Speed:	50 ft.
Armor Class (Cumulative):	21 (+4 Dex, +7 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 17	+1 Dex,+2 natural
Base Attack/Grapple:	+3/+6	+5/+9
Attack:	Claw +6 melee (1d6+3 and poison)	Claw +9 melee (1d6+4 and poison)
Full Attack:	2 claws +6 melee (1d6+3 plus poison) and bite +1 melee (1d6+1) and tail +1 melee (1d6+1 plus poison)	2 claws +9 melee (1d6+4 plus poison) and bite +4 melee (1d6+2) and tail +4 melee (1d6+2 plus poison)
Space/Reach:	5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks:	Leaping pounce, poison, rake 1d6+2
Special Qualities:	low-light vision, scent
Saves:	Fort +6, Ref +8, Will +3	Fort +7, Ref +10, Will +4
Abilities (Cumulative):	Str 17, Dex 19, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 14	+1 Str, +1 Dex
Skills (extra ranks):	Hide +12*, Jump +25(1)	Hide +13*, Jump +28(3)
Default feats:	Improved Natural Attack (claw), Track

Spoiler: SMASHY (level 10-12)

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	ECL 10-11	ECL 12
Wild Cohort Bonuses (absolute, ECL-6):	1HD, 1 NA, 1 Trick, Evasion	3HD, 3 NA, 1STR/DEX, 2 Tricks, Evasion, HD feat (Ability Focus(Trample))
Name(Creature):	Twonk(Cave Ankilosaurus)
Size/Type:	Large Animal
Hit Dice:	8d8+48 (84)	10d8+60 (105)
Initiative:	-2
Speed:	30 ft.
Armor Class (Cumulative):	25 (-1 Size, -2 Dex, +18 natural), touch 7, flat-footed 25	+2 natural
Base Attack/Grapple:	+6/+15	+7/+17
Attack:	Tail +11 melee (2d4+7)	Tail +13 melee (2d4+9)
Full Attack:	Tail +11 melee (2d4+7)	Tail +13 melee (2d4+9)
Space/Reach:	10 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks:	Trample 3d6+7
Special Qualities:	darkvision 60ft.
Saves:	Fort +14, Ref +4, Will +4	Fort +15, Ref +5, Will +5
Abilities (Cumulative):	Str 21, Dex 6, Con 22, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 6	+1 Str, +1 Dex
Skills (extra ranks):	Listen +8, Spot +9(1)	Listen +8, Spot +11(3)
Default feats:	Alertness, Great Fortitude, Weapon Focus(tail)

Spoiler: HORNY (level 13-15)

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	ECL 13-14	ECL 15
Wild Cohort Bonuses (absolute, ECL-9):	1HD, 1 NA, 1 Trick, Evasion, HD feat (Powerful charge)	3HD, 3 NA, 1STR/DEX, 2 Tricks, Evasion
Name(Creature):	Little horn(Cave triceratops)
Size/Type:	Large Animal
Hit Dice:	9d8+45 (85)	11d8+55 (104)
Initiative:	-1
Speed:	30 ft.
Armor Class (Cumulative):	19 (-1 Size, -1 Dex, +11 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 19	+2 natural
Base Attack/Grapple:	+6/+14	+8/+17
Attack:	Gore +11 melee (2d6+6)	Gore +14 melee (2d6+7)
Full Attack:	Gore +11 melee (2d6+6)	Gore +14 melee (2d6+7)
Space/Reach:	10 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks:	Powerful charge, Trample 3d6+6
Special Qualities:	darkvision 60ft., Scent
Saves:	Fort +13, Ref +5, Will +4	Fort +14, Ref +6, Will +5
Abilities (Cumulative):	Str 19, Dex 8, Con 21, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 6	+1 Str, +1 Dex
Skills (extra ranks):	Listen +9, Spot +9(1)	Listen +9, Spot +11(3)
Default feats:	Alertness, Great Fortitude, Weapon Focus(Gore)

Spoiler: SMASHIER (level 16-18)

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	ECL 16-17	ECL 18
Wild Cohort Bonuses (absolute, ECL-12):	1HD, 1 NA, 1 Trick, Evasion	3HD, 3 NA, 1STR/DEX, 2 Tricks, Evasion, , HD feat (Ability Focus (Trample))
Name(Creature):	Bigtwonk(Ankylosaurus)
Size/Type:	Huge Animal
Hit Dice:	10d8+86 (131)	12d8+102(156)
Initiative:	-2	-1
Speed:	20 ft.
Armor Class (Cumulative):	23 (-2 Size, -2 Dex, +17 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 23	+1 Dex, +2 natural
Base Attack/Grapple:	+7/+24	+8/+26
Attack:	Tail Slap +14 melee (2d6+13)	Tail Slap +16 melee (2d6+15)
Full Attack:	Tail Slap +14 melee (2d6+13)	Tail Slap +16 melee (2d6+15)
Space/Reach:	15 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks:	Trample 2d12+13
Special Qualities:	darkvision 60ft., Low-light Vision, Scent
Saves:	Fort +17, Ref +5, Will +2	Fort +18, Ref +6, Will +3
Abilities (Cumulative):	Str 29, Dex 7, Con 26, Int 1, Wis 9, Cha 8	+1 Str, +1 Dex, +1 Int
Skills (extra ranks):	Listen +7, Spot +8(1)	Listen +7, Spot +10(3)
Default feats:	Alertness, Great Fortitude, Toughness (x2)

Spoiler: THRICE HORNY (level 19-20)

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See Triceratops in the mounts section

Spoiler: build decisions

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The build idea is very simple: do mounted shenanigans with spirited charge+ valorous lance, but without being pigeonholed to Paladin/ranger/druid. remember that cavalry charger leaping charge is extra damage, not bonus damage, so it's multiplied by spirited charge/valorous, pushing it close to the value of Craven.

that said, it tickled my fancy making a barbarian when I saw the Mounted fury feat. And Bear warrior came as a conseguence of that since the transformation is clearly an effect of the rage.

At first, this was a Barbarian 4 / Warblade 5 / Silverwood outrider 1 / Bear warrior 10, using the warblade bonus feat on stone power to qualify for Bear warrior, and the usual barbarian broth of pounce ACF. But it was tasting bland to me.

I flirted for a little with going Bear totem barbarian with that 4/5/1/10 split above, to be full in theme "bears!!", and it amused me to no end thinking about how I'd be grappling with my own mount, which is a bear, whom I transform in MORE OF A BEAR!

But at the end of the day, this is meant to be a mounted charger build, not a grappling build, so I settled for ape totem, which let us enter Bear warrior 3 level earlier, which has the bonus effect of letting us take some warblade levels at late levels, thus unlocking stronger manouvers than we would otherwise have, namely War Leader's charge and pouncing charge both, instead of "capping" out with White Raven Tactics and Soaring Raptor strike, plus having those nice bear forms that much earlier :)

Originally I was putting mounted fury at level 6, but at those early levels, the mounts are sucky, it's only at level 13 that we unlock the "final" mount.

From a narrative point of view, I wanted to make a caveman ( thus, neanderthal) riding dinosaurs, but there is a dearth of mountable dinosaurs at early levels :( and wild cohort has the same problem tha animal companion has : advancing the HDs of a lower level wild cohort is stronger/better than using a more advanced cohort.

As such, I listed more or less "all the choices", depending if you want to stick to the theme of mounts, bears or dinosaurs. the "official" choice for the competition is the triceratops, since it's both RAW compliant with the PHB only limitation and narratively compliant with the "caveman rides dinosaur", but that said, the "power" choice would be to keep using the rhinoceros. Especially if we double dip on powerful charge, by also takign the feat with the same name instead of Improved toughness

Spoiler: tactics & blurbs

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Spoiler: Intro

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With a splintering crash, the pillar fell across the ravine. Makeshift bridge now in place, Cora could finally enter the ruins proper.

Terra incognita. A land unexplored. The City Lost to Time, supposedly home to creatures and people from ages past. Cora was doubtful, though she’d seen too many strange things in her adventures to discount the idea entirely, but the City was certainly home to ancient artifacts and magic, and she couldn’t risk the Guild getting their hands on those first.

She approached the titanic gates. Three stylized faces were carved deep into the stone, worn by time but still clearly intelligible: a primitive human on the left, some manner of three-horned lizard on the right, and a bear between and above them. In front of the gates stood three matching statues, but facing all different directions, and what appeared to be some gears, machinery, and levers.

Cora Loft holstered her twin hand crossbows and set to work on the puzzle, doubtless the first of many.

Spoiler: First Encounter

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Cora panted as she patched herself up. Apparently, the legends about ancient beasts were spot on. At least now she could add “clawed by raptors” and “chased by tyrannosaurus” to her resume. And she had gotten the key.

Finished, she stood and walked through the arch into the next area… which appeared to be a long, narrow canyon. The entrance and exit were both about halfway up, too far to climb or drop safely, but the walls were dotted with platforms, ledges, and poles she could jump, climb, slide, and swing on to make it to the other end.

She’d only made a few jumps, however, before she heard a sharp whistle above her. There, on the left edge of the canyon, was the man she’d seen earlier. And apparently, this time he wasn’t content to mutely observe; he was heaving a boulder over the edge towards her! Cora flung herself backwards, and the boulder plowed through the space where she’d just been, smashing that half of the platform and taking out a few poles and handholds besides.

She leveled her twin crossbows at the man, but he was already out of sight. Why had he whistled? To warn her, give her a fair chance? Or… Cora whipped her head around to the right, and sure enough another boulder was hurtling towards what was left of her platform! She took a wild leap forwards as the platform was pulverized beneath her, managing to get a lucky hand on a horizontal pole and swing up to balance on it. The whistle hadn’t been directed at her at all; he’d been signaling his beast – a massive, three-horned, frilled lizard (a “triceratops”, the back of her mind supplied), already lumbering out of her line of sight as she sent a crossbow bolt whizzing towards it.

Cora heard the telltale grinding of another boulder being rolled over the edge behind her, but even as she spun to loose another bolt at the man, she could see out of the corner of her eye his damned beast ramming another boulder into the canyon ahead of her on her right. Dammit, she thought, followed by How is a dumb beast even following such a complex plan? before dismissing the question for more immediate concerns. Had there been just one of them, she could keep them suppressed with ranged fire, preventing them from safely approaching the edge, but with one on each side…. Cora holstered her guns as a thrill went through her. The only way through was forward, and the boulders were already tearing up the path ahead.

Cora Loft took a running leap to the next platform even as it began to slide into the abyss, beginning the race of her life.

Spoiler: Finale

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Cora slumped upon the neck of her horse. One more trial completed, one more challenge overcome.

But there was more ahead. The gatehouse she was in was stocked well with medical supplies and ammo. A less experienced adventurer would have rejoiced at the bounty, but Cora had been doing this for a long time, and she knew such generosity could mean only one thing. So, after patching herself up and loading herself for bear, she was not at all surprised when she spurred her horse through the gates and entered a wide-open arena.

“I had a feeling it would be you,” she called out to the silent dinosaur rider, mounted at the far end of the dome. He didn’t answer, of course; he had never acknowledged her beyond trying to halt her progress.

But then, to her surprise, he did, raising his lance in a wordless salute.

Suddenly, he and his mount both spasmed. Fur sprouted over their bodies, muscles grew, claws extended further, and fangs grew. Where before she had faced a humanoid warrior and his mount, now stood two monstrous bears, the one atop the other still somehow grasping his lance. Magic?!

Bellowing, they charged, and Cora Loft spurred her horse to meet them.

“All right, then. One last dance!”

Level 1-5:
There isn't much finesse to talk about these levels, we're a barbarian with a warblade dip, go rag,e smash things, call it a day?
I'm partial to the badger cohort for these levels, because I find it hilarious having one sitting on our shoulder and thinking "WE are the bear mount!" for these levels :D
Keep in mind that handling is a move action for us, so when we charge or move+attack, the cohort reverts to his instinctual behavior. At least We got sudden leap, but without ranks it's not really useable at these levels for the purpose of moving+attacking and still commanding the cohort, The cohort is more of a "use your move action for damaging options if hostiles are already within reach" at these levels, unless we go for the horse I suppose, but horse is stinky!

level 6-10:
Even if we don't ride our cohort yet, the level of outrider does the vital thing of letting us handle it for free, this just so happens to be the level we can full attack, too, so it's a good bump up in power, otherwise we would still be having the problems we've had at level 1-5. 7-10 Bison is an option, since it's at least not as squishy as the horse, but I'm partial to the black bear, so I nominate it the official cohort for the competition.
Unless fleshraker if allowed, of course, we all know how insane it is!
We also get a taste of spirited charge and bear form during these levels :3

at tenth level we unlock the actual usable mounts we'd be using for most of our career, the rhinoceros, so yay!

level 11-15:
and Here comes mounted fury AND brown bear form, pouncing charge, even! I nominate level 12 as the sweet spot, simply because it has a confluence of things: a massive improvement to the rage, from +8 to +16 str!, we get to share it with the cohort if we're riding it, AND the cohort get a bump up in "tier", what's not to love about level 12!?

level 16-20:Triceratops has the huge size and sizeable HP pool going for it, but the loss of handpicked feats is felt, so it's not an easy choice to make. We're also rounding out our manouvers with good old WRT and the snazzy War leader's charge, which is explictly extra damage and not bonus damage, meaning it does get multiplied by spirited charge/valorous

Spoiler: Possible controversies

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On nonPHB cohorts : main argument for accepting the expanded list is that most of the expanded list has a date of publication that's more recent than the wild cohort web article, it doesn't really affects us, since the "official" cohort progression for this meal is badger->black bear->rhinoceros->triceratops, all PHB choices, but from a theme point of view, it would be nice being able to use all those dinosaurs, or if we're going with the bear theme, the chonky dire polar bear

On sharing bear form transformation with your mount : there could be some grumbling that you can't, as a brown/dire bear, ride a brown/dire bear, because that doesn't satisfy the guidelines in the DMG page 204 about what is an appropriate mount. To which I'd argument these facts: 1)the mount is clearly appropriate before we go in a rage, so it can't be contested that we're starting on a legal mount and doing a legal action ( rage, which transforms us and the mount )
2) DMG 204 paragraph about unusual mounts are guidelines, not rules 3) the bottom bear will clearly have more than enough STR to comfortably carry us !

On Leading the charge: I think it's still debated whether we are our own ally or not for hte purpose of whtie raven manouvers and discussing that is outside the scope of an entry, I bring it up so that you know this might be contested.

more on sharing the bear form transformation, specifically "you can't use the powerful charge of the rhinoceros when it's polymorphed into a bear!" To which I... mostly agree. I say mostly because I see where this is coming from, but I can contest this, because it's the wording of polymorph, as derived from alter self, that says that a polymorph creature loses the special attacks of the base form.
Which is a totally fair observation, but here is the but: Bear form(su) is similar to polymorph, but ISN'T polymorph! It specifically says so, then goes on listing the effects it does have, and in what way it works like polymorph (gain physical qualities etc). Notably for this argument, it does not say you lose your own special qualities/attack! So the absurb argument is that the currently-not-a-rhino cohort still has it's own gore attack, and the powerful charge special quality.
Absurd, I know, I sure ain't going to try to get "he still has his horn!" with a GM, but trample(ex) and powerful charge(ex) I'm more willing to discuss about.
I say all this because I can well imagine "bear form" aesthetically being like a werebear hybrid form rather than an actual bear form. I feel that the validity of arguing that "powerful charge is valid" shifts in tone in a different direction: suppose I ordered my cohort to use the trick "Charge!", which is to use his special quality powerful charge. Does it matter if he's in bear form? I can see the argument coming that "he's confused", but I can well argue that by muscle memory, he'll obey my order, tuck his head down, and charge, minus the horn!

Spoiler: Noncore features recap

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Ape totem ACF : trades away barbarian fast movement, uncanny dodge, trap sense for climb speed, intimidate bonus, power attack as bonus feat
mounted fury: shares all effect of rage with your mount
bear form: like polymorph but different, substitutes rage with bigger untyped bonuses
Cavalry charger : for our purpose, ride check for +4 damage (multiplied by spirited charge and valorous)
Leading the charge: damage bonus on charges for allies
Battle Leader's charge: 10 extra damage on a charge
Rabid wolf strike: single attack at +4 for 2d6 extra damage but -4 AC
Sudden Leap: swift action jump check for moving
Pouncing charge: can full attack on charge
White Raven tactics: swift action ally acts again
War Leader's charge: 35 extra damage on a charge

Spoiler: Sources

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Wild cohort
Mounted Fury
Silverwood Outrider
Neanderthal Race, Dire polar bear: Frostburn
Ape totem barbarian ACF : Unearthed Arcana
Warblade and manouvers : Tome of Battle
Bear warrior, Cavalry charger : Complete warrior
Primary reference for list of nonPHB animal companion: PHB II page 41
Swindlespitter, Fleshraker : monster manual 3
Cave ankylosaurus, Cave triceratops : miniature handbook
Ankylosaurus: monster manual 2 plus update booklet

**Thurbane** · 2021-07-19, 04:01 PM (ISO 8601)

Spoiler: Introducing Manarro Touranisha

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It started with smoke in the distance. The duskling tribe sent some scouts to investigate, and found that they were too late. Raiders had killed the halfling family, taken all the valuables, and burned the wagon. But as they turned to go they heard a babe start to cry. Someone must have hidden him, which worked until he grew hungry. The scouts took him to raise as their own.

He was given a typical duskling name, and brought up with all the love and kindness these extraplanar fey could bring. He showed a quick aptitude for Incarnum as well as for animals. Once he matured, he set out into the world to find others like him, and maybe change the place for the better. Fewer raiders, for one.

Level 5: Manarro fell in with a band of adventurers clearing ancient crypts, striking down dark sorcerers, and generally cleaning the place up. His ‘horse’manship carried both himself and his dog Sparky through many combats, and his growing skill shaping soul melds served him in good stead.

Level 7: Manarro returned home to visit, and came to the attention of the Silverwood Outriders. Their tactics and skills for fighting while mounted compliment his style well, and he leaves his adventuring party to learn all that he can from them.

Level 15: By now the great Touranisha has mastered all the Silverwood Outriders can teach him, and he rides with a legendary band of heroes striking down villainy wherever it may roam.

Spoiler: Base Stats

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Race: Strongheart Halfling (FRCS) Starting Stats: 16 Str (-2 for Halfling to 14), 14 Dex (+2 for Halfling to 16), 16 Con, 10 Int, 12 Wis, 8 Cha. All level ups to Str.

Spoiler: Stub

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Totemist 7 / Silverwood Outrider 5 / Totemist 8-15
Neutral Good

Spoiler: Wild Cohort

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Start with a Riding Dog, until you can afford Horseshoes of Flame for a pony. Nice item, does make your mount large size because it’s a Nightmare. But you want the flight.

Spoiler: Wild Cohort Tricks and advancement

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Tricks: at level 1 (2 int means 6 tricks) teach it Guard, Track, Attack (and a second trick for attack weird stuff), Down, and Combat Riding.
3rd level pick up Fetch.
Poor thing is going to know 14 tricks by the time you are done, and there are only 12 listed in the SRD. So go nuts ok? Pick up the useful ones first, as listed, and then whatever.
At high levels you might pop a military saddle on the party cleric (or fighter) and take a T-rex. You can handle it as a free action, and you can use Mounted Combat to help your mount avoid 1 touch attack/round. Or other attack, but their AC should be not too far off from your Ride check.

Spoiler: Tables for Levels and Incarnum

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Reflex Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1	Totemist (Halfling Sub level 1)	0	+2	+2	+0	Max out Ride, Know(Nature), and Spot. 3 ranks Handle Animal, 1 rank Listen.	Wild Cohort, Shape Soulmeld(Thunderstep Boots)	Wild Empathy, illiteracy, low light vision
2	Totemist	+1	+3	+3	+0	Dismount Attack skill trick, +1 rank in Ride and Spot		Totem Chakra Bind (+1 Capacity)
3	Totemist	+2	+3	+3	+1	+1 rank in Ride Spot, +2 ranks in Know(Nature)	Mounted Combat	Totem’s Protection
4	Totemist	+3	+4	+4	+1	From now on +1 rank in Ride Spot Know(Nature) and Listen
5	Totemist	+3	+4	+4	+1			Chakra Binds (Crowns, Hands, Feet)
6	Totemist	+4	+5	+5	+2		Ride By attack	Totem Chakra Bind +1 Meldshaper Level
7	Totemist	+5	+5	+5	+2
8	Silverwood Outrider	+6	+5	+7	+2
9	Silverwood Outrider	+7	+5	+8	+2		Spirite d Charge
10	Silverwood Outrider	+8	+6	+8	+2	13 ranks: Ride, Know(Nature), Spot, 3 ranks Handle Animal, 8 ranks Listen, Dismount Attack Skill Trick
11	Silverwood Outrider	+9	+6	+9	+3
12	Silverwood Outrider	+10	+6	+9	+3		Trample
13	Totemist (Halfling Sub Level 8)	+11	+7	+10	+3			Fast Movement +10’
14	Totemist	+11	+7	+10	+4			Chakra Binds (Arms Brow Shoulders)
15	Totemist	+12	+8	+11	+4		Cavalry Charger
16	Totemist	+13	+8	+11	+4			Totem Chakra Double Bind
17	Totemist	+14	+9	+12	+5			Rebind Totem Soulmeld 1/day
18	Totemist	+14	+9	+12	+5		Power Attack
19	Totemist	+15	+10	+13	+5			Chakra Binds (Throat, Waist)
20	Totemist	+16	+10	+13	+6	+23 Ride, +23 Knowledge (Nature), Spot, +3 Handle Animal, +18 Listen.		Totem Chakra Bind +2 Capacity

Level	Soul Melds	Essentia	Chakra Binds
1	2	1	0
2	3	2	1
3	3	2	1
4	4	3	1
5	4	3	1
6	5	4	2
7	5	5	2
8	5	5	2
9	5	5	2
10	5	5	2
11	5	5	2
12	5	5	2
13	5	5	2
14	5	6	2
15	6	7	2
16	6	8	3
17	6	9	3
18	7	10	4
19	7	11	4
20	7	12	4

Spoiler: Highlighted Levels

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Spoiler: Level 5

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At level 5 Manarro has hit his stride. The Thunderstep Boots give his mounted charges extra bite, his AC is acceptable (small size, +1 chain shirt, +2 from Wormtail Belt, +3 from dex add up to 21ish which is not too shabby), his to-hit works ok (Kruthik Claws bound for 2 x 1d4 claw + (essentia)d6 acid damage), and he can even spot and listen! Typical soulmelds are the Wormtail Belt (Natural Armor +2 +Essentia), Kruthik Claws (bound to Totem), Lammasu Mantle (+2 deflection AC v evil), and Blink Shirt (Dimension Door 10’ as standard action, range increase with essentia). At 3 essentia he usually keeps 2 in his Claws for +2d6 acid damage and 1 in his Thunderstep boots for +2d6 lighting damage on a charge. If he isn’t charging, move the essentia to wormtail belt for another AC.

Dismount Attack skill trick is only 1/combat, but if quarters get tight you can still get a charge in by hopping off your mount. Might be handy, pretty cheap to pick up so might as well.

But he has the full list of Totemist soulmelds for special occasions. He can get a +6 to Animal Handling checks with a Beast Tamer circlet bound to his totem and filled, he can get Detect Magic at will, or Feather Fall always on, bonus HP equal to his level, endure elements for either hot or cold… it’s quite the list. If your party is doing some Fear stacking shenanigans, you can use a normal weapon and instead Totem bind the Dread Carapace. Then every charge is also will save or be shaken for one round on all enemies within 60’.

Spoiler: Level 6 Sweet Spot

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I know we just did level 5, but level 6 gets a second bind and that’s where it all comes together. That’s where Manarro gets a second bind, which means he can bind the Sphinx Claws to his hands and get Pounce. Add in Girallion arms bound to Totem (4 attacks at 1d3 damage each) and the Thunderstep boots adding another 2d6 damage to every attack and suddenly you have some burst damage going on. Ride by Attack lets Manarro charge every round, and it becomes apparent why this is a sweet spot. Another soul meld and another point of essentia are nice too.

Spoiler: Level 10

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Manarro finally has some of the Secret Ingredient under his belt, and it… uh… lets him act better off of his mount. See, now he can handle it as a free action for a trick it knows, so his mediocre +2 to handle animal can reliably hit a DC 10 because he can try it as a free action all he wants. The BAB is also nice.

Let’s talk Soulmelds. It actually looks just like level 6, only with 1 more essentia. Still charging and thunder stepping. Capacity went up but without more essentia to fill things that’s not super useful. Get yourself a Valorous Amulet of Natural Attacks for claws, might as well.

Spoiler: Level 15

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Secret Ingredient done, and another tier of binds unlocked. However, until we get a third bind choice we are kind of stuck with the bind for pounce and the bind for natural attacks. You’ve got more soul melds now, and more essentia. Pick up some Incarnum Focus boots so you can get another point into those Thunderstep boots. Little math here… attack at 12 (BAB) +1 (size) +2 (charge) + 1 (essentia in Girallion arms) + 3 (str): total +19 for one and +14 for three more doing for 1d3 + 1 (essentia) +3 (str) x 3 for mounted charge with valorous weapon + 3d6 (thunderstep boots) (1d3 + 4) x 3 + 3d6. Averages 60 assuming they all hit and no electric resistance. Hmm.

Spoiler: Level 20

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Finally, more binds! You could get a bite attack on top of your four claws, or take Evasion (nice with your base ref save), or all day flight (needs your cloak slot or an Incarnum focus item there, unless you give up your belt slot for lame flight instead). Might shape the soulmeld that gives you pseudo power attack for natural weapons, stack it with actual power attack if your opponent is easy enough to hit. Bind the Girallion arms to your arm chakra too, and you get rend! Rend is nice. So for choppiness, Girallion bound to totem and arms, sphinx bound to hands, and bind the Heart of Fire to add some fire damage to your attacks. If your enemy doesn’t have resistance to any elements this is a decent cocktail.

But the strength of the Totemist is that you can adjust day by day for your class features. Pick up some elemental resistance, or get a decent size bonus to some skills, or what have you. Oh, also, you have Power Attack finally and some BAB over a regular Totemist thanks to your Secret Ingredient. So that’s nice. Maybe carry an adamantine weapon just in case you need it.

Spoiler: Sources

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Sources: Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (Strongheart Halfling), Magic of Incarnum (Totemist, soulmelds, etc), Web Supplement (Wild Cohort, Silverwood Outrider), PHB (Most feats and skills), Complete Warrior (Cavalry Charger), Savage Species (Horseshoes of Flame), Complete Scoundrel (Dismount Attack skill trick)

**Thurbane** · 2021-07-19, 04:01 PM (ISO 8601)

Maria of the Harmonious Order, Outrider of the Silver Marches, & Dragoon of the Great Sand Sea
Human (Chondathan, Cormyr) Harmonious Knight (Paladin substitution level) 1/Paladin +4
/Silverwood Outrider 5/Ashworm Dragoon 10. (5d10+5d8+10d10)

Maria is a devout Paladin of the Harmonious Order, a sect of bards, paladins, and adventurers of Milil who aid the weak and sing sometimes exaggerated tales of theirs and others' battles against the forces of evil. Although she much prefers tending to her animals, Maria still managed to learn some of the basics of song from her compatriots. As with most Paladins who live long enough, Maria eventually makes a connection with a magical mount. Unlike most Paladins, she has a special connection to Betsy right out the gate

Spoiler: Ability Scores

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STR 8+10PB=16
DEX 8+2PB=10
CON 8+6PB=14
INT 8+2PB=10
WIS 8+6PB=14
CHA 8+6PB=14
Each boost goes into Strength.

Spoiler: Maria's Levels

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Harmonious Knight (Paladin) (CoV WebEnh) 1	+1	+2	+0	+0	Handle Animal 4, cc-Knowledge (Nature) 0.5, Perform (Sing) 3, Ride 4	Saddleback (PgtF page 43), Wild Cohort	Aura of Good, Inspire Courage, Smite Evil 1/day
2nd	Paladin 2	+2	+3	+0	+0	Handle Animal 5, cc-Knowledge (Nature) 1, Perform (Sing) 3, Ride 5	-	Divine Grace, Lay on Hands
3rd	Paladin 3	+3	+3	+1	+1	Handle Animal 6, cc-Knowledge (Nature) 1.5, Perform (Sing) 3, Ride 6	Mounted Combat	Aura of Courage, Divine Health
4th	Paladin 4	+4	+4	+1	+1	Handle Animal 7, cc-Knowledge (Nature) 2, Perform (Sing) 3, Ride 7	-	Turn Undead, Spellcasting
5th	Paladin 5	+5	+4	+1	+1	Handle Animal 8, cc-Knowledge (Nature) 3, Perform (Sing) 3, Ride 7	-	Smie Evil 2/day, Special Mount
6th	Silverwood Outrider 1	+6/+1	+4	+3	+1	Balance 1, Handle Animal 9, Knowledge (Nature) 3 Perform (Sing) 3, Ride 9, Tumble 1	Ride-By Attack	Fast Handling (Wild Cohort), Skilled Rider
7th	Silverwood Outrider 2	+7/+2	+4	+4	+1	Balance 4, Handle Animal 10, Knowledge (Nature) 3 Perform (Sing) 3, Ride 10, Tumble 1	-	Cohort Trick (Wild Cohort)
8th	Silverwood Outrider 3	+8/+3	+5	+4	+2	Balance 5, Handle Animal 11, Jump 1, Knowledge (Nature) 3, Perform (Sing) 3, Ride 11, Tumble 2	-	Brute Mount (Wild Cohort)
9th	Silverwood Outrider 4	+9/+4	+5	+5	+2	Balance 5, Handle Animal 12, Jump 1, Knowledge (Nature) 3, Perform (Sing) 3, Ride 12, Tumble 5	Trample	Cohort Trick (Wild Cohort)
10th	Silverwood Outrider 5	+10/+5	+5	+5	+2	Balance 5, Handle Animal 13, Jump 4, Knowledge (Nature) 3, Perform (Sing) 3, Ride 13, Tumble 5	-	Bonded Mount (Wild Cohort)
11th	Ashworm Dragoon 1 (Sand pg 66)	+11/+6/+1	+7	+5	+2	Balance 5, Handle Animal 14, Jump 5, Knowledge (Nature) 3, Perform (Sing) 3, Ride 14, Tumble 5	-	Ashworm Mount, Saddle Bonus, Consecration of the Sifting Sand*
12th	Ashworm Dragoon 2	+12/+7/+2	+8	+5	+2	Balance 5, Handle Animal 15, Jump 5, Knowledge (Nature) 3, Perform (Sing) 3, Ride 15, Spot 1, Tumble 5	Spirited Charge, Calvary Charge	Bonus Fighter Feat: Calvary Charge
13th	Ashworm Dragoon 3	+13/+8/+3	+8	+6	+3	Balance 5, Handle Animal 16, Jump 5, Knowledge (Nature) 3, Perform (Sing) 3, Ride 16, Spot 2, Tumble 5	-	Heightened Sting
14th	Ashworm Dragoon 4	+14/+9/+4	+9	+6	+3	Balance 5, Handle Animal 17, Jump 5, Knowledge (Nature) 3, Perform (Sing) 3, Ride 17, Spot 3, Tumble 5	-	Relentless Shield
15th	Ashworm Dragoon 5	+15/+10/+5	+9	+6	+3	Balance 5, Handle Animal 18, Jump 5, Knowledge (Nature) 3, Perform (Sing) 3, Ride 18, Spot 4, Tumble 5	Power Attack	Stamp into the Sand
16th	Ashworm Dragoon 6	+16/+11/+6/+1	+10	+7	+4	Balance 5, Handle Animal 19, Jump 5, Knowledge (Nature) 3, Perform (Sing) 3, Ride 19, Spot 5, Tumble 5	-	Sand Rider
17th	Ashworm Dragoon 7	+17/+12/+7/+2	+10	+7	+4	Balance 5, Handle Animal 20, Jump 5, Knowledge (Nature) 3, Perform (Sing) 3, Ride 20, Spot 6, Tumble 5	-	Full Mounted Attack
18th	Ashworm Dragoon 8	+18/+13/+8/+3	+11	+7	+4	Balance 5, Handle Animal 21, Jump 5, Knowledge (Nature) 3, Perform (Sing) 3, Ride 21, Spot 7, Tumble 5	Improved Bullrush	Spirited Worm
19th	Ashworm Dragoon 9	+19/+14/+9/+4	+11	+8	+5	Balance 5, Handle Animal 22, Jump 5, Knowledge (Nature) 3, Perform (Sing) 3, Ride 22, Spot 8, Tumble 5	Shock Trooper	Bonus Fighter Feat: Shock Trooper
20th	Ashworm Dragoon 10	+20/+15/+10/+5	+12	+8	+5	Balance 5, Handle Animal 23, Jump 5, Knowledge (Nature) 3, Perform (Sing) 3, Ride 23, Spot 9, Tumble 5	-	Earth Rider

Spoiler: Spellcasting

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Spells/Day

Level	1st
4th-20th	0

It's nothing to write home about, but her Wisdom modifier is enough to net one spell prepared, which is going to be Rhino Rush for another means of increasing our damage on a charge. Still, it's enough that she doesn't need to use UMD for spell completion on things like wands of CLW.

Spoiler: WC by Maria's level

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st-2nd	Heavy Horse	+2	+3	+3	+1	Spot 6	Draconic Aura (Vigor), Martial Study (Burning Blade)	3 HD (Animal, 19 HP), Knows up to 6 Tricks (Combat Riding)
3rd-4th	Heavy Horse	+3	+4	+4	+1	Spot 7	-	1 Bonus HD (4HD Total, 26 HP), +1 Natural Armor Adj., 1 Bonus Trick (Track), Evasion
5th-6th	Leopard	+2	+3	+3	+1	Spot 6	Multiattack, Martial Study (Burning Blade)	3 HD (Animal, 19 HP), Knows up to 6 Tricks (Hunting, plus stay and stalk)
7th	Tiger	+4	+5	+5	+2	Spot 9	Multiattack, Martial Study (Burning Blade), Improved Natural Attack (Claw)	Cohort Trick (Track), 6 HD (Animal, 45 HP), Knows up to 6 Tricks (Combat riding)
8th	Tiger	+4	+5	+5	+2	Spot 9	-	Brute Mount
9th	Tiger	+5	+5	+5	+2	Spot 10	-	1 Bonus HD (7 Animal HD total, 52 HP), +1 Natural Armor, Evasion 1 Bonus Trick (Ambush), Cohort Trick (Seek)
10th-11th	Tiger	+5	+5	+5	+2	Spot 10	-	-
12th-14th	Tiger	+7	+7	+7	+3	Spot 12	Shape Soulmeld (Girallon Arms)	3 Bonus HD (10 Animal HD total, 67 HP), +3 Natural Armor, +1 STR/DEX, Bonus Trick (Stalk)
15th	Tiger	+9	+8	+8	+4	Spot 14	Open Lesser Chakra (Arms)	5 Bonus HD (12 Animal HD total, 82 HP), +5 Natural Armor, +2 STR/DEX, Bonus Trick (Flush Out)
16th-17th	Dire Tiger	+12	+10	+10	+5	Jump 19	Multiattack, Improved Natural Attack (Claw), Martial Study (Burning Blade), Shape Soulmeld (Girallon Arms), Open Lesser Chakra (Arms), Martial Study (Cloak of Deception)	Cohort Trick (Track, Seek), 6 HD (Animal, 45 HP), Knows up to 6 Tricks (Combat riding)
18th-20th	Dire Tiger	+12	+10	+10	+5	Jump 20	-	1 Bonus HD (17 Total), +1 Natural Armor Adj., 1 Bonus Trick (Stalk), Evasion

Spoiler: SM by Maria's level

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
5th-10th	Heavy Warhorse	+4	+5	+5	+3	Spot 9	Draconic Aura (Vigor), Martial Study (Burning Blade), Martial Study (Fiery Riposte)	+2 Bonus HD (6 Animal HD, 45 HP), +4 NA, +1 STR, 6 Int, Lowlight Vision, Scent, Empathic Link, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Share Saving Throws
11th-12th	Ashworm	+7	+5	+5	+3	Climb 6, cc-Spellcraft 2	Power Attack, Improved Bullrush	+4 Bonus HD (7 Magical Beast HD Total, 59 HP), +8 NA, +2 STR, 6 Int, Empathic Link, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Share Saving Throws, Evasive Diver, Tremoresense 60 ft., Burrow 30 ft., Climb 5 ft.
13th-14th	Ashworm	+9	+6	+6	+3	Climb 8, cc-Spellcraft 2	Shock Trooper	Heightened Sting, +6 Bonus HD (9 Magical Beast HD Total, 76 HP), +10 NA, +3 STR
15th-16th	Ashworm	+11	+7	+7	+3	Climb 10, cc-Spellcraft 2	-	Stamp into Sand, +8 Bonus HD (11 Magical Beast HD Total, 93 HP), +12 NA, +4 STR
17th-18th	Ashworm	+13	+8	+4	+4	Climb 12, cc-Spellcraft 2	Mage Slayer	+10 Bonus HD (13 Magical Beast HD Total, 110 HP), +14 NA, +5 STR
19th-20th	Ashworm	+15	+9	+9	+5	Climb 14, cc-Spellcraft 2	Martial Study (Mighty Throw)	+12 Bonus HD (15 Magical Beast HD Total, 127 HP), +16 NA, +6 STR

Spoiler: *Consecration of the Sifting Sand

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A Paladin may bond with their Ashworm Mount and perform a ritual that removes the worm's poison glands to give the Ashworm the benefits of a Paladin's Special Mount. It is assumed that the Ashworm gains the benefits of a 5th level Paladin's Special Mount (the number of effective Paladin levels Maria has), plus whatever is listed in the Ashworm Advancement Table for that given Ashworm Dragoon level.

Spoiler: Levels 1-5

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At low levels, Maria is little more than a woman with a (horse. Wild Cohort allows her to do her schtick right out the gate. Saddleback is a regional feat that allows her to "Take 10" on ride checks even when under duress, plus gives both her the ability to substitute Ride checks for Reflex saves for both her and her mount. As an added bonus, she and her mount still get to roll the Reflex saves first, so they only have to use the Ride Check the event of a failed save. The "Take 10" feature also insures that, even with Fullplate on (-6 ACP), Maria can always make the DC 10 check to fight while her mount attacks.

Skills are mostly there to qualify for our prestige classes, plus a little bit of Preform from our substitution level to activate our Inspire Courage ability. It doesn't ever improve, but giving Maria and her (not quite animal) companions an extra +1 to-hit/damage helps starting out.

Levels 1-4, the Wild Cohort doesn't have too much to offer. I assume that even though Maria's heavy horse, Betsy is trained for combat riding, it remains a heavy horse rather than becoming a heavy warhorse. It only has two feats to pick from, but does gain Evasion and a few other bonuses at 3rd level. For feats, Draconic Aura (Vigor) helps keep both horse and rider alive (plus, saves on Maria's very limited amount of Lay on Hands). Although Betsy has a rather poor attack bonus due to her hoof attacks being treated as secondary attacks, Burning Blade gives her a once per encounter chance to get an extra 1d6+2 damage in on a full attack.

Level 5 is where Maria starts to follow a routine of charging in on her mount with her lance, potentially smiting along the way, and then using Mounted Combat and Saddleback to upgrade her mount's AC via Mounted Combat. Her heavy warhorse has 18 AC at this point, but only 14 Touch AC. So even just taking 10 would bump that up to at least 18 by this point (more with things like a masterwork saddle). And, of course, in the event that the attack roll is higher still, she can always roll the skill normally. She also has one spell prepared due to having a +1 Wis modifier. It's not much, but it is enough to get her Rhino Rush for another "double damage on a charge" bonus.

While she could have swapped out Betsy a level earlier, 5th level is also when she "upgrades" Betsy to a more competent combatant. (Personally, I like to imagine that Betsy magically becomes the Special Mount and thus a "new" Wild Cohort is found to replace her, but that's just me.) Betsy 2.0 has all the perks of being a Special Mount, which means she gets an extra feat (Martial Study for Fiery Riposte this time) from her bonus HD. This gives her a respectable attack routine of +7/+7/+2 Hoof/Hoof/Bite for 1d6+4 on the Hoofs and 1d4+2 on the Bite. Once per encounter, she can use Burning Blade to add an addtional 1d6+3 fire damage on each of those strikes for a total of up to 2d6+8+1d4+2+(3d6+9 fire) damage.

Using the Druid table for Alternative Animal Companions, Maria gains a Leopard to join her on her journeys. Our furry friend needs to be handled as a move action at this point (and needs to be trained, naturally). Maria's 8 Ranks in Handle Animal and +2 CHA at this point mean she has no problem taking 10 to train her new feline friend in staying put, stalking, and hunting.

Ms. Kitty's feats also go towards grabbing Burning Blade and Multiattack. Multiattack makes the secondary claw and rake attacks more likely to land, and Burning Blade gives her added alpha strike potential on a charge. Her regular full attack at 5th level is "only" +6/+4/+4 for a bite/claw/claw of 1d6+3/1d3+1/1d3+1. A charge bumps that up to +8/+4/+4/+4/+4, adding two additional rake attacks each at 1d3+1. Kitty has fewer HD, so her Burning ~~Blade~~ Claws only deal an extra 1d6+1. Even so, that's potentially another 5d6+5 fire damage to cut through the poor person pounced by this precious pussycat. She also has improved grab, which could help Maria out in the event that her grapple attempt is successful.

Spoiler: Levels 6-10

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Now that Maria qualifies for Silverwood Outrider, she takes all five levels of it as soon as possible. As her Special Mount already has 6 Int, the Fast Handling, Cohort Tricks, and Bonded Mount all go towards improving her Wild Cohort. For simplicity's sake (and the fact that her Special Mount is only around for 10 hours a day), Brute Mount also goes to improving the Wild Cohort.

Betsy 2.0 is starting to show her age by 10th level. She's still only got 6 HD and 45 HP. At this level, one wayward fireball could deal almost half her HP in one go. Luckily, Improved Evasion, the Draconic Aura, and Maria's Saddleback feat go a long way improving her durability. At sixth level, Betsy has more than twice what the Leopard has at 6th level, but gets worse and worse by comparison every level there after.

At 7th level, Maria swaps out her leopard for a Tiger, aka Ms. Kitty 2.0. Ms. Kitty 2.0 uses the same tricks as her predecessor, and is more lethal. Kitty 2.0 starts with 6 HD and will get the first set of benefits by 10th level, plus all the Outrider perks. That means her attack routine starts out at +9/+9/+7 for claw/claw/bite of 1d8+6/1d8+6/1d8+3 (or +11/+11/+9/+9/+9 on a charge with two additional rake attacks each at 1d8+3) and bumps up to +11/+11/+9 & 1d8+7/1d8+7/1d8+3 (or +13/+13/+11/+11/+11 on a charge with two additional rake attacks each at 1d8+3) at level 10. Her initiator level is also going to be higher, so each of her Burning Blade attacks adds 1d6+3.

By this point, Maria also has access to the Trample feat. She could direct her Special Mount to overrun a target on the off chance she goes before Ms. Kitty in the iniatitve order and attempt to knock her target prone or she could simply charge as a ride-by attack and give Ms. Kitty a flanking partner.

Ideally, Kitty 2.0 would be a Magebred Ghost Tiger, which would give her +4 STR, +2 Dex, +2 CON, +2 Natural, and Run as a bonus feat over the regular Tiger. That said, this involves mixing campaign setting materials and thus is less likely to pass DM approval. Sure, some animals are slightly better than others, but typically we aren't comparing apples to apples (or tigers to tigers) - and the Magebred version is strictly speaking better in every regard to regular.

Spoiler: Levels 11-15

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Having ventured into the the Great Sand Sea, Maria finally sends Betsy to the Heavens. After riding an Ashworm, she decides to take on for a mount herself and performs the Consecration of the Sifting Sand on it. This removes the creature's poison from its stinger, but adds all the usual benefits of being a Special Mount to the Ashworm. As they're magical beasts to begin with, they've got the added benefit of better BAB than your regular Special Mount. Unfortunately, they only have the one sting attack.

Overall, Ashworm Dragoon gives us more of what we want. Although Maria already has both Spirited Charge and Trample by the time she starts taking levels in Ashworm Dragoon, it still gives her a couple of bonus feats. Stamp into the Sand would have given use the Trample feat (plus calls out explicitly that the worm may make a sting attack in place of a hoof attack on any overrun attemps), but since Maria already has that feat, it instead forces anyone knocked down via Trample to spend a full-round action to stand back up. Do not pass go, do no tumble your way up, go straight to full-round action to stand.

Ashley at this point has a base 25 STR and BAB of 11, so her sting attacks are going to be at +18. The damage is only 1d6+10, sadly. Maria can also use Heightened Sting to to give Ashley an extra attack at Maria's BAB, but that only checks out to a +4 (or, at even levels, +5) on that attack. It's also limited to class level times per day, but it's not nothing.

Relentless Shield gives Ashley some extra survivability (and is part of the reason why Ashley has Shock Trooper), as it removes the once per round limitation on Mounted Combat's AC replacement mechanic. Ashley can charge and power attack for all 11 points of BAB, tanking her AC only to then have Maria replace it with her Ride Check results. Ashley isn't really able to use the regular Power Attack damage doubling tricks and is stuck using her Sting attack, but freeish damage is freeish damage. By this point, Maria's typical Ride check result is going to be 33 (18 ranks +5 Ashworm Dragoon Saddle Bonus +10 from Saddleback. Of course, money could and should be spent on things like a masterwork saddle and magic items like Riding Boots (MIC) to push those numbers even higher.

Fell Trample still calls out only hoof attacks, but taken with Stamp into the Sand, we have a stronger case than otherwise to allow Ashley a sting against each enemy hit during the numerous overrun attempts. Considering Fell Trample is also a modification of the Trample feat, that also means each foe who falls prone is stuck there until they spend a full-round action to stand.

Miss Kitty's attack routine remains largely the same. She gets a couple of extra feats, and at 15th level, she can now rend with her Girallon Arms if she lands with both claw attacks. Her Strength is also up to 27, so that Rend is at 2d8+16.

Largely because of Stamp into the Sand, 15th level is Maria's sweetspot. All of her standard "tricks" are online at this point, and while flying enemies exist, anyone on the ground should will soon be intimately familiar with said ground.

Spoiler: Levels 16-20

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Maria finishes off her levels in Ashworm Dragoon. After ages of having multiple attacks per, she can finally use more than one while Ashley moves around the battlefield (but not when she charges). She also gains the ability to ride with Ashley while she burrows - first just under sand, and eventually under earth at 20th. It's only for so many minutes at a time, but it's enough to hide from attackers or run away when severally outnumbered. Spirited Worm gives us some extra d6s when using Spirited Charge. It's extra damage and works with the general idea of a mounted combatant, but it's worlds better at 13th level compared to 18th level. In a campaign where retraining is an option, it gives Maria an extra feat - likely to pick up a maneuver of her own. As is, with the bonus feat she gains at 19th level, she still has enough room to fit in Shock Trooper herself.

Ms. Kitty gets one last "upgrade," getting swapped out for a Dire Tiger at 16th level. The Dire Tiger only ever gets 1 Bonus HD, but is otherwise more of the same. It starts out at 16HD, so that's enough to fit in one more feat.

Spoiler: Sources

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Harmonious Knight Paladin subsitution levels - Champions of Valor Web Enhancement
Saddleback Feat - Player's Guide to Fearun
Hutning, Combat Riding Tricks - PHB/SRD
Wild Cohort Feat - Wild Life Article
Alternative Wild Cohorts - Druid Table per SRD
Stalk Trick - Another Wild Life Article
Silverwood Outrider - Yet Another Wild Life Article
Paladin, Power Attack, Improved Bullrush, Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack, Trample, Spirited Charge - SRD/PHB
Rhino Rush, Deafing Clang spells - Spell Compendium
Calvary Charge, Shock Trooper - Complete Warrior
Ashworm Dragoon, Ashworm, Dire Tortoise - Sandstorm
Martial Study, maneuvers - Tome of Battle
Improved Natural Attack - SRD/Monster Manual
Mage Slayer - Complete Arcane
Shape Soulmeld, Open X Chakra, Girallon Arms - Magic of Icarnum

**Thurbane** · 2021-07-19, 04:03 PM (ISO 8601)

...and there we go. 4 entries this time around.

Now we await judging.

**GreatWyrmGold** · 2021-07-19, 05:30 PM (ISO 8601)

Well, everything’s been posted, so I can actually get this posted.

I was putting the finishing touches on my build about a week before the deadline, when through an act of clumsiness I managed to lose all my tables, which I hadn’t bothered to back up anywhere. So, um...lesson for the future, do that.
Rather than reverse engineer my build from what I’d written and put all the data back in order, I decided to just post this ~~early~~ separately.

Spoiler: Osamin Kelpwhistle

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NG Shoal Halfling Druid (halfling substitution) 5/Silverwood Outrider 5/Rogue (UA bonus feat variant) 4/Halfling Outrider 3/Windrunner 2/Beastmaster 1
I am so very sorry.

Terminology note: As units of camel-riding troops are called camelry and elephant-riding troops are called elephantry, I assume units of whale-riders would be called whalry. And as individual soldiers in cavalry units can be called cavaliers, I assume that “camelier,” “elephantier,” and “whalier” are all valid words. So when I say “whalier,” know that I mean “whale-rider, but from a culture where they have a word for that”.

Spoiler: Backstory

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Evil lurks in all corners of the world, from the highest mountain peaks to the deepest oceanic trenches. In civilized realms, paladins are chosen to keep the darkness at bay...but paladins, while potent, are limited in scope. A knight in shining armor astride a white stallion is a potent vanguard against evil, but they require shining armor and white stallions, and not everywhere can support such things. Other places require different champions.

Osamin hails from a tribe of shoal halflings living around a tropical archipelago. Ships from distant lands came through her tribe’s waters all the time, stopping at individual islands to stock up on fresh water or meat, or simply for seamen to stretch their legs and take a break. Warships, whalers, trading vessels, and more. The sailors would trade with Osamin’s tribe, while trying to keep rowdy kids from sneaking onto their ships and wreaking havoc.

In her youth, Osamin was one of the rowdiest children, constantly slipping onto ships and scouring them for sweets or shiny trinkets. After one night when she stole an admiral’s wedding ring (and then dropped it into a crevice in the reef), she was sent out to the Whales’ Atoll. There, whaliers from many tribes would hopefully teach her discipline and harmony as well as whale-riding.

They were largely successful. Osamin learned to restrain her impulses, to recognize how her actions would impact the world around her, and to always act with the common good in mind—though she never completely lost her mischievous streak, playing harmless pranks when she had the chance. She also learned the skills required for a whalier—proper whale care, lance drills, and so on.

Osamin turned out to be one of the best recruits the whaliers had that generation. She expected to spend the rest of her life hunting and patrolling the waters her tribe lived in for pirates and raiders, until she grew old and taught the next generation of whaliers. But another calling awaited her.

One day, when Osamin and her mount were out scouting, they were attacked by a band of sahuagin raiders and their shark pack. Osamin tried to escape, but there were too many of them. She was surrounded, her porpoise mortally wounded, and had accepted her fate—taking down as many enemies as she could before she was slain—when a savior came.

A mighty whale, blue and gold like the sea and sun, emerged from the depths, biting one of the sahuagin’s sharks in half. Within moments, half of the sharks were dead, the other half fleeing with their masters. The whale then turned to Osamin, who assumed her life was over as the whale’s jaws closed around her, leaving her in darkness.

Some time later, Osamin saw light. She was in a sheltered lagoon, with the whale who saved her guarding the entrance. She caught and ate a few fish nibbling curiously at her clothing and skin, and rested. After perhaps an hour, the whale noticed that Osamin had recovered...and spoke to her.

The whale claimed to have been sent by someone named Arawei to guide and aid Osamin against the forces of darkness, which were creeping into the waters around her homeland. It was a noble calling, the whale said, and required purity and integrity that few could muster. Osamin had a wild spirit, but one which she learned to control rather than letting it be beaten entirely out of her.

Osamin asked for time to consider, and time was given. She nursed her wounds, and traveled with the whale back to her homeland, hoping to get there before the sahuagin sent another raiding party. Luckily, the sahuagin either didn’t intend to try again or were still regrouping; everyone was safe when she returned.

The whale’s offer lingered in the back of Osamin’s mind for days. She considered it whenever she had a free moment. Finally, one of her fellow whaliers asked about the colorful talking whale she brought home, and Osamin asked him for advice. The fellow brought together the whaliers, and they agreed that Osamin should be allowed to take the whale’s offer if she wanted to. The dangers the whale spoke of were ones the whaliers could not detect, and possibly couldn’t fight alone.

And so Osamin began her adventuring life. She started alone, but who knows what companions fate might bring her way...

Spoiler: Tables

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[table lost]

Spoiler: Variant: Fractional BaB/Saves

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The...unusual number of classes in this build inflates its base save bonuses, so a table displaying Osamin’s base attack and saves under the fractional variant has been provided. At 20th level, this variant gains two points of attack bonus (and an iterative attack), at the cost of seven total points of saving throw bonuses. If the judges feel this is a meaningful downgrade, they may feel free to rate according to them.

[table lost]

Spoiler: Ability Scores

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[table lost]

Spoiler: Spellcasting

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Druid spells per day:

[table lost]

Windrider spells per day:

[table lost]

Spoiler: Snapshots

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Spoiler: Level 5

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At this point, Osamin is basically just your typical porpoise-riding halfling lancer with a bird companion. (Which I guess isn’t all that typical in most D&D games.) She is a talented whalier, but has yet to find her true calling. That will change soon enough...

At a level where single-classed druids try to figure out how to properly abuse wild shape before they can pick up Natural Spell, Osamin is charging into combat on her porpoise. While charging, she can spur her mount halfway across a ~~football~~ finball pitch and land a single double-damage strike with her lance, with her eagle following shortly behind. Ideally, the eagle would go first, flying around so the initial charge attack is a flank attack.

Thanks to Ride-By Attack, Osamin can charge, attack, and keep moving, setting her mount up for a charge every turn. Provided the proper tricks can be invented (the standard tricks probably aren’t specific enough), the eagle can either take a five-foot step to flank wherever the next charge attack will come from and then take the Total Defense action, or possibly Withdraw around a larger opponent to do much the same.
Of course, in an ideal world, Osamin would have other melee allies who could do some or all of this instead of the fragile eagle. But it’s nice not to need that kind of support.

Of course, while Osamin isn’t only or primarily a druid, she certainly has some druid casting to support her melee. At this level, she has two second-level spell slots to use on buffs, which apply to both herself and her mount. (Sadly, there doesn’t seem to be any way to share spells with a wild cohort.)
A couple of buff spells seem worth pointing out. First, Luminous Armor provides pseudo-armor for hours at a time, easily long enough to last through an adventuring day, with extra protection against melee attacks, none of the downsides of armor, and free daylight. It costs a point or two of Strength damage, but that’s nothing that a lesser restoration (or a night’s rest) can’t fix. Actual armor can provide some of these benefits in a pinch, but most armor (especially heavy or leathery armor) is a bad idea on the ocean for obvious reasons, and whale barding is probably hard to come by.
Instant of Power is a handy first-level spell. As an immediate action, give yourself or a nearby ally +4 on a saving throw, attack, or damage roll. Depending on how you interpret the rules, this might let Osamin enhance—say—both of their attack rolls during a charge, or both saving throws against an AoE attack. It’s a handy little attack.
Bite of the Wererat, another 2nd-level buff spell, is popular in druid builds; however, since at this level Osamin has no method of making a full attack on a charge, it’s usually not much use. It can be handy if she gets pinned down, though, giving both her and her mount an extra attack (as well as some bonus natural armor and stat boosts). Of course, if this comes up often enough to prepare a spell specifically for this situation, you probably shouldn’t be playing a charger build.

Kelpstrand is another spell to consider using. It allows a ranged, fire-and-forget grappling option, perfect for tying down mobile opponents or disrupting spellcasters. Plus, it’s thematic.
Fins to feet is also available, if Osamin really needs to ride across land. It only lasts three hours per casting, so her route needs bodies of water every few miles, but a lake or large river should do the trick.

Spoiler: Level 10

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Osamin has grown comfortable with her new calling, though she is not yet experienced. Her mount has begun to teach her sacred riding techniques, allowing the two of them to fight together more effectively than ever.

At this point, Osamin has her first ~~Silverwood~~ Silverkelp Outrider levels, a much bigger bird*, and a holy whale to watch over her. She’s gone from a typical porpoise-riding halfling lancer to a holy warrior with some primal tricks up her sleeve. But at heart, she

First off, we have Lion’s Charge. With only two third-level slots per day, and with only a single iterative attack, it isn’t a huge game-changer yet, but it is helpful, and will grow more so over the levels.
The wild cohort is finally big and tough enough to take a couple of hits without dying, not to mention big and strong enough to dish out some hits of its own. No longer is it relegated to a mere flanker; it can actually join battle directly.
And, of course, the whale being ridden is a Huge orca, a fearsome combatant in its own right (at least compared to the porpoise).

But overall, tactics are pretty similar. Buff, ride-by charge, repeat.

*Bats are classically considered birds! ...also there should be more bird animal companions.

Spoiler: Level 15

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Few warriors of any kind reach this level of prowess, and fewer do so in such obscurity. Osamin has by now accumulated at least a decade of experience fighting the evils of the depths, and has the skills and strength needed to prove it.

Having taken all Silverwood Outrider levels, Osamin’s build is surely at the apex of its power, right? Well...the capstone lets you deal damage to your mount to increase its speed slightly as a free action instead of a move action.

The past five levels haven’t seen Osamin gain much of note; thanks to class selection (and the lack of new birds/whales), the animal companions haven’t even been exchanged. (The dragonhawk makes a good replacement bird, even if it’s a bit on the Yi qi side, but it’s only available in Eberron or under DMs who ignore fluff requirements.)
The biggest change comes from feats. At long last, Osamin took Spirited Charge, boosting her lance-charge damage significantly. Trample is also there, in case an overrun maneuver is something you wanted to do. (If cachalot whales were listed as a valid aquatic animal companion, I could suggest replacing the hoof attack with a tail slap, but for some reason it isn’t so…)
Oh, and then there’s Horse Archery. Handy for if Osamin needs to fight something that isn’t in the water (and can’t chase it on her bird for some reason), but mostly it’s there as a PrC feat tax.

Spoiler: Level 20

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Such epic (in social terms, not mechanical) warriors can hardly go unnoticed, even when they fight so far from the centers of conventional civilization. Osamin has likely traveled the seas, guided by the powers of light to wherever the darkness is strongest, wherever she is needed. Many coastal communities owe their continued existence to her crusade, and honor her appropriately.

What changed in the last few levels of Osamin’s build? More than you might expect.
First off, her whale is stronger than ever, due to Halfling Outrider increasing her effective druid level and Windrunner only forbidding you from taking someone else’s animal companion as a special mount. (Also, giant octopi are available as an animal companion choice. They’re not whales, but they’re technically big enough to ride, and cephalopods are pretty cool.)

These classes also provide a few neat features. Defensive Riding boosts your mount’s speed (as well as enhancing both rider and mount’s AC and saves), Unbroken Charge removes basically all restrictions on who can be charged short of solid obstacles, Mount Feat lets her train a bonus feat into her mount, Windrider gives a couple low-level spell slots, and both classes provide some situational perks.

And then there’s the Cavalry Charger feat. Unhorse is extremely situational (unless Osamin regularly fights sahuagin sharkry), Fell Trample sounds cool but probably isn’t much use unless enemies are bunched up properly (and the DM lets Osamin’s mount make some kind of non-hoof attack), and Leaping Charge is a small but reliable damage bonus (shame you can’t increase the DC past 20). Was it worth it?

Spoiler: Drawbacks

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The biggest issue was that I had this image of a whale-riding halfling with a bird circling overhead, but there’s a surprising deficit of bird companions at higher levels and an unsurprising deficit of whale companions at almost every level. (Though the cachalot and baleen whales both not being on the list was surprising.)

Speaking of whales, the lack of support for insufficiently horsey mounts—both in straightforward matters like magic items (good luck putting magic horseshoes on your whale) and in the sense that many mounted combat options aren’t things you necessarily need to do as a whale-rider.
But whale-riding is still pretty cool.

The thing every charging build needs is Pounce. I considered throwing on a barbarian dip for constant pounce, but decided against it on account of wanting some people to give me more than one point for Elegance.
Osamin has Lion’s Charge, but can only cast it a few times per day. It’s better than nothing, but without support from allies or equipment, it means those iterative attacks Osamin eventually gets won’t come into play as often.

Spoiler: Sources

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[b]Book of Exalted Deeds:[/i] Exalted Companion, luminous armor
Complete Adventurer: Beastmaster, Natural Bond
Complete Warrior: Cavalry Charger, Halfling Outrider
The Forge of War: Instant of power
Masters of the Wild: Windrunner
Races of the Wild: Halfling Druid substitution levels
Spell Compendium: Kelpstrand, lion’s charge
Unearthed Arcana: Rogue variant
Web: Silverwood Outrider, Wild Cohort

Spoiler: Variations

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The easiest way to alter the build would be, of course, to replace shoal halfling with ordinary halfling and the assorted aquatic animal companions with terrestrial ones. This will make it more useful in non-aquatic campaigns, and give access to a bunch of more useful mounts, at the cost of not being a whalier, a price I was unwilling to pay. None of the build choices are actually water-specific, aside (of course) from the halfling subrace.

You can also make a non-Good version of this build, basically just a standard druidic whalier rather than the quasi-paladin of the sea. Remove Exalted Companion, take Natural Companion early, and take Natural Spell at 9th level. (Or replace Exalted Companion some other feat, I’m not your DM.)

You could probably make Osamin into a more archer-ey build, but since more than a third of the feats in this build are charging-related by contest mandate, that wasn’t really an option here.
If you did, you could dump Strength like a normal druid and replace the charger feats with feats from the Point Blank Shot line. You shouldn’t need as many feats to accomplish this, so you can probably drop at least two of the rogue levels, replacing them with a fourth level of Halfling Outrider (for Stand On Mount) and one of Druid or Windrunner. Stand On Mount makes Halfling Outrider a higher priority, while not being built for a Silverwood Outrider contest makes that a lower priority. Heck, you might make this archer build out of nothing but Druid, Halfling Outrider, and a Beastmaster dip, possibly rendering Natural Bond useless depending on your interpretation of how the feat works...but that severe a modification would make Osamin not fit this contest even slightly. Might as well take a fighter level at that point!

Freed from the burdens of having to act like my entry deserves a medal...it’s pretty limited. I tried to stick to what the Silverwood Outrider did pretty strictly, building a mounted charger, but without enough feats or other resources spent on what makes charging builds effective. It doesn’t help that I decided to try for a gimmicky animal-companion-plus-wild-cohort thing, just because having two animal buddies is kinda neat.
But the same traits that make me bad at building these characters means I’m bad at judging them, so who knows.

Also, I made some art to go along with my entry, because why not.

**Glimbur** · 2021-07-19, 07:26 PM (ISO 8601)

Interesting split! Two entries with only 1 level, two entries with all 5. And very varied approach to the rest too. I'm excited to see what a judge or maybe two think. I am hoping to do better than 5th ;)

**Morphic tide** · 2021-07-19, 07:35 PM (ISO 8601)

I was going to start chipping away at something, but wanted to make serious use of something that'd stand out. Unfortunately, I could not locate anything better on the Animal Companion lists than a standard Heavy Horse that had a Hoof attack to use with Trample and Cavalry Charger, and thought making a build specifically around using a Fleshraker as a supercharger mount would be quite excessive on the cheese. Also inelegence of using Psychic Warrior to hard bypass the intended feat hunger, for all it does a great deal to reduce certain difficulties.

So alas the world shall not witness my designs for a Goblin riding atop a murder-raptor who's skill at deflecting blows from their horrifying toxic faceripper is unmatched, that they can heal at least competently to boot, shall never come to fruition.

**PoeticallyPsyco** · 2021-07-19, 09:26 PM (ISO 8601)

My seed of an idea was to make the PC the mount, with the Wild Cohort being a monkey/ape that rode them and had the Cavalry Charger feat. However, the rules got wonky surprisingly fast, and even without that it would still be basically just a martial rehash of my Silverwood Arcanist comp. build. Plus I couldn't dredge up any inspiration for the fluff, which was the final nail in the coffin.

**Dmgktrl** · 2021-07-20, 07:22 PM (ISO 8601)

Nice entries! So happy to see someone successfully worked in Ashworm Dragoon!

My ill-fated, invalidated build was Wu-Jen 5/Zhentarim Skymage 5/Silverwood Outrider 5/Abjurant Champion 5. By level 20, he had Invisible Spell Giant Size Body Outside Body shared with his nightmare mount (Colossal sized) to create a one man stampede of Invisible Colossal Nightmares charging with Gargantuan sized copies burning spell slots for damage bonuses. As an extra, he mimicked all the abilities of Silverwood Arcanist by the end without taking any levels in that class. For fun.

**Thrice Dead Cat** · 2021-07-21, 06:34 AM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by Dmgktrl

Nice entries! So happy to see someone successfully worked in Ashworm Dragoon!

It was years ago, but I had a player use that class on his Paladin to hilarious effect. I want to say we worked out an alternative to the poison so that he could still be a Paladin but get more out of it than "just" stacking his Special Mount bonuses onto the worm. I don't remember what it was, but considering Ashworms are basically mini-Purple Worms, I think we gave it a Bite Attack. At one point, he also quad-wielded lances.

Originally Posted by Dmgktrl

My ill-fated, invalidated build was Wu-Jen 5/Zhentarim Skymage 5/Silverwood Outrider 5/Abjurant Champion 5. By level 20, he had Invisible Spell Giant Size Body Outside Body shared with his nightmare mount (Colossal sized) to create a one man stampede of Invisible Colossal Nightmares charging with Gargantuan sized copies burning spell slots for damage bonuses. As an extra, he mimicked all the abilities of Silverwood Arcanist by the end without taking any levels in that class. For fun.

I had an idea of going Arcane Caster 2/Silverwood Arcanist 5/Silverwood Outrider 5, qualifying via things like Sanctum Spell, and then finishing off with something else that would boost casting and mount progression, but it felt inelegant and really didn't do much of anything with both of the Silverwood PrCs.

Another idea was to use the Beastmaster PrC and load up on Animal Companions, so some cheesy supermount work, and have Brute Mount apply to each Animal Companion. The Chairman's ruling on the class features only applying to either a Special Mount or Wild Cohort felt like that'd be pushing it too far. Yeah, they'd each be an Animal Companion, but it didn't taste right to be.

**GreatWyrmGold** · 2021-07-21, 12:22 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by Thrice Dead Cat

At one point, he also quad-wielded lances.

Did he have four arms, or something more interesting?

**Thrice Dead Cat** · 2021-07-21, 12:40 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by GreatWyrmGold

Did he have four arms, or something more interesting?

He started as a regular human. I think he used the Girallon Arms spell or similar ability to get the extra arms. There may have also been houserules in effect, considering most of the "full attack so long as your mount moves no more than its movement in one round" type abilities prevent charge attacks, and I'm almost positive he started the final battle charging with all four lances.

Glimbur might remember more than I do, as I'm all but certain that was a game we DM'd together in college.

**Glimbur** · 2021-07-21, 06:21 PM (ISO 8601)

To be honest I don't recall just how much murdering that character did or how. Dice fell, things died. But I do recall how Team Good paid off Team Evil to throw the big, campaign ending fight at the end of the semester. Good times.

Oh yeah, on topic, any idea how we can find a judge?

**Thurbane** · 2021-07-21, 06:32 PM (ISO 8601)

There was a lot more judging offers last round; I'm hoping someone steps up.

**GreatWyrmGold** · 2021-07-23, 09:27 PM (ISO 8601)

Well, I didn't actually submit my build, so I guess I'm available. I'll do my best...

**GreatWyrmGold** · 2021-07-25, 12:29 PM (ISO 8601)

I rushed towards the end, because I need to leave for D&D, but here we go!

Spoiler: The Norse Whisperer (14.5)

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First Impressions: Nice analysis of the Outrider and Cavalry Charger.
Chameleon is cool; psychic Chameleon is even cooler (since psionics and other alternative magic systems can’t be replicated within Chameleon).
Doesn’t the Outrider say you can use an animal companion instead of Wild Cohort if you wanted? (Or you could’ve done an ardent/druid and had two animal buddies, kinda like I was going to, except with more psychic powers and fewer whales.)
I had no compunctions about picking up (a couple) fighter bonus feats through a technically-not-fighter class. Guess you honored the spirit of the rules better than me.

Originality: Psychic chameleon is pretty unique! Silverbrow human, on the other hand, is one of those obvious must-pick races (albeit taken for a different reason than normal). Dire tortoise and elephant are obvious animal companion picks; also, switching from (relatively) ordinary herd animals to those monstrosities makes the character feel much less cohesive, but that’s more of an Elegance thing. 3.5/5?

Power: Lots of detail about both combat tactics and downtime, though maybe a little too dependent on downtime. It sounds pretty effective, even if your giant tortoise can’t separately stomp every enemy with all of its feet. And it has spellcasting and manifesting; even if they’re not up to full caster or even dedicated theurge levels, that’s hardly nothing. 5/5

Elegance: The abuse of floating feats is...a thing. Using the floating feat to selectively qualify for other feats is neat, and almost certainly legal; the only part that doesn’t feel RAI is the part where you effectively lock down a floating bonus feat for several levels. Shape Soulmeld I’ll grant you, that technically works; there are no rules suggesting incarnum users should reshape soulmelds every day.
Arguing that you keep known powers when you lose the Expanded Knowledge, just because it doesn’t explicitly say you forget those powers if you lose the feat, even though you’re not supposed to be able to lose feats? Well, I wouldn’t let that fly at my table, and I doubt many DMs would. There doesn’t seem to be anything in the feat’s prose that’s different from any other feat with a passive non-numerical bonus.
Three-quarters of the build qualifies for multiclassing penalties, and for eight levels it qualifies for double multiclassing penalties. That’s not a huge ding, since nobody uses multiclassing penalties, but it’s not not a ding. That said, your only actual dip is the special ingredient.
And, of course, the shenanigans. The build doesn’t rely on any, but they’re still there.
Overall...let’s go with 2/5, mostly because of the feat shuffling.

Use of Components: You only used one level of Outrider, which gives you a notable penalty, even though half the entries did. You partly make up for it with the focus on Cavalry Charger, and of course the way you centered your build around “How do I make these materials useful?” 4/5

Final Thoughts: This feels like the TRPG equivalent of a tool-assisted speedrun; all the mechanics are in place, and (aside from some questionable floating feat shenanigans) it works very well. But at the same time, it only works as a theoretical exercise; an actual person playing it in an actual game probably couldn’t pull all of this off. And there’s no soul to the character, no sense that it exists as anything more than a vehicle for mechanics; like a TAS, it sacrifices the spirit of the game to maximize one specific end.
To some extent, that’s normal for this kind of contest. You’re trying to build the most powerful character, not one that would be fun to roleplay. But at the same time, lots of people have done better! Literally everyone else submitted a build that feels more like a character at an actual D&D table than Norse Whisperer—even the nameless “bearstack,” who feels like a joke character someone in my D&D group would throw together because he realized it was technically legal.
There are a lot of disconnected pieces of characterization around your build. Chameleon is a very specific class, psionics have a specific flavor, the name “Norse Whisperer” is obviously a pun on “horse whisperer” but “Norse” has some thematic implications, etc. But there’s nothing tying them together into a cohesive whole; it’s just a bunch of disparate ideas.
None of this is actually lowering your score, of course; that’s why I’m dumping it under Final Thoughts and not the category it’s penalizing. But it’s still something I wanted to say.

Spoiler: Bearstack (15.5)

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First Impressions: Well this seems like a very silly build. I like it! (Bear-stacking lulz aside, it’s interesting how druidy shapeshifting found its way into these definitely-non-druid builds.)
It’s a shame you can’t make bearbarian work, both for thematic reasons and because I’d love to see how a mounted grapple build would work. On a related note, Bear Warrior is a cool class, but my gosh is it barren. (Bearen? Sorry, I’ll see myself out.) You occasionally get a new bear form, one daily rage at 7th level, and that’s it. It could probably star in its own Junkyard Wars contest...

Spoiler: Mount Thoughts

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Radish: “A full attack? That won’t work on me! I’m Radish!”
Beefalo: “You can’t replace me like this! I’m Radish!”
Spike: Did you have to label him “horny”?
Tooth: Three-horns never play with furry-necks.

Tanuki: I realize I’m leaving out a couple steps between that and this, but is there any way for a druid/ranger/etc to make their animal companion more supernaturally fey-ey?
Panda: ...is not a panda!
Grizzly: Okay, I realize this line is just naming each bear after a kind of bear (or canid, in Tanuki’s case), but naming it after its own kind of bear feels...uncreative.
Ice Bear: Better.

Spite: Wasn’t he a scelidosaur or stegosaur or something? ...oh, wait, you said Spite, my bad.
Leaper: The inevitable fleshraker. (So far, we’re 2/2 on bringing that piece of work up.)
Twonk: Ugh, I still haven’t figured out what the difference between a twink and a twunk is, and now you drop this on me?
Littlehorn: One of Daddy Topps’s nephews, I assume? (yes, that’s his canonical name)
Bigtwonk: Ugh, I still haven’t figured out the difference between a bigtwink and a bigtwunk…
The Return of Tooth: Is it just me, or does “tooth” not sound much like a threehorn name? It sounds more like a sharptooth name, albeit a rather on-the-nose one.

It’s very straightforward; I approve!

Originality: Supremely derivative, 0/5
Jokes aside, a bearzerker should have been the last thing anyone expected from this contest, behind even whale-riding not-paladins. The build outside of that is pretty unsurprising—some martial maneuvers, the expected mounted combat feats, etc—but barbarian and bear warrior make up 70% of the build.
Neanderthal is always a nice race to see. The benefits they offer aren’t that special, but that just makes it more obvious that anyone picking it is doing so for flavor, and neanderthal has a distinct flavor. Of course, since my first entry to this kind of contest (Alsanel/Lenadel Sere) was a neanderthal, I might be biased. Anyways, dinosaur-riding caveman is a great flavor for this particular contest (if more predictable than bearzerker).
One point I’ll mark you down for: These two fun high concepts clash. Can you really call yourself a dinosaur-riding caveman if both caveman and dinosaur turn into bears? 4.5/5

Power: I have a hard time judging power in this kind of contest (which is part of why I try not to judge contests where power is such a focus). It seems pretty effective though? Low on shenanigans, but effective anyways. 4.5/5?

Elegance: Half the build gets triple multiclassing penalties (and another quarter gets double penalties), so it’s unusable at the one table that uses that rule. I consider multiclassing penalties a precise, if not always accurate*, metric for multiclassing inelegance. Four total classes, including a one-level dip, certainly isn’t helping your elegance!
On the other hand, it’s not like you grabbed a level or two of barbarian and warblade for the features you wanted and then skedaddled. And there aren’t a lot of questionable rulings involved in your character getting their basic abilities, aside from arguing whether or not you can bear-form your mount (for one thing, the interaction between Mounted Fury and Bear Form is somewhat open to interpretation) and whether bear-forming your mount is actually a good idea. Of course, those strike me as rather complementary issues; if either or both comes up, just don’t transform your mount. It’s boring, but it works.
Anyways. Let’s say 3/5

*When the two terms are not used synonymously, precision means getting consistent results and accuracy means getting close to the right result.

Use of Components: You only used one level of Outrider, which gives you a notable penalty, even though half the entries did. Most of the build focuses on turning into a bear, but you have a feat that’s intended to make your mount also turn into a bear, so I’ll count that. 3.5/5

Final Thoughts: If I had to pick one word to describe the bearstack, it’s “straightforward”. The ‘stack is a fun idea, and it seems surprisingly effective for how ridiculous it is. It’s effective in a very simple way, being good at charging and dealing damage, but that’s all you need when you’re a bear trying to ride another bear.

Spoiler: Manarro Touranisha (15.5)

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First Impressions: I always like when entries try to tie some kind of storyline to their character’s advancement. It’s a very boilerplate sort of adventurer backstory, but it’s there.
...and that’s about it. It’s a very simple entry, for better and for worse.

Originality: If I was going to suggest classes who would work well as mounted warriors, “totemist” would be...somewhere around the upper-middle of the list. They don’t have anything that particularly disposes them towards mounted combat, but nothing would stop them from saddling up, and they’re a pretty popular class in general. Strongheart halfling is a very default sort of choice. (Shame that you don’t seem to have used any mounted-halfling support, though you did take the halfling substitution levels.)
Beyond that...nothing really stands out. Manarro isn’t a psychic chameleon, or a bearzerker, or a dinosaur-riding caveman, or an ashworm dragoon. Manarro is just a mounted totemist. 3/5

Power: Hard to judge. It seems like a functional Totemist build and a functional mounted build, but I’m not sure how well the two components work together. Dismount Attack gives a bit of flexibility for when mounted charges aren’t viable, and that’s a good thing for a mounted charger build to have. 3/5

Elegance: Class-level-wise, you get a perfect score. Sure, you have multiclassing penalties for two-thirds of your career, but that’s because the required ingredient is a 5-level prestige class. Hitting the sweet spot so early (6th level, compared to 12-15 for the other builds) is also a bonus. And there’s no shenanigans or weird tricks or anything. You know what, you just get a perfect score period. 5/5

Use of Components: You used all levels of Outrider, which gives you a notable boost, even though half the entries did. And you certainly made a mounted charger. Nothing to penalize you for, but at the same time, nothing to praise either. 4.5/5

Final Thoughts: Manarro is...an entry. I feel like I don’t have a good idea of what he can do, or why the build was built like this. It’s very elegant, but I don’t have anything else to say about it. There isn’t much there; no detailed tactics, no fun tricks, no flair. It works, but it’s dull. I want to add some kind of qualifier, find something nice to say about it, but...there’s just not much to talk about.

Spoiler: Maria of the Harmonious Order (16)

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First Impressions: I love the name, as a name for a paladin. “Maria” is a name associated with purity and spirituality thanks to a certain virgin, and the title indicates that she takes her piety in a martial direction. It’s great; five little words and you establish your character’s identity. But it leaves out the bit where she’s a desert-dwelling mini-sandworm-rider, which feels important.
looks up Harmonious Knight substitution level Wait, you’re a singing mini-sandworm-riding silvercactus paladin?
I’m glad someone else decided to use Wild Cohort to have two animal buddies instead of just one.

Originality: I’m surprised that nobody else picked up a second mounted-combat prestige class. If anyone had, Ashworm Dragoon would probably be a ding to originality. Not a big one, though—sandworms are a lot different than horses! 4.5/5

Power: Maria seems pretty potent, I suppose. 3.5/5

Elegance: Classes are good; it’s not just one base class and the required ingredient, but it’s close.
I’d have probably picked up at least a level or two of Ashworm Dragoon sooner, so the “sandworm-rider” thing didn’t come so late in the build. Earlier levels are functional, they’re just not the same, you know? 4/5

Use of Components: You used all levels of Outrider, which gives you a notable boost, even though half the entries did. And you added another ten levels of a mount-focused class. 4/5

Final Thoughts: A pretty strong note to end on! Not perfect—both character and tactics feel a bit lacking—but good and very distinctive.

**PoeticallyPsyco** · 2021-07-25, 12:52 PM (ISO 8601)

Thanks for judging!

BTW, prestige classes don't count for multiclassing penalties. Doesn't really matter for the scores, because you're using the rule to measure how much multiclassing is happening rather than as an actual consideration for a game, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

**Thurbane** · 2021-07-25, 04:57 PM (ISO 8601)

Thanks for judging GWG, much appreciated.

I'll post disputes as/if I get any.

**loky1109** · 2021-07-25, 05:15 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by GreatWyrmGold

elephant ... also, switching from (relatively) ordinary herd animals

I can't keep silent. Elephants are one of the herdest animals. Only humans and maybe whales are herder.

**Thurbane** · 2021-07-25, 06:09 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by loky1109

I can't keep silent. Elephants are one of the herdest animals. Only humans and maybe whales are herder.

I don't want to speak on behalf of a judge, but yes, elephants are definitely herd animals.

Ordinary, however, is subjective: in a D&D world, an elephant seems pretty innocuous compared to, say, a giant tortoise. However, if you asked ancient troops from our past who were used to horses, and maybe camels, I bet the first thing they thought when they saw enemies mounted on elephants wasn't "Oh, that's a perfectly ordinary looking mount". I imagine they would have been terrified!

**GreatWyrmGold** · 2021-07-25, 07:51 PM (ISO 8601)

What Thurbane said. Also, the elephant in question was a dire elephant (I meant "dire [tortoise and elephant], not "[dire tortoise] and elephant"), which is also extraordinary (if not outright supernatural).

**Thrice Dead Cat** · 2021-07-26, 07:00 AM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by PoeticallyPsyco

Thanks for judging!

BTW, prestige classes don't count for multiclassing penalties. Doesn't really matter for the scores, because you're using the rule to measure how much multiclassing is happening rather than as an actual consideration for a game, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

I was going to make pretty much the same comment regarding multiclass penalties. Multiclass penalties are such an odd rule, and the fact that Prestige Class (and Racial Paragon Class) levels are exempt makes them that much odder.

Spoiler: Multiclass Musings

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In a vacuum, they were probably added to minimize perceived abuse by the ADND multiclassing options, but 3.X's system is different enough that that same exact issue never came into play. Well, that, and the 1,001 Prestige Classes churned out over the course of the edition effectively replaced things like Fighter/Wizards or Fighter/Thieves with Eldritch Knights, Dread Commandos, and everything else.

At any rate, I appreciate you judging the entries, GWG! It's interesting to see the variations in entry classes. Heck, between the four characters, there's almost an entire adventurer party with the Ardent/Chameleon taking the place of primary caster, the bear beatsticks, Totemist as vague Ranger-esque skill monkey, and the Paladin, as, well, a Paladin.

**ciopo** · 2021-07-26, 07:14 AM (ISO 8601)

The four mountperson of apocalypse!

With animal growth targeting all the animals.

That would be sweet to see

**PoeticallyPsyco** · 2021-07-26, 12:15 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by ciopo

The four mountperson of apocalypse!

With animal growth targeting all the animals.

That would be sweet to see

Someone actually did that for the Silverwood Arcanist comp!

Lemme pull it up real quick...

Spoiler: Dan, the four-horse man of the Rockalypse

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Originally Posted by Macabaret

Dan, the four-horse man of the Rockalypse

Preamble: This entire build supposes that there is a DM that works with you to make it happen. Ask about fractional BAB, you’ll want it. If not, don't worry, you just need to survive 8 levels with four 3-4 HD friends and a large number of first level spells.

Race: This whole build is about exploiting share soulmeld as best as possible, and the means of doing so will go through the prestige class of chameleon, Found in races of Destiny on page 111. This prestige class has the ability to get third level spells in 3 levels, which is necessary to get into Silverwood arcanist. The prereqs for chameleon require the able learner feat, which we will discuss how to maximally exploit later. Able learner requires you to be a human, changeling, or doppleganger, so we choose human. Also, Bluff and Disguise need to be at 8 ranks by level 5, so we need a way to add them to class skills as we bounce around in Base Classes to collect animal companions. To get disguise, we are going to choose a human subrace...Silverbrow human, found in Dragon Magic on Page 6. Instead of an extra skill point, you get disguise as a perma-class skill, a +2 bonus to it, and featherfall as a spell like ability 1/day per 5 HD. You also keep that sweet sweet bonus feat. To get bluff as a permanent class skill, we are going to be a silverbrow human from one of the great 7 clans: the scorpion clan. Found in Oriental Adventures on page 10. Now you have permanent bluff and disguise skills, and you can just cross class the rest of the sense motive requirement

Abilities:
Str 10
Dex 14
Con 14
Int 16
Wis 14
Cha 10

Level 1: Brahmin: The Brahmin is an alternative shaman found in the web THE MAHASARPA CAMPAIGN enhancement of Oriental Adventures on page 7. (found here: ) The Shaman is a 3.0 Class from Oriental adventures that grants domains, divine Wis based spell casting, an animal companion, and unarmed strike as a bonus feat. The animal companion class feature is 3.0 and is based off the spell animal friendship, just as the druid was in 3.0 edition. The shaman is updated in dragon #318 but that update completely neglects the animal companion update part for the shaman. Why? The easiest and most likely ruling is that the shaman gets the animal companion feature of druids in 3.5. So the rest of this build presupposes that this is the path forward. The alternative is to ask if urban druid's urban companion can be affected by feats and prestige classes that help animal companions.

So to the shaman...

As far as domain choices, and the only reason that Dash is a Brahamin instead of a shaman is the access to the meditation domain (found on page 8) The Meditation domain has the granted power: Each day, you can prepare one spell as though it had the Empower Spell feat applied to it. However, this spell is at its normal level, not at two levels higher (as with the regular metamagic feat). You need not know the Empower Spell feat to use this ability.

The other domain isn’t that important, but that free empower is really nice. The spell compendium on page 4 says this: "Also, consider using the cleric domains presented in this book as shaman domains."

So we are supposing that these domains found in the spell compendium are options that are available to select. If spell compendium is not available, take the Fury domain in Oriental adventures. This domain power gives you a 1/day +4 to hit and grants access to the "weapon bless" spell, which is fun if you know who you want to kill.

Spoiler: weapon bless

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WEAPON BLESS - Transmutation Components: V, S, F Casting Time: 10 minutes Range: Touch. Target: Weapon touched. Duration: Permanent until discharged. Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless, object). Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless, object)
You prepare one weapon for combat against a particular foe. While casting the spell, you write the identity of the foe on the weapon, along with spirit invocations to give the weapon
power. Although you do not need to know the exact name of the intended victim, you must still identify the creature specifically. You cannot, for example, bless a weapon for use against “a kappa,” but you can bless it for use against “the kappa who lives in Ch’i Sheng’s pond.”
The first time the blessed weapon is used against the target creature, its wielder gains a +5 enhancement bonus on the first attack roll and a +5 bonus on damage if the first attack is successful. After the first attack, or if the weapon is used against another foe before it is used against the target creature, the writings on the blade disappear and the spell effect ends.
Focus: A writing brush and ink.

Other OA domains to consider are the nature domain (rebuke animals and plants) or the war domain (weapon focus lance)

The other 1st level Shaman spells to consider are SNA 1, Attraction, Bless water, and Obscuring mist.

If Spell compendium domains are allowed, there are a few good options! The planning domain, which grants you the extend spell feat is my favorite choice and the one that this build will use. Other great options are the rune domain (grants scribe scroll), and if you get fractional BAB approved, absolutely consider getting the retribution domain. Maximum damage on a charging lance is fantastic.

I don’t suggest using SNA all that much because you have an animal companion and a cohort in addition to yourself. But if you want to slow the entire game down to nothing, the summoner domain gives you a +2 to caster level.

Feats: Able learner and wild cohort (human bonus), extend spell (planning domain), Improved unarmed strike.

Companions!
We are taking heavy horses for both the animal companion and the cohort. These horses will be obtained in the forgotten realms, and will be of the Kromlor stock. These 2,200 pound horses are found in Champions of Valor page 155. Kromlor (CR 1): As heavy horse (MM 273) except +2 Str, +2 Con.

Seeing as how they are not warhorses, Just heavy horses, we have the option of getting the warbeast template (Monster Manual 2 page 219) onto them via the handle animal skill. When we get ranks in it. And that’s the plan for these companions for now. They’re all gonna be kromlor warbeasts. The nice thing about horses is that they have hooves, which are explicitly named in the better mounted feats.

The stats for a kromlor before warbeasting are:
Spd 50, endurance, run, scent, 3HD, 2 hoof attacks (1d6), Str 18, Dex 13, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6

After warbeasting
Spd 60, endurance run, scent, combative mount, 4HD, 2 hoof attacks (1d6), Str 21, Dex 13, Con 20, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 6. Because you have 4HD, add a +1 to that strength score to bring it to 22.

Level 2: Wilderness companion combat wizard
Wilderness companion is a found in Unearthed arcana on page 58 Trade that familiar for another kromlor! Effective druid level = ½ wizard level. Combat Wizard is on page 59. Trade scribe scroll for mounted combat. Silverwood arcanist Prereqs: complete.

Being a specialist is an option and in my opinion for a few hours there, diviner was the best way to go here, as 1/day you can add your int bonus to a roll. Ban necromancy and be done with it, this is probably what you need to do if there is no fractional BAB available to you.

For this build however, we are an illusionist, so that we can trade away bonus spells per day for 2 illusion spells per newly gained spell level and the spell mastery feat applied to them via Unearthed arcana’s variant specialists. Ban necromancy and enchantment.

Feats: Mounted combat

Spells: master’s touch, benign transposition, weapon shift, blockade, mage armor, caltrops, fist of stone, enlarge person, disguise self, spellflower,

Level 3: Skilled city dweller totemist

Feats: share soulmeld

Soulmelds: sharing a soulmelds with all three of your kromlors is going to be fun. At first level, the totemist doesn't have any chakra binds, so we are left with choosing soulmelds with the best benefit for two out of three angry horses to share. Luckily, because we're silverbrow, we have the dragonblood subtype, so the soulmelds in dragon magic are available as option. Claws of the wyrm give your horses two 1d8 damage claw attacks on top of their hoof attacks. Found here

Dragon mantle and the Phoenix soulmelds offer some energy resistances. But wormtail belt is probably you other best soulmelds to be sharing for the plusses to AC.

If you learned reduce person, you can share it with one of your horses and the riding bracers will allow them to ride another horse (but you'll need to invest in an exotic saddle, preferably master work.)

Level 4: skilled city dweller deadly hunter urban sense druid.

You ain't getting wildshape, you're here for the sweet horse. Trade that away. We are also trading ride away. Gotta get those crossclass ranks up.

Spells: spider hand from BOVD when shared, allows your horses to be able to provide another 2 to 4 medium monstrous spiders to the fight by cutting off their claws of the wyrm. Aspect of the Wolf is nice when paired with the dread carapace soulmeld. Ride of the valenar can help with your horses riding horses trick. Aquatic escape and winged watcher, when shared will help you get those horses into some nooks and crannies.

Skunk scent is a nice sickened debuff that you get 3 extra attack rolls with when shared.

Lions charge helps with all of those natural attacks.

Level 5: totemist

Share soulmeld just got better. Now you can share soulmelds on totem slots. Girallon arms for 4 claws, or maybe blink shirt to teleport around, or landshark boots for hands, or shedu crown for trample. Urban greaves for overrunning fun.

Level 6: Chameleon

Here it is, the king of casting classes. You get 2 caster levels per level and you start with 2nd level spells. This is the chassis that is going to get us up to 3rd level spells for Silverwood arcanist, and stuff is gonna get really cheesey in about 3-5 levels.

You now have access to every single base class arcane/divine spell list, including paladin and bard. Because of that, after bumping our arcane caster level in chameleon through the silverwood arcanist prestige class, we will be using geomancer’s spell versatility to do something really weird with the chameleon spell table. Can you use an arcane spell slot to cast a divine spell? Can you use your arcane spellcaster level as your divine spellcaster level?

Remember when we chose to be an illusionist instead of something better way back on level 2. Well, buddy, go read that master illusionist text again, and realize that you just got access to a new spell level and can add 2 illusion spells to your spellbook, and you get to treat them as being spell masteried. Quick Question...if you lose access to the spell level and then get it back, say by being a chameleon who goes all roguey for a day or two, do you get more mastered spells?

"Illusion Mastery (Ex)
An illusionist using this variant automatically adds two illusion spells to his spellbook every time he gains a level that grants access to a new spell level. Furthermore, any time the illusionist learns a new illusion spell, he treats that spell as if be had mastered it with the Spell Mastery feat.
An illusionist using this variant does not gain additional spells per day for being a specialist wizard."

The question becomes What is the definition of the word “NEW” in the context of spell levels.
Just imagine what will happen when you get uncanny forethought (exemplars of evil page 26) and geomancer (complete divine page 41) working together. Do spell levels in divine classes count? Asking for a friend who has an aptitude focus to choose tomorrow. It probably won’t work then. But it absolutely will when you’re a geomancer 3. Looks like bewildering substitution or know the shadows is getting on your arcane list! Even better...did you see that other ability? Leave open a spell slot, and cast any spell you know, and man, wouldn’t it be nice to use that on literally divine class you choose with chameleon? You better get yourself a filterable query table for all the spells in the game when adventuring with this combo…

Anyway, you now have access to some of the most important spells in your arsenal of hate! Heroics! Free fighter feats for you and 3 horse friends. Do those bonus fighter feats stack? Only one way to find out. Do your horses want power attack? Do they want improved over run?

You also get wings of cover! Only the greatest nope spell in the world, and you can share it with your companions.

It just gets crazier from here guys, honestly.

For this level we take the companion spellbond so that you don't have to have a crazy formation to share spells. Ask your DM if it also affects your share soulmeld ability.

Chamelion 2: When you’re told to retire this character concept.

A new feat everyday! What happens if you obtain a familiar, do you lose it after you lose the feat. (What about open minded, with its free 5 skill ranks). Let’s assume that you’re not allowed to abuse those.

We have the floating bonus feet. the first thing you want to do is craft wand of heroics. heroics grants a fighter bonus feat. Choose ride by attack as the fighter bonus feat. Cast that, as necessary, on the day where you begin crafting a Battle Bridel and/or riding boots, both of which are found in the magic item compendium on pages 151 and 121 respectively. Now for about five to six thousand gold you have ride by attack. Make an extra and sell it to the Silverwood arcanists. Heck, I’m sure it would go a long way toward silverwood arcanist recruitment if there were a crafter getting paid to produce these things. Use that money to buy materials for crafting stuff.

Just make wands of all of the spells for every class and keep spending skill points on UMD.

You can take natural bond and level up one of your companions (stupid erratta) to some extra HD. Irresistable gaze is a good option for basilisk mask, which we will talk about next level, when you have access to the spell rockburst from the druid list.

Level 8: Chamelion 3-The end of everything good and the age of cheese.

So, let’s start this level with just crafting ourselves a griffonlance of goring. Found HERE We now have spirited attack. Witch is mad sweet because we have access to two spells that make lances now. Laerals silver lance (City of Splendor Water deep page 156), and ice lance (spell compendium page 119). Put these things on wands. Cuz if your horse is charging, and you have rideby attack, you can do triple damage spell-based lance attacks. Look at how stupidly convenient the wording is on laeral’s silver lance.

Spoiler: spell-based lances

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"This spell brings into being a shimmering, silver lancelike column of force, equivalent to a Large lance. The lance flies toward a single creature you pantomime throwing it at when you cast the spell. Its attack bonus is equal to your caster level + your Intelligence bonus or your Charisma bonus (for wizards or sorcerers, respectively) with an additional +3 enhancement bonus and a +2 bonus for charging. It deals 4d6+3 points of force damage, with a threat range of 20 and a critical multiplier of x3. In addition, the creature struck must succeed on a Fortitude save or be knocked prone by the impact. Focus: A miniature platinum lance engraved with arcane runes that costs 250 gp to construct."

That 12d6+9 points of damage bro, coming out of a 3rd level spell slot, and you get one free empower per day. (18d6+9)

Icelance (Spell Compendium, p. 119) Conjuration (Creation) Level: Druid 3, Sorcerer 3, Wizard 3, Components: V, S, AF, DF, Casting Time: 1 standard action Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level) Effect: One lance of ice Duration: Instantaneous Saving Throw: Fortitude partial Spell Resistance: Yes You clutch the quartz in your hand, focusing the energy of the spell into a sharp spear. With a thought, you send it whistling through the air at your foe. You must succeed on a normal ranged attack to strike a target with an icelance. You gain a +4 bonus on your attack roll. If you hit, the icelance deals 6d6 points of damage to the target. Half of this damage is piercing damage; the rest is cold damage. In addition, the target must make a Fortitude save or be stunned for 1d4 rounds. Regardless of the result of the attack, the icelance shatters upon its first use. Focus: A 50-gp clear quartz gemstone. Alternatively, if you are in a cold region, you can substitute 10 pounds of ice or snow for the quartz.

That’s even crazier. Your fireballs are supposed to 8d6.

But that’s just a pleasant side effect of what we really were after: if we bind the basilisk mask to our totem chakra and share it, and the Save DC against a 1 full round flesh to stone effect is based on your warmount kromlor’s stats; well…. that is 3 saves that need to be made. At full essencia, that looks like your opponent needs to pass all three DC 18 (10+3(essencia)+5 con mod) fort saves.

But Dash, why aren’t you using the basilisk mask to force a 4th fort save. The answer is so simple, Dan’s action is a readied casting of Rockburst! Found page 48 of Shining South. Opponents are dumb, crush them.

What happens if you basilisk mask your friends and then cast clearstone on them?

Spoiler: clearstone

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Clearstone (Lost Empires of Faerun page 31) Transmutation [Earth] Level: Sorcerer 3, Wizard 3, Components: V, S, M, Casting Time: 1 standard action Range: Touch Target: Stone or stone object touched, up to 1 cu. ft./level Duration: 1 minute/level (D) Saving Throw: None Spell Resistance: No You cause a rock or section of stone to become transparent. This spell affects naturally occurring stone, ore, gemstones in the rough, and even worked stone such as a statue or tunnel wall, but not worked metals, cut gems, or fabricated stone materials such as brick or concrete. Visibility through the affected stone is perfectly clear and limited only by the available light or by objects and creatures embedded in the stone (such as a creature using meld into stone). Clearstone grants line of sight, but not line of effect, through the affected stone. This spell does not change a stone's hardness or other qualities in any way. Clearstone can be made permanent using permanency (minimum caster level 11th, 1,500 XP). Arcane Material Component: A small, flat piece of glass.

If you have the cleric list on your adventuring day, you can use the 2nd level spell stoneshape to turn your opponents arms into cat faces. They turn back to flesh next round, and instead of arms they just have two little meowing cat heads attached to their torso. Actually, they'll be gross scars that look like cat faces.

What we are really trying to get to is this spell. Which is just a few levels away. So Let's go take 5 levels of silverwood arcanist.

Spoiler: Stone metamorphosis shenanigans

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Stone Metamorphosis (Underdark) Transmutation [Earth] Level: Cleric 4, Druid 4, Sorcerer 6, Wizard 6, Components: V, S, M, DF, Casting Time: 1 standard action Range: Touch Target: Stone object touched, up to 10 cu. ft. + 1 cu. ft./level Duration: Instantaneous Saving Throw: None Spell Resistance: No You can change an existing piece of rock to another type of rock. For instance, you can make crumblestone into granite, substantially strengthening it. (See Chapter 7 for more information on types of stone). Precious and semiprecious gems cannot be manufactured with this spell, and its effect does not change the monetary value of the affected stone object. Arcane Material Component: A grain of talc and a chip of obsidian.

Let’s check out chapter seven page 104: magimorphic rocks, there are two that we’re gonna use:

Photogenerative Rock: These rocks grow quickly when exposed to light. In each round of exposure, a photogenerative rock doubles in size until it’s sixteen times as large as it was when
unlit (4 rounds). Eliminating the light halts its growth, and each hour of darkness reverses the effect of 1 round of light. Some Underdark undead use photogenerative rock in their demesnes to stall light-bearing adventurers until the undead can ready their defenses. Photogenerative rock can also be used to seal a doorway and divert light-bearers into more trap-ridden or better-defended areas.

Photostatic Rock: Events that happen in the presence of this rock imprint upon it for a short time. One cubic foot of photostatic rock picks up impressions in a 10-foot radius and automatically relays them to anyone who touches it later. The effect is similar to that of a stone tell spell, except that the photostati property reveals only what happened within its radius in the past hour. Every additional cubic foot of photostatic rock provides 1 more hour of memory and expands the radius of sensitivity by 10 feet. A photostatic rock records only what it witnesses (treat its perspective like a burst), so it cannot record what goes on beyond a closed door.

Let’s reread flesh to stone one more time: “The subject, along with all its carried gear, turns into a mindless, inert statue. If the statue resulting from this spell is broken or damaged, the subject (if ever returned to its original state) has similar damage or deformities. The creature is not dead, but it does not seem to be alive either when viewed with spells such as deathwatch.”

I bolded Deformities. Let’s make our mounts bigger and stronger, what do ya say? Let’s basilisk mask them on a bright sunny day, and ready action stone metamorphosis them into photostatic rock. They get 1 round of light exposure and double in size. Looks like our horses are huge now. Do they get more HD? They definitely get more strength and constitution score. Which makes them better at flesh to stoning people with a basilisk mask. Repeat until you have colossal horses if you want. Then do it one more time, and then use successive castings of stone shape to turn it into 32 ugly large size horses, all of which are a single animal companion. If you take natural bond with your floating feat, you can trade a horse for a bison, use this trick, and well...that stampede damage is gonna get up there. But let’s just assume that you you’ll use this trick to get all of your animal companions up a size, which grants a +4 to constitution, which raises basilisk mask Save DCs. http://www.d20srd.org/srd/improvingMonsters.htm

This build was originally designed to go through the lion of Talisid Class and gain advancement on all 3 companions simultaneously, this also would have granted wildshape and advance chameleon casting. But...If you can wrangle a few extra HD for your companions by basilisk masking them into photogenerative rock and thus growing them up a size level or two, Let’s do that. It's cooler to have horses the size of tarrasques anyway.

At this level, after taking the trample feat and having used the shifting bonus feat of chameleon to craft items that grant you ride-by attack, and spirited charge, you can cast heroics to gain the benefit of the Cavalry charger feat. This means that when you charge with your horses, you can make hoof attacks against every creature that you overrun. So let’s talk about how to do that over-running.

Urskan greaves Chakra Bind (Totem) When you attempt to overrun an opponent, the target
cannot choose to avoid you. You also gain a +2 bonus on your Strength check to knock down your opponent, with an additional +1 for every point of essentia you invest in your urskan greaves.

Heavy Cavalry Teamwork Benefit (Heroes of Battle page 117)
Task Leader Prerequisite: Handle Animal 4 ranks, Ride 8 ranks, Mounted Combat, Trample.
Team Member Prerequisite: Ride 1 rank. The members' mounts need not be members of the team.
Benefit: To close their formation, the team members and their mounts first line up in adjacent squares, then move closer together so that each takes up a square half as wide as usual. For example, a Medium character mounted on a horse or other Large creature normally takes up a 10-foot square, and a team of four such characters would occupy a rectangle 40 feet wide and 10 feet deep. By contrast, if the same team had trained together and acquired this teamwork benefit, they could compress their line into a unit only 20 feet wide and 10 feet deep, making it harder for anyone they overrun to dodge between the horses' hooves.
All team members must act on the same initiative count, so some members must delay to match the initiative count of the slowest member in the team.
As long as the characters remain in a cohesive set of squares and move at least their speed every round, they gain the following benefits:
*They don't take the -4 penalty on attack rolls and to AC for squeezing (described on page 29 of the Dungeon Master's Guide).
*Opponents can't avoid overruns from team members; they must attempt to block.
*The team members' mounts count as one size category larger for purposes of resolving overruns. For example, a horse counts as a Huge creature (+8 bonus to overrun) rather than a Large creature (+4).
For the purposes of area spells and determining position on the battlefield, each Medium character on a Large mount is considered to be occupying a space 5 feet wide and 10 feet long.

Alright, let’s share this teamwork benefit with all of our companions. They count as huge and the baddies can’t avoid. They just get bigger once your photogenerative rock trick comes into play

If you have multiple heroics going, you can get power attack and improved overrun on them for another +4 to the overrun rule. If you have a wand of Heroics and multiple castings stack, get awesome blow! Then you can keep knocking your opponent under the trampling feet of the other mounts in the crowded charge. Just keep kicking them under other horses!

Or, a single shared enlarge person or animal will get that +4 instead, and they will count as gargantuan.

B) Shared Urskan greaves can get you another +4.

Or... Let’s bind the shedu crown to your totem instead, cuz then you don’t need cavalry charger to trample everything in a line, and we’ll bind the sphinx claws for all available essencia for a bonus to str. Checks.

C) Wield a lance and get triple damage with one attack. A casting of heroics on yourself for combat reflexes or use of the bonus floating feat to get it will allow you to Attack of opportunity at charging lance damage. Especially if you get the awesome blow trick up and running

Anyway, After Silverwood arcanist, Just finish up the build with geomancer and see how that works out, blending all the different arcane and divine spells together. Remember, Chameleon gets two caster levels per chameleon spellcasting level advanced. Silverwood arcanist only advances the arcane side, but as you rack up geomancer levels, your caster level will skyrocket. Remember that illusionist level, when you get up to a high enough divine level, you get more illusion spells mastered and you have the ability to swap in any spell you cast instead of them at the cost of 2 caster levels. So if you need an illusion spell on the fly, you got it, but if not, whatever casting that you're using on a given day can be swapped in rather than prepared!

With the battle blessing feat, you'll be able to swift action your standard action spells, uncannilly forethoughting them as necessary.

level	Class	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Feats	Skills	Class Features
1	shaman (OA p.23)	0	0	0	2	able learner, wild cohort (b), IUS (b)	28: Bluff 4, Concentration 4, Disguise 4, Handle Animal 2, knowledge (arcana) 4, knowledge (nature) 2, ride 2, sense motive 2, spellcraft 4	animal companion
2	wilderness companion combat Illusionist with illusion mastery	0	0	0	4	mounted combat (b)	5: Bluff 5, Concentration 5, Decipher Script 1, Disguise 5, Handle Animal 2, Knowledge (arcana) 5, knowledge (Nature) 2, Ride 2, Sense motive 2, Spellcraft 4	fighter bonus feat, animal companion at 1/2 druid level
3	totemist	0	2	2	4	share soulmeld	7: Bluff 6, Concentration 5, Decipher Script 1, Disguise 6, Handle Animal 3, Knowledge (arcana) 5, knowledge (Nature) 3, Ride 3, Sense motive 3, Spellcraft 4, Use Magic Device 1	wild empathy, 2 soulmelds, 1 essentia
4	deadly hunter (UA p.58) druid	0	4	2	6	track	7: Bluff 7, Concentration 6, Decipher Script 1, Disguise 7, Handle Animal 5, Knowledge (arcana) 5, knowledge (Nature) 3, Ride 3, Sense motive 3, Spellcraft 4, Use Magic Device 3	favored enemy, Wis to AC as monk, fast movement as monk, urban sense, voice of the city
5	totemist	1	5	3	6		7: Bluff 8, Concentration 6, Decipher Script 1, Disguise 8, Handle Animal 5, Knowledge (arcana) 5, knowledge (Nature) 5, Ride 4, Sense motive 4, Spellcraft 4, Use Magic Device 4	totem chakra (+1 capacity)
6	chameleon (Races of Destiny p. 111) 1	1	5	3	6	companion spellbond	7: Bluff 8, Concentration 6, Decipher Script 3, Disguise 8, Handle Animal 6, Knowledge (arcana) 6, knowledge (Nature) 6, Ride 4, Sense motive 4, Spellcraft 4, Use Magic Device 6	1/day aptitude focus
7	chameleon 2	2	5	3	6	floating feat	7: Bluff 8, Concentration 6, Decipher Script 3, Disguise 8, Handle Animal 8, Knowledge (arcana) 6, knowledge (Nature) 6, Ride 5, Sense motive 4, Spellcraft 4, Survival 2, Use Magic Device 8	floating bonus feat
8	chameleon 3	3	6	4	7		7: Bluff 8, Concentration 8, Decipher Script 4, Disguise 8, Handle Animal 8, Knowledge (arcana) 6, knowledge (Nature) 6, Ride 5, Sense motive 4, Spellcraft 4, Survival 4, Use Magic Device 10	mimic class feature 1/day
9	silverwood arcanist	3	6	4	9	Trample	5: Bluff 8, Concentration 8, Decipher Script 4, Disguise 8, Handle Animal 8, Knowledge (arcana) 6, knowledge (Nature) 6, Ride 9, Sense motive 4, Spellcraft 4, Survival 5, Use Magic Device 10	Fast handling, skilled rider
10	silverwood arcanist	4	6	4	10		5: Bluff 8, Concentration 10, Decipher Script 4, Disguise 8, Handle Animal 8, Knowledge (arcana) 6, knowledge (Nature) 6, Ride 11, Sense motive 4, Spellcraft 4, Survival 6, Use Magic Device 10	cohort trick
11	silverwood arcanist	4	7	5	10	mounted casting	5: Bluff 8, Concentration 11, Decipher Script 4, Disguise 8, Handle Animal 9, Knowledge (arcana) 6, knowledge (Nature) 6, Ride 13, Sense motive 4, Spellcraft 4, Survival 7, Use Magic Device 10	mounted casting
12	silverwood arcanist	5	7	5	11	Uncanny Forethought (Exemplars of Evil p. 26)	5: Bluff 8, Concentration 13, Decipher Script 4, Disguise 8, Handle Animal 10, Knowledge (arcana) 6, knowledge (Nature) 6, Ride 15, Sense motive 4, Spellcraft 4, Survival 7, Use Magic Device 10	cohort trick
13	silverwood arcanist	5	7	5	11		5: Bluff 8, Concentration 16, Decipher Script 4, Disguise 8, Handle Animal 10, Knowledge (arcana) 6, knowledge (Nature) 6, Ride 16, Sense motive 4, Spellcraft 4, Survival 7, Use Magic Device 11	share spells
14	geomancer (Complete Divine p. 41)1	5	9	5	13		7: Bluff 8, Concentration 17, Decipher Script 4, Disguise 8, Handle Animal 12, Knowledge (arcana) 6, knowledge (Nature) 6, Ride 17, Sense motive 4, Spellcraft 4, Survival 8, Use Magic Device 13	drift 1, spell versatility 0
15	geomancer 2	6	10	5	14	Battle Blessing ( Complete Champion, p. 55)	7: Bluff 8, Concentration 18, Decipher Script 4, Disguise 8, Handle Animal 14, Knowledge (arcana) 6, knowledge (Nature) 6, Ride 18, Sense motive 4, Spellcraft 4, Survival 10, Use Magic Device 14	Drift 1, ley lines +1, spell versatility 1
16	geomancer 3	7	10	5	14		7: Bluff 8, Concentration 19, Decipher Script 4, Disguise 8, Handle Animal 16, Knowledge (arcana) 6, knowledge (Nature) 6, Ride 19, Sense motive 4, Spellcraft 4, Survival 11, Use Magic Device 16	Drift 2, spell versatility 2
17	geomancer 4	8	11	6	15		7: Bluff 8, Concentration 20, Decipher Script 4, Disguise 8, Handle Animal 18, Knowledge (arcana) 6, knowledge (Nature) 6, Ride 20, Sense motive 4, Spellcraft 4, Survival 13, Use Magic Device 17	Drift 2, spell versatility 3
18	geomancer 5	8	11	6	15	skill focus appraise, i don't care anymore, I typed too much	7: Bluff 8, Concentration 21, Decipher Script 4, Disguise 8, Handle Animal 19, Knowledge (arcana) 6, knowledge (Nature) 6, Ride 21, Sense motive 4, Spellcraft 4, Survival 15, Use Magic Device 19	Drift 3, spell versatility 4
19	geomancer 5	9	12	7	16		7: Bluff 8, Concentration 22, Decipher Script 6, Disguise 8, Handle Animal 20, Knowledge (arcana) 6, knowledge (Nature) 6, Ride 22, Sense motive 4, Spellcraft 4, Survival 16, Use Magic Device 20	Drift 3, ley lines +2, spell versatility 5
20	geomancer 7	10	12	7	16		7: Bluff 8, Concentration 22, Decipher Script 8, Disguise 8, Handle Animal 20, Knowledge (arcana) 6, knowledge (Nature) 6, Ride 22, Sense motive 4, Spellcraft 4, Survival 16, Use Magic Device 23	Drift 4, spell versatility 6

So, as you can see every part of silverwood arcanist is used here. Mounted casting, maximizing that ride crossclass bonus by using skilled city dweller to switch ride to tumble, a free animal trick that you don't even need to train to get, share spells allowing for a fourth Fort save against flesh to stone via basilisk mask/rockburst, advancing chameleon casting.

With the battle blessing feat, you can treat all of your spells as paladin spells for reduced casting time and once you get to the fourth Geomancer level, you can charge and hit with multiple laerals silver lances. This trick is called the Sir lance zealot

On the table, i put skill focus appraise as my 18th level feat, but a better option is to take shape soulmeld incarnate weapon. Use a fuse arm spell on your draconic clawed, girallion armed horses, who you've also casted girrallion arms on (that's 10 extra arms!) Cast fuse arms on them and have the horses wield their incarnate weapons. Cast weapon shift on those weapons and you got a buttload of horses wielding their own lances. This trick is called the equinate weapon.

The weakest part of the build is the 3 animal companions with 4 HD. There is no direct correlation between size and HD so photogenerative shenanigans only boost str and con. At colossal size, we're still pnly looking at 4HD +40hp.

This is where you might have to use the shugenja spell when 2 become one. Cast enlarge person on two horses, get the other two horses to ride them, then share when two become one to merge them together into 2 colossal horses with ~120 hp apiece. Do it again for one colossal mount with ~240 HP. This trick is called the mountryoshka doll.

Tree shape is fun to share with basilisk mask on. This trick shall be entitled: the petrified Forest.

As for level up ability scores, put your 4th, 8th, and 12th level powerups towards intelligence and the 16th and 20th towards wisdom.

Also, Holy Wall of Text, Batman!

**Glimbur** · 2021-07-26, 01:24 PM (ISO 8601)

The numbers don't add up on Norse Whisperer and Manarro. Should be 14.5 for Norse and 15.5 for Mannaro.

**GreatWyrmGold** · 2021-07-26, 01:31 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by Glimbur

The numbers don't add up on Norse Whisperer and Manarro. Should be 14.5 for Norse and 15.5 for Mannaro.

That's what happens when you try to throw together the finishing touches on a judgement post five minutes before you need to leave for a D&D game I guess.

Thread: Junkyard Wars XXXI: Giddy-Up!

Re: Junkyard Wars XXXI: Giddy-Up!

Re: Junkyard Wars XXXI: Giddy-Up!

1. The Norse whisperer (part 1)

1. The Norse whisperer (part 2)

2. Bearstack

3. Manarro Touranisha

4. Maria of the Harmonious Order

Re: Junkyard Wars XXXI: Giddy-Up!

Re: Junkyard Wars XXXI: Giddy-Up!

Re: Junkyard Wars XXXI: Giddy-Up!

Re: Junkyard Wars XXXI: Giddy-Up!

Re: Junkyard Wars XXXI: Giddy-Up!

Re: Junkyard Wars XXXI: Giddy-Up!

Re: Junkyard Wars XXXI: Giddy-Up!

Re: Junkyard Wars XXXI: Giddy-Up!

Re: Junkyard Wars XXXI: Giddy-Up!

Re: Junkyard Wars XXXI: Giddy-Up!

Re: Junkyard Wars XXXI: Giddy-Up!

Re: Junkyard Wars XXXI: Giddy-Up!

Re: Junkyard Wars XXXI: Giddy-Up!

Re: Junkyard Wars XXXI: Giddy-Up!

Re: Junkyard Wars XXXI: Giddy-Up!

Re: Junkyard Wars XXXI: Giddy-Up!

Re: Junkyard Wars XXXI: Giddy-Up!

Re: Junkyard Wars XXXI: Giddy-Up!

Re: Junkyard Wars XXXI: Giddy-Up!

Re: Junkyard Wars XXXI: Giddy-Up!

Re: Junkyard Wars XXXI: Giddy-Up!

Re: Junkyard Wars XXXI: Giddy-Up!

Re: Junkyard Wars XXXI: Giddy-Up!

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