Cavalier (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

Cavalier Orders

Order of the Bulwark

The order of the bulwark advocates a defensive fighting style where the cavalier positions himself like a bastion, protecting his comrades.

Edicts: As a knight of the bulwark you must hold the line and stand fast while in formation. In battle, you must strive to be like a strong castle, shielding your allies. You must not strike a helpless foe, and do get no attack bonus against flanked or prone opponents - tough you are still considered to be flanking them and prone opponents standing up still trigger attacks of opportunity.

Challenge: A cavalier of the order of the bulwark may challenge a number of targets equal to his level at once. You do not gain the usual benefits of a challenge, instead adding your Charisma modifier to attack rolls and damage rolls against the targets of your challenge.

Skills: Add Knowledge (Local) (Int) and Knowledge (Nobility) (Int) as class skills.

Order Abilities: A cavalier belonging to the order of the bulwark gains the following abilities as he increases in level.

Toughness (Ex)

At 2nd level, you gain Toughness as a bonus feat. You gain this even if you already have (or later learn) the Toughness feat, allowing you to take this feat twice with full benefits each time.

Shield of Thorns (Ex)

At 8th level, when a target of your challenge attacks a creature other than you, it takes a -2 penalty on attack rolls and provokes an attack of opportunity from you.

Bond of Loyalty (Ex)

At 15th level, when you or an ally withing 30 ft. fail a saving throw against a mind-affecting effect, you can as an immediate action grant an additional saving throw against this effect. You can only do this once per combat.

Order of the Heart

Edicts: Cavaliers of the order of the heart are sworn defenders of their comrades. They can never betray their comrades in arms or flee when their companions cannot retreat (except when so ordered by a superior officer), and they must always guard the honor and glory of their group or company.

Challenge: Whenever an order of the heart cavalier issues a challenge, he does not take an armor class penalty to attacks from others than his challenge target.

Skills: An order of the heart cavalier adds Knowledge (history) (Int) and Perception (Wis) to his list of class skills. Whenever an order of the shield cavalier uses the Heal skill on a member of his party or company (himself included) or Knowledge (History) to remember a fact about his company or companions (or their ancestors), he receives a bonus on the check equal to 1/2 his cavalier level (minimum +1).

Order Abilities: A cavalier belonging to the order of the heart gains the following abilities as he increases in level.

Distracting Defense (Ex)

At 2nd level, a cavalier of the order of the heart provides a +2 Dodge bonus to his allies armor class against any attack from an enemy adjacent to the cavalier.

Move as One (Ex)

At 8th level the cavalier can organize an orderly move. As a standard action, the cavalier can cause any allies withing 30 ft. and allies he moves adjacent to during his movement to move along as he moves, moving into any position adjacent to where he is at the end of his movement. Each ally decides whether to accept the offered move or not, and can only benefit from this once per combat.

Charge as One (Ex)

At 15th level, when the cavalier of the heart charges, allies within 30 ft. may also charge. All allies get a +4 bonus to attack rolls (instead of the normal +2 bonus for a charge) and do not take any penalty to armor class for charging. Each ally may choose his own individual target, and may only charge if there is a suitable target available. The cavalier can use this ability once per combat.

Order of the Unicorn

Edicts: A cavalier of the order of the unicorn must always strive to shine as an individual, to be at the forefront of every advance and to fulfill his own goals, regardless of hindrances or competition. This includes doing everything possible to personally pursue and defeat the target of their challenge.

Challenge: An order of the unicorn cavalier and his mount does not provoke attacks of opportunity when making a Charge against the target of his challenge. This includes overrun attempts you make on the way to your target.

Skills: An order of the unicorn cavalier has Appraise (Int) and Survival (Wis) as class skills.

Order Abilities: A cavalier belonging to the order of the unicorn gains the following abilities as he increases in level.

Overbearing Charge (Ex)

At 2nd level, when the cavalier charges the target of his challenge, he and his mount may add his cavalier level to CMD for any attempts to overun creatures standing in the way. If a creature stands in a position where it prevents the cavalier from moving into position (if there is no empty space to attack from), targets that are successfully overrun may be moved up to 5 ft. to make room. Note that a standing and a prone creature can be in the same space, so a creature that falls prone can be pushed into an occupied space.

Pinning Attack (Ex)

At 8th level, when the cavalier hits with an attack of opportunity, the target must stop moving and may not move further this turn.

Forest of Spears (Ex)

At 15th level, any attempt to move out of the cavalier's reach always provokes an attack of opportunity, even if it normally would not provoke such an attack.