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Friday, December 5, 2014

GM_Solspiral's PAP Guide to the Cavalier: Orders

Cavalier Orders

To evaluate an order we have to consider if the edicts are manageable, the class skills useful, the challenge bonus, and the order abilities. Order abilities that are front loaded at 2nd level are going to weigh much more heavily than the 15th level ability or the class skills. Overall ratings are essentially balanced on Edict, Challenge bonus, and 2nd level order ability the rest is significantly less important.
Order of the Beast (ACG) if you start at 8th level this is green possibly blue.
Edict: predictable and not hard to follow.  Challenge: yeah giving your bonus to your mounts sucks Class Skills: good class skills to have 2nd level ability: garbage, after like 5th level animal enemies never come up 8th level ability: awesome ability that comes late to the party 15th level ability: just not good enough for a 15ht level ability.
Order of the Beast (ISC) in an evil campaign this might be the best choice especially if you are not starting a level 1 but this is hard to pull off with a neutral character so edict is where this gets a little hamstrung.
Edict: really hard to follow in a non-evil campaign.  Challenge: useful to cleave, except what if I don’t pick up cleave this early (likely) 2nd level ability: great when I get something like Improved sunder for free. 8th level ability: freebie trample for my mount, yes please 15th level ability: this is pretty useful except the part where it almost ensures you will get yourself killed.
Order of the Blue Rose so much no in one order.
Edict: pretty much talk first edict makes this one of the more annoying ones  Challenge: reinforces an annoying edict by giving a bonus to an attack roll you likely don’t need Class Skills: two of the worst knowledges 2nd level ability: look at all the not-killing you’re doing 8th level ability: situational DR essentially 15th level ability: good team player ability that would be awesomesauce at 2nd level, here it is almost an insult.
Order of the Cockatrice if it isn’t the best order it is close.
Edict: I hereby dub you the munchkin edict, seriously though you can play this with a degree of subtlety  Challenge: synergizes with your order ability Class Skills: garbage 2nd level ability: free dazzling display with no prerequisites and removes a condition on it, YES! 8th level ability: hang with a crit fisher for maximum carnage 15th level ability: who gets 1 round a day to be completely awesome? You do.
Order of the Dragon plays extremely well with others and with the right team can be awesomesauce.
Edict: Do that thing you were going to do anyway Challenge: I don’t need help hitting with a full BAB class Class Skills: best class ability add ons you can ask for 2nd level ability: great ability for a team player 8th level ability: see 2nd level 15th level ability: near broken level of teamwork.
Order of the First Law want to make Pathfinder cause as many arguments as monopoly, take a cavalier with this, and an evangelist, then have a paladin, and a CE rogue.
Edict: look a mechanic that makes you argue with the healer all the time  Challenge: if your AC is high enough this further elevates your ability to tank Class Skills: you need heal as a class skill because you’re likely to piss off the healer 2nd level ability: here have a +2 on all saves in exchange for never taking a divine buff… yeah that’s a shitty trade 8th level ability: situational but useful in those situations 15th level ability: great for GMs pissed off at their high level clerics.
Order of the Flame one of the better options, especially if you can ramp the damage enough and don’t really get into charging lane issues.
Edict: if you are the party tank this isn’t doing things that differently but it can get you into some trouble so it’s not blue  Challenge: if you can 1 hit things this is essentially an endless challenge, smart players can make this very broken very quickly Class Skills: not bad 2nd level ability: slightly confusing but essentially can get you a immediate move action and not be flatfooted for it to get into position for the next round 8th level ability: extra rider on crits, the problem most things are dead now if you did your job 15th level ability: useful but 1 round with no progression.
Order of the Guard mediocrity except at escort missions. This is a great order for your wizard’s cohort.
Edict: not hard to follow but sort of lame  Challenge: it scales somewhat poorly but it’s always useful thus green Class Skills: best class skill in the game and a crap knowledge 2nd level ability: depressingly mediocre 8th level ability: excel at escort missions 15th level ability: I like Attacks of op but this is a little late.
Order of the Hammer this order adds versatility and fun. It is also super front loaded for those looking for a quick beneficial dip.
Edict: Not a hard thing to do Challenge: eliminate the need for 2 feats Class Skills: not bad 2nd level ability: forces you to get into improved unarmed combat for some reason (not literally but you prolly should) 8th level ability: neat 15th level ability: useful bonus that isn’t just a single use and it buff allies in multiple ways and its a +4!!!.
Order of the Land not a great choice unfortunately.
Edict: not hard to follow makes you act like a hero  Challenge: more damage Class Skills: ok mix 2nd level ability: I loved this so much until it was pointed out that this is a 1/ per combat power then I got depressed 8th level ability: even the ranger is like, that sucks 15th level ability: if this was the power at 8th it would be my go-to order despite how much that 2nd level ability sucks.
Order of the Lion great cohort archetype as if can buff all your friends 3 ways.
Edict: not hard to follow but sort of lame  Challenge: it scales somewhat poorly but it’s always useful thus green Class Skills: boo 2nd level ability: solidly green, makes your allies better, stays green because it doesn’t effect you 8th level ability: see 2nd level only more so 15th level ability: excel at escort missions.
Order of the Paw despite a meh challenge ability this is a solid choice especially because it helps out your mount, blue if starting at 8th level or better.
Edict: painless entry  Challenge: power is meh Class Skills: survival is good 2nd level ability: flexible, multiple uses, strong duration, and doesn’t effect you so green 8th level ability: 2 solid bonuses to upgrade your mount 15th level ability: it’s a damage bonus so it’s not red but a little situational, a common situation but situational none-the-less
Order of the Penitent challenge and order ability sucks so this order sucks
Edict: painless entry  Challenge: power is meh Class Skills: survival is good 2nd level ability: this si not very helpful 8th level ability: look something that is actually good. 15th level ability: this is a murder-hobo game


Order of the Scales really solid 2nd level ability but everything else about this order essentially sucks.
Edict: basically be a lawful character  Challenge: how does it get worse than an attack bonus? make it situational Class Skills: boo 2nd level ability: very decent, effectively gives a bonus to a useful skill and a feat for both you and your mount 8th level ability: situational as heck 15th level ability: very powerful in enforcing contracts which would be great for a side business I guess.
Order of the Seal overshadowed a little by order of the hammer, but a very solid choice nonetheless.
Edict: this can be blue or red depending on what you’re defending  Challenge: eliminates the need for 2 feats Class Skills: decent 2nd level ability: flexible as it applies to attack rolls and saves 8th level ability: I’m not moved by this bonus 15th level ability: Good ability but not great
Order of the Shield might seem like a harsh rating but the 15th level ability sours me that much.
Edict: be a goody two shoes  Challenge: I guess a bonus to attack rolls isn’t so bad if you’re fighting defensively all the time Class Skills: look 2 skill you didn’t want 2nd level ability: oh boy converting small chunks of damage to non lethal 8th level ability: great feat freebie 15th level ability: is there a worse color than red?
Order of the Staff this is a great 2nd character or leadership feat option for spellcasters, it would be a little less exciting as a primary caster.
Edict: makes you every spell caster’s bitch basically  Challenge: this is powerful, for your spellcasting allies Class Skills: useless 2nd level ability: again you’re the caster’s bestie 8th level ability: finally you get something out of this arrangement, you know as long as your caster is giving out a buff 15th level ability: add insult to injury.
Order of the Star solid choice, better with cleric or paladin dips
Edict: depends on the faith in question Challenge: shores up saves Class Skills: survival is good 2nd level ability: flexible and extremely friendly for multiclassing 8th level ability: this si pretty boss if everyone is on the same page faith-wise 15th level ability: really really good since it specifies you
Order of the Sword for mounted builds this is beyond good, its prolly cyan, for everyone else it’s yellow at best.
Edict: be good aligned basically Challenge: situational attack bonus, not red because its a very common situation for you Class Skills: no good 2nd level ability: passive and shores up saves 8th level ability: this is so powerful for mounted builds that it is hard to justify a different order 15th level ability: Upgrades the heck out of your challenge ability
Order of the Tome you suffer until 8th level then you become a 2nd rate backup caster on top of being a decent tank...
Edict: be the uber librarian  Challenge: pretty darn close to useless Class Skills: predictably terrible 2nd level ability: if I wanted to play a wizard or bard... 8th level ability: the only reason to bother with this, but it is a pretty solid reason  15th level ability: solid team friendly power
Order of Vengeance an amazing 8th level ability doesn’t fix the early issues with this one.

Edict: this will cause trouble  Challenge: power is meh Class Skills: no good 2nd level ability: if you wanted an intimate build go cockatrice 8th level ability: this is really a good ability 15th level ability: good ability makes little sense for you though

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