Cavalier (Prestige Class)

The Cavalier is the classic knight in shining armor. Leading the cavalry charge against the enemy lines and bringing victory to his liege or order. Off the battlefield, he is expected to be a gentleman, a representative of the cause he is sworn to. All cavaliers are either sworn vassals of a noble or members of a knightly order. While not all of his colleagues are cavaliers (warriors, fighters and the occasional paladin make up the rest), he is generally considered to be one of the best and brightest and usually bears some form of rank among them. (Cavaliers usually make up the leaders and upper echelons of heavy cavalry units.)

Because of his intense training and responsibilities, a Cavalier is an expert in horsemanship and mounted combat. He is deadly on horseback, especially when charging the enemy, and his skill with horses allows him to bring out the full potential of his mount.

Hit Die: d10

Requirements:

Alignment: Any Lawful

Base Attack Bonus: +6

Ride: 9 ranks

Handle Animal: 9 ranks

Diplomacy: 2 ranks

Feats: Mounted Combat, Weapon Focus: Any Lance, Ride-By Attack

Special: Must own and wear a suit of Full Plate.

Class Skills

Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Jump (Str), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Swim (Str)

Skill Points at Each Level: 2+ Int Modifier

Level	Special	Base Attack	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save
1	+1 to hit w/lance, War Horse, Dashing Figure	+1	+2	0	+2
2	Spirited Charge, Aura of Courage, Iron Will.	+2	+3	0	+3
3	+1 to hit w/melee mounted, Trample	+3	+3	+1	+3
4	Piercing Charge	+4	+4	+1	+4
5	+2 to hit w/ lance	+5	+4	+1	+4
6	Furied Charge	+6	+5	+2	+5
7	+2 to hit with melee while mounted	+7	+5	+2	+5
8	Penetrating Charge	+8	+6	+2	+6
9	+3 to hit with lance.	+9	+6	+3	+6
10	Heroic Charge	+10	+7	+3	+7

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A cavalier is skilled in all simple and martial weapons, in heavy armor and all shields.

Dashing Figure: Because of his status in society and the romantic images his duties suggest, a Cavalier gains a +3 reaction bonus to Charisma checks in his home country. Amongst criminals or citizens of an enemy country, he gets a –3 reaction penalty to Charisma checks.

Mounted Accuracy: At 1^st level, a Cavalier gains a +1 to hit rolls while using a lance and mounted. At 3^rd level he gains these bonuses with any one-handed melee weapon so long as he is mounted. These bonuses increase every 4 levels.

Aura of Courage: Functions exactly as the Paladin ability.

Iron Will: A cavalier gains the Iron Will feat at 2^nd level.

Trample: A Cavalier gains the Trample feat at 3^rd level.

War Horse: A Cavalier can train one war horse to be his special mount. This takes a minimum of 1 month. If the mount is killed, the Cavalier must find a new mount and train it. A Cavalier can only have one such horse at any time. See the table below for the war horses statistics.

Cavalier Level	Bonus HD	Natural Armor	Strength Adjust	Special	Training Time
1-3	+2	+2	+1	Improved Evasion, Shared Saving Throws	1 month
4-6	+4	+3	+2		3 months
7-9	+6	+4	+3		6 months
10	+8	+5	+4		9 months

Special Mount Abilities: These function only when the Cavalier is riding or leading the horse.

Improved Evasion functions just like the Rogue special ability.

Shared Saving Throws allows the mount to use the Cavalier’s save or it’s own, whichever is higher.

A Cavalier’s special mount is simply a highly-trained animal. It has no supernatural properties.

Special Charges:

A Cavalier gains a number of special mounted-charge abilities as he levels up. The results are cumulative, so a 4^th level Cavalier can make a Spirited and Piercing Charge, a 6^th level Cavalier can make a Spirited, Piercing and Furied charge, and so on. However, a Cavalier can always chose to only use the charging abilities he wishes to at any given time although he must declare which abilities he is using before he begins his charge.

Spirited Charge: At 2^nd level a Cavalier gains the Spirited Charge feat for free.

Piercing Charge: At 4^th level, a charging Cavalier may make a Piercing Charge. If his initial Charge attack drops his opponent, he may make an attack at a second opponent in his line of motion provided he has movement left to reach that opponent.

Furied Charge: At 6^th level, a Cavalier can make a Furied Charge while mounted. While charging, the Cavalier gains a damage reduction of 5/– versus missile weapons and any foes within 20’ of the Cavalier’s path must make a Will Save against DC 15+ Cavalier’s Charisma modifier. If the opponents fail the save, they act as if under the effects of a Fear spell for 1 round per class level of the Cavalier.

Penetrating Charge: At 8^th level a Cavalier can make a Penetrating Charge. This functions exactly like a Piercing charge, but he may attack all opponents on his line of motion so long as each attack drops an opponent.

Heroic Charge: At 10^th level, a Cavalier may attempt a heroic charge while mounted. While performing a Heroic Charge, any mounted allies within 50’ +10’ per Charisma modifier charging with him gain a +2 Morale bonus to hit, damage and Saving Throws as well as acting as if they had the Spirited Charge feat. The Cavalier’s own Spirited Charge bonuses increase to x4 for lances and x3 for melee weapons. If the Cavalier makes this a Furied Charge as well, his damage reduction increases to 10/– vs. missile weapons.

Code of Conduct: A Cavalier is generally sworn to either a noble or a knightly order, and as such must follow a Code of Conduct. This Code varies from order to order or noble to noble. Failure to follow this Code will result in the Cavalier being expelled from the order or that noble’s service. A Cavalier expelled from an order will find himself distrusted and disrespected by members of his former order and whatever allies they may have. Nobles, on the other hand, tend to execute those who betray them, though exile is still possible and some orders do favor execution over expulsion. A Cavalier without liege or order, cannot advance in Cavalier levels, though he does retain his former abilities. It is possible for an expelled Cavalier to find service with a noble or order who bears enmity towards his former fealty, though often even they won’t trust a fallen knight.

Presentation: Because a Cavalier is a representative of his order or liege, he must maintain his appearance at all times. On the battlefield, he must always wear full plate, even if he has access to magical armor or a different type. Outside of the battlefield, he must dress like the gentleman-warrior he is. You must pay 125% to 150% the cost of any equipment you purchase to represent the higher quality materials you require. This doesn’t grant any bonuses to the equipment, it simply adds to their appearance. If the optional upkeep rules are used, you must pay for at least a “Good” living.

Notes:

Paladins and Cavaliers: A paladin that multi-classes to cavalier can only have one special mount at a time, either his paladin mount or cavalier horse. However, levels in both classes count towards the mount’s abilities. If his mount dies, he can chose which type of new mount to acquire.

Knights of Solamnia: In Dragonlance campaigns, Knights of the Rose are considered Cavaliers except they gain no war horse. Instead, they continue their spell progression (Paladin or Crusader), each Cavalier level counting as a new level in their previous class for purposes of what spells they gain. Former Paladins also get increases to their Lay on Hands, Smite Evil and Turn Undead abilities. Knights of the Rose must also be Lawful Good and becoming a Knight of the Rose requires a special quest to be performed on the part of the applicant.