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Cavalier Class Details | Banners | Orders | Archetypes

Cavalier/Samurai Orders

Description Source: Advanced Player's Guide
At 1st level, a cavalier must pledge himself to a specific order. The order grants the cavalier a number of bonuses, class skills, and special abilities. In addition, each order includes a number of edicts that the cavalier must follow. If he violates any of these edicts, he loses the benefits from his order's challenge ability for 24 hours. The violation of an edict is subject to GM interpretation.

A cavalier cannot change his order without undertaking a lengthy process to dedicate himself to a new cause. When this choice is made, he immediately loses all of the benefits from his old order. He must then follow the edicts of his new order for one entire level without gaining any benefits from that order. Once accomplished, he gains all of the bonuses from his new order. Note that the names of these orders might vary depending upon the campaign setting or GM's preference.

Description Source: Ultimate Combat
The following orders can be chosen by both samurai and cavaliers, although the former are far more likely to do so. Samurai can also select any of the cavalier orders presented in the Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player's Guide.

Order of the Land

Source Knights of the Inner Sea pg. 24
There are some cavaliers who dedicate themselves to the land and the people who inhabit the rural areas between urban centers. These cavaliers often lead untrained militias of revolutionaries in backwoods towns, fighting against oppressive governments or the savage elements that threaten citizens in their daily lives. Self-reliance and the ability to make do with sparse resources are hallmarks of a cavalier who follows the order of the land.

Edicts: The cavalier must always strive to protect the common folk from the depredations of oppressive regimes. He must not decline any duty or mission because he is not properly equipped for it.

Challenge: Whenever an order of the land cavalier issues a challenge, he receives a +1 morale bonus on ranged attack rolls against the target of his challenge. This bonus increases by +1 for every four levels the cavalier possesses.

Skills: An order of the land cavalier adds Knowledge (local) (Int) and Survival (Wis) to his list of class skills. In addition, whenever an order of the land cavalier makes a Survival check to avoid getting lost, 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 land gains the following abilities as he increases in level.

Adaptive Strike (Ex): At 2nd level, the cavalier receives Catch Off-Guard as a bonus feat. As a swift action, he can cause an armed opponent to become flat-footed against any attacks he makes during that round with an improvised weapon. This ability can be used once per combat.

Terrain Training (Ex): At 8th level, the cavalier may select a terrain type from the ranger Favored Terrains table. As a standard action, he can shout orders that grant all allies within 60 feet a competence bonus equal to his Charisma modifier on initiative checks and Knowledge (geography), Perception, and Survival checks while they are in this terrain for a number of rounds equal to 1/2 his cavalier level. At 12th level and every four levels thereafter, the cavalier may select a new terrain type that this ability can affect.

Wild Charge (Ex): At 15th level, the cavalier and his mount can ignore difficult terrain for the purpose of making a charge attack. In addition, if the charge attack is successful and both he and his opponent are occupying squares with difficult terrain, the cavalier gains a +2 competence bonus when using his mighty charge ability to make a bull rush, disarm, sunder, or trip combat maneuver.