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 Reins
Source Merchant's Manifest pg. 31
The cavaliers of the order of the reins hold a strong rapport not just with their mounts, but with all tamed and domesticated animals on Golarion. From camels and horses to teams of sled dogs, these cavaliers hold themselves honor-bound to protect these creatures for their labor and loyalty. Cavaliers of the order of the reins often serve as the commanders of caravans or other expeditions, using their unique skills to ensure that the caravan and its wares safely reach their intended markets.
Edicts: The cavalier must do everything in his power to keep a caravan or traveling group safe once he has agreed to protect it. He must see that any allied animal injured under his watch is healed, or personally give it a merciful death if survival is not an option. He must not let any animal under his command suffer needlessly.
Challenge: Whenever an order of the reins cavalier issues a challenge, all allied animals, animal companions, familiars, and mounts within 60 feet gain a +1 bonus on attack rolls and a +2 bonus to AC against the target. This bonus increases by 1 for every additional 4 levels the cavalier has.
Skills: An order of the reins cavalier adds Appraise and Perception to his list of class skills. Any animal that the cavalier is riding can use the cavalier’s Handle Animal modifier in place of its own Acrobatics and Swim skill modifiers as long as the cavalier is mounted on it.
Order Abilities: A cavalier belonging to the order of the reins gains the following abilities as he increases in level.
Control the Herd (Ex): At 2nd level, the cavalier can direct multiple animals with one forceful command. The cavalier can handle a number of nonhostile, riderless animals equal to his cavalier level with a single use of the Handle Animal skill, so long as the commanded animals can see or hear the cavalier. The handled animals must all be ordered to perform the same trick. If an animal in the group does not know the trick the cavalier is commanding them to perform, the cavalier is considered to be pushing that animal. The cavalier cannot use this ability on animals more than two size categories smaller than he is. Using this ability requires a move action, though if the cavalier is pushing any animal as described above, it requires a full-round action.
Teamwork Tricks (Ex): At 8th level as a free action, the cavalier can use control the herd to handle allied and riderless animals and animal companions. Friendly and helpful animals that the cavalier commands with Handle Animal or his control the herd ability are considered to know any tasks or tricks the cavalier’s mount knows, in addition to any tasks or tricks they already know.
Stampede (Ex): At 15th level, as a standard action, the cavalier can incite any riderless and nonhostile animals and animal companions within 60 feet of him to stampede. Each affected creature gains a +4 bonus to AC (this bonus stacks with the benefits of the cavalier’s challenge), the trample universal monster rule, and a bonus to damage equal to half the cavalier’s level for 1 round. The save DC against an incited animal’s trample attack is 10 + half the cavalier’s level + his Charisma modifier. Incited creatures attack whatever targets the cavalier directs them to unless commanded otherwise by a bonded master (in the case of a familiar or animal companion).
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