Order of the Beast

A cavalier who belongs to this order establishes a symbiotic relationship between himself and his mount. Cavaliers of this order tend to be ferocious, brutal, and unrelenting as the bestial creatures they ride. This order complements the Beastborne Outrider multiclass archetype.

Edicts: The cavalier must always be on guard, always watchful, and ready to act at a moments notice. He must ride fearlessly into battle, rend his foes, and trample them into the dust. The cavalier must take every opportunity to defend his lands against incursion, and destroy his enemies wherever they can be found.

Challenge: Whenever an order of the beast cavalier issues a challenge, he receives a +1 morale bonus on all melee damage rolls made against the target of his challenge as long as target is threatening him or his mount. This bonus increases by +1 for every four levels the cavalier possesses. Furthermore, should the beast cavalier gain initiative over the target of his challenge during the first round of combat in an encounter, the cavalier also gains fast movement (+10 feet) while mounted for the duration of the challenge.

Skills: An order of the beast cavalier adds Knowledge (geography) (Int), Stealth (Dex), and Survival (Wis) to his list of class skills. In addition, an order of the beast cavalier adds his Charisma modifier to any ride checks made with his mount in addition to his Dexterity modifier.

Order Abilities: A cavalier that belongs to the order of the beast gains the following abilities as he increases in level.

Favored Terrain (Ex)

At 2nd level, an order of the beast cavalier gains the ranger’s favored terrain ability, except that only one terrain can be chosen. The cavalier’s bonus is +2 at 2nd level, and increases by +2 every eight levels thereafter, to a maximum of +6 at 16th level.

Energy Resistance (Ex)

At 8th level, an order of the beast cavalier gains energy resistance to one type of energy, equal to 1/2 his class level. The type of energy resistance is determined by the cavalier’s favored terrain, as shown on the table below. This ability is exactly like the energy resistance rage power, and is considered the rage power for cavalier’s with levels in barbarian. Also, if the cavalier has levels in barbarian, his cavalier level stacks with his barbarian class for the purpose of qualifying for rage powers with the energy resistance rage power and class levels as prerequisites.