General Prestige Class : Windrider
The windrider is a specialist in mounted combat, but hers is no ordinary mount. The creature she rides is at least unusual and often rare - sometimes even bizarre. Although an experienced windrider can ride anything that runs, swims, or flies, the typical member of this prestige class settles on one particular kind of mount as a personal favorite.
Some windriders are no more than swaggering, arrogant adventurers looking for a good fight. Perhaps their pride is justified, considering the creatures they've turned into mounts. Many however, are just as happy to sit back and tell stories of how they got their mounts and the adventures they've had since, no matter who buys the ale. The typical windrider cheerfully shares her knowledge about her various mounts with those who seek to ride similar creatures.
Since the skills they develop vary as widely as the abilities and natures of their mounts, windriders are a very independent bunch. Thus, they rarely form or belong to close-knit groups. Even a paladin windrider tends to be something of a knight-errant.
All races have produced windriders, though the class is particularly popular with humans and giants. Rangers, paladins, fighters, and barbarians all make excellent windriders because they can easily accumulate the prerequisites.
Requirements
To qualify to become a Windrider, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Skills: Handle Animal 8 ranks, Knowledge (nature) 6 ranks, Ride 8 ranks.
- Feats: Mounted Combat.
- Base Attack Bonus: +5.
- Special: Must have a mount.
Class Skills
The windrider's class skills are Balance, Concentration, Craft (any), Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Heal, Jump, Knowledge (nature), Profession (any), and Ride.
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
The following are class features of the windrider prestige class. For the abilities described below, a mount is a creature that fits the criteria in the What's a Mount? section below.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Windriders are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, all types of armor, and shields.
Spells per Day: A windrider can cast a small number of divine spells. Her spells are based on Wisdom, so casting any given spell requires a Wisdom score of at least 10 + the spell's level. The DC for saving throws against these spells is 10 + spell level + the windrider's Wisdom modifier. When the table indicates that the windrider is entitled to 0 spells of a given level (such as 0 1st-level spells at 1st level), she gets only those bonus spells that her Wisdom score allows. A windrider prepares and casts spells just like a druid does, but she must choose them from the spell list, below.
Appraise Mount (Ex): At 1st level, a windrider can compare two mounts of the same kind and tell at a glance which one is superior (stronger, faster, more intelligent, better stamina, and so oh). If desired, the windrider can also conduct a point-by-point comparison of two mounts. By spending 1 round examining both, she can determine which has the higher score in any single ability of her choice. After a second round of study, a windrider familiar with that kind of creature can also determine whether each mount's score in that ability is average, above average, or below average for the species. After a third round of study, the windrider can tell how extreme that ability score is - that is, whether the modifier it generates is more than 4 points higher or lower than the average for that species. The appraise mount ability never produces a numerical rating; DMs must describe the windrider's findings.
Chosen Mount: The windrider may designate any one mount she has previously ridden as her chosen mount. This creature may not be a bonded companion (such as a familiar, paladin's mount, or animal companion) to anyone else at the time, and if its Intelligence score is 3 or higher, it must also agree to this relationship. The windrider can use any means desired to obtain this agreement - the Diplomacy skill, bribery, or even magical persuasion - but the creature must be willing.
The windrider must spend a minimum of three days training her chosen mount before any benefits accrue. Thereafter, the creature gains the advantages listed below based on the windrider's level. The creature retains its own type and gains no abilities other than those listed, though it is considered a bonded companion for the unbond ability (see the blighter prestige class).
| Windrider LvL | Bonus Hit Dice | Natural Armor Bonus | Strength Adjustment |
| 1-3 | +2 | +4 | +2 |
| 4-6 | +4 | +6 | +2 |
| 7-9 | +6 | +8 | +4 |
| 10 | +8 | +10 | +4 |
Windrider Level: The character's windrider levels only. If the mount suffers a level drain, treat the creature as the mount of a lower-level windrider.
Bonus Hit Dice: These are extra eight-sided (d8) Hit Dice, each of which provides a Constitution modifier, as normal. Remember that extra Hit Dice also improve the mount's base attack and base save bonuses.
Natural Armor: The amount by which the creature's natural armor bonus is increased.
Strength Adjustment: Add this figure to the mount's Strength score.
The windrider may have only one chosen mount at a time, and either party may sever this relationship at any time without penalty. Once it ends, the mount loses the benefits it gained according to the table below. If the chosen mount is a paladin's warhorse, the rules in the Paladin's Mount supersede those given here.
Empathic Link (Su): The windrider has an empathic link with her chosen mount. This ability works like the empathic link that a paladin has with her mount (see Paladin).
Mount Proficiency: At 1st level, the windrider gains a +2 competence bonus on any check to avoid being unseated while riding her chosen mount. In addition, she can ride any mount with 4 Hit Dice or less at the full benefit of her Ride skill, suffering neither the -2 penalty for riding similar mounts not the -5 penalty for riding dissimilar mounts. The Hit Dice of the mounts to which this latter benefit applies increase with windrider level: 8 Hit Dice at 4th level, 12 Hit Dice at 6th level, 16 Hit Dice at 8th level, and any mount at 10th level.
Mount Assistance (Ex): At 2nd level, the windrider can assist any mount she is riding in one of two ways per use of the ability. First, she can use the cooperation and aid another rules (Chapter 4 and Chapter 8 respectively of the Player's Handbook) to provide a +4 bonus (double the usual amount) to her mount's Armor Class or on any single attack roll or any skill or ability check the mount attempts. Alternatively, she can provide her mount a +10 competence bonus to speed for 1 full round. Mount assistance is usable once per round and requires a standard action.
Mount Feat: At 2nd level, a windrider can grant her chosen mount one bonus feat from the Mount Feats list, below. This feat does not count against the creature's normal feat capacity, though it must still meet all prerequisites for it, as noted in the appropriate feat description in this book or Chapter 5 of the Player's Handbook. To grant a bonus feat, the windrider must spend one month training the mount. The windrider can bestow a second bonus feat on the same mount at 5th level, and a third as 9th level. These additional bonus feats require the same training rime as the first. The windrider can train only one mount at a time.
Bonus Feat: At 3rd and again at 7th level, a windrider may take a bonus feat from the windrider bonus feats list below. This feat does not count against the windrider's normal feat capacity, though she must still meet all prerequisites for it, as noted in the appropriate feat description.
Mount Healing (Ex): At 3rd level, A windrider gains a +4 competence bonus on any Heal checks she makes on a creature of the same species as her current mount and a +2 bonus on any Heal checks made on other creatures capable of serving her as mounts (see sidebar).
Mount Friendship: At 5th level, the windrider gains a +4 circumstance bonus on Diplomacy checks when dealing with creatures of the same species as her current mount and a +2 bonus when dealing with any other creatures capable of serving her as mounts (see below).
Mount Link (Su): At 7th level, the windrider can establish an empathic link with any mount that she rides for at least 1 hour, as long as its Intelligence score is at least 1. She can maintain only one such link at a time with a mount other than her chosen one.
Mount Luck (Su): At 9th level, the windrider can, as a free action, confer a luck bonus equivalent to her Charisma bonus on the saving throw of any mount within 60 feet with which she has an empathic link.
Handle Animal DCs for Training Mounts
| Creature Is... | Example | Task Counts as... | Handle Animal DC |
| Domestic animal of a kind typically used for riding | Horse | Teach an animal tasks | 15 |
| Domestic animal of a kind not typically used for riding | Dog | Teach an animal unusual tasks | 20 |
| Wild animal | Tiger | Train a wild animal | 20 + creature's HD |
| Beast | Tyrannosaurus | Train a beast | 25 + creature's HD |
| Any other creature of Intelligence 2 or lower* | Carrion crawler | Train a beast | 25 + creature's HD |
| *Windrider only | |||
Windrider Bonus Feats List
The following bonus feats are available to mounts and windriders.
Mount Feats: Alertness, Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Dragon's Toughness, Dwarf's Toughness, Endurance, Flyby Attack, Giant's Toughness, Great Fortitude, Hover, Improved Critical*, Improved Flight, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Multiattack, Power Attack, Run, Snatch, Toughness, Weapon Finesse*, Weapon Focus*, Wingover.
Windrider Feats: Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Exotic Weapon Proficiency, Expertise, Improved Critical*, Improved Initiative, Improved Unarmed Strike, Mounted Combat, Point Blank Shot, Power Attack, Quick Draw, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Finesse*, Weapon Focus*.
*This feat may be taken more than once, but for a different kind of weapon each time.
Windrider Spell List
Windriders choose their spells from the following list.
- 1st Level - alarm, animal trick, calm animals, detect poison, endure elements, know direction, remove fear, resistance, speak with animals.
- 2nd Level - bottle of smoke, delay poison, endurance, resist elements, magic fang, mage armor, nature's favor, protection from arrows, shield other.
- 3rd Level - heal mount, neutralize poison, pass without trace, phantom steed, protection from elements.
- 4th Level - freedom of movement, greater magic fang, greater magic weapon, repel vermin.
| Windrider | Hit Die: d10 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special | Spells per Day | |||
| 1st | +1 | +2 | +0 | +2 | Appraise mount, chosen mount, empathic link, mount proficiency 4 HD | 0 | - | - | - |
| 2nd | +2 | +3 | +0 | +3 | Mount assistance, mount feat 1 | 1 | - | - | - |
| 3rd | +3 | +3 | +1 | +3 | Bonus feat, mount healing | 1 | 0 | - | - |
| 4th | +4 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Mount proficiency 8 HD | 1 | 1 | - | - |
| 5th | +5 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Mount feat 2, mount friendship | 1 | 1 | 0 | - |
| 6th | +6 | +5 | +2 | +5 | Mount proficiency 12 HD | 1 | 1 | 1 | - |
| 7th | +7 | +5 | +2 | +5 | Bonus feat, mount link | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 8th | +8 | +6 | +2 | +6 | Mount proficiency 16 HD | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 9th | +9 | +6 | +3 | +6 | Mount feat 3, mount luck | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 10th | +10 | +7 | +3 | +7 | Mount proficiency (all) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
Ex-Windriders
A windrider who intentionally mistreats any mount she has ridden loses all windrider prestige class abilities, and her chosen mount immediately terminates that relationship. Until she atones (see the atonement spell description), creatures of the same species as her last chosen mount treat her with enmity which manifests as a -4 racial penalty on interactions with creatures of the same species as that mount and a -2 racial penalty on interactions with any other creature capable of serving her as a mount.
What's a Mount?
You can't just hop on and ride any creature, even if you have the Ride skill for that creature type. A mount must have all the following characteristics.
- Be able and willing to carry its rider in a typical fashion. (A camel trained with the Handle Animal skill to bear a rider is able and willing. A tiger might be able but not willing. A giant might be willing but not truly able. An intelligent creature whose alignment differs significantly from yours is unlikely to be willing.)
- Be at least one size category larger than you. Also, a flying mount can carry no more than its maximum light load aloft. (This is a change from the Monster Manual, which says that a flying creature's carrying capacity is equal to its medium load limit.)
- Have a CR no higher than your character level -3. If the mount can fly, its CR can be no higher than your character level -4.
Any animal or beast can be trained to bear a rider with the Handle Animal skill. In addition, the windrider can use this skill to train a creature of any other type that has an Intelligence score of 2 or below to bear a rider. The category of the task and its Handle Animal DC are as given on above.
Any creature not of the animal type counts as a beast for this check, regardless of its actual type. Any of these forms of training requires two months, as noted in the skill description.
Any creature with an Intelligence score of 3 or higher needs no Handle Animal check to learn how to bear a rider. If it is willing to serve as a mount, it can determine for itself how it must move to manage the additional weight, how to interpret its rider's directional commands, and so forth. It does, however, require at least one week of training with a rider before it can perform as a mount.
Other Mount Feats
The DM might decide to make additional feats available to mounts. You might consider the following as well:
Blindsight 5-foot Radius, Close Quarters Fighting, Dirty Fighting, Dual Strike, Improved Overrun, Power Lunge, Extra Smiting, Dash, Fleet of Foot.
Source: Masters of the Wild