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 Eastern Star
Source Occult Adventures pg. 116
This cavalier order exists to keep dangerous secrets hidden from the world and secretly protect the world against unimaginable threats from beyond the mortal realms. These cavaliers scout and observe, concerning themselves not with the trivial pursuit of morality, but rather with ensuring the survival of society itself.
Edicts: The cavalier must preserve the secrets of his order while acting to protect civilization against occult threats. He must thwart the schemes of otherworldly horrors and must give his order a full accounting of any potential threats.
Challenge: Whenever a cavalier of the order of the eastern star issues a challenge, he receives a +1 dodge bonus to AC and a +1 insight bonus on saves against the attacks and abilities of the target of his challenge. He must be wearing light armor and carrying no more than a light load to receive these bonuses. These bonuses increase by 1 for every 4 class levels the cavalier possesses.
Skills: A cavalier belonging to the order of the eastern star adds Knowledge (arcana) and Knowledge (planes) to his class skills. He can attempt Knowledge (arcana) and Knowledge (planes) checks untrained. If he has ranks in these skills, as long as a check involves knowledge of the occult or supernatural, he receives a bonus on the check equal to 1/2 his cavalier level (minimum +1).
Feats: A cavalier of this order gains Psychic Sensitivity as a bonus feat.
Order Abilities: A cavalier belonging to this order gains the following abilities as he increases in level.
Guarded (Ex): At 2nd level, the cavalier gains DR 1/— and a +2 morale bonus on saving throws when wearing light armor or no armor and fighting defensively or using Combat Expertise. At 6th level and every 4 levels thereafter, this DR increases by 1. He loses the benefits of this ability if carrying a medium or heavier load.
Pierce the Guard (Ex): At 8th level, when attacking with a light or one-handed weapon, the cavalier ignores the penalty for fighting defensively or using Combat Expertise on his first melee attack roll each round. If fighting with two weapons, he ignores the penalty for the first attack with each weapon, as long as the off-hand weapon is a light weapon. The cavalier can’t use this ability with double weapons.
One Purpose (Ex): At 15th level, the cavalier’s mount shares the benefits of the cavalier’s guarded ability as long as both are wearing light or no armor and carrying no more than a light load. The cavalier must fight defensively or use Combat Expertise to grant these benefits, but the mount need not. In addition, the mount gains all the benefits of the cavalier’s challenge, regardless of what barding it wears.
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