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 Hammer
Source The Harrow Handbook pg. 18
Cavaliers of the order of the hammer respect might over all, and believe that those who prove their strength have earned the right to make decisions for the weak. When the cavalier’s own goals conflict with those of a mighty ruler, the cavalier must prove that her own strength and ideals are superior.
Edicts: The cavalier must continually strive to prove her own strength as well as the strength of those she is allied with, especially when faced with adversity or by those who would seek to best the cavalier’s brawn.
Challenge: An order of the hammer cavalier can attempt a free grapple check or free sunder combat maneuver check anytime she takes the full-attack action against the target of her challenge. This free combat maneuver does not provoke an attack of opportunity.
Skills: An order of the hammer cavalier adds Acrobatics (Dex) and Knowledge (local) (Int) to her list of class skills. In addition, whenever the cavalier uses Acrobatics to jump, she can add her Strength bonus to the check in addition to her Dexterity modifier, and she receives a bonus on Acrobatics checks to jump equal to 1/2 her cavalier level (minimum +1).
Order Abilities: A cavalier belonging to the order of the hammer gains the following abilities as she increases in level.
Mighty Bash (Ex): At 2nd level, the cavalier does not provoke attacks of opportunity when she attacks foes while unarmed so long as she is dealing nonlethal damage. In addition, the cavalier’s unarmed strikes deal more nonlethal damage than usual; she is treated as having a number of monk levels equal to her cavalier level for the purpose of determining how much nonlethal damage her unarmed strikes deal. For example, a 12th-level cavalier of the order of the hammer would deal 2d6 points of nonlethal damage with her unarmed strike. The cavalier must still select the Improved Unarmed Strike feat if she wants to deal lethal damage with her unarmed strike, and lethal damage dealt with her unarmed strike is not increased by this ability.
Crushing Grapple (Ex): At 8th level, the cavalier gains Chokehold as a bonus feat, even if she does not meet the prerequisites. She does not take the –5 penalty on grapple checks to put an opponent in a chokehold.
Inspiring Flex (Ex): At 15th level, the cavalier can display her own brawn to inspire greater strength in his allies. As a standard action, she can grant herself and any allies within 30 feet a +4 morale bonus on melee attack rolls, combat maneuver checks, Fortitude saves, and Strength checks. The cavalier can maintain her inspiring flex as a free action, and she can use this ability for a number of rounds per day equal 1/2 her cavalier level; this duration need not be continuous.
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