Cavalier Equipment

Gear for a cavalier can be tricky. You have to not only worry about yourself but worry about keeping
your mount well geared as well. We’re breaking this down at certain “gaps” to give an idea what the
character should look like to make it easier to determine what you need. OF course every game is
different so jsut udnerstand that this is merely a guideline and not an expectation. All equipment
listed is going to come from Ultimate Equipment to give you a point of reference. This is also
assuming a mounted character interested in melee and charging rather than a luring cavalier or any
other “unconventional” build. Left over gold is meant to handle various other expenses you may
have or desire.

Starting Out (Level 1 175gp average)

So you’ve got your horse and you’ve got your gold. Now what? Ultimately we want to cover our
basics, get a lance, get some back up weapons for unmounted combat (I prefer reach
weapon/cestus combos) or non-charging combat. Get some decent armor for me and my mount
and go to town.

Weapons and Armor

Cestus 5gp
Lance 10gp
Bardiche 13gp
Scale Mail 50gp
Sling 0gp
Bullets (20) 2sp

Mounted Gear
Bit and Bridle 2gp
Military Saddle 20gp
10 days of Feed 5sp
Fighter’s Kit 9gp
Leather Barding 40gp
Saddle Bags 4gp

21gp Remaining

Archery characters may replace the melee weapons and heavy armor for lighter armor and a
shortbow relying on the mount and perhaps a cheap club for melee combat.

Veteran Adventurer (Level 5 10,500gp)

By now you are probably looking forward to either leadership, beast rider archetype, or the
monstrous mount feat. Your abilities are coming into their own and you’re needing banners to
attach to your polearms to make sure that ability remains active. Right now it’s about keeping your
weapons and armor relevant, keeping your saves up and having money left over to keep your ride
alive. The +1 Lance is slightly more important than the alternative for most mounted builds since
that damage will get multiplied on the first attack more often than not.

Weapons and Armor

Masterwork Cestus 305gp
+1 Lance with Banner 2,311gp
Masterwork Bardiche With Banner 314gp
+1 Full Plate 2,600gp
Sling 0gp
Bullets (20) 2sp
Cloak of Resistance +1

Mount Gear
Bit and Bridle 2gp
Military Saddle 20gp
10 days of Feed 5sp
Fighter’s Kit 9gp
Chain Shirt Barding 400gp
Saddle Bags 4gp
Cloak of Resistance +1
Amulet of Natural Armor +1 or Ring of Sustenance

589gp Remaining

Again ranged characters can switch out the weapons for bows and lighter armor

High Level Knight (Level 9, 46,000gp)

At this point you should have gotten rid of your horse. If not, you will have to invest extra money
and resources into things like Horseshoes of the Zephyr in order to keep them viable mounts. From
this point forward life is very dangerous for mounts since there are lots of abilities that can shut
down charging and often a full attack is enough to outright kill many of them. Your cavalier should
seriously consider dumping full plate in favor of lighter armor so you can take advantage of Trick
Riding and Mounted Skirmisher.

Weapons and Armor

Masterwork Cestus 305gp
+2 Lance 2,310gp
+1 Bardiche 2,313gp
+2 Mithral Jousting Kikko 11,880gp
Masterwork Sling 300gp
Bullets (20) 2sp
Cloak of Resistance +2 4000gp
Physical Belt (Dex or Str depending on Preference) 4000gp
Ring of Protection +1 2,000gp

Mount Gear
Bit and Bridle 2gp
Exotic Military Saddle 60gp
10 days of Feed 5sp
Fighter’s Kit 9gp
+1 Chain Shirt Barding 1,400gp
Saddle Bags 4gp
Cloak of Resistance +2 4000gp
Amulet of Natural Armor +1 or Ring of Sustenance 2,000 or 2500gp
Belt of Giant Strength +2 4,000gp

151gp Remaining

You may decide to take the amulet of natural armor for yourself or sacrifice it and soem other item
to throw an amulet of mighty fists on the mount.

Flying into High Level (Level 15, 240,000gp)

By this point armor class is less useful to you as defense as opposed to sheer mobility, devastating
offense, and having punishing attack of opportunity triggers available. You’re looking not so much
for direct upgrades for your gear but sidegrades that let you get higher bonuses than a straight
upgrade might. Punching damage reduction becomes more important than ever before and saving
throws all too often cripple you if you fail. Mount survival becomes slightly easier as party
spellcasters often have plenty of spare slots to spare into long term buffs for them.

Weapons and Armor

+2 Guardian or Defending Cestus 18,305gp
+4 Courageous Lance 50,310gp
+5 Mithral Light Fortification Jousting Kikko 11,880gp
Masterwork Sling 300gp
Bullets (20) 2sp
Cloak of Resistance +5 25000gp
Belt of Physical Might +4 40,000gp
Ring of Protection +3 18,000gp

Mount Gear
Bit and Bridle 2gp
Exotic Military Saddle 60gp
10 days of Feed 5sp
Fighter’s Kit 9gp
+3 Mithril Chain Shirt Barding 11,400gp
Saddle Bags 4gp
Cloak of Resistance +4 16000gp
Amulet of Natural Armor +1 or Ring of Sustenance 2,000 or 2500gp
Minotaur Belt 11,000gp

7603gp 3sp Remaining

By this point it may be prudent to dump the secondary weapon since you may rarely find need to
dismount. If you can continue to afford a bardiche or have a friendly cleric that can keep greater
magic weapon on it at all times keep it. The Minotaur belt is hugely helpful since it can save you
some feats and allow your mount to charge over odd terrain. The courageous lance is very useful
since it can boost your banner ability and the abilities of some orders as well. The remaining gold is
meant to cover personal proferences and consumables you might want or need.

AM CAVALIER (Level 20, 880,000gp)

You can’t create demiplanes, clone yourself a dozen times over,nor can you grossly affect the
narrative to the point where nothing less than GM fiat can keep you in check.

However by this point what you can do (depending on build) is one shot the tarrasque from almost a
mile out with a full attack, lead an entire army in one singularly devastating mounted charge. Your
only real weakness is your mount and your saves. So a lot of your gear will be dedicated to
ensuring that the mount can survive and thrive in an environment where reality warping spells and
world devastating full attacks are commonplace. Mobility is your greatest tool, and ridiculously
powerful charges

Weapons and Armor

+2 Guardian or Defending Cestus 18,305gp
+4 Courageous Lance 50,310gp
+5 Mithral Light Fortification Jousting Kikko 11,880gp
Masterwork Sling 300gp
Bullets (20) 2sp
Cloak of Resistance +5 25000gp
Belt of Physical Might +4 40,000gp
Ring of Protection +3 18,000gp

Mount Gear
Bit and Bridle 2gp
Exotic Military Saddle 60gp
10 days of Feed 5sp
Fighter’s Kit 9gp
+3 Mithril Chain Shirt Barding 11,400gp
Saddle Bags 4gp
Cloak of Resistance +4 16000gp
Amulet of Natural Armor +1 or Ring of Sustenance 2,000 or 2500gp
Minotaur Belt 11,000gp

7603gp 3sp Remaining