Identity
Cavalrymen are Pilots in the old sense — riders, the kind who came up before the engines. The iconic Cavalryman is the Vanir lance-rider with a six-legged steppe-beast that has carried three generations of their family; the Aurelion solar-lancer on a heat-adapted predator; the frontier scout whose riding-cat sleeps at the foot of her bedroll and has killed two would-be raiders. Cavalrymen reject the cockpit-and-stick paradigm without rejecting the discipline of piloting. Their Bonded Vessel has opinions. They have learned to listen.
Features
- L3 Beast-Bond
Your Bonded Vessel is a riding-mount creature (Large or larger, GM-approved species). You and your Beast-Bond share a non-verbal mental link while within 1 mile of each other: you can communicate simple emotional states and short imperative commands (stay, follow, attack, hide) without speech, and you can pinpoint each other's exact location while linked. You gain proficiency in Animal Handling if you do not already have it, and you have advantage on all Animal Handling checks made with your Beast-Bond or with creatures of the same species. The Beast-Bond can be replaced if killed (a mourning period of one in-game tenday is recommended for narrative weight; mechanics permit replacement after a long rest).
- L7 Charging Lance
When you are mounted on your Beast-Bond and your mount moves at least 20 ft in a straight line toward a target before you attack, your first melee attack against that target on the same turn gains a +2 bonus to the attack roll and deals an additional 2d6 damage on a hit. If the target is Large or smaller, you can force them to make a Strength save (DC 8 + your proficiency bonus + your DEX or STR modifier, whichever is higher) or be knocked prone. The mount itself may also make a hoof, horn, claw, or tusk attack against the same target as a bonus action without using your action economy.
- L11 Mount-Aware
Your Beast-Bond is fully integrated into your combat rhythm. While mounted, your Beast-Bond shares your initiative count, acting on your turn rather than its own. The mount can take one action and one bonus action per round at your direction, in addition to its movement. You can dismount or remount as part of your movement at no additional movement cost, once per turn. Additionally, while you and your Beast-Bond are linked, you can use your reaction to grant your mount the benefit of a saving throw you just succeeded on, or vice versa.
- L15 Rallying Cry
Once per short rest, as a bonus action while mounted on your Beast-Bond, you can sound a rallying cry — a horn, a shout, a war-call, or the keening of your mount itself. All allies within 60 ft of you who can hear or sense the cry gain temporary HP equal to your Pilot level + your CHA or INT modifier (whichever is higher), and all mounts and allied beasts within 60 ft gain advantage on their next attack roll, saving throw, or check. Hostile beasts and untrained mounts within 60 ft must make a Wisdom save (DC 8 + your proficiency bonus + your CHA or INT modifier) or be frightened of you and your Beast-Bond until the end of your next turn.
- L18 The Legendary Partnership
Your Beast-Bond's mind sharpens in your presence. Once per long rest, as a bonus action, you can grant your Beast-Bond intellect-equivalence for 1 minute: during this time, your mount understands spoken language, can speak in short phrases (with whatever vocal apparatus it possesses; many species adapt with surprising readiness), and can take its own actions with tactical judgment, separate from your direction. The intellect-equivalence is a true awakening of latent capacity — the mount's INT score becomes 12 for the duration. When the minute ends, the mount returns to its normal cognition but retains a fragment of clarity; you gain a permanent +1 bonus to Animal Handling checks made with that specific Beast-Bond. The Beast-Bond may also remember some of what it understood.