| Prime Requisite: | STR |
| Requirements: | CHA 9 |
| Hit Dice: | 1d8 |
| Maximum Level: | 14 |
Cavaliers are usually nobles or aristocrats, or part of an elite warrior caste or some religious military order. They are trained at mounted combat and a specific chivalric form of war, and are usually bound by codes of honor. The best cavaliers are inspiring leaders and heroes, but others can be equally black-hearted and vile, inspiring dread rather than awe.
Cavaliers receive extensive training in the arts of chivalric combat, but disdain engaging their opponents at range. They are trained in the use of all melee weapons (including thrown melee weapons) and armor, but not missile weapons. They may fight with a weapon and shield, a two-handed weapon, or a weapon in each hand. At first level, cavaliers hit an unarmored foe (AC 0) with an attack throw of 10+. They advance in attack throws and saving throws by two points every three levels of experience (as fighters). Cavaliers also increase their base damage roll from successful melee attacks by +1 at 1st level and by an additional +1 at 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 12th level. They may use any magic item usable by fighters.
Cavaliers are skilled at riding, and know how to handle horses under difficult circumstances and fight from horseback. This counts, for all purposes (such as the Manual of Arms proficiency) as the Riding proficiency.
At 3rd level (Esquire), a cavalier is so accustomed to armor that he can endure heavy loads, reducing effective encumberance by 2 stone for purposes of determining his movement rate.
At 5th level (Knight Bachelor), a cavalier's battlefield prowess inspires others to follow him. Any henchmen and mercenaries hired by the cavalier gain a +1 bonus to their morale score whenever he personally leads them. This bonus stacks with any modifiers from the cavalier's Charisma or proficiencies.
At 9th level (Banneret), a cavalier can build or be granted a castle and become a great leader of men. When he does so, up to 1d4+1×10 0-level mercenaries and 1d6 cavaliers of 1st – 3rd level will come to apply for jobs and training. If hired, they must be paid standard rates for mercenaries. Cavaliers' castles are otherwise identical to those of fighters, as detailed in the Campaign chapter of the ACKS Rulebook.
At 11th level, a cavalier is a great commander: when fighting on the battlefield as part of an army, the army automatically stands firm on its first morale roll, or rallies if it would have stood firm. If the cavalier routs, flees, or leads from the rear, the benefit is lost.
Cavalier Proficiency List: Alertness, Animal Husbandry, Animal Training, Beast Friendship, Blind Fighting, Combat Reflexes, Combat Trickery (Disarm, Force Back, Knock Down, Overrun, Sunder), Command, Diplomacy, Dungeon Bashing, Elven Bloodline, Endurance, Fighting Style, Intimidation, Leadership, Manual of Arms, Martial Training, Military Strategy, Siege Engineering, Signaling, Skirmishing, Theology, Wakefulness, Weapon Focus
| Experience | Title | Level | Hit Dice | Damage Bonus | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Horseman | 1 | 1d8 | +1 | |
| 2,300 | Armiger | 2 | 2d8 | +1 | |
| 4,600 | Esquire | 3 | 3d8 | +2 | |
| 9,200 | Knight Errant | 4 | 4d8 | +2 | |
| 18,500 | Knight Bachelor | 5 | 5d8 | +2 | |
| 37,000 | Cavalier | 6 | 6d8 | +3 | |
| 75,000 | Gallant | 7 | 7d8 | +3 | |
| 150,000 | Chevalier | 8 | 8d8 | +3 | |
| 270,000 | Banneret | 9 | 9d8 | +4 | |
| 390,000 | Banneret, 10th level | 10 | 9d8+2* | +4 | |
| 510,000 | Banneret, 11th level | 11 | 9d8+4* | +4 | |
| 630,000 | Banneret, 12th level | 12 | 9d8+6* | +5 | |
| 750,000 | Banneret, 13th level | 13 | 9d8+8* | +5 | |
| 870,000 | Lord Banneret | 14 | 9d8+10* | +5 | |
| * Hit point modifiers from Constitution are ignored | |||||
| Level | Petrification & Paralysis | Poison & Death | Blast & Breath | Staff & Wands | Spells | Attack Throw |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15+ | 14+ | 16+ | 16+ | 17+ | 10+ |
| 2–3 | 14+ | 13+ | 15+ | 15+ | 16+ | 9+ |
| 4 | 13+ | 12+ | 14+ | 14+ | 15+ | 8+ |
| 5–6 | 12+ | 11+ | 13+ | 13+ | 14+ | 7+ |
| 7 | 11+ | 10+ | 12+ | 12+ | 13+ | 6+ |
| 8–9 | 10+ | 9+ | 11+ | 11+ | 12+ | 5+ |
| 10 | 9+ | 8+ | 10+ | 10+ | 11+ | 4+ |
| 11–12 | 8+ | 7+ | 9+ | 9+ | 10+ | 3+ |
| 13 | 7+ | 6+ | 8+ | 8+ | 9+ | 2+ |
| 14 | 6+ | 5+ | 7+ | 7+ | 8+ | 1+ |
Created with Hit Dice Value 2, Fighting Value 2, traded off weapon selection (to Broad) and missile damage bonus for 2 custom powers.
If you wish to customize the Cavalier for a different culture, replace their weapon selection with 10 weapons of your choice. E.g. a samurai-style cavalier might be a master of composite bow, dagger, lance, longbow, pole arm, spear, short sword, shortbow, sword, two-handed sword, and might even have a missile damage bonus instead of a melee damage bonus.