Cavalier

Horses are the most common method of travel in Gristhaia other than feet. They can be ridden, or they can pull things with far greater speed, endurance, and power than most sentient races. Their relatively docile, herd nature lends itself well to domestication. When trained for battle, they can form a formidable ****, with power, mobility far greater than your standard foot soldier. Cavaliers are masters of mounted combat, and their equestrian talents make them an asset to any military ****.

Cavaliers are most at home when sitting atop the saddle of a horse. Not all cavaliers choose a horse as their mount, but exotic mounts are rare, and those with the capability to master such beasts are equally rare. The vast majority of cavaliers choose some form of horse as their special mount. These mounts are markedly superior to their regular counterparts and have an empathic link to their masters.

Cavaliers are experts of both single combat and unit tactics. Their position atop a mount makes it easier to give and communicate orders, as well as to call down challenges. A cavalier’s challenge allows them to deal more damaging blows, but distracts them from anything else that is not the target of their challenge.

While a Fighter, Warrior, or Barbarian may improve their martial prowess for its own sake, or for the sake of future victories, a cavalier often treats martial prowess as a means to an end. Whether or not their tendency to seek causes and uphold ideals is a high honor, or a waste of time is a source of long and heated debate. Cavaliers tend to stick to a set code of honor and behaviours that befit that of nobility. After all, most cavaliers have connections or origins from sponsoring noble houses that act as benefactors.

Someone has to foot the bill for the massive expense of a horse, stables, ferriers, equestrian training for the cavaliers, horse trainers and breeders, barding for the horses, and several other expenses and considerations. It is far easier to convince someone of the worth of such things if their justification for the spending seems far larger than the actual physical expense.

This is not to say that cavaliers are poor investments, as they often deliver value that is worth far more than the value invested. But the fact that keeping and maintaining any sizeable **** of cavaliers is a significant investment and expense cannot be denied, and is one of the reasons that only armies sponsored by generally wealthy states will sport cavaliers in any number.

When they aren't charging down a foe or mustering soldiers for the next bloodbath, cavaliers are regularly used as elite military couriers and correspondents, carrying urgent intelligence and information of the highest urgency, to the highest level of commanding officers. After all, there are some messages that are simply of an urgency and priority, that could never be trusted to a standard messenger.

Most cavaliers that seem to be adventuring, are usually on sanctioned quests that are sponsored by specific sponsors or benefactors. They often seek to complete tasks in the name of said sponsor, and favorable results are rewarded when yielded.

The few cavaliers who are Freelance adventurers will often garner a reaction to those nearby. After all, a regal cavalier riding by in his gleaming armor with his massive lance, could easily be the most eventful thing that the commoner farmer had seen this season. The reactions can also be negative, as local authorities may see their presence as a challenge or attempt at intimidation, and can be seen as dangerous interlopers.

The life of a cavalier can be as regulated or unrestricted as their superiors allow them to be. Just how long of a leash they are given varies from place to place. They can often be found wherever the nobility is present, and will be sure to shore up the offensive **** of any group they join.