[RPG] mount a T-Rex

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So, my character is a level 1 Primal Companion Hunter with a T-Rex Animal Companion that starts at Medium due to advancement and has a Str of 14. I want to fight mounted on this T-Rex starting at level 1, and I have taken Undersized Mount to do so.

For carrying capacity, he has a light load of 58 lb. I can triple that to 174 lb with a Scroll of Ant Haul, but with a 140 lb~ish weight for my character plus my gear, it doesn't seem enough.

I really don't want him to be encumbered, as I intend to fight with him. How can I make this work?

This question is for Pathfinder Society, so please, consider only RAW answers, and keep in mind any special PFS considerations.

Best Answer

A typical starting character just doesn't have the resources to meet this demand well for any meaningful length of time. The magical and monetary resources just aren't available yet. (For example, while both muleback cords cost 1,000 gp and a heavyload belt costs 2,000 gp—the least expensive options—can be worn by a typical biped animal companion, those magic item slots are unavailable to a Society PC's player-bound creature without a feat.) As a starting character, the choice—if your vision is so fixed—is, really, either get a bigger mount or play a littler character. (Also note that a Pathfinder human can weigh as little as 95 lbs. if female and 130 lbs. if male, so you can eke out a precious few more pounds by being short and skinny.)

…But you can just ride Rexy anyway

An animal companion tyrannosaurus only sees its speed reduced to 20 ft. if it's at medium encumbrance, and, while it suffers a −2 penalty to Armor Class if at heavy encumbrance, it still has a speed in combat of 20 ft. while bearing such a load. In other words, as long as you keep things light—keeping you and your gear under 178 lbs.—you can ride your more-than-lightly-encumbered T-rex into battle anyway… it'll just look even funnier when you do, as it strains under the comparatively massive bulk.

Further, for those times when the creature must move at full speed, on the hunter spell list is the spell longstrider that increases the mount's speed (due to the supernatural ability share spells) for 1 hour by +10 ft. Scrolls of the spell are a mere 25 gp (and subject to Society availability, of course).

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