trawling for ideas - Animal Partner and Personal Lieutenant

[Kerebrus]

So, our trusty Lancer is considering a few levels of Captain to flush out his character concept.  By default that means the introduction of a Personal Lieutenant.  As our party is already 7 players and said lancer's mount, adding in a Personal Lieutneant seems bulky and unwieldy.  So I came up with the notion of rolling the PL into the Animal Partner and having the Animal Partner be sentient (or, more accurately, acquiring a sentient mount).  But now I come to the problem of trying to figure out how to do it.  Just adding the XP value to the mount straight across would be too much (particularly in light of the second printing errata on the Beastmaster expert class), but there needs to be some sort of kicker, as the PL is the first level ability for the Captain.  Almost as if FC could stand to have an "Alternate Class Feature" possibility for level 1 of Captain.  Another thought / route / notion is to run through one level of Beastmaster for a more exotic Animal Partner to then promote to Personal Lieutenant.

Anyone here have other ideas?

[Krensky]

This isn't a general solution, but:

Go with the Personal Lieutenant, and have him rebuild his Animal Companion using the Beast type and counting both types of feats when determining XP.

[Golden Dragon]

This isn't a general solution, but:

Go with the Personal Lieutenant, and have him rebuild his Animal Companion using the Beast type and counting both types of feats when determining XP.

He probably also needs an extra 10 XP kicker for folding both companions into one.

[Blankbeard]

Another option you might take is to rebuild the animal companion as a personal lieutenant (change its type to beast, ect) and allow him to trade Animal Partner for another terrain feat. 

[Sletchman]

I'd see if the player was interested in swapping his Lancer core ability over for the Captains, and rebuild his mount as a Personal Lieutenant.  If he's not interested in that and is happy to roll them together I'd probably just let his Basic Combat count towards his Animal Partner [maybe Style too].

[Mister Andersen]

Just a note: it really should be "trawling for ideas"

[Sletchman]

Just a note: it really should be "trawling for ideas"

I don't know, I kinda like the idea that he'll flame our suggestions...

[EloiseCartwright]

Dictionary.com definition (one of them at least)

to fish for or in with a moving line, working the line up or down with a rod, as in fishing for pike, or trailing the line behind a slow-moving boat.

Seems pretty much interchangable to me, though my fishing knowledge is somewhat nil.

[Gentry]

Just a note: it really should be "trawling for ideas"

Oh, the Irony.   

[Sletchman]

Dictionary.com definition (one of them at least)

to fish for or in with a moving line, working the line up or down with a rod, as in fishing for pike, or trailing the line behind a slow-moving boat.

Seems pretty much interchangable to me, though my fishing knowledge is somewhat nil.

That is very cool, I had no idea.

[esoclectica]

Here is a suggestion, your horse turns white with blue eyes and changes type to Outsider.  You have an intense urge towards being honest and honorable.  You can now talk telepathically to your horse and you have a strong desire to visit Valdemar.

[Mister Andersen]

Here's another story option (around the 8.30 mark)

[mach1.9pants]

Just a note: it really should be "trawling for ideas"

Not quite but I doubt he wants to "flush out" his character concept, wouldn't have mentioned it if you hadn't fed the troll