Is it viable to replace mounts the way we replace equipment instead of using Beastmaster and similar feats?
I had a thought that if we had purchasable animals that didn't progress but could be replaced by a new and more powerful mount the same way we might replace a lesser bomb with a moderate bomb. I like the idea of not having to completely build a character around a mount if you have other feats in mind and aren't looking for the whole animal companion experience. That is to say taking beastmaster and other feats should do a lot more than save you money. Not having the literal investment in a mount should make it the worse mount but still one which will survive the first AoE in a combat (as opposed to a basic warhorse once you are level fighting a level 6 enemy. So, worse than an animal companion up to date on their feats (mature, incredible, specialized, etc) but a hell of a lot better than a level 2 warhorse. How realistic is this?
If you treated an animals "item level" to be 1 or 2 higher than the creatures level then should keep animals of PC strength out of the players hands and leave animal companions to remain more competitive than a purchased mount. I notice Advanced Animal companions will have level limits to true flight. Thats easy to replicate by leaving flying purchased options off the list till level appropriate with Advanced Animal companions.
On the other hand an animal companion is a simplistic version of a creature in its abilities and statblocks and I am thinking of just grabbing a monster from the MC. If you use a whole Giant Frilled Lizard profile for a mount, even if it is PL-2 is that to much? Also no idea how I would price these. Looking at Player Core page 295 ( and found on this link https://2e.aonprd.com/Animals.aspx ) Paizo really didn't add purchasable mount options beyond Warhorse. Is it to little to cost them at the same price as other "items" there level?
Thoughts?