Having a hard time finding traits useful to an antipaladin...


Advice


Are there any really must grab traits for antipaladins? I'm assuming there are no earthshattering ones like an extra use of Touch of Corruption or whatnot.

Thanks in advance for any help!


Is this for Way of the Wicked? If so then there was a trait giving bonuses against government officials..meaning just about anyone that's fought there all the paladins, every soldier, noble and so on.
Other than that most trats just fill in a class skill or saving throw. Nothing really special for antipals. Perhaps one of those traits that work when there are no allies nearby might come in useful. Antis aren't exactly social types.


This is a character that will potentially get to gestalt, and will most likely gestalt with Summoner, so right now I have my picks as:

Twinned Presence - get a +1 Intimidate trait bonus flat, and if your eidolon is within 30ft and bigger than you, use its size modifier for Intimidate checks you make instead of yours.

Reactionay - +2 trait bonus to Initiative. Planning on being an anvil/arm for our group, so high init is good.

Steel Skin - start play with a great helm, and gain +2 trait to Intimidate while wearing it with heavy armor. Very flavorful considering my concept, but do trait bonuses stack, and if we do gestalt, it could interfer with summoner spellcasting (unless I could somehow make heavy armor light and have it still count for the Intimidate bonus...)

Grand Lodge

prismaticsoul wrote:

This is a character that will potentially get to gestalt, and will most likely gestalt with Summoner, so right now I have my picks as:

Twinned Presence - get a +1 Intimidate trait bonus flat, and if your eidolon is within 30ft and bigger than you, use its size modifier for Intimidate checks you make instead of yours.

Reactionay - +2 trait bonus to Initiative. Planning on being an anvil/arm for our group, so high init is good.

Steel Skin - start play with a great helm, and gain +2 trait to Intimidate while wearing it with heavy armor. Very flavorful considering my concept, but do trait bonuses stack, and if we do gestalt, it could interfer with summoner spellcasting (unless I could somehow make heavy armor light and have it still count for the Intimidate bonus...)

Trait bonuses do not stack with other trait bonuses. So of your two intimidate trait bonuses, only the +2 will be useful since it overrides the +1.


I'd also love it if my character started off with more free equipment or resources, so I'm also thinking of Rich Parents and/or Chosen of Iomedae (do you get to keep the sword if you fall from the light?)

Dark Archive

Seeker is an amazing option for anybody who doesn't have Perception as a class skill. A free +4 to Perception? Yes please!


StDrake wrote:

Is this for Way of the Wicked? If so then there was a trait giving bonuses against government officials..meaning just about anyone that's fought there all the paladins, every soldier, noble and so on.

Other than that most trats just fill in a class skill or saving throw. Nothing really special for antipals. Perhaps one of those traits that work when there are no allies nearby might come in useful. Antis aren't exactly social types.

No its a home brew campaign. Dunno all the particulars even, but I like having my ideas fleshed out before I start bugging DMs. >.<


My character concept assuming we do a full gestalt is Golbez from Final Fantasy 4...complete with his eidolon eventually resembling a gigantic Shadow.


generally I would suggest the following re traits:

1) look at any traits which are campaign specific - typically as a GM I nearly require players to take these as they are often hooks into the campaign (and typically they are better than other traits due to this interaction with the campaign/adventure path etc)

2) consider traits that open up new options to your character. There are many traits that offer a small mechanical impact (but over time their value diminishes in many cases) but there are also traits that offer highly flavorful options and/or change how things work in ways that scale. Wisdom of the Flesh for example is a great trait for monks as it lets you use your Wis with a skill which is otherwise physical AND it makes that skill a class skill - meaning you can have a monk that his also great at say Disable Device. For an antipalidin Birthmark comes to mind potentially (a birthmark in the shape of your holy symbol - possibly if your story is you fell decide if you want this to be in the shape of your former god or your current god - and possibly consider a background where your birthmark actually reshaped itself as you fell?

3) look at racial traits for your race - many of them are pretty interesting and unique compared to other options (and occasionally they are stronger than many other options - there is a human/half-elf/half-ord only trait that lets you get a nice trait boost to will saves and get the starting languages of two ethnicities or races)

Mostly I would suggest looking for options that help you over time - Magical Knack for example could raise your effective caster level (after anti paladin level 4 as before then you don't have a caster level - this wouldn't give you additional spells to cast per day - but it would mean that your spell's durations are longer and some spells would be a bit more effective. Though many Paladin/antipaladin spells don't really depend on caster level all that much)

Remember as well that any ability that modifies the paladin's lay on hands ability will modify the anti paladin's touch of corruption ability.


Rycaut wrote:

generally I would suggest the following re traits:

1) look at any traits which are campaign specific - typically as a GM I nearly require players to take these as they are often hooks into the campaign (and typically they are better than other traits due to this interaction with the campaign/adventure path etc)

2) consider traits that open up new options to your character. There are many traits that offer a small mechanical impact (but over time their value diminishes in many cases) but there are also traits that offer highly flavorful options and/or change how things work in ways that scale. Wisdom of the Flesh for example is a great trait for monks as it lets you use your Wis with a skill which is otherwise physical AND it makes that skill a class skill - meaning you can have a monk that his also great at say Disable Device. For an antipalidin Birthmark comes to mind potentially (a birthmark in the shape of your holy symbol - possibly if your story is you fell decide if you want this to be in the shape of your former god or your current god - and possibly consider a background where your birthmark actually reshaped itself as you fell?

3) look at racial traits for your race - many of them are pretty interesting and unique compared to other options (and occasionally they are stronger than many other options - there is a human/half-elf/half-ord only trait that lets you get a nice trait boost to will saves and get the starting languages of two ethnicities or races)

Mostly I would suggest looking for options that help you over time - Magical Knack for example could raise your effective caster level (after anti paladin level 4 as before then you don't have a caster level - this wouldn't give you additional spells to cast per day - but it would mean that your spell's durations are longer and some spells would be a bit more effective. Though many Paladin/antipaladin spells don't really depend on caster level all that much)

Remember as well that any ability that modifies the paladin's lay on hands...

The only one I could find that mods LoH/ToC was the one that adds 1 point to the healing done by LoH, which I would guess means ToC would deal 1 more point of damage?

The Exchange

You might want to have a biped eid, so it can pass for a human and not draw unwanted attection.

If you're half orc take sacred tattoo alt racial trait, and Fate's favored as your trait. Rich parents and chosen of iomedae might be nice at lv 1, but wears off really quickly.


the more useful stuff for touch of corruption would likely be future magic items or feats that would otherwise apply to lay on hands (discuss with your GM however) - stuff like Bracers of the Merciful Knight are fantastic for regular Paladins (ups your effective Paladin level by 4 for the purpose of Lay on Hands both uses and effect and once a day adds lesser restoration (as a gm I might not let this one work for an anti paladin or I might make a variant that does work)


Just a Mort wrote:

You might want to have a biped eid, so it can pass for a human and not draw unwanted attection.

If you're half orc take sacred tattoo alt racial trait, and Fate's favored as your trait. Rich parents and chosen of iomedae might be nice at lv 1, but wears off really quickly.

Shadow usually won't be out, since I'm considering the Master Summoner Archetype (not to mention, in FF4, Shadow was only ever out once). Shadow comes out to toy and play with the character's enemies when he cockily thinks he's got the upper hand anyways.

As for race, I'm wanting to go either human, or possibly Dhampir (the ability to use ToC as a heal if really needed is quite strong, and dropping 3/day uses of detect undead to not be sensitive to light/daylight isn't a huge burden).

Sovereign Court

traits that make perception a class skill are always good. Perception is the most used and easily best skill in the game.

Silver Crusade Contributor

Even without half-orc, Fate's Favored goes very nicely with divine favor. :)

The Exchange

Heh. Matter of personal taste, but if I could gesalt summoner and anti pally, I would probably either ask the gm for a suit of black armor, dark as night (synthesist), with the symbol of my dark god on the helm (eidolon rune), or maybe I would make my eidolon a nightmare (checking with gm on how much room for mounted combat), or possibly my long lost twin brother who was killed sometime back by some pesky do-gooders (mirror image of me).

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