Paladin Build Advice


Advice


Greetings!

I am putting together a Chosen One Paladin for use in PFS, and wanted a little help with some available options as far as Feats and Traits, perhaps Alternate Racial Traits as well.

As it stands, I will be building a Half Orc to take advantage of Sacred Tattoo with the Fates Favored Trait. I will also be looking for ways to consistently buff with Divine Favor in combat. Is there a way to make casting Divine Favor a Swift Action?

Also, I want to take Fey Foundling to increase the effectiveness of his Lay on Hands. Are there any other ways to buff/increase this?

Thanks for your help!


Paladin are one of the best and the worst classes to play .
it more depend on YOUR role play and the way your DM is seeing lawful and good aspects.
it's really easy to find Dm's that hate paladin and try them out all the time , or players that think a paladin is a preacher.

i play a paladin now, but she lead bu example. not by telling others what to do.
paladin have very few feats, so one need to plan well if going a path of two weapon fighting or archery.

i love 1 big weapon (falchion or bardiche) and a very high charisma - both for saves and RP aspects.

what's your ability? level? is the game going to high end ? inside? outside?

my human took : Fey Foundling + power attack.
i got 22 point worth ability : 15, 10,14,10,13,17
Fey Foundling is amazing, it wont only add to your lay on hands - but also to heals received.
int of 13 is a must for unsanctioned knowledge - that add alot of options.

what do you like more? bond of a weapon ? or mount? as 1/2 orc you can get a flying dinosaur ... or a rhino.


for paladin I wouldn't worry or use divine favor. there's no easy way to get it as a swift, and using your standard for a +2, while pretty good, isn't worth not attacking.
This is from personal experience, I have a paladin, and I also have the trait for divine favor, I'm lv10 now and I think I've cast the spell about 5 times. Lasting only 1 minute ever makes it hard to have up before a fight, and vast majority you want to move and attack or move and ready an attack, or double move rather than casting a spell.


PFS Legal - 20 Point Buy

Half Orc
Lore Oracle (1)
Chosen One Paladin (x)

STR: 14
DEX: 10
CON: 14
INT: 10
WIS: 10
CHA: 18

- Considering Dumping WIS & DEX to raise STR and INT a bit.

Mystery: Sidestep Secret (CHA to AC Bonus and REFLEX Save)
Curse: Tongues (Speak Celestial in Combat)

Familiar: Thrush (speaks Celestial) Plus Bonus to Diplomacy

0 Level Oracle Spells: Create Water, Detect Magic, Light, Read Magic
1st Level Oracle Spells: Bless, Divine Favor

Alternate Racial Trait: Sacred Tattoo

Traits: Fates Favored & Magical Knack

Feat: Fey Foundling
Power Attack
?
?
?

Question regarding Magical Knack: It states you gain a +2 trait bonus to your caster level as long as it does not exceed your actual level. Does this mean that at 3rd level, I would act as a 3rd level Oracle in regard to spells known/spells per day?

Looking for advice on Feats which may increase the amount healed by Lay on Hands or increasing Luck bonus.


+1 for the Oracle dip. Sidestep Secret is amazing. Caveat: The Life Oracle's lifelink ability is also worth consideration. Assuming the group has another source of healing though, stick with Lore and sidestep will be your new best friend.

For curses though, I must recommend Legalistic.


If you are using CHA and possibly Dumping DEX, Noble Scion War for CHA to initiative works wonders. Tho you look pretty dead set on your Level 1 being Fey Foundling. Which is so over done I think 90% of all paladins are Foundlings.

I think you would be better off with a Wand of Bless than on your Spell List. They are so Cheap you can basically cast it at every door before you open it. Also Pages of Spell Knowledge can be handy for a few extra Level 1 spell choices. Endure Elements, Tap Inner Beauty (awesome for CHA builds), Unbreakable Heart, Entropic Shield, and Ant Haul.

Quote:
Question regarding Magical Knack: It states you gain a +2 trait bonus to your caster level as long as it does not exceed your actual level. Does this mean that at 3rd level, I would act as a 3rd level Oracle in regard to spells known/spells per day?

No, You do not gain more spell's known or casting....your CL will just be 3. Which basically means your "Buffs" last a bit longer. So you will be casting your Divine Favor for a +3 to attack and damage.

Do you need Light on your Oracle List? You have dark vision and Torches are dirt cheap. I recommend Enhanced Diplomacy cause it will most likely be your main skill.


While Legalistic looks interesting, it does not fit the RP flavor of my character.

Basically, he is a young man who was training as an Oracle and became lost in some way. Perhaps he suffered a bump on the head and when he awoke, there was a friendly Thrush speaking to him and offering him advice/purpose. He does not have specific memories of his prior life, just vague images. His Thrush trains him in the ways of the Paladin, teaching him to be better than he was.

I'm also looking for good choices of a diety: perhaps something Nature themed.


What is Noble War Scion?

I will google-Fu it!

So Magical Knack may not be the trait for me based on it not giving me access to additional spells. I figured it was to good to be true.

I can get rid of Light...but which book is Enhanced Diplomacy found in? Google-Fu again!


Noble War Scion is a feat i must take at 1st level, and as a Half Orc I get one, which will be Fey Foundling.

Enhanced Diplomacy is in a book I do not own, and for PFS play that's a no-no.


Krell44 wrote:

What is Noble War Scion?

I will google-Fu it!

So Magical Knack may not be the trait for me based on it not giving me access to additional spells. I figured it was to good to be true.

I can get rid of Light...but which book is Enhanced Diplomacy found in? Google-Fu again!

Noble Scion

Enhanced Diplomacy

Magical Knack can still be of Decent use to your Divine Favor spell. Because it increases at every 3 levels. So cast it and gain +2...+3 cause of fate's Favored. Which is not bad because it usually caps out at +3 anyways.


Krell44 wrote:

Noble War Scion is a feat i must take at 1st level, and as a Half Orc I get one, which will be Fey Foundling.

Enhanced Diplomacy is in a book I do not own, and for PFS play that's a no-no.

Actually on the Archives it says enhanced Diplo is PFS legal.

and Yes Fey Foundling is hard to give up...that is why 90% of ALL paladins pick it...the ones who don't either Don't know about it, don't have the book or refuse to follow the optimizer tend. But I find it funny how many Lawful Paladins are foundlings of Chaotic Fey


Louise Bishop wrote:
and Yes Fey Foundling is hard to give up...that is why 90% of ALL paladins pick it...the ones who don't either Don't know about it, don't have the book or refuse to follow the optimizer tend. But I find it funny how many Lawful Paladins are foundlings of Chaotic Fey

Refluffing is your friend and mine.


Athaleon wrote:
Louise Bishop wrote:
and Yes Fey Foundling is hard to give up...that is why 90% of ALL paladins pick it...the ones who don't either Don't know about it, don't have the book or refuse to follow the optimizer tend. But I find it funny how many Lawful Paladins are foundlings of Chaotic Fey
Refluffing is your friend and mine.

There is no Re fluffing to PFS.


The comment regarding PFS and not owning the book being a no-no, has nothing to do with legality. It has everything to do with the fact that you are not "supposed" to take anything out of a book you do not personally own (or have the watermarked pdf).


Krell44 wrote:

The comment regarding PFS and not owning the book being a no-no, has nothing to do with legality. It has everything to do with the fact that you are not "supposed" to take anything out of a book you do not personally own (or have the watermarked pdf).

I misunderstood you thinking you said you don't own the book and it is a no no as in not allowed. (Like leadership).

If you do not own the book I understand. You could always browse for a used copy for cheap or a cheap PDF.


Louise Bishop wrote:
Athaleon wrote:
Louise Bishop wrote:
and Yes Fey Foundling is hard to give up...that is why 90% of ALL paladins pick it...the ones who don't either Don't know about it, don't have the book or refuse to follow the optimizer tend. But I find it funny how many Lawful Paladins are foundlings of Chaotic Fey
Refluffing is your friend and mine.
There is no Re fluffing to PFS.

I never played in PFS but I wouldn't have guessed that they were so rigorous when it came to fluff as well.


By being raised by such chaotic and sometimes malicious beings of the fey these children grow to be opposed to such a life and embrace a life bound by law and good.

magical knack oracle will makes oracle spells last longer
magical knack paladin will make your paladin spells last longer


Paladins already have the best saves in the game and latter gain immunity to a number of things. Because of this taking Sacred Tattoo is not really all that good. A better idea would be to keep Orc Ferocity and at 3rd level take Ferocious Resolve to get full ferocity. Combine this with Fey Foundling and you have a character that is incredibly tough to take down. Essentially you have to be killed outright in order to be stopped.

Also STR should be your highest stat not CHA. Smite evil is great for damage, but it is a limited resources and does not work vs everything. Use a falchion as your weapon for the 18-20 critical hit and two handed damage. One you pick up power attack at 5th level your damage will be solid. At higher level you may want to consider picking up improved critical.

Instead of divine favor look at bless weapon especially once you get improved critical. Automatically confirming a critical hit vs and evil opponent is much better than a +3 to hit and damage. Bless weapon does not stack with keen but it does work with improved critical. With the Falchion that means you can have a 15-20 threat range that automatically confirms as long as you actually hit.

One thing to consider is if your AC is too high then you may have things avoiding you. You will probably be wearing heavy armor and paladins don’t really have any way to improve their movement. This means that you are not that hard to avoid. If the enemies don’t think they can hurt you they may just decide to go after something they can. By keeping your AC moderate and focusing on boosting your healing you can often trick them into attacking you. Sure you take damage, but you simply heal it as a swift action. The concept is often called the masochistic paladin.

You may also want on magical knack. From what I have heard it is not legal for PFS.


It's really hard to have too high of a save. I've had Paladins with decent stats still fail saves fairly regularly.


Usually when a paladin fails a saving throw it is a reflex spell. I am not saying that high saves are useless, but rather that the ability to stay functional at negative HP is better. Paladins are the only class that have useful in combat healing. If you invest a few feats like Fey Foundling and Greater Mercy by 10th level you are healing 30+ points of damage per turn. Being able to heal 1/3 of your HP as a swift action to me seems a lot better than getting a +2 luck bonus on all saves.

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