| Coolheinze |
So why did I write this? Well, yes I know, there are other threads about the god … sorry, the paladin in this forum. They have, however, grown quite lengthy, and with this I hope to produce a brief, concise suggestion as to how to make paladins more balanced. Oh, and I also just had to get this out. Sorry.
Basically, the (in)famous paladin can be built in a way that exploits 3 broken features in PF: Bows for paladins, Smite Evil and Manyshot (OOH so broken on its own, but that’s another story).
The solution:
Smite Evil should only be allowed on melee attacks (have paladins become arrow-shooting pansies now??). If Smite Evil only applies to melee attacks, the monsters would get a chance to hit the paladin, she couldn't get full attacks from round one, and she'd have to consider wearing some armour and have decent hit points. Just like oh I don’t know, a REAL paladin? (note: I'm fully aware that paladins - broken or balanced - are not real)
Consider this build:
* Paladin (obviously) with standard class features, no funny stuff
* Composite long bow (+2 or something, no big deal)
* Manyshot (and thus also Rapid Shot and Point Blank Shot)
* Litany of Righteousness
* Improved Initiative (because you're worth it, and it works well with high dex for bows)
Seems harmless enough, right?
Well, not exactly... Suppose that the paladin is lvl 11 and normally deals a lousy 1d8+5 dam with her bow. Now, that's hardly impressive... or is it? Let’s put her up against the usual big bad guy and his grunts:
* First off, she gets a full attack right from the first round when using a bow
* She strikes first because of her high dex (for the bow) and Improved Initiative
* She smites the biggest enemy in sight
* She (obviously) hits the target with all 4 attacks (using both Manyshot and Rapid Shot, of course), since the enemy is flat-footed and she adds her cha bonus to attacks (and she's hot)
* This means that she averages 102.5 dam in the first round: 5 arrows X (11 smite + 1d8+5).
* In the second round, Litany of Righteousness adds a little flavour
* She then (assuming only attacks 1, 2 & 3 hit) AVERAGES 164 dam: 4 arrows X (11 smite +1d8+5) X 2 for Litany…
In other words: After the 2nd round she's managed to average 266.5 points of damage NOT including crits. Ouch. And it gets better!
An evil outsider, dragon or undead (i.e. the majority of the big badies):
* 1st round: 2 arrows X (22 smite + 1d8+5) + 3 arrows X (11 smite + 1d8+5) = 124.5
* 2nd round: 2 arrows X (22 smite +1d8+5) X 2 + 2 arrows X (11 smite +1d8+5) X 2 = 230
* Total: 354.5. With no damage reduction. Bloody mental that is.
The two problems, as you can see, are full attacks galore and damage re-doubling, i.e. the "exponential explosion" (of the demon's spleen, I imagine).
With the above-mentioned solution, though, example one would then be (still just 1d8+5 but now in melee):
* 1 attack X (11 smite + 1d8+5) = 20.5
* 2 attacks X (11 smite + 1d8+5) X 2 Litany = 82
* Total: 102.5, which still borders insanity after a mere two rounds on lvl 11
And example two (outsider/dragon/undead):
* 1 attack X (22 smite + 1d8+5) = 31.5
* 2 attacks: (22 smite + 1d8+5 + 11 smite + 1d8+5) X 2 Litany = 104
* Total: 135.5, which will take out most of the things, you encounter on lvl 11
Yes, she does spend a 2nd lvl spell, but she can do that twice per day, AND she gets a hefty attack bonus, AND the opponent gets neither damage reduction nor saves.
So there you have it. Perhaps only brief by Varsuvius’ standards, so salutations to you for reading this far.
Some people will point out that if you (GM) send BIIIIG evilies at a paladin, you're asking for having them one-shot, and that the paladin just does, what she does. To those people I say: It's just not funny for EVERYONE else, when the paladin kills the big demon before ANYONE else gets to take a swing. And that includes the demon (this actually happened with a ranged paladin in our party). So yes, paladins may rightfully BE that powerful in your mind, but this a GAME, which means that it has to be fun for all.
Am I insane? (definitely) Did I miss something? (probably that too)
Comments are most welcome.