So, my husband is the DM (I'm only familiar with this term because I've known him forever) and I can't really ask him for help because it seems as though he expects me to know this stuff though I've just really started paying attention last week. Here goes...
This is my first campaign I've ever played in...I just reached 3rd level Paladin. I'm an Elf. (these at the suggestion of others in the campaign). I'm so confused and I need some outsider information to help me play my character better because even though I'm the newest player, my husband GM?DM? has decided that he fairly doles out XP and it doesn't matter how long you've been playing...
My awesome player...
STR 14
DEX 16
CON 10
INT 16
WIS 10
CHA 13
My feats, persuasiveness and alertness
Picked sickened for my mercy a couple days ago
Quite heavily armored chain mail with heavy steal shield, with AC 21, stacking ranks in Diplomacy, heal, ride, and spellcraft
Ok, so my needs...
Need to know how best to play a character because I feel completely out of place doing this...way out of my comfort zone (it's new)
How can I best help the party...human cleric, half elf ranger, human fighter, and elven smart dude with negative charisma who can cast the most outrageous things (I don't know what he is)
Explain to me please in my language (that would be English) what my smite evil and detect evil really does...IMO it's obvious and I shouldn't have to announce it, but I guess I do. Shouldn't I, as an LG character, be able to sense an evil person without have to use that ability?
Truly, I wouldn't be here if I didn't want help in understanding this. I want to enjoy the gaming more than I have in the previous weeks...and truthfully, I want to keep up with the others who started at the same time as me, but have way more XP than me.
Thank you!
Hi, I may not be able to help you 100 percent but here it goes.
Detect evil "detects" any person place or thing that is evil with in 60 ft. Smite evil, if it goes off it does alot of damage to an enemy until it dies. But it does not work if the enemy is not evil.
Basically take your D20 and Roll it and add you CHA mod which would be a +1 on your attack roll. Then take your paladin lv (lv 3) and add that to the damage roll. and you can use that once per day.
If the enemy is a evil outsider, dragon or zombie (Undead) it gets a +2 per level on first attack.
My first character was a paladin and I also picked persuasive. It does good. Also I would boost your STR and most importantly your CHA, You need CHA as a paladin. Hope this helps!
-MRblahface
Wait....they didn't help you build your character really and they don't hand out EXP evenly? How is it decided? Your husband just determines who gets what based on.....? I'm angry in principle that someone who wants to learn and play gets treated like this...ugh.
Your best bet might be using a Bow, actually. Getting a Composite Longbow that allows you to take advantage of your +2 Strength modifier to damage would be good. If you can rearrange your feats, getting Point Blank shot and precise shot would make you able to do some archery.
Detect Evil is like stopping in the doorway of a dark room and turning on the flashlight you have in your hand to look around for something specific
It isn't always on, but more of a deliberate "turning on and focusing" of whatever it is that lets your paladin sense evil (smell? aura? sound), rather than a constant radar "ping".
Hi,
welcome to the RPG hobby :)
In general there is nothing wrong about asking other players or the GM for help on use of character mechanics (like smite evil) or how to roleplay. But as the relation is beyond just the gaming group, I can somehow relate.
First off a short commentary on what happened so far:
Your gaming group suggested the paladin, on the one hand, he is easy to roleplay and a strong character, because he is one of the few classes (jobs) who has strict rules. (harm no innocents and so on)
On the other hand, exactly those strict rules are very debateble and can lead you into great problems. For example you have to choose between saving a child or the parents from flames and can't do both. Most GMs won't let such situation happen, but they can.
Here a little chat with your GM (husband) is nearly a must, ask him how strict he is with the paladin rules.
For your role in the party (usual roles: Cleric / Rogue / Fighter / Wizard) your party is already very well stuffed. The might lack some skills (diplomacy for example) but all in all, they have divine spells (cleric) arcane spells (your "smart dude" probably wizard). Is there someone who fights in front rank and takes the punches? The fighter for example, if he uses a shield. Or does he only think about offense?
Paladins roles are usually "tank" = taking punches in the front row, secondary healer = you help out when the cleric can't for whatever reason, and "party face" if people talk to your group, they talk to you.
Your role could be part tank, part party face, normally the classes the rest of your group has don't cover those that well. But you might talk to your party.
Detect Evil is like stopping in the doorway of a dark room and turning on the flashlight you have in your hand to look around for something specific
It isn't always on, but more of a deliberate "turning on and focusing" of whatever it is that lets your paladin sense evil (smell? aura? sound), rather than a constant radar "ping".
I like that analogy, but if you alter it a bit it makes even more sense.
It's like stepping into a dark room and turning on an ultraviolet light. certain things will glow spectacularly. In the case of paladins, evil will glow under their scrutiny.
I completely built my character by myself. I've asked him for help, but in his defense I think he doesn't want people to think I have an unfair advantage.
My weapon of choice is the Long Sword...I was good at building up my character based on my choice of Deity :) We somehow managed to find a +1 longsword along our journey and I can do some serious damage with it.
I've been reading the player's handbook and it looks as though I should be pouring some points into CHA (next level), but I'm really concerned about my lack of ability in WIS and CON? I look at the logistics in that I'm 131 years old and have no Wisdom...doesn't seem right to me.
Am I too realistic? How can I get my "real" self to get into character more so I can adapt to what's going on?
The way I view my character is that I want to be the first to take a hit (not necessarily the powerhouse of the campaign) because it's the right thing to do to protect others. Also, my idea is that I have to protect the cleric (our healing powerhouse) from going down and if they do it's my duty to save them so they can save us...is this along the right line of thinking?
The thing about Detect Evil is that it detects supernatural levels of evil, which is why it requires concentration. Ordinary evil (say, a low-level fighter who just likes to kill people) doesn't really register on the evil scale. On the other hand, a priest of any level that has dedicated himself to an evil god will ALWAYS register as some level of noticeable evil, even if they're only a novice. As a third level paladin, you should be aware that if your GM says that if you detect evil of moderate strength, you may be in for a real fight. If it's a priest or something like a demon, then it will be a priest of about your level, and that's fine. If it's a fighter, or a thief, or just an ordinary monster (not a demon), then it will have at least 11 Hit dice (which are the functional equivalent of levels), and it will kick your party's ass.
The smite ability is your secret weapon. If you are fighting an evil creature that you know is going to be tough (good example: dragons), then uncork this ability. It gives you your Charisma bonus as an added bonus on attack rolls, and your total paladin level as a bonus on damage rolls against that creature UNTIL IT IS DEAD. This ability lasts until the thing drops, so you can rely on it when you know the fight is important.
As far as why you can't just sense evil as a LG character, it is just the basic fact that people just can't do that. If we could, police officers would always catch murderers and the like and we could trust all CEO's because they would never be promoted if they were evil. In fact, the inability of ordinary mortals to just sense if their neighbor is evil or corrupt is one of the reasons paladins exist. It's your job to keep alert and actively look for the evil-doers. You are effectively a superhero in the eyes of the common man.
Good luck with the game, and I hope you find a groove for your paladin that you can really run with. My own wife and I have been playing together for almost 20 years, and it's absolutely the most rewarding experience. You know, other than the...you know...the OTHER thing.
Detect evil lets you sense if an entity before you has an evil alignment. It won't let you detect the evil from an evil act though, like a good or neutral person being tricked into murdering an innocent. Think of sense evil as a supernatural ability that can see through most obfuscation. Many good people thought the serial killer Ted Bundy was a good man, but he was only a good liar. Your paladin could sense this, despite Bundy's high bluff skill. Also, and I'm not knocking the game, rules like you have to state you're using an ability are there for balance and not because they necessarily make sense. These rules help keep this sense of balance so that no single class, in the long run, is neither more powerful or weaker than the other classes. Though if you browse the threads you'll see many who think differently.
In literary terms smite evil is akin to the champion of good calling out an evil doer in combat, with the paladin gaining bonuses from doing the righteous thing against an agent of evil.
I played a paladin in a campaign that ended about a month ago. I based how I acted, in a good part, on Captain Picard. As party roles go, Paladins often end up being the leaders. In combat they are excellent at supporting fighters in most battles and can become the big gun against the evil bosses.
For your abilites, intelligence is quite high, perhaps for roleplay reasons, or you might want to roleplay in that direction. The opposite is the case for wisdom.
Your build so far is not the "normal min- maxed" (those that want to be "reasonably" very poweful) version, which is nothing bad. Don't get into that race who did the most fine-tuning.
From your skills, your build you be frontman (with good perception) and partyface with good persuasion. Being a paladin alone often helps with the last one
With detect evil: flashlight and ultraviolet light are very good hints. Very low "level" people normally don't emit an aura of their alignement, that means if there is an "evil" farmer who once threw a tomato at his neighbour, you won't see him glow.
Smite Evil is something you announce when hitting someone (with your sword). Your divine link helps your damage when the ennemy is particularly evil in "race" (yeah RPG's are racist). Undead is normally quite easy to see, evil outsider you could make a knowledge check or ask your GM if someone is an evil outsider. They normally glow very bright when detect evil is active. Last but not least, evil aligned dragons, well if your paladin lvl 3 meets an evil aligned dragon, all your problem are gone.
If you have questions about certain techniques "how do I roll an attack" or whatnot, I would suggest first reading a bit more in the core Rulebook, but you are certainly welcome to ask here.
Oh and congrats for you high ability scores :)
P.S. if your group is very experienced, very tactical and try to optimize their characters, then you should ask them for help, because in such a setting, your paladin might be the child left behind.
Here is a link to the Paladin class to brush yourself up on. all of the abilities and such have links built in that will hopefully help you a bit.
I completely built my character by myself. I've asked him for help, but in his defense I think he doesn't want people to think I have an unfair advantage.
I've run a game with my own wife in it, so I can sympathize with your husband. :)
My weapon of choice is the Long Sword...I was good at building up my character based on my choice of Deity :) We somehow managed to find a +1 longsword along our journey and I can do some serious damage with it.
Good choice of weapon for a paladin. Very iconic, does decent damage.
I've been reading the player's handbook and it looks as though I should be pouring some points into CHA (next level), but I'm really concerned about my lack of ability in WIS and CON? I look at the logistics in that I'm 131 years old and have no Wisdom...doesn't seem right to me.
Yep, your only odd stat is CHA, and it's an important stat for a Paladin. So putting your 4th level stat bump into it is good. As to the wisdom and con, the con is going to hurt you if you want to protect the others, since it affects your hp. The WIS thing shouldn't bother you too much. I've met people who are 70 in real life and wouldn't know wisdom if it came up and hit them on the head with a cluebat. :) Your character's a paladin, they just have been letting their god do their thinking for them, rather than reasoning things out on the their own a bit too much for the last 30 years or so. :) Remember, 10 is average, so the paladin is no more foolish than the average farmer.
Am I too realistic? How can I get my "real" self to get into character more so I can adapt to what's going on?
Nope. Just need to remember, the rules of the game are the physics of that world. In that world's physics, elves just don't automatically become more wise in old age. Put it down to a bit too much fae in their blood. Nobody accused a fae of being wise. :) They're kind of flighty.
As to getting into the character, that takes a bit. If I might suggest, sit down when you have time and type up a background. Fill in the pieces of the character's life. Where was she born? Why did she become a paladin? Did she have brothers and sisters? If so, where are they? Does she have any children? If so, who's caring for them while she's out adventuring? What is her purpose in traveling the world instead of staying at home with her own people? Does she have hobbys? What's her favorite color? Favorite food? Has she ever been in love? Has she ever been sick? Ever come close to death before adventuring?
Once you've got the background written out, it'll help you get a real feel for the paladin, how she'll react in specific situations. That'll help you get your head into the character.
The way I view my character is that I want to be the first to take a hit (not necessarily the powerhouse of the campaign) because it's the right thing to do to protect others. Also, my idea is that I have to protect the cleric (our healing powerhouse) from going down and if they do it's my duty to save them so they can save us...is this along the right line of thinking?
Yep, you got it. Things you might want to think about for future are belts to help your CON, and maybe a headband to help your CHA or WIS (or both). Especially if you're going to be the 'face' of the group, the one who talks to people, the CHA boosting headband would help, and it would boost your cleric abilities as well.
Welcome to the gaming world, the forums, and enjoy your games! :)
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I've been reading the player's handbook and it looks as though I should be pouring some points into CHA (next level), but I'm really concerned about my lack of ability in WIS and CON? I look at the logistics in that I'm 131 years old and have no Wisdom...doesn't seem right to me…
The way I view my character is that I want to be the first to take a hit (not necessarily the powerhouse of the campaign) because it's the right thing to do to protect others. Also, my idea is that I have to protect the cleric (our healing powerhouse) from going down and if they do it's my duty to save them so they can save us...is this along the right line of thinking?
Well, if your Fighter is a powerhouse, then your instincts are right that you would be good as a protector. However, in this role you really would want a higher CON as that would provide you with more hit points (i.e., make you better able to take the poundings as you protect). Your high DEX is going to be mostly wasted if you’re going to be in heavy armor—at least from a protection standpoint. Perhaps you can appeal to the GM to swap those (if you’re so inclined)?
As far as your Wisdom is concerned, it stands at a 10, which isn’t bad. It’s average. First of all, elves age…differently…than humans, so they don’t necessarily mature the same rate humans do. Secondly, think of Wisdom as “common sense.” A lot of old people can grow old and have no common sense. :P As it stands, you have a 16 Intelligence, so you are very smart. Consider yourself more of an intellectual, and less of a common-sense type--more likely to analyze than to improvise.
I look at the logistics in that I'm 131 years old and have no Wisdom...doesn't seem right to me.
Also you are an elf, Elf's live a long time. Like around 350+ so an elf who's 131 years of age is probably maybe a "20" something so still kind of young. So you really didnt need the Wisdom. As a Paladin you need CHA,STR and CON, DEX and others help.
a little note on the "protect the healer" part.
The cleric is normally not the weakest link, the wise guy (smart dude) is. Also if you have a ranged warrior (ranger with bow perhaps) he is pretty vulnerable in melee too. The cleric isn't a melee machine, but normally he can hold himself.
But I guess you would decide in the fight itself to help where needed, and you'll see this yourself.
Protection might not be as you visualize it, you can't stand beside him an hold your shield where the blows come. You need a bit more proactive defense. Kill the monsters that try to attack the weaklings of your group. If your fighter is frontline, you stand beside him and make sure nobody rushes to the mage and perhaps make sure that he can still handle it. Try to attack once a round (or cast spells), just moving does normally nothing to gain the fight.
I've been reading the player's handbook and it looks as though I should be pouring some points into CHA (next level), but I'm really concerned about my lack of ability in WIS and CON? I look at the logistics in that I'm 131 years old and have no Wisdom...doesn't seem right to me.
Think about it like this. Wisdom in D&D/Pathfinder isn't necessarily about how worldly your character is. In real life, we would look at someone who is 100 years old and probably guess them to be very wise however that's because of all that they have experienced in their lifetimes. The game already has a mechanism for that in the form of XP (experience points), so don't confuse it with Wisdom.
Am I too realistic? How can I get my "real" self to get into character more so I can adapt to what's going on?
Here's how I always break-down the mental abilities so that they are easier to understand:
Wisdom = Mental Constitution: It is what helps you to persevere against mental assault. It helps you to accurately perceive your surroundings (including other people) as they actually are without being deceived.
Intelligence = Mental Dexterity: It is what helps you to jump thru logical hoops, helps to measure your degree of education (i.e. knowledge skills), and your ability to put-together facts to reach deductions (whether those facts were perceived thru your Wisdom or someone else's).
Taking into account the realistic upper-limits of human intelligence, and that 1st level characters can start with Int 18 to 20, I generally rate each point of intelligence as 5-pts of IQ with Int 10 being an IQ of 100. That would place the genius threshold (IQ 150) at Int 20. (IMO, I'd say Wisdom can also boost IQ, but that's a bit more complicated that I'd like to get into right now.)
Charisma = Mental Strength: It is quite literally the force of your character's personality, their personal magnetism, and that small spark of the the divine that shine thru them. Confidence, conviction, and the sense that you are a capable individual all can be attributed to charisma. In many games, it is also implied that good-looking characters also happen to have good charisma scores though most folks would agree it's not a 1-to-1 correlation.
The way I view my character is that I want to be the first to take a hit (not necessarily the powerhouse of the campaign) because it's the right thing to do to protect others. Also, my idea is that I have to protect the cleric (our healing powerhouse) from going down and if they do it's my duty to save them so they can save us...is this along the right line of thinking?
Here's how I'd relate my view of the mental ability scores to what you've described of your paladin. This isn't meant to dictate anything to you, so much as an example of how you can interpret the numbers to make them 'real' for you...
Wisdom = kind but naive: I'd suggest that while they are morally upright, they are perhaps a bit naive about the goodness and wickedness in others. If optimistic like your seems to be, I could see them giving coin to a beggar thinking he'll buy food not at all suspecting that he's likely to just buy booze instead. Were the paladin a pessimist, they might instead only tithe to the church because they doubt the scruples of others.
Intelligence = well-educated: With a 16 Int, I'd say your Paladin is clearly well-educated. Perhaps they come from an established order of knights that believe that to be just one must also develop their sense of reason in addition to their strength of arms.
Charisma = unrealized potential: So your paladin's charisma is 'only' 13? Compared to the human farmers living in that village nearby, they would still come across as quite eloquent. Good-natured folk would probably find them easy to trust, while those with less scruples might think twice about messing with them. Still, compared to the other members of their order, perhaps your paladin was a bit more shy and reserved. Perhaps all their life they've been regaled at what potential they have, but they are still getting a grasp on what that means.
Hope this helps!
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A good example of a high-charisma, but unattractive individual is either Steve Buscemi (the actor, he's a really good actor and I like his works, but he's unambiguously ugly) or any high-order undead you will find in the game.
Personally, I would ask the party why your character's charisma is so low, it's a key stat for a paladin.
Just about everything paladins have is based on charisma in some form or another: Lay on Hands (times/day), Smite Evil (+hit and +AC), Spells (saving throws, number of spells, and if you don't put at least 1 more point into it you can't cast your highest level spells), Divine Grace (entire bonus based on charisma), and Channel Positive Energy (which is basically the same as Lay on Hands only it cost 2 Lay on Hands for 1 Channel Positive Energy).
Elves in fiction tend to be very old, and somewhat slow to act, as they usually deliberate amongst themselves, but they inevitably act, those actions sometimes prove to be impressively foolish. Wisdom doesn't come naturally to Elves like it does Dwarves and some humans. Look at Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, in the movie, the elves sent that tiny company of archers to help fend off that giant Uruk-Hai army, something that they should have, and potentially could have, sent a much larger force to deal with. That's fairly foolish. The other type of Elves are ones you usually can't argue with, even if they are wrong, because Elves in those books are allowed to get away with whatever they blood-well please.
This situation just seems a bit messed up. Your DM refuses to help you understand the game, your fellow players suggest a particularly bad race/class combination for no roleplay-apparent reason, nobody veteran helps you (a total newbie) to make your PC, and you're behind in XP? I'm not sure if it helps any or makes it worse, but I've rarely seen any new player treated that badly, DM's wife or not. Honestly, if this were just some group you'd just joined I'd probably tell you to drop them and look for some group willing to work with you. I'm almost tempted to tell you this, anyway. Instead, I'll tell you this: tell your husband that it isn't favoritism to make sure that players understand the game, that that is part of his job as DM.
One of the most important things in Pathfinder is the concept of different types of actions, which you can read about here. To simplify, you have during your turn:
1 "move action"
1 "standard action"
1 "swift action"
a reasonable number of "free" actions.
You can trade in your standard action to get two move actions, or you can use both for a "full round" action, usually a "Full Attack." (A full attack will let you attack more than once, after you reach 6th level or if you use Two Weapon Fighting.)
The reason why you can't just tell whether something is evil or not is because using that ability costs you a move action, and you have to decide whether you want to use a move action for that, and tell the DM during your turn. So, if you see a monster you haven't seen before, you have to decide whether you want to walk up (a move action) and attack (a standard action), OR if you want to determine if it's evil (a move action), and then do something else as a standard action (like ready an action to attack the monster if it moves close enough to you.)
As to your character, I'm assuming he'd be uncomfortable letting you swap stats at this point, so we'll work with what you have.
You have a 16 Dex, which gives you a modifier of +3. You really want all that to factor into your Armor Class, so check the table in the book or here and check the "Maximum Dex Bonus" column. Note that the Max dex bonus for Chainmail is +2, meaning that you're currently wasting a point. You should make a note to switch to a breastplate when you can, since it has the same Armor Bonus but will allow you to use your dexterity fully.
Later, your dex would allow you to qualify for Two-Weapon Fighting, which would make it easy for you hit things with your shield as well. (Though you'd also want to pick up "Improved Shield Bash" to keep your AC from the shield while hitting things.) Two Weapon Fighting isn't totally optimal, but it's a lot of fun to roll lots of dice. Also, your relatively low strength and high dexterity, combined with the fact that you'll get extra damage PER HIT on your smites mean that it could work pretty well for you. I'd take Two Weapon Fighting at 5th level and Improved Shield Bash at 7th.
Basically, your "job" in the party is going to be doing support damage and emergency melee healing. You're going to help out the fighter and possibly the cleric and ranger by being up in the front lines. Your low Constitution is sad, but you'll be able to heal yourself as a swift action (which means that you can do it AND full attack or attack once and move) or heal somebody else who really needs it as a standard action (which means that you can move, and heal them). That's really, really nice. The other major "job" you have is more fun -- that's your Smite Evil. You can only do that once a day at this level, so you probably want to spend that move action and determine whether your target is evil, so that you don't waste it, and, as other people have said, you want to raise your Charisma when you can, so that you get a better bonus from your smites. Note that declaring the target of your Smite Evil is a swift action. Using your Lay on Hands ability on yourself is ALSO a swift action, which means you can't do them both in the same turn.
My feats, persuasiveness and alertness
...
stacking ranks in Diplomacy, heal, ride, and spellcraft
Perception, too, right? You have a high Int so you should have five skill ranks per level (3 from Int, 2 from class). Your wisdom doesn't give you a bonus and it isn't a class skill, but your +2 from Alertness and +2 from Elven Keen Senses should help keep you from being too far behind, and it's an incredibly useful skill. I'd probably even drop Spellcraft for it.
Ok, so my needs...
Need to know how best to play a character because I feel completely out of place doing this...way out of my comfort zone (it's new)
How can I best help the party...human cleric, half elf ranger, human fighter, and elven smart dude with negative charisma who can cast the most outrageous things (I don't know what he is)
Explain to me please in my language (that would be English) what my smite evil and detect evil really does...IMO it's obvious and I shouldn't have to announce it, but I guess I do. Shouldn't I, as an LG character, be able to sense an evil person without have to use that ability?Truly, I wouldn't be here if I didn't want help in understanding this. I want to enjoy the gaming more than I have in the previous weeks...and truthfully, I want to keep up with the others who started at the same time as me, but have way more XP than me.
Thank you!
First and foremost Welcome! :D
This is all gunna be out of order and some people have covered it already.
1) The DM should be willing to answer questions about mechanics and specifics. This will give you feedback on how to build your Character. However, there is something to be said for learning away from the nest so to speak.
2) Your stats are fine. You have made a quirky and (hopefully) memorable Paladin.
3) Skills. With your high intelligence you are the oddly skill-monkey paladin. Look at the skills you have and also Sense Motive, Knowledge (Religion) and Knowledge (Nobility). With just one rank in either Knowledge you would net a +7 to the roll! One rank in Sense Motive would get you a decent +4. If you did not know you are also allowed to choose at each level either +1 Skill Point, or +1 Hit Point. Due to your fairly low Constitution I would *highly* recommend the bonus Hit Point!
4) Alignment. (Beware the Alignment debate! lol) Each creature has an alignment as a reflection of their behavior, attitudes, demeanor, etc. Being this Alignment or that Alignment gives you no benefit or special perk; it is simply what the character is. However, Alignment is also a real and palpable thing in Pathfinder/D&D. Also, it is not an absolute: a Chaotic Evil villain may do something 'good' or 'lawful' from time to time, and a hero may stoop to unseemly deeds. There are certain spells and abilities that key on, or only affect certain alignments, like your Detect Evil. When you activate it, you can sense Evil Creatures in range, but that's it. You know the Goblin is Evil, you know the mugger in the alley is Evil. When you use it on the town Magistrate, you hope he isn't Evil!
5) Smite Evil. Assuming that you understand the basics of Combat (Roll to hit against the targets AC and then roll damage) simply add +1 to hit and +3 to damage when you declare a Smite Evil. The target of your Smite Evil suffers your wrath until either it dies or you rest. When you get to 4th Level and add that point of CHA, your numbers will shift to +2 to hit (CHA Mod) and +4 to Damage (Level).
6) Old Elves and being not-so-worldly-wise: Elves tend to grow up out of touch with the rest of the world. The generally live shelterd, sequestered lives in thier own cities and forests. The pace of their lives is such that they never push to learn much, at least not in a hurried manner. If that doesn't feel right to you, there is a feat in the Advanced Player's Guide that may interest you: Breadth of Experience and it allows you to add +2 to all Knowledge and Profession checks, even if you are untrained in that skill! (normally, you must have at least one rank in a Knowledge or Profession to even try rolling against it)
7) XP? How does the DM dole it out? By specific actions, or some other method? If he does not give it out evenly (in my experience (sorry, pun) that is the best way) ask what you have to do to earn a full share. Again, the DM may not be obligated to build your Character, but he *is* obligated to answer honestly and accurately all game rule/mechanics oriented questions.
8) How can you best help the party? Just be there :) Listen to the story and give your feedback. In fights, be brave and resolute-the Tower Of Strength the party can rely on to help them win the day :)
And, remember, it's a game, enjoy it :)
GNOME
*edit to dampen Wall Of Text Effect
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I have no idea why you would be behind on XP.
According to the rules XP is doled out equally to everyone who participates in an encounter, so unless you have been wandering off from the rest of the group you should be equal.
Awarding Experience
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game characters advance in level by defeating monsters, overcoming challenges, and completing adventures—in so doing, they earn experience points (XP for short). Although you can award experience points as soon as a challenge is overcome, this can quickly disrupt the flow of game play. It's easier to simply award experience points at the end of a game session—that way, if a character earns enough XP to gain a level, he won't disrupt the game while he levels up his character. He can instead take the time between game sessions to do that.Keep a list of the CRs of all the monsters, traps, obstacles, and roleplaying encounters the PCs overcome. At the end of each session, award XP to each PC that participated. Each monster, trap, and obstacle awards a set amount of XP, as determined by its CR, regardless of the level of the party in relation to the challenge, although you should never bother awarding XP for challenges that have a CR of 10 or more lower than the APL. Pure roleplaying encounters generally have a CR equal to the average level of the party (although particularly easy or difficult roleplaying encounters might be one higher or lower). There are two methods for awarding XP. While one is more exact, it requires a calculator for ease of use. The other is slightly more abstract.
Exact XP: Once the game session is over, take your list of defeated CR numbers and look up the value of each CR on Table: Experience Point Awards under the “Total XP” column. Add up the XP values for each CR and then divide this total by the number of characters—each character earns an amount of XP equal to this number.
Abstract XP: Simply add up the individual XP awards listed for a group of the appropriate size. In this case, the division is done for you—you need only total up all the awards to determine how many XP to award to each PC.
Story Awards: Feel free to award Story Awards when players conclude a major storyline or make an important accomplishment. These awards should be worth double the amount of experience points for a CR equal to the APL. Particularly long or difficult story arcs might award even more, at your discretion as GM.
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Elven Paladin...interesting and memorable! Did you take Iomadae as the diety?
Personally I love playing Paladins, I love the aspect of the Holy Warrior of Justice and serenity. Your stats are just fine! I definitely would bump up Cha when you get a chance, not just for the skills (Diplomacy you mentioned dumping into) but for the Smite Evil.
The analogy of DE as a flashlight I think was PERFECT!
And as for the role, I think you got it down as the protector. But as others have already mentioned (expecially with taking so much to diplomacy) you should expect to be the face for the party.
For the roleplaying situations you may not want to focus to hard on main protector for the Cleric. Look at it this way, his faith (Deity) grants him great gifts (spells) to defend himself and help others. You also gain these great gifts; more so to vanquish the evil that lives in the realm! So perhaps in protecting the others you garner chances to show them that strength of faith and purpose (LG alignment) is a good a thing and a welcome addition to any adventuring group!
Don't worry about your Wis score, it's average and that's just fine. In terms for roleplay: You may not have the wisdom to avoid situations but your intentions are in the right place. "What better place to gather wisdom than from prayers. For none are wiser than the gods themselves."
If I could go back in time 20 years and give myself one piece of advice on being a good player, it's this:
Don't take damage seriously. Learn to enjoy being the one who gets hit, especially for a warrior class like paladin. New players are sometimes pouty when things don't go their way, but the most fun part of the game is risk.
Same if your character dies. Try to view if as a dramatic tragedy, and note that it is the possibility of death that makes it great when characters live. Feel free to get attached to characters, but get attached to their mortality as well.
If you can do this, you will enjoy the game more and you will be well-liked as a player.
Didn't see if this was mentioned, but in regards to the average Constitution...
One of the advantages you have as a paladin is that paladins can heal themselves with lay on hands as a swift action. So if you take a particularly brutal hit, on your turn you can gain back some HP and still have an attack and move action at the ready. This will help cover not having bonus HP from constitution to a certain degree.
As for how to help the party, blocking enemies from getting to your spellcasters is usually job number 1. Your spellcasters tend to have less hit points, and they don't want to have to cast spells when being attacked. That said, your cleric will probably be able to keep your HP up, so keep your lay on hands for when the cleric is unable to get to you, or if you can clear a condition, such as sickened, on a party member. Talk with your cleric's player about coordinating your healing.
With your detect evil ability, you can identify threats before your party encounters them, by using DE to find enemies through doors, in the dark, etc. Stone tends to block DE but wooden doors and ceilings/floors not so much.
Good luck, I hope you enjoy playing, and you can always come to the forums if you have questions. People here, 99% of the time, want the hobbie to thrive, and try to be as helpful as possible.
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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I think people have been giving pretty good advice on this thread. I'd like to second threemilechild's idea of upgrading to Breastplate when you get a chance. As he said, it has the same armour bonus, but allows you to fully use your Dexterity, which means that your total Armor Class (how hard you are to hit) will go up by a point.
Regarding Intelligence vs. Wisdom, a great analogy that I like to use is this: "Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is actually a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in fruit salad." Remember that your character's Wisdom is still average, so you're not stupid. Perhaps your character is easily distracted, or focuses more on details rather than trying to understand the whole picture.
In terms of getting in character, it does take some practice. The most important point is to avoid feeling self-conscious and just have fun. One technique that I like to use is to give my characters an accent. This helps me get in the right frame of mind for a given character, and it also makes it easy for the other players to tell if I am saying something "in character" or "out of character." (That is, whether my character is the one speaking, or whether I as a player am saying something.)
You might also try to engage the other players with in-character conversations to try and get a better feel for your character. The cleric in the party might be a good choice for this. Do you worship the same deity? If so, do you have different opinions about certain parts of the faith? If not, what do your religions have in common or different? I'm not suggesting that you get into an argument, but some lively discussion is usually a good thing :-)
It seems like you have the basic idea down in terms of how to play a Paladin. Protecting others is pretty fundamental to how they work. I agree with others that the "smart dude" is probably more vulnerable than the cleric, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't protect the Cleric as well.
Good luck, and happy gaming!
I completely built my character by myself. I've asked him for help, but in his defense I think he doesn't want people to think I have an unfair advantage.
That's understandable.
My weapon of choice is the Long Sword...I was good at building up my character based on my choice of Deity :) We somehow managed to find a +1 longsword along our journey and I can do some serious damage with it.
That's awesome. I'd suggest a morningstar to use as a back-up (some creatures don't take much damage from slashing weapons), giving you bludgeoning and piercing damage when you need it. Carry a dagger, too (I imagine you already do), in case something swallows you.
I've been reading the player's handbook and it looks as though I should be pouring some points into CHA (next level), but I'm really concerned about my lack of ability in WIS and CON? I look at the logistics in that I'm 131 years old and have no Wisdom...doesn't seem right to me.
Wis is important for will saves, but the pally gets good saves for that, so it's not a big concern. For con, you might want to take the toughness feat, and put your favored class bonus into hit points. That's 2 more hp/level. You get good fortitude saves, so again, it's not as bad for you as say, the wizard. You definitely want to raise your cha. You need a 14 to get all your spells.
Am I too realistic? How can I get my "real" self to get into character more so I can adapt to what's going on?
Pallies are sticklers for "doing the right thing." They respect the law, and they love to save babies from marauding goblins. Use your deity's "code" as a guideline. You are a protector of all that's good and just in the world. Look for opportunities to be persuasive, and don't be afraid to protect your friends from the baddies.
The way I view my character is that I want to be the first to take a hit (not necessarily the powerhouse of the campaign) because it's the right thing to do to protect others. Also, my idea is that I have to protect the cleric (our healing powerhouse) from going down and if they do it's my duty to save them so they can save us...is this along the right line of thinking?
Yes, you want to protect the cleric, and any other casters in your crew. Don't be afraid to mix it up with the other fighter-types in combat, especially against evil enemies. Smite is awesome.
Try to "fill out" your character: Your quirks, how you look, talk, etc. As you play her, you'll get a better idea of what motivates her and how she wants to do things. I think you'll enjoy it! Remember, the whole point of the game is to have a good time.
I've probably repeated a lot of advice already given here. Take it as you like, and have fun with it!
#1 thing to remember while playing a paladin:
You have a code of honor you have to follow as well as the Lawful Good alignment.
These need to be used in tandem, for there are things one could rationalize as being "ok" with one that is not allowed by the other.
As long as you err on the side of compassion or fair play, you should be fine :)
I hope you enjoy my favorite game!
Why is the xp off? The most common reasons for individual xp bonuses is rewards for roleplay and extra work. Are the other players drawing up pictures or writing journals from the perspective of their characters or using strange accents or phrases when they speak in-character (IC, from the perspective of the character).
The best part of RPGs is the characters, if it's all about the statistics and numbers then any video game does the job better. As others have said, figure out what sort of person your character is, and if you don't like the idea of being them for a few hours a week, see if you can retire them and pick a personality & powers that is fun to make-believe. Giving your char a back story, catch phrases (make up fun nonsense words and claim it's elvish for whatever), and getting involved with conversations, allow yourself to become emotionally engaged with the characters, get to know them, and you'll be catching up on xp. Follow the other elf player's lead on elf culture stuff. Roleplaying is improv acting light (very light in some groups) and game second, so better to banter and riff of each other, go with the flow, since playing a loner or antagonist is tough to do without ruining the fun.
Again as others said, your stats tell the story of a sheltered or naive young adult, whose principles have led them to seek adventure, to protect the helplesss and/or smite the wicked. You're intellectual and graceful and precise, but injustice and evil brings out your righteous wrath. Instead of having to sigh & shrug like in real life, when you see someone being a bastard you can open up some whupass on them.
As far as class abilities, you turn on detect evil when you want to know if supernatural evil creatures or objects are around, and smite evil when it's time to turn a real scumbag into paste. At low levels it's good to spread your skill points around, get at least 1 rank into everything you think she (your char) should be able to do or know, then go back and put more ranks into the stuff you want to be great at. Your feat choices are both skill stuff, which I usually advise avoiding unless you want to be an indisputed master at that stuff, so don't skimp on the skill ranks those feats are supporting.
Stand between bad stuff and their nasty goals, and when they can't put you down (lay on hands yourself is very swift), put them down hard. You probably want combat reflexes, possibly stand still, or the new bodyguard line of feats if it looks like your party needs one, otherwise possibly the two weapon fighting and shield bash lines to make better effect of that 10 lbs of steel on your other arm.
Apologies in advance if I repeat something someone else has said.
So, my husband is the DM (I'm only familiar with this term because I've known him forever) and I can't really ask him for help because it seems as though he expects me to know this stuff though I've just really started paying attention last week.
Suggestion off the bat: I understand why you are uncomfortable talking to your husband. But: are you friends with the other folks in the group? Would you be comfortable asking a player--maybe having a chat over coffee or via email--for some help?
The reason why I say this is because every group and GM has a somewhat unique play style. What works in my group or Bob's group or Sally's group may not work in yours. The best feedback you are going to get are from experienced folk in your own group.
Remember, every gamer was a newb once--if someone gives you a hard time because you're learning, then they're a jerk. Don't be afraid to request assistance from the very best people who can give you the very best help.
That said, and I think the above is the best advice I can give, my 2 cents on the rest:
This is my first campaign I've ever played in...I just reached 3rd level Paladin. I'm an Elf. (these at the suggestion of others in the campaign).
Did you want to play this character? Are you having fun playing this character? Playing a character you've essentially been handed may not be the best way to start... but if you're stuck with what you've got and want to make the best of it, here's rule 1:
Have fun with it. Come up with a backstory and a personality and run with it. Absolutely you need to learn the rules of your character and it's very good that you are paying attention to this---but the most important thing is to be playing a character you truly enjoy. Usually if you're having fun, the rules come to you more intuitively as you keep playing.
My awesome player...
STR 14
DEX 16
CON 10
INT 16
WIS 10
CHA 13My feats, persuasiveness and alertness
Picked sickened for my mercy a couple days ago
Quite heavily armored chain mail with heavy steal shield, with AC 21, stacking ranks in Diplomacy, heal, ride, and spellcraft
So you look like you're pretty good at melee, and better at ranged attacks. You're actually moderately armored--but that's a good place to be at your level.
You're smarter than the average paladin, but personally, I like to see characters outside the box. You have more skill points than most paladins, and you've set yourself up well to be a "party face"--i.e., the person who does the talking for the party. You can both charm NPCs with your Diplomacy, and figure out what they want with Sense Motive.
Suggestions for future skills: Since you have chosen feats that enhance Diplomacy, Intimidate, Perception, and Sense Motive, start putting ranks into those skills (especially since the boost you get from your feats will go up when you get at least 6 ranks in them). And when you guys talk to NPCs, really play up both your conversational and perceptive abilities.
Especially since you have that boost to Intimidate from Persuasive, build that up, because you can do a cool thing in combat called Demoralize (read about it in the Skill section of the core rules) which I bet your paladin would be good at--it makes an enemy shaken (they take a -2 to a bunch of things). If you find a combat where just hitting something isn't enough, that gives you another choice.
Ride DCs are low so you can probably stop putting ranks in them now (but it's good that you did it to start with, especially if you decide to take a mount at 4th level). Especially since you have such a good Dexterity.
I would definitely boost that Charisma at 4th level--it will improve your paladinly abilities and also enhance your social abilities even more. In fact, I'd suggest keeping building your Charisma every time you level--your other stats are pretty solid. Others may suggest boosting Strength.
Need to know how best to play a character because I feel completely out of place doing this...way out of my comfort zone (it's new)
How can I best help the party...human cleric, half elf ranger, human fighter, and elven smart dude with negative charisma who can cast the most outrageous things (I don't know what he is)
This is where we go back to--ask your fellow players. You're going to be working out your tactics with them, not us. We have no idea how they fight or what they try to do.
If the other warrior types are meleeers, I would suggest considering using ranged combat with a longbow more (maybe swap your heavy shield for a buckler--will lower your AC till you can get an enchanted one, but you can wield it and still use a bow). You could also "switch hit" pretty well with your character (go between ranged and melee depending on what's needed).
Staying by the cleric IS a good idea--as is by the elf smart guy who is probably a wizard or something similar. If the other warriors are diving into combat, hanging by the casters and shooting with a bow--ready to switch to melee if somebody comes close to you--could be a good strategy---but again, talk to your fellow players about it and find out what they need from you--and you from them!
Explain to me please in my language (that would be English) what my smite evil and detect evil really does...IMO it's obvious and I shouldn't have to announce it, but I guess I do. Shouldn't I, as an LG character, be able to sense an evil person without have to use that ability?
Your alignment--Lawful Good--is a guideline for your roleplaying, nothing more. Alignment by itself does not give you any abilities, it's a roleplaying tool. No one, of any alignment, can "sense" someone of another alignment without any special abilities. (You can use the Sense Motive skill to sense if someone is hostile, but that is not the same as sensing someone's alignment.) All alignment does is describe how YOU generally behave.
It's hard I'm sure as a new-to-the-game paladin player because paladins are the epitome of Lawful Good behavior. They really are a manifestation OF being lawful good so it's hard to remember the difference between the roleplaying guideline and the abilities the paladin has, but really, they are quite separate (if related) things.
Detect Evil represents your paladinly, holy warrior ability to, indeed, sense evil. You do have to "activate" the ability though, because it requires concentration. When you concentrate, you will first notice if there is any evil in the area--at first, you just know generally that it's there, not who it is. The longer you focus, the more you can pinpoint who is evil--they will be shining with an evil aura. Read the description of the ability in the rulebook a few times over to understand how it's done.
And a very whimsical, but fairly accurate, portrayal of how a Paladin's Detect Evil works is depicted here:
(Do NOT, however, use the paladin depicted in the comic as an example of how paladins act. She's all about how to do it wrong, in terms of personality/roleplay. :) )
For Smite Evil, all you do is on your turn is pick one target that you want to use your special ability on. This takes a "swift action"--which is something that takes no time--and thus doesn't impinge upon your ability to attack or move--but you can only use one "swift action" per turn (so if you took a feat that allows you to do something as a "swift action", you couldn't use that feat and smite evil on the same turn).
If the target is evil, you add extra damage, as described in the rulebook when you hit them.
You do NOT have to know the target is evil to be able to activate Smite Evil--just have a reasonable suspicion. :) Of course, if you declare a non-evil character as your target, you just don't do the extra damage.
Truly, I wouldn't be here if I didn't want help in understanding this. I want to enjoy the gaming more than I have in the previous weeks...and truthfully, I want to keep up with the others who started at the same time as me, but have way more XP than me.
Good luck and keep at it. I think it's weird that everyone has more XP than you but--as I said, different groups work differently.
And one more thing--again, I understand why you're reluctant to talk to your husband but... part of the GM's job is making sure everyone is having fun (it may, in fact, be the GM's paramount duty). If you're not having fun, you need to let him know. Again, I realize in your case this is complicated because you don't want anyone to think you want special treatment, but if this is really getting you down, he needs to know, both as your GM AND as your partner.
Happy dungeoneering!
Deathquaker's idea about seeing if there's anyone else in the group who might be willing to talk to you is a very good one.
(Edited because I missed something and accidentally gave an explanation which didn't make sense.)
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I actually disagree with your husband on a few points. First off, any brand new player playing with experienced players should be given a good bit of help, ESPECIALLY in the realm of character creation. This is true regardless of any personal relationship with the GM. And since you're brand new to the game, I suspect the other players would understand. As a few others have mentioned, you might want to ask one of them for some help.
I also think that the XP should be divided evenly. Forcing your character onto a flatter power curve isn't going to teach you the game quicker, it's just going to turn your character into the weak link of the group.
there are websites and books just for the women who play. =)
[link]gamerchicksrule.com/content/taxonomy/term/47[/link]
Confessions of a Part-time Sorceress: A Girl's Guide to the D&D Game (Dungeons & Dragons) [Paperback]
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there are websites and books just for the women who play. =)
Confessions of a Part-time Sorceress: A Girl's Guide to the D&D Game (Dungeons & Dragons) [Paperback]
Linkified.
Zotpox, if you 'quote' my post you can see what I did, or you can look at the "BBCode tags you can use:" section under the wordbox when you are typing a post.
[/messageboard fairy]
Hi newbiegirl and welcome to the ranks of role players.
Ok, so my needs...
Need to know how best to play a character because I feel completely out of place doing this...way out of my comfort zone (it's new)
New is good.
Think back to the stories of knights in shining armor out to rescue the fair damsel in distress. These chevailier are the basis for the paladin class. You're brave, you're charming, and you're heroic.You are that knight. What do you value most? What must you protect? What tenants of faith do you follow? Why are you with these other guys? Answers to questions like these should help you figure out who your character is and what she'll do in most situations.
How can I best help the party...
I strongly suggest you ask them. Tell them that you want to help with the tactics and pick skills that you can specialize in. Ask them for advice in how better to join in the fray, kill beasties, and gain XP. If you want your DM to be neutral in this -- the other party members are therefore your best resource.
Explain to me please in my language (that would be English) what my smite evil and detect evil really does...
detect evil...
Your character is sitting at an inn. The man hassling the innkeeper at the bar is getting pretty obnoxious; so you concentrate on him. Your eyes narrow and you look slightly beyond reality, to the place where the souls lie. From there comes a horrible lurching sensation. Your stomach roils and rebells at this foreign intrusion. Your eyes almost water and force you to blink. The stench rolling off this stranger should be palatable to the innkeeper; but he takes no notice of it. He is evil. You're sure. You know this as well as you know that you must rise. You must stop this man from what seems to be the most obvious conclusion -- if the innkeeper doesn't comply, he'll be killed.smite evil...
The evil stranger before you doesn't cower. He's still got his hand on the Innkeeper, lifting the poor man halfway across the bar. The stranger snarls at you to "mind your own business" as you approach with your hand out before you; to try and distract the villain and perhaps give the innkeeper some space. The villain won't have it. Before you can fully voice your suggestion, he draws a knife and makes a stab at the innkeeper. You draw your longsword in a smooth action; and slice up through the villain's arm, neatly severing it just below the elbow. You finish with your uppercut and turn towards the villain. He grabs his stump and falls quickly away from you, scrambling to maintain his footing on the now slippery floor.
Blinking you realize the ease with which your blade passed through human flesh, severing bone. You glance at the sword's edge, expecting at least a dent or a knock -- but the blade is whole and undamaged.
So - in none-prose form:
Detect evil lets you tell who's evil and who's not. It takes some time. Tell the GM who you're looking at and he'll tell you what you see (note that his description and mine may differ greatly -- same general result though).
Smite evil lets you do more damage to an evil opponent. If the opponent isn't evil--it won't work. (Note that you might not always sever limbs with this, ... but you will do more damage than otherwise.)
Shouldn't I, as an LG character, be able to sense an evil person without have to use that ability?
You have to tell the GM that you're detecting evil on person X; and it takes a little bit of time to see the results.
If your GM is descriptive, you should be able to pick up subtle hints when watching or listening to an NPC. But what if the NPC is trying to hide it? Or what if they're just naturally charming (evil NPCs can have high Charisma too).
Also - it's a feature of being a paladin, and not your alignment. Lots of NPCs can be LG, but only paladins can innately tell those that are good from those that are evil.
Hope this helps.
there are websites and books just for the women who play. =)
Confessions of a Part-time Sorceress: A Girl's Guide to the D&D Game (Dungeons & Dragons) [Paperback]
Linkified.
Zotpox, if you 'quote' my post you can see what I did, or you can look at the "BBCode tags you can use:" section under the wordbox when you are typing a post.
[/messageboard fairy]
My wife has that book, bought extras, and gave them to new potential female players. :) She loves it.
Thank you GeraintElberion for the help =)
My wife and daughters like that book too MDT.
there are websites and books just for the women who play. =)
[link]gamerchicksrule.com/content/taxonomy/term/47[/link]
Confessions of a Part-time Sorceress: A Girl's Guide to the D&D Game (Dungeons & Dragons) [Paperback]
If you search these boards, you will see a relatively recent discussion of this book.
It is a very "YMMV" kind of book depending on who is reading it. (Personally I find it hideously poorly written and condescending.)
If the OP wants to look up the book and finds value in it, great, but I think it's only fair to say that reactions to the book and appraisals of its helpfulness vary widely--it's not a "sure thing" in terms of its usefulness.
Personally, I'd suggest D&D for Dummies (for 3rd edition, which is similar enough to Pathfinder) over Confessions.
Part-time Sorceress is definetly encourageing wether someone finds it condesending or not.
D&D for Dummies is definetly more usefull in terms of convaying the consepts of play howeaver I found it condesending and over simplified.
Read the core roulebook. Hay its the rules =)
If you search these boards, you will see a relatively recent discussion of this book.It is a very "YMMV" kind of book depending on who is reading it. (Personally I find it hideously poorly written and condescending.)
If the OP wants to look up the book and finds value in it, great, but I think it's only fair to say that reactions to the book and appraisals of its helpfulness vary widely--it's not a "sure thing" in terms of its usefulness.
Personally, I'd suggest D&D for Dummies (for 3rd edition, which is similar enough to Pathfinder) over Confessions.
Every female newbie I've seen read it loved it.
Every gamer with experience cringed at it.
Every male newbie cringed.
Again, in my experience. So I think that's a lot to do with the pounding it got on the forums, most of the forums are experienced players and/or male.
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This is my first campaign I've ever played in...I just reached 3rd level Paladin. I'm an Elf. (these at the suggestion of others in the campaign)
... are you sure they're your friends? :)
Elves get intelligence and dexterity.. the least useful mental and physical stat for a paladin. Bow proficiency is meaningless (you get it as a paladin) low light vision is ok
I'm so confused and I need some outsider information to help me play my character better because even though I'm the newest player, my husband GM?DM? has decided that he fairly doles out XP and it doesn't matter how long you've been playing...
I'll say. Your group is being less than helpful.
My awesome player...
STR 14
DEX 16
CON 10
INT 16
WIS 10
CHA 13
*This appears to be a 15 point buy* Does that sound familiar? Did you roll dice to make the character?
My feats, persuasiveness and alertness
Unless you are focused on skills (as a paladin you are not) the +2 to 2 different skills are largely a waste of time.
If you are stuck with these stats, you could very easily make a good Archer Paladin. Replace your two feats with point blank shot and precise shot. At 5th level get rapid shot. When you are able to smite something, you'll lay a world of hurt on it.
Picked sickened for my mercy a couple days ago
Quite heavily armored chain mail with heavy steal shield, with AC 21, stacking ranks in Diplomacy, heal, ride, and spellcraft
Go with breast plate when you get a chance. Chainmail only allows you to use +2 of your dex bonus. Breastplate allows +3 (which is what you have from your 16 dexterity)
Need to know how best to play a character because I feel completely out of place doing this...way out of my comfort zone (it's new)
Mechanics wise... ask to start over. I don't know what your group was smoking when they suggested the build to you, but it must have been good. Did you roll dice or use point buy?
For role playing, a paladin is the most difficult PC choice. You are the exemplar of lawful good. YOu are the knight in shining armor. You are not merely a sword against the forces of darkness, you are the shining light that shows others where to strike... and if you're not you loose your class powers.
How can I best help the party...human cleric, half elf ranger, human fighter, and elven smart dude with negative charisma who can cast the most outrageous things (I don't know what he is
Sounds like a wizard. You and the fighter should stand in front of him and the cleric and kill things that try to kill him.
Explain to me please in my language (that would be English) what my smite evil and detect evil really does...IMO it's obvious and I shouldn't have to announce it, but I guess I do. Shouldn't I, as an LG character, be able to sense an evil person without have to use that ability?
You do have to announce it because it takes some time. Detect evil is basically "evil radar". You can sweep an area for evil. If you see it, you can concentrate on it, and tell things about the evil, like how many there are and how powerful the evil is.
This does not detect ALL evil. A 4th level evil politician on the town council is too small of a fish to have any evil going.
Smite evil: Basically, you take an evil being (or one you think is evil) You say "YOu son of a motherless goat, your evil ends today!" and then get bonuses to beat the snot out of them.
Smite Evil (Su): Once per day, a paladin can call out to the powers of good to aid her in her struggle against evil. As a swift action,
-this means it takes up effectively no time in the round.
the paladin chooses one target within sight to smite.
-if you can see it you can smite it.
If this target is evil, the paladin adds her Charisma bonus (if any) to her attack rolls and adds her paladin level to all damage rolls made against the target of her smite.
-This is one of the reasons your character needs a higher charismia. as it is, you can't smite very well or cast spells.
If the target of smite evil is an outsider with the evil subtype, an evil-aligned dragon, or an undead creature, the bonus to damage on the first successful attack increases to 2 points of damage per level the paladin possesses. Regardless of the target, smite evil attacks automatically bypass any DR the creature might possess.
-If something is really really really evil, your smites hurt it more.
In addition, while smite evil is in effect, the paladin gains a deflection bonus equal to her Charisma modifier (if any) to her AC against attacks made by the target of the smite.
-things you have sworn to kill have a harder time hitting you.
If the paladin targets a creature that is not evil, the smite is wasted with no effect.
-If you see someone wearing all black with skulls in their hair and try to smite them because you think they're evil and it turns out its just a goth, you don't get any bonuses against them and you can't smite again that day.
If you search these boards, you will see a relatively recent discussion of this book.It is a very "YMMV" kind of book depending on who is reading it. (Personally I find it hideously poorly written and condescending.)
If the OP wants to look up the book and finds value in it, great, but I think it's only fair to say that reactions to the book and appraisals of its helpfulness vary widely--it's not a "sure thing" in terms of its usefulness.
Personally, I'd suggest D&D for Dummies (for 3rd edition, which is similar enough to Pathfinder) over Confessions.
Every female newbie I've seen read it loved it.
Every gamer with experience cringed at it.
Every male newbie cringed.
Again, in my experience. So I think that's a lot to do with the pounding it got on the forums, most of the forums are experienced players and/or male.
I have seen very few women show their support for the book. Some, yes. Many, no. I've seen a lot of dudes say, "Hey my wife loved it," but I prefer to see people--of any gender--speak for themselves. The women I have seen speak for themselves speak of mixed feelings for the book at best (yes, this is circumstantial but so is yours).
All I'm saying is YMMV. It is knowledge one should have before picking it up. It's not, "Don't buy it!" it's, "Read reviews of it," and "Scan through it on the shelves and see what you think before you decide to pay money for it."
Back on topic: Daniel Gold's advice about backstory is very good.
Detect evil lets you tell who's evil and who's not. It takes some time. Tell the GM who you're looking at and he'll tell you what you see (note that his description and mine may differ greatly -- same general result though).
Not so much
Your average evil asshat does not radiate evil - even your average Orc or Drow won't radiate Evil. if you can detect evil, there is some serious bad juju going on. Either an Antipaladin is around, or Evil Cleric, or demons, or devils, or undead, or evil magic, or evil item...Basically Detect Evil lets you find seriously Evil stuff. With the capital E.
Welcome to Paizo!
Marking this thread so my wife can find it when she gets home, I'll let her see if she can give some advice since she went through the same thing when she first started under me.
You know what I mean. :P
My advice is to think up a character back story. Try to find out how and why your character became a paladin. Then role play from that point of view. It doesn’t have to be a novel but a vague idea. Something like Orphanage > Fire > Daring Rescue > Adoption > Combat Training > Holy Roller.
In combat try to think tactically. You are new so you don’t know all the rules but say... “I want to try to do “this” how do I do it?” In DnD you can try to do anything that you could try in real life. Don’t let the fact that you are unfamiliar with the rules stop you from trying stuff.
As for how to catch up you could ask for a one on one side quest with the DM. It will let you learn the ropes with the DMs undivided attention, and keep your level up with the group.
This is good advice, but it needs a corollary.
A good backstory gives the PC a reason to push forward in the story. Don't create a backstory that is going to need service from the GM and leave you waiting for him/her to get around to "your part of the story." Rather, create a story that helps you decide how that character acts in the moment, incorporate some elements that your GM is likely to use ("Lots of gnolls in this campaign..." "Gnolls killed my fiancee!") Don't expect the GM to pick up your personal plot, but make it as easy as possible for him/her to include that plot in the story for the whole-party.
The best characters are shaped by the events during the game, not what the player wrote before the game started.
See it's tricky: Backstory = good, but some people can derail games by expecting the GM to cater to their character alone.
I removed a post that wasn't helping anyone.