For the past six months or so I've run a story where the PCs are LE thieves/assassins that take over a city and usher in all kinds of evil. In about a month, I'll be stepping down from DMing and need to build a character. We'll be LG religious types trying to clean up said city and have a showdown with our former characters. We are all going to be religious classes (cross/prestige classing is allowed, but at least one level has to be Cleric, Paladin, Inquisitor, Oracle, or Monk). I decided to be rather... flavorful (possibly stupid).
I'm going to play a LG Goblin Paladin (worshiping Sarenrae) because the only way a Paladin could appeal to me is if the character is woefully inadequate in almost every way, but somehow Don Quixotes his way to victory. However, I don't want to be a completely useless drain on the rest of the team, so I thought I would make him a mounted crossbowman since a Goblin gets bonuses to Dex and Ride.
We roll our scores, so I can only prioritize and pray. I'm thinking: Dex, Cha, Con, Wis, Str, Int. However, the Goblin's +4 to Dex might cause me to change things based on my rolls. I figure with my high Dex, I'll stick with Light Armor.
Since my Cha is most likely going to be "sub-optimal", my spells will mainly be focused on buffs. Pretty much everyone will have spells, so I don't think this will be a problem. I'm really only putting anything into Cha so my Smite won't suck.
I'm thinking of using a Boar for a mount for the flavor (and ferocity doesn't hurt). Otherwise, I think my mount should be medium (so I can fit indoors), have good speed, and be OK in a fight if I can't keep my distance. I like the idea of my Goblin being carried by a giant bat, but that might be a little overpowered. Maybe if I fail a Ride Check I get dropped? Any ideas?
Feats priority: W Focus, Point Blank, Rapid Shot, Rapid Reload, Crossbow Mastery, Imp Crit
Maybe I should just enchant my crossbow to make up for some of these feats. If I do, I need suggestions for what to name the crossbow. Paladins sure don't have a lot of feats to spare.
Any ideas? I'm not really concerned with optimizing so much as not sucking too hard.
Personally I would go with a short bow. It saves you feats, and you can add what strength mod you have with a composite. Also you cannot forget Precise Shot, dealing with a -8 from shooting past your friend in a corridor while they fight something will murder your helpfulness. After 3rd level you are just adding icing to the cake.
1 Point Blank Shot
3 Precise Shot
5 Rapid Shot
7 Many Shot
9 Deadly Aim
11 W. Foc
Though if you really want to do the whole mounted archery thing you might want;
1 Point Blank Shot
3 Precise Shot
5 Mounted Combat
7 Mounted Archery
But if you're fighting in a city mostly is a mount really going to be viable/appropriate?
On mounts: Don't forget the wolf option! ("They're not dogs!!")
You are SO not fooling Gob Quixote with that. And don't try suggesting a hyena either. The guy at the stables called it a "Gnollhorse". That just didn't end well... least of all for the Gnollhorse.
If you're set on the crossbow(which admittedly can be a bit rough as a primary weapon)...Twang-Zip the Far Stabber? Or just Twing-Twang[/heavenlysword] Something that plays off the sound it makes, perhaps.
I really like Far Stabber. That's totally Goblin sounding.
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If it were me, I'd go with a Scimitar and work towards Dervish Dance. It's Sarenrae's favored weapon, and thus both flavorful and useful.
This also lets you use a Light Crossbow and maybe a dagger for the first two levels (since you'll have Weapon Finesse, but not Dervish Dance) but lets you stop using it as primary (but still keep a hold of it for ranged) before the crossbow falls really behind.
Also, the idea of a goblin flipping the hell out and starting dancing around like a maniac while things fall into bloody pieces around him appeals to my aesthetic sense. But maybe that's just me.
Personally I would go with a short bow. (for a million good reasons)
It's one of those cases where I just want to do something I never did before on pretty much every level. Call it a personal challenge. I also considered using throwing weapons just to be different.
if you really want to do the whole mounted archery thing you might want;
1 Point Blank Shot
3 Precise Shot
5 Mounted Combat
7 Mounted Archery
I totally forgot Precise Shot and I have zero experience with mounted combat, so I forgot a lot of things. I may take the Mounted Feats later on and just hope I don't get hit ever. *sigh* Paladins really suck. God, I hate Paladins. I am going to have spend so much money on my crossbow to make up for all the feats I'm lacking for this build. BUT, DAMMIT, I'M TRYING TO EXPAND MY HORIZONS HERE!!!
if you're fighting in a city mostly is a mount really going to be viable/appropriate?
That's an important point I should clarify. We won't be starting in the city and there's plenty around the city as well. The campaign I'm finishing up was pretty much all political, and everyone is craving some dragon killing and traditional fantasy stuff. But I kind of like the idea of Gob Quixote (that's totally going to be his name now that I typed it out twice) not understanding why his beastly mount scares people when he rides it down the street. At least if it's Medium, it'll fit most places even if it's a dumb idea.
You could go Monk Zen Archer after the first 2 Paladin levels.
As a Small character, something ranged does seem the better choice. Doing it mounted is not a bad idea either, for a little melee oomph in a pinch.
I'm thinking of using a Boar for a mount for the flavor (and ferocity doesn't hurt).
Boars can be tough. If you want one for flavor, I'd recommend smoking with a fragrant wood, low and slow. Need a good BBQ sauce as well.
Joking aside, sounds like fun. The question is how much of an uphill battle do you want? You are already going to be a little behind with your race pick. Crossbows, while fun in concept are mechanically very poor. One man's "fun and challenging" is another's "useless waste of space" I'd be careful of how many sub-prime choices you want to burden yourself with. Of course, with rolled stats, everything is up in the air. If you roll like a god, you can make a number of "poor" choices and still be fine. If you suck out on stats though, I'd play the feat/weapon/trait/etc. picks a little more "optimally" so you can pull your weight a little better.
I would go...
1. Point Blank Shot
3. Rapid Shot
5. Mounted Combat
7. Mounted Archery
9. Deadly Aim
11. Manyshot
13. Precise Shot
15. Improved Precise Shot
Nothing like getting a full movement AND full attack. You can smite at range, and just ride around just out of reach of your BBEG.
I would also use a composite longbow, and mighty if you're strong enough. Crossbows are VERY feat intensive, you're already combining two styles of combat (mounted and ranged), and adding a third (making crossbows equivalent to bows) is going to eat up a ton of feats, and might be a bit frustrating. Also, you might be the only Full BAB character in your party, so they may be looking at you to be the heavy hitter.
At least a Small, super dextrous, Full BAB, possibly adding Charisma to attack rolls is almost going to be guaranteed to hit, especially within 30 feet with Point Blank Shot.
Actually, why do you need mounted combat and mounted archery at all?
That's a good point. My character will have glaring weaknesses no matter what I do, so I think I'm going to have to stick with a fast mount that keeps as far from trouble as possible. I'm thinking I'll try to run around the BBEG at angles so I can get my Point Blank Smite benefits and then get back out of range.
Also, you might be the only Full BAB character in your party, so they may be looking at you to be the heavy hitter.
That is such a scary thought. But one of the guys was talking about being a Paladin/Fighter using a greatsword, so I'm hoping that's covered.
This sounds like a cool character, and I hope he survives.Are you going whole hog with the goblin thing -- voracious appetite, love of fire, weird sense of humor, and all?
That pretty much describes ME, so I'm not really sure if it's role-playing...
A similar character I played recently...
Instead of having a mount, I took the Sacred Servant archetype so I could get access to the fire domain! That was fun. I burned the bad guys until they would repent.
As a goblin worshiper of Sarenrae, I was all about repentance. I refused to believe anyone could be evil forever, so I had a habit of just manacling the defeated bad guys and dragging them around with me until they got sick of me and said they had repented.
My GM let me dump wisdom down to 6, so I was naive, helpful, and trusting. And I did not kill a single person.