I am playing in a new campaign, in which my DM has intimated that there will be plenty of evil in this game, so I decided to make a paladin, which I have never played before. We are 6th level and the stats I rolled are 18, 16, 15, 13, 13, 11.
With these rolls, should I focus on a TWF build with kukris or go with a sword and a shield? Also, depending on which I have, are there any paladin archetypes that are good for the build?
I'd like to add my voice to the TWF Sword/Board crowd as well. I say don't worry overly much about getting greater TWF. Once oyu get improved TWF you can get shield master and that's all you need. Get Bashing finish and a keen scimitar later on and you can really duff people up.
This alias is currently lvl 4 going along the same lines so he can work as a fairly decent guideline.
I'd suggest rapier over scimitar while using that light shield just to win cool points for NOT using Dervish Dance. I hate a feat that renders so many weapons non-competitive and thus pushes people to use one weapon. I don't like the falcata too much either
You can wield a scimitar and still be Strength based which is exactly what I'm suggesting. With racial modifiers ad being human you can have stats like
20 Str
16 Dex
13 Con
11 or 13 Wis/Int depending on taste.
16 Cha
You can hold off on Imp TWF until 9th or you can jsut survive on 15 cha for a while if you demand Imp TWF earlier. Weapon finnesse just overloads an already feat heavy build and still not do anything for your damage. Remember you're not smiting all the time.
I had another quick question about this character. Would a gnome be effective for this kind of build, or should I stick with human?
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I'm playing a level 12 vanilla fighter / Paladin 1.
S&B, TWF with a keen scimitar and a +5 light shield, +1 defense spiked. Bashing Finish and Shield Master, suddenly my +5 light shield isn't only a +1 defense weapon, but a +5 defense weapon, so a potential +11 to AC (5 from defense and 5+1 from shield, or even more with feats improving shield bonus) if you sacrifice all your offense for defense.
5 attacks per round, plus one shield bash each time you confirm a critical hit, for which you have three easy attempts each round thanks to the keen scimitar and +4 to confirm critical hits.
With silver bracelets, you have +5 damage per attack ignoring DR against evil baddies. With 12 Charisma, +1 to attack and AC. With Boots of Speed, It's 6 attacks minimum.
When smiting and power attacking, I've got +19/+14/+9 / +21/+16 ; 1d6+24 / 1d4+26 damage (+ 1d10+7 if I hit with at least one sword and one shield attack during the round).
Add haste for TEH LULZ, use additional attack on scimitar and it becomes obscene.
Otherwise, both S&B and TWF are really feat intensive for a pure paladin, even if the last one is awesome damage-wise (still shivers because of this TWFing anti-paladin with kukris).
Bah! Melee is for fools! Play a paladin archer with those scores! Your group will fall down in awe.
Smite + Ranged attacks (rapid shot, deadly aim, manyshot) and haste is going to rip things to shreds. Rapid Shot, Manyshot, and Haste along give you 3 extra attacks at your highest bonus with only a net -1 penalty. That's pretty slammin'.
Toss Holy on your weapon with your Divine Bond or through crafting as soon as you can. Evil will run from your arrows of death. Archery is also pretty nifty even when you're not smiting.
I don't like two weapon fighting. It looks much better on paper than i see it working out on the battlemat.
1) You need feats to do the same exact amount of damage as someone picking up a great-sword and swinging for the fences
2)I rarely find opportunities to full attack, so moving around causes you to loose a lot of dps, AND your feats are wasted when they can't be brought to bear.
I had another quick question about this character. Would a gnome be effective for this kind of build, or should I stick with human?
Gnome would be good if you were going with a mounted build, which can dish out some INSANE damage, since your medium mount can get into the dungeon and charge around.
Ride a giant badger....
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Was going to say, gnome on wolf is actually a really good build; you certainly have solid stats.
Str: 16
Int: 13
Wis: 11
Dex: 13
Con: 18 (15+2+1)
Chr: 18
Ride a wolf and dig in. With your start money get +Str bracers.... an 18 strength will mean +6 to damage, and as you'll be tripling on charge (lance, spirited charge), that will be heavy damage. With Full Plate and a shield you'll be impossible to hit, have insane damage soak, great saves... Obviously with stats like that you'll be a champion, and your wolf can even trip down many opponents and grant you an extra +4 to hit (have him attack first on the charge).
15 HP to start + 11 or so per level, with lay on hands "online" if you need it. AC: 23 before you even start counting magic (+1 ring and amulet and +1 armor/shield is only 6000 extra GP and will give you a 27, nearly unhittable at 6th level. With a +1 cloak and +2 Cha item all saves should be +6, then bonus. So will +8 fort: +16 ref: +9. Offensive / defensive powerhouse.
Thanks for the advice on the mounted combat. I have a question though. Can a gnome still ride a wolf when it becomes large at 7th level?
1) You need feats to do the same exact amount of damage as someone picking up a great-sword and swinging for the fences
Normally I agree with that, but Smite Evil really changes the math.
Otherwise I agree with your other points in that post completely.
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Yes, but you don't have to make it large at 7th, you can just take +2 to Dex / con instead. While normally not a good idea, I actually encourage it for the mounted gnome. One of the issues with charging cavaliers is they often have difficulty setting charge lines with horses / large animals in dungeons. By being a small person on a medium mount, you are much more easily able to move around the dungeon and set up charges. That's why small mounted combatants are generally preferred, despite the strength hit.
Sorry for all the questions, but do I get strength and a half when wielding a lance one-handed from my mount?
Sorry for all the questions, but do I get strength and a half when wielding a lance one-handed from my mount?
Nope, just strength.
You can drop the shield and wield it two handed if you're up against something that doesn't attack ac through.