I'm playing a Sacred Servant Paladin of Bahamut (3.5's version). I need to choose which domain to have, out of Air, Good, Luck, and Protection.
I just can't choose. Protection i like, as it gives me a very nice pobus to my saves (which are already incredible), but good gives me Holy weapons on tap, which is nice given that i don't have Weapon bond. But at the same time, the resistances from Air or the free rerolls and nice spells from Luck...
AAARRRGH! So i thought i'd throw the question over to people with far higher INT and WIS scores than me...
Right now, i'm stuck between Good or Protection. Any ideas?
Ignoring the fact that, in theory, Bahamut can't have Paladin followers because he is more than one step away from Lawful Good, your Domain should emphasize something about your character; the one part of Bahamut's teachings that your character embodies. Before judging the mechanical abilities, keep that in mind. Always pick what works for your character over what gives you the most shinnies.
Now, as for the mechanics:
Good (Base): I personally don't like the "use a standard action to give someone else a buff" Domain Powers. While it works for a Cleric, you can't always assure that you'll be next to the person you want to touch, and you'll very seldom get to use it on yourself to any real benefit. As a Paladin who is all about killing things, you should think twice before using your precious standard actions in such a way. In addition, gaining limited uses of the holy weapon quality is nice, but if you can wait, you'll get Aura of Faith which grants a similar effect anyway. Plus with Smite Evil, overcoming Damage Reduction is easy for a Paladin, and at high levels, most Evil Outsiders require multiple conditions to overcome DR (DR/silver and good, etc). I'd say no to Good, personally.
Good (Agathion): Given that the Agathions have a Draconic member among their species, it isn't hard to imagine that Bahamut could grant this subdomain. If your GM allows it, the Aura of Protection is a solid choice and its aura fits in nicely with the Paladin theme. However, you still have to keep that Touch of Good, which I'm not crazy about. Ultimately, I'd pick the Agathion subdomain over the Good domain any day of the week for a Paladin.
Good (Azata): The Azata are a Chaotic Good race of Outsiders, so it isn't much of a stretch to say that Bahamut could have some influence over them. If your GM allows it, this subdomain replaces the Touch of Good with a much more powerful effect (in my opinion, at least). It has a strong Freedom of Movement effect, which could be cool. However good it might be, however, I'm still not crazy about the touch ability (at least this one is worth using on yourself from time to time, however) and since Azata are Chaotic Good, it might be too much of a stretch to associate your Paladin with the,.
Protection (Base): Aura of protection is very good, but like the Good domain, there's a touch-based power that I'm simply not crazy about. The static +1 to saving throws is nice, it basically saves you from buying a cloak of resistance. Because of the fact that most party members will eventually pick up a Cloak of Resistance, however, the touch ability here is almost useless; the bonus you grant is going to be a lot lower depending on their Cloak, as the character will take the Higher of the two bonuses (yours or their cloak's). As a Paladin, you're not going to be hurting on saving throws, but having a free Cloak slot is nice. Overall, Protection is Okay, but that touch ability is really bad.
Protection (Defense): This aura is really nice. I like it because it synergies well with the Paladin, but since the aura grants a Deflection bonus, it becomes less useful to party members who wear Rings of Protection or use spells that grant Deflection bonuses. This has potential, and of the domains I've looked at so far, this is probably the best one (not that Protection (Defense) only overwrites your Resilient Touch; it lets you keep the saving throw bonus!).
Protection (Purity): Purifying touch is very powerful. I don't like that you're stuck with Resilient Touch, but allowing new saves against ANY effect active on the target is good, especially if the character has a good chance to overcome the effect. This can allow you, personally, to break free of any effect that doesn't outright incapacitate you, as long as your saves are good (which they are, you're a Paladin). This ability works best when the target has a good chance to succeed, and while potent, I think I like Protection (Defense) better.
Air (Base): Lightning arc is interesting, to say the least. If you really want something flashy to show where your faith lies, Air domain is your best friend. The damage is weak, but ranged is an area where a melee Paladin is going to suffer in, and it isn't easy for a Paladin to gain access to Lightning damage; especially without the Divine Bond ability. Electricity damage is nice, but I don't think there are many Evil Outsiders that use lightning, so it's a little bit less thematic. Still, shooting Lightning Bolts out your rear end is a good way to show how much of a badass you are.
Air (Cloud): Totally Wow at Thundercloud. Paladins have virtually no AoE to speak of aside form cleaving, so having an effect that not only impairs spellcasters (a la Deafen) but deals damage with no saving throw allow is nice. This is definitely a nice ace to have in your pocket.
Air (Wind): Wind Blast is very nice if you're not going to be a Melee Cleric. If you're going to be brandishing a sword or whatever, your Strength score is always going to be high enough to make you feel bad about using your Wisdom modifier on this bull rush attempt. However, it's an excellent out as an archer, and it is definitely cool. In the long run, a bull rush is probably more useful to you then 1d6 + level lightning damage, so it's a good trade. Not as cool as thundercloud, in my opinion, however.
Luck (Base): Bit of luck is an interesting touch power because it has more uses then just in combat. Whereas a static bonus to saving throws is only useful when you suspect that you (or your target) will be hit in the next round, bit of luck works in almost any situation, including skill checks. I like bit of luck personally, it's fun to roll 2d20 for things! Speaking of rerolls, Good Fortune is wonderful as well, though it is heavily limited in its uses per day. Keep that in mind if you choose to go for this domain; limited bursts of luck can be awesome, or they can be just as bad as the first roll.
Luck (Curse): Curse is kind of a stretch for a Good character, at least to me it is. Causing a creature to take a -2 penalty on saves is nice, but the fact that the ability ends if you're attacked makes it less useful for a melee character, but very interesting for a ranged character. Curse a melee fighter and laugh as they desperately try to chase you to remove the curse (or don't and let the party mage debuff them with glee!).
Luck (Fate): Fate is about the same as the Base domain. Where as the Base Domain lets you reroll, the Fate domain lets another creature to reroll. Pick the base domain if you're selfish or the Fate domain if you want to be a team player at the expense of yourself. I'm selfish, personally :).
Golden's Top 5 (These are just my opinions, however):
#1 - Protection (Defense)
#2 - Air (Cloud)
#3 - Luck (Base) / Luck (Fate) <Depends on Preference>
#4 - Luck (Curse)
#5 - Luck (Purity)
you are a paladin so you are already really good at taking out evil things if you need to So I would choose protection to make your saves taht much better. Also the touch of good will not be that useful because you already are a major damage dealer in combat.
An extremely informative and comprehensive answer.Thank you very much, i'd forgotten about subdomains. Looks like protection (defense) is my perfect fit (protecting people from tiamat is her primary concern)
Also, Bahamut IS lawful good, but that doesn't matter. Thank you very much sir!
Huh, I could have sworn that he was Chaotic Good to mirror Tiamat's Lawful Evil. My mistake then!
The Aura of Menace from Good (Archon) [since you're LG, like Bahamut] is a nice little toy to have -- especially since (as said above), the Aura of Protection's deflection bonus is a little less spiffy as a result of people packing Rings of Protection -- and more importantly (and I'm surprised nobody's said so) -- it also doesn't stack with the deflection bonus you get from Smite Evil.