Our group is currently in a state of flux and are trying to figure out if an in-combat healer is called for. We're at seventh level and I'm wondering if a Paladin can be an effective channeling + LOH healer. The party has six PCs so channeling seems to be the most effective route for healing and it would help if the healer could contribute with DPR as well.
I'm thinking human, DEX>CHA=STR>CON>INT=WIS, Divine Hunter Paladin.
Feats might look like
1 Pt Blank Shot
1H Rapid shot
1P Precise Shot (bonus feat from Divine Hunter)
3 Power Attack
5 Selective Channel
7 Many Shot (or Extra Channel)
I'm hoping to have a reasonably effective archer that can channel (spending two uses of LoH) to heal the whole party or use Lay on Hands on specific targets when needed and plugging away with arrows otherwise. I put in Power Attack for flexibility when forced into melee but if someone has a better option I'll look into it.
What do you guys think?
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What do you guys think?
A Paladin as a focused healer is a little shaky...unless you grab the Hospitaler archetype which, sadly, doesn't stack with Divine Hunter.
Personally, as a Healer/Archer I'd go Hospitaler. It vastly increases your healing for very little lost (aside from a few less Smite Evils a day). You lose out on the free Precise Shot from Divine Hunter, but you can just scrap Power Attack and take Rapid Shot then instead to make up for that.
And I'd be inclined to not focus on in-combat Healing and go with Deadly Aim over Selective Channeling. You can get Selective Channeling at 9th instead, if you wanted. Stick with Manyshot, too.
Whatever you go with, your condition removal is gonna be a tad shaky, so make sure to make the most of your Mercies (fatigued, diseased, poisoned) and prep Lesser Restoration at least once. And be ready to prep the codition removal spells as necssary (Remove Paralyisis, Delay Poison, Remove Blindness/Deafness, Remove Curse, etc.)
What do you guys think?A Paladin as a focused healer is a little shaky...unless you grab the Hospitaler archetype which, sadly, doesn't stack with Divine Hunter.
Personally, as a Healer/Archer I'd go Hospitaler. It vastly increases your healing for very little lost (aside from a few less Smite Evils a day). You lose out on the free Precise Shot from Divine Hunter, but you can just scrap Power Attack and take Rapid Shot then instead to make up for that.
And I'd be inclined to not focus on in-combat Healing and go with Deadly Aim over Selective Channeling. You can get Selective Channeling at 9th instead, if you wanted. Stick with Manyshot, too.
As it stands we're doing alright with out of combat healing (witch + wand of CLW) - what has been problematic is that the total party DPR is not stellar. Combats last longer than they otherwise could and our frontliners are running really low on HP before a challenging fight is over. That having been said, I think Hospitaler is a good alternative to Divine Hunter - the channels are helpful even at paladin level - 3 and the Hospitaler can still burn two LoHs to channel at full level.
edit: The added channels, I think, would provide an even stronger argument for Selective Channeling. Why not get it at 5th instead of 9th?edit^2: Also, with a large party the AC of a CR+3 BBEG is pretty high which tends to reduce the benefit of Deadly Aim unless you are otherwise compensating for the loss of AT (say with weapon focus, higher DEX or the fighter's weapon training).
Sounds like an archer who can channel would be perfect. I'd go with a Divine Hunter. Remember damage shortens a fight, healing just makes you live a little longer but won't actually fix the issue. Dont underestimate how far those DH channels will go and how much DPR he is going to add, he's going to be such a huge net gain you'll be really happy.
EDIT: Also dont forget that your position in the rear affords you the perfect area to do things like Shield Other, since you're not losing any actions for swift healing yourself, you just doubled the combat life expectancy of one party member with one spell at 4th level. You couls Sacred Bond the other melee player. Pretty much everything the paladin has to offer is laid out for you since you're in the rear, I can't think of any reason you'd need to take any other archetype.
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As it stands we're doing alright with out of combat healing (witch + wand of CLW) - what has been problematic is that the total party DPR is not stellar. Combats last longer than they otherwise could and our frontliners are running really low on HP before a challenging fight is over.
Then you should probably look at this guy as a damage dealer first and a healer second. With that in mind, Divine Hunter might well be a better option than Hospitaler.
That having been said, I think Hospitaler is a good alternative to Divine Hunter - the channels are helpful even at paladin level - 3 and the Hospitaler can still burn two LoHs to channel at full level.
Actually, he can't. His separate Channeling replaces the ability to do that. He can still Lay on Hands the full number of times per day though, and never neds to do so to Channel.
edit: The added channels, I think, would provide an even stronger argument for Selective Channeling. Why not get it at 5th instead of 9th?
Because, honestly, Channeling's usually a bad call in combat by 7th level. 4d6 to everybody (much less 2d6) isn't enough of a boost to be worth giving up your damage per round.
edit^2: Also, with a large party the AC of a CR+3 BBEG is pretty high which tends to reduce the benefit of Deadly Aim unless you are otherwise compensating for the loss of AT (say with weapon focus, higher DEX or the fighter's weapon training).
Possibly, possibly not. It's an excellent option to have, however, and, IMO, almost never an outright bad idea, especially if you're Smiting and pretty sure of hitting anyway.
Thank you both @Deadmanwalking and @Lastoth - I haven't built a paladin before and it's been good to hear some of the finer points of how the class works. The Shield Other idea and the notions of focusing on DPR over healing potential make a lot of sense.
Besides the usual archer drop item wise, don't forget to utilize the multitude of arrows there currently were. You can also help out a little with battlefield control (smoke, rain), or help out with the bbeg with indirect problems (smoke, healers sorrow, bleeding, pheromone).
Just make sure you get celestial armor, an efficient quiver or two, and boss of speed to give you haste when the caster can't.
You could take a look at a support Paladin I recently thought of.
Holy tactician Paladin with flagbearer feat.
You give a passive buff that increases DPR (not by much but it's passive), can share one teamwork feat with the whole party either increasing DPR or reducing damage taken and still be able to heal or deal damage nearly as good as the vanilla Paladin.