...hardly the optimal racial choice given attributes, but I saw some things in the ARG that I liked - notably the boost to Lay on Hands from favored class - and thought I'd try to put one together for our upcoming Rise of the Runelords campaign.
Basically I wanted to make her a sort of blessed spirit both as a divine avenger and a healer, to focus on the ability to Smite and Lay on Hands, and to have versatility both at range and in melee while keeping a little bit of the elvish flavor. The character (she) will be wielding a longbow and a bardiche as well as carrying an elven curve blade.
Elven Fighter (Polearm Master) 2 / Paladin (Oath of Vengeance) 18
Attributes: (25 point buy)
STR - 14
DEX - 14
CON - 10
INt - 11
WIS - 10
CHA - 17 (+1 at 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th and 20th)
Traits:
Sacred Touch (stabilize any dying creature as a standard action)
Defender of the Society (+1 AC when wearing medium or heavy armor)
Darkvision (alternative racial trait)
Light-bringer (alternative racial trait)
Feats:
1st - Power Attack
1st - Cleave
2nd - Combat Reflexes
3rd - Point Blank Shot
5th - Rapid Shot
7th - Lunge
9th - Deadly Aim
11th - Extra Lay on Hands
13th - Extra Lay on Hands
15th - Greater Mercy
17th - Ultimate Mercy
19th - Radiant Charge
|
Attributes: (25 point buy)
STR - 14
DEX - 14
CON - 10
INt - 11
WIS - 10
CHA - 17 (+1 at 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th and 20th)
These stats are just wrong for 25 pb. Seriously. I mean, That's 24 PB (and bad design, since Con will drop to 8) if it's pre-racial, and only 21 PB if it's post-racial.
I'd personally go with something like this (post-racial mods):
Str 16 (10)
Dex 16 (5)
Con 10 (2)
Int 12 (0)
Wis 8 (-2)
Cha 16 (10)
Or possibly 10 each in Int and Wis if you prefer wise to smart.
But if you really feel the necessity of Cha 17, something like this works, too:
Str 14 (5)
Dex 16 (5)
Con 10 (2)
Int 12 (0)
Wis 10 (0)
Cha 17 (13)
Personally, I'd also pass on Polearm Master dip and for something else in the Way of Fighter Archetypes (I'd be tempted by Lore Warden, but then I really like Lore Wardens)...or maybe even an Archery Ranger (gets one less Feat, but you can skip out on Point Blank Shot) and just grab Armor Spikes for my adjacent-target needs...any lost damage is a lot less of a problem than a -4 to hit is.
Even with lay of hands your con is too low for a melee combatant. Also i would take deadly aim or point blank shot instead of cleave.
Eh. Lay On Hands makes up for a lot in that regard (One use is universally better than +2 Con)...and Favored Class Bonuses can help as well.
And it depends on the degree of ranged focus desired. Personally, were I making an Elven Paladin I'd go straight archer...but with this build? I can see it going either way.
Even with lay of hands your con is too low for a melee combatant. Also i would take deadly aim or point blank shot instead of cleave.
With Lunge and a reach weapon, Cleave becomes a bit more usable I've found. I do take both Point Blank Shot and Deadly Aim a bit later though.
1 extra hit point per die - or 2 even - from a higher Con won't do me much good, but being able to self heal as a swift action a dozen times a day, especially with the racial bonus should help. And if I were to raise Con, where would I get it from?
Attributes: (25 point buy)
STR - 14
DEX - 14
CON - 10
INt - 11
WIS - 10
CHA - 17 (+1 at 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th and 20th)These stats are just wrong for 25 pb. Seriously. I mean, That's 24 PB (and bad design, since Con will drop to 8) if it's pre-racial, and only 21 PB if it's post-racial.
I'd personally go with something like this (post-racial mods):
Str 16 (10)
Dex 16 (5)
Con 10 (2)
Int 12 (0)
Wis 8 (-2)
Cha 16 (10)Or possibly 10 each in Int and Wis if you prefer wise to smart.
But if you really feel the necessity of Cha 17, something like this works, too:
Str 14 (5)
Dex 16 (5)
Con 10 (2)
Int 12 (0)
Wis 10 (0)
Cha 17 (13)Personally, I'd also pass on Polearm Master dip and for something else in the Way of Fighter Archetypes (I'd be tempted by Lore Warden, but then I really like Lore Wardens)...or maybe even an Archery Ranger (gets one less Feat, but you can skip out on Point Blank Shot) and just grab Armor Spikes for my adjacent-target needs...any lost damage is a lot less of a problem than a -4 to hit is.
There was a typo there - post racial bonuses/penalties it should have looked like this:
Str 14 (5)
Dex 14 (2)
Con 10 (2)
Int 11 (-1)
Wis 10 (0)
Cha 18 (17)
I know the elvish race is not a good one for optimizing a Paladin, but that's what I initially came up with.
I love Lore Wardens. I design the characters for our group, and I'm actually going to be running a favorite of mine, a Human Urban Barbarian 1 / Lore Warden 19. I've created a 'Pathfinder Society advanced combat school' which uses the Urban Barbarian archetype for 1 level along with the feat Extra Rage and the trait Berserker of the Society to represent the ability to enter into a sort of combat trance... he'll be the groups primary melee combatant except when facing BBEG's when the Paladin will step to the fore. He's melee specialized, which is why I wanted this character to compliment with a little more versatility.
|
|
There was a typo there - post racial bonuses/penalties it should have looked like this:
Str 14 (5)
Dex 14 (2)
Con 10 (2)
Int 11 (-1)
Wis 10 (0)
Cha 18 (17)
Ah! That makes sense, then. Though, frankly, getting both Str and Dex to 16 still seems to me that it'd be worth dropping Cha to 16. Smite Evil is limited in use, after all.
I know the elvish race is not a good one for optimizing a Paladin, but that's what I initially came up with.
Personally, I think they make fine archer Paladins, but maybe that's just me. :)
They are indeed at something of a disadvantage in melee, though.
I love Lore Wardens. I design the characters for our group, and I'm actually going to be running a favorite of mine, a Human Urban Barbarian 1 / Lore Warden 19. I've created a 'Pathfinder Society advanced combat school' which uses the Urban Barbarian archetype for 1 level along with the feat Extra Rage and the trait Berserker of the Society to represent the ability to enter into a sort of combat trance... he'll be the groups primary melee combatant except when facing BBEG's when the Paladin will step to the fore. He's melee specialized, which is why I wanted this character to compliment with a little more more versatility.
Cool, sounds like a lot of fun. :)
It just seems to me that Polearm Master isn't worth it for this build and should be replaced with something.
Cool, sounds like a lot of fun. :)
It just seems to me that Polearm Master isn't worth it for this build and should be replaced with something.
Archer archetype, perhaps? Bonus to Perception isn't a bad thing, minor though it might be.
Your stats are a bit odd but the build looks viable. I second the ranger instead of fighter dip for your build, personally. Favored enemy:human or giant will just carry you through that whole campaign. Also, if there is already a melee combatant I would really suggest a paladin archer instead of switch hitter. I'd personally got weapon master 4/paladin 11( you're probably not going to make it much past 15 in RotRL). You get weapon training, weapon spec, smite, and most importantly, aura of justice.
Just my two cents.
Some good advice there - I don't know anything about the campaign at all. We're not just featuring my Lore Warden, but a Master Summoner as well which should provide melee fodder, but our 4th is a bard who's going to expand into an Arcane archer eventually. Figured this character could help out in melee or at range as best befits the situation.
I'll look at the Ranger option.
Your stats are a bit odd but the build looks viable. I second the ranger instead of fighter dip for your build, personally. Favored enemy:human or giant will just carry you through that whole campaign.
Just my two cents.
Might rework my attributes to something like this (post racial adjustments):
STR - 14 (5)
DEX - 14 (2)
CON - 14 (10)
INT - 10 (-2)
WIS - 10 (0)
CHA - 16 (10)
|
1. The ranger option forfeits the Defender of the Society trait (fighter only).
2. With 25 points, you should be able to put together a build with a DEX applicable to elven chain OR MBP light armor; this would enhance archery and free up 10' of move. (Haven't played RotRL, so don't know how applicable it is to permanent saddle bums. Heavy armor obviously isn't a problem if you're always mounted.)
3. Elven bonuses to will saves make paladin dumping of WIS to 7 *extremely* attractive from a point-buy standpoint.
4. Oath of Vengeance has a lot of love on the forums, but forfeiting Channel will come back to haunt you in those situations where the party gets in over its head. (If you play much beyond 11th, the nerfing of Aura of Justice is even worse.)
5. Sacred Touch is obsolete the moment you have LoH or a wand of CLW.
6. 2 skills/level is running very lean; an INT 12 or higher makes things a lot easier in a non-human build.
7. Paladins can get away with slightly lower CON due to LoH and big bonuses to fort-saves.
Try this bonus-dense 25pt pre-racial array 16,15,14,14,12,07 arranged thus:
STR:14
DEX+18
CON-12
INT+14
WIS:07
CHA:15 (bump 4th)
Traits: Reckless, Threatening Defender
01 fight1 [Lore Warden], Quick Draw, Combat Reflexes
02 fight2 [LW:Combat Expertise], Weapon Finesse
03 pala1 [no archetype], FEAT
04 pala2 [divine grace], CHA>16
Highlights:
* Four AoOs/round
* Acrobatics +8 (before armor check) at 1st level)
* Light quickdraw shield use with two-handed weapons.
* AC in chainshirt + ComExp/ThDef equal to full-plate.
Note that this is a ground-pounder build; you won't put a single rank into Ride or Handle Animal; and you'll take weapon bond. Lore Warden's four extra skills points must go into INT skills; put one each into Craft (any), Kn:Religion, Kn:Nobility and Spellcraft.
Tactics: bow out pre-combat; plink until enemy about to move into melee on its turn, then drop bow & quickdraw bardiche; (free AoOs -- yay!); drop bardiche and quickdraw & finesse elven curve sword.