Stonelord Build

[Radiostorm]

From a flavour perspective, the dwarven stonelord is probably my favourite archetype from the Advanced Race Guide. I'm eager to try one out in Pathfinder Society play, but the archetype is such a radical departure from the paladin class that I'm not sure what direction to go with it.

I'm leaning towards Combat Reflexes and Stand Still at the moment because those feats pair well with the archetype's defensive stance ability. A sword and board build seems thematically potent, but without a racial bonus to strength or dexterity, I'm not sure if I could field the stats to make that work.

Assuming a 20 point buy and all other Pathfinder Society restrictions, how would you build a dwarven stonelord?

[Blackfell]

The way I look at it... your a tank. Your going to be increasingly hard to hurt, tough and at 4th level, you get a 'bunker' mode :)

Yeah, defensive stance means your not moving, but hopefully a party can understand tha it's a big part of your character and use spells, affects etc to funnel enemies in your direction.

if your deadset on Attacks of Oppurtunity, you NEED reach. Either a reach weapon, enlarge spells/affects, or both. The more area you can threaten, the more chances you have of getting to use those feats.

An interesting thing I see is that several features that want high CHA (divine grace, spellcasting) are repaced in this build. I'd almost say you can play a much lower CHA then normal for a paladin (don't dump it completely, you still have lay on hands)

[Radiostorm]

I'm not married to an attack of opportunity build, but it was the first option that sprang to mind as viable. I think I'd rather be a sword and board fighter, but as I mentioned before, the two weapon fighting route seems too stat intensive for a dwarf. Is there a way to make using a shield worth it otherwise?

I'd figured I'd leave my charisma at 10. I don't feel compelled to fight the -2 penalty for a couple extra uses of Lay on Hands, and like you said the archetype mostly eschews charisma. The stat spread I was contemplating (with racial bonuses factored in) is as follows:

STR 17 DEX 12 CON 15 INT 10 WIS 12 CHR 10

Some would dump int further, but I try to avoid that when I can.

[Blackfell]

the spread looks solid so far. You have at least a +1 in the three stats that help your saves (which helps offset the loss of your CHA to saves class feature). I'd personally go STR down and DEX up a bit if possible, which plays into an AoO build and makes you more survivable at low levels (better ac and reflex saves )

I wouldn't dump INT either. YOu have few skill points as is, and it's always good to have a point or two in several class skills.

sadly, the dwarven favored class bonus for paladin won't help, as it involves those spells you no longer have...

[Radiostorm]

I'll probably go with the bonus hit points to add to my bulk.

If I were to take the Combat Reflexes path, I suppose I could bump my strength down to 16 and my dexterity up to 14. I'd have to fish for a strength booster as soon as possible to hit the 18 strength sweet spot though.

Do you think there's any merit in using a shield and longsword without two weapon fighting? I like the added AC, but I worry my damage won't be competitive without the shield bash. I suppose I could always drop the shield and two-hand the longsword if the situation called for it.

[Balrick Granitefist]

Look at the Dorn-Dergar for a weapon, then look at the Dorn-Dergar Master and the Darting Viper feat.

This gives you a decent weapon which you can use at reach or with a move action you can use in close quarters with 1 hand, leaving your other hand open to use a shield and even TWF if you want to go that direction to get some more damage out there. You could also look into the boulder helm to use while you can't use the Dorn-Dergar in close range and still threaten by being able to head-butt the enemies. I'd also suggest grabbing Combat Reflexes as that'll be key to getting you more damage output as things try to move past you.

For your 6th level mercy make sure to take the remove fatigue as that will be the ONLY mercy you get for your LOH. This will allow you to come out of your stance, heal yourself, remove your fatigue, move and enter your stance again because you won't be fatigued.

[Rikert the Stonelord]

So I am also building a stonelord and was wonder what you guys think in terms of feats not for that weapon tree. I am totally going to go for the tree but at 3rd level I need a feat and I don't know what to use. Any suggestions?

[redward]

My first Feats were Steel Soul, Power Attack and Combat Reflexes. Darting Viper if you're going with the Dorn-Dergar. Lunge for extra reach.

I'm looking at this list for what comes next. Haven't made a decision yet:
Furious Focus
Two-Weapon Fighting
Blind-Fight
Ironhide
Golden Legion's Stayed Blade
Improved Critical
Weapon Focus
Extra Lay on Hands
Toughness
Bodyguard
In Harm's Way