Hello all!
I could use some help on building a paladin. I have never played a paladin before, but I have been playing the game for years so rolling up a character is nothing new to me. The paladin will be a human levle 1 and I can't for the love of god figure out what feats to take. I am pretty set on taking toughness seeing as I will be the person absorbing most of the damage. I was also thinking about taking saving shield as my other feat, but other than that I'm lost. I don't know what feat tree to try and take or anything. He will we wearing a heavy shield and scale to start off with and using a longsword. Our first session is tonight so any kind of help would be greatly apreciated!
No toghness - greater mercy or extra lay on hands gives you more HP.
Go THF asnd pick PA and Furious Focus. Get Eldritch Heritage (Orc), get quicken SLA and optimistic gambler trait.
Pick up oath of vengeance and maybe sacred servant archetypes.
If you have enough int pick up unsanctioned knowledge.
Edit: there are like 63647/54 other Paladin optimization threads on these boards that can easily be found using the search function. Would probably even be faster than posting another thread on here...
Since you're playing a human, you have access to something better than Toughness, Fey Foundling! My favorite starting feats for a human paladin are Power Attack and Fey Foundling.
Then, you get a very interesting choice at 5th level. Do you want a divine bond mount or weapon. Both are very good, but call for different feats to get the most use out of. I suggest choosing based on the campaign you expect to play. If there's going to be room for a mount, get a mount! If not, go for the weapon.
I'd do one of these two:
level 1 - Fey Foundling, Power Attack
level 3 - Furious Focus
level 5 - (Bonded Mount), Mounted Combat
level 7 - Ride by Attack
level 9 - Spirited Charge
level 1 - Fey Foundling, Power Attack
level 3 - Furious Focus
level 5 - (Bonded Weapon), Step Up*
level 7 - Following Step*
level 9 - Improved Critical: falchion, greatsword, or bardiche
level 11 - Step Up and Strike*
*Step Up, Following Step, & Step Up and Strike could be replaced by another chain of useful combat feats, based on your preference.
Yes I was going to be the tank. If it helps the rest of the group will consist of a rouge, ranger, fighter and an oracle. One thing about the game is that there isn't arcane magic...at least not yet. I was thinking about maybe going the shield combat feats route, but again I'm not sure how useful that will be.
Go THF and make use of LoH - thats the best way you can go. If shield go sacred shield archtype, but its just not as efficient.
If you want to play a defensive character go monk or something.
The only reason I plan on playing him rather defensively is because of all the DPS coming from the rest of the group. And don't get me wrong Wasum I plan on making plenty of use of my LoH.
Yea, but more damage is better than having less damage.
So Wasum would you suggest dropping the shield and going with a two handed weapon?
Yes
Okay thank you for your help!
Battle oracle > battle cleric
i played a sword and board pally who was brutally effective... it depends a little bit on what kind of enemies you typically face though. Smite Evil applies to every attack you make, so you get more mileage out of it if you're dual wielding... this build is weaker against random baddies than Wasum's but great against BBEGs.
if you want to try it (or just look at it) focus on Cha and Dex- use a spiked light shield (you always want a light shield as a pally because you can't use your free LoH with a heavy shield) and get Bashing on it as soon as possible. take weapon finesse and fight with a short sword until you can get a sunblade (that way finesse applies to both weapons). take all the shield feats. wear the heaviest armor that allows your full Dex- probably something mithril, if possible. again, its not ideal against the cannon fodder, but against 'boss' types your already good AC will get a good boost from Smite Evil, which will also pump up your attack rolls and damage (and allow you to ignore any DR). even against the meatshields, your AC will be pretty good, and you'll have free heals to keep yourself up- plus you'll do alright damage with your multiple attacks.
just my two-cents... another approach to consider.
I played a paladin from level 5 to 15. He was sword and board without the TWF, without oath of vengeance, no fey foundling, no Furious Focus. He did extremely well. Died, because he sacrificed himself to save the land (a long story). My GM was grateful, because he had problems coming up with encounters that would be hard for me and not kill the rest of the group. On the other hand I had a feat that is banned by many GM: Leadership.
I'd say the only must for a pally is Power Attack (no matter which fighting style). Keep Strength and Charisma high and Constitution good.
And don't forget to get a bow sometime.
I'd say the only must for a pally is Power Attack (no matter which fighting style). Keep Strength and Charisma high and Constitution good.
And don't forget to get a bow sometime.
Yes, yes, yes, and yes!
Yes, yes, yes, and yes!I'd say the only must for a pally is Power Attack (no matter which fighting style). Keep Strength and Charisma high and Constitution good.
And don't forget to get a bow sometime.
Power Attack is also very much in character for a Paladin.
Though so is marching up to the bad guys hideout banging on the door and shouting "come out and fight man to man".
