| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
First thing first: Mithril Full Plate has a max dex of 3 not 2.
1. Longsword and shield or two-handed weapon?
Why not both. Having a spare 2 hander and using it as needed is usually not a huge problem.
2. More Dex for 1 more AC or more Cha for 1 more use of LoH
I prefer more charisma. It adds to your LH per day, all your saves, gives you more spells and increases your bonus to hit with Smite Evil.
3. If I do go two-handed, greatsword, falchion, greataxe, or cheese it up with a nodachi?
I say choose the weapon you think is in character for your Paladin. All of them are valid choices.
If your interested purely in the #'s then Greatsword or Falchion. Once you get improved crit or Keen your large static damage bonus from Str and Smite Evil makes them shine.
4. Who put the bop in the bop shoo wop do wop?
Barry Mann I believe.
1. Longsword and shield or two-handed weapon?Why not both. Having a spare 2 hander and using it as needed is usually not a huge problem.This was more of a "which one should I use on a regular basis" kind of questions. If I do go two-handed, I will keep a longsword and light shield on me. I'm just not sure if I'm going to be a bit squishy if I go with the two-handed weapon. As far as which weapon, I think I'll just go with the greatsword. I know it's the "boring" choice, but it's also the "steady" choice.
And thank you for answering question #4.
I know compared to Fighters Paladins are feat starved but if you take Quick Draw then having the right weapon for the right situation becomes far less painful, especially with a Quick Draw shield or a Ring of Force Shield so you can use your 2 Hander and switch quickly to one hander and shield if you need to get more tanky.
Luckily, for the most part 2 handed weapons are carried and not stowed or sheathed due to their size, so dropping them and quick drawing a long sword and quick draw shield lets you go straight from damage to tank as needed.
Even better, get Gloves of Storing and have the Long Sword in your glove. Simply swap the Longsword for the Greatsword as your free action and quick draw the Quick Draw Shield and you don't drop the greatsword in battle. And you can switch back nearly instantly as well.
And your welcome on Question 4. Google wins again. :)
1. I have found that sword and board works well only if you shield bash. If you want to be an extra bit tankier I would go that route, following the shield-bashing feat path, TWF feats, and getting some shield spikes.
2. There are also about a million magic items to increase AC (armor enchantment, bracers of armor, ring of protection, amulet of natural armor...), so I think the extra LoH would be more helpful in the long run.
3. If you do, I would pick the greatsword, because it's classy and it has the highest damage die.
1. Longsword and shield or two-handed weapon?
Definitely the two-handed weapon.
I'm sure you're familiar with the phrase, "The best defense is a good offense." In Pathfinder, that doesn't mean you should neglect defense entirely, but a Paladin already has outstanding defensive capability. High AC, high HP, great saves, immunities, Lay on Hands, mercies, wow! However, they only have one method of attacking, and that's to swing a weapon. Trading the two-handed weapon for a one+shield gives up 40% of your offense to increase your defense by 5%, which is a lousy deal.
2. More Dex for 1 more AC or more Cha for 1 more use of LoH?
I think the charisma is better. It will add +1 to all saves instead of just reflex. Also, while it doesn't help your AC all the time, it helps both your AC and attack rolls when using Smite Evil.
3. If I do go two-handed, greatsword, falchion, greataxe, or cheese it up with a nodachi?
There's all perfectly good choices. I favor the greatsword for its reliability. Also, it simply has superior DPS until you reach a certain level of bonus damage which doesn't usually occur until near the end of a PFS character's career.
4. Who put the bop in the bop shoo wop do wop?
The same man who put the ram in the rama lama ding dong, of course. Shake is hand for me if you see him.
One more thing, Greater Mercy. I strongly suggest Power Attack instead. Partially because, like I said before, you already have amazingly good defenses, and it's a waste to sink both of your first two feats into Lay on Hands. Second, because the math on Greater Mercy is poor. Fey Foundling increases every Lay on Hands by 57%, no matter how high you level up, and increases all other healing as well. Greater Mercy's math looks like this:
4th level +50%
6th level +33%
8th level +25%
10th level +20%
12th level +17%
So I guess it boils down to a few questions:
1. Longsword and shield or two-handed weapon?
If you can get 15 dex for Two Weapon Fighting, then a using your shield as the second weapon is THE best option for your concept. High AC, and you will crush enemies when you smite. If you are not fussed about the dexterity, two handed weapon, always.
2. More Dex for 1 more AC or more Cha for 1 more use of LoH?
Aside from the above, charisma is your go-to stat for a lot more besides lay on hands.
3. If I do go two-handed, greatsword, falchion, greataxe, or cheese it up with a nodachi?
Whatever you feel like, but high threat ranges make more of your static bonuses, and smite is a static bonus!
4. Who put the bop in the bop shoo wop do wop?
Me, obviously.
Oath of Vengeance is open to any and all, the rest is just fluff.
Nodachi is the Weapon i would suggest. Your God may have a "prefered" weapon but all they really require is your faith and desire to what is right in their eyes. A Nodachi is just a really good tool for the smiting of evil. Greatsword may be better before you get the divine bond feature but once you add Keen to the Nodachi i think it will pull out ahead.
With the Angelkin Aasimar you could have a 17/17 Str/Cha spread and spend your other points elsewhere. Bump Charisma at 4 and Strength at 8 and your 3rd elsewhere. Or, (14+2)16 STR/12 DEX/14 CON/12-10 INT/10-12 WIS/(15+2)17 CHA. Put your stat raises into CHA at each level which will put you at
16/12/14/12/10/20 @ Level 12.
Feats-
1. Fey Foundling(Since you have to take this at first)
3. Power attack
5. Greater Mercy
7. Step up?
9. ?
11. ?
Traits wise i like Eyes and Ears of the City(Abadar) but these are up in the air really. Ones that give you a good skill or bonuses to saves/initiative are the best.
Cosmopolitian is a really cool feat for some non-class skills and two more languages. Combine with a decent INT and it adds a little versatility to the Pally.
I have just reached 2nd level with my Pally and have yet to play @2nd level so i have been going round and round as far as my own re-build is concerned. I'm a Human and use a Nodachi while wearing Masterwork Field Plate until i can afford better armor.
Blessed Touch isn't an optimized choice.
It's only +1 to the total healed, not +1 per dice.
Yeah, I'm not interested in the TWF with a shield. I am of the camp that fighters and rangers are the only classes that have any business trying to TWF because of the feat requirement. Paladins are even worse off because Fey Foundling and Greater Mercy are such good feats for them.
And are you saying I should go with a falchion over a greatsword, just because of the higher critical thread range? Or maybe even really cheese it up with a paladin with a nodachi?
I am saying those are mechanically the better options. I have an elf paladin with an elven curve-blade - when you smite it's not the damage of the weapon that really counts, it's the threat range and multiplier. So if you REALLY want to cheese it up, get a falcata and swing it two-handed. Otherwise, go with what feels right for you, paladins are hard to get wrong.
Nodachi with blade of mercy and killer... Because why not.
You cannot swear an oath of vengeance to the deity of VENGEANCE?!
Where is this determined? I can't find anything. Is it because in UM the deities listed have only Iomedae and Torag? Surely that's a suggested deity, rather than a required one?
|
And paladins are supposed to smite evil, not whack them over the head and let them live.
Depends on the paladin. A friend of mine played a paladin of Sarenrae who specialized in whacking evil on the head and letting it live - assuming she was satisfied evil was working towards redemption. Had high Diplomacy and Intimidate to convince evil that it was a good idea to work towards redemption.
Dangerously Curious for UMD to go with the high Charisma.
Inner Beauty is not great but could come in handy when really needed.
Purity of Faith is an alternative to Indomitable Faith.
Since you have the Fey Foundling feat you could grab the Adopted trait to fit into the fluff of some backstory and choose a Racial Trait that would be beneficial.
These are just some that i came across. I'm sure there are more that could be of use and you'll probably see the same ones suggested by most for all the same reasons, bonuses to saves, useful skills and extra initiative are boring but good.
Seeker from ultimate campaign gives you perception as a class skill and gives you a +1 to it.
Extremely Fashionable gives you a +1 to Intimidate, Diplomacy and [lol]Bluff, and lets you pick one as a class skill, the obvious choice being intimidate.
Might I suggest a different point buy?
Some things to consider:
Even numbered STR modifiers are more important than odd ones. Even numbered mods get you the extra +1 from using a two handed weapon, hence and 18 in your STR is just as good as a 20.
You are an Angelkin Aasimar, and thus you get Alter Self once per day, which effectively gives you +2 STR for your most important fight. For that reason, you could in theory buy a lower STR score and still have an 18-19 in that stat.
Myself, I prefer to use the regular aasimar because of the +2 Diplomacy and +2 Perception, I also prefer to forsake my SLA in favor of +2 STR, but I don't know how PFS would deal with that.
Unsanctioned Knowledge is the best paladin feat ever. It gives you access to spells that are beyond good. Access to Shield of Faith, Haste or Displacement, and Divine Power is just awesome.
Greater Mercy is less important since you already have Fey Foundling. You aren't a human, and you don't have the feats to spare. You shouldn't try and fit both onto a character that wants to be a heavy hitter in combat. If you want to take both, I say go the power turtle route and go sword and board. You pretty much will never die.
Power Attack is necessary by level 3. Others at the table will be counting on you to do damage. Sure, there's validity in saying that if you can just outheal the badguys damage you will eventually win, and you're right. If you were the only one who had to worry about healing that would be a great plan. Your team needs you to do damage, and Power Attack is where it's at.
Extra Lay on Hands is useful if you ever really need more smites, though I've never not had enough smites for what I want to do, which is why I feel Oath of Vengeance is overrated.
Furious Focus is fantastic since overall it eventually grants you +5 to your attack, which is huge.
That said, here is my recommended point buy:
(7)STR 15 (+2 race)
(2)DEX 12
(5)CON 14
(3)INT 13
(-4)WIS 7
(7)CHA 15 (+2 race)
Final array is STR 17, DEX 12, CON 14, INT 13, WIS 7, CHA 17
level 4 you raise STR, level 8 you raise CHA, from then on you can focus on CHA or give yourself more skills with INT.
Myself, I prefer Oath Agaisnt the Wyrm because of its superior spell list. Access to Fly without having to buy an item or rely on a caster that might not be there is really important. For Wyrm Oath builds I love teh feat Death From Above, combined with Furious Focus, a flying, charging power attack gets +10 to attack, which is significant, not counting smite bonuses.
Is Ult. Campaign stuff legal for PFS already or does it become legal the moment it is published? I don't even think i've seen this in my store yet and i work there. Maybe my memory really is that shot. :(
For PFS i never really recommend the dumping of stats if it can be helped and why tank your WIS when you are attempting to make use of the Perception Skill? More Wisdom will be better even if it is just a 0 modifier.
The stat array i suggested(16/12/14/12/10/17 @ 1st.) will give you more Charisma as you level when the bennies of the higher Charisma really start paying off for the Pally. A +3 in your Strength mod for the life of this PFS character should suffice but others playing this game longer will surely disagree with me as this is just my opinion.
|
|
I like to use my character's background and personality to guide traits so I'm not sure how much help I can be beside the obvious, but:
Dangerously Curious for UMD to go with the high Charisma.
Seconding this. Though with your 2 skills/level skills traits are a little less interesting for you.
Armour Expert might be useful for a tank paladin, since you'll be in heavy armour but don't get armour training.
Vengeful fits your archetype and it looks decent mechanically.
Memorable might be interesting with Diplomacy, though it's probably better applied to Intimidate.
I like to use my character's background and personality to guide traits so I'm not sure how much help I can be beside the obvious, but:
Dangerously Curious for UMD to go with the high Charisma.Seconding this. Though with your 2 skills/level skills traits are a little less interesting for you.
I agree with your thoughts on the skill points thus my suggestion to not dump Intelligence. Also using your favored class bonus on skills helps. High Constitution and good HPs means you don't absolutely need that extra 1/ level.
Bigdaddyjug - I played a Paladin in PFS from 1-12, so I'm talking from experience.
My inital thoughts was that I was going to be a support paladin, and there were questions about letting go and regripping so I went with a longsword. I took a level of Oracle of Lore to added CHA to AC and Saves, so my AC was higher than most (with an 18 CHA) and I found I didn't really need a shield at first, so I used my longsword two-handed. Around level 8 or 9 I started getting tagged pretty hard and invested in a quick draw shield.
As an aside, I REALLY liked the Lore Oracle level. It added some at WILL 0 level spells (Enhanced Diplomacy!, Detect Magic, Create Water - which I found oddly useful in A LOT of situations). Having all Knowledge Skills as class skills and then taking the revelation to use your CHA for knowledge skills, made them REALLY useful. Every increase of CHA increaesd your smite, LoH, skills, AC, reflex saves, and if you take Something Scion of War feat, your Init.
|
|
First thing first: Mithril Full Plate has a max dex of 3 not 2.
1. Longsword and shield or two-handed weapon?Why not both. Having a spare 2 hander and using it as needed is usually not a huge problem.
Quick Draw is an especially good feat for a character who can apply his class bennies to anything in his hands.
2. More Dex for 1 more AC or more Cha for 1 more use of LoHI prefer more charisma. It adds to your LH per day, all your saves, gives you more spells and increases your bonus to hit with Smite Evil.
And your AC versus dance partner.
If your interested purely in the #'s then Greatsword or Falchion. Once you get improved crit or Keen your large static damage bonus from Str and Smite Evil makes them shine.
Paladins also make surprisingly good archers.
The Keen enchantment is a waste of money, and Improved Critical is a waste of a feat. You can fill the gaps on these for free using your divine bond.
At later levels, it may be worth investing in simply because you get access to better abilities with the divine bond.
How long does the Divine Bond bonus on your weapon last? It says you can use it once per day at level 5, but it doesn't say how long it lasts.
One minute per paladin level.
I use divine bond for properties like flaming that have varying usefulness. Against some things they are great, against others, not so much.
How long does the Divine Bond bonus on your weapon last? It says you can use it once per day at level 5, but it doesn't say how long it lasts.One minute per paladin level.Man I read right over that 3 or 4 times and never noticed it. That kinda sucks that at level 5 you get to use it once but it lasts 5 minutes. I can't think of any encounters I've participated in in PFS that have lasted 5 minutes, or any circumstances where 5 minutes was enough time to finish 1 encounter and move to another. They should totally make it usable for paladin level minutes and usable in 1 minute increments. Although I guess that might make it slightly overpowered.
And I don't think keen is a waste of enchantment money. Once you get to level 7 or 8, a +1 keen 18-20/x2 weapon will consistently outdamage a +2 18-20/x2 weapon. So I'd be much better off putting the constant keen enchantment on my weapon and using the Divine Bond for extra +1s.
Not everything is critable, and you are better off spending your money on things that you can't replicate with your divine bond. I would argue that the +1's are more important than keen for that purpose.