So we just recently started a campaign(everyone starts level6) and this is my first time making a paladin(only my 3rd time making a character at all). Ive played about 5-7 sessions so far so im not very experienced and would like some advice.
Here is my Character: http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=649802
One of my key concerns is that when we started out campaign and put our stats up on the board i noticed everyone had very similar AC and HP to me but without using heavy armor. The 3 Front liners are me(a paladin), a monk, and a fighter. I have 22AC, the Fighter has 21(with light armor), and the Monk has 22 with no armor. This is really troubling to me as i thought i would be the most AC heavy since i have well... more armor. Among any other tips people would like to drop by i would really like any on anything i could have missed that led to my seemingly lower AC.
Also yes, i know i rolled poorly :c
You also spent ALL of your 50,000 gold on a magic sword, without a thought in the world to defense.
In general, AC of 15+level = good
AC of 20+level = fortress
And yes, you should expect the fighter to be good at fighting. That's not a surprise in any way. He'll generally have better offense and worse defense than you do.
If it's not too late, I'd consider one of these:
a) Shift your stats for 18 Str and 16 Cha
b) Leverage that giant strength with a two-handed weapon
You also spent ALL of your 50,000 gold on a magic sword, without a thought in the world to defense.
In general, AC of 15+level = good
AC of 20+level = fortressAnd yes, you should expect the fighter to be good at fighting. That's not a surprise in any way. He'll generally have better offense and worse defense than you do.
If it's not too late, I'd consider one of these:
a) Shift your stats for 18 Str and 16 Cha
b) Leverage that giant strength with a two-handed weapon
I started with 1,150gp. We didnt do the thing were you get gold depending on your level. We rolled our level 1 gold then multiplied it by our level.
That sword is my paladin's bonded weapon that my gm let me take a few ranks higher because we all started with 1 magical weapon, like our sorcerer started with a fighting fan with spell storing.Also no i cant swap stats, Once the game starts we cant change our base stats.
I'm questioning why you're using a weapon you're not proficient with, a long sword would be much better. You lose the X3 critical, but you get +4 to hit with it (which is massive). Vital strike is not a good feat for Full BaB classes like Paladins as most of your DPR comes from full round attacks, I would choose Lunge instead. The extra reach it gives you can be stupidly useful. The only way you're going to get more AC is through magic items, the best you could do otherwise is taking the feat Shield Focus for another +1 to AC, or fighting defensively for +2 dodge AC (but that imposes a -4 to hit).
I'm questioning why you're using a weapon you're not proficient with, a long sword would be much better. You lose the X3 critical, but you get +4 to hit with it (which is massive). Vital strike is not a good feat for Full BaB classes like Paladins as most of your DPR comes from full round attacks, I would choose Lunge instead. The extra reach it gives you can be stupidly useful. The only way you're going to get more AC is through magic items, the best you could do otherwise is taking the feat Shield Focus for another +1 to AC, or fighting defensively for +2 dodge AC (but that imposes a -4 to hit).
The deity im serving makes me proficient with it and i thought it would add flavor. Does the same damage as a long sword but with a x3 crit.
Lunge looks really nice, i must have past over that one when i was looking through feats or thought it was for ranged attackers. Is it too late to get lunge or would that be a good next level feat?
I would rather not fight defensively as the people we generally face already have high AC's. Is spending a feat to get +1 AC really worth it? seemed kind of small to me but i dont have alot of experience with what is good and bad :\
Brilliant energy is not always a great choice. For example, it does precisely nothing to any undead you might face. Literally zero damage.
If you want the same feel, flaming, shocking, keen, and holy are all better choices.
I'd dump the shield, swing the falcata with both hands, and power attack. AC only matters if your opponent is alive.
Read the bless weapon spell. Cast it before difficult battles.
And I agree with you, a feat for +1 AC isn't great. Neither is a feat for +2 AC, which is what you get with Tower Shield proficiency.
You'll have three feats. Keep Toughness, add Power Attack, and then take one more (Vital Strike is ok, but there are other choices that are better, like Lunge)
And I agree with you, a feat for +1 AC isn't great. Neither is a feat for +2 AC, which is what you get with Tower Shield proficiency.
You'll have three feats. Keep Toughness, add Power Attack, and then take one more (Vital Strike is ok, but there are other choices that are better, like Lunge)
Well i got tower shield because i can enchant it later and/or use it to give cover to allies. I havnt used it yet since we have only had quick kill encounters so far(1-3 enemies). Is it not worth it to have the cover? Because i was thinking that during our next session i would go out and get a mythril tower shield for 100g, adds +1 AC to make it +3 and makes it possible for our sorcerer to enchant it. I have always drop the tower shield to two-hand the Falcata which is what i plan to do when we have more serious encounters.
I can prob retrain my Vital Strike into Power Attack(since we are about to go on a week long trip to another city) and then take Lunge next level. Is that a good plan of action?
Brilliant energy is not always a great choice. For example, it does precisely nothing to any undead you might face. Literally zero damage.
If you want the same feel, flaming, shocking, keen, and holy are all better choices.
I'd dump the shield, swing the falcata with both hands, and power attack. AC only matters if your opponent is alive.
Read the bless weapon spell. Cast it before difficult battles.
Is Bless Weapon better then Divine Favor? I used to have bless weapon in my spell selection till i found Hero's Defiance(which is awesome >.<). The way i read the spell Divine Favor does the same thing as Bless Weapon except that Bless weapon only works on Evil Incorprals or Evil Creatures with DR. Am i wrong there?
The Masochist paladin is one of the best paladin builds. A masochistic paladin wants to get attacked so keeps his AC low enough that the enemy will attack him instead of the other party members. He then uses his lay on hand to heal himself. Healing yourself with a lay on hands is a swift action so he can do that every round and not sacrifice his offensive capabilities. Usually this works best when using a two handed weapon and taking power attack as a feat.
Bless weapon is one of the better paladins spell for one reason. Any critical threat on an evil creature does not need to roll to confirm. This does not stack with keen, but does stack with improved critical. Combine this with smite evil and it gets insane.
You. Need. FEY.TOUCHED.
I made a damn fun Varisian Dex paladin once. One of my favorite characters. Dipped Dawnflower Dervish and used a scimitar for some very nice damage, and Strength was basically a dump stat.
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Since you're getting Ancestral Arms goodness, I would suggest you to take the Elven Curve Blade instead of the Falcata. True, it's a two-handed weapon and pretty much defeats the Tower Shield Proficency stuff, but as you've marked, you seldom use it.
Also, Brilliant Energy weapons at level 6 are kind of an outrage, and in the hands of a Paladin are kind of useless, too. Sure, you can pretty much pwnish the sh*t out of every evil mook around, but you couldn't hurt a pitty zombie, and that's just shameful for a Paladin.
My sugestions (if you can rrebuild that much your character):
Change Ancestral Arms: Falcata for Ancestral Arms: Elven Curve Blade.
Change Tower Shield Proficiency feat for Power Attack Feat (you NEED this).
Change Toughness feat for Furious Focus feat (now your Power Attack is better and you can Lay on Hands yourself as a swift action anyway).
Regarding to Vital Strike, if you're ever going into Mythical, this feat's mythic version becomes RIGHTEOUS STRIKE OF AWESOMENESS for a Paley since you get to multiply your Smite Evil damage whenever you happen to use them together (read: everytime you could). In non-mythic games it loses a bit of its edge, but remains fairly decent. However, if you're more focused in becoming an Intimidomancer (which is pretty viable for a Paladin), perhaps you'd like to switch your Inspired trait for Princess trait and get Intimidate as a class skill (don't worry, it's not a gender-specific and you can get it), and change your Vital Strike feat for Cornugon Smash feat and get free Intimidate checks everytime you hit someone with Power Attack.
Finally, if you were to take my suggestions, get rid of your Brilliant Energy Falcata and get, for the same +4 enhancement cost, a +1 Grayflame, Impact Elven Curve Blade and Divine Bond it to make it Keen too. a 2d8 weapon with 15-20 x2 critical range and extra enhancement and damage bonus as needed, will soak lots of more damage than your current Falcata. OR you may keep a mere +1 Grayflame (or whatever +1 bonus you like) and Divine Bond it for keen; a 1d10, 15-20/x2 is still a pretty good weapon, and you could get that extra cash invested in extra equipment like a Headband of Alluring Charisma, a Full Plate armor and some Boots of Striding and Spinning to keep your speed while in heavy armor.