I have a question about the Bane Baldric from Ultimate Equipment.
It states:
Ultimate Equipment wrote: If the wearer is not an inquisitor, she gains the bane ability of a 5th-level inquisitor. My interpretation is that the character gains access to the Bane ability normally granted when an Inquisitor becomes 5th level. So if you're a 10th level fighter, it'd last 10 rounds. I'm asking for clarification because of the important difference between "of" and "as". Had it said as a 5th level inquisitor, it would only last 5 rounds and never more. However, it reads to me like it's granting the class ability to a character instead of treating them simply as a 5th level inquisitor.
Is this correct? If I have an 8th level Paladin, it would last 8 rounds and not just 5?
No, if you are not an inquisitor, you get 5 rounds of Bane because a 5th level inquisitor gets 5 rounds of Bane.
Bigdaddyjug wrote: No, if you are not an inquisitor, you get 5 rounds of Bane because a 5th level inquisitor gets 5 rounds of Bane. This.
OK, thanks. Quickly running out of options for my Paladin to not be completely useless against non-evil creatures.
What those two said! Cheers.
Power Attack, full BAB, high Str. I'm not seeing any way in which your paladin should be useless against non-evil creatures. Sure you don't have all of the feats a fighter of the same level would have, but you're not completely devoid of options. This isn't even considering the fact that you're way more durable than any fighter and with considerably better saves.
Well, it's a PFS character and I didn't stat dump wisdom and intelligence because I didn't want a Lawful Stupid Paladin that's all too common in PFS. So her strength is only a 16. It's my fault because I went with a fun, themed character. Aasimar with Angel Blooded and in a few levels she'll get her wings, so no room for Power Attack.
I was hoping to offset her pitiful damage with magic items. Funny thing is that like most Paladins, she's practically unstoppable against evil monsters. She would've dropped a Mythic Vrock during a recent convention had it not concluded before her attacks were resolved (rolled anyway, did over 300 damage on 3 attacks.)
But against non-evil? 1d6+5 damage... oh boy. Funny thing is that she's only ever fought evil undead once this entire time. For some reason Pathfinder modules like to throw non-evil undead at her: zombies, mummies, and even a ghost. For the longest time, my character was convinced that all undead weren't evil, and it's obviously just one big misunderstanding. :P
16 str is fine. The confusing thing about optimization at times is it sets a bar others try to reach. But the bar for the monsters is much lower.
With 16 str and power attack your damage will be well within the range for the bad guys.
Though my statement is based on normal 15 pt buy pf of monsters vs 20 pt pcs. I don't onow if pfs is harder.
Take power attack anyway. You need it to do decent damage as a melee character. See if you can retrain one of your earlier feats. (PFS allows retraining according to Ultimate Campaign.)
As for the undead, the standard zombies and mummies are evil in Pathfinder. Even mindless undead are evil. Other than ghosts, exceptions to evil undead should be rare as hens' teeth, and even non-evil ghosts should be rare as well. Do you recall what modules these supposed non-evil undead were in?
Yeah, undead in PFS are almost always evil. I can't even think of many scenarios that have ghosts you have to fight in them, and the couple I can think of the ghosts are evil anyway.
I know what you mean about not wanting to play the "lawful stupid" paladin. What I did with my paladin is go full-bore lawful stupid, and really roleplay it up when I play her. I made my paladin a demon-spawn tiefling (+2 Str, +2 Cha, -2 Int) then dumped Int down to a 7. So yeah, I'm running around with a 5 Int paladin. It's ok, though, because I built her to be almost impossible to kill.
Allizsah Bloodfeather
Level 4 demon-spawn tiefling Oath of Vengeance Paladin of Ragathiel
Str: 18 (+1 @ 4th)
Dex: 12
Con: 14
Int: 5
Wis: 10
Cha: 20 (+2 Cha headband)
Feats: Fey Foundling (1), Greater Mercy (3), Extra Lay on Hands (5)
AC: 21/11/20
Saves: +11/+7/+9
Melee: +1 nodachi +10 (1d10+7/18-20/x2)
Lay on Hands for 2d6+4 9 times per day
Smite Evil 2x per day and can trade 2x LoH for an extra Smite
I also have a cracked vibrant purple prism ioun stone and a wand of Shield. I have the arcane caster in my party cast shield into the ioun stone, then I can use the ioun stone whenever I want to cast Shield on myself to increase my AC by 4.
I also have Deathwatch and Light at will.
My next purchase will be a +2 Str belt, then making the nodachi a +1 keen nodachi. After those 2 purchases, I will be saving up to purchase Celstial Plate Armor.
Several of the tapestry modules had mummies, juju zombies, and other neutral things that were protecting the tombs. The ghost was from the Green Market *mumble* module that was supposed to be a "pacifist" (HUGE air quotes there) druid that wasn't evil, but had no problems with summoning huge elementals to slaughter innocent people.
I know it's the exception to the rule, but it's just funny how it turned out for this character. Nearly all the undead she's fought were neutral. She's 8th level now on slow progression, and for the first time ever, fought some ghouls that were actually evil. She was really surprised!
This is a tough decision. I need Extra Lay On Hands for the Ultimate Mercy, which is dependent on the Greater Mercy. That leaves only the 1st level feat to swap out (Scion of War) that I took because it doubled as both a boon to her initiative and solidified her character backstory as a noble-turned-patriot/paladin (now a Marquisette in Taldor.) Having a non-cleric that can raise dead in PFS is pretty darn handy. Saved a person 12 prestige points!
Really don't want to change that stuff out, it's what makes the character. I think what I'll do is refocus on magic items that enhance her healing, and basically have her switch to Healing Fountain mode during neutral-aligned combats. I think there are some items that allow for Lay On Hands as ranged (she doesn't have channel energy, gave it up for extra smite from Oath of Vengeance.) She can still nickel & dime stuff when healing isn't needed, or tank. Bracers of the Merciful Knight come to mind.
Oh, derp. Ultimate Mercy isn't dependent on the number of times my character can Lay on Hands, it just won't work unless she has 10 LoHs to use. So I could drop Extra Lay on Hands and retrain to Power Attack. I had originally got it so my character could Raise Dead at 7th level, which was pretty damn cool (could have been at 5th level if she were Human, but I went with the whole Angle theme.)
A casting of Eagle's Splendor or purchase of Merciful Knight bracers would solve the 10 LoH issue for Ultimate Mercy.
That'll up her damage by +4, so that should help quite a bit. Metamagic Rod of Extend + Bull's Strength should help, too.
So I think what I'll do is get the Bracers + a meta magic rod, then retrain Extra Lay on Hands for Power Attack. That should add +6 per hit for damage. The Alter Self (which is rarely used) would add another +1.
So I think I have a plan. Thanks for all the input and help. :)
Yessssss...I forgot about Bracers of the Merciful Knight. Jesus I need some serious gold. I guess upgrading the weapon will just have to wait.
Belt of Giant Strength +2: 4,000g
Celestial Plate armor: 25,000g
Bracers of the Merciful Knight: 15,600
Total: 44,600g
Having a paladin that is damn near invincible: priceless
So this just means I'm going to have to play in 9 5-9s that are all played in the 8-9 tier so I get out of tier gold. Then once I hit 8 I'll have to jump to 7-11s and play the 10-11 tier to once again get out of tier gold. Maybe by the time I hit level 9 or 10 I'll have the gold for everything I want.
What weapon does she use? Scimitar? Is she sword-and-board or two-handed? Could always go to a greatsword -- 2d6 is better than 1d6, even though you'd be greatsword-wielding-paladin #35256678. Falchion is another option.
She currently uses an Adamantine Rapier +1, but she needs her off hand free to use Lay on Hands, so she has a +1 buckler on that arm.
I'll be gaming at my LFGS tonight, so I'm going to spend the gold to buy the metamagic rod of extend. She'll hold that in her off-hand with a weapon cord to keep it safe in case of emergencies.
I'll use it to cast extended Bull's Strength & Eagle's Splendor.... and if I run into any evil critters, extended Litany of Righteousness. Mwuhahaha! :D
Yes! I can't wait to get Litany of Righteousness. For now, my prepared spells are 1x Grace and 2x Hero's Defiance. Hero's Defiance might be the best spell in Pathfinder. Seriously!
olePigeon wrote: Oh, derp. Ultimate Mercy isn't dependent on the number of times my character can Lay on Hands, it just won't work unless she has 10 LoHs to use. So I could drop Extra Lay on Hands and retrain to Power Attack. I had originally got it so my character could Raise Dead at 7th level, which was pretty damn cool (could have been at 5th level if she were Human, but I went with the whole Angle theme.)
A casting of Eagle's Splendor or purchase of Merciful Knight bracers would solve the 10 LoH issue for Ultimate Mercy.
That'll up her damage by +4, so that should help quite a bit. Metamagic Rod of Extend + Bull's Strength should help, too.
So I think what I'll do is get the Bracers + a meta magic rod, then retrain Extra Lay on Hands for Power Attack. That should add +6 per hit for damage. The Alter Self (which is rarely used) would add another +1.
So I think I have a plan. Thanks for all the input and help. :)
You should really be using that alter self ability a LOT more often especially with the angel theme you have going.
Remember, Strix are humanoid so at least once a day you get to fly (with real wings) for your level number of minutes with a free +2 SIZE bonus to your strength (stacks with almost everything).
I do the same thing with my tiefling but bought a wand of Recharge Innate Magic, a cracked vibrant purple prism and a hat of disguise. Let's me always appear as a full solar or other angel and can fly anytime I want with a standard action.
Makes for an awesome RP scenario too.
Actually, she's an Aasimar, not a Stryx. The wings will come from an Aasimar racial feat. :)
She has Alter Self because of the Angle Blooded racial variant. It stacks with Bull's Strength, so it's like having a +6 belt.
The problem is that it takes a standard action to cast, and I rarely know a combat is coming (without meta gaming) to not wast a whole round getting a +2 to strength.
He's saying you can alter self into a stryx and gain the ability to fly.
Question: No bonded weapon?
There's several options you could pick from the bonded weapons for fights against neutral creatures. Up the enhancement bonus, flaming, etc.
==Aelryinth
I thought Alter Self only gave you the following if your new shape had it: darkvision 60 feet, low-light vision, scent, and/or swim 30 feet.
I know I should be using these abilities more often, but they all take standard actions. I can't spend the first 4 or 5 rounds of a fight using special abilities.
Since you're using a buckler (hopefully magical) I'll assume that you want to keep your AC high rather than just grabbing a greatsword and applying some higher damage. Otherwise the latter seems like a pretty good plan.
Aelryinth's suggestion to use the divine bond on your weapon seems like a solid one. If you have a mount instead it could also help contribute some damage (and without costing you a standard action to buff)
I'm not sure if the Deliquescent Glove is available in PFS, but it and the Bane Baldric have helped my Paladin/Bard a lot against the many non-evil foes in the AP we're playing. What's key is only using the BB when you full attack to get the most out of it.
Yeah, it's a magic buckler. Currently +2. I looked at the Deliquescent Gloves. It's from Ultimate Equipment, so it should be legal. I'll probably go that way. Unless I'm fighting slimes or acid elemental, it should be universally helpful.
I was going to buy a Mask of the Mantis for Dark Vision and an occasional See Invisibility, but then just spending 2PP for a Wand of Recharge for the Alter Self would work just as well, and a LOT cheaper. Well, won't have See Invisibility, what will have Dark Vision.
See Invis is nice but in many ways Scent is soo much better.
Little hint, several of the forms you can turn into with Alter Self have scent and makes fighting invisible opponents much easier.
Go Go Gadget Sasquatch!
Scent, and a +2 to Str.
Just an FYI, that wand of recharge innate magic won't work on your alter self SLA. The spell specifically says it only works on 0-level and 1st-level spells. Alter self is a 2nd-level spell.
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