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I'm starting as a player in a new campaign. Our group is comprised of one veteran playing a gnome bard and three complete newbies playing a half-orc druid, a human fighter and a half-elf monk.
We rolled for stats and I got the somewhat boring set of 16, 14, 13, 13, 12, 12. Now, I'm kinda set on playing a halfling paladin but otherwise am open to all suggestions. We are mostly on core book but I think I could persuade our GM to accept something from different books.
Any advice?
I've been meaning to try a ranged halfling paladin. You are a bit feat-starver, but it could work out - archery can cause a lot of damage in pathfinder, and it works with smite evil now. Putting the 16 in dexterity, 14 in strength and one of the 13s in charisma pretty much sets you up. There is an archetype for ranged paladins (divine hunter), but they were quite viable before it came out, too. Rapid shot, precise shot and deadly aim are the core feats for this build. You probably won't have the feats for mounted archery, though, so either pick a mount that can act as your bodyguard (wolf, possibly bear) or have a bonded weapon. I'd generally suggest the latter.
Melee is trickier as in the end of the day, you have unimpressive strength and some of the nice goodies for dexterity warrior (i.e. dervish dance, agile weapons etc) are non-core. If you can get it, a dervish dancer halfling could be quite nice. You will need weapon finesse first, and I would still consider having enough strength for power attack unless your DM allows Piranha strike (a non-core feat that works similarly) to work for scimitars. At the end of the day, more damage is more damage, and you should not have any problems hitting. Plus, you are a dancing halfling paladin, how often does one see that? A weapon bond would again be my first choice here. Feats will probably go from weapon finesse to dervish dance to power attack, although you could start with PA and then go for WF (for example, if you put the 16 in strength and raise dex from then on).
Alternatively, you can take advantage of being pint-sized and thus being able to ride medium-sized creatures and go for a mounted build with your mighty steed. Focus on strength and charisma, and definitely have enough strength for power attack. It is a pity you don't have any score higher than a 16, but it could still work. Until lvl 5 you can build as a pedestrian (power attack, furious focus, anything else you have in mind) - mounted combat and the line are not that great a priority for level 1 since you aren't getting your cool ride until lvl 5.
There are naturally other options - such as sword and shield paladins or the reguler two-handed paladins - but I am not sure they will work that well for a halfling.
Speaking of that, what level do you start with.
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This is why I play Rpgs. A hobbit paladin? No way that player is thinking min-max. She (assuming from the avatar) is thinking 'a hobbit paladin would be way cool'. At least that's the way I read it.
One of my best characters was a Halfling Paladin. They can be awesome!
16, 14, 13, 13, 12, 12
Str 14(16-2)
Dex 15(13+2)
Con 14
Int 12
Wis 12
Cha 15(13+2)
Since your Strength and Dexterity would be the same bonus, you can put Weapon Finesse off until level 5.
Feats
Lv1: Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Elven Curved Blade)*
Lv3: Power Attack
Lv5: Weapin Finesse
Boost your Dexterity from there with every chance you get, and make the ECB agile as quick as you can. You can now Power Attack with a (two-handed!)weapon you are using your Dexterity to hit and damage with.
*Spiked Chain works too, if you don't think you can justify a Halfing with an Elven weapon.
I like the dervish dancing paladin of Sarenrae myself. The feats go:
1 Weapon Finesse
2
3 Dervish Dance
And stats:
Str: 12 (-2) Dex: 16+2 Con: 14 Int: 13 Cha: 13 (+2)
First boost in cha, then MAXIMIZE DEX! Smite will help compensate the lower damage.
Huge thanks to you all for the ideas - very inspiring!
We'll be starting at first level and won't be playing all that often (due to living a bit far apart) - maybe once per three or four weeks or so. In other words, I would like a build that would rock from the first level since getting to third level might take until Christmas or something =D
OTOH I don't know whether the GM intends to let us level a bit faster than usual since the sessions are pretty wide apart so it might not be a deal breaker.
The dancing dervish halfling paladin is an insanely cool image, but would only shine at third level and afterwards. Still, I might ask the GM if I can have Dervish Dance - how bad would the first two levels be before getting the feat? Using williamoak's stat distribution would mean a very nice +6 to hit in melee at first level - does that compensate for the lackluster 1d6 damage?
With a greatsword build I could get STR 14 so 1d10+2 damage, which is a lot better but I would be kinda stuck with it (adding to STR would take a long time to pay off).
The Spiked Chain paladin is also an interesting mental image =)
The dino-riding halfling paladin - I'm afraid that would in fact be too cool - it sounds like it would outshine all other characters XD
And then there's the archery approach.
Does archery pull its weight even before getting to Rapid Shot (since that would be third level)? Oh, and I suppose I would need to convince my GM to allow Divine Hunter since that Precision Shot is sorta mandatory and if I don't get it for free, I would "blossom" at fifth level or so. I do like the image of a halfling archer paladin, though. Very cool =)
I'm starting as a player in a new campaign. Our group is comprised of one veteran playing a gnome bard and three complete newbies playing a half-orc druid, a human fighter and a half-elf monk.
We rolled for stats and I got the somewhat boring set of 16, 14, 13, 13, 12, 12. Now, I'm kinda set on playing a halfling paladin but otherwise am open to all suggestions. We are mostly on core book but I think I could persuade our GM to accept something from different books.
Any advice?
For playing a core only paladin, one option would be to focus on riding your mount and using a lance. Mounted charges with a lance get double damage, which can make up for a lot when it comes to damage. This works well for small sized characters since their mounts are medium (as in the size all the buildings are going to be made for, so you can stay mounted pretty much indefinitely). But that takes a while to get off the ground (unless you just buy a normal animal as a mount before then)
If you can expand your books, one thing I think could help would be a bit of investment into an archaeologist bard dip. If you take the fate's favored trait and the lingering performance feat, you can get a +2 to attack, damage, saves, and skills for enough rounds to cover just about any combat in a day. With that tidy little bonus, you could easily go as a melee build. I just love plugging this idea since it is such a great dip that can fit with most melee characters with neutral or better CHA and little need for their traits.
Well, at level 1 it is a bit tricky since composite longbows a bit out of your starting character´s budget so you aren´t doing any extra damage outside of Point Blank shot and smite. So at level one, a greatsword, greataxe, halberd (it would just look so adorable on a halfling) or the like can be more effective, damage-wise. The archer paladin needs level 3 or higher to really start making a big impact. However, if your party already has 2-3 melee warriors jostling at the frontline, it may still be worth it.
BTW, if you go melee, do consider the option for a reach weapon and combat expertise. You will definitely have the dexterity to make good use of it.
Edit: not sure about spiked chains as such, but a paladin wielding battle Poi could be pretty unique.
For early(ie, not enough gold for composite longbows) leaves and ranged combat, throwing weapons and slings are pretty decent.