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So I would like to make a Paladin who is half-orc, half-elf, or human, is either sword-and-board or two-handed weapon, and will take levels in Hellknight as soon as possible. This is for Society.
First, what are the pros and cons of the two fighting styles? I'm looking to be a tank that can still hit back.
Second, I'm trying to decide on Archetypes. Since I will have only 5 levels of Paladin for a long time, I've been looking at Oath of Vengeance and Temple Champion (either Growth Subdomain/Plant Blessing or Memory Subdomain/Knowledge Blessing). Ideas and suggestions?
Third, what is overall advice for a Paladin? I've heard Paladins are sticks-in-the-mud but I can play them without that problem. Any weaknesses?
Fourth, What scenario can I play and at what level so I can qualify for the special requirement of the Hellknight? The kill-a-devil-more-powerful-than-you one. Any advice on Hellknighting? What are good disciplines?
Hellknights can be, and are, Lawful Good, but I feel like the absolute orders of your superiors would come into conflict with the Paladin's Code at some point.
That aside, Hellknight PrC is pretty weak. I love the flavor, but you're much better off being straight Paladin if you wanna be a tank that can strike back.
Growth Subdomain is great, but if you go that route, you may as well go for a two handed reach weapon build. Sword and Board is good for getting in the fray and healing yourself, so it's up to you.
Paladins overall are nice. You get some useful spells, you can heal, you can fight. You don't get a lot of skills, but you'll have decent Charisma for diplomacy or intimidation. People would be idiots to suspect a Paladin of foul play, so that might make negotiations easier too.
EDIT: Here's that Lawful Good Hellknight, btw. She's a Centaur, to boot. Very cool.
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Hellknights can be, and are, Lawful Good, but I feel like the absolute orders of your superiors would come into conflict with the Paladin's Code at some point.
That aside, Hellknight PrC is pretty weak. I love the flavor, but you're much better off being straight Paladin if you wanna be a tank that can strike back.
Growth Subdomain is great, but if you go that route, you may as well go for a two handed reach weapon build. Sword and Board is good for getting in the fray and healing yourself, so it's up to you.
Paladins overall are nice. You get some useful spells, you can heal, you can fight. You don't get a lot of skills, but you'll have decent Charisma for diplomacy or intimidation. People would be idiots to suspect a Paladin of foul play, so that might make negotiations easier too.
EDIT: Here's that Lawful Good Hellknight, btw. She's a Centaur, to boot. Very cool.
I wanted to make a Hellknight because they seemed powerful and decided to use Paladin as the lead into it. How are they weak?
More things you fight will be Evil than Chaotic, on the whole. Also, Hellknight abilities are mostly watered-down paladin abilities, except Paladins get spellcasting and Hellknights don't get any at all. Wearing heavy armor doesn't get very good until you have a lot of Hellknight levels, and you never have a lot of chaos smites. Your disciplines are cool, but not very strong. Rather than getting the immunities of a Paladin, you just get boosted resistances to some of them.
If you want to make a Hellknight for flavor, don't let me stop you, but if you're doing it for power, just be a regular Paladin. Paladins are mad-strong.
I have a phalanx soldier hellknight on my to do list myself. I plan on making him a few levels of phalanx soldier so he can use reach weapons one handed. Then, he can two-weapon fight with a long spear and a shield. Later on he takes shield bash.
Thus, when he does a full round attack he starts with the shield bash. If it works then the creature is pushed back 5ft and this provokes an aoo with the long spear. Now that the enemy is 10 ft away, the rest of the full round attacks can be done with the spear.
Thought that this would be a fun combo to use and would make for a fun few early levels till jumping into hellknight.
For you I'd say don't start as a paladin and go into hellknight. Their abilities are two similar and overlap. It would be like multiclassing a samurai and a paladin. Fighter definitely seems the best choice overall for going into hellknight because you get extra feats. Other than that, ranger might be a good option if you want a lot of skills and favored enemy.
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I have a phalanx soldier hellknight on my to do list myself. I plan on making him a few levels of phalanx soldier so he can use reach weapons one handed. Then, he can two-weapon fight with a long spear and a shield. Later on he takes shield bash.
Thus, when he does a full round attack he starts with the shield bash. If it works then the creature is pushed back 5ft and this provokes an aoo with the long spear. Now that the enemy is 10 ft away, the rest of the full round attacks can be done with the spear.
Thought that this would be a fun combo to use and would make for a fun few early levels till jumping into hellknight.
For you I'd say don't start as a paladin and go into hellknight. Their abilities are two similar and overlap. It would be like multiclassing a samurai and a paladin. Fighter definitely seems the best choice overall for going into hellknight because you get extra feats. Other than that, ranger might be a good option if you want a lot of skills and favored enemy.
If you mix with a Swashbuckler, you can get Dex-to-damage and works well with Combat Reflexes.
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In PFS, role-playing requirements for prestige classes (like killing a demon in front of a hellknight) are waived.
I have a Shining Knight Paladin of Iomedae 6/Oracle 1/ Hellknight of the Nail 3 who absolutely idolized Maidrayne Vox. She's a lot of fun, but if I made her again now I'd definitely go with a 2 handed weapon over sword and board. You don't really get enough feats to do twf sword and board effectively, so I have to two-hand the longsword if I really want to do appreciable damage.
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Wish I could join in on the Hellknight gathering, but alas, my Signifer (Order of the Gate) is a bit tied up dealing with this little affair in [REDACTED] at the moment... Also, my imp would probably trip your paladin sensors. :p
One of the guys I play with has a Hellknight of his own (also from the Order of the Gate), and we had a great time doing Fortress of the Nail together.
In PFS, role-playing requirements for prestige classes (like killing a demon in front of a hellknight) are waived.May I have the source for that?
From the PFS Organized Play Guide, pg. 22
Prestige Classes
Roleplaying requirements for prestige classes (such as particular ceremonies or killing a devil) are waived in Pathfinder Society.
The majority of Prestige Classes operate along these lines...
That said, there are certain side cases, which are (or should be) detailed in the Additional Resources document.
A later addition/clarification to the Additional Resources document (which I have since learned was "technically" in effect before I'd created my character, but had not yet been put on the AR page), stated that while you are not required to roleplay out the devil summoning/service-period during a PFS session, you must have added the spell in question (Lesser Planar Ally, in my case) in your spellbook/spells known list and paid any associated costs related to its casting - i.e. it is assumed to have been cast at some point "between sessions" and must be cast under your own power, not from a scroll.
This pushed the entry-threshold a few levels higher for me and necessitated a bit of a rebuild for the character. But we got everything straightened out and signed off on by the local VC pretty quickly, so no biggie.
Basically, as I understand it, the special roleplaying requirements are waived (or simply assumed to be completed "between sessions"), but you do have to pay any costs associated with them.
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Thank you, is it a specific list or general list of waived?
The roleplaying requirements are waived in general, with specific exceptions (such as the example I gave above) being detailed in the relevant Prestige Class's entry on the Additional Resources page. Basically, the list will tell you which Prestige Classes are legal and what, if any, special requirements/modifications are necessary to play it in a PFS game.
If all it says is that the Prestige Class is legal (as it does with the Hellknight), then all you have to do is meet the Alignment/Skill Rank/Feat/etc. requirements and you're good to go.