Getting the most out of CHA

[Nazrelle]

Hello!

Looking at the Enlightened Paladin archetype and it getting CHA to AC, I was wondering, if we can max it out from here.

What would make such a character solid, while making as many things as possible scaling with CHA?

One level Oracle of Nature/Lore comes to mind, to even more CHA to AC.
Noble Scion of War gives us Initiative with CHA and Paladin itself lets us put CHA to saves.

Any further ideas/advices for feats, class dips etc.?

[Nargemn]

I may be wrong, but I believe it was stated that you cannot stack two similar benefits together. In this specific case, sidestep secret and confident defense would not stack together because they both grant CHA to AC. Similarly, sidestep secret's CHA to reflex wouldn't stack with a paladin's divine grace.

[Saldiven]

Yup, there's a FAQ clarification that states you cannot add the same characteristic bonus to the same effect twice. Gimme a minute, and I'll look it up.

Edit:

Here's the one I found. Note, it's possible to effectively stack such bonuses, but only if they're specifically typed in such a way that allows it. If the bonus is described as un-typed ("add your Cha bonus to AC"), then it cannot be stacked with the same stat bonus.

FAQ:

"Do ability modifiers from the same ability stack? For instance, can you add the same ability bonus on the same roll twice using two different effects that each add that same ability modifier?

No. An ability bonus, such as "Strength bonus", is considered to be the same source for the purpose of bonuses from the same source not stacking. However, you can still add, for instance “a deflection bonus equal to your Charisma modifier” and your Charisma modifier. For this purpose, however, the paladin's untyped "bonus equal to her Charisma bonus (if any) on all saving throws" from divine grace is considered to be the same as "Charisma bonus (if any)", and the same would be true for any other untyped "bonus equal to her [ability score] bonus" constructions."

[Claxon]

Yeah, I'm not going to grab the FAQ, but you definitely can't add the same ability bonus to the same thing more than once. Though abilities that say something like "you add a deflection bonus equal to your charisma" would stack with "you replace your dex bonus to AC with charisma to AC".

Despite all that the Oradin is still very common (without using Enlightened archetype) to make a very charisma dependent character.

[Metux]

1 level of swashbuckler (or the amateur swashbuckler feat) grants you the dodging deed that adds Cha to your AC as Dodge bonus (which stacks with itself)

[Nazrelle]

I'm aware of this FAQ.
In this case I was sure, it would stack:

Confident Defense:

At 1st level, when wearing light or no armor and not using a shield, an Enlightened paladin adds 1 point of his Charisma bonus (if any) per class level to his Dexterity bonus to his Armor Class. If he is caught flat-footed or otherwise denied his Dexterity bonus, he also loses this bonus.

That's an untyped bonus, but it says, that it will be added to the DEX bonus.

Nature’s Whispers:

You have become so attuned to the whispers of the natural world, from the croaking of frogs to the groaning of great boulders, that your surroundings constantly keep you preternaturally aware of danger. You may add your Charisma modifier, instead of your Dexterity modifier, to your Armor Class and CMD. Any condition that would cause you to lose your Dexterity modifier to your Armor Class instead causes you to lose your Charisma modifier to your Armor Class.

Here is my DEX modifier to AC, but it's just calculated via CHA.

Also the FAQ specifically says "on the same roll twice". AC isn't a roll.

EDIT: A level of swashbuckler would be nice. Gives a fair amount of points with high CHA and won't hurt my BAB. Otherwise the feat is a good option, too.

[Saldiven]

The Confident Defense ability states that you add Cha Bonus to Dex Bonus.

That's not the same as adding Cha Bonus twice or adding Dex Bonus twice.

Read the FAQ answer. The answer specifies "deflection bonus," which is something that only exists for Armor Class. The question is specific, but the answer applies to all uses of characteristic bonuses.

Also, it's not "Here is my Dex modifer to AC, but it's just calculated via Cha." The Dex modifier is completely replaced by Cha: "add your Charisma modifier, instead of your Dexterity modifier." As such, you cannot add any other instances of Cha modifier to the AC.

Pretty much this: You cannot add the same "Cha Bonus" (or any other stat bonus) to the same thing more than once.