Stonewarden paladin seems solid. Maybe a warpriest?
Stonewarden paladin seems solid. Maybe a warpriest?
IMO, these are the best answers that fit the question
Dwarves make excellent rangers. Their racial abilities often complement the rangers class features especially if you change out some of them. A dwarf ranger with the giant hunter alternative racial trait that takes giants as a favored enemy will be a great giant killer. Stonecunning combined with favored terrain and a decent WIS, and perception as a class skill is also good. Rangers also have good Fort and Reflex saves, that combined with Hardy gives them excellent saves. Take Steel Soul and Glory of Old to boost that even further.
Ranger Combat style allows you to ignore the prerequisite on you bonus feats. Take Weapon and Shield Style to pick up feats without having to boost your DEX that high.
There are a couple of ranger archetype that specialize in underground environments that seem like they would be perfect for a dwarf. Deep Walker or Dungeon Rover seems highly appropriate. Spirt Ranger could also work as dwarves are often seen to have a connection to underground and mountains.
In addition to fighter, paladin (stonewarden), ranger, and warpriest, you may want to consider occultist with Trappings of the Warrior for axe (Transmutation) and shield (Abjuration). Just select masterwork transformation as one of the 2nd-level spells known (either from the Transmutation or panoply choice) if you want to keep the same implements that the character starts with at 1st level.
If you just want to use the shield for defense, pretty much any melee class will work. Fighter, Brawler, Skald, anything.
If you want to shield bash, Ranger is a good choice. Like Stranger said, the combat style bonus feats let you ignore pre-reqs. So you can easily get Two-Weapon Fighting without having to go all in on Dex. The Skirmisher archetype trades out spells for more melee treats.
My best advice is to not use such a tiny axe. Instead of a dwarf axe, use a regular battle axe.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I played a dwarf stonelord paladin to 14th or 15th level in PFS. Easily the best AC for his level of any PC I've made, because defensive stance without waiting to qualify for a prestige class is very good.
The two main challenges that I had with the build were:
1. You give up smite, which is a big part of a standard paladin's damage output. Mine never did as much damage as other martials of his level, but feats and weapon enchantments can help with that.
2. The action economy can take some practice to get used to, especially if you enemy doesn't conveniently stand still. You won't get as many mercies, but you want fatigue to be your first one so that can: move (break stance, become fatigued); swift to lay on hands (remove fatigue); standard to attack; then, next turn, swift to re-enter the stance if you're adjacent to a target. There is also an option at higher level that lets you take a 5-ft step without losing the stance.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
My best advice is to not use such a tiny axe. Instead of a dwarf axe, use a regular battle axe.
I don’t think everyone got this joke.