Pimp my paladin... ;) [Archive] - Wizards Community

Pimp my paladin... ;) [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
rob_douglas
07-17-07, 09:48 AM OK, for those who have seen me post, I am not a fan of Character Optimization, but I also don't like my PCs to be too inefficient. I have a problem with a Paladin PC. I feel she is missing something, and most importantly have concerns about her Epic advancement. As DM, I often allow reconfiguration of characters (I will work it into the story) to deal with inefficiencies that come from that fact that we have been playing these characters since 2E at level 1 (I grant levels and XP slooooowwwwwwllllyyyy). Lots of things are able to change, but I think that key things to keep are the connection to her deity (Pholtus) represented by (but not necessarily tied to) Divine Agent, Epic Divine Might, a decent Smite Ability, connection to Mount.

Ok, so here is the current state of the Paladin in question. At 22nd level, Ryan is Pal15/DivineAgent7. She particularly likes the flavor of Divine Agent, and the ability to Plane Shift granted at 7th level was a big boon. Pal15 gives 4/day smites, decent lay on hands. The Spellcasting is as a Paladin18 due to Divine Agent casting at 1/2.

Abilities
Base Level Inhernt Item Total Mod
STR 14 +1 +2 +6 23 +6
DEX 12 +2 +6 20 +5
CON 12 +2 +4 18 +4
INT 13 +2 15 +2
WIS 14 +2 +6 22 +6
CHA 15 +4 +5 +6 30 +10

Feats (8+1 epic):

Power Attack
Divine Might
Epic Divine Might (+30 damage for 1 round)
Divine Shield
Extra Turning
Improved Critical (longsword)
Mounted Combat
Ride By Attack
Weapon Focus (longsword)

Turn Undead 17/day
Smite Evil 4/day +10 hit/+15 damage

Other PrCs I have looked at include: Sword of Righteousness (need to sub some feats for Exalted ones: Ride By, and Extra Turn are candidates), Fist of Raziel, Divine Champion. I thought that adding a Cleric level earlier would also be useful in improving spellcasting long-term. I also see Divine Emissary as an Epic option (house-ruled to deal with the weapon issue). I could see using Leadership to get a more powerful mount, and even then using less Paladin levels if the mount was more useful (I won't go dragon, as that would not fit the flavor of the character or campaign, but some kind of celestial horse, akin to a Ki-rin may be...). High Proseletyzer may also appeal to her down the line.

I guess right now I am looking for options for different class mixes and feats that offer a variety to choose from in order to match the flavor of the character in the past, marking her as a representative of Lawful Good, and especially of Pholtus.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

ROB
Kihon
07-17-07, 10:16 AM I would add one level as a cleric - it gives access to Domains (make em good ones), helps the spell casting, doesn't hurt the saves/attacks too much. Then I would consider Divine Emissary after that.
rob_douglas
07-17-07, 10:55 AM Can't do Divine Emissary for awhile. Need BAB +23 (so 30th level if you have BAB +18 at 20th...). I agree I need Cleric in before DE - I was thinking of backfilling a level of Cleric before DA, to improve casting there.
Domains will be Law or Knowledge, Good, and Sun (3 domains with DA).

I forgot to mention, the Divine Gifts so far are Searing Light (3rd) and Flame Strike (6th). I also "fixed" Menacing Aura DC to match other DCs for that type of ability - being based on total character level, it should be 10+1/2HD+CHA mod, instead of DC=HD.

ROB
archerpwr
07-17-07, 12:17 PM OK, for those who have seen me post, I am not a fan of Character Optimization

That explains everything. I enjoy the crunch.
dndfencer
07-17-07, 07:36 PM I'll start of by saying that you didn't need to say you weren't a fan of CO. It was pretty obvious.
I'd recommend going along the leadership and spellcasting path more than the combat focused class unless your willing to spend a lot of money on strength boosts. Also, taking a few levels in cleric would probably be a great idea considering you already have a decent wis score (but some tome of wis boosting thingamy bops would be a good idea if you want to really pursue being a cleric).
However, I have to say you have nice round ability scores that you could probably use for something (maybe sacred fist in complete divine)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
rob_douglas 07-17-07, 09:48 AM	OK, for those who have seen me post, I am not a fan of Character Optimization, but I also don't like my PCs to be too inefficient. I have a problem with a Paladin PC. I feel she is missing something, and most importantly have concerns about her Epic advancement. As DM, I often allow reconfiguration of characters (I will work it into the story) to deal with inefficiencies that come from that fact that we have been playing these characters since 2E at level 1 (I grant levels and XP slooooowwwwwwllllyyyy). Lots of things are able to change, but I think that key things to keep are the connection to her deity (Pholtus) represented by (but not necessarily tied to) Divine Agent, Epic Divine Might, a decent Smite Ability, connection to Mount. Ok, so here is the current state of the Paladin in question. At 22nd level, Ryan is Pal15/DivineAgent7. She particularly likes the flavor of Divine Agent, and the ability to Plane Shift granted at 7th level was a big boon. Pal15 gives 4/day smites, decent lay on hands. The Spellcasting is as a Paladin18 due to Divine Agent casting at 1/2. Abilities Base Level Inhernt Item Total Mod STR 14 +1 +2 +6 23 +6 DEX 12 +2 +6 20 +5 CON 12 +2 +4 18 +4 INT 13 +2 15 +2 WIS 14 +2 +6 22 +6 CHA 15 +4 +5 +6 30 +10 Feats (8+1 epic): Power Attack Divine Might Epic Divine Might (+30 damage for 1 round) Divine Shield Extra Turning Improved Critical (longsword) Mounted Combat Ride By Attack Weapon Focus (longsword) Turn Undead 17/day Smite Evil 4/day +10 hit/+15 damage Other PrCs I have looked at include: Sword of Righteousness (need to sub some feats for Exalted ones: Ride By, and Extra Turn are candidates), Fist of Raziel, Divine Champion. I thought that adding a Cleric level earlier would also be useful in improving spellcasting long-term. I also see Divine Emissary as an Epic option (house-ruled to deal with the weapon issue). I could see using Leadership to get a more powerful mount, and even then using less Paladin levels if the mount was more useful (I won't go dragon, as that would not fit the flavor of the character or campaign, but some kind of celestial horse, akin to a Ki-rin may be...). High Proseletyzer may also appeal to her down the line. I guess right now I am looking for options for different class mixes and feats that offer a variety to choose from in order to match the flavor of the character in the past, marking her as a representative of Lawful Good, and especially of Pholtus. Any thoughts are appreciated. ROB
Kihon 07-17-07, 10:16 AM	I would add one level as a cleric - it gives access to Domains (make em good ones), helps the spell casting, doesn't hurt the saves/attacks too much. Then I would consider Divine Emissary after that.
rob_douglas 07-17-07, 10:55 AM	Can't do Divine Emissary for awhile. Need BAB +23 (so 30th level if you have BAB +18 at 20th...). I agree I need Cleric in before DE - I was thinking of backfilling a level of Cleric before DA, to improve casting there. Domains will be Law or Knowledge, Good, and Sun (3 domains with DA). I forgot to mention, the Divine Gifts so far are Searing Light (3rd) and Flame Strike (6th). I also "fixed" Menacing Aura DC to match other DCs for that type of ability - being based on total character level, it should be 10+1/2HD+CHA mod, instead of DC=HD. ROB
archerpwr 07-17-07, 12:17 PM	OK, for those who have seen me post, I am not a fan of Character Optimization That explains everything. I enjoy the crunch.
dndfencer 07-17-07, 07:36 PM	I'll start of by saying that you didn't need to say you weren't a fan of CO. It was pretty obvious. I'd recommend going along the leadership and spellcasting path more than the combat focused class unless your willing to spend a lot of money on strength boosts. Also, taking a few levels in cleric would probably be a great idea considering you already have a decent wis score (but some tome of wis boosting thingamy bops would be a good idea if you want to really pursue being a cleric). However, I have to say you have nice round ability scores that you could probably use for something (maybe sacred fist in complete divine)