Paladin Questions/Advice? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Paladin Questions/Advice? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
JRROGERS
07-10-06, 06:46 PM Hey All--

I'm rather new to LG (1 year now) and my main regional char (Shield Lands) is a Paladin 4 (mounted combat type, moving towards cavalier or Knight of the Holy Shielding). I have a few questions and was hoping the wisdom of the regular posters could enlighten me:

1--My char currently carries a +1 longsword, light crossbow, club, and lance. I have no silvered or cold iron weapons. What would be the smartest and cheapest way to make sure I can overcome the usual DR's? (I'd like to shy away from just carrying cold iron/silver bolts).

2--I know it makes sense to buy spiked gauntlets in case I get grappled or swallowed whole, but does it make sense to cold iron/silver them? Also, I currently use masterwork full plate...can I just buy gauntlets or masterwork gauntlets, or do I have to buy a whole new suit of armor?

3--With my 12 Wis, I get 1 spell a day at fourth level. What would you consider to be the most useful spell to memorize every day? I lean towards Bless Weapon, but maybe I'm overlooking something.

4--I just spent a lot of cash to purchase a +2 Cloak of Charisma. If you were playing this char, what would be your next large magical purchase? I've got access to a Wand CLW and should be purchasing that soon. What's next--upgrading to +1 armor and shield? Better than studded leather barding for my mount? Something else?

Thanks for all your help in advance! Just trying to make sure Kelur Ahmstaf stays alive long enough to get knighted! :cool:

JRRogers
Howie23
07-10-06, 07:15 PM Hey All--

I'm rather new to LG (1 year now) and my main regional char (Shield Lands) is a Paladin 4 (mounted combat type, moving towards cavalier or Knight of the Holy Shielding). I have a few questions and was hoping the wisdom of the regular posters could enlighten me:

1--My char currently carries a +1 longsword, light crossbow, club, and lance. I have no silvered or cold iron weapons. What would be the smartest and cheapest way to make sure I can overcome the usual DR's? (I'd like to shy away from just carrying cold iron/silver bolts).

Cold iron morningstar comes to mind. You need a light weapon also, so maybe a silver dagger or silver sickle at your option. That gives you the full range of basics (magic, silver, cold iron, blund, slashing, piercing).

2--I know it makes sense to buy spiked gauntlets in case I get grappled or swallowed whole, but does it make sense to cold iron/silver them? Also, I currently use masterwork full plate...can I just buy gauntlets or masterwork gauntlets, or do I have to buy a whole new suit of armor?

Your call on giving them material benefits..one of each? You can buy gauntlets or spiked gauntlets, masterwork or not. Your current masterwork armor, while having pretty gauntlets, does not have gauntlets that are masterwork weapons.

3--With my 12 Wis, I get 1 spell a day at fourth level. What would you consider to be the most useful spell to memorize every day? I lean towards Bless Weapon, but maybe I'm overlooking something.

Bless Weapon is good. Lesser Restoration is good, but often will come into play in the aftermath rather than in the combat. There are a number of nifty Paladin spells in Spell Compendium..check there too.

4--I just spent a lot of cash to purchase a +2 Cloak of Charisma. If you were playing this char, what would be your next large magical purchase? I've got access to a Wand CLW and should be purchasing that soon. What's next--upgrading to +1 armor and shield? Better than studded leather barding for my mount? Something else?

Barding has some controversial elements to it. Essentially, if you want your mount to attack rather than just be a battle taxi, avoid armor that has a high Armor Check Penalty. Otherwise, don't be surprised to find that your 3,000gp plate barding isn't working the way you intended. I'm not gonna go into it, but the basic issue is whether the critter has armor proficiency. At a minimum, you'll get table variance.

Otherwise, armor and shield upgrades are relatively cheap (1000gp each for +1), even at 4th level, and will come quickly after. Strength bumps, items for your mount (horseshoes of the zephyr are nice), constitution bumps, pearls of power....depends a lot on how you see him working out.

I'm sure others will have some more creative ideas.

David
solbergb
07-10-06, 07:54 PM 1. The cheapest way is to get some silver and cold iron bolts. I'd be inclined to make the lance cold iron (it's very cheap to do so and you could upgrade it to masterwork while you're at it), silver the longsword and when you get access to an adamantine weapon, make it something like a warhammer (carry a club in the meantime for blunt DR). If you use the sword a lot, it might be better to get a silver warhammer to avoid costing you that point of damage on your most common attack. You might consider oil of shillelagh to go with your club, it gives you +1 two-handed sword damage on a blunt, wood weapon. That is sometimes handy.

2. You can buy spiked gauntlets without buying new armor. Armor spikes are something that has no mechanics for retrofitting, so I tend to buy them when I buy the armor or not at all. Generally spikes are for grappling and the odds that the grapplee will be both DR silver or cold iron AND grappling you aren't as high, but cold iron is cheap if you aren't planning on enchanting the spikes, and silver is cheaper to retrofit on spikes than it is to add to a larger weapon.

3. If your party lacks a cleric, lesser restoration is often the best pick (as healing normal damage is easy, but healing ability damage or fatigue is not...if you don't need it during the day, sleep in your fullplate and cast the lesser restoration in the morning...how well that works from day to day depends on when you pray for spells). Bless weapon is decent. If you have a bonded mount, divine favor adds not only +1 to hit/damage to your attacks but also to the paladin mount. Divine Sacrifice is also fairly popular but it is a somewhat risky spell, best if you are a high hitpoint kinda guy.

4. #1 wand of clw. #2, if your role is "tin can" yes, you will need to upgrade your armor and shield pretty soon - the APL6 monsters have a much easier time hitting AC in the low 20s than the APL4 monsters. Other common options around your level are amulet of health, cloak or vest of resistance and gauntlets of ogre power. Make sure you have your cheap stuff before saving up for another big purchase....+1 armor, +1 shield, wand of clw and vest of resistance +1 does a lot more for you than an amulet of health right now, and for quite similar cost. Barding is nice, but the mount doesn't go everywhere and you do. Take care of your own defensive needs first before coughing up cash for your mount.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
JRROGERS 07-10-06, 06:46 PM	Hey All-- I'm rather new to LG (1 year now) and my main regional char (Shield Lands) is a Paladin 4 (mounted combat type, moving towards cavalier or Knight of the Holy Shielding). I have a few questions and was hoping the wisdom of the regular posters could enlighten me: 1--My char currently carries a +1 longsword, light crossbow, club, and lance. I have no silvered or cold iron weapons. What would be the smartest and cheapest way to make sure I can overcome the usual DR's? (I'd like to shy away from just carrying cold iron/silver bolts). 2--I know it makes sense to buy spiked gauntlets in case I get grappled or swallowed whole, but does it make sense to cold iron/silver them? Also, I currently use masterwork full plate...can I just buy gauntlets or masterwork gauntlets, or do I have to buy a whole new suit of armor? 3--With my 12 Wis, I get 1 spell a day at fourth level. What would you consider to be the most useful spell to memorize every day? I lean towards Bless Weapon, but maybe I'm overlooking something. 4--I just spent a lot of cash to purchase a +2 Cloak of Charisma. If you were playing this char, what would be your next large magical purchase? I've got access to a Wand CLW and should be purchasing that soon. What's next--upgrading to +1 armor and shield? Better than studded leather barding for my mount? Something else? Thanks for all your help in advance! Just trying to make sure Kelur Ahmstaf stays alive long enough to get knighted! :cool: JRRogers
Howie23 07-10-06, 07:15 PM	Hey All-- I'm rather new to LG (1 year now) and my main regional char (Shield Lands) is a Paladin 4 (mounted combat type, moving towards cavalier or Knight of the Holy Shielding). I have a few questions and was hoping the wisdom of the regular posters could enlighten me: 1--My char currently carries a +1 longsword, light crossbow, club, and lance. I have no silvered or cold iron weapons. What would be the smartest and cheapest way to make sure I can overcome the usual DR's? (I'd like to shy away from just carrying cold iron/silver bolts). Cold iron morningstar comes to mind. You need a light weapon also, so maybe a silver dagger or silver sickle at your option. That gives you the full range of basics (magic, silver, cold iron, blund, slashing, piercing). 2--I know it makes sense to buy spiked gauntlets in case I get grappled or swallowed whole, but does it make sense to cold iron/silver them? Also, I currently use masterwork full plate...can I just buy gauntlets or masterwork gauntlets, or do I have to buy a whole new suit of armor? Your call on giving them material benefits..one of each? You can buy gauntlets or spiked gauntlets, masterwork or not. Your current masterwork armor, while having pretty gauntlets, does not have gauntlets that are masterwork weapons. 3--With my 12 Wis, I get 1 spell a day at fourth level. What would you consider to be the most useful spell to memorize every day? I lean towards Bless Weapon, but maybe I'm overlooking something. Bless Weapon is good. Lesser Restoration is good, but often will come into play in the aftermath rather than in the combat. There are a number of nifty Paladin spells in Spell Compendium..check there too. 4--I just spent a lot of cash to purchase a +2 Cloak of Charisma. If you were playing this char, what would be your next large magical purchase? I've got access to a Wand CLW and should be purchasing that soon. What's next--upgrading to +1 armor and shield? Better than studded leather barding for my mount? Something else? Barding has some controversial elements to it. Essentially, if you want your mount to attack rather than just be a battle taxi, avoid armor that has a high Armor Check Penalty. Otherwise, don't be surprised to find that your 3,000gp plate barding isn't working the way you intended. I'm not gonna go into it, but the basic issue is whether the critter has armor proficiency. At a minimum, you'll get table variance. Otherwise, armor and shield upgrades are relatively cheap (1000gp each for +1), even at 4th level, and will come quickly after. Strength bumps, items for your mount (horseshoes of the zephyr are nice), constitution bumps, pearls of power....depends a lot on how you see him working out. I'm sure others will have some more creative ideas. David
solbergb 07-10-06, 07:54 PM	1. The cheapest way is to get some silver and cold iron bolts. I'd be inclined to make the lance cold iron (it's very cheap to do so and you could upgrade it to masterwork while you're at it), silver the longsword and when you get access to an adamantine weapon, make it something like a warhammer (carry a club in the meantime for blunt DR). If you use the sword a lot, it might be better to get a silver warhammer to avoid costing you that point of damage on your most common attack. You might consider oil of shillelagh to go with your club, it gives you +1 two-handed sword damage on a blunt, wood weapon. That is sometimes handy. 2. You can buy spiked gauntlets without buying new armor. Armor spikes are something that has no mechanics for retrofitting, so I tend to buy them when I buy the armor or not at all. Generally spikes are for grappling and the odds that the grapplee will be both DR silver or cold iron AND grappling you aren't as high, but cold iron is cheap if you aren't planning on enchanting the spikes, and silver is cheaper to retrofit on spikes than it is to add to a larger weapon. 3. If your party lacks a cleric, lesser restoration is often the best pick (as healing normal damage is easy, but healing ability damage or fatigue is not...if you don't need it during the day, sleep in your fullplate and cast the lesser restoration in the morning...how well that works from day to day depends on when you pray for spells). Bless weapon is decent. If you have a bonded mount, divine favor adds not only +1 to hit/damage to your attacks but also to the paladin mount. Divine Sacrifice is also fairly popular but it is a somewhat risky spell, best if you are a high hitpoint kinda guy. 4. #1 wand of clw. #2, if your role is "tin can" yes, you will need to upgrade your armor and shield pretty soon - the APL6 monsters have a much easier time hitting AC in the low 20s than the APL4 monsters. Other common options around your level are amulet of health, cloak or vest of resistance and gauntlets of ogre power. Make sure you have your cheap stuff before saving up for another big purchase....+1 armor, +1 shield, wand of clw and vest of resistance +1 does a lot more for you than an amulet of health right now, and for quite similar cost. Barding is nice, but the mount doesn't go everywhere and you do. Take care of your own defensive needs first before coughing up cash for your mount.