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Help building a paladin

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
zombiegleemax
Aug 09, 2007 10:42:31 Hi,

I am hoping to get some help with a paladin build. I've never played a paladin before but really like how it fits in with our campaign setting (a homebrew).

I'm really sure what paladins excel at in game terms (aside from breaking up parties , so any tips you can give me would be greatly appreciated, or links to paladin guides.

In our campaign theres a "Church of the Pilgrim", the Pilgrim being a one eyed rooster (John Wayne). So I'm looking to have some cowboyish elements in the charecter.

Again, ANY help you can offer is greatly appreciated.

Greg
#2
qrmzlpt
Aug 09, 2007 11:42:56 Well, you didn't give too much to work with, but I've played a few paladins, so I'll chime in. Sounds like you've got some fun flavor there. If you're looking to be the sort of grim, morally ambiguous, John Wayne cowboyish sort of paladin, I'd take a look at the Grey Guard PrC from Complete Scoundrel. They're the ones who don't mind getting their hands dirty, as long as it's for the greater good. Sounds like it would be a good fit for the Church of the Pilgrim. ;) It also sounds like you want to keep things simple, which the Grey Guard is also good for. It gives some good flavor, a couple of interesting abilities, continues to progress all of the key paladin features, but does take a pretty big bite out of your spellcasting progression.

As far as what paladins are good at, you're going to get different responses depending on who you ask. Here's a decent (though somewhat confusing at times) thread that does a good job of outlining just about all of a paladin's options.

http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=75476

In general, though, you can't go far wrong with a power attacking, greatsword wielding, divine feat utilizing, charging, smiting, paragon of virtue. :D Give 'em hell out there, soldier!

Q

p.s. Read the posting guidelines:
http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=626244
Follow them. They'll save you from catching a LOT of hell when you have questions like this.
#3
sirgoodytwoshoes
Apr 07, 2008 12:18:00 I guess it's been a while since you posted this, but if you're still looking for help, the paladin handbook is an awesome place to start, and is really easy to use.

When it comes to "not breaking up parties", I definintely agree with Qrmzplt on the Gray Guard, just realize that you'll be sacrificing spellcasting on an already poor spellcaster. You might consider the Holy Warrior Variant from Complete Champion, though. A Pally 5/Gray Guard 7 build ends up giving you something like three bonus feats at the cost of spellcasting, and the stackable lay on hands can give you enough healing as long as the rest of the party isn't counting on you to cast healing spells.
#4
Dictum_Mortuum
Apr 07, 2008 12:37:39 You only get feats from progressing as a paladin. Gray guard won't do. Still i prefer spells. The only reason you should get holy warrior is if you want a divine feat at 4th level (since you don't qualify earlier).
#5
the_shaman
Apr 07, 2008 19:26:14 I'm not sure paladins particularly excel at anything, but they can make some pretty devastating attacks in the right situation - i.e. by using smite evil and/or their mount. In general, there are two directions in which I would go:

- for mounts, it would look like Paladin 6/Cavalier 10/Wild Plains Outrider 3, possibly with 1 level of Beastmaster and devoted tracker for extra goodness (ok, you could really dig up the supermount thread, but this may suffice): having a good enough mount is almost as good as getting a Leadership cohort.

- for foot combat, I'd probably go paladin 5/Pious Templar 10/ Divine Champion 5 (or Singh Rager 5, if I want rage and pounce more than 2 extra feats and smite progression, or a mix between the two). In general, I would probably prefer a Pious Templar build: free feats, continuing spellcasting, and overall toughness. DC offers more of the same, and I'd say it's worth it.

These are pretty basic. You can certainly tweak them quite a bit, and I would rather suggest you do. There are also the paladin-based gishes, using sorcerer/battle sorcerer/wilder (suboptimal it may be, but paladin 2/wilder (educated variant) 12/ sanctified mind 6 is one of the builds I most liked to try), but that's another story.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Aug 09, 2007 10:42:31	Hi, I am hoping to get some help with a paladin build. I've never played a paladin before but really like how it fits in with our campaign setting (a homebrew). I'm really sure what paladins excel at in game terms (aside from breaking up parties , so any tips you can give me would be greatly appreciated, or links to paladin guides. In our campaign theres a "Church of the Pilgrim", the Pilgrim being a one eyed rooster (John Wayne). So I'm looking to have some cowboyish elements in the charecter. Again, ANY help you can offer is greatly appreciated. Greg
#2 qrmzlpt Aug 09, 2007 11:42:56	Well, you didn't give too much to work with, but I've played a few paladins, so I'll chime in. Sounds like you've got some fun flavor there. If you're looking to be the sort of grim, morally ambiguous, John Wayne cowboyish sort of paladin, I'd take a look at the Grey Guard PrC from Complete Scoundrel. They're the ones who don't mind getting their hands dirty, as long as it's for the greater good. Sounds like it would be a good fit for the Church of the Pilgrim. ;) It also sounds like you want to keep things simple, which the Grey Guard is also good for. It gives some good flavor, a couple of interesting abilities, continues to progress all of the key paladin features, but does take a pretty big bite out of your spellcasting progression. As far as what paladins are good at, you're going to get different responses depending on who you ask. Here's a decent (though somewhat confusing at times) thread that does a good job of outlining just about all of a paladin's options. http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=75476 In general, though, you can't go far wrong with a power attacking, greatsword wielding, divine feat utilizing, charging, smiting, paragon of virtue. :D Give 'em hell out there, soldier! Q p.s. Read the posting guidelines: http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=626244 Follow them. They'll save you from catching a LOT of hell when you have questions like this.
#3 sirgoodytwoshoes Apr 07, 2008 12:18:00	I guess it's been a while since you posted this, but if you're still looking for help, the paladin handbook is an awesome place to start, and is really easy to use. When it comes to "not breaking up parties", I definintely agree with Qrmzplt on the Gray Guard, just realize that you'll be sacrificing spellcasting on an already poor spellcaster. You might consider the Holy Warrior Variant from Complete Champion, though. A Pally 5/Gray Guard 7 build ends up giving you something like three bonus feats at the cost of spellcasting, and the stackable lay on hands can give you enough healing as long as the rest of the party isn't counting on you to cast healing spells.
#4 Dictum_Mortuum Apr 07, 2008 12:37:39	You only get feats from progressing as a paladin. Gray guard won't do. Still i prefer spells. The only reason you should get holy warrior is if you want a divine feat at 4th level (since you don't qualify earlier).
#5 the_shaman Apr 07, 2008 19:26:14	I'm not sure paladins particularly excel at anything, but they can make some pretty devastating attacks in the right situation - i.e. by using smite evil and/or their mount. In general, there are two directions in which I would go: - for mounts, it would look like Paladin 6/Cavalier 10/Wild Plains Outrider 3, possibly with 1 level of Beastmaster and devoted tracker for extra goodness (ok, you could really dig up the supermount thread, but this may suffice): having a good enough mount is almost as good as getting a Leadership cohort. - for foot combat, I'd probably go paladin 5/Pious Templar 10/ Divine Champion 5 (or Singh Rager 5, if I want rage and pounce more than 2 extra feats and smite progression, or a mix between the two). In general, I would probably prefer a Pious Templar build: free feats, continuing spellcasting, and overall toughness. DC offers more of the same, and I'd say it's worth it. These are pretty basic. You can certainly tweak them quite a bit, and I would rather suggest you do. There are also the paladin-based gishes, using sorcerer/battle sorcerer/wilder (suboptimal it may be, but paladin 2/wilder (educated variant) 12/ sanctified mind 6 is one of the builds I most liked to try), but that's another story.