Making lv 1 Paladin for the first time & need help

I never played a Paladin before, and I need a few pointers. These are the stats that I rolled...

17
12
14
8
13
10

these are in the order I rolled them; I haven't placed them in ability positions yet simply because I am not sure where to place them. Any opinions would be helpful.

Also, I need some clarification on the Paladin code. If anyone's ever played a Paladin, please give me some examples of what you did to follow/support your code. Maybe it will help me.

Thanks

Psyduck said:

These are the stats that I rolled...

17
12
14
8
13
10

these are in the order I rolled them; I haven't placed them in ability positions yet simply because I am not sure where to place them. Any opinions would be helpful.

Click to expand...

I guess my first question would be, what type of campaign are you playing in? If it's heavy on hack'n'slash, you might have a hard time as a Paladin, since it's a class with very diverse ability requirements, and you don't really have them covered all that well...

Still, to make the best of it, this is what I'd suggest:

STR 17
DEX 8
CON 14
INT 10
WIS 12
CHA 13

The 8 is going to hurt you least in DEX - STR, CON and CHA you all need desperately if this is to be a viable character, 8 WIS would cost you your spells, and 8 INT you can't really afford if you plan on having any skills to speak of... This way, you only really loose out on ranged combat (which isn't something most Paladins worry that much about) and Initiative (which you might want to offset with Improved Init, but then again, you won't have a Dex bonus to lose anyway...).

Alternately, if you don't think you'll have to be the group's primary damage-dealer, you could swap STR and CHA in my write-up, take Iron Will, and actually be able to do a bit of healing, turn undead reasonably well, and enjoy how hard you'll be to affect with the kind of spells that are typically the bane of all fighter-types.

I haven't got much detail on the campaign, but I know it's moderate hack n slash. I see your point about the scores, and maybe that's why I am having such a hard time choosing where to put them.

Just off the top of my head:

Str 12
Dex 10
Con 17
Int 8
Wis 13
Cha 14

When I've played paladins, they tend to take a lot of damage (I would deliberately place my character in harms' way to save party members, innocents, etc.), hence the high Con score. You might consider swapping Con and Cha, as a high charisma score is also quite valuable to a paladin. However you set up your scores, at 4th-lvl use the bonus ability point on the 17 - having +4 hit points per HD (or +4 to all saves if it's in Cha) is a big plus.

Since you have only an 8 in Int, consider being human - the skill point bonus will make up for the low Int. For skills and feats, talk to your GM - whether or not you focus on the Ride skill and mounted feats will depend a lot on what kind of mount (if any) your GM will make available, and how often you'll actually be able to use your mount in adventures (Will it be mostly Underdark? City-based? Outdoors?)

For codes, again - talk to the GM. If he's leaving it up to you, decide what your main focus is, then branch from there. Examples:
*Humility - You defer to authority, you serve others before yourself, a vow of poverty might be appropriate, etc.
*Valor - You live to smite the wicked and save the weak.
*Honor - You always keep your word, even if tricked or lied to (hence, you may not give your word too often). You prefer stand-up fights to skulking about.

These are just a few. I recommend strongly that you pick one main focus for your character, though - it will avoid confusion when you run into shades of gray and such (Do we kill defenseless orc children? Captives? Do we use torture - ever?) Whatever you come up with, check with the GM and the other players to make sure your character will fit in with the rest of the party.

Just my two cents' - good luck!

Race: Human
I would put your stats in this order.
Str 17
Dex 10
Con 14
Int 8
Wis 12
Cha 13

For skills, you should keep Ride maxed out, and get at least 5 ranks in Handle Animal for the bonus to ride checks. After that boost your diplomacy if the part doesn't have a good 'face' character.

Feats are a little more complex. The big ones for Paladins are mounted combat feats and also power attack and cleave, which can be extremely effective when combined with the mounted combat feats.

You could either go for Spirited Charge ASAP, with Mounted Combat, Ride-by-Attack, and then Spirited Charge, or delay this chain a little and take Power Attack for one of your first level feats;

Equipmentwise you'll want get a lance and warhorse as fast as possible. Wear the heaviest armor you can afford, as well as a large shield, and carry a one-handed melee weapon for dungeon crawls. Don't forget to get barding for your mount, and look into the magical horseshoes in the DMG, which can add a lot of mobility to your mount for only a few thousand gp.

Psyduck said:

I haven't got much detail on the campaign, but I know it's moderate hack n slash. I see your point about the scores, and maybe that's why I am having such a hard time choosing where to put them.

Click to expand...

If you're having a hard time building this guy as a Paladin, but still want to play a holy warrior of some kind, you should probbaly consider a fighter-cleric of an appropriately heroic deity - that way, you no longer need to worry about placing a high stat in CHA, which is a must with Paladins, as their fairly modest class abilities rely on it so heavily.

Well, I'll throw in mine.

STR 14
DEX 10
CON 13
INT 8
WIS 12
CHA 17

(dodges fireballs)

I typically go for the charismatic Paladin for two reasons: 1) he's supposed to be a shining beacon for the masses, someone to rally behind against great evil. And 2) all your saves are boosted by your CHA modifier, plus it affects other powers (Turn Undead, etc.). It can really save the party when you make that Fort save, and others are struck down.

STR is obvious: you're a fighter. You need to be strong. Same with CON, you need HP out the wazoo. A DEX penalty would be bad, but a bonus isn't really necessary. You're the tank, not the scout.

If you want to cast spells, you need a WIS score that can grow. A 14 WIS is necessary to use the most powerful Paladin spells, but you've got time before reaching those.

The 8 hurts. However, I think you can suffer with the INT 8, especially if you're human. It'll just offset the bonus skill points humans get, leaving you neutral, as if you had a 10. As another race, it may be more painful, but a Paladin can typically get by with fewer skills than other classes. However, you do want some social skill to go with that high CHA score, which means you'll have to pick 'n choose carefully.

With this package, you get a Paladin that isn't particularly educated, but can provide common-sense wisdom to his followers and comrades in a persuasive manner. Plus, there's all that "butt-kicking for goodness!"

As for the code: work it out with your DM. He may have a specific idea of what your particular religion's Paladins should do, or he may just help you focus on the concept of lawfulness in his world.

Keep in mind that, to a Paladin, Law can mean either of two things: 1) Law of the Land, or 2) Law of Honor. One means steadfastly following the laws of whatever kingdom your in (or enforcing those of your kingdom in other lands). The other means adhering to your own personal/religious code of conduct, regardless of local laws. Choose one, and write it out in detail. Then, stick with it.

Hope that helps.

G'day

Context!

What is the rest of your party like? If you have a cleric, paladin spells are less important, your Paladin is going to be a fighter (mostly) and you can afford a comparatively low Wisdom.

But if there is no cleric in the party, they they are going to rely on you for healing spells and for turning undead, and you need a high wisdom and charisma.

When I played a paladin I put his best stat into charisma, because the party didn't have a cleric. Then the next best went into strength, next after that into wisdom, and I maxed out his heal skill. With someone else to turn the undead and to cast divine magic I would have done differently.

My paladin was a knight and Christian, so his code was easy enough. He was married, though, not a monk.

I would suggest

STR: 14
DEX: 8
CON: 13
WIS: 12
INT: 10
CHA: 17

Play a human for the extra skill point. If your party lacks a social rogue, put your skill points into social skills. If it lacks a cleric, put them into medical skills. If you are going to face a lot of wilderness adventures, put them into Ride and (if the party lacks a Ranger or Druid) maybe outdoorsy skills--horsemanship is not (in my experience) a lot of use in dungeon-crawls.

Regards,


Agback

Str 14
Dex 8
Con 12
Int 10
Wis 13
Cha 17

At level 4 boost cha, at level 8 boost wis (bonus spell), there after boost str. Try to get something to boost dex early, that lowish dex will hurt.

Taking divine feats works nicely with high cha.

Just remember that this build is not the strongest melee build and your missile attack will be rotten. Taking a reach weapon like lance or spear could work nicely, otherwise you'll want to have a shield.

Paladins are tough in that they don't really have dump stats. INT's probably the closest thing to one. Without further information, I agree with Kesh:
STR 14
DEX 10
CON 13
INT 8
WIS 12
CHA 17

There were two particularly good points by others, however. One is that the party composition is a factor; if there's a cleric in the party, your spells aren't that necessary, and I'd probably put the scores like this:

STR 17
DEX 12
CON 13
INT 8
WIS 10
CHA 14

Swap WIS and INT if you really need skill points, since a 10 WIS isn't that good for casting either. You might never have spells, but except for your unique spells, the cleric's better anyway. Your CHA only really matters for saves, since the Cleric can out-heal and out-turn you (but emergency healing is nice). Your AC is one point higher, even in full plate, which is good since you'll probably be in a lot of melee.

I'd stick with human in any case.

For skills, it depends. If you think you'll use mounted combat a lot, max out Ride and Handle Animal. If not, go for Diplomacy. You might want to put ranks in Knowledge(Religion), but don't put very many if there's a cleric. If there's no cleric, you may want to put some ranks in heal. If you have any left, put them in one of the ones above or maybe even a craft or profession.

Also, buy the very best armor you can afford and upgrade to full plate ASAP (possibly upgrading to Breastplate in-between if you can't afford it at first). If you don't plan to use a two-handed weapon like a greatsword, buy a shield. In my experience, Paladins take more than their share of attacks, so a high AC is important.

As for a code, I have attached a set of rules I got from someone on this board (forgot who, sorry) that I think are really good. Talk to your GM, of course.