Newbie Character Advice: Paladin

[RedFox]

I haven't played a lot of D&D, so I was hoping folks could give my character the ol' hairy eyeball and maybe offer suggestions and whatnot. She's a paladin (first time playing one) and our party's a bit undersized. We've got me, a Druid, and a Bard. We've compensated by getting a "Cleric in a Box" kit from the PHB2.

So far, I've been having fun. I've gotten to Smite a few wicked nasties and whatnot. I've been playing the character as something of a barbarian... if she weren't so beholden to duty, she'd probably be quite Chaotic (and definitely has tendencies).

But now we've reached Level 4 and so my paladin's changing from "Fighter with good saves and Lay On Hands." She's starting to come into her own in the Class, so I'm getting antsy on how to proceed.

Basically for right now I plan on moving up the Feat tree to Whirlwind Attack. I like the idea of being a bit of a cuisinart.

Merawyr
Medium Human Paladin 4
Hit Dice: 4d10+4 (43 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares)
Armor Class: 21 (+8 armor, +2 shield, +1 Dexterity), 11 touch, 20 flat-footed
Base Attack/Grapple: +4 / +6
Attack: Sangur (+1 flaming bastard sword) +7 melee (1d10+3/19-20x2 plus 1d6 fire) or
unarmed (gauntleted fist) +6 melee (1d3+2/x2)
Full Attack: Sangur (+1 flaming bastard sword) +7 melee (1d10+3/19-20x2 plus 1d6 fire) or
unarmed (gauntleted fist) +6 melee (1d3+2/x2)
Space/Reach: 5 ft. / 5 ft.
Special Attacks: Smite Evil (Su) w/Sangur +10 melee (1d10+7/19-20x2 plus 1d6 fire)
Special Qualities: Aura of Courage (Su), Aura of Good (Ex), Divine Grace (Su), Divine Health (Ex), Lay on Hands (Su) 12 hp / day, Smite Evil (Su) 1/day, Turn Undead (Su) 6/day (turn level 1) (turn damage 2d6+4), Spells
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +5, Will +6
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 15, Cha 17
Skills: Diplomacy +11, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) +2, Knowledge (Religion) +8, Ride +8, Sense Motive +9
Feats: Combat Expertise, Dodge, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Bastard Sword), Armor Proficiency (all), Martial Weapon Proficiency (all), Shield Proficiency, Simple Weapon Proficiency (all)
Alignment: Lawful Good
Spells: Paladin Spells (lvl 1) 1/day.
Languages: Celestial, Common
Equipment: Sangur (+1 flaming bastard sword), full plate, heavy steel shield, backpack, bedroll, flint and steel, holy symbol of the Order of the White Rose (silver), holy water (2 flasks), explorer's outfit, belt pouch, trail rations (10 days), rope (50', hempen), sunrods (3), mwk sword, bastard, waterskin
Heavy Warhorse: bit & bridle, saddle (military), saddlebags, barding (scale mail)
Personal Funds: 10 platinum, 121 gold, 9 silver.

 

[EyeontheMountain]

Nitpicking first

You should have 4d10+4 hit points with a 12 con. Skills lookallright and so do your attacks

I would think about feats a bit mroe though. You ahve a good defensive setup, for sure, and should be able to keep your armor class high, but in the long run it is a losing proposition.

I would try to use the Dodge and expertise to get new abilities, not jsut boost AC. Divine Vigor is a great feat that will let you move faster and give you temporary hit points at the low low cost of turn undead attempts. Really one of the best feats out there. Especially at 3 minutes a pop.

As for otehr feats I am not sure, but extra smiting is a good one to tkae a bit later, as smite evil is a powerful ability.

Looks like a good build overall, though

 

[jasin]

Out of curiosity, how did you generate your stats? They're pretty good. Not many paladins manage to qualify for Whirlwind Attack.

Note that you can't use Spring Attack (which is a prerequisite) in full plate, so don't invest too much in your current armour, since you'll probably want to switch to a breastplate or a mithral full plate eventually.

What do you plan to do with the mount? It's one of the major class features. A paladin who focuses on Mounted Combat can be a terror when he has the opportunity to charge, but you're going a different route. Do you plan to just use the horse as a sort of secondary ability, or perhaps ask the DM to switch it for something else? You have a named sword; is it a family heirloom perhaps? Maybe the spirit of a heroic ancestor could inhabit the weapon, giving it intelligence and magical powers deemed appropriate by the DM for free, as a substitute for the horse?

 

[Angerland]

well you are certainly taking the Paladin towards a unique set up with whirlwind attack. My Paladin was more of an upfront hit them with a greatsword type so I am not sure what tips I can offer. I love the divine feats (might, vigor, etc...) because they make use of your turning attempts which unless you fight undead all the time, and in your case very weak undead, go to waste. By 6th level with my Paldin, Theodrick, I had Power attack, Extra Smiting, and Divine Might (lets you add your Cha bonus to damage in exchange for a turning attempt, from Complete Warrior). Between those feats and the normal abilities I did quite well in combat.


don't know if this helps but it gives you an idea of what others have done. Interesting that you took Bastard sword and spent the feat for it. I would have suggested just using a Great sword for maximizing you damage output.

 

[RedFox]

We rolled up stats using 4d6-drop lowest, with two sets. (i.e. roll 12 times, the last six rolls being a second "set"). I got a lucky roll on my first set, so didn't use the second. I was extremely happy with the results. ^_^

So Spring Attack is unusual for a Pally? Hmm, I did think it would take a bit of doing (all my Feats!). The Cleave tree is easier to qualify for (three feats).

This last level (4th) I took Dodge, as I my Dexterity wasn't up to snuff at 3rd, but my DM let me hold back my 3rd level feat till 4th when I could bump it up with my Stat bonus and qualify.

We'll be playing in a few hours, at which point I'll officially level up to 4th. So that last stat point and what to do with the 3rd Level feat are still up in the air. Should I go for Cleave / Divine X / Mounted Combat instead? I've been kind of leery about going too heavily into the horse thing, because I've been afraid of learning a whole bunch of mounted combat rules and/or overdoing it to the point where I suck without my horse.

Sangur's actually loot from our last adventure. We saved a dwarven kingdom from some unearthly evil in its mines that had made all the inhabitants disappear. The dwarf king gave Merawyn the +1 flaming bastard sword for her help. I just made up the name on my own. Still trying to come up with a good word for the flame activation, but I can't seem to get past "flame on."

So yeah, that's where I stand right now. I only really took Combat Expertise to go up through the feat tree to Whirlwind Attack. I don't really have a need to boost my AC right now.

I'm also not sure what to prep my one spell as. Maybe I should flip through the PHB2 to see if there's any groovy options there...

 

[Darklone]

Oooooh, this sounds so nice sweet.... innocent. New. Exciting. Love it. Cool character. Like the sword. I'm jealous.

Feats: Power attack, Cleave, Divine Might. Definitely

 

[jasin]

Oooooh, this sounds so nice sweet.... innocent.

Heh. That was my thought, but I thought it might sound sort of condescending. (Not that I'm implying that this was Darklone's intention.)

New. Exciting. Love it. Cool character. Like the sword. I'm jealous.

Feats: Power attack, Cleave, Divine Might. Definitely

They're better for a paladin than Whirlwind Attack, true. But RedFox, consider two things:

1) How challenging is the game? Do you need to have the most powerful character you can have?
2) How many paladins out there have Whirlwind Attack? When are you going to have the opportunity to take Whirlind Attack as a paladin again?
3) You're wielding a bastard sword in one hand. Power Attack is twice as good if you're using something in two hands.

If you can afford not to go for optimum efficiency, go for Whirlwind Attack.

Or if you have Tome of Battle, you could try getting mithral tornado at an alternative to Whirlind Attack...

 

[RedFox]

Thing is, Whirlwind Attack's going to be much further on, so there's a long wait involved. Most campaigns don't even hit level 20, do they?

Still and all, it sounded cool at the time.

And I make no bones about being a newbie.

 

[jasin]

Thing is, Whirlwind Attack's going to be much further on, so there's a long wait involved. Most campaigns don't even hit level 20, do they?

Both true.

Still, Spring Attack is pretty tasty in its own right...

 

[Seeten]

Spring attack = my allies just died attack if youre the meat shield.