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Pillars of Faith (and Facestabs): The Paladin's Handbook (By Litigation)
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<blockquote data-quote="Veep" data-source="post: 6707962" data-attributes="member: 6793297"><p style="text-align: center"><strong><span style="font-size: 22px"><u>Rising in the Faith: Paragon Paths</u></span></strong></p><p></p><p>4e Paladins have a tradition of powerful paragon paths, even going back to the days when the base class wasn't so hot. <strong>Champion of Order</strong>, <strong>Hospitaler</strong>, <strong>Son of Mercy</strong> and <strong>Morninglord</strong> are the most famous (some would dare say cheap), followed by slightly less power-trippy but still rock-solid PPs like <strong>Questing Knight</strong> and <strong>Heartwarder</strong>. If none of those tickle your fancy, fear not, you'll find something slightly more niche in this list that should be a nice fit for your character.</p><p></p><p><strong>Paladin PPs</strong></p><p> </p><p><strong><span style="color: Purple">Astral Weapon</span> (PHB)</strong>: The Lv. 11 feature Astral Judgment, a -2 defense debuff for violating your mark, is the only remotely noteworthy thing about this very unimpressive Straladin PP.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Blue">Champion of Corellon</span> (DP)</strong>: A solid path for Corellon-worshiping Chaladins with a little more agility training than usual. Superior Defense takes advantage of a DEX score up to 15 for extra AC in heavy armor, and Light-Footed Warrior lets you ignore the speed penalty. All the powers are pretty good, too, in particular the daily Corellon's Wrath, which attacks Reflex, save-ends blinds on hit, and makes your OAs deadlier.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: DeepSkyBlue">Champion of Order</span> (PHB)</strong>: In Defense of Order lets you stack an OA on top of the Divine Challenge punishment for some serious retaliatory pain. And the encounter power, Certain Justice, is just plain brutal. It's deadly accurate and dazes and weakens as long as you keep the target marked. Easily one of a Straladin's (or Baladin's) top options.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Red">Demonslayer</span> (DP)</strong>: It's way too specialized, for one, and Champion of Order, among other paths, does a better job with its "specialization." Avoid it.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Blue">Dragonslayer</span> (DP)</strong>: Despite its name, this path geared toward more offensively minded Chaladins is actually not specialized at all, which is only a good thing. Dragonslayer's Challenge is a good damage boost, particularly against a Divine Challenge target, that scales into Epic Tier. Challenging Smite makes your divine marks deadlier for a round, Deflect the Blast is a decent AoE mitigation utility per encounter, and Ground the Foe always comes in handy even if the target wasn't a flier. Solid path all around.</p><p></p><p><strong>Faithful Shield (DP)</strong>: Pretty average Chaladin path. The most consistent benefit from this PP will be granting a +2 power bonus to defenses with Lay on Hands at Lv. 11, which is fair enough. The 16th-level feature Defensive Presence will only see a lot of use if your entire party is full of characters who actually use their second winds (e.g. Dwarves, characters who took the Fighter feat Striking Resurgence).</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">Fortune Blessed</span> (D 384): Requires you to worship Avandra. An interesting, and pretty solid path, with its luck tokens mechanic that can boost bad rolls or even let you reroll d20s and keep your better result. The encounter power is an immediate reaction counter when an enemy attacks you and gives you a luck token for free if you don't have any. The per-encounter utlity is HUGE damage reduction, even before you add any luck token effects, and the daily is also a solid debilitator.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Blue">Gray Guard</span> (DP)</strong>: Gray Guard Vigilance is very handy if you're going to fight a lot at night or in dark places, and also trains you in the all-important Perception skill. Debilitating Smite is a solid daze and slow encounter power. An encounter you didn't use the utility Relentless Justice is an encounter where all your encounter powers hit their mark. And the daily, Devastating Smite, is Reliable and utterly brutal. Your healing surge's worth of extra damage on the attack is huge, especially if you're a Dragonborn or a Dwarf. Solid path for damage-focused Straladins, if still a step below Champion of Order and Son of Mercy.</p><p></p><p><strong>Hammer of Moradin (DP)</strong>: Hammer-wielding Straladins who worship Moradin might look at this one. Hammer Bond is a permanent +1 to attack with hammers, which is great. The powers are flavorful and decent, but not eyecatching.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: #800080">Holy Conqueror</span> (DP)</strong>: For Straladins who took the unimpressive Ardent Vow. The encounter and utility powers are actually pretty good; the encounter power is a nice charge-based punishment stacker and the utility is a per-encounter martyr power with some free Sanctioning attached. It's too bad those powers are attached to a PP with rather tame features and such a suboptimal entry requirement.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: DeepSkyBlue">Hospitaler</span> (PHB)</strong>: Even after errata, Hospitaler's Blessing makes a Shielding Swordmage question his own manhood. The effect heals an amount comparable to the damage Aegis of Shielding prevents, hit or miss, and does it on <em>every attack</em> from your DC target that doesn't include you. Yikes. Hospitaler's Care stacks with Devoted Paladin's bonus for Lay on Hands. This is still arguably the most potent Chaladin PP.</p><p></p><p><strong>Justiciar (PHB)</strong>: The encounter power Just Radiance is easily this Chaladin path's highlight, a very nice punisher of a crowd of marked enemies that forces them all to attack you. However, its party protection features, while they do have solid effects, all require that allies stay adjacent to you, which is usually not practical. With such iffy features, it's Just Radiance alone that brings this PP up to a rating of average.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Red">Knight of Celestia</span> (MOTP)</strong>: Nothing about this one is remotely impressive. Shun it.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Purple">Knight of the Chalice</span> (DP)</strong>: Another specialized paragon path, this one for Chaladins. It isn't <em>quite</em> as egregious as Demonslayer; Aura Suppression is useful against quite a few enemies, and Ensnaring Smite's restraining is always handy. But the rest of it is only really effective (or effective at all) against devils.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: DeepSkyBlue">Questing Knight</span> (DP)</strong>: Very flavorful, and very strong, too. While this PP doesn't have anything that's outright "cheap," it's a collection of extremely solid benefits, none of which will go to waste for any Chaladin. Strength of Ten, the encounter power, is just about the best mass-Sanction attack power you will find, even giving you some extra mobility and enemy positioning control to boot. At Lv. 16, you get the other highlight of this PP: free-action second wind when you're bloodied. This is awesome for obvious reasons (and on a side note, practically cries out for a Martial multiclass and CON 19 by Epic Tier, so you can take the feat Epic Recovery for two second winds per encounter). The +2 bonus to Will against the more common anti-Will attack types you get at Lv. 11 doesn't hurt, either. To round it off, Quester's Discipline is a handy get-out-of-jail card, and Virtuous Wrath is a Reliable, anti-Will weakening attack.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: #0000ff">Sainted General</span> (D 390)</strong>: Meant for high-CHA characters, this requires you either multiclass or hybrid Warlord. <span style="color: #00ccff"><strong>Hybrids</strong></span> easily make the most of this PP, and it's most effective as part of a <span style="color: #00ccff"><strong>melee-dominant Radiant Mafia</strong></span>. However, even full Paladins who MC Warlord will love Sainted Challenge at Lv. 11, which grants a nasty extra Radiant damage buff to the melee and close attacks of all allies adjacent to your DC target when it triggers your punishment. But if you want to use the Lv. 16 feature, you must be a Hybrid, since it works off Inspiring Word. The powers, all involving CHA in some way, are a mixed bag: The daily is a solid melee enabler with the chance for an encounter-long damage buff, but the encounter and utility leave a bit to be desired.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: #800080">Scion of Sacrifice</span> (DP)</strong>: Requires you to take Ardent Vow, which is a suboptimal choice to begin with, and moreover, the powers are CHA-based attack, so you must be a Chaladin or Baladin, who aren't even likely to consider Ardent Vow in the first place. All's the pity, because this PP would be a potent choice, otherwise. Scion's Sanction, the encounter power, is a mass-Sanction that rivals the Questing Knight's Strength of Ten (unlike that power it even lays down the DS marks hit or miss).</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Purple">Slayer of the Dead</span> (DP)</strong>: Another overly-specialized path. Just about all of it is only worthwhile at all against undead, and even against undead it's not any better than the more general-purpose PPs the Paladin has.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: DeepSkyBlue">Son of Mercy</span> (D 370)</strong>: Geared toward Straladins looking for brutality in spades. Lawbreaker's Doom is a nasty feature, giving you WIS-mod damage bonus to attacks against its object of affection, slowing with every attack that hits (hello, World Serpent's Grasp), and lasting until the enemy is dead. At which point you get to use it again. The encounter power Dispensed Justice is almost as vicious, with its immediate interrupt application serving as a punishment stacker on your Lawbreaker's Doom target. The utility and daily are also pretty devastating, and Strength of Conviction is a solid amount of THPs' reward for killing the lawbreaker.</p><p></p><p><strong>Vengeful Crusader (D 377)</strong>: The encounter power Driving Force is probably the highlight of this Straladin PP, and it lets you punishment stack with a charge if you hit. Vengeful Shield deals a little extra STR mod damage to enemies who attack allies next to you, but that's a little too finicky to rely on a whole lot. Not a bad choice, overall, but nothing that really impresses, either.</p><p> </p><p></p><p><strong>Forgotten Realms PPs</strong></p><p> </p><p><strong>Doomguide (FRPG)</strong>: Geared toward Baladins who worship Kelemvor. It's features and powers are very effective against undead, but even when undead aren't involved, they're at least decent, and the daily power in particular, Kelemvor's Sword, is quite good. You wish more of the "specialized" paths were like this one. Not a bad choice in any case.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Blue">Eartheart Defender</span> (FRPG)</strong>: For Dwarf Straladins, and it's pretty solid. Heart of Earth is an attack bonus after using that minor-action second wind. Gain Heart is a good power to pull out when bloodied, healing you significantly. And the daily, Earthsurge, is an excellent sticky power, a good-sized zone that moves with you and slows enemies in it.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: DeepSkyBlue">Heartwarder</span> (FRPG)</strong>: For Chaladins who worship Sune. Sune's Touch is fantastic healing; it works when you spend a healing surge. In any way. Including Lay on Hands on the ally. Which means it stacks with Lay on Hands for the ally. Great stuff. Also great stuff are the powers. Siren Voice is domination every encounter, which is awesome. Sune's Shield is essentially a Divine Bodyguard that doesn't suck; it can't screw you over since you can choose on a hit-by-hit basis whether to take the damage for the ally, and it lasts for the whole encounter no matter what happens. And the daily, Sune's Kiss, is perfect on an elite or solo; it can force ridiculous lose-lose situations, especially if you Sanctioned or Challenged it and have immediate actions to pile on.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: DeepSkyBlue">Morninglord</span> (FRPG)</strong>: Must worship Amaunator. The Lv. 16 feature Burning Radiance is the heart of this path and makes it capable of incredible damage. If you had the Sun domain feat, you can retrain that out now. The radiant vulnerability 10 is greater than the Sun domain is capable of and is caused by any Radiant power, including attacks from a Radiant Weapon. Or from a weapon buffed by the Lv. 2 utility Bless Weapon, which also gets a lovely boost via this feature. Radiant vulnerability also makes your Sanction and Challenge a lot more threatening. Everything else in this path is just extras by comparison (not bad ones, either, mind you). The attack powers use your highest mental stat, making them usable by Chaladins and WIS-heavy Straladins alike.</p><p></p><p><strong>Purple Dragon Knight (FRPG)</strong>: Geared toward Straladins and Baladins. Vanilla features, but the powers are pretty decent, in particular the daily.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Purple">Silverstar</span> (FRPG)</strong>: Moonfire, the daily, is a decent healing attack if it hits, and it uses your best mental stat. The rest of the path, on the other hand, is pretty underwhelming, and the encounter power is a waste.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Purple">Steelsky Liberator</span> (FRPG)</strong>: For Dragonborn, Genasi, Half-Orc and Human Straladins, and it's geared toward fighting dragons. It's not very good otherwise, though.</p><p> </p><p></p><p><strong>Eberron PPs</strong></p><p> </p><p><strong>Exorcist of the Silver Flame (EPG)</strong>: A fairly specialized path which only those with high enough WIS to serve as an attack stat should take. The features are indeed specialized, but the powers are actually pretty good all-purpose; the encounter and daily both blind.</p><p></p><p><strong>Jorasco Jadehand (EPG)</strong>: For those with Mark of Healing and high WIS. Sort of a mixed bag. Improved Recovery is very good, and the encounter power Preventative Medicine is a fantastic immediate interrupt. The rest of it is better geared toward Clerics than to you, though.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Red">Kundarak Ghorad'din</span> (EPG)</strong>: Uh, what? Mark of Warding is such an awesome Dragonmark, but the associated path had to be completely incompatible.</p><p></p><p><strong>Lyrandar Wind-Rider (EPG)</strong>: For those with Mark of Storm. Baladins with the Storm domain and Chaladins with a Lightning Weapon can take advantage of what this path has to offer, which is quite a bit, actually. Storm Adept is a +1 to attack rolls with Thunder and Lightning powers, which is great. Feather's Touch can come in handy, and the CHA-based (or CON, but that's not likely for you) powers are decent control effects. Not too bad.</p><p> </p><p></p><p><strong>Racial PPs</strong></p><p> </p><p><strong><u>Changeling</u></strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Chameleon (EPG)</strong>: Mimic the powers your allies have, and use Charisma for the attack and damage on all of them. For Chaladins, this can get very interesting ...</p><p></p><p><u><strong>Dragonborn</strong></u></p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: #00ccff">Mithral Arm</span> (D 385)</strong>: Basically the Dragonborn version of the Human's Adroit Explorer, which has simply impressive potential. The per-encounter utility is also a nice survivability boost, and the daily is also great, letting you use an encounter power twice in a fight.</p><p></p><p>Platinum Templar (PHR<img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" />): Polar Breath is pretty nice, and Misty Breath is a good daily. The rest you could take or leave.</p><p></p><p><strong>Scion of Arkhosia (PHB2)</strong>: If you like the idea of growing wings and flying everywhere this one's for you. The attack powers, variations of your breath, aren't anything special, though.</p><p></p><p><strong><u>Dwarf</u></strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Firstborn of Moradin (PHB2)</strong>: Only Straladins need apply. Decent, not great, features. The encounter power Receive the Charge is quite good, but the other powers are only average.</p><p></p><p><u><strong>Elf</strong></u></p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Blue">Twilight Guardian</span> (PHB2)</strong>: Pretty solid path all around, features and powers. Both attack powers do some restraining, which is pretty good. You can choose which mental stat to use for those powers, too.</p><p></p><p><strong><u>Gnome</u></strong></p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: #00ccff">Gnome Nightcloak</span> (D 384)</strong>: Must train Stealth, somehow, but if you do this PP is quite a get. Your Charisma applies to Stealth, and you even get a working Sneak Attack-like feature against marked targets. The powers are really good, too, in particular the encounter power Shadowstride Rebuke, which is an excellent punishment stacker.</p><p></p><p><strong><u>Goliath</u></strong></p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Blue">Stoneblessed</span> (PHB2)</strong>: Unusual Reach is awesome, and the utility Summit Advantage even lets you take proper advantage of it for a round every encounter. The rest is pretty solid, too.</p><p></p><p><strong><u>Half-Elf</u></strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Half-Elf Polymath (D 385)</strong>: Two extra trained skills at Lv. 11, an extra at-will from a different class at Lv. 16 beyond your Dilletante power, and a daily power whose usefulness varies based on party composition. Pretty interesting choice, if nothing else.</p><p></p><p><strong><u>Half-Orc</u></strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Bloodfury Savage (PHB2)</strong>: Savage Resilience is nice, and the powers are geared toward doing more and more damage. Not too bad, but not all that special.</p><p></p><p><strong>Lightning Blitzer (D 386)</strong>: Armored Swiftness is nice to eliminate the speed penalty for heavy armor. The daily is a nice blinder, too, but the rest of it is pretty avarage.</p><p></p><p><strong><u>Human</u></strong></p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: DeepSkyBlue">Adroit Explorer</span> (PHB2)</strong>: An extra Lv. 7 encounter power, including a duplicate of one you already have, a great action point ability, start the day with two action points, and an immediate reaction daily using your encounter power of choice. Awesome.</p><p></p><p><strong><u>Warforged</u></strong></p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Blue">Warforged Juggernaut</span> (EPG)</strong>: You might like this if you're particularly charge-oriented. The daily stance is very good, sort of a Fighter's Unyielding Avalanche with resistance to forced movement.</p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size: 22px"><p style="text-align: center"><strong><u>Legend of Your Faith: Epic Destinies</u></strong></p><p></span></p><p></p><p><strong>General/Paladin EDs</strong></p><p> </p><p><strong><span style="color: Purple">Avatar of Death</span> (DP)</strong>: You have how many necrotic powers now? Other than the utility, there just isn't much here.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Purple">Avatar of Freedom</span> (DP)</strong>: Requires a rather unattractive Divinity feat to qualify. At least the capstone, with all its wonderful immunities, is great. The rest of it isn't anything special.</p><p></p><p><strong>Avatar of Hope (DP)</strong>: Requires Hope Remains, which isn't a bad Divinity feat. Two important Chaladin stats, Charisma and Wisdom, increase by 2, and the rest of the features are pretty decent. You could do worse.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Purple">Avatar of Justice</span> (DP)</strong>: Pretty mediocre all around. Requires Immediate Justice.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Blue">Avatar of Life</span> (DP)</strong>: Requires Pulse of Life. You get a +2 bonus to almost every Paladin's secondary and tertiary stats, and the capstone, which greatly enhances your and nearby allies' second winds, is quite nice. Font of Life is a solid party heal spell. Can't go wrong with this one.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Blue">Avatar of Storm</span> (DP)</strong>: Geared mostly toward Straladins with the Storm domain or a Lightning Weapon. Requires Storm Sacrifice, which is a solid Divinity feat, and it increases STR and CON by 2 each. Stormhand is pretty nice, giving you the benefits of both Lightning and Thunder with all such attacks, and the capstone gives you flight. Solid and flavorful.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Blue">Avatar of War</span> (DP)</strong>: A solid ED that caters to both Defenders and Leaders. Requires the solid Divinity feat Path of War, and at Lv. 24 Invoker of War makes that feat's buffing power even better. You get a +2 to STR and CHA both, making this one good for any Paladin. Master of the Battlefield at Lv. 21 means you never give up combat advantage. And the utility, Rouse Conflict, adds some party enabling to your arsenal with a devastating minor-action nova trigger.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">Bahamut's Vessel</span> (D 378): Starts off with +2 to STR, WIS or CHA (your choice) and a lot of free healing whenever you use an action point. At Lv. 24 your divine healing powers double as attack and defense buffs for your allies; make sure you have one or two per-encounter divine heals to take full advantage of this. Mostly quite solid, but the capstone is rather mediocre. Turning into a dragon sounds cool, but your attacks are likely much weaker than if you were still using your weapon. Still, it's a near-death recovery, and at least you can get out of it by using your breath weapon.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">Ceaseless Guardian</span> (D 387): If you're into punishment stacking, then you'll like the ability to take immediate and opportunity actions while dazed or stunned. A free +2 to a stat of your choice and some extra speed round out this ED. Too bad the capstone, Never Again, is kinda lame; it's just a Lay on Hands-type effect you can only use when you or an ally dies. Other defender classes love this ED immensely, but since your defending ability wasn't as affected by dazing to begin with, it only ranks as "good" for you.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Blue">Darklord</span> (D 372)</strong>: Nice after-death ability, and the capstone is good fun. Solid choice.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: #0000ff">Dead God Avatar</span> (D 390)</strong>: Interesting option if worshipping a dead deity, and pretty solid all around. Immunity to charm and bonus to Wisdom and Charisma are nice, and the capstone Sacrifice to recover a daily power or encounter power is also appealing.</p><p></p><p><strong>Deadly Trickster (PHB)</strong>: A Chaladin who got Bluff training somehow might go for this. Solid features, albeit somewhat limited in use. Epic Trick is an awesome utility, though.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: DeepSkyBlue">Demigod/Chosen</span> (PHB/FRPG/DP)</strong>: Divine Miracle, that infamous capstone, finally got toned down so that now it only recovers one encounter power in a fight. That's still pretty good, though, especially combined with all the other ways to recover encounter powers. And the +2 to two stats of your choice, a solid near-death recovery mechanic and access to some great utilities still make this one great. Just no longer overpowering. The default Demigod's Divine Regeneration is an insane regeneration spell. The Chosen variants, tied to specific deities, differ from the Demigod via the utility power.</p><p></p><p><strong>Core Chosen Utility Powers</strong></p><p> </p><p><strong><span style="color: Purple">Freedom is Life (Avandra)</span> (DP)</strong>: +10 to saves for the party for a turn. Rather situational.</p><p></p><p><strong>Sheltering Wings (Bahamut) (DP)</strong>: Basically a Cure Serious Wounds for you and an ally. Not bad.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Blue">High Arcana (Corellon)</span> (DP)</strong>: Everyone in the party, including you, can choose +2 power bonus with implement attacks or +4 bonus to NADs at the start of every turn for the whole encounter. Very solid. <strong>Note for Forgotten Realms</strong>: This is Corellon's second attempt at his Chosen power, and this version is hands-down the better one.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Blue">Anthem of Progress (Erathis)</span> (DP)</strong>: 16-20 crits on at-will attacks for the whole party. Nice. <strong><span style="color: DeepSkyBlue">Even better</span></strong> if you have some crit fishermen aboard.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: DeepSkyBlue">Unerring Foreknowledge (Ioun)</span> (DP)</strong>: Grant allies extra standard actions, using your minor action, every round until you've cycled through all your allies. Very, very nice.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Blue">Test of Strength (Kord)</span> (DP)</strong>: A Straladin with Tireless Wrath-enhanced Divine Strength activated can do some special things with this one.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Purple">Wild Surge (Melora)</span> (DP)</strong>: 18-20 crits on daily attacks. Very underwhelming, especially compared to what Erathis offers.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Blue">Forge of Creation (Moradin)</span> (FRPG/DP)</strong>: You and any allies who hit in the next round restore second winds, a healing surge and a daily item power. Solid. <strong>Note for Forgotten Realms</strong>: The FRPG and DP versions of this power are identical.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Purple">Celestial Balance (Pelor)</span> (DP)</strong>: Pretty underwhelming.</p><p></p><p><strong>Death is Nigh (Raven Queen) (DP)</strong>: +2 untyped bonus to attacks if someone has failed a death save in the encounter. Not a bad one to keep around.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: DeepSkyBlue">Horns of the Moon (Sehanine)</span> (DP)</strong>: Buff any ally's attack and strip any enemy's defenses every turn for the whole encounter. This one is awesome.</p><p> </p><p></p><p><strong>Forgotten Realms Chosen Utility Powers (FRPG)</strong></p><p> </p><p><strong><span style="color: blue">Renewing Dawn (Amaunator)</span></strong>: Fairly hefty free radiant damage against a nearby foe when you or an ally use a healing surge in any way. Turns things you wouldn't even dream of (Lay on Hands, Virtue, etc.) into damage dealers. Sustain this effect with minor actions. If you worship Amaunator, odds are you're a Morninglord, and this utility can really help take advantage of the vulnerability that paragon path creates.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: DeepSkyBlue">Horn of Life (Chauntea)</span></strong>: Healing surge trigger, followed by 20 regeneration on the ally who needs it most any given round. The regeneration switches targets based on need at the start of your turns. A fantastic party heal.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Purple">True Death (Kelemvor)</span></strong>: Anti-undead power, so it's situational. Good for that type of fight, at least.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Purple">Supreme Knowledge (Oghma)</span></strong>: You're likely not good enough at knowledge skills to use this effectively.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Red">Waxing Fortune (Selune)</span></strong>: The chance of the situation that would make the bonus to attacks actually worth a damn happening is slim to none.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: DeepSkyBlue">Divine Regeneration (Silvanus)</span></strong>: Well, this looks familiar. No complaints, though, obviously.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Blue">Sune's Censure (Sune)</span></strong>: Spread vulnerabilities from one enemy to another. This one can even make normally temporary vulnerabilities last the whole encounter. Or, if all else fails, force vulnerability 5 all. This one's nice.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Blue">Tempus's Glare (Tempus)</span></strong>: This one can really mess with a Challenged or Sanctioned enemy.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Red">Battle Judgment (Torm)</span></strong>: Unless you killed a foe with a high-damage single-hit daily, this one's not going to heal much more, if not less, than a healing surge. Just awful.</p><p> </p><p><strong><span style="color: #0000ff">Destined Scion</span> (E:HFK)</strong>: +2 to two stats of your choice, an extra +1 to attack rolls on top of that and a +2 untyped bonus to saves. A good, solid, no-nonsense ED. The utilities won't dazzle you, but they're handy.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: DeepSkyBlue">Eternal Seeker </span>(PHB)</strong>: This one has come a long way, and it has infinite room to grow. It's about as good as you can get without crossing the line into abuse.</p><p></p><p><strong>Exalted Angel (DP)</strong>: Flavorful destiny, and good overall if you like a lot of flying. However, the Lv. 24 death-triggered feature is not worth it; save-ends blinding may be good by itself normally, but NOT when it removes you from the fight.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Purple">Harbinger of Doom</span> (PHB2)</strong>: Shield of Ill Fortune is about the only remotely attractive thing in this destiny.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: #00ccff">Indomitable Champion</span> (E:HFL)</strong>: +2 to two stats of your choice, extra hit points and extra NADs are as good a package as it gets. The utilities aren't completely earth-shattering, but they're handy when stuff happens. Another extremely solid, no-nonsense ED.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Purple">Keybearer</span> (D 372)</strong>: Traveler's Tricks is nice, as is the capstone that gives you phasing. Reality Distortion, on the other hand, kills this one. It would be pretty awesome if it weren't for the fact that it affects your allies as well as your enemies.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: DeepSkyBlue">Legendary Sovereign</span> (MP2)</strong>: Comparable to Demigod/Chosen. You get a +2 to Charisma to start off. Sword of Kings, the capstone, is open to abuse sooner in a fight than Divine Miracle if you use it on the right type of power (you may have to multiclass); choose either a close burst attack or a focus-fire multiattack to greatly reduce your chance of missing at all so you can keep using it. Great Captain is devastating when a crit happens, and the utility, Sword of the Sovereign, rounds it off by providing insane bonuses to attack rolls for allies' at-will and basic attacks (equal to your CHA-mod). This is Not My Fate is also a better recovery ability than Divine Recovery.</p><p></p><p><strong>Lorekeeper (PHB2)</strong>: A Paladin whose secondary is Wisdom might qualify. You're already trained in Religion, and History is a class skill. It's a mixed bag; the first two features aren't really your cup of tea unless you're somehow handling rituals, but the capstone is awesome (two daily utility powers as encounter powers).</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Blue">Planeshaper</span> (D 372)</strong>: Using an encounter power twice is great, as is removing an enemy from the fight for a turn on a crit. Shape Reality, the capstone, adds a whole lot of Controller to your arsenal. Can't go wrong with this one.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: #800080">Prince of Hell</span> (D 372)</strong>: This positively-evil inclined destiny is pretty interesting for that type of Chaladin. You get a +2 to Charisma and can teleport and summon some minions. Not the best you can do, though.</p><p></p><p><strong>Punisher of the Gods (D 372/DA 09)</strong>: Seems to have stabilized, but its current form, while good against one foe per encounter, is still a shadow of its former selves. Yes, that plural was intentional.</p><p></p><p>Raven Knight (D 380): Bonused to speed and going insubstantial and phasing on a charge are pretty good. The ability bonuses aren't the best, though. The utility, Dark Scythe is good; if you have Paladin's Truth, the Necrotic damage won't be an issue and you'll have the potential to heal a lot while you do some killing. You could do worse.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Purple">Revered One</span> (PHB2)</strong>: A stunningly mediocre destiny ... except for Manifest the Divine, the Lv. 24 feature. That one makes a solid Eternal Seeker capstone, so if you want it, you should just take Eternal Seeker instead (and let the Glorious Channeler feat tide you over until Lv. 30, when you retrain it for another Divinity feat).</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: DeepSkyBlue">Saint</span> (DP)</strong>: Yes, you want to be in that number. +2 to all NADs, hefty necrotic resistance, immune to domination, let your healing spells grant saves and your Divine Mettle and other such powers trigger healing surges, capstone increases your healing efficiency greatly, and Sanctified Revival is about as good as a resurrection spell can get. Full of win without being abusive.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Purple">Storm Sovereign</span> (D 372)</strong>: Pretty underwhelming.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: #0000ff">Unyielding Sentinel</span> (D 388)</strong>: Good bonuses to Constitution and one other ability, and Unbreakable plays nice with Hero's Poise. The capstone of free healing caps it off. Can't complain about this one.</p><p> </p><p></p><p><strong>Racial EDs</strong></p><p> </p><p>Avatar of Io (PHR<img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" />): Bonuses to both STR and CHA, a fully versatile breath weapon, and the ability to fly with hover. Pretty decent, although the capstone isn't the best.</p><p> </p><p></p><p><strong>Forgotten Realms EDs</strong></p><p> </p><p><strong>Harper of Legend (D 367)</strong>: An extra encounter power (including from a multiclass if applicable) and extra action points. Not bad at all. Spectral Harpist is interesting and a decent death-triggered capstone. Tymora Smiles is pretty weak, though.</p><p> </p><p></p><p><strong>Eberron EDs</strong></p><p> </p><p><strong><span style="color: Blue">Champion of Prophecy</span> (EPG)</strong>: +2 to a physical and a mental stat of your choice, great capstone that lets you recover dailies per milestone instead of action points, and Prophetic Certainty is a solid per-encounter utility.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Purple">Dispossessed Champion</span> (EPG)</strong>: Solid utility power (resist 10 to nearby allies), but the rest is pretty mediocre.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: DeepSkyBlue">Mourning Savior</span> (EPG)</strong>: Very setting specific here, but the benefits in that respect are huge. Memory of Cyre is a great save-ends debuff whenever you use an action point. And speaking of action points, the capstone Cyran Vengeance opens up some nice abuse with those. Awesome.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Blue">Sublime Flame</span> (EPG)</strong>: You can't say no to an extra daily per day for worshiping the Silver Flame. The rest is pretty solid, too.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Veep, post: 6707962, member: 6793297"] [CENTER][b][SIZE=6][u]Rising in the Faith: Paragon Paths[/u][/SIZE][/b][/CENTER] 4e Paladins have a tradition of powerful paragon paths, even going back to the days when the base class wasn't so hot. [b]Champion of Order[/b], [b]Hospitaler[/b], [b]Son of Mercy[/b] and [b]Morninglord[/b] are the most famous (some would dare say cheap), followed by slightly less power-trippy but still rock-solid PPs like [b]Questing Knight[/b] and [b]Heartwarder[/b]. If none of those tickle your fancy, fear not, you'll find something slightly more niche in this list that should be a nice fit for your character. [b]Paladin PPs[/b] [b][COLOR=Purple]Astral Weapon[/COLOR] (PHB)[/b]: The Lv. 11 feature Astral Judgment, a -2 defense debuff for violating your mark, is the only remotely noteworthy thing about this very unimpressive Straladin PP. [b][COLOR=Blue]Champion of Corellon[/COLOR] (DP)[/b]: A solid path for Corellon-worshiping Chaladins with a little more agility training than usual. Superior Defense takes advantage of a DEX score up to 15 for extra AC in heavy armor, and Light-Footed Warrior lets you ignore the speed penalty. All the powers are pretty good, too, in particular the daily Corellon's Wrath, which attacks Reflex, save-ends blinds on hit, and makes your OAs deadlier. [b][COLOR=DeepSkyBlue]Champion of Order[/COLOR] (PHB)[/b]: In Defense of Order lets you stack an OA on top of the Divine Challenge punishment for some serious retaliatory pain. And the encounter power, Certain Justice, is just plain brutal. It's deadly accurate and dazes and weakens as long as you keep the target marked. Easily one of a Straladin's (or Baladin's) top options. [b][COLOR=Red]Demonslayer[/COLOR] (DP)[/b]: It's way too specialized, for one, and Champion of Order, among other paths, does a better job with its "specialization." Avoid it. [b][COLOR=Blue]Dragonslayer[/COLOR] (DP)[/b]: Despite its name, this path geared toward more offensively minded Chaladins is actually not specialized at all, which is only a good thing. Dragonslayer's Challenge is a good damage boost, particularly against a Divine Challenge target, that scales into Epic Tier. Challenging Smite makes your divine marks deadlier for a round, Deflect the Blast is a decent AoE mitigation utility per encounter, and Ground the Foe always comes in handy even if the target wasn't a flier. Solid path all around. [b]Faithful Shield (DP)[/b]: Pretty average Chaladin path. The most consistent benefit from this PP will be granting a +2 power bonus to defenses with Lay on Hands at Lv. 11, which is fair enough. The 16th-level feature Defensive Presence will only see a lot of use if your entire party is full of characters who actually use their second winds (e.g. Dwarves, characters who took the Fighter feat Striking Resurgence). [COLOR=#0000ff]Fortune Blessed[/COLOR] (D 384): Requires you to worship Avandra. An interesting, and pretty solid path, with its luck tokens mechanic that can boost bad rolls or even let you reroll d20s and keep your better result. The encounter power is an immediate reaction counter when an enemy attacks you and gives you a luck token for free if you don't have any. The per-encounter utlity is HUGE damage reduction, even before you add any luck token effects, and the daily is also a solid debilitator. [b][COLOR=Blue]Gray Guard[/COLOR] (DP)[/b]: Gray Guard Vigilance is very handy if you're going to fight a lot at night or in dark places, and also trains you in the all-important Perception skill. Debilitating Smite is a solid daze and slow encounter power. An encounter you didn't use the utility Relentless Justice is an encounter where all your encounter powers hit their mark. And the daily, Devastating Smite, is Reliable and utterly brutal. Your healing surge's worth of extra damage on the attack is huge, especially if you're a Dragonborn or a Dwarf. Solid path for damage-focused Straladins, if still a step below Champion of Order and Son of Mercy. [b]Hammer of Moradin (DP)[/b]: Hammer-wielding Straladins who worship Moradin might look at this one. Hammer Bond is a permanent +1 to attack with hammers, which is great. The powers are flavorful and decent, but not eyecatching. [b][COLOR=#800080]Holy Conqueror[/COLOR] (DP)[/b]: For Straladins who took the unimpressive Ardent Vow. The encounter and utility powers are actually pretty good; the encounter power is a nice charge-based punishment stacker and the utility is a per-encounter martyr power with some free Sanctioning attached. It's too bad those powers are attached to a PP with rather tame features and such a suboptimal entry requirement. [b][COLOR=DeepSkyBlue]Hospitaler[/COLOR] (PHB)[/b]: Even after errata, Hospitaler's Blessing makes a Shielding Swordmage question his own manhood. The effect heals an amount comparable to the damage Aegis of Shielding prevents, hit or miss, and does it on [i]every attack[/i] from your DC target that doesn't include you. Yikes. Hospitaler's Care stacks with Devoted Paladin's bonus for Lay on Hands. This is still arguably the most potent Chaladin PP. [b]Justiciar (PHB)[/b]: The encounter power Just Radiance is easily this Chaladin path's highlight, a very nice punisher of a crowd of marked enemies that forces them all to attack you. However, its party protection features, while they do have solid effects, all require that allies stay adjacent to you, which is usually not practical. With such iffy features, it's Just Radiance alone that brings this PP up to a rating of average. [b][COLOR=Red]Knight of Celestia[/COLOR] (MOTP)[/b]: Nothing about this one is remotely impressive. Shun it. [b][COLOR=Purple]Knight of the Chalice[/COLOR] (DP)[/b]: Another specialized paragon path, this one for Chaladins. It isn't [i]quite[/i] as egregious as Demonslayer; Aura Suppression is useful against quite a few enemies, and Ensnaring Smite's restraining is always handy. But the rest of it is only really effective (or effective at all) against devils. [b][COLOR=DeepSkyBlue]Questing Knight[/COLOR] (DP)[/b]: Very flavorful, and very strong, too. While this PP doesn't have anything that's outright "cheap," it's a collection of extremely solid benefits, none of which will go to waste for any Chaladin. Strength of Ten, the encounter power, is just about the best mass-Sanction attack power you will find, even giving you some extra mobility and enemy positioning control to boot. At Lv. 16, you get the other highlight of this PP: free-action second wind when you're bloodied. This is awesome for obvious reasons (and on a side note, practically cries out for a Martial multiclass and CON 19 by Epic Tier, so you can take the feat Epic Recovery for two second winds per encounter). The +2 bonus to Will against the more common anti-Will attack types you get at Lv. 11 doesn't hurt, either. To round it off, Quester's Discipline is a handy get-out-of-jail card, and Virtuous Wrath is a Reliable, anti-Will weakening attack. [b][COLOR=#0000ff]Sainted General[/COLOR] (D 390)[/b]: Meant for high-CHA characters, this requires you either multiclass or hybrid Warlord. [COLOR=#00ccff][b]Hybrids[/b][/COLOR] easily make the most of this PP, and it's most effective as part of a [COLOR=#00ccff][b]melee-dominant Radiant Mafia[/b][/COLOR]. However, even full Paladins who MC Warlord will love Sainted Challenge at Lv. 11, which grants a nasty extra Radiant damage buff to the melee and close attacks of all allies adjacent to your DC target when it triggers your punishment. But if you want to use the Lv. 16 feature, you must be a Hybrid, since it works off Inspiring Word. The powers, all involving CHA in some way, are a mixed bag: The daily is a solid melee enabler with the chance for an encounter-long damage buff, but the encounter and utility leave a bit to be desired. [b][COLOR=#800080]Scion of Sacrifice[/COLOR] (DP)[/b]: Requires you to take Ardent Vow, which is a suboptimal choice to begin with, and moreover, the powers are CHA-based attack, so you must be a Chaladin or Baladin, who aren't even likely to consider Ardent Vow in the first place. All's the pity, because this PP would be a potent choice, otherwise. Scion's Sanction, the encounter power, is a mass-Sanction that rivals the Questing Knight's Strength of Ten (unlike that power it even lays down the DS marks hit or miss). [b][COLOR=Purple]Slayer of the Dead[/COLOR] (DP)[/b]: Another overly-specialized path. Just about all of it is only worthwhile at all against undead, and even against undead it's not any better than the more general-purpose PPs the Paladin has. [b][COLOR=DeepSkyBlue]Son of Mercy[/COLOR] (D 370)[/b]: Geared toward Straladins looking for brutality in spades. Lawbreaker's Doom is a nasty feature, giving you WIS-mod damage bonus to attacks against its object of affection, slowing with every attack that hits (hello, World Serpent's Grasp), and lasting until the enemy is dead. At which point you get to use it again. The encounter power Dispensed Justice is almost as vicious, with its immediate interrupt application serving as a punishment stacker on your Lawbreaker's Doom target. The utility and daily are also pretty devastating, and Strength of Conviction is a solid amount of THPs' reward for killing the lawbreaker. [b]Vengeful Crusader (D 377)[/b]: The encounter power Driving Force is probably the highlight of this Straladin PP, and it lets you punishment stack with a charge if you hit. Vengeful Shield deals a little extra STR mod damage to enemies who attack allies next to you, but that's a little too finicky to rely on a whole lot. Not a bad choice, overall, but nothing that really impresses, either. [b]Forgotten Realms PPs[/b] [b]Doomguide (FRPG)[/b]: Geared toward Baladins who worship Kelemvor. It's features and powers are very effective against undead, but even when undead aren't involved, they're at least decent, and the daily power in particular, Kelemvor's Sword, is quite good. You wish more of the "specialized" paths were like this one. Not a bad choice in any case. [b][COLOR=Blue]Eartheart Defender[/COLOR] (FRPG)[/b]: For Dwarf Straladins, and it's pretty solid. Heart of Earth is an attack bonus after using that minor-action second wind. Gain Heart is a good power to pull out when bloodied, healing you significantly. And the daily, Earthsurge, is an excellent sticky power, a good-sized zone that moves with you and slows enemies in it. [b][COLOR=DeepSkyBlue]Heartwarder[/COLOR] (FRPG)[/b]: For Chaladins who worship Sune. Sune's Touch is fantastic healing; it works when you spend a healing surge. In any way. Including Lay on Hands on the ally. Which means it stacks with Lay on Hands for the ally. Great stuff. Also great stuff are the powers. Siren Voice is domination every encounter, which is awesome. Sune's Shield is essentially a Divine Bodyguard that doesn't suck; it can't screw you over since you can choose on a hit-by-hit basis whether to take the damage for the ally, and it lasts for the whole encounter no matter what happens. And the daily, Sune's Kiss, is perfect on an elite or solo; it can force ridiculous lose-lose situations, especially if you Sanctioned or Challenged it and have immediate actions to pile on. [b][COLOR=DeepSkyBlue]Morninglord[/COLOR] (FRPG)[/b]: Must worship Amaunator. The Lv. 16 feature Burning Radiance is the heart of this path and makes it capable of incredible damage. If you had the Sun domain feat, you can retrain that out now. The radiant vulnerability 10 is greater than the Sun domain is capable of and is caused by any Radiant power, including attacks from a Radiant Weapon. Or from a weapon buffed by the Lv. 2 utility Bless Weapon, which also gets a lovely boost via this feature. Radiant vulnerability also makes your Sanction and Challenge a lot more threatening. Everything else in this path is just extras by comparison (not bad ones, either, mind you). The attack powers use your highest mental stat, making them usable by Chaladins and WIS-heavy Straladins alike. [b]Purple Dragon Knight (FRPG)[/b]: Geared toward Straladins and Baladins. Vanilla features, but the powers are pretty decent, in particular the daily. [b][COLOR=Purple]Silverstar[/COLOR] (FRPG)[/b]: Moonfire, the daily, is a decent healing attack if it hits, and it uses your best mental stat. The rest of the path, on the other hand, is pretty underwhelming, and the encounter power is a waste. [b][COLOR=Purple]Steelsky Liberator[/COLOR] (FRPG)[/b]: For Dragonborn, Genasi, Half-Orc and Human Straladins, and it's geared toward fighting dragons. It's not very good otherwise, though. [b]Eberron PPs[/b] [b]Exorcist of the Silver Flame (EPG)[/b]: A fairly specialized path which only those with high enough WIS to serve as an attack stat should take. The features are indeed specialized, but the powers are actually pretty good all-purpose; the encounter and daily both blind. [b]Jorasco Jadehand (EPG)[/b]: For those with Mark of Healing and high WIS. Sort of a mixed bag. Improved Recovery is very good, and the encounter power Preventative Medicine is a fantastic immediate interrupt. The rest of it is better geared toward Clerics than to you, though. [b][COLOR=Red]Kundarak Ghorad'din[/COLOR] (EPG)[/b]: Uh, what? Mark of Warding is such an awesome Dragonmark, but the associated path had to be completely incompatible. [b]Lyrandar Wind-Rider (EPG)[/b]: For those with Mark of Storm. Baladins with the Storm domain and Chaladins with a Lightning Weapon can take advantage of what this path has to offer, which is quite a bit, actually. Storm Adept is a +1 to attack rolls with Thunder and Lightning powers, which is great. Feather's Touch can come in handy, and the CHA-based (or CON, but that's not likely for you) powers are decent control effects. Not too bad. [b]Racial PPs[/b] [b][u]Changeling[/u][/b] [b]Chameleon (EPG)[/b]: Mimic the powers your allies have, and use Charisma for the attack and damage on all of them. For Chaladins, this can get very interesting ... [u][b]Dragonborn[/b][/u] [b][COLOR=#00ccff]Mithral Arm[/COLOR] (D 385)[/b]: Basically the Dragonborn version of the Human's Adroit Explorer, which has simply impressive potential. The per-encounter utility is also a nice survivability boost, and the daily is also great, letting you use an encounter power twice in a fight. Platinum Templar (PHR:D): Polar Breath is pretty nice, and Misty Breath is a good daily. The rest you could take or leave. [b]Scion of Arkhosia (PHB2)[/b]: If you like the idea of growing wings and flying everywhere this one's for you. The attack powers, variations of your breath, aren't anything special, though. [b][u]Dwarf[/u][/b] [b]Firstborn of Moradin (PHB2)[/b]: Only Straladins need apply. Decent, not great, features. The encounter power Receive the Charge is quite good, but the other powers are only average. [u][b]Elf[/b][/u] [b][COLOR=Blue]Twilight Guardian[/COLOR] (PHB2)[/b]: Pretty solid path all around, features and powers. Both attack powers do some restraining, which is pretty good. You can choose which mental stat to use for those powers, too. [b][u]Gnome[/u][/b] [b][COLOR=#00ccff]Gnome Nightcloak[/COLOR] (D 384)[/b]: Must train Stealth, somehow, but if you do this PP is quite a get. Your Charisma applies to Stealth, and you even get a working Sneak Attack-like feature against marked targets. The powers are really good, too, in particular the encounter power Shadowstride Rebuke, which is an excellent punishment stacker. [b][u]Goliath[/u][/b] [b][COLOR=Blue]Stoneblessed[/COLOR] (PHB2)[/b]: Unusual Reach is awesome, and the utility Summit Advantage even lets you take proper advantage of it for a round every encounter. The rest is pretty solid, too. [b][u]Half-Elf[/u][/b] [b]Half-Elf Polymath (D 385)[/b]: Two extra trained skills at Lv. 11, an extra at-will from a different class at Lv. 16 beyond your Dilletante power, and a daily power whose usefulness varies based on party composition. Pretty interesting choice, if nothing else. [b][u]Half-Orc[/u][/b] [b]Bloodfury Savage (PHB2)[/b]: Savage Resilience is nice, and the powers are geared toward doing more and more damage. Not too bad, but not all that special. [b]Lightning Blitzer (D 386)[/b]: Armored Swiftness is nice to eliminate the speed penalty for heavy armor. The daily is a nice blinder, too, but the rest of it is pretty avarage. [b][u]Human[/u][/b] [b][COLOR=DeepSkyBlue]Adroit Explorer[/COLOR] (PHB2)[/b]: An extra Lv. 7 encounter power, including a duplicate of one you already have, a great action point ability, start the day with two action points, and an immediate reaction daily using your encounter power of choice. Awesome. [b][u]Warforged[/u][/b] [b][COLOR=Blue]Warforged Juggernaut[/COLOR] (EPG)[/b]: You might like this if you're particularly charge-oriented. The daily stance is very good, sort of a Fighter's Unyielding Avalanche with resistance to forced movement. [SIZE=6][CENTER][b][u]Legend of Your Faith: Epic Destinies[/u][/b][/CENTER] [/SIZE] [b]General/Paladin EDs[/b] [b][COLOR=Purple]Avatar of Death[/COLOR] (DP)[/b]: You have how many necrotic powers now? Other than the utility, there just isn't much here. [b][COLOR=Purple]Avatar of Freedom[/COLOR] (DP)[/b]: Requires a rather unattractive Divinity feat to qualify. At least the capstone, with all its wonderful immunities, is great. The rest of it isn't anything special. [b]Avatar of Hope (DP)[/b]: Requires Hope Remains, which isn't a bad Divinity feat. Two important Chaladin stats, Charisma and Wisdom, increase by 2, and the rest of the features are pretty decent. You could do worse. [b][COLOR=Purple]Avatar of Justice[/COLOR] (DP)[/b]: Pretty mediocre all around. Requires Immediate Justice. [b][COLOR=Blue]Avatar of Life[/COLOR] (DP)[/b]: Requires Pulse of Life. You get a +2 bonus to almost every Paladin's secondary and tertiary stats, and the capstone, which greatly enhances your and nearby allies' second winds, is quite nice. Font of Life is a solid party heal spell. Can't go wrong with this one. [b][COLOR=Blue]Avatar of Storm[/COLOR] (DP)[/b]: Geared mostly toward Straladins with the Storm domain or a Lightning Weapon. Requires Storm Sacrifice, which is a solid Divinity feat, and it increases STR and CON by 2 each. Stormhand is pretty nice, giving you the benefits of both Lightning and Thunder with all such attacks, and the capstone gives you flight. Solid and flavorful. [b][COLOR=Blue]Avatar of War[/COLOR] (DP)[/b]: A solid ED that caters to both Defenders and Leaders. Requires the solid Divinity feat Path of War, and at Lv. 24 Invoker of War makes that feat's buffing power even better. You get a +2 to STR and CHA both, making this one good for any Paladin. Master of the Battlefield at Lv. 21 means you never give up combat advantage. And the utility, Rouse Conflict, adds some party enabling to your arsenal with a devastating minor-action nova trigger. [COLOR=#0000ff]Bahamut's Vessel[/COLOR] (D 378): Starts off with +2 to STR, WIS or CHA (your choice) and a lot of free healing whenever you use an action point. At Lv. 24 your divine healing powers double as attack and defense buffs for your allies; make sure you have one or two per-encounter divine heals to take full advantage of this. Mostly quite solid, but the capstone is rather mediocre. Turning into a dragon sounds cool, but your attacks are likely much weaker than if you were still using your weapon. Still, it's a near-death recovery, and at least you can get out of it by using your breath weapon. [COLOR=#0000ff]Ceaseless Guardian[/COLOR] (D 387): If you're into punishment stacking, then you'll like the ability to take immediate and opportunity actions while dazed or stunned. A free +2 to a stat of your choice and some extra speed round out this ED. Too bad the capstone, Never Again, is kinda lame; it's just a Lay on Hands-type effect you can only use when you or an ally dies. Other defender classes love this ED immensely, but since your defending ability wasn't as affected by dazing to begin with, it only ranks as "good" for you. [b][COLOR=Blue]Darklord[/COLOR] (D 372)[/b]: Nice after-death ability, and the capstone is good fun. Solid choice. [b][COLOR=#0000ff]Dead God Avatar[/COLOR] (D 390)[/b]: Interesting option if worshipping a dead deity, and pretty solid all around. Immunity to charm and bonus to Wisdom and Charisma are nice, and the capstone Sacrifice to recover a daily power or encounter power is also appealing. [b]Deadly Trickster (PHB)[/b]: A Chaladin who got Bluff training somehow might go for this. Solid features, albeit somewhat limited in use. Epic Trick is an awesome utility, though. [b][COLOR=DeepSkyBlue]Demigod/Chosen[/COLOR] (PHB/FRPG/DP)[/b]: Divine Miracle, that infamous capstone, finally got toned down so that now it only recovers one encounter power in a fight. That's still pretty good, though, especially combined with all the other ways to recover encounter powers. And the +2 to two stats of your choice, a solid near-death recovery mechanic and access to some great utilities still make this one great. Just no longer overpowering. The default Demigod's Divine Regeneration is an insane regeneration spell. The Chosen variants, tied to specific deities, differ from the Demigod via the utility power. [b]Core Chosen Utility Powers[/b] [b][COLOR=Purple]Freedom is Life (Avandra)[/COLOR] (DP)[/b]: +10 to saves for the party for a turn. Rather situational. [b]Sheltering Wings (Bahamut) (DP)[/b]: Basically a Cure Serious Wounds for you and an ally. Not bad. [b][COLOR=Blue]High Arcana (Corellon)[/COLOR] (DP)[/b]: Everyone in the party, including you, can choose +2 power bonus with implement attacks or +4 bonus to NADs at the start of every turn for the whole encounter. Very solid. [b]Note for Forgotten Realms[/b]: This is Corellon's second attempt at his Chosen power, and this version is hands-down the better one. [b][COLOR=Blue]Anthem of Progress (Erathis)[/COLOR] (DP)[/b]: 16-20 crits on at-will attacks for the whole party. Nice. [b][COLOR=DeepSkyBlue]Even better[/COLOR][/b] if you have some crit fishermen aboard. [b][COLOR=DeepSkyBlue]Unerring Foreknowledge (Ioun)[/COLOR] (DP)[/b]: Grant allies extra standard actions, using your minor action, every round until you've cycled through all your allies. Very, very nice. [b][COLOR=Blue]Test of Strength (Kord)[/COLOR] (DP)[/b]: A Straladin with Tireless Wrath-enhanced Divine Strength activated can do some special things with this one. [b][COLOR=Purple]Wild Surge (Melora)[/COLOR] (DP)[/b]: 18-20 crits on daily attacks. Very underwhelming, especially compared to what Erathis offers. [b][COLOR=Blue]Forge of Creation (Moradin)[/COLOR] (FRPG/DP)[/b]: You and any allies who hit in the next round restore second winds, a healing surge and a daily item power. Solid. [b]Note for Forgotten Realms[/b]: The FRPG and DP versions of this power are identical. [b][COLOR=Purple]Celestial Balance (Pelor)[/COLOR] (DP)[/b]: Pretty underwhelming. [b]Death is Nigh (Raven Queen) (DP)[/b]: +2 untyped bonus to attacks if someone has failed a death save in the encounter. Not a bad one to keep around. [b][COLOR=DeepSkyBlue]Horns of the Moon (Sehanine)[/COLOR] (DP)[/b]: Buff any ally's attack and strip any enemy's defenses every turn for the whole encounter. This one is awesome. [b]Forgotten Realms Chosen Utility Powers (FRPG)[/b] [b][COLOR=blue]Renewing Dawn (Amaunator)[/COLOR][/b]: Fairly hefty free radiant damage against a nearby foe when you or an ally use a healing surge in any way. Turns things you wouldn't even dream of (Lay on Hands, Virtue, etc.) into damage dealers. Sustain this effect with minor actions. If you worship Amaunator, odds are you're a Morninglord, and this utility can really help take advantage of the vulnerability that paragon path creates. [b][COLOR=DeepSkyBlue]Horn of Life (Chauntea)[/COLOR][/b]: Healing surge trigger, followed by 20 regeneration on the ally who needs it most any given round. The regeneration switches targets based on need at the start of your turns. A fantastic party heal. [b][COLOR=Purple]True Death (Kelemvor)[/COLOR][/b]: Anti-undead power, so it's situational. Good for that type of fight, at least. [b][COLOR=Purple]Supreme Knowledge (Oghma)[/COLOR][/b]: You're likely not good enough at knowledge skills to use this effectively. [b][COLOR=Red]Waxing Fortune (Selune)[/COLOR][/b]: The chance of the situation that would make the bonus to attacks actually worth a damn happening is slim to none. [b][COLOR=DeepSkyBlue]Divine Regeneration (Silvanus)[/COLOR][/b]: Well, this looks familiar. No complaints, though, obviously. [b][COLOR=Blue]Sune's Censure (Sune)[/COLOR][/b]: Spread vulnerabilities from one enemy to another. This one can even make normally temporary vulnerabilities last the whole encounter. Or, if all else fails, force vulnerability 5 all. This one's nice. [b][COLOR=Blue]Tempus's Glare (Tempus)[/COLOR][/b]: This one can really mess with a Challenged or Sanctioned enemy. [b][COLOR=Red]Battle Judgment (Torm)[/COLOR][/b]: Unless you killed a foe with a high-damage single-hit daily, this one's not going to heal much more, if not less, than a healing surge. Just awful. [b][COLOR=#0000ff]Destined Scion[/COLOR] (E:HFK)[/b]: +2 to two stats of your choice, an extra +1 to attack rolls on top of that and a +2 untyped bonus to saves. A good, solid, no-nonsense ED. The utilities won't dazzle you, but they're handy. [b][COLOR=DeepSkyBlue]Eternal Seeker [/COLOR](PHB)[/b]: This one has come a long way, and it has infinite room to grow. It's about as good as you can get without crossing the line into abuse. [b]Exalted Angel (DP)[/b]: Flavorful destiny, and good overall if you like a lot of flying. However, the Lv. 24 death-triggered feature is not worth it; save-ends blinding may be good by itself normally, but NOT when it removes you from the fight. [b][COLOR=Purple]Harbinger of Doom[/COLOR] (PHB2)[/b]: Shield of Ill Fortune is about the only remotely attractive thing in this destiny. [b][COLOR=#00ccff]Indomitable Champion[/COLOR] (E:HFL)[/b]: +2 to two stats of your choice, extra hit points and extra NADs are as good a package as it gets. The utilities aren't completely earth-shattering, but they're handy when stuff happens. Another extremely solid, no-nonsense ED. [b][COLOR=Purple]Keybearer[/COLOR] (D 372)[/b]: Traveler's Tricks is nice, as is the capstone that gives you phasing. Reality Distortion, on the other hand, kills this one. It would be pretty awesome if it weren't for the fact that it affects your allies as well as your enemies. [b][COLOR=DeepSkyBlue]Legendary Sovereign[/COLOR] (MP2)[/b]: Comparable to Demigod/Chosen. You get a +2 to Charisma to start off. Sword of Kings, the capstone, is open to abuse sooner in a fight than Divine Miracle if you use it on the right type of power (you may have to multiclass); choose either a close burst attack or a focus-fire multiattack to greatly reduce your chance of missing at all so you can keep using it. Great Captain is devastating when a crit happens, and the utility, Sword of the Sovereign, rounds it off by providing insane bonuses to attack rolls for allies' at-will and basic attacks (equal to your CHA-mod). This is Not My Fate is also a better recovery ability than Divine Recovery. [b]Lorekeeper (PHB2)[/b]: A Paladin whose secondary is Wisdom might qualify. You're already trained in Religion, and History is a class skill. It's a mixed bag; the first two features aren't really your cup of tea unless you're somehow handling rituals, but the capstone is awesome (two daily utility powers as encounter powers). [b][COLOR=Blue]Planeshaper[/COLOR] (D 372)[/b]: Using an encounter power twice is great, as is removing an enemy from the fight for a turn on a crit. Shape Reality, the capstone, adds a whole lot of Controller to your arsenal. Can't go wrong with this one. [b][COLOR=#800080]Prince of Hell[/COLOR] (D 372)[/b]: This positively-evil inclined destiny is pretty interesting for that type of Chaladin. You get a +2 to Charisma and can teleport and summon some minions. Not the best you can do, though. [b]Punisher of the Gods (D 372/DA 09)[/b]: Seems to have stabilized, but its current form, while good against one foe per encounter, is still a shadow of its former selves. Yes, that plural was intentional. Raven Knight (D 380): Bonused to speed and going insubstantial and phasing on a charge are pretty good. The ability bonuses aren't the best, though. The utility, Dark Scythe is good; if you have Paladin's Truth, the Necrotic damage won't be an issue and you'll have the potential to heal a lot while you do some killing. You could do worse. [b][COLOR=Purple]Revered One[/COLOR] (PHB2)[/b]: A stunningly mediocre destiny ... except for Manifest the Divine, the Lv. 24 feature. That one makes a solid Eternal Seeker capstone, so if you want it, you should just take Eternal Seeker instead (and let the Glorious Channeler feat tide you over until Lv. 30, when you retrain it for another Divinity feat). [b][COLOR=DeepSkyBlue]Saint[/COLOR] (DP)[/b]: Yes, you want to be in that number. +2 to all NADs, hefty necrotic resistance, immune to domination, let your healing spells grant saves and your Divine Mettle and other such powers trigger healing surges, capstone increases your healing efficiency greatly, and Sanctified Revival is about as good as a resurrection spell can get. Full of win without being abusive. [b][COLOR=Purple]Storm Sovereign[/COLOR] (D 372)[/b]: Pretty underwhelming. [b][COLOR=#0000ff]Unyielding Sentinel[/COLOR] (D 388)[/b]: Good bonuses to Constitution and one other ability, and Unbreakable plays nice with Hero's Poise. The capstone of free healing caps it off. Can't complain about this one. [b]Racial EDs[/b] Avatar of Io (PHR:D): Bonuses to both STR and CHA, a fully versatile breath weapon, and the ability to fly with hover. Pretty decent, although the capstone isn't the best. [b]Forgotten Realms EDs[/b] [b]Harper of Legend (D 367)[/b]: An extra encounter power (including from a multiclass if applicable) and extra action points. Not bad at all. Spectral Harpist is interesting and a decent death-triggered capstone. Tymora Smiles is pretty weak, though. [b]Eberron EDs[/b] [b][COLOR=Blue]Champion of Prophecy[/COLOR] (EPG)[/b]: +2 to a physical and a mental stat of your choice, great capstone that lets you recover dailies per milestone instead of action points, and Prophetic Certainty is a solid per-encounter utility. [b][COLOR=Purple]Dispossessed Champion[/COLOR] (EPG)[/b]: Solid utility power (resist 10 to nearby allies), but the rest is pretty mediocre. [b][COLOR=DeepSkyBlue]Mourning Savior[/COLOR] (EPG)[/b]: Very setting specific here, but the benefits in that respect are huge. Memory of Cyre is a great save-ends debuff whenever you use an action point. And speaking of action points, the capstone Cyran Vengeance opens up some nice abuse with those. Awesome. [b][COLOR=Blue]Sublime Flame[/COLOR] (EPG)[/b]: You can't say no to an extra daily per day for worshiping the Silver Flame. The rest is pretty solid, too. [/QUOTE]
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Pillars of Faith (and Facestabs): The Paladin's Handbook (By Litigation)
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