Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Pillars of Faith (and Facestabs): The Paladin's Handbook (By Litigation)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Veep" data-source="post: 6707966" data-attributes="member: 6793297"><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 22px"><strong><u>Executing the Crusade: Tactics</u></strong></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>I. Threat Level vs. Survivability.</strong></span></p><p></p><p>As a defender, you always want to present enemies with <strong>two bad choices</strong>. Balacing the equation between threat level and survivability is how you accomplish this, and is, <em>hands-down</em>, the <strong>No. 1 priority</strong> of any defender.</p><p></p><p>When one thinks of threat level for a defender, they typically think of mark punishment. And that is indeed the most important part of it. Things to take into account:</p><p></p><p>(a) Damage and/or status effects caused by your mark punishment.</p><p>(b) Damage mitigated by your mark punishment.</p><p>(c) What penalties the mark itself inflicts, or what penalties you can stack on top of it.</p><p>(d) Since your default punishment mechanic doesn't use up your immediate action, what CAN you use your immediate action for? Punishment stacking? Ways to punish enemies who aren't even marked?</p><p></p><p>However, threat level goes beyond your mark. Almost as important is how strong your opportunity attack is. If it's a threat, enemies will take their move actions with care when you are nearby. This is why having a working melee basic attack is vital. Together with your mark, this constitutes your off-turn threat level.</p><p></p><p>Then there is the question of what you do when it is your turn. Do you deal damage at or near Striker benchmarks? Can you heal enough to undo your enemies' handiwork and make your party's healing surge uses efficient (or better still, do this proactively via prodigious amounts of THPs)? Do you cancel out status effects regularly? Did you somehow pick up means of executing burst damage or enabling party novas? Can you execute multi-round status effect lockdown sequences on enemies near your space? Paladins are capable of acquiring means to do any of these things, and focusing on at least one, as well as your mark punishment, makes you an even greater threat the enemy will want to account for.</p><p></p><p>As your threat level, both on-turn and off-turn, increases to the point where enemies will not want to attack anyone except you, you then want to make that choice unappealing. That's where survivability comes in. Survivability includes defenses, damage reduction, maximum hit point value, temporary hit points, self-healing, and punishments against enemies for attacking you. Paladins already have a terrific start here, being able to wear plate mail from the start, having the highest total of healing surges, and having a class bonus to all NADs. If you have trained your survivability beyond even the default, with the feat support your own class provides in this area, general feats and powers, and so forth, enemies will not enjoy wasting their attacks on you. But if your threat level is high, they'll have no choice.</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>II. Know how to increase your threat level.</strong></span></p><p></p><p><strong>Straladins:</strong> You increase your threat level by maximizing the damage you deal. You'll typically use a superior two-handed weapon, and in the first 5 or 6 levels you optimize the tools you have to kill one enemy outright per encounter. Once enemy HPs outpace your ability to do that, you turn your attention to at-will DPR (typically from Holy Strike), which you can deal near or at Striker benchmarks if you build correctly. At Paragon Tier, you should start looking at the great debilitation options available to Straladins, in terms of both PPs and powers.</p><p></p><p>At about the same time you shift your focus toward at-will DPR and debilitation, you also make your Divine Challenge punishment a priority. Mighty Challenge and Symbol of the Champion's Code are musts here. In combination with your high on-turn damage, an enemy will be loath to attack anyone else other than you if a strong DC zap lifts your damage threat to unhealthier levels. Because Mighty Challenge only works on DC, you're best as a single-target defender (Half-Orcs are the exception here). Later on, definitely invest in Forceful Challenge and, in Epic, Weakening Challenge. Those feats are just as good for Straladins as for anyone else.</p><p></p><p>Although single-target defense is your major strong point, you shouldn't neglect your per-encounter crowd-control abilities. Even if your Divine Sanctions aren't the most damaging (again, except for Half-Orcs), you can still follow up a mass-Sanction with AoE powers that have strong effects on marked foes, such as the Lv. 3 power Winter's Edge.</p><p></p><p><strong>Chaladins:</strong> Moreso than the Straladin's, your threat level rests on your mark and your other off-actions. You have effective Divine Challenge and Divine Sanction by default, so you can be good at both single-target and multi-target defense. You will want to throw DS around a few times per encounter to take advantage of your multi-target potential, so Valorous Smite and Call of Challenge are very good to have early on. Unlike the Straladin, you also have class-native punishment stackers, and some really good ones, too, so that will help your single-target stickiness. A good melee basic attack is vital, too, so you'll want to take Virtuous Strike or Melee Training. The former is even good for survivability with its saves bonus.</p><p></p><p>Your on-turn threat level typically doesn't involve big damage (a few exceptions do exist here), but you have other ways to be a threat to be noted. Two that stick out in particular are (a) inflicting additional hit penalties besides your mark (and that stack with it), and (b) optimizing your healing and save-granting ability. These two stick out because they're the two to which Chaladins have the most regular access. Hit penalties can be accomplished by the at-will Enfeebling Strike and encounter powers like Astral Thunder. And healing/saves optimization has a ton of feat support in just your class alone (Lend Health, Devoted Paladin, Angelic Protection, Hero's Poise, etc., etc., etc.). Besides those, you have access to encounter and daily powers that inflict annoying and crippling status effects, as well as ways to buff the party's attacks and damage.</p><p></p><p><strong>Baladins:</strong> You have the highest off-turn threat level of the three main Paladin types, especially when your mark is involved. Your Sanctions are every bit as good as the Chaladin's, making you great against multiple foes, and thanks to Mighty Challenge, your Challenge is far more devastating. You also have access to all the class-native punishment stackers that Chaladins have to make yourself an even deadlier single-target defender.</p><p></p><p>Your on-turn threat level is where it gets interesting. Particularly power selection. You want to avoid any powers that rely on Wisdom for riders, so Holy Strike and Bolstering Strike are definitely out. In general, you'll find that you are better suited for control than damage on your turn. Powers like Valiant Strike (best with domain support) and Enfeebling Strike are still fair game, so those give you, respectively, sure-hitting (hopefully with other good effects) and extra hit penalties to stack on your marks. And thankfully, you'll use to full effect plenty of encounter and daily powers that bolster your ability to control the space around you.</p><p></p><p>You also have some capacity for healing and saves, if not quite as frequently as the Chaladin. You'll definitely want to take Untiring Virtue in Paragon Tier to actually be able to cast more than one Virtue's Touch or Lay on Hands per day. One that's taken care of, you'll find that you can actually take advantage of much the same feat support in this area that Chaladins enjoy (including the great Angelic Protection and Hero's Poise).</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>III. Know how to increase your survivability.</strong></span></p><p></p><p><strong>Straladins:</strong> You're likely to have a high Wisdom as well as a high Strength, which is great for your survivability. You'll have two good NADs by default, and your high Wisdom allows you to take full advantage of feats such as Virtuous Recovery and Honored Foe.</p><p></p><p><strong>Chaladins: </strong>You probably have the highest number of survivability options overall, and you will want to use them. You will typically still have a high enough Wisdom to put Virtuous Recovery and Honored Foe to good use. As increasing your threat level typically doesn't involve dealing massive amounts of on-turn damage, you should use a shield. You should have a fairly high Constitution score to start, and in Paragon Tier, Shield Mastery will really help your Fortitude defense keep pace.</p><p></p><p><strong>Baladins:</strong> Your extremely high off-action threat level comes with a price: Because your Wisdom and your Constitution aren't that high, your survivability options are a lot more limited than your single attack-stat counterparts (thankfully, you have two high NADs by default). Forget about Virtuous Recovery and Honored Foe. You'll have to make do with Toughness, which is practically a must for you. You will also want Devoted Paladin for the extra healing surge, and maybe even Durable as well. You will also want to use a shield for the AC and Reflex, especially since you probably won't even qualify for Armor Specialization (Plate).</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>IV. Know how you execute the crusade.</strong></span></p><p></p><p><strong>Straladins:</strong> Your typical round will consist of walking up to a target within your speed, Challenging him if you hadn't already, and laying a smackdown. Sometimes you will want to charge. Typically, you're about simple Soldier tactics with a hint of Brute. If you can get multiple enemies around you, use a mass-Sanction power followed by one of your AoEs, preferably one that inflicts crippling status effects.</p><p></p><p><strong>Chaladins</strong>: You are pretty much a Solider through and through, with quite a bit of the Leader parenthetical as well. You function best in the middle of your allies' formation (preferably with other melee support nearby), ready to strike out into melee, but always mindful of an opportunity to use a burst or blast power. Unlike the Straladin, you typically don't want to rush ahead of the rest of your party, since you also want to be in position to heal and buff.</p><p></p><p><strong>Baladins:</strong> Overall, you play similar to the Chaladin in that you function best as a Soldier in the middle of your allies and with other melee support nearby. You can be a little more aggressive than the Chaladin against single targets, thanks to your stronger DC and not having as many Leader responsibilities, but you're not as Brutish as Straladins can get away with.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Veep, post: 6707966, member: 6793297"] [CENTER][SIZE=6][b][u]Executing the Crusade: Tactics[/u][/b][/SIZE][/CENTER] [Size=5][b]I. Threat Level vs. Survivability.[/b][/size] As a defender, you always want to present enemies with [b]two bad choices[/b]. Balacing the equation between threat level and survivability is how you accomplish this, and is, [i]hands-down[/i], the [b]No. 1 priority[/b] of any defender. When one thinks of threat level for a defender, they typically think of mark punishment. And that is indeed the most important part of it. Things to take into account: (a) Damage and/or status effects caused by your mark punishment. (b) Damage mitigated by your mark punishment. (c) What penalties the mark itself inflicts, or what penalties you can stack on top of it. (d) Since your default punishment mechanic doesn't use up your immediate action, what CAN you use your immediate action for? Punishment stacking? Ways to punish enemies who aren't even marked? However, threat level goes beyond your mark. Almost as important is how strong your opportunity attack is. If it's a threat, enemies will take their move actions with care when you are nearby. This is why having a working melee basic attack is vital. Together with your mark, this constitutes your off-turn threat level. Then there is the question of what you do when it is your turn. Do you deal damage at or near Striker benchmarks? Can you heal enough to undo your enemies' handiwork and make your party's healing surge uses efficient (or better still, do this proactively via prodigious amounts of THPs)? Do you cancel out status effects regularly? Did you somehow pick up means of executing burst damage or enabling party novas? Can you execute multi-round status effect lockdown sequences on enemies near your space? Paladins are capable of acquiring means to do any of these things, and focusing on at least one, as well as your mark punishment, makes you an even greater threat the enemy will want to account for. As your threat level, both on-turn and off-turn, increases to the point where enemies will not want to attack anyone except you, you then want to make that choice unappealing. That's where survivability comes in. Survivability includes defenses, damage reduction, maximum hit point value, temporary hit points, self-healing, and punishments against enemies for attacking you. Paladins already have a terrific start here, being able to wear plate mail from the start, having the highest total of healing surges, and having a class bonus to all NADs. If you have trained your survivability beyond even the default, with the feat support your own class provides in this area, general feats and powers, and so forth, enemies will not enjoy wasting their attacks on you. But if your threat level is high, they'll have no choice. [Size=5][b]II. Know how to increase your threat level.[/b][/size] [b]Straladins:[/b] You increase your threat level by maximizing the damage you deal. You'll typically use a superior two-handed weapon, and in the first 5 or 6 levels you optimize the tools you have to kill one enemy outright per encounter. Once enemy HPs outpace your ability to do that, you turn your attention to at-will DPR (typically from Holy Strike), which you can deal near or at Striker benchmarks if you build correctly. At Paragon Tier, you should start looking at the great debilitation options available to Straladins, in terms of both PPs and powers. At about the same time you shift your focus toward at-will DPR and debilitation, you also make your Divine Challenge punishment a priority. Mighty Challenge and Symbol of the Champion's Code are musts here. In combination with your high on-turn damage, an enemy will be loath to attack anyone else other than you if a strong DC zap lifts your damage threat to unhealthier levels. Because Mighty Challenge only works on DC, you're best as a single-target defender (Half-Orcs are the exception here). Later on, definitely invest in Forceful Challenge and, in Epic, Weakening Challenge. Those feats are just as good for Straladins as for anyone else. Although single-target defense is your major strong point, you shouldn't neglect your per-encounter crowd-control abilities. Even if your Divine Sanctions aren't the most damaging (again, except for Half-Orcs), you can still follow up a mass-Sanction with AoE powers that have strong effects on marked foes, such as the Lv. 3 power Winter's Edge. [b]Chaladins:[/b] Moreso than the Straladin's, your threat level rests on your mark and your other off-actions. You have effective Divine Challenge and Divine Sanction by default, so you can be good at both single-target and multi-target defense. You will want to throw DS around a few times per encounter to take advantage of your multi-target potential, so Valorous Smite and Call of Challenge are very good to have early on. Unlike the Straladin, you also have class-native punishment stackers, and some really good ones, too, so that will help your single-target stickiness. A good melee basic attack is vital, too, so you'll want to take Virtuous Strike or Melee Training. The former is even good for survivability with its saves bonus. Your on-turn threat level typically doesn't involve big damage (a few exceptions do exist here), but you have other ways to be a threat to be noted. Two that stick out in particular are (a) inflicting additional hit penalties besides your mark (and that stack with it), and (b) optimizing your healing and save-granting ability. These two stick out because they're the two to which Chaladins have the most regular access. Hit penalties can be accomplished by the at-will Enfeebling Strike and encounter powers like Astral Thunder. And healing/saves optimization has a ton of feat support in just your class alone (Lend Health, Devoted Paladin, Angelic Protection, Hero's Poise, etc., etc., etc.). Besides those, you have access to encounter and daily powers that inflict annoying and crippling status effects, as well as ways to buff the party's attacks and damage. [b]Baladins:[/b] You have the highest off-turn threat level of the three main Paladin types, especially when your mark is involved. Your Sanctions are every bit as good as the Chaladin's, making you great against multiple foes, and thanks to Mighty Challenge, your Challenge is far more devastating. You also have access to all the class-native punishment stackers that Chaladins have to make yourself an even deadlier single-target defender. Your on-turn threat level is where it gets interesting. Particularly power selection. You want to avoid any powers that rely on Wisdom for riders, so Holy Strike and Bolstering Strike are definitely out. In general, you'll find that you are better suited for control than damage on your turn. Powers like Valiant Strike (best with domain support) and Enfeebling Strike are still fair game, so those give you, respectively, sure-hitting (hopefully with other good effects) and extra hit penalties to stack on your marks. And thankfully, you'll use to full effect plenty of encounter and daily powers that bolster your ability to control the space around you. You also have some capacity for healing and saves, if not quite as frequently as the Chaladin. You'll definitely want to take Untiring Virtue in Paragon Tier to actually be able to cast more than one Virtue's Touch or Lay on Hands per day. One that's taken care of, you'll find that you can actually take advantage of much the same feat support in this area that Chaladins enjoy (including the great Angelic Protection and Hero's Poise). [Size=5][b]III. Know how to increase your survivability.[/b][/size] [b]Straladins:[/b] You're likely to have a high Wisdom as well as a high Strength, which is great for your survivability. You'll have two good NADs by default, and your high Wisdom allows you to take full advantage of feats such as Virtuous Recovery and Honored Foe. [b]Chaladins: [/b]You probably have the highest number of survivability options overall, and you will want to use them. You will typically still have a high enough Wisdom to put Virtuous Recovery and Honored Foe to good use. As increasing your threat level typically doesn't involve dealing massive amounts of on-turn damage, you should use a shield. You should have a fairly high Constitution score to start, and in Paragon Tier, Shield Mastery will really help your Fortitude defense keep pace. [b]Baladins:[/b] Your extremely high off-action threat level comes with a price: Because your Wisdom and your Constitution aren't that high, your survivability options are a lot more limited than your single attack-stat counterparts (thankfully, you have two high NADs by default). Forget about Virtuous Recovery and Honored Foe. You'll have to make do with Toughness, which is practically a must for you. You will also want Devoted Paladin for the extra healing surge, and maybe even Durable as well. You will also want to use a shield for the AC and Reflex, especially since you probably won't even qualify for Armor Specialization (Plate). [Size=5][b]IV. Know how you execute the crusade.[/b][/size] [b]Straladins:[/b] Your typical round will consist of walking up to a target within your speed, Challenging him if you hadn't already, and laying a smackdown. Sometimes you will want to charge. Typically, you're about simple Soldier tactics with a hint of Brute. If you can get multiple enemies around you, use a mass-Sanction power followed by one of your AoEs, preferably one that inflicts crippling status effects. [b]Chaladins[/b]: You are pretty much a Solider through and through, with quite a bit of the Leader parenthetical as well. You function best in the middle of your allies' formation (preferably with other melee support nearby), ready to strike out into melee, but always mindful of an opportunity to use a burst or blast power. Unlike the Straladin, you typically don't want to rush ahead of the rest of your party, since you also want to be in position to heal and buff. [b]Baladins:[/b] Overall, you play similar to the Chaladin in that you function best as a Soldier in the middle of your allies and with other melee support nearby. You can be a little more aggressive than the Chaladin against single targets, thanks to your stronger DC and not having as many Leader responsibilities, but you're not as Brutish as Straladins can get away with. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Pillars of Faith (and Facestabs): The Paladin's Handbook (By Litigation)
Top