Wondering which leader to dabble in

[bobthehappyzombie]

I am playing a Drow Paladin in a party consisting of me,
A bow ranger
A Hellock
A Slyrogue
And a wizard

As you can see we are defender light and leaderless, soo it falls upon me to be the healing basket that all our eggs are in... (although the ranger might help out with a cleric mc)

The good news is, we roll for stats, and I rolled lucky.

Str 15
Con 12
Dex 14
Int 9
Wis 16
Cha 20

I was planning bumping cha and Wis at every opportunity and going for a glaive with HBO, Polarm gamble and uncanny dodge, but that is hardly set in stone either... although sword and board is a bit more sensible.


What I need to do is add to my leader abilities with some healing/buffing
I was planning on cleric multiclassing, It does have the whole radiant thing going for it... but I have been warming to the idea of using the Cha synergy with warlord instead.

Any ideas/pitfalls to avoid would be most gratefully received.

It's a FR campaign and I'd originally planned on heading for a morninglord PP.
I may be tempted along the hospitilar lines...

Would the heartwarders' Sunes touch apply to when a paladin uses lay on hands, as it's the paladin that spends the healing surge?
if so you could apply it to the recipiant of the lay on hands for a mighty heal, add in healing hands and that could be what I'm after.

 

[Thanee]

Hmm... I would probably look through the available powers, that make use of your Charisma bonus from the Cleric/Warlord list. Not too familiar with the Warlord powers, but Bastion of Health from the Cleric powers certainly springs to mind.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Bigwilly]

Note that a lot of warlord powers are STR vs AC to hit, with INT or CHA boosting the secondary effects, while cleric powers are more usually keyed off WIS. If you are going to focus on WIS and CHA, cleric is probably a better choice than warlord.

 

[bobthehappyzombie]

It seems best to invest in Wis as the healing hands ability is heavily based on it, and that is where the majority of my healing will stem from.
Shame, any idea about the Sunes touch[/s] thing anyone?

 

[Mentat55]

I actually built a Dwarf Paladin MC Cleric (Str and Wis focused) to act as a defender/leader DMPC for a paragon tier game I am running. So I think, with an encounter utility like Bastion of Health, coupled with 1/day Healing Word and X/day Lay on Hands, you'll be pretty decent from the healing direction. And many of the Cha-paladin's powers have buffing, leader-type enhancements.

Also, the Hospitaler paragon path seems like a decent paladin-based healer.

I think the biggest problem at higher levels is that your party won't be using its healing surges as effectively, since you won't be adding the Xd6 rider that clerics and warlords add to surges via Healing/Inspiring Word.

 

[Mentat55]

Re: Sune's Touch, it does seem that the only precondition is that you spend a healing surge. Since you do that when using Lay on Hands, it seems like it would work. It could also work when you use a power that makes you spend a healing surge, like one of the paladin dailies. But I guess that should be a question you ask your DM, because it might not be the intent of the power.

 

[bobthehappyzombie]

I actually built a Dwarf Paladin MC Cleric (Str and Wis focused) to act as a defender/leader DMPC for a paragon tier game I am running. So I think, with an encounter utility like Bastion of Health, coupled with 1/day Healing Word and X/day Lay on Hands, you'll be pretty decent from the healing direction. And many of the Cha-paladin's powers have buffing, leader-type enhancements.

Also, the Hospitaler paragon path seems like a decent paladin-based healer.

I think the biggest problem at higher levels is that your party won't be using its healing surges as effectively, since you won't be adding the Xd6 rider that clerics and warlords add to surges via Healing/Inspiring Word.

With hospitilar and healing hands I can be adding my Cha twice, but yes we will struggle a lil bit with 4 people trying to all stand behind me. Another problem with lay on hands is that it is touch range and with my move of 5 and no shift powers I might struggle to keep em on their feet.
That is half the reason I was looking at warlord with their wealth of manouvering powers.

 

[Mengu]

I'd say you should probably share the healing responsibilities with the Ranger. They are quite mobile, and his wisdom should easily qualify him for the cleric multiclass, that'll give him at least one ranged healing a day. You wizard might have enough wisdom to pick up cleric multiclass also.

Then between the three of you, if one of you picks up Bastion of Health as an Acolyte power whenever you qualify (your paladin is the best candidate due to high charisma), that should be enough healing.

Paladin powers can help quite a bit too. Pick up Righteous Smite for temporary hit points the whole party can use. Healing hands will obviously benefit. Kord's Favor, Melora's Tide, or Raven Queen's Blessing will also be quite useful. Put Dwarven Plate and maybe Shield of Defiance on your item wish list.

And of course potions will generally be a good idea for your group.

 

[Mistwell]

Normally a pole arm is good for attacking from behind the front line.

In this case, you ARE the front line. You are the beginning and the end of the front line, and you're going to take a ton of damage personally while standing right next to opponents whether you like it or not.

I'd focus more on defense than anything else. You have a party of three strikers and a controller. Don't worry about damaging things. Worry about not dying yourself, and drawing the focus of the enemy by standing between your allies and the enemy. Get yourself the best armor and shield you can afford. Assume most of your healing will be applied to yourself, and plan accordingly.

I really think it is much more difficult to live without a defender than it is to live without pretty much any other role.

 

[Mr. Teapot]

If it were me, I'd wait a month until PHBII came out and multiclass into Bard. Put that good Cha score to good use, that way.

Encouraging others to consider MCing into Leaders would also help. In a party without a dedicated healer, everyone should take some responsibility for doing so. And your role as Defender is extra important in such a case, as you can lessen or prevent damage ahead of time (or route it to where it hurts least).