16th level Paladin Archer?

[FreeTheSlaves]

Level 16 Paladin archer

str18 dex18(21 at 8th/12/16th) con12 int9(10 at 4th) wis16 cha16

1st) point blank shot, precise shot
3rd) mounted combat
6th) mounted archery
9th) rapid shot
12th) improved critical (longbow)
15th) far shot

Have a flying mount & you should be all good to go to rain arrows from height & distance.

 

[Gnome]

A quick fix would be swapping DEX and WIS, and taking the Zen Archery feat from Complete Warrior, as mentioned by djrdjmsqrd. I also like the elven racial substitution level idea to do ranged smite. Would be quite a unique paladin, for sure.

 

[Lamoni]

Level 16 Paladin archer

str18 dex18(21 at 8th/12/16th) con12 int9(10 at 4th) wis16 cha16

1st) point blank shot, precise shot
3rd) mounted combat
6th) mounted archery
9th) rapid shot
12th) improved critical (longbow)
15th) far shot

Have a flying mount & you should be all good to go to rain arrows from height & distance.

This would work, but you have to think of what Paladin abilities you would be using...
Paladin's mount? check
Smite Evil? nope
Lay on Hands? check
Divine Grace? check
Turn Undead? not often without a different feat choice, so I'd say nope.
Best Paladin spell (Holy Sword)? nope

You just have to ask if the abilities that you would be using (limited healing, nice mount, and higher saves) are worth giving up NINE extra feats that you could have had with a straight fighter. You can still play a lawful good religious character without taking the Paladin class. Of course you can play any character and have fun, but the fact that you posted it in the rules forum makes me think that you want the character optimized more than simply being playable. Your crazy stats that you rolled would make playing an archer feasable since normally the Paladin can't afford to put a high score in Dex.

 

[cmanos]

Feat: Ranged Smite, Book of Exalted Deeds

If you are an Archer, you won't be on the front line and don't need the high Con.

 

[IndyPendant]

I'm surprised no one has suggested the Elf Paladin substitution levels from Races of the Wild yet! --Ranged smite, unicorn mount, and a few other changes that I can't remember (don't have the books with me atm).

 

[FreeTheSlaves]

You just have to ask if the abilities that you would be using (limited healing, nice mount, and higher saves) are worth giving up NINE extra feats that you could have had with a straight fighter.

But Domino rolled up super-stats, so choosing a slightly sub optimal build has already been made up for. Besides, at around this level you can't guarantee that some fiend won't teleport to adjacent so having a decent back up melee option works fine. I'd probably take Dispel Evil as my 4th level spell anyway. As for Divine might it is a game design disaster, so I guess I'm letting my bias of banning it influenced my post.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I'm surprised no one has suggested the Elf Paladin substitution levels from Races of the Wild yet!

Well, no one except Firelance in post #6

-Hyp.

 

[domino]

You can still play a lawful good religious character without taking the Paladin class. Of course you can play any character and have fun, but the fact that you posted it in the rules forum makes me think that you want the character optimized more than simply being playable. Your crazy stats that you rolled would make playing an archer feasable since normally the Paladin can't afford to put a high score in Dex.

Not so much that, as I thought this is where the character stuff went.

I'm not looking for a hyperoptimized build. Just one that would be a bit more worthwhile than a barbarian using a bow, for instance. I just have an image of a light, subtle paladin, rather than the plate armor and big sword type, is all.

I forgot about the wis-spell thing though. That sorta sucks.

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

Not so much that, as I thought this is where the character stuff went.

I'm not looking for a hyperoptimized build. Just one that would be a bit more worthwhile than a barbarian using a bow, for instance. I just have an image of a light, subtle paladin, rather than the plate armor and big sword type, is all.

I forgot about the wis-spell thing though. That sorta sucks.

I'd try either the elf substitution levels on a wood elf ranger 2/Paladin 14 or my option A: ranger 12/Paladin 4 then.

They're both fairly simple as far as build goes but you'll end up with a lightly armored paladin who can be a lot sneakier than the standard fullplated model but you'll still be able to dish out the damage with your bow when it counts. And, role-play wise, some versions of the ranger are close enough to paladin that, as long as you don't mentally separate your ranger and paladin spells "now I'm casting a 3rd level ranger spell; now I'm casting a paladin spell" but rather just call on your paladin's deity for whatever spell you're using (whether it's in the ranger or the paladin slot), you should get that feel. You can still detect evil. You can still smite evil. You can still cast divine spells. You still have a bonded companion (even better, the ranger companion isn't a pokemount). It's just that you have some favored enemies, more skill points, and a number of archery abilities. Sounds like what you're looking for.