D&D 5E halforc paladin level 4 - ASI?

[AkaKageWarrior]

Hi everybody,

I'm playing a halforc paladin of Tyr and we just reached level 4.
Feats are allowed, which makes it really hard for me to decide - too many options! (see below)

He's the typical sword & board, heavy armor, strength paladin with the following stats:
Str 16 Dex 10 Con 14
Int 10 Wis 12 Cha 14
Fighting Style: Dueling
Oath of Vengeance
No equipment of note (starting pack: chain mail, shield, battleaxe)

The rest of the group (of 6 when complete):
halfelf hexblade, firbolg moon druid, eladrin rogue, dragonborn GW fighter, tortle light cleric

Until now I've boiled it down to these options for the level 4 ASI:
+2 str - the most obvious choice, improves to hit and damage, but boring!
+2 cha - hmmm, looking at level 6 for improved saves with aura of protection, otherwise not soo useful
shield master - offensively gives me a really needed bonus action, helps defense with dex saves
sentinel - just a great feat for a melee guy
lucky - useful
heavy armor master & orcish fury (at level 8, XGE) - gives me at level 8 str +2, some nice features

So, please, any ideas, hints, numbers, statistics that can help me decide?
Right now my favourites are +2 str or shield master.

 

[Yunru]

How are you doing? If you keep finding yourself low on health, Heavy Armour Master. If you find yourself failing Dex saves often, Shield Master. If you find yourself missing often, +2 Str. If you find yourself unable to hold down a monster to stop it getting at your allies, Sentinel. Otherwise, +2 Cha.

 

[ppaladin123]

You'll eventually want resilient(con) to make sure you don't lose concentration on haste but that can be put off for a bit. Heavy armor master doesn't scale very well so I wouldn't recommend it give you are moving out of the level range where it is really effective.

Shieldmaster and sentinel are both great if you are the party tank but, of course, paladins don't have a lot of room for feats so you probably can't take both. I'd probably take +2 Str for now, actualy.

 

[Blue]

I'm with the +2 Str as the first ASI - more chance to hit and more damage per hit.

Another option is if you find yourself plenty resilient but wanting to do more damage is to migrate from sword and board to a two-handed weapon. Your half-orc racial about crits works great with larger weapon dice, and with Oath of Vengeance you trigger it more than others. And those together play beautifully into Great Weapon Master. Advantage from your Oath to offset the -5 to Hit AND to trigger the bonus action attack more often, and extra bonus damage on crits from Half-Orc.

Unfortunately that doesn't play nicely with your Dueling fighting style.

 

[AkaKageWarrior]

Thanks for the responses so far!

I'll definitely stay sword'n'board, I found that the AC really helps.

What I also found is that especially with this PC I have "bad d20 attack rolls" days to the extreme,
so that +1 through str +2 is surely solid, but when rolling in the range of 3 to 5 that's not enough
to hit...

Okay, I'm getting closer to a decision, right now I'm 50/50 str +2 / shield master.

 

[smbakeresq]

Shield master. It gives you something for that bonus action and if you hit it then you attack with advantage for that chance at a critical hit and a doubles smite.

 

[AkaKageWarrior]

Shield master. It gives you something for that bonus action and if you hit it then you attack with advantage for that chance at a critical hit and a doubles smite.

Yep, yesterday eveing I made the decision: shield master.
More action, more fun! (compared to str+2)

 

[smbakeresq]

Yep, yesterday eveing I made the decision: shield master.
More action, more fun! (compared to str+2)

A %30-%40 shot at attacking with advantage is way more fun and effective then +1 to hit. I am playing a Paladin with Oath of Crown with shield master, the bonus action prone while within my Spirit Guardians aura just makes them melt.

 

[AkaKageWarrior]

Level 9 now, in ToA.
Shield Master was the right decision.
What a great feat, both offensive and defensive.
I shield-shoved so many monsters successfuly, they almost never have athletics.
Chose str+2 in level 8.

 

[Blue]

Level 9 now, in ToA.
Shield Master was the right decision.
What a great feat, both offensive and defensive.
I shield-shoved so many monsters successfuly, they almost never have athletics.
Chose str+2 in level 8.

Thanks for the follow up - we have many guides, but actual play at a table is invaluable feedback for how things really go.