Paladin Questions/Advice?
- Thread starter JRROGERS
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Magesmiley
Explorer
My general rule of thumb for dealing with DR creatures is to (if feasible) carry one weapon of each of the types (slashing, piercing, and bludgeoning) and of each of the major materials - cold iron, silver, and admantine. You didn't mention admantine, but I thought I'd throw it in as well as it is one of the half-dozen or so most common forms of DR you'll run into.
When I play, I typically try to have my primary weapon be made of admantine, which is where I'd go next if I were you for "magic items" (try to switch out the +1 longsword for a +1 admantine longsword). This is long-term advice - having your primary weapon made of admantine, in addition to overcoming DR for some creatures, protects it considerably from sunder attempts (as well as making the weapon useful when smashing through objects). However, its very expensive (for a lower-level character) to make a weapon from admantine. As a stop-gap measure until you can afford such a weapon, I'd probably suggest admantine bolts in the interim.
Alchemical silver and cold-iron are fairly cheap in comparison to admantine. In your case, I'd probably swap out the club for a mace made of either alchemical silver or cold iron, and make the lance from the other.
I'd have to concur with the earlier poster - the number of creatures which can swallow you whole which have DR are incredibly few. If you do decide to do so, I'd probably suggest doing cold iron (as it doesn't cause the damage penalty alchemical silver does). The answer to your question on whether you can swap out the gauntlets that came with your armor is yes, you can.
I don't have a favorite paladin spell to suggest unfortunately, but I did make my magic item purchase suggestion above.
Hope this helps.
When I play, I typically try to have my primary weapon be made of admantine, which is where I'd go next if I were you for "magic items" (try to switch out the +1 longsword for a +1 admantine longsword). This is long-term advice - having your primary weapon made of admantine, in addition to overcoming DR for some creatures, protects it considerably from sunder attempts (as well as making the weapon useful when smashing through objects). However, its very expensive (for a lower-level character) to make a weapon from admantine. As a stop-gap measure until you can afford such a weapon, I'd probably suggest admantine bolts in the interim.
Alchemical silver and cold-iron are fairly cheap in comparison to admantine. In your case, I'd probably swap out the club for a mace made of either alchemical silver or cold iron, and make the lance from the other.
I'd have to concur with the earlier poster - the number of creatures which can swallow you whole which have DR are incredibly few. If you do decide to do so, I'd probably suggest doing cold iron (as it doesn't cause the damage penalty alchemical silver does). The answer to your question on whether you can swap out the gauntlets that came with your armor is yes, you can.
I don't have a favorite paladin spell to suggest unfortunately, but I did make my magic item purchase suggestion above.
Hope this helps.
Lord Pendragon
First Post
I tend to try and combine necessary qualities into as few backup weapons as possible. I'd rather not carry a golfbag full of weapons, after all. You mentioned getting a silver or cold-iron spiked gauntlet. I think this is an excellent idea. I'd go with Cold Iron, since you can always pick up silversheen later on if you find yourself facing devils. So the cold iron spiked gauntlets serve as several backup weapons in one: cold-iron DR backup, grappled light weapon backup, piercing DR backup, and primary weapon disarmed backup.JRROGERS said:
That leaves you with a bludgeoning weapon. I'd suggest a masterwork morningstar. Between the morningstar, spiked gauntlet, and your trusty longsword, you should be prepared for most situations.
You can just replace the gauntlets.
I favor Protection from Evil at the low levels. +2 saves, +2 to AC against a lot of foes, can't be approached by summoned critters, no mind control... It's a fantastic spell, and only starts to lose it's shine somewhat as you gain items that supercede it's benefits (such as picking up a +2 or higher Ring of Protection, a Vest of Resistance, etc.)
+1 Vest of Resistance, 1000gp. After that, I'd start tacking "+1" onto all of my primary gear. i.e. sword, shield, armor, amulet of health, etc.
Well, you've made a great choice. A paladin is a very strong survivor.
Lord Pendragon
First Post
I do not recall which splatbook actually lists the item. I want to say Complete Arcane but am away from my books atm.JRROGERS said:
It's basically just a Cloak of Resistance moved to the vest slot instead of the cloak slot, for the convenience of sorcerers, bards, and paladins.
Plane Sailing
Astral Admin - Mwahahaha!
Infiniti2000 said:
Fancy that! Improved Critical is actually a useful feat for the paladin then
In that case I go with my alternative suggestion which was Bane if you have a suitable foe in the campaign. It is a fantastic weapon bonus to have if you've got enough of the enemies cropping up.
I certainly wouldn't bother with a golfbag full of weapons.
nittanytbone
First Post
Items:
*Since you use a longsword, I'm guessing you're a sword & boarder. If you have power attack, I would invest in Armbands of Might (~4K) from the Complete series. They give +2 to all strength checks (meh) and +2 damage when you power attack for -2 or more (makes your power attack efficient, even with a one handed weapon and shield).
*+1 armor and +1 shield would be good. They're very cheap and well worth the money.
*A +1 vest of resistance or ring or protection is an alright purchase. However, note that these provide Resistance bonuses to saves. Protection from Evil provides a nice +2 bonus to saves from evil creatures, which doesn't stack with the Resistance items. Thus, I'd be far more inclined to pick up a wand of Protection from Evil or some scrolls than I would be to stock up on Resistance & Deflection bonus items.
*Get a cold iron sword and a scroll of magic weapon. Ta-da! +1 cold iron long sword.
*Get a silver weapon -- even a dagger or short sword should be fine for those Devilish or Lycanthropic emergencies.
*Bane ammunition is pretty cheap and well worth your money. Opening up a fight with a heavy crossbow bolt doing 1d10+2d6+3 damage is beautiful at low to mid levels. As a paladin, I'm guessing you'll run up against Evil Extraplanar creatures and the Undead at some point; a Bane Goblinoids bolt is also handy, merely, because it covers three common humanoid bases (goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears), and even a goblin with some class levels can be annoying as all heck to kill.
*+1 Mithril chain shirt barding is the next armor upgrade for your mount, and its very pricey for the value right now. Definitely a low priority.
Feats:
*Divine feats are your friend. Divine Might is great because it is a free action to activate. I like Divine Vigor a whole lot -- temporary hit points are great. Divine Shield is alright, but the standard-action-to-activate thing really stinks.
*Extra Smiting is also good for a charger as the extra damage is multiplied on a charge for lots of damage. And free actions are your friend.
*If you don't have it, Power Attack is good for a charger as the damage is multiplied on a charge.
*If your DM will let you customize your mount, see if you can have it take a useful feat like Improved Toughness at HD 6. Also, the DMG has some optional rules for variants on mounts. For example, -1 effective paladin level in exchange for applying the Celestial Template. DR 5 and a bunch of energy resistances? Yes please!
PrCs/Multiclassing:
*If you go in for level 5 paladin, I'd stick around for 6. The +1 to all saves, +1 caster level, and Remove Disease are nice to have.
*I'm assuming you're building a charger. That being the case, I'd suggest 1-2 levels of sorcerer. For my level 1 spells I'd pick True Strike (to gurantee that my charges struck true and to fuel a maxed out power attack) and either Featherfall (no somatics) or Mount (never be without a steed, even if your celestial warhorse dies or is unavailable). Duskblade from PHB2 might also be a good pick for a 1 level dip as it has full BAB and solid HD, but you don't get the nice Charisma Synergy.
*You might find it necessary to squeeze in a level of fighter or something that gives fighter bonus feats. I'm guessing you have Mounted Combat --> Ride By Attack --> Spirited Charge right now, which is great, but not very flexible. And if you should ever get unhorsed, your combat utility drops like a rock. Even adding Power Attack would increase your versatility a lot, and frees up your level 6 feat for a Divine Feat.
*Hospitaler (Complete Divine) might be a good PrC to dip for a few levels. It should be easy to get into, works nicely with Paladin, and gives a Fighter Bonus Feat at level 1. Levels 2-4 advance Divine Spellcasting.
*Since you use a longsword, I'm guessing you're a sword & boarder. If you have power attack, I would invest in Armbands of Might (~4K) from the Complete series. They give +2 to all strength checks (meh) and +2 damage when you power attack for -2 or more (makes your power attack efficient, even with a one handed weapon and shield).
*+1 armor and +1 shield would be good. They're very cheap and well worth the money.
*A +1 vest of resistance or ring or protection is an alright purchase. However, note that these provide Resistance bonuses to saves. Protection from Evil provides a nice +2 bonus to saves from evil creatures, which doesn't stack with the Resistance items. Thus, I'd be far more inclined to pick up a wand of Protection from Evil or some scrolls than I would be to stock up on Resistance & Deflection bonus items.
*Get a cold iron sword and a scroll of magic weapon. Ta-da! +1 cold iron long sword.
*Get a silver weapon -- even a dagger or short sword should be fine for those Devilish or Lycanthropic emergencies.
*Bane ammunition is pretty cheap and well worth your money. Opening up a fight with a heavy crossbow bolt doing 1d10+2d6+3 damage is beautiful at low to mid levels. As a paladin, I'm guessing you'll run up against Evil Extraplanar creatures and the Undead at some point; a Bane Goblinoids bolt is also handy, merely, because it covers three common humanoid bases (goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears), and even a goblin with some class levels can be annoying as all heck to kill.
*+1 Mithril chain shirt barding is the next armor upgrade for your mount, and its very pricey for the value right now. Definitely a low priority.
Feats:
*Divine feats are your friend. Divine Might is great because it is a free action to activate. I like Divine Vigor a whole lot -- temporary hit points are great. Divine Shield is alright, but the standard-action-to-activate thing really stinks.
*Extra Smiting is also good for a charger as the extra damage is multiplied on a charge for lots of damage. And free actions are your friend.
*If you don't have it, Power Attack is good for a charger as the damage is multiplied on a charge.
*If your DM will let you customize your mount, see if you can have it take a useful feat like Improved Toughness at HD 6. Also, the DMG has some optional rules for variants on mounts. For example, -1 effective paladin level in exchange for applying the Celestial Template. DR 5 and a bunch of energy resistances? Yes please!
PrCs/Multiclassing:
*If you go in for level 5 paladin, I'd stick around for 6. The +1 to all saves, +1 caster level, and Remove Disease are nice to have.
*I'm assuming you're building a charger. That being the case, I'd suggest 1-2 levels of sorcerer. For my level 1 spells I'd pick True Strike (to gurantee that my charges struck true and to fuel a maxed out power attack) and either Featherfall (no somatics) or Mount (never be without a steed, even if your celestial warhorse dies or is unavailable). Duskblade from PHB2 might also be a good pick for a 1 level dip as it has full BAB and solid HD, but you don't get the nice Charisma Synergy.
*You might find it necessary to squeeze in a level of fighter or something that gives fighter bonus feats. I'm guessing you have Mounted Combat --> Ride By Attack --> Spirited Charge right now, which is great, but not very flexible. And if you should ever get unhorsed, your combat utility drops like a rock. Even adding Power Attack would increase your versatility a lot, and frees up your level 6 feat for a Divine Feat.
*Hospitaler (Complete Divine) might be a good PrC to dip for a few levels. It should be easy to get into, works nicely with Paladin, and gives a Fighter Bonus Feat at level 1. Levels 2-4 advance Divine Spellcasting.
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