Requesting Paladin build advice

[Justin]

I am that tightwad DM you spoke of! I haven't looked at the Servant of Heaven yet, may be a good choice for Justin. Since this is his first mid level 3.5 character I strongly recommended to him not to water down the character with too many class choices. IME when the characters reach the higher levels dipping into too many classes weakens the over all character except for one small area. Of course, exceptions abound. But as Justin can testify, I am up to almost any character class combination as long as the class isn't outright broken and the player can come up with a good background story that's not too strained.

I agree with not wanting to water down the character. I've read enough at WotC's boards to know better.

 

[Justin]

This is partially true. The Byzantines army used the lamellar armor (which was an out growth of the Roman armor types) and the Arabs, Turks, etc mostly stuck to lighter armor. I do allow lamellar armor in my campaign, its not quite as heavy or protective as full plate, but is better then a half plate. The area that Justin's character is from, Unther, isn't up to snuff on their armor making techniques. In fact most of the armor made in Unther is bronze due to their inexperience with metallurgy. I recommended the half plate to Justin as a happy middle ground. It's not as hot to wear and is lighter then lamellar, both of which are good things in the semi-arid lands surrounding Unther.

Breastplate is +5 AC with a +3 max Dex bonus and a -4 ACP, while Half-plate is +7 AC with a +0 max Dex bonus and -7 ACP. So the overall bonus from armor and dex for is +8 vs. +7 in favor of breastplate. And the time to don and remove breastplate is better overall.

So Is there some benefit of half-plate I'm overlooking?

 

[FreeTheSlaves]

So Is there some benefit of half-plate I'm overlooking?

For no dex bonus characters, 1/2 the cost of fullplate & only 1 AC less. Great at 2nd level, hopeless at 12th level.

 

[FreeTheSlaves]

Create an animated shield.....problem solved.

Point taken, my proposal should swap the +3weapon & +2shield around. No high level melee character should not have the animated shield, it's a no brainer because it is too good.

 

[Nightfall]

Yep, next to a dancing/animated weapon that can use the BAB of its "master" animated shield is your best bet.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

3. Since smite damage doesn't multiply and Demonslaying is always on, Extra Smitiing isn't as good for a paladin/knight of the chalice.

Did you mean to say "since smite damage doesn't increase? Because I'm (fairly) sure that Smite damage does indeed multiply on a critical hit...

 

[Justin]

Thanks!

Once again I would like to thank everyone for their input, including Ken (the DM) for stepping in to clarify things. The suggestions and resulting discussion here gave me a lot to chew on, and the results may surprise you. Other threads, in particular the current thread about prestige classes and creativity, have also contributed greatly to my choices.

So, without further delay, I give you Praxis:

PRAXIS

Male aasimar Pal11 of Horus-Re: CR 11; Medium Outsider (Native); HD 1d8+10d10+36; hp 104; Init +1; Speed 20 ft.; AC 22 (+1 Dex, +3 breast plate, +1 light steel shield of light fortification, +1 ring of protection); Atk +17/+12/+7 (1d6+4//15-20/x2 plus 2d6 holy, +1 keen holy scimitar); AL LG; SV Fort +16, Ref +10, Will +11; Str 16, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 15, Cha 18.

Languages: Common, Mulhorandi, Celestial, Abyssal

Skills and Feats: Diplomacy +19, Handle Animal +6, Heal +6, Knowledge (religion) +12, Listen +8, Ride +9, Sense Motive +15, Speak Language (Celestial), Speak Language (Abyssal), Spot +8; Weapon Focus (Scimitar), Power Attack, Mounted Combat, Divine Might.

Possessions: +1 keen holy scimitar, +3 breast plate, +1 light steel shield of light fortification, +1 ring of protection

Physical Attributes: height 5 ft. 9 in., weight:180 lbs., no hair, pearly opalescent eyes (Ghaele Eladrin ancestry)

I actually have not decided on the type of mount. While I had originally picked hippogriff, while griffon may be a possibility, I may just go with a heavy warhorse. At any rate, I still probably need a lance. And I still have not decided on any auxiliary weapons, such as a falchion and/or bow.

 

[FreeTheSlaves]

Looks good & suited to a theme. Question though, why a d8 HD there? I thought that 1 HD races defaulted to character levels, no?

 

[Justin]

Looks good & suited to a theme. Question though, why a d8 HD there? I thought that 1 HD races defaulted to character levels, no?

I was going by HeroForge and the fact that www.d20srd.org shows a 1st level Aasimar warrior with 1d8 HD.

Am I overlooking something?

 

[Nightfall]

Uhm mostly that I don't think you use a d8 to determine Level Adjustments/ELC.