hmm need help with a paladin

[lyko555]

So im about to start playing dnd again its been a while. The party im joining is currently in progress it has a cleric, a rouge, and a warlock.
Aside from the warlocks player we are bound only allowed to use core class's/races and 1 additional splatbook, I decided to play a paladin as the party needs a tank.
problem is i havnt played core only in a long time what should i run with?

starting at lvl 5 stats as rolled are 17 17 13 13 18 11,
i figured 17 str 17 con and 18 charisma 13 in dex and wis and 11 int
ill use my bonus stat to round my con to 18

so what race would be best also what spatbook should i use for my extra goodies. id like to be as tanky as possible. Miss chances over just base ac would be best cause i was thinking of going with a scyth so i could do trip attacks.

tl:dr need help with trippy type paly tank. 1 core 1 splat.

[Cog]

Complete Champion gives you Battle Blessing to make your standard-action spells swift instead, and gives you domain Devotion feats; the ones that offer a save are based on character level and Charisma, suited for a high-Cha class with otherwise poor turning. For a tripper/tank, I like Earth Devotion since it gives you a side of battlefield control, but plenty of them are fun.

[holywhippet]

Hmm, for race maybe take a goliath from races of stone? +4 Str, +2 Con, -2 Dex, +1 LA. They also get powerful build for free.

Being level 5 you sohuld have 9000 gold worth of item according to the DMG.

For items, I'd consider grabbing a healing belt (500 gold) - maybe overkill since you already have some healing from being a paladin but being able to heal in a hurry during combat is a good idea especially for a tank since you'll be getting hit - a lot. Alternately, or additionally, grab a wand of cure light wounds (750 gold) as an emergency healing measure.

If you had more cash I'd suggest adamantine - but you could only get light armour with the cash you have. So I'd recommend just regular full plate (1500 gold).

A type 1 bag of holding (2500 gold) may or may not be a good idea. You are going to have plenty of carrying capacity with your high strength score, but it doesn't hurt to stay enencumbered.

[Half-orc Bard]

Definitely complete champion

[Cog]

Hmm, for race maybe take a goliath from races of stone?
I don't recall RoS having much to offer Paladins. Simple Human is the easy answer here, the feat will get you started on your control a little sooner.

Hm, you may want to put that 13 in Int instead of Dex so you can get at Improved Trip. It's a shame, but you don't really have many ways of making sure the bad guys don't just walk around you to hit the squishies, unless you focus on charging them to oblivion before they get the chance.

[holywhippet]

I don't recall RoS having much to offer Paladins. Simple Human is the easy answer here, the feat will get you started on your control a little sooner.


I was mainly looking at the +4 strength and +2 constitution part - being able to massacre your opponents and survive a beating is the main key in being a tank. Powerful build means he can take a large weapon instead of a medium one. For opponents you don't want to or can't trip use a greatsword - for the large version it's 3d6 damage.

[Cog]

I was mainly looking at the +4 strength and +2 constitution part - being able to massacre your opponents and survive a beating is the main key in being a tank. Powerful build means he can take a large weapon instead of a medium one. For opponents you don't want to or can't trip use a greatsword - for the large version it's 3d6 damage.
That missing HD due to LA will hurt you in the short term, both on HP and vulnerability to level-dependent effects, and in the long term you'll be hurting because you don't have access to any good Paladin support. Goliath is great for many melee builds, but an otherwise-core Pally isn't one of them.

[Sacrieur]

No Crusader or Warblade?

For shame...

[faceroll]

ToB crusader WOULD be a great stand alone splat.

I'd be tempted to use Spell Compendium as my splat, just for stuff like Rhino's Rush.

[Amphetryon]

Complete Champion, for Battle Blessing and Law Devotion.

I'd be tempted to go Dwarf, even with the CHA penalty, given you'd still have a 16 CHA. Really can't go wrong with Human though.

[lyko555]

Thanks for your input looks like ill be dusting off that book :D

on the tob ive been showing the dm the crusader he thinks its a nifty class but hes never used the tob before. So i dont want to be That Guy and insist on using a splatbook for my first class since im just joining his campaign