Can this work: Mental Paladin?

[Snowbluff]

Hi, 3.5 player, fyi. I don't play alot of 4e, so bear with me here

So , looking at the paladin class and powers, I've noticed something. Why the hell is strength a suggested stat? It does less than Cha, and you can get the At-Will that will effectively replace your Melee Basic for everything imaginable.
Meanwhile, your Cha increase you Mark and Sanction damage, can be applied twice to your LoH with feats.

Going with the trend, Con is near useless as far as I can see (+tiny amount of health and a surge, which you start with 10 of anyway). Wis on the other hand, lets you surge as a Minor once more per day. I don't know what Int is supposed to do, but dex gives AC and Reflex, which is sweet. Don't the powers make physical stats a little lacking?

[BlckDv]

In 4e the paladin comes in two basic flavors; Str or Cha, sometimes even called Straladin and Chaladin in forums.

The Str Paladin is very melee focused and tends to under-emphasize the healing allies aspects of the class. The ones I see play well tend to stock up on mult-mark powers and defense boosts, trying to soak up attacks like a sponge.

The Cha Paladin tends to have more short range powers and be holy symbol focused, with strong self and ally heal support.

For some races (Most commonly Dragonborn) you can make a paladin that mixes the two to awesome effect, but for most builds, trying to mix the two is a recipe for disaster. The Paladin really opens up with Divine power, and talking about Paladin sans Divine Power is like talking about a whole other class.

As for your other stat comments;

Int and Dex have equal impact on your AC/Reflex, so which one you want should be determined by flavor, feat pre-reqs, and skill bonuses you want.

Likewise Str/Con are paired for Fortitude, and Wis/Cha for Will, so you want to try and avoid having both halves of either pair tanked unless you know for sure what you are doing.

Don't forget that the few extra HP from Con have a spill over effect on bloodied and healing surge value, and even a +1HS value over a full day of adventuring is almost like an extra surge. The paladin's ability to spend HS for allies also makes having more than you need an added value instead of a wasted pool.

[Mando Knight]

The Str Paladin is very melee focused and tends to under-emphasize the healing allies aspects of the class. The ones I see play well tend to stock up on mult-mark powers and defense boosts, trying to soak up attacks like a sponge.

With Divine Power, a must-have feat for the Strength Paladins is Mighty Challenge, which lets them get both Strength and Charisma on their Divine Challenge damage.

The main reason for going Strength in my mind, though, is for the Champion of Order Paragon Path. Its level 11 power breaks encounters, and is a Strength-based attack.

Also of note is the Dragonborn Paladin, who gets to double-dip the most easily of the Paladins due to getting an almost unique Str/Cha combination (Vyrloka also get it, but have nowhere near the same level of support), and Dragon Breath, which can be modified by feats to perform a variety of other tasks.

[Tengu_temp]

Straladins are better damage dealers, especially if you're using Divine Power. Chaladins are better tanks and healers.

Constitution is good to have for a few reasons: the extra HP and surges can matter when you're the primary tank, and it gives you access to feats such as Plate Armor Specialization. But no, it's not as important as strength/charisma and wisdom.

[Akodo Makama]

Going with the trend, Con is near useless as far as I can see (+tiny amount of health and a surge, which you start with 10 of anyway). Wis on the other hand, lets you surge as a Minor once more per day. I don't know what Int is supposed to do, but dex gives AC and Reflex, which is sweet. Don't the powers make physical stats a little lacking?

Don't forget, the size of each surge is equal to 1/4 the total HP, so con gets more surges, and more hp per surge, double-dipping.

10 surges and 20 hp = 70 hp/day.
12 surges and 24 hp = 96 hp / day.
14 surges and 28 hp = 126 hp / day.

[Raimun]

Well, aren't paladins already a bit... mental? :smallcool:

[Snowbluff]

Don't forget, the size of each surge is equal to 1/4 the total HP, so con gets more surges, and more hp per surge, double-dipping.

10 surges and 20 hp = 70 hp/day.
12 surges and 24 hp = 96 hp / day.
14 surges and 28 hp = 126 hp / day.

Yes, but using surges beyond LoH can be a pain as far as I can tell.


Well, aren't paladins already a bit... mental? :smallcool:

yyyyeeeeAAAAAHHHHH! *q theme song*

[Mando Knight]

Yes, but using surges beyond LoH can be a pain as far as I can tell.

If you're alone and need to use them in the middle of combat, sure. If you're in a party, using them is as easy as asking your Leader to help you out. Out of combat, you can spend as many as you like.

[The_Pyre]

If you don't have Divine Power, Chaladins are way superior. You might be forced to go weapon and implement to use all your powers, though, so it's going to cost you some gold.

With Divine Power, Straladins get a very big boost, but I still prefer Chaladins. You can build a pretty good Chaladin with all melee powers if you want.

I think the Chaladin's advantage is its defenses. With good Cha and above average Con, you get good Will and above average Fort (decent Ref due to shields). You'll still be able to afford a decent Wis for your LoH, too.