[PF] Paladin help, mechanics and backstory.

[Robinson]

Hello, Playground.

Next week I am starting a brand new campaign. For the longest time, I was stuck DMing, but my old friend is just getting out of the military and he wants to run a game. Honestly, I only DM'd because no one else wanted to, and I am super excited to be on the other side of the screen.

I have a bad habit of making characters that are evil and do really awful things for no reason, so in an effort to mix up my roleplaying, I have decided to be a Paladin.

Here is my 1500 word backstory for anyone that wants to look at it:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/13_9L1IwpsARpv4OBTyblbYy4W0aBiwyryDI1ZEjkilQ/edit
(Let me know if the link doesn't work)

As for mechanics, Pathfinder 15 point buy, and we are starting as first level characters with three levels of an NPC class that constitutes who we were before we went off adventuring. I am playing a Human, so I get a feat for level 1 (The NPC levels don't count for feat progression) A feat for being human, and a feat for making a backstory. I'm going with Favored Class, Paladin, and I am probably going to choose skill points.

My stats are as follows:
Str 10
Dex 16
Con 10
Int 10
Wis 8
Cha 17

I wanted to be a finesse fighter, so right now my feats are chosen as Dervish Dance, Weapon Finesse, and Dodge. My hope is to pick up Improved Unarmed Strike, and Crane Style for the extra AC it provides.

A scimitar is a strange weapon thematically for a Paladin, so the weapon I designed for it is lacking a crossguard, has a slightly curved single edge, and the pommel is a ring fashioned with little spikes around the edge so it looks like a six-pointed-star, my holy symbol. The fluff here is

"Lacking a cross-guard to show that the Lord of Light protects me.
A single edge to show that He has mercy as well as wrath
And the sun to scour away the darkness and light the way."

I am going to focus on pumping my charisma, and I am taking the hospitlar variant to have more healing oomph, and maybe later on talking my DM into letting me pick some feats from 3.5 that work off of turning attempts.

I also plan to eventually pick up lunge, and maybe combat reflexes and then stand still, work on area denial and other tanky things.

As for my AC, Naked I have a 14, which isn't bad for level one. I figure for awhile I am going to be using a chain shirt, which gets me up to 18, but at level five I will have both Crane Style and hopefully an agile breast plate, which should make it so my AC is, like what? 24 or so?(10+3Dex+6Armor+1Defender of the Society Trait+1Dodge+3CraneStyle)

And I can pump it further in later levels by switching to mithril fullplate and getting some AC items.

I apologize for my tendency to ramble. I am looking for any imput or advice for later feat choices or other such things.

Oh, the rest of the party is:
Human Sorcerer
Half-Orc Barbarian
Gnome Rogue
Elf Archer Bard

And the DM is going for a "Farm Boys turned Heroes" sort of feel.

[navar100]

1) Are you allowed to use 3E feats, even if sparingly? Battle Blessing helps a lot. If not, that's ok. No biggie.

2) Aside from Smiting, how are you going to damage your opponents? With only a 10 ST you aren't really hurting anyone. If you really, really want to go this route, fine. Not what I would choose, but it's your character. :smallsmile: I would go more traditional, switch ST and DX, and take Power Attack. Use a Shield if I really care about AC or go greatsword for larger smackdown. Greatsword + Vital Strike is nice.

3) Only having a 10 Con hurts. Personal bias I play with an Adventurer's Tax of all characters having a minimum 14 Con, and I'll go with 12 if I absolutely must. Make the Cha 16, save some points, and put it into Con. Your modifier isn't changing so you don't lose anything. Where did you put your Human +2?

4) I strongly recommend using the Bonded Weapon option. In addition to its versatility and stacking with an already magic weapon, you don't lose a class feature if adventuring takes place in a dungeon, swamp, or mountains.

[doko239]

If you're playing within the Pathfinder universe itself, then you could explain away your scimitar by saying you're a Paladin of Sarenrae (pathfinder.wikia.com/wiki/Sarenrae).

If the character gets to that point, one of my favorite Paladin feats is Ultimate Mercy (www.paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/ultimateMagic/ultimateMagicFeats.html#ultimate-mercy). Allows you to spend 10 uses of Lay on Hands to cast Raise Dead with no material component. You will have EVERYONE taking bullets for you! :smallbiggrin:

[ClockworkSun]

2) Aside from Smiting, how are you going to damage your opponents? With only a 10 ST you aren't really hurting anyone. If you really, really want to go this route, fine. Not what I would choose, but it's your character. :smallsmile: I would go more traditional, switch ST and DX, and take Power Attack. Use a Shield if I really care about AC or go greatsword for larger smackdown. Greatsword + Vital Strike is nice.
The Dervish Dance (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/dervish-dance-combat) feat allows you to add your Dex bonus to damage with scimitars, which is pretty neato, if potentially restrictive.

I have to say, I hadn't considered it except on a bard or rogue, but I like it on the Paladin, especially with your back story.

[navar100]

The Dervish Dance (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/dervish-dance-combat) feat allows you to add your Dex bonus to damage with scimitars, which is pretty neato, if potentially restrictive.

I have to say, I hadn't considered it except on a bard or rogue, but I like it on the Paladin, especially with your back story.

Ok.

Then you definitely want to use Bonded Weapon since you will only be using scimitars to fight. You're not taking the keen flaming greatsword +2 from the treasure hoard, so you need to make the defending scimitar +1 that is also there into something with more oomph.

[Robinson]

I have been thinking long and hard about this, (and my group didn't get to play last Thursday so I have been climbing up the freakin' walls!) but I have been reworking my character completely. My DM gave the go ahead for Blade Binding as a combat maneuver:

New Attack Option: Bind
You can attempt to bind an opponent's weapon as a melee attack with a khopesh or temple sword. If you are not proficient with a khopesh or temple sword, attempting to bind a opponents's weapon provokes an attack of opportunity from the target of your maneuver. The target's CMD is modified by any weapon-related abilities it might possess, such as Weapon Focus.

If your attack is successful, your opponent's weapon is bound. A bound weapon cannot be used to make attacks, nor does it allow its wielder to threaten any space. A bound weapon can be wrenched free with a successful CMB check (DC = your CMD), or can be dropped as a free action. If your opponent does not free or drop his weapon he cannot move beyond your reach.

While binding your opponent, you suffer the same limitations, except you may end the bind as a free action. If you attempt to disarm your opponent or sunder the bound weapon, you do not provoke an attack of opportunity, and you get a +4 bonus on such checks.
---
Along with this feat:
Not only are you skilled at binding your opponent’s weapon, you can seize the advantage while he struggles to retrieve his blade.
Prerequisites: Base attack bonus +4, proficiency with khopesh or temple sword.
Benefit: You receive a +2 bonus to CMB when attempting to bind an opponent’s weapon, as well as a +2 bonus to your CMD when opponents are attempting to break your bind. This bonus stacks with the +2 bonus from wielding a khopesh or temple sword. If you succeed in blade binding your opponent, your opponent becomes flat-footed until he either wrestles his blade free or drops his weapon.
Special: A fighter may gain Blade Binder as his fighter bonus feat. A monk may select Blade Binder as a bonus feat at 6th level.

I have decided to work with this, but I won't be able to pick up the feat until level 3. My DM said it would work as an Attack of Opportunity, which seems like it would work a lot like a version of standstill.

That and just as a personal thing.. I don't want a build that everyone is going to expect. I like Dervish Dancing, but I usually play Rogues and Bards. So I reworked my Stats to the following:
14
16
14
13
8
17

And for my three feats, right now I have Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, and Bodyguard. My DM has house ruled that Combat Expertise works like an inverse of power attack (-1 Atk for +2 AC, Scaling as normal. A GODSEND.) and I have gotten proficiency with the Khopesh by taking Heirloom Weapon. Which is risky I know.

But, I figure at level 3 I will pick up Blade Binder, Lunge at level 5, then who knows from there? This also frees me up do cary a shield, which I like from a thematic standpoint.

I am also a Hospitaler, so I figure I can use the Grayflame enhancement later for fun and profit, turning my healing surges into extra damage dice without burning LoH uses.

I know my damage is going to lag behind, but my buddy is playing a Barbarian, so I figure I will play enabler to him. Healing him and boosting his AC.