Auramis
2013-08-08, 05:46 AM
Hey everyone, first post here!
Anyway, bit of background: my brother is DMing a campaign with actual intend to continue, for the first time since we started playing D&D. We'd done short lived month long games before, but this is the first time we've been going on for a while, and he's opted to let us experiment to see what would work for our household in future games. We're basically homebrewing and experimenting a lot. I've never gotten to actually play a long term character either, so this is an experiment on my part as well.
A few nights ago, since we're just messing around, he opted that normal paladins were prohibited and switched it to prestige paladin only. I've got no problems with that at all. I just multiclassed knight with cleric (to Bahamut) to enter into paladin to get a few tanking benefits (Divine Grace, Divine Health, etc.)
I get the spellcasting wouldn't be as hot as it could be for the level we're at, but I like the idea of a holy knight on (pardon the pun) swift wings seeking out those who would harm others, particularly evil dragons and undead. My question is, would multiclassing into Swift Wing, on top of being a knight, cleric, and prestige paladin, at all muddle things down?
Here's the character, for those wanting more in depth info:
Levels: 12 total - 4 cleric/4 knight/3 prestige paladin/1 swift wing
Race: Human
HP:120
Stats: STR 18, DEX 14, CON 16, INT 13, WIS 17, CHA 18
Base Saves: 10 Fort, 5 Ref, 9 Will
BAB: 10/5
Diety/Domains: Bahamut: Protection, Good, Dragon (from Swift Wing)
Skills: Concentration 7, Diplomacy 10, Knowledge: Arcane 5, Nobility/Royalty 10, Religion 10,, Listen 5, Ride 2, Sense Motive 5, Spellcraft 5, Spot 5
Feats: Dragontouched, Draconic Heritage (Silver), Draconic Skin, Mounted Combat, Holy Bond (Divine Bond variant for Holy Mount), Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Bastard Sword), Draconic Claws (great for when I need to heal myself or someone else who's in the fray), Draconic Senses
Abilities: Turn/Rebuke, Knight's Challenge (Fighting Challenge +1), Shield Block +1, Bulwark of Defense, Detect Evil, Aura of Courage, Aura of Good, Divine Grace, Divine Health, Divine Bond (as the Pathfinder ability, substituting the special mount under house rules), Lay on Hands, Smite 1/day, Dragon Affinity (Silver)
Place in the party: I wanted a healthy balance of spellcasting and tankiness with this character. Knight and paladin helped a lot with tanking stats and abilities, and Swift Wing will naturally beef him up with resistances and damage reduction while also increasing his spellcasting abilities. As it is, he serves more as the tank and as a backup healer, while a druid in the party serves as our primary healer.
Bastard sword?:The bastard sword offers versatility when used with a buckler as a shield. If I'm not bashing with a normal shield, there's no real reason to pick one over a buckler. The buckler also allows the use of a free hand for casting spells if needed and works well with switching between one-handed and two-handed bastard sword.
Why no horse?:With the Divine Bond house ruled in over the usual Special Mount, I picked the weapon spirit over the mount, given I'd be flying later with Swift Wing. I never did understand the craze with the horse either. I know there's a hardcore following for the paladin's horse, but I never was able to get on board with it.
Bahamut?: When my paladin was a kid, his village was attacked by a Red Dragon. Before he could get caught up in the mess and killed, a Silver Dragon arrived and scared the Red Dragon off. Feeling inspired by the Silver Dragon's power and its compassion for the people of the town, he started researching dragons and their gods. He resolved that no one should suffer from evil as he had, especially from evil dragons, so he dedicated himself to be a social oddity and becoming a cleric/knight to Bahamut to oppose evil dragons, as well as evil in general.
Update: Works great! Spellcasting isn't up to par with our full caster in the party, as expected, but my character provided a lovely meatshield for his allies, and he was able to buff and heal well enough. Only complaint is how weak turning is, but that will change in 1 level, once I get Breath of Life from Swift Wing. Turning checks will be replaced with the enemy making reflex saves to avoid full damage instead. I think it's much better.
Anyway, bit of background: my brother is DMing a campaign with actual intend to continue, for the first time since we started playing D&D. We'd done short lived month long games before, but this is the first time we've been going on for a while, and he's opted to let us experiment to see what would work for our household in future games. We're basically homebrewing and experimenting a lot. I've never gotten to actually play a long term character either, so this is an experiment on my part as well.
A few nights ago, since we're just messing around, he opted that normal paladins were prohibited and switched it to prestige paladin only. I've got no problems with that at all. I just multiclassed knight with cleric (to Bahamut) to enter into paladin to get a few tanking benefits (Divine Grace, Divine Health, etc.)
I get the spellcasting wouldn't be as hot as it could be for the level we're at, but I like the idea of a holy knight on (pardon the pun) swift wings seeking out those who would harm others, particularly evil dragons and undead. My question is, would multiclassing into Swift Wing, on top of being a knight, cleric, and prestige paladin, at all muddle things down?
Here's the character, for those wanting more in depth info:
Levels: 12 total - 4 cleric/4 knight/3 prestige paladin/1 swift wing
Race: Human
HP:120
Stats: STR 18, DEX 14, CON 16, INT 13, WIS 17, CHA 18
Base Saves: 10 Fort, 5 Ref, 9 Will
BAB: 10/5
Diety/Domains: Bahamut: Protection, Good, Dragon (from Swift Wing)
Skills: Concentration 7, Diplomacy 10, Knowledge: Arcane 5, Nobility/Royalty 10, Religion 10,, Listen 5, Ride 2, Sense Motive 5, Spellcraft 5, Spot 5
Feats: Dragontouched, Draconic Heritage (Silver), Draconic Skin, Mounted Combat, Holy Bond (Divine Bond variant for Holy Mount), Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Bastard Sword), Draconic Claws (great for when I need to heal myself or someone else who's in the fray), Draconic Senses
Abilities: Turn/Rebuke, Knight's Challenge (Fighting Challenge +1), Shield Block +1, Bulwark of Defense, Detect Evil, Aura of Courage, Aura of Good, Divine Grace, Divine Health, Divine Bond (as the Pathfinder ability, substituting the special mount under house rules), Lay on Hands, Smite 1/day, Dragon Affinity (Silver)
Place in the party: I wanted a healthy balance of spellcasting and tankiness with this character. Knight and paladin helped a lot with tanking stats and abilities, and Swift Wing will naturally beef him up with resistances and damage reduction while also increasing his spellcasting abilities. As it is, he serves more as the tank and as a backup healer, while a druid in the party serves as our primary healer.
Bastard sword?:The bastard sword offers versatility when used with a buckler as a shield. If I'm not bashing with a normal shield, there's no real reason to pick one over a buckler. The buckler also allows the use of a free hand for casting spells if needed and works well with switching between one-handed and two-handed bastard sword.
Why no horse?:With the Divine Bond house ruled in over the usual Special Mount, I picked the weapon spirit over the mount, given I'd be flying later with Swift Wing. I never did understand the craze with the horse either. I know there's a hardcore following for the paladin's horse, but I never was able to get on board with it.
Bahamut?: When my paladin was a kid, his village was attacked by a Red Dragon. Before he could get caught up in the mess and killed, a Silver Dragon arrived and scared the Red Dragon off. Feeling inspired by the Silver Dragon's power and its compassion for the people of the town, he started researching dragons and their gods. He resolved that no one should suffer from evil as he had, especially from evil dragons, so he dedicated himself to be a social oddity and becoming a cleric/knight to Bahamut to oppose evil dragons, as well as evil in general.
Update: Works great! Spellcasting isn't up to par with our full caster in the party, as expected, but my character provided a lovely meatshield for his allies, and he was able to buff and heal well enough. Only complaint is how weak turning is, but that will change in 1 level, once I get Breath of Life from Swift Wing. Turning checks will be replaced with the enemy making reflex saves to avoid full damage instead. I think it's much better.