Rolled Stats Distribution for Paladin

[TexasHays]

Ok, so we rolled for characters on a new campaign last night and this is what I got: 18, 16, 12, 11, 10, 10

I plan on creating a Paladin, most likely Goliath (for rp purposes) and was wondering where I should deposit the stats. With the goliath's +2 strength and +1 Con, I could start with 20 strength, but then that means I'm either going to have 16 CHA / 13 CON or 17 CON / 12 CHA and I'm not sure about that.

Maybe 18 STR, 13 CON, 18 CHA?

[JellyPooga]

Ok, so we rolled for characters on a new campaign last night and this is what I got: 18, 16, 12, 11, 10, 10

I plan on creating a Paladin, most likely Goliath (for rp purposes) and was wondering where I should deposit the stats. With the goliath's +2 strength and +1 Con, I could start with 20 strength, but then that means I'm either going to have 16 CHA / 13 CON or 17 CON / 12 CHA and I'm not sure about that.

Maybe 18 STR, 13 CON, 18 CHA?

Str: 16+2
Dex: 12
Con: 11+1
Int: 10
Wis: 10
Cha: 18

That's what I'd go with. Con is a little low for my liking, but is high enough and it makes use of that odd score with your +1. As tempting as getting Str 20 from level 1 might be, I'm of the inclination thay of there's no room for improvment, there's not as much character there as you could have! Plus, 18 Cha for any Paladin is awesome, especially if you're aiming at Oath of Devotion for +Cha to hit.

[Slipperychicken]

That's what I'd go with. Con is a little low for my liking, but is high enough and it makes use of that odd score with your +1. As tempting as getting Str 20 from level 1 might be, I'm of the inclination thay of there's no room for improvment, there's not as much character there as you could have! Plus, 18 Cha for any Paladin is awesome, especially if you're aiming at Oath of Devotion for +Cha to hit.

Sacred weapon always seemed sketchy to me because it takes an action to activate. You get a great buff, but also have to spend a turn not attacking. I'm not sure if that's worthwhile unless you expect to get the full duration out of it.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Ok, so we rolled for characters on a new campaign last night and this is what I got: 18, 16, 12, 11, 10, 10

I plan on creating a Paladin, most likely Goliath (for rp purposes) and was wondering where I should deposit the stats. With the goliath's +2 strength and +1 Con, I could start with 20 strength, but then that means I'm either going to have 16 CHA / 13 CON or 17 CON / 12 CHA and I'm not sure about that.

Maybe 18 STR, 13 CON, 18 CHA?
Sounds about right. Take Resilient Constitution at fourth to bump it up to a respectable 14 Con. I wouldn't worry about Dex too much-- you'll be plenty tough enough to take the damage from failed Dex saves, and you can otherwise largely ignore it with heavy armor.

[Grubble]

Sacred weapon always seemed sketchy to me because it takes an action to activate. You get a great buff, but also have to spend a turn not attacking. I'm not sure if that's worthwhile unless you expect to get the full duration out of it.

This probably depends on how your DM runs combat, but a paladin I play with regularily makes good use of this feature. We often find ourselves starting >30 ft from our opponents, so first turn you either move&dash to get in range, or move & channel divinity, then close on next turn. Either way he's missing out on the round one attack, or some pitiful javelin damage.

[Corran]

Ok, so we rolled for characters on a new campaign last night and this is what I got: 18, 16, 12, 11, 10, 10

I plan on creating a Paladin......

Maybe 18 STR, 13 CON, 18 CHA?
That seems like a good idea, provided that you will make enough room for resilient con in your build. With resilient, and 2 more ASI's with which you will max strength and charisma, you will have 2 ASIs more to spend on feats, or to boost your constitution up to 18, or to go for a combination of the two (a feat and a con bump).

ps: Have you decided on an oath?

[TexasHays]

That seems like a good idea, provided that you will make enough room for resilient con in your build. With resilient, and 2 more ASI's with which you will max strength and charisma, you will have 2 ASIs more to spend on feats, or to boost your constitution up to 18, or to go for a combination of the two (a feat and a con bump).

ps: Have you decided on an oath?

Thanks everyone for the input!

And as to oath, I think Ancients makes the most sense for the character as he's an outlander Goliath.

And I agree. I think I'll take Resilient, Max CHA, get con to 16, and probably GWM.

[Drackolus]

Con is overrated, to be honest. Your full plate and high cha will keep your hp nice and toasty. And if you have at least another partial healer - like a druid or bard - then you've got nothing to worry about. Bless is one of (if not the) best use of your concentration already, and you can make spectacular use of the buff, so if you're concentrating, your save will probably be fine.
Not that res:con is a bad idea. I'd still take a +2 cha over it personally - increases a lot of things. And warcaster. And probably m. Initiate after that (booming blade reactions are super rad).

[Grod_The_Giant]

Resilient Con is also really useful for the save proficiency, since you ARE, after all, a melee caster with some good Concentration spells. And fewer spell slots to boot.

[JellyPooga]

Resilient Con is also really useful for the save proficiency, since you ARE, after all, a melee caster with some good Concentration spells. And fewer spell slots to boot.

Ordinarily I'd be all over grabbing Resilient (Con), but in this particular case the extra odd stat generated by starting with 13 Con (the 11 which would presumably go in Dex or Wis) just kind of....bugs me. It feels like wasting potential and with the Paladin getting his awesome +4 (or higher) to all Saves anyway from that god-like Charisma, it also feels like a wasted investment. I've found that it's very much possible to over-specialise in 5ed and taking Resilient for this character feels like going down that road.

The benefits of both having +1 in Dex and taking a different Feat or ASI compared to boosting Con Save into the stratosphere has to be worth considering. I mean, when all's said and done, do you really need +12 to Con Saves at the cost of having a +0 Dex mod and one Feat, when you can have +5 with zero investment and get a +1 Dex mod in the deal? [Disclaimer; I'm undeniably guilty of overrating Dex. It's a direct result of my Thief-ling roots!]

I appreciate the importance of Con Saves; they literally make the difference between life and death, but +12? It's a bit overkill IMO.

[MaxWilson]

Ok, so we rolled for characters on a new campaign last night and this is what I got: 18, 16, 12, 11, 10, 10

I plan on creating a Paladin, most likely Goliath (for rp purposes) and was wondering where I should deposit the stats. With the goliath's +2 strength and +1 Con, I could start with 20 strength, but then that means I'm either going to have 16 CHA / 13 CON or 17 CON / 12 CHA and I'm not sure about that.

Maybe 18 STR, 13 CON, 18 CHA?

If it were me, I'd do a half-elf with Str 17 Dex 10 Con 13 Int 11 Wis 10 Cha 20. Boost to Str 18/Con 14 eventually, but I'd never boosting Str to 20. There are better ways to boost your damage--Str 20 with only two attacks per round is a waste.


Sacred weapon always seemed sketchy to me because it takes an action to activate. You get a great buff, but also have to spend a turn not attacking. I'm not sure if that's worthwhile unless you expect to get the full duration out of it.

Remember that you can do other things too on your turn, like activate a Compelled Duel.

The best thing about Sacred Weapon IMHO is that it makes your weapon magical, which can double your damage against certain creatures (e.g. Shadows). The to-hit bonus can be pretty sweet too, but since I haven't taken GWM that part is mostly overkill--but getting to do full damage is nice, especially in big fights.

[Citan]

Ok, so we rolled for characters on a new campaign last night and this is what I got: 18, 16, 12, 11, 10, 10

I plan on creating a Paladin, most likely Goliath (for rp purposes) and was wondering where I should deposit the stats. With the goliath's +2 strength and +1 Con, I could start with 20 strength, but then that means I'm either going to have 16 CHA / 13 CON or 17 CON / 12 CHA and I'm not sure about that.

Maybe 18 STR, 13 CON, 18 CHA?
Hi.
Maybe you started already and this thread should be left to die, but just in case... ;)

I'd say it depends on Oath.
If you plan on taking Devotion Oath, your choice is the best for CHA and STR starting at 18.
You should even max CHA first in fact: you get -1 damage (won't change your life), 0 on attack bonus, +1 to your spell DC, and later +1 to all saves. If you plan on taking GWM later, you could stretch the idea and keep STR at 18 for a time to instead take GWM and Resilient CON or Warcaster asap.

If you plan on taking Vengeance, any choice is good since you also get a great boost to hit that doesn't depend on CHA (so it boils down to "do you plan on using spells only for buff/smite, or also spells with save DC"? First = max STR, second = balance STR+CHA).

For other Oaths, unless you plan on heavily using save or suck spells, maxing STR from lvl 1 onwards seems the best bet.

Final note: Resilient CON is good, but you can also do without. If you don't plan on taking it, make it 11 to get an even score (12) with Goliath bonus (and put the "natural" 12 in Dex instead).

Have fun!