First Post- Help with Warforged Pally

[asmartfellow]

Hello all. First post on the forums. I've read a ton of info from here, and find you all to be very insightful.

I searched for a Warforged Paladin and couldn't find one though in 5e.

Basically, I'm wanting a tank/healer and the WF's racial abilities seem to fit well with this. I was remembering they had some FEAT's for natural armor, but cannot find them. They may have disappeared with 3.5. (Coming back after years away) and I've only played a Warlock so far in 5e (LOVE him)

Where I'm starting:

Lvl 7. I have not decided on which Oath to take yet, but I'm leaning towards Oath of the Crown. Nothing says tank like, "You cannot move more than 30' away from me". That might help w/ the squishy party members. 2x Rogues and a Druid.--but I also REALLY like the Oath of Devotion's Sacred weapon. Magical AND add my CHA to hit? Yessir.

Stat line: 20 Str (took +2 at lvl 4 instead of a FEAT), Dex 10, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 16. Rolled Stats 4d6, dropped lowest.

I'm thinking Sword and Shield. And I can get a 20 AC by taking Splint mail.

Beyond which Oath is best for mechanics (I can work any into RP) I'm also curious would I be better suited in removing the +2 Str for a FEAT?

Then comes the absolutely HARDEST part for me. .. Spells. I seldom to never play cleric/healer types, let alone this being first Pally. Are there any recommended "Must have" Spells? Any that are really handy to people? As in, "I cast this first turn of every combat almost 100% of the time"... Those type of spells.

Thanks in advance.

[Jbr208]

I'm currently playing a Warforged Paladin and have been greatly enjoying the hardiness of the character. Here are my thoughts on the matter:

Fighting Style: I don't know if I saw you discuss that, were you thinking Defense, Dueling, or Protection? I saw you mentioned sword and board, but think I missed this somewhere.

Oaths: As you've pointed out, Crown is pretty solid as an option for keeping enemies away from more frail party members. I'm still a fan of Devotion, but our goals are slightly different so go with your gut on that.

Feats: It is hard to argue with maxing strength early, since it bolsters your credit as an offensive threat which can make you a better tank. Feats have, relative to 3.5, been gutted somewhat when it comes to options. You may be able to design one or two specific to the Warforged, however. From the standard options my suggestions would be either Sentinel, Shield Master, or Heavy Armor Mastery. Sentinel and Shield Master both help with battlefield control (Shield Master also improves a poor Dex Save slightly) while HAM makes you stronger and lets you be less prone to death by 1000 paper cuts (or a dozen wolves, take your pick).

Spells:
Bless is one of the better concentration buffs around, adding 1d4 to both attacks and saving throws.

Shield of Faith, while not on my list as a more offensively minded Paladin, is a respectable choice since +2 AC when you're already at 20 can still be nice.

Compelled duel can help with the keeping enemies focused on you bit, but it's effects are best felt in battles against a single large threat (plus minions so companions have something to do), which may have better/other uses for your spell slots (note: your companions can't harm the target without ending the spell, but buffing you, escaping, and killing minions are all fair game).

2nd level slots aren't great for a paladin.

Those are just some of my thoughts, hopefully some of them were helpful.

[asmartfellow]

Fighting style I'm going with is Dueling. That +2 on damage is tempting.

[Daishain]

Search for the Ebberon unearthed arcana article. The closest thing we have to an official 5e warforged is in there. Technically, that is playtest material, and your DM is well within his rights to say no, but that version of the warforged is if anything a little on the weak side.

[asmartfellow]

Yes. He's allowing the UA version for 5e. I think their bonuses are pretty nice, but without Warforged specific FEATS like used to exist in 3.5...they're kinda meh.

[gfishfunk]

General Thoughts:

Fighting Style:
- Defense might be the best mathematically, but its boring so choose something else interesting. If you don't like too many moving parts, grab this one and you won't have to think about it.
- Protection is great against average foes and not-so-great versus powerful foes. The real purpose is to redirect (either Meta or otherwise) enemies into attacking you. Just having it usually means you don't need to use it.
- Dueling is decent. I would go with Protection or Defense instead.

Feats:
-Shield Master would be good with your group. You can knock someone over, and move to base someone else. Prone targets will give your rogues advantage and max out their sneak attack chances of hitting + criting. Good deal.
-Inspiring Leader is a great feat for you. Its basically pre-healing the group for a hit before the fight so that you can focus more on enemy control and damage during the fight. (It is hard to control enemies while you are healing).

Level 1 spells:
- Bless is phenomenal to help you (and friends) to hit and save.
- If you are not having trouble hitting, Divine Favor is a good spell versus a group of foes for higher damage (1d4 to all attacks of radiant damage), but smiting is better against a single foe (2d8 once). This is what I would go with, spell-wise.
- Command is good if your DM is not a ****. Things like "Swim" or "submerge" are great near water (forcing enemies to run deep into the water), or "Disrobe" can force them to drop their weapon and begin peeling off armor. Its a great control spell. If your DM interprets things poorly, the enemy might start disrobing someone else, or think that he can submerge his weapon into someone's face. Its crappy DMing that ruins great spells like this.

Personally, I would grab a feat instead of stat bonuses just to have more options up front. The difference between 18 Str and 20 Str is negligible. On the other hand, if you like simpler characters that are more straight forward to run, grab the stat bump now and master what the character is able to do now, then next level (at 8) grab the feat that best suits your playstyle. Its easier to run a simple machine and add on later than run a complex machine now.

[jaappleton]

Well, as far as spells go...

1. The spell Compelled Duel replicates the Oath of the Crown feature fairly well. So you can get that effect without following that Oath.

2. You may want to reconsider going for +2 Cha instead of +2 Str at lv4. Why? Well, it helps your spells, and helps the bonus to saving throws that you grant with your lv6 feature. Remember that bonus applies to you, too! This is great for Concentration checks to maintain your spells.

3. One spell you should always have on with Concentration is Bless. Since you're really the only one who can cast it, it's on you, and its a great buff. +1d4 to attack rolls and saving throws for you and a few party members? With +4 Charisma, that's 2 + 4 + 1d4 for your Concentration. You should be passing that pretty often.

4. If you go for a feat instead, I'd recommend dropping Sword & Board and instead utilizing the Sentinel feat, with a Glaive, and the Defense fighting style. Defense gets you another +1 to AC, on top of your Warforged natural ability. Glaive has a reach of 10ft, so anyone trying to get past you to hit your allies needs to withstand your opportunity attack. And anyone you hit, their speed drops to ZERO. Melee combatants will have a tough time getting to your friends in the back, and the Defense style helps mitigate the loss of a shield.

5. For spells, Concentration is a BIG thing. You can only concentrate on one spell at a time. Compelled Duel, most of your Smite spells, Bless, etc all compete for that ONE spell you can Concentrate on. Honestly, I find many (though not all) Smite spells to be underwhelming, and not worth the Concentration cost. Compelled Duel can literally save the life of your companion. Don't double up on spells that can be fixed with Lay on Hands. Take Cure Wounds as an emergency backup heal and move on.

6. Remember that if you need to, you can cast a Smite spell AND use Divine Smite. You can cast Wrathful Smite on your weapon, attack, and burn another spell slot for the Divine Smite bonus damage. Also, if you crit, all damage dice is doubled. Even those from your Smites.