[3.5] Ideas on improving an unarmed charging smite paladin?

[Mattarias, King.]

Hey guys, me again. I've decided that my next D&D character is gonna be a paladin with the charging smite variant and going for the Flying Kick feat. By level five I'll be able to do about 1d4+6+1d12+3 on a flying kick smite. Any ideas on how to make this better? I want to smite evil with a flying kick out of absolutely nowhere while shouting something awesome.

On that note, I noticed the Ascetic Knight feat (CAdv, 105), only needs improved unarmed strike and smite evil as a prerequisite. Does that mean if I take IUS, I can upgrade my unarmed skill essentially for free?

..I've also heard of Superior Unarmed Strike. Where's that from?

Sorry for all the questions, I just wanna make this character good.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

SUS is from ToB. Grab it and a Monk's Belt, snag INA, and don't forget Rhino's Rush from SpC.

[arguskos]

Actually... Ascetic Knight would be pretty good here. Basically, it's a feat to give you the monk unarmed damage tree. Might as well I guess.

Superior Unarmed Strike is a definite "you need to take this".

[Mattarias, King.]

INA? SpC? Sorry, Getting a leeetle confused..

...But.. So.. Ascetic Knight DOES work that way?

[arguskos]

INA? SpC? Sorry, Getting a leeetle confused..

...But.. So.. Ascetic Knight DOES work that way?

INA=Improved Natural Attack, a feat.
SpC=Spell Compendium. Rhino's Rush is a spell from there that paladins can get, and is amazing.

And yes, as far as I can see, nothing about Ascetic Knight requires Monk levels.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

INA? SpC? Sorry, Getting a leeetle confused..

...But.. So.. Ascetic Knight DOES work that way?

Imp Nat attack, MMI makes you one size category larger for damage. Since you're now Monk level 14, that boosts you from 2d6 to 2d8. In 2 levels, you jump to 3d8. An Enlarge Person on top of that makes you deal 4d8.

SpC is spell compendium, your #1 source for awesome paladin spells!

[Voice of Reason]

Most of the good suggestions have been taken by now. If you have the money, you can buy a Fanged Ring from Dragon Magic for 10,000 to grant you the Improved Natural Attack Feat (unarmed strike) without spending a feat, along with another small bonus. If you can get a sorcerer to cast Mighty Wallop (level 1 Races of the Dragon spell) or (better yet) Greater Mighty Wallop (level 3 Races of the Dragon spell) that would boot you up another one or two size categories.

[Mattarias, King.]

Oh. Oh wow. wasn't expecting something like this. Awesome! Thanks guys. I'm already thinking of taking flying kick at level three. Should I go for it, or try for SUS first?

..Also, DM just vetoed ascetic knight working that way. Dang.

Is going monk that worth it?

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Firstly, you've got this thread in the wrong thread somehow (this is the play-by-post ongoing games thread). You may want to get someone to move it.

...No, it's not.

Most of the good suggestions have been taken by now. If you have the money, you can buy a Fanged Ring from Dragon Magic for 10,000 to grant you the Improved Natural Attack Feat (unarmed strike) without spending a feat, along with another small bonus. If you can get a sorcerer to cast Mighty Wallop (level 1 Races of the Dragon spell) or (better yet) Greater Mighty Wallop (level 3 Races of the Dragon spell) that would boot you up another one or two size categories.

Level 5, so I doubt he has 10 K. But the other suggestions are good.

[arguskos]

..Also, DM just vetoed ascetic knight working that way. Dang.

I'm gonna go ahead and ask "why?". I mean, Ascetic Knight isn't even that great. Take one level of monk, THEN take Ascetic Knight then. At least that way, your DM can't really shoot you down on reasonable grounds.

Also, depending on your Wis score, a Monk dip might not be bad anyways.

[tyckspoon]

Oh. Oh wow. wasn't expecting something like this. Awesome! Thanks guys. I'm already thinking of taking flying kick at level three. Should I go for it, or try for SUS first?

..Also, DM just vetoed ascetic knight working that way. Dang.

Is going monk that worth it?

Not unless you plan to go un-armored so you can use the other Monk features. Superior Unarmed Strike gives you another unarmed damage progression based on your HD, it's just a bit slower than the Monk one.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Don't forget Serenity, from Dragon Mag, to make your paladin stuff based off of Wis instead of Cha.

[Voice of Reason]

...No, it's not.

Naturally. I screw up, but manage to edit it in 30 seconds and someone still manages to catch me on it

Level 5, so I doubt he has 10 K. But the other suggestions are good.

I didn't think he had 10k at the moment, but as we were throwing out suggestions for a monk's belt, I thought that would be useful for career planning, especially for a character who's going to be looking for feats.

Mattarias: That one level of monk may very well be worth it for your damage. Keep in mind it also grants you flurry of blows and an untyped wisdom bonus to your AC if you can afford to stick to light armor.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Naturally. I screw up, but manage to edit it in 30 seconds and someone still manages to catch me on it



I didn't think he had 10k at the moment, but as we were throwing out suggestions for a monk's belt, I thought that would be useful for career planning, especially for a character who's going to be looking for feats.

Mattarias: That one level of monk may very well be worth it for your damage. Keep in mind it also grants you flurry of blows and an untyped wisdom bonus to your AC if you can afford to stick to light armor.

Wait, the Monk's Belt is 13K? I thought it was 3! 13 sucks for what you get. Gorram WotC with their grumble mumble...

[Voice of Reason]

It's still decent at 13k, especially if you plan on going into a prestige class that won't advance your unarmed strikes.

You could also take a two-level dip into monk to gain that lovely evasion ability (works rather well when combined with Divine Grace). If you felt like going this route, I'd highly recommend Improved Trip as your bonus feat, and Knock-Down (scroll down to find it) as one of your feats. A free trip attack on every hit is nothing to sneeze at.

Edit: Ahh, yes. And if you're planning on being a charger, you should definitely look into the Twisted Charge skill trick (requires two skill points and meeting the requirements. Page 85) from Complete Scoundrel (if memory serves).

[Mattarias, King.]

Arright, thanks guys. This is for a character starting at level one though, shooting for starting to be awesome at level five. sorry for any confusion.

Definitely looking into one or two levels of monk, then mostly pally. I might want bard because I want to be an inspirational-type guy, y'know? .. But yeah.

Monk's belt, SUS, fanged ring. Got it. Definitely bookmarking this thread.

[Voice of Reason]

Don't forget your flaws. If your DM allows them, take them; flaws are your friends

[Mattarias, King.]

Don't forget your flaws. If your DM allows them, take them; flaws are your friends

Heh. Yeah, they are. Though the DM's a bit tight about these things. Doesn't like "nonsense" like flaws, unfortunately. Thanks though.

[PhoenixRivers]

If you want to give up your mount, you can get the Charging Smite Paladin variant. If you smite on a charge attack, you get an additional +2 damage per paladin level. This means +Charisma to hit, and +(3xPaladin level) to damage.

Holy Warrior paladin variant trades spellcasting for bonus feats, such as extra smiting.

Don't neglect to use your turning to fuel divine feats. Divine Power (or is it might, I forget) gives you +Charisma to hit for a turn attempt.

[Mystic Muse]

Unless you plan on falling I don't think you can combine Paladin and Bard.

[Mattarias, King.]

Ooooh. Good ideas. Thanks. I forgot about divine stuff. Already taking charging smite.

Also, DM's being lenient on alignment rules, so pally/bard is ok.

[PhoenixRivers]

Ooooh. Good ideas. Thanks. I forgot about divine stuff. Already taking charging smite.

Also, DM's being lenient on alignment rules, so pally/bard is ok.

UA has a Paladin of Freedom variant that would work well.

[Mattarias, King.]

UA has a Paladin of Freedom variant that would work well.

Hm, yeah, but I want aura of courage. That's gonna be my main "thing". The merits of being brave and how manly men solve their problems. With ACTION!

..Also huge amounts of damage on charges. <.< "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM KIIIIICK!"

[Teron]

If you want to be an inspirational holy warrior, you might consider playing a crusader focusing on White Raven maneuvers. It's easy to build and sits at what's commonly considered the perfect power level, most ways to boost a paladin's unarmed damage still apply, and you get goodies like a passive +1 damage per level on charges for the whole party.

Just thought I'd throw that out there.

[Mattarias, King.]

If you want to be an inspirational holy warrior, you might consider playing a crusader focusing on White Raven maneuvers. It's easy to build and sits at what's commonly considered the perfect power level, most ways to boost a paladin's unarmed damage still apply, and you get goodies like a passive +1 damage per level on charges for the whole party.

Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Hmm. I'll see what my DM thinks of ToB. Good idea, thanks.

[Kantolin]

If you take the 'Devoted Performer' feat, you can combined Paladin and Bard (And your levels stack for inspire courage and smite, I believe).

It's either in the Complete Adventurer or Complete Scoundrel, I think adventurer.

[Eloel]

You should also strongly consider the Battle Blessing feat from Complete Champion. It's awesome.

[Darrin]

Ooooh. Good ideas. Thanks. I forgot about divine stuff. Already taking charging smite.

You'll want to pair this up with the Travel devotion (so pick a deity that's travel-friendly). Activate it with a Turn Undead attempt, and for 10 rounds you can move up to your speed as a swift action. Combined with Pounce (which can be obtained by various means), you can Back Up 10' + Charge + Full Attack for 10 straight rounds.

[The Glyphstone]

Wasn't it errataed that SUS and Monk's Belt do not stack? Or was that FAQed and thus irrelevant?

[Soranar]

you can take 1 level of monk and then take paladin to qualify for ascetic knight

while your unarmed damage progresses your hands don't become magic weapons like a normal monk

play a paladin of mystra and take the feat magic of incarnum (I forget the exact name)

it lets you cast arcane spells which are surprisingly useful

2 spells I recommend highly

enlarge person (change category damage)
greater mighty wallop from race of the dragon (bludgeoning weapons gain a category for each 4 spellscasting levels you have, lasts 1hour/caster level, level 3 spell)