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Fellfire
Master of Realmslore
1965 Posts |
 Posted - 11 Feb 2015 : 11:37:29
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The title pretty much says it all. Which would you choose and why?
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Misanthorpe
Love is a lie. Only hate endures. Light is blinding. Only in darkness do we see clearly.
"Oh, you think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but.. blinding. The shadows betray you because they belong to me." - Bane The Dark Knight Rises
Green Dragonscale Dice Bag by Crystalsidyll - check it out
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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4471 Posts |
Posted - 11 Feb 2015 : 15:01:25
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| Depends, what supplements (if any) are allowed? If I'm not mistaken, Age of Worms is a 3.5 adventure and in nearly most cases, the cleric is just straight up better mechanically than the Paladin. The Paladin gets help, a little, with supplements like Complete Champion, PHB 2, and Spell Compendium but if these aren't on the table, definitely go Cleric. You can actually make a better paladin-style character off the Cleric chassis than the Paladin is out of the box. And don't forget there's the Prestige Paladin in Unearthed Arcana that would allow you to Start Cleric then move into Paladin-features. |
Diffan's NPG Generator: FR NPC Generator |
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Fellfire
Master of Realmslore
1965 Posts |
Posted - 11 Feb 2015 : 15:26:38
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| I'm inclined to allow most supplements. I just read the Prestige Paladin. It didn't seem all that impressive. How does the PF cleric stack against the paladin? |
Misanthorpe
Love is a lie. Only hate endures. Light is blinding. Only in darkness do we see clearly.
"Oh, you think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but.. blinding. The shadows betray you because they belong to me." - Bane The Dark Knight Rises
Green Dragonscale Dice Bag by Crystalsidyll - check it out
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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4471 Posts |
Posted - 11 Feb 2015 : 19:57:00
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| The PF paladin is better, getting 2 good saves and their smites working for a lot longer but they still don't have the capability of Clerics and their access to 9th level spells. Clerics heal more, have more combat options, and have more versatility. The only thing they really lack is a good BAB, which can be made up with spells like Divine Favor, Divine Might, etc. |
Diffan's NPG Generator: FR NPC Generator |
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idilippy
Senior Scribe
USA
417 Posts |
Posted - 11 Feb 2015 : 21:13:41
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Paladins are leaps and bounds better in pathfinder than 3.5e, while Clerics lose some of the more overpowered options (divine meta magic with persistent spell) which 3.5e gave them. As Diffan points out a cleric is still, in the end, a 9th level spell caster which is a powerful option for a game that will reach the top levels, but they are no longer better Paladins than the paladin. When it comes to fighting evil creatures, particularly dragons, demons, and undead, a Paladin is certainly in the argument for being the best tool for the job. When it comes to out of combat versatility, a 9th level caster with all the spell options is going to be able to have more tools at hand, if they picked the right tools that day. In the end though, I would probably have more fun playing the paladin, who has a number of really cool choices and decent spell casting, rather than the cleric who admittedly is much more versatile and with the right spell choices a powerful foe against evil in their own right.
For added fun, if you want a fun, fairly powerful class with decent combat and spell casting, the Inquisitor is a good option. 6th level casting instead of 9th, but some potent combat abilities and fairly good skill selection. Not as good in combat as a Paladin, not as powerful in casting ability as a cleric, but still a fairly powerful class with lots to like. |
Edited by - idilippy on 11 Feb 2015 21:14:58 |
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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4471 Posts |
Posted - 12 Feb 2015 : 00:49:49
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| If your going with Pathfinder, Paladin is a decent choice since Age of Worms is (from what I remember) an adventure based on fighting evil dragons. |
Diffan's NPG Generator: FR NPC Generator |
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Fellfire
Master of Realmslore
1965 Posts |
Posted - 12 Feb 2015 : 01:03:00
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| More undead than dragons, but there are a few in the later modules. |
Misanthorpe
Love is a lie. Only hate endures. Light is blinding. Only in darkness do we see clearly.
"Oh, you think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but.. blinding. The shadows betray you because they belong to me." - Bane The Dark Knight Rises
Green Dragonscale Dice Bag by Crystalsidyll - check it out
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idilippy
Senior Scribe
USA
417 Posts |
Posted - 12 Feb 2015 : 01:30:19
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As a pathfinder paladin, when you choose a smite target your smite lasts until that target is dead. You get charisma bonus to attack rolls, charisma bonus as a deflection AC bonus vs. that target, and paladin level bonus to damage. Your first attack each round when you have an undead, dragon, or evil outsider as your smite target you deal double your paladin level in damage. At 11th level you can spend 2 uses of this ability to also give all your allies within 10ft your smite evil ability for up to 1 minute. Also, when you smite evil you bypass all DR on the target.
There are other cool additions to the Pathfinder paladin, like being able to use lay on hands on yourself as a swift action, being able to heal various afflictions with lay on hand, auras that bolster allies against, fear, charm, compulsion, and an option for a divine bond on a weapon instead of a mount. |
Edited by - idilippy on 12 Feb 2015 01:33:45 |
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sfdragon
Great Reader
2285 Posts |
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LordofBones
Master of Realmslore
1575 Posts |
Posted - 13 Feb 2015 : 10:20:15
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| Full caster progression > everything else. |
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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4471 Posts |
Posted - 14 Feb 2015 : 00:06:33
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quote:
Originally posted by LordofBones
Full caster progression > everything else.
Yep, pretty much. Even though the Cleric was "nerfed" in Pathfinder with the removal of feats like Divine Mega-Magic, they still have amazing spells that they can convert into spontaneous healing AND their pool of always-healing availability. The paladin is beefier in Pathfinder compared to v3.5 but with the large nerf to Power Attack and the mediocre damage Smites still do is still not enough of a pull for me to go back to playing one without feats like Battle Blessing and Charging Smite (PH2 alternative class feature). |
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Age of Worms Cleric or Paladin?
