I will say that with Devotion Paladins in Particular it really matters not.
I played Decent into Avernus to lvl 8 with out a magic weapon and only 14 STR to prove this point. In the party I was the highest damage dealer and the hardest thing to kill because via AL rules I took the faction background to get ring of protection and my lvl 5 item was a +1 shield.
Devotion Paladins with sacred weapon really arent affected by low str and the damage comes more from smite then from str.
I will say that with Devotion Paladins in Particular it really matters not.
I played Decent into Avernus to lvl 8 with out a magic weapon and only 14 STR to prove this point. In the party I was the highest damage dealer and the hardest thing to kill because via AL rules I took the faction background to get ring of protection and my lvl 5 item was a +1 shield.
Devotion Paladins with sacred weapon really arent affected by low str and the damage comes more from smite then from str.
Well this is all fine and good but very misleading and anecdotal because:
1) paladins in 5e are generally considered very strong if not one of the strongest damage dealers by design, so even suboptimal paladin will do good damage as long as the player remembers to smite from time to time whenever they hit (especially when they crit!)
2) we don't know the group composition, the group skill, the DM skill etc. - for all we know the fact that you were the highest damage dealer might have been a product of several factors:
a) you playing well while others playing suboptimal b) others having less damage dealing centric classes c) the DM unintentionally making it easy for you with poor tactics d) some combination of all of the above.
The Party consisted of a Zealot Barbarian, Padlock, Life Cleric, Assassin Rogue, and Moon Druid. All of which had magic weapons.
The DM infact tried to always kill my character because how he was built focusing more on AC then else he was very hard to hit. My AC from lvl 5 up was 23 boosted to 25 or at disadvantage due to protection from evil and good. Infact it was more of a challenge not using a magical weapon and him forcing me to decide when to smite when to use sacred weapon etc. Because with out those in the campaign I hardly did damage do its was more knowing how to play than anything. Very rarely did I actually crit on attacks.
This isn't misleading by any stretch but the proving of the point that Paladins unlike fighters or Barbarians are not reliant on an attack modifier yo be successful. They tank through high AC where Barbarians tank through HP and resistance. Understanding this is what caused me to be more effective.
This proves nothing. Since your game probably wasn't streamed anywhere and I can't watch/hear it round by round, I'm not going to comment on your performance vs. your party because it's pointless. There is no proof, no evidence, just your anecdote. I have no idea what your party members were doing, whether they were playing optimized or how much luck they had with rolls and so on.
This anecdotal evidence also doesn't pass the test of large numbers to be statistically relevant.
A Lightfoot Halfling Paladin, built around dexterity rather than strength if you can cope with not multiclassing, is a pretty good option.
Str 8 Dex 16 Con 14 Int 10 Wis 10 Cha 16.
Ask your DM if you can start with scale mail rather than chain mail to reflect your non-strength build. That will still give you AC16 just like starting with chain mail.
Take a rapier as your martial weapon with a shield, and a dagger as your simple weapon.
My fault that was a fat finger and I missed it. Its 15 str not 14
Second no he wasnt attacking just my AC. But my character had pretty good saves and was immune to charm at lvl7. And DeX traps only matter if you walk into them. I'm going out on the limits that you havent played decent into Avernous though from how your talking. Further a DM cant lead a character anywhere. The character has to decide to go a certain way and is not an individual in the party. Tell me why after telling you the party comp would a Paladin be taking point when there's a Rogue in the party.
I have played BGDiA, admittedly only 3 sessions before world events paused that campaign. I do not see how it could be relevant though.
My point is that if the DM is trying to "kill your character" then the DM (as the agent of every NPC) can do that by having the bad guys lead the characters into a trap.
I was not implying player agency should taken away.
Even if your not implying agency taken away the assumption that the bad guy leads a party into a trap is just that.
I dont know about most other groups but personally I've never openly walked into a trap unless it was a character I was playing that literally didnt care. Yes I've played a character that believed he was superior to everyone else and this was further reinforced by the attack rolls he made and that were made against him. I see them coming and as a group we've taken precautions for those traps. Traps are triggered the same reason they are triggered in real life. Complacency
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I will say that with Devotion Paladins in Particular it really matters not.
I played Decent into Avernus to lvl 8 with out a magic weapon and only 14 STR to prove this point. In the party I was the highest damage dealer and the hardest thing to kill because via AL rules I took the faction background to get ring of protection and my lvl 5 item was a +1 shield.
Devotion Paladins with sacred weapon really arent affected by low str and the damage comes more from smite then from str.
Well this is all fine and good but very misleading and anecdotal because:
1) paladins in 5e are generally considered very strong if not one of the strongest damage dealers by design, so even suboptimal paladin will do good damage as long as the player remembers to smite from time to time whenever they hit (especially when they crit!)
2) we don't know the group composition, the group skill, the DM skill etc. - for all we know the fact that you were the highest damage dealer might have been a product of several factors:
a) you playing well while others playing suboptimal b) others having less damage dealing centric classes c) the DM unintentionally making it easy for you with poor tactics d) some combination of all of the above.
The Party consisted of a Zealot Barbarian, Padlock, Life Cleric, Assassin Rogue, and Moon Druid. All of which had magic weapons.
The DM infact tried to always kill my character because how he was built focusing more on AC then else he was very hard to hit. My AC from lvl 5 up was 23 boosted to 25 or at disadvantage due to protection from evil and good. Infact it was more of a challenge not using a magical weapon and him forcing me to decide when to smite when to use sacred weapon etc. Because with out those in the campaign I hardly did damage do its was more knowing how to play than anything. Very rarely did I actually crit on attacks.
This isn't misleading by any stretch but the proving of the point that Paladins unlike fighters or Barbarians are not reliant on an attack modifier yo be successful. They tank through high AC where Barbarians tank through HP and resistance. Understanding this is what caused me to be more effective.
This anecdotal evidence also doesn't pass the test of large numbers to be statistically relevant.
AC 23 with Str 14, I am sorry to ask but, did you apply the Str 15 restriction for splint and plate armour? it seems a bit high.
also, if the DM were always trying to kill you... wouldn't he have been constantly leading you into dex save traps and such?
If he attacked your AC then, frankly, he may have been favouring you.
give it some thought, I could absolutely be seeing this the wrong way
Cheers
Jesus Saves!... Everyone else takes damage.
A Lightfoot Halfling Paladin, built around dexterity rather than strength if you can cope with not multiclassing, is a pretty good option.
Str 8 Dex 16 Con 14 Int 10 Wis 10 Cha 16.
Ask your DM if you can start with scale mail rather than chain mail to reflect your non-strength build. That will still give you AC16 just like starting with chain mail.
Take a rapier as your martial weapon with a shield, and a dagger as your simple weapon.
You're good to go.
My fault that was a fat finger and I missed it. Its 15 str not 14
Second no he wasnt attacking just my AC. But my character had pretty good saves and was immune to charm at lvl7. And DeX traps only matter if you walk into them. I'm going out on the limits that you havent played decent into Avernous though from how your talking. Further a DM cant lead a character anywhere. The character has to decide to go a certain way and is not an individual in the party. Tell me why after telling you the party comp would a Paladin be taking point when there's a Rogue in the party.
fair enough,
I have played BGDiA, admittedly only 3 sessions before world events paused that campaign. I do not see how it could be relevant though.
My point is that if the DM is trying to "kill your character" then the DM (as the agent of every NPC) can do that by having the bad guys lead the characters into a trap.
I was not implying player agency should taken away.
Jesus Saves!... Everyone else takes damage.
Even if your not implying agency taken away the assumption that the bad guy leads a party into a trap is just that.
I dont know about most other groups but personally I've never openly walked into a trap unless it was a character I was playing that literally didnt care. Yes I've played a character that believed he was superior to everyone else and this was further reinforced by the attack rolls he made and that were made against him. I see them coming and as a group we've taken precautions for those traps. Traps are triggered the same reason they are triggered in real life. Complacency