Hi there, I’m playing Rime of the Frostmaiden as a mountain dwarf Oath of Vengeance paladin. I’m about to hit level four and want to get some feedback on wether I should take shield master or sentinel, or go for straight for the ability score increase.
For context, I am the tank of the group - the rest being a rogue, a warlock, and a Druid.
My current stats are Strength 17, Dex 10, Con 14, Charisma 14, Wisdom 13, and Intellect 8.
I like to play with a warhammer and shield and I’m trying to get opinions on what would best benefit the party. Hitting harder, more battlefield control, or getting more survivability. Any feedback or advice would be much appreciated as this is my first paladin play through and I’m fairly new to the game.
I’d go with asi, 1 in str and 1 wis to get rid of those odd numbers. Sentinel is appealing if you find enemies are running past you or ignoring you. Is that the case? Even then the asi is tough to pass up. Bonus to hit, damage, perception and saves. It’s not flashy, but always a solid choice.
Rounding out Strength and Wisdom will boost your attack rolls and damage (and you do need to hit before you can smite after all), plus wisdom is handy for a lot of useful skills.
Sentinel is a really good feat for a tank in terms of area control, as it makes it easier for you to prevent enemies from moving away. As a Paladin you do have other options such as Compelled Duel, though your Charisma may not be high enough to get the most out of it, though it's still potentially useful when you know an enemy has low Wisdom.
Shield Master is a feat that I really like personally; it still has a bit of tanking/control thanks to the bonus action shove, as this allows you to push an enemy away from an ally so they can move away without provoking an attack of opportunity, or you can move an enemy so that you can move away yourself to where you're needed. It also gives a big boost to your defence against dexterity save threats.
I'm inclined to agree with Xalthu on taking the ASI for now, though I guess it depends how far you're expecting to progress into the campaign? If this is a long term campaign where you're likely to get at least to level 10, then I'd take the ASI now and maybe take one of the feats later, as you'll still have a few levels to get the most out of the feat. But if it's going to be a short running campaign that might not hit level 8 then I'd go for one of the feats as it's often more fun to have situational but powerful abilities even if they're not as generally useful.
I’m not finding enemies going off around me too often really, I’m mainly seeing them switch between myself and the rogue which is why sentinel seemed quite a good choice.
I do like compelled duel but the times I’ve used it the evening always takes damage and then the absolute becomes null
im not sure exactly how long this campaign is going to progress but it may be safe to say we would go until level 8-ish.
I posted to Reddit and someone there proposed the idea of taking the Crusher feat to round off strength and still get some battlefield control plus advantage attacks in case of a critical which looks like a strong feat if I’m going to continue to use my hammer.
Oh, crusher could be a good choice, also. Really, all of them are good choices. No matter which one you pick, it will be useful sometimes, and there will be other times when you’ll wish you’d picked something different.
Is this an AL game? If so, you have the option to rebuild your stats since you're in tier 1, in which case I would recommend to lower your STR to 16, lower WIS to 12, and increase either your CON or CHA to 16 through use of a custom origin, though my vote will always go to CHA since playing a paladin means one of your core features is to support the party with your protective aura. The aura is what practically defines a paladin!
If your plan is to become the tank and take up a feat like sentinel or shield mastery, 17 STR doesn't really do any favors. Since you're playing a vengeance paladin, you can probably honestly get away with leaving your STR at 16 since you can have advantage at will with your vow of enmity, especially more so if you're playing a shield build, and soon enough your hit bonus will increase by two anyways given your proficiency increase along with the +1 magic weapon you'll get (assuming AL).
CHA, again, you can get away with a +3 modifier if you go with the custom origin suggestion. Otherwise, a +2 I'd say is underwhelming and won't make that much a difference. Though, as pointed out earlier, you can fulfill a tank's purpose by use of compelled duel, and increasing CHA to even 18 would improve your chances of pulling it off (and all your other spells), and increase the aura when you get it.
One option that's good if you WANT to keep 17 STR is to take up the feat Skill Expert (TCoE) to increase STR, and take up expertise in athletics, but only if your warlock and druid are hexblade and moon respectively. This way, you can turn your paladin into a grappler at any time by dropping your weapon, grappling with one attack, and shoving prone with the other (at lvl 5). Now, with that, you've implemented control over your target and granted advantage to the whole party. I can't think of a better way to make you into a super supportive tank. The icing on the cake would be that you don't have to get rid of your shield, and could thus use it as an improvised weapon in subsequent turns-- therefore retaining your trademark ability to smite a target when necessary.
Is this an AL game? If so, you have the option to rebuild your stats since you're in tier 1, in which case I would recommend to lower your STR to 16, lower WIS to 12, and increase either your CON or CHA to 16 through use of a custom origin, though my vote will always go to CHA since playing a paladin means one of your core features is to support the party with your protective aura. The aura is what practically defines a paladin!
If your plan is to become the tank and take up a feat like sentinel or shield mastery, 17 STR doesn't really do any favors. Since you're playing a vengeance paladin, you can probably honestly get away with leaving your STR at 16 since you can have advantage at will with your vow of enmity, especially more so if you're playing a shield build, and soon enough your hit bonus will increase by two anyways given your proficiency increase along with the +1 magic weapon you'll get (assuming AL).
CHA, again, you can get away with a +3 modifier if you go with the custom origin suggestion. Otherwise, a +2 I'd say is underwhelming and won't make that much a difference. Though, as pointed out earlier, you can fulfill a tank's purpose by use of compelled duel, and increasing CHA to even 18 would improve your chances of pulling it off (and all your other spells), and increase the aura when you get it.
One option that's good if you WANT to keep 17 STR is to take up the feat Skill Expert (TCoE) to increase STR, and take up expertise in athletics, but only if your warlock and druid are hexblade and moon respectively. This way, you can turn your paladin into a grappler at any time by dropping your weapon, grappling with one attack, and shoving prone with the other (at lvl 5). Now, with that, you've implemented control over your target and granted advantage to the whole party. I can't think of a better way to make you into a super supportive tank. The icing on the cake would be that you don't have to get rid of your shield, and could thus use it as an improvised weapon in subsequent turns-- therefore retaining your trademark ability to smite a target when necessary.
Sorry but I’m fairly new, what’s an AL game? I would assume that I’m not in that kind of game since the DM is pretty new to the game as well so I don’t think a stat rebuild is likely.
the grappler idea is interesting however neither the Druid or warlock are the aforementioned subclasses.
Sorry but I’m fairly new, what’s an AL game? I would assume that I’m not in that kind of game since the DM is pretty new to the game as well so I don’t think a stat rebuild is likely.
the grappler idea is interesting however neither the Druid or warlock are the aforementioned subclasses.
AL is Adventurers League, and it's basically just organized DnD play with a couple more rules. The main selling point is that it allows you to carry your character and all their progress (levels, gold, and magic items) into different settings or with different people, so your character's story doesn't necessarily finish after you complete RoTFM.
You are practiced in the art of crushing your enemies, granting you the following benefits:
Increase your Strength or Constitution by 1, to a maximum of 20.
Once per turn, when you hit a creature with an attack that deals bludgeoning damage, you can move it 5 feet to an unoccupied space, provided the target is no more than one size larger than you.
When you score a critical hit that deals bludgeoning damage to a creature, attack rolls against that creature are made with advantage until the start of your next turn.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Hi there, I’m playing Rime of the Frostmaiden as a mountain dwarf Oath of Vengeance paladin. I’m about to hit level four and want to get some feedback on wether I should take shield master or sentinel, or go for straight for the ability score increase.
For context, I am the tank of the group - the rest being a rogue, a warlock, and a Druid.
My current stats are Strength 17, Dex 10, Con 14, Charisma 14, Wisdom 13, and Intellect 8.
I like to play with a warhammer and shield and I’m trying to get opinions on what would best benefit the party. Hitting harder, more battlefield control, or getting more survivability. Any feedback or advice would be much appreciated as this is my first paladin play through and I’m fairly new to the game.
Thanks!
I’d go with asi, 1 in str and 1 wis to get rid of those odd numbers.
Sentinel is appealing if you find enemies are running past you or ignoring you. Is that the case? Even then the asi is tough to pass up. Bonus to hit, damage, perception and saves. It’s not flashy, but always a solid choice.
Rounding out Strength and Wisdom will boost your attack rolls and damage (and you do need to hit before you can smite after all), plus wisdom is handy for a lot of useful skills.
Sentinel is a really good feat for a tank in terms of area control, as it makes it easier for you to prevent enemies from moving away. As a Paladin you do have other options such as Compelled Duel, though your Charisma may not be high enough to get the most out of it, though it's still potentially useful when you know an enemy has low Wisdom.
Shield Master is a feat that I really like personally; it still has a bit of tanking/control thanks to the bonus action shove, as this allows you to push an enemy away from an ally so they can move away without provoking an attack of opportunity, or you can move an enemy so that you can move away yourself to where you're needed. It also gives a big boost to your defence against dexterity save threats.
I'm inclined to agree with Xalthu on taking the ASI for now, though I guess it depends how far you're expecting to progress into the campaign? If this is a long term campaign where you're likely to get at least to level 10, then I'd take the ASI now and maybe take one of the feats later, as you'll still have a few levels to get the most out of the feat. But if it's going to be a short running campaign that might not hit level 8 then I'd go for one of the feats as it's often more fun to have situational but powerful abilities even if they're not as generally useful.
Characters: Bullette, Chortle, Dracarys Noir, Edward Merryspell, Habard Ashery, Legion, Peregrine
My Homebrew: Feats | Items | Monsters | Spells | Subclasses | Races
Guides: Creating Sub-Races Using Trait Options
WIP (feedback needed): Blood Mage, Chromatic Sorcerers, Summoner, Trickster Domain, Unlucky, Way of the Daoist (Drunken Master), Weapon Smith
Please don't reply to my posts unless you've read what they actually say.
If you're trying to tank, I'd recommend sentinel for your level 4 asi, then raise cha every asi after that until you max it out.
I’m not finding enemies going off around me too often really, I’m mainly seeing them switch between myself and the rogue which is why sentinel seemed quite a good choice.
I do like compelled duel but the times I’ve used it the evening always takes damage and then the absolute becomes null
im not sure exactly how long this campaign is going to progress but it may be safe to say we would go until level 8-ish.
I posted to Reddit and someone there proposed the idea of taking the Crusher feat to round off strength and still get some battlefield control plus advantage attacks in case of a critical which looks like a strong feat if I’m going to continue to use my hammer.
Oh, crusher could be a good choice, also.
Really, all of them are good choices. No matter which one you pick, it will be useful sometimes, and there will be other times when you’ll wish you’d picked something different.
Is this an AL game? If so, you have the option to rebuild your stats since you're in tier 1, in which case I would recommend to lower your STR to 16, lower WIS to 12, and increase either your CON or CHA to 16 through use of a custom origin, though my vote will always go to CHA since playing a paladin means one of your core features is to support the party with your protective aura. The aura is what practically defines a paladin!
If your plan is to become the tank and take up a feat like sentinel or shield mastery, 17 STR doesn't really do any favors. Since you're playing a vengeance paladin, you can probably honestly get away with leaving your STR at 16 since you can have advantage at will with your vow of enmity, especially more so if you're playing a shield build, and soon enough your hit bonus will increase by two anyways given your proficiency increase along with the +1 magic weapon you'll get (assuming AL).
CHA, again, you can get away with a +3 modifier if you go with the custom origin suggestion. Otherwise, a +2 I'd say is underwhelming and won't make that much a difference. Though, as pointed out earlier, you can fulfill a tank's purpose by use of compelled duel, and increasing CHA to even 18 would improve your chances of pulling it off (and all your other spells), and increase the aura when you get it.
One option that's good if you WANT to keep 17 STR is to take up the feat Skill Expert (TCoE) to increase STR, and take up expertise in athletics, but only if your warlock and druid are hexblade and moon respectively. This way, you can turn your paladin into a grappler at any time by dropping your weapon, grappling with one attack, and shoving prone with the other (at lvl 5). Now, with that, you've implemented control over your target and granted advantage to the whole party. I can't think of a better way to make you into a super supportive tank. The icing on the cake would be that you don't have to get rid of your shield, and could thus use it as an improvised weapon in subsequent turns-- therefore retaining your trademark ability to smite a target when necessary.
Sorry but I’m fairly new, what’s an AL game? I would assume that I’m not in that kind of game since the DM is pretty new to the game as well so I don’t think a stat rebuild is likely.
the grappler idea is interesting however neither the Druid or warlock are the aforementioned subclasses.
AL is Adventurers League, and it's basically just organized DnD play with a couple more rules. The main selling point is that it allows you to carry your character and all their progress (levels, gold, and magic items) into different settings or with different people, so your character's story doesn't necessarily finish after you complete RoTFM.
Since you have an odd strength score, consider:
Crusher
You are practiced in the art of crushing your enemies, granting you the following benefits: