So, since I would be a Redemption Paladin, would it fit if I put my best two scores into CHA and CON? I feel that I might be lacking in damage, when I actually have to punish evil people. But the whole point of the Oath is to be a pacifist, so......Thanks in advance!
Yeah for optimum stats I'd say CHA then CON. Favorfully, I would justify wisdom as well even though it's not a useful stat aside from the WIS save and would still be less than the dex or str score.
I disagree. For almost every paladin, strength-or-dexterity-based melee weapon attacks are the most common roll you'll make. They're also critical for your AC, as you'll need at least 15 strength for heavy armor or 14 dexterity for medium armor, so even if you don't make them your top stat, for instance if you intend to multiclass hexblade, you still can't dump them both. Multiclassing anything also requires at least a 13 strength. If you're not hex dipping than you REALLY want a +3 bonus in your weapon attack stat of choice at first level if you can at all manage it.
Next up is charisma. Paladins get a lot of value out of charisma, but it mostly doesn't come in the form of essential rolls or pass/fail DCs. Unless you're a conquest paladin, in which case charisma very much is co-primary, or multiclass hexblade, in which case charisma does become your primary stat, but you'll still need either strength 15 for heavy armor or both str 13 to multiclass and dex 14 for medium armor, which is an even harder target to reach in point buy than just str 15. Otherwise, as a paladin you'd really like to start with a +3 charisma bonus, but not if it means sacrificing your weapon attack stat.
Next up is constitution, which only comes in third. Yes, con is super important for you as you're both a melee warrior in need of hit points and a caster in need of concentration. Constitution arguably matters more to paladins than anyone else, so higher would be better here, and ideally you would start with a +3 bonus, but not if it means sacrificing weapon attack or charisma, so a lot of paladins will have to settle for a +2.
After that, priority drops off drastically, and the question shifts from "what needs to be high" to "what can you afford to dump". So, from least dumpable to most:
Strength (if finess / medium armor but you DO want to multiclass). Need 13 strength to multiclass, so you flat can't dump it if you plan to do that.
Dexterity (if heavy armor). You *can* dump this, but ideally you shouldn't. Initiative is super important, especially for tanky types who want to occupy choke points or engage enemies before they swarm your more vulnerable party members. Dex is also the most common saving throw, and while the consequences of failing are mostly just 'more damage', it'd not good for the party tank to be leaking hp. Dex becomes a lot more dumpable if your party has another dedicated tank so you can focus on damage output, but even then you're better off not dumping dex if you can help it.
Wisdom. As with Dexterity, you can dump wisdom, but you shouldn't if you can help it. Wisdom saves aren't AS common than dexterity saves, but they're still very common, and the consequences of failing them are much worse. And perception is the most common skill roll in the game, and the one where each character often needs their own good roll, you can't just rely on one specialist to roll high for the entire party. A high initiative roll doesn't help if you can't act because you're surprised.
Intelligence. Super dumpable. "Pala-dumb" is a cliche for a reason. I mean, I guess you might want a decent Religion skill check for role playing & to help recognize undead & fiends, but... yeah. This is the opposite of the last couple in that you don't HAVE to dump int if your role play concept doesnt fit with that or whatever, but you really, really should.
Strength if you're in medium armor and you DON'T plan on multiclassing. Athletics is a nice skill with some combat relevance and if your game uses the harsher encumbrance variant then it can be a problem but almost no games even use the standard encumbrance rules, so yeah. Most paladins aren't dexadins, and many dexadins want to multiclass, but it you're a dexadin who definitely won't multiclass then, yes, absolutely, dump strength hard.
So, since I would be a Redemption Paladin, would it fit if I put my best two scores into CHA and CON? I feel that I might be lacking in damage, when I actually have to punish evil people. But the whole point of the Oath is to be a pacifist, so......Thanks in advance!
Yeah for optimum stats I'd say CHA then CON. Favorfully, I would justify wisdom as well even though it's not a useful stat aside from the WIS save and would still be less than the dex or str score.
On a whole paladin stats of importance. In order.
cha.
str/con (depends on your flavor)
wisdom
int
dex. Worthless. Use heavy armor. Your aura of protection helps your dex saves anyways.
Blank
I disagree. For almost every paladin, strength-or-dexterity-based melee weapon attacks are the most common roll you'll make. They're also critical for your AC, as you'll need at least 15 strength for heavy armor or 14 dexterity for medium armor, so even if you don't make them your top stat, for instance if you intend to multiclass hexblade, you still can't dump them both. Multiclassing anything also requires at least a 13 strength. If you're not hex dipping than you REALLY want a +3 bonus in your weapon attack stat of choice at first level if you can at all manage it.
Next up is charisma. Paladins get a lot of value out of charisma, but it mostly doesn't come in the form of essential rolls or pass/fail DCs. Unless you're a conquest paladin, in which case charisma very much is co-primary, or multiclass hexblade, in which case charisma does become your primary stat, but you'll still need either strength 15 for heavy armor or both str 13 to multiclass and dex 14 for medium armor, which is an even harder target to reach in point buy than just str 15. Otherwise, as a paladin you'd really like to start with a +3 charisma bonus, but not if it means sacrificing your weapon attack stat.
Next up is constitution, which only comes in third. Yes, con is super important for you as you're both a melee warrior in need of hit points and a caster in need of concentration. Constitution arguably matters more to paladins than anyone else, so higher would be better here, and ideally you would start with a +3 bonus, but not if it means sacrificing weapon attack or charisma, so a lot of paladins will have to settle for a +2.
After that, priority drops off drastically, and the question shifts from "what needs to be high" to "what can you afford to dump". So, from least dumpable to most:
Strength (if finess / medium armor but you DO want to multiclass). Need 13 strength to multiclass, so you flat can't dump it if you plan to do that.
Dexterity (if heavy armor). You *can* dump this, but ideally you shouldn't. Initiative is super important, especially for tanky types who want to occupy choke points or engage enemies before they swarm your more vulnerable party members. Dex is also the most common saving throw, and while the consequences of failing are mostly just 'more damage', it'd not good for the party tank to be leaking hp. Dex becomes a lot more dumpable if your party has another dedicated tank so you can focus on damage output, but even then you're better off not dumping dex if you can help it.
Wisdom. As with Dexterity, you can dump wisdom, but you shouldn't if you can help it. Wisdom saves aren't AS common than dexterity saves, but they're still very common, and the consequences of failing them are much worse. And perception is the most common skill roll in the game, and the one where each character often needs their own good roll, you can't just rely on one specialist to roll high for the entire party. A high initiative roll doesn't help if you can't act because you're surprised.
Intelligence. Super dumpable. "Pala-dumb" is a cliche for a reason. I mean, I guess you might want a decent Religion skill check for role playing & to help recognize undead & fiends, but... yeah. This is the opposite of the last couple in that you don't HAVE to dump int if your role play concept doesnt fit with that or whatever, but you really, really should.
Strength if you're in medium armor and you DON'T plan on multiclassing. Athletics is a nice skill with some combat relevance and if your game uses the harsher encumbrance variant then it can be a problem but almost no games even use the standard encumbrance rules, so yeah. Most paladins aren't dexadins, and many dexadins want to multiclass, but it you're a dexadin who definitely won't multiclass then, yes, absolutely, dump strength hard.