So....what does a Paladin actually want stat wise.

[KantiranRhodan]

So I want to make a Paladin but I'm not sure what stats they want and (more imporatantly) what they DON'T want. It looks to me they want (at least) STR, CON, WIS AND CHA? And maybe DEX too.

Just to be clear I would probably want him to be a bit more tank/support like (though a bit of damage would also be nice if possible, but that's not the primary thing I want).

[Recjawjind]

You mostly care for str and cha
Con is nice to have but not as important as those two
Wis doesnt really matter ouside of skill checks
Dex doesn't really matter if youre wearing heavy armor outside of saving throws

You can use exclusively cha for everything if you take 3 levels in warlock, with the caveat that heavy armor might have a strength requirement, if it does you'll need to meet that

[sevensided]

Str or Cha (depending on your build), then the other, then Con. All other stats are 'sure if you got the points'.

[Yojo0o]

You want strength to wield strength-based weaponry. This is pretty standard for a paladin. If this game has some sort of paladin-only weaponry, they're traditionally strength-based. I wouldn't want less than 16 strength from the start.

Dexterity doesn't do much for heavy-armor characters, which you most likely will be. You CAN build a "dexadin" instead of using strength, but I wouldn't recommend it. You can safely keep your dexterity at around 10. You can even drop it to 8 if you don't mind going late in the turn order, heavy armor will prevent your positive OR NEGATIVE dexterity modifier from touching your AC.

Constitution is critical for anybody, especially warriors. I'd never play a character with less than 14 if I can help it. 16 would be great if you can swing it.

Intelligence is a dump stat for virtually anybody who isn't actively casting intelligence-scaling spells, which you very much are not.

Wisdom doesn't actually do much for a paladin in 5e, your casting stat is charisma. You don't want to dump it, since wisdom saves are important, but anywhere from 10-14 is totally fine.

Charisma is your casting stat, and governs social interactions. It'll also govern how powerful your Aura of Protection is, which is huge for any paladin at level 6. I wouldn't go lower than 14, and grab 16 if you can.

5e paladins pack a huge punch, so you're going to be fine on damage thanks to Divine Smite.

[Fletch Phantasm]

I'd be super surprised if they added the str req for heavy armor, seeing as they removed the stat reqs for multiclassing

[BenRichards843]

Max out CHR so you can pass your rolls. Then it depends on the rest of your party. You will need a tank. If it's your pally then favor CON over STR. If not then STR is number 2.

[Ozius]

Originally posted by Fletch Phantasm:

I'd be super surprised if they added the str req for heavy armor, seeing as they removed the stat reqs for multiclassing

Good point, I hadn't thought of that.

[Super_]

Strength +3, Charisma and Constitution +2

[Yojo0o]

Originally posted by Fletch Phantasm:

I'd be super surprised if they added the str req for heavy armor, seeing as they removed the stat reqs for multiclassing

I'd be surprised if it wasn't in 1.0. Every other armor has a stat requirement to properly use it, why should heavy armor not have one?

[Detective Costeau]

I'm fond of a 16str/16cha/8int/8dex setup with heavy armor and a shield. Slow, but you've got good AC, you hit like a truck, and you've got a solid CHA for both Paladin abilities and dialog skills.
It's not the only way to play a paladin, but I love it.

[KantiranRhodan]

So mainly cha, then str and con.

Thanks!

[Farsha]

Paladin is Martial character first caster second. (hes half caster only)
Your Primary stat is that one which you attack with. Paladin uses weapons to attack and then uses spell slot to cast smite on top of that. But you want to hit your target.
So for Paladin it is normally STR or DEX as primary stat based on what weapons you want to use.

Secondary is usually CHA
And tertiary CON.

Start
STR 16-17
CON 14
CHA 16
And on 4th lvl take +2STR

[Tothe]

As a paladin you prolly wanna go str>cha>con>dex>wis>int

[Recjawjind]

Originally posted by KantiranRhodan:

So mainly cha, then str and con.

Thanks!

Depends. If you want to take warlock levels, yes.
If you want to play a normal pally, strength > cha i reckon.
Also depends on if heavy armor has a str req

[Hero]

As its based on fifth edition d&d, I would set STR as main and CHR as secondary stat, but in the game prioritizing CHR might be more viable due to many dialog interactions where it comes into play.

[Pan Darius Cassandra]

20 Str, 20 Con, 14 Cha