One of my players was fairly new to the game back when he made his Paladin, and decided to emphasise heavily on Strength/Constitution. However it's now a bit later into the game and he has reached the level where normally a Paladin would gain spellcasting, but he can't because he has Wis (and Cha) at 10.
While he doesn't seem very bothered with it, I think it might be a nice kind of reward (for good service to his deity / good roleplaying) if there's something he can learn to do with his spellcasting, or if he can learn to cast spells despite his low scores in this area. It will also help set him apart more from the other (more experienced) player who runs a Fighter. He is currently overshadowed a bit and I think giving him some different options is better than going into an arms-race.
Things I'm interested in:
- Balanced alternative class features to spellcasting (I'm willing to allow him to switch as a reward)
- Items or Feats (that I can attach to items) that change the way his spellcasting works to trigger off of Str or Con
- Something he can do with his spell-slots that doesn't require Wis > 10, such as burning them for extra melee damage or something
Things I'm not interested in:
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Magic items that boost his Wis (I know these exist, but they aren't very interesting imho)
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I have considered granting him natural Wis boosts not tied to a magic item, but that seems unfair to the other players. The market value of a +4 boost to a stat is higher than the entire party's worth combined.
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Prestige classes (The player already found one he's trying to get into)
Some player stats:
5th level Dwarven Paladin, using heavy armor and a two-handed weapon, high str/con, low wis/cha. Stereotypical Dwarven warrior type and follower of Moradin.
Best Answer
According to the list of Alternative Class Features, there are two ACFs for the Paladin which replace Spellcasting. Furthermore, this answer by JohnP features a feat that fits what you want.
The Holy Warrior ACF from Complete Champion (p.49) grants bonus feats from a fixed list at 4th, 8th, 11th and 14th level. The list includes some basic combat feats, mounted combat feats, some turning and all [Divine] feats.
The Paladin without Spellcasting Variant class from Complete Warrior (p.13) grants the paladin some supernatural abilities, such as making every weapon be Good-aligned, or a 1 minute/lvl untyped +4 Bonus to Strength.
The feat Lost Traditions from the 3rd party book Bastards and Bloodlines allows you to change your casting stat for any one spellcasting class to any ability, including Strength or Constitution. While potentially very powerful, allowing this feat for this particular case should not produce too many problems, as Paladins do suffer from MADness and their spellcasting is a tertiary ability at best.
Of these three options, I'd personally lean towards Lost Traditions. Most of the Good [Divine] Feats require Charisma, which your Paladin doesn't have, and the spell-less variant is a bit lackluster in general. Seeing that you want to distance the Paladin player from the Fighter, letting him keep his spellcasting is the best way, as it allows for unique effects the fighter doesn't have access to.