Requesting Paladin build advice

or take Kensai, and custom tailor your weapon to demons. Plus you get all the kai abilities to stack on damage.

I would do

Fighter 1
Paladin 4
kensai 6 +6 weapon kensai uses xp to boost their weapon so you may lose a level at best
Saint (you adjust your level when you take sainthood, so take it at 11th and youll be an effective 13th level but more realisticly 15th level with all the saint abilities)

Id take combat expertise (req. for kensai) power attack, divine might, 3 exalted feats (lots of nice ones) and weapon focus (again req. for kensai)

taking kensai and ancestral relic would give you a +4 electric, demon bane,holy vorpal scimitar

It slices!, it dices!, it makes thousands of julian fries! youd sacrifice maybe a level and a few thousand gold. but youd have a +9 weapon throw in saint hood (i Know I cant get off of it its too cool) and youd basically be a god.

Don't forgo the mount. Some people get all weird about the "if it dies I can't get another one for a year" but the thing is that if you NEVER use it then you aren't getting it's bonus EVER.

Mounts are yet another thing that can be attacked but the truth is that every attack aimed at your mount is injury you don't take. Since the mount is your helper that's kind of his job. As a sentient creature it can perform advanced combat tasks, such as fighting defensively while flanking. Never, ever understimate the value of your own personal flanker. Even if you don't take him into fights with the Balrog, you can leave him behind to defend the casters.

The other advantage is spotting. Animals have low light and scent, so they have a good chance of noticing invisible threats or night dangers.

Defenders of the Faith had a set of rules for alternate creatures. Consider getting one of the high HD creatures in return for a reduction in the Mount bonuses. The extra HPs, saves, and BAB may be worthwhile.

The mount is not a familiar, it's one tough, mean beast.

And you can send it away as a free action, if you would really need to keep it safe.

Our paladin does this occasionally.

Bye
Thanee

Justin said:

Well, being a tanking Paladin, I should probably have a shield. Also, and this is in response to a question about armor and environment, we're in desert climates (Unther, I think), so full plate would be pretty arduous, which is why I went with +3 breast plate and a +1 light steel shield initially.

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The rules don't actually differentiate between types of armour in desert climates; that breastplate will be just as arduous as full plate. Which is to say, not very. Just cast endure elements.

"A character in very hot conditions (above 90° F) must make a Fortitude saving throw each hour (DC 15, +1 for each previous check) or take 1d4 points of nonlethal damage. Characters wearing heavy clothing or armor of any sort take a –4 penalty on their saves. A character with the Survival skill may receive a bonus on this saving throw and may be able to apply this bonus to other characters as well (see the skill description). Characters reduced to unconsciousness begin taking lethal damage (1d4 points per hour).

In severe heat (above 110° F), a character must make a Fortitude save once every 10 minutes (DC 15, +1 for each previous check) or take 1d4 points of nonlethal damage. Characters wearing heavy clothing or armor of any sort take a –4 penalty on their saves. A character with the Survival skill may receive a bonus on this saving throw and may be able to apply this bonus to other characters as well. Characters reduced to unconsciousness begin taking lethal damage (1d4 points per each 10-minute period).

A character who takes any nonlethal damage from heat exposure now suffers from heatstroke and is fatigued. These penalties end when the character recovers the nonlethal damage she took from the heat."

It is not that big a deal if the mount dies. A dramatically interesting inconvenience.

I play an 8th level human paladin. My 8HD heavy warhorse mount fights about as well as I do. With some barding thrown on, its AC and HPs are about the same as my own. It is no pushover.

I do not see why it would be any more likely to die in combat than my PC. Better than me taking those hits then dying.

For my Paladin, attacking my mount is a bad idea for all involved--Dire Wolverines tend to get a bit snippy after they've been hurt by something... Remember that the DMG offers alternative mount options.

Wow you are getting a lot of different builds thrown at you. If you are married to the Knight class then go to it. Nothing wrong with a lot of levels of Paladin either. You should probably find out just how tweaked the rest of your group is however. There are some very crunchy options in this thread.

As for equipment, a Holy weapon is good, Bane (Evil Outsider) is a very good add on. You really do need to think about DR however. If you don't mind the extra 2k expense, make your primary weapon Cold Iron, then carry silversheen. This should take care of most Demon and Devil DR's you may encounter. Other than that, definitely get a Cloak of Cha +2 and Vest of Resistance +1 (Complete Arcane) with your remaining funds. Also give strong consideration to full plate with Endure Elements.

You are talking about using a light shield. Unless you are planning on bashing with it then you should switch it to a buckler. The AC bonus is the same, and as stated you will have the option of using your weapon in 2 hands for when you really need to crank up the damage from Power Attack.

Do not go the TWF route. You need to wear light armor and you don't have the stats for that, and vs things OTHER than an evil Outsider you will kinda suck. Divine Might is a winner, with Extra Turning and maybe Divine Vigor if you can fit it in. +10 movement regardless of armor and 2 temp hps/HD. Very nice.

*pretty much sides with Tarren* Two weapon fighting paladins don't really work out that well.

Justin said:

... or two-handed weapon (but bastard swords and greatswords are apparently not all that common in our region).

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That's what Falchions are for.

-Hyp.