I am going to start a new party.. I will still finish with the one I got now, but since playing through 5 chapters I want to have a 4 char party, not 5. One thing is bugging me though, what would be the advantage of going with a paladin instead of a fighter/cleric, I just don't see it. For example, a 12/4 cleric/fighter can cast more spells and higher level then a level 16 paladin, and is almost as good at fighting, and he can specialize, and both can wear any armour and wield any weapon.. So what is it about a paladin that is better, or am I wrong about the spells and BAB? Thanx.

Trypt

The BAB for a 16th level Paladin will be better than that of a 12/4 Cleric/Fighter, but the Cleric will have better spells.

My last four person party included:
Cleric 12/Fighter 4
Fighter 13/Rogue 3
Sorcerer 16/Ranger 1
Rogue 10/Fighter 6

this party worked fine-although I probably could have done just as well with 2 fighters rather than having the rogue. but I like the rogues so...

Also, there is nothing that says you cannot have a Paladin and a Cleric/Fighter in your four person party so if you like both then use both.

[ December 04, 2002, 16:27: Message edited by: Grey Ghost ]

A paladin,
At lvl 2 is immune to disease. Gains simte evil which can boost a little attack roll while fighting evil enemy.
At lvl 3 is immune to fear and panic, with a side ability to boost the morale of everyone close to him/her.
At lvl 7 can choose Fiendslayer feat for another attack roll boosting while fighting fiends or half-fiends.
At any lvl can use the 'Holy avenger' long sword which is a +5 (normal) or +10 (hof) with unlimited ability to cast dispel magic.

If you want to make a fighter, paladin + fighter is better. If you want to make a cleric, cleric + fighter is better. It all depends of what you want. The usefulness of a paladin is not in his spell casting ability, it is his evil simting ability. Another minor plus is that a paladin/fighter is most suitable to play the battle square. You'll be facing a lot of demonic monsters in battle square. These demons will panic whoever that is not protected.

I think you should consider why you want to make your Cleric a Fig/Cle.

For example I currently have this four character party:
Fighter-4/Barbarian
Cleric
Sorcerer (party leader)
Rogue-2/Diviner

The cleric tanks well enough and most importantly: the faster you can get to the higher level spells the better. Some of these spells can be used to buff the cleric to be at least as powerful as a comparable Fig/Cle in melee. :)

A very important factor is the cleric level for spell effects. If you have diluted the cleric by taking four fighter levels your spells will generally not be as effective.

The Paladin is a great character for attacking spellcasters. "Sanctuary" the Paladin, run up to the spellcaster and then attack. :)

- Cleric example build:
Str 18, Dex 14, Con 18, Int 4, Wis 18, Cha 4
- Paladin example build:
Str 18, Dex 10, Con 16, Int 3, Wis 11, Cha 18
(Wis 11 is enough for level 1 spells. Increase Wis later to allow for higher level spells when they finally become available)

A few comments on the previous posts:
Grey Ghost wrote:
The BAB for a 16th level Paladin will be better than that of a 12/4 Cleric/Fighter... Pal-16: BAB 16
Cleric-16: BAB 12
Cle-12/Fig-4: BAB 13

teekc mixed up the Paladin boni for levels 2 and 3. Fear is level 2 and disease is level 3.