Shield build, Paldain

[Carnataurus]

Just looking for some people's thoughts on the Cavalier kit.

How is it mixed with say Man-at-arms for the extra ac and bonus feats or would would that cost too much in the way of spells?
Also if its worth it, how many man-at-arms lvls would it be worth it to take, or would there be another class combo worth mixing?

So any advice would be appreciated.

[chad878262]

Just looking for some people's thoughts on the Cavalier kit.

Cavalier is designed to be a sword and board paladin. Losing access to EDM/Divine Shield and keeping your spells means you really want to have 26 levels of paladin (with practiced caster) or at minimum 24 (for CL28). You get a bunch of free shield feats, but can spend more on Shield Specialization (+1 AC), Agile Shield Fighter (less malus to your Shield Bash attacks), Shield Weapon Focus (+1 AB with Shield of choice and 1 extra APR with shield), and Shield Weapon Specialization (+2 damage and a 3rd APR with shield bash). That's 4 additional feats, but will maximize your benefits both defensively and offensively with your shield.

Note that with Smite Evil for a Paladin, CHA only adds to your Attack Bonus... Paladin level determines your damage. So P26/X4 can focus on STR and CHA can be minimal depending on your RP/Mechanical preference.

How is it mixed with say Man-at-arms for the extra ac and bonus feats or would would that cost too much in the way of spells?
Also if its worth it, how many man-at-arms lvls would it be worth it to take, or would there be another class combo worth mixing?

M@A 25/P5 is a top end melee build (as is M@A26/BG4). However, going the other direction with more P, less M@A isn't very good. You don't get much in M@A unless you take more levels.

A better option would be P26/AK4 since you take Iron Will and in exchange you get
- Tumble, Spellcraft as class skills
- Tower Shields (all the better to bash with!)
- Blindfight and Toughness (which in turn means you can grab Steadfast cheaply with your excellent saves)
- More skillpoints (4+INT modifier vs. 2 that Paladin levels)
***Do note you need to take your 4th level of AK by Character Level 18 in order to get Steadfast with your level 18 feat.

Another solid option is P20/Hospitaler 10. Only requires you to put 5 skill points in diplomacy, for which you get:
- Bonus Feat at level 1 (non-epic)
- Bonus Feat at 5 and 9 (taken in epics)
- Lay on Hands (which was lost as a Paladin ability, but not sure if it will work or not)
- CL30
***note there are some fairly hefty RP considerations with Hospitaler and considering Paladins gain a bonus epic feat at 23 and 26 this option is simply worse than AK. 4 levels of AK opens up so much that benefits you which is lost here (Tower Shields, Tumble, Spellcraft, more pre-epic feats granted and the same number of epic feats). Just posting this as an option if it's something you are interested in.

P22/WP8. Costs you taking Skill points in Diplomacy and cross-class in Spot, must take Combat Casting Feat... In addition, you can't qualify until you reach level 16 and gain 4th level spells, so need to take 3 out of 4 levels from 17-20 in Warpriest. What you gain:
- Spellcraft, Spot, Taunt
- Tower Shields
- CL30
- +1 to allies AB, -1 to enemies saving throws
- All the other Warpriest abilities such as Haste, Battletide, Fear Aura, etc.
***Could go for WP 9 or 10 in order to get Mass Heal, but CL will be 29. Not a bad way to go since you lost lay on hands. I personally think this is a better option than Hospitaler, but it does lose 2 epic feats over either of the above builds.

P30. Costs nothing, gains 1 additional Epic Feat over the AK build. Overall I'd rather have Tower Shields and all the other goodies. P26/AK4 is the best way to build a Paladin IMO unless you're going for a max CHA turning/Great Smiter type build. Note that P30 with taking additional great smiting feats is absolutely a great option, but it sacrifices a lot to be a 'boss killer' type.

[Theodore01]

Pal20, Dragonslayer 10 is also a good split.
https://wiki.bgtscc.net/index.php?title=Dragon_Slayer

Pal26, MaArms 4 is solid. +1challenge,+2ac and tumble.

[Sun Wukong]

Paladin 20 (Cavalier Kit)/Dragonslayer 10 is a good mixture.