Pure fighter or 18/2pally

[cyadra]

Hi all, want to make a S&B tank with the ability to switch to 2HF when needed. SO I was wondering if it is better to stay as a pure 20 fighter, or give up a couple of levels and take pally which gives me a little smite, ability to lay on hands, use of wands etc. What do I exactly loose with 2 levels of pally over the pure fighter.

Thanks in advance.

[arminius]

I can't say what the detriments are, but I can say that the Charisma boost to saves is the primary reason for an 18f/2p. If you go 2HF instead of 2WF, as you say, then it is feasible for the points that you might have had to sink into Dex for 2WF can go into Chr. Then a +6 Chr item on top of that and your saves start to look pretty good. If immunity to fear was Paladin level 2 instead of 3, we'd see billions of these multiclasses. But, alas.

Wand use is great till about level 15, and then combat moves too fast to do anything but pot. Ok for in between fights, but not the main selling point of an 18f/2p. And the LOH you will get will be by end game little more than a tickle.

I have a halfling one of these, and the combination of the the halfling enhancement boosts to saves with this is pretty nice.

_

[Canitank]

Is there a specific point when you would want to take the 2 paly levels? I am interested in this as well. I have a s/b fighter just about to hit 10. Do I visit the paladin trainer anytime I'm ready to lvl? Am I too late? Sorry just trying to understand how it works.

Thanks.

[arminius]

Is there a specific point when you would want to take the 2 paly levels? I am interested in this as well. I have a s/b fighter just about to hit 10. Do I visit the paladin trainer anytime I'm ready to lvl? Am I too late? Sorry just trying to understand how it works.

Thanks.

I would say that the primary benefits of a paladin splash are best to have early. That way you can wand and have better saves earlier. The difference in saves between a level 2 pal with even passable Charisma and a level 2 fighter is HUGE. If you've already gotten to level 10, I wouldn't bother, unless you are looking for a character flavor sort of thing.

Making a pal splash matter requires at least something invested into Charisma (more than a standard fighter normally would have, anyway). It doesn't help for much to have a Charisma bonus to saves if your Charisma bonus is... negative. The investment you'd have to make at character creation. If you made the investment in the points, you'd want the benefit as early as possible, so you'd want the paladin levels as early as possible.

To multiclass, yes you'd go to a paladin trainer. And no it isn't "too late" to do it, but I'd say it is too late to get the best benefits from it. And the number one rule of multiclassing is: If you aren't sure what you're getting and what you're losing by doing it at any particular point, don't.

_

[Impaqt]

WHats your CHR? I doubt you have enough to make 2 levels of paladin come close to the 10% Alacrity the FIghter Capstone Grants.

[Vengenance]

Considering Rangers spend 3 feats to get what fighters get as their capstone, I'd say that is a pretty big reason to stay pure and not splash. The rule of thumb is not to splash unless you have a good idea of what you're going to do ahead of time or said another way, never splash on the fly.

[hydra_ex]

Don't splash. Unless your CHA is insanely high (which, in all likelihood, it is not), then the 10% melee alacrity far outpaces the meagre benefits of 2 pally. (A tiny LoH, a tiny saves bonus, and some other useless stuff is not worth it).

If your CHA were godly, then it might be worth considering, but I would still shy away from it in favour of the fighter capstone.

(In addition, with that extra fighter lvl, you can get another feat, luck of the heroes, if you want, which gives you +1 saves, if its that important to you, so that's another point for the fighter)