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Mar 1, 2013 -- 9:57AM, MalakLightfoot wrote:

Mar 1, 2013 -- 9:53AM, TorinnGoldenscale wrote:

Hello, I am new here (and to D&D), basically, I wanted to make a paladin using the player's handbook Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms. That version only tells you how to make a cavalier, and when I asked about me build ( http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/29791511/?sdb=1&post_num=1#529444011 ), they told me that Cavalier was not a good option and that I should take knight. I'm just wondering, if I wanted to play like a Baladin/Straladin (Son Of Mercy), should I still use knight? And, is knight better than paladin?

Also, I thought blackguards were "evil" paladins? 

The other version of the Paladin is in the first Player's Handbook. This is the version of the class that the Baladin / Straladin builds you see on-line are grown from.

As long as the rest of the party isn't heavy into optimization, the Cavalier is fine. When compared against other, highly optimized defenders, the Cavalier falls short.

In regular play, this should not really be a problem.

Edit: Blackguards are evil Cavaliers. They are the Cavalier's dark mirror. A PHB1 Paladin can be evil, and the alignment only matters at character creation. There is no mechanical penalty for straying from your alignment. There may be plot based repercussions, but no system induced ones.

Oh, okay ^^ we try to "optimize" as much we can as beginnners, so the build is pretty average xD Thank you.

Mar 1, 2013 -- 10:00AM, Novacat wrote:

You asked on the Character Optimization board. You should have been given a disclaimer. Don't take any opinions on that board as being valid in a normal play setting. Cavaliers are fine. If you want to play a paladin, play a paladin.

Blackguards aren't strictly "evil" paladins, but more like dark paladins. Kind of like Batman, they're unpleasant, but that doesn't mean they're bad guys (though they can be). 

Well, that information is really useful xD Although we really need a defender (right?) and I'm it ^^

Mar 1, 2013 -- 10:00AM, Novacat wrote:

You asked on the Character Optimization board. You should have been given a disclaimer. Don't take any opinions on that board as being valid in a normal play setting. Cavaliers are fine. If you want to play a paladin, play a paladin.

Blackguards aren't strictly "evil" paladins, but more like dark paladins. Kind of like Batman, they're unpleasant, but that doesn't mean they're bad guys (though they can be). 

First part is bull.  Most of CharOp is more than happy in normal play settings.  Cavaliers are good at having a cool horse (or dragon or triceratops or whatever) to ride.  Otherwise, their punishment is pretty much ignorable, so enemies can just shift away from it, take a small amount of radiant damage, and ignore them.  They're poorly designed.  Doesn't mean they won't be fun to play, but you're more likely to have more fun with a Knight or a regular Paladin, because being mechanically ineffective is very frustrating.

Second part is very valid.  The Blackguard is a build of paladin which is a striker.  It's got very good defences and health for a striker, but it isn't as damaging as it could be.  The rest is flavour, and mutable.