Gestalt divine

[maniacalmojo]

A player wants to play in a gestalt game and wants to go for a "holier then tho" smiting paladin type and is seeking help with a particular build that is more fun then broken.

It is worth noting that he is very new to D&D in general and we are beginning at level 1 and he has chosen Palor as his diety and will not stray from that (nor a LG alignment) Also he has the option of two traits and two flaws at first level and no magic items to start with.

I recommended knight, paladin, cleric and crusader as possible classes he can go into and since its gestalt he can pick 2 of them. He also does not care that much for the mount that a paladin would get and would prefer to fight with a sword and shield as per the norm.

[Greenish]

Crusader//Cleric. Boom, done.

[geekintheground]

yup. crusader//cleric is great. "im so much more holier than thou, my god lets me hit things AND cast things!"

[heavyfuel]

A player wants to play in a gestalt game and wants to go for a "holier then tho" smiting paladin type and is seeking help with a particular build that is more fun then broken.

It is worth noting that he is very new to D&D in general and we are beginning at level 1 and he has chosen Palor as his diety and will not stray from that (nor a LG alignment) Also he has the option of two traits and two flaws at first level and no magic items to start with.

I recommended knight, paladin, cleric and crusader as possible classes he can go into and since its gestalt he can pick 2 of them. He also does not care that much for the mount that a paladin would get and would prefer to fight with a sword and shield as per the norm.

A Paladin 2/ Knight 3 / Marshal 1 / Crusader 14 // Favored Soul (or Cloistered Cleric with Dynamic Priest) 6/ Full casting PrC 14

You have great Cha synergy between the Martial and the Casting classes, full BAB and Caster levels. Knight and Crusader also helps him tank better than anyone else, especially if he can get Enlarge Person cast on him to threaten that 10ft reach.

If he's dead set on Sword n Board, I suggest further reading here (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=10232)

[JohnStone]

I recently was building something like this. I recomend Pal/Cloistered Cleric. If he is new TOB stuff might be difficult to learn.

Paladin has a feat " serenity" that replaces cha with wis for most class features.
also there is an acf that swaps the mount for extra smite damage.

Later he could go with some ordained champion or radiant servent of pelor.

Sword and board is tough...needs dex (twf) to be good. A greatsword is also very iconic and easier.

[Troacctid]

Cleric on one side, his pick of [Crusader, Knight, Fighter, Paladin] on the other.

Crusader is by far the best at fighting with a sword and shield and defending allies, and is the easily most powerful option.
Knight is nothing special but can do a decent job of tanking and pulling aggro. Knight 4/Crusader 16 is also a good option.
Fighter is on the bland side, but it certainly has the right chassis for the job, and the Zhentarim variant's intimidation abilities in particular could fit the archetype nicely enough. Most likely he'd take switch to Crusader after either 4 or 9-10 levels; you only need so many bonus feats.
Paladin...well, they have some tools for the role, but aside from the special mount, they don't offer much that you aren't already getting from Cleric, so it ends up being somewhat redundant, I think. if he did go for it, he'd definitely want the Serenity feat from Dragon Compendium.

Whatever other class he goes with, he'll definitely want the Strength domain as it is quite good for melee warriors.

[Waker]

If you want simplicity, you might consider having him go Favored Soul//Knight. It lacks the oomph that the others have been suggesting, but it's nice and easy for a newbie. He would have a d12HD, great BAB, all good saves, all martial weapons and armor and all of his Knight abilities and Favored Soul spells/day key off of Charisma. Just help him choose his spells and focus more on buffing/utility stuff that doesn't rely on saves.

[sideswipe]

want something really simple? (and i mean this)

then cleric 20//paladin and a bunch of dips for turn undead or rebukes.
feats - extend spell, persist spell, DMM persist all extra turning and all items past the basic weapon and defence items be night sticks.
no extra shenanigans to squeeze more power out at all.

why is this simple? he picks most of his top level spells as all day buffs, he makes a note of all the changes (maybe a second character sheet if high level).
hes powerful enough, can take smites from his domains, and go around being a "smite the evil/thing with the big uber hammer of (insert god here)"

he then doesnt have to manage so many spells, or abilities and is still having fun.