The Hospitaler

[Blackhawk748]

I was looking at the Hospitaler and im seriously trying to figure out how you play one as a PC. So does anyone have any experience playing one?

[Red Fel]

I was looking at the Hospitaler and im seriously trying to figure out how you play one as a PC. So does anyone have any experience playing one?

Just to be clear, are you talking about the PF Paladin archetype (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/paladin/archetypes/paizo---paladin-archetypes/hospitaler)? Or are you talking about the 3.5 PrC from Complete Divine? They're pretty similar, conceptually, but it would really help if you'd clarify.

[Fouredged Sword]

For the pathfinder version, I would think you pick up rapid channel and selective channel + vital strike line. Walk into combat, trade mighty blows with great monsters while using your move actions to heal your allies and your swift actions to heal yourself.

Get a vitalist in the party and watch him just laugh at the amounts of healing you throw around.

[Blackhawk748]

Just to be clear, are you talking about the PF Paladin archetype (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/paladin/archetypes/paizo---paladin-archetypes/hospitaler)? Or are you talking about the 3.5 PrC from Complete Divine? They're pretty similar, conceptually, but it would really help if you'd clarify.

Whoop, forgot that PF had one, i am talking about the PrC from Complete Divine

[ZamielVanWeber]

The CDiv one is trickier to play without paladin and I only recommend paladin for Rhino's Rush. They want you to be able to do mounted combat, but do not advance any form of mounted combat beyond fighter bonus feats and the ride skill. The bonus feats don't make up for the spell levels lost and the remove disease is laughable. If the class advanced mount as per paladin (it REALLY feels like it is meant to) it could be goodish, but as it is, it is just worse than 10 more paladin levels.

[Red Fel]

The CDiv one is trickier to play without paladin and I only recommend paladin for Rhino's Rush. They want you to be able to do mounted combat, but do not advance any form of mounted combat beyond fighter bonus feats and the ride skill. The bonus feats don't make up for the spell levels lost and the remove disease is laughable. If the class advanced mount as per paladin (it REALLY feels like it is meant to) it could be goodish, but as it is, it is just worse than 10 more paladin levels.

Yeah. Hospitaler, on the Tier List for PrCs, is rated as "one down", and it's not hard to see why. It gets you full BAB, sure, but only 7/10 casting, one good save, and an appalling dearth of class features - Lay on Hands, Remove Disease 2/week, and 3 Fighter bonus feats. The Paladin, with its ACFs available, is almost strictly better.

If you wanted to make things interesting, I might recommend building a Cleric 6/ Prestige Paladin (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/prestigiousCharacterClasses.htm#prestigePaladin) 2/ Hospitaler 10. While straight Cleric would be strictly better than taking two levels of PrPal, those two levels give you Detect Evil, Smite Evil, Divine Grace, and your Special Mount. They also stack with Hospitaler levels for Lay on Hands purposes. More importantly, rather than advancing Paladin casting, it advances Cleric casting and adds Paladin spells to your list. For the 18 levels I've mentioned, you get 14 Cleric CL, which isn't terrible.

But yeah. The regular Paladin, with its limited list, or even the Prestige Paladin with its 1/2 casting progression, is almost strictly better.

[Zombimode]

I was looking at the Hospitaler and im seriously trying to figure out how you play one as a PC. So does anyone have any experience playing one?

I like Favored Soul 1 / Paladin 4 / Crusader 1 / Hospitaler x

Taking the Holy Warrior ACF from Complete Champion, of course, and advancing Favored Soul spellcasting with Hospitaler.

Its a good build for a Paladin-type character. The large Cleric spell list will provide lots of options and power through wands and scrolls and the Cha-based spellcasting will reduce the MADness a bit. Relevant melee damage is also easily achieved with this configuration. Good saves all around plus Crusader stuff plus immunities plus healing will give this character lot of staying power.
This character will be very playable for levels 1 through at least 14. There are very few situations where this character will feel useless. Right of the bat it can take the rolls of healer, melee/tank and face.
The combination of carefully selected spells aided by wands and scrolls together with carefully selected maneuvers and stance with some rather obvious feat choices (Power Attack, Divine Might, duh) will result in a well rounded character that might even seem "overpowered" at some tables.

Its not Tier 1, but if you're set out to play a Paladin that is not bothering you anyway.

[Xerlith]

I like Favored Soul 1 / Paladin 4 / Crusader 1 / Hospitaler x

Taking the Holy Warrior ACF from Complete Champion, of course, and advancing Favored Soul spellcasting with Hospitaler.

Its a good build for a Paladin-type character. The large Cleric spell list will provide lots of options and power through wands and scrolls and the Cha-based spellcasting will reduce the MADness a bit. Relevant melee damage is also easily achieved with this configuration. Good saves all around plus Crusader stuff plus immunities plus healing will give this character lot of staying power.
This character will be very playable for levels 1 through at least 14. There are very few situations where this character will feel useless. Right of the bat it can take the rolls of healer, melee/tank and face.
The combination of carefully selected spells aided by wands and scrolls together with carefully selected maneuvers and stance with some rather obvious feat choices (Power Attack, Divine Might, duh) will result in a well rounded character that might even seem "overpowered" at some tables.

Its not Tier 1, but if you're set out to play a Paladin that is not bothering you anyway.

It's also, sadly, strictly inferior to a Cleric4/Crusader1/Prestige Paladin1/Hospitaler 10, if we want to use the Hospitaler at all, because, well, at this point there are better choices (for example - Ordained Champion. Or the ever-graceful RKV). But that's more the Hospitaler's problem than anything else.

[Zombimode]

It's also, sadly, strictly inferior to a Cleric4/Crusader1/Prestige Paladin1/Hospitaler 10

Prestige Paladins are a variant rule. You can't assume them to be available. Also, Cleric casting wants Wis contributing to MADness. This configuration is not strictly better.

[Blackhawk748]

Well glad to see that the class is usable, with a little OP-Fu. But what about their code? It doesnt seem particularly conducive to Adventuring.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Prestige Paladins are a variant rule. You can't assume them to be available. Also, Cleric casting wants Wis contributing to MADness. This configuration is not strictly better.

Favored soul wants wis too, so that's a non-starter. As for p. paladin being a variant, so what? At a technical level, everything outside the core rulebooks is a variant rule that can't be assumed to be available unless it is.

Your response here amounts to "I like mine better," which is fine, of course, but not terribly productive.

OT: the hospitaler is pretty terrible. I wonder if that wouldn't make a decent Iron Chef SI. Anyway, I'd look at it as a strictly RP based class; a mechanical representation of the character's ties to the hospitaler organization. For op-fu it might tie in decently well with the divine crusader since it has accelerated casting anyway and the half progression doesn't hurt nearly as bad.