Paladin Multiclass; So Many Choices!

[Drelua]

Okay, I'm playing a Paladin in Curse of the Crimson Throne, moderately optimized party, and I'm not sure where to go from level 2. To give you some idea what the party's like, we have a Wizard 1/Lore Warden 1, using a reach weapon and planning to stay with Lore Warden, an Investigator 1/Inquisitor 1, planning even more multiclassing, and an archaeologist bard. I'm already kind of the MVP in the group, having taken out 3 out of 4 enemies in our last fight, plus the DM's pretty new, so I'm not too worried about optimization, I just want a fun build and I'm seeing way too many options that could work. I figure maybe if I get some help fleshing those ideas out and eliminating the ones that maybe aren't as good as they seem, I'll have an easier time picking one, so I'll list them here and any input would be appreciated. Here goes.

Pure Paladin: the downside is I'll have terrible skills, upside is, well, everything great about Pathfinder Paladins.

Paladin/Ninja: less self healing, less BAB and HP, but a bunch more skill points and a ki pool. I might just take two levels, or I might just stick with Ninja.

Oradin: less BAB and HP, but I'd get a couple more skill points and the group would finally have a (mostly) full caster. Probably either Lore or Battle Mystery. Another downside is that I don't really play casters very much, though I suppose that could be an upside depending on how you look at it.

Dragon Disciple: some casting, good HP, strength bonuses partly cancel out lost BAB. Not to mention, I love the flavour of a Paladin/Dragon Disciple. The most obvious path would of course be Sorcerer, with Bard being another option for slightly better BAB and skill points, but we already have one of those. I guess Bloodrager could qualify, but using DD to progress casting that only goes up to 4th seems a bit silly. Which brings me to my next option:

Bloodrager: the only multiclassingoption that maintains full BAB, plus it gives some cool options. I'm not too familiar with it, though, and don't own the book.

So that's all the options I can think of, and I'm having a hard time narrowing it down. I have Magical Knack, which the DM let me take and specify which class it applies to later, so that should help with the casting options. I am getting tired of Paladin skills, so I guess something that helps with that would be a good idea, but I could live without. We're level 2 now and I think my character's built so that he could really go in whichever direction. Here's my character sheet (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=1062750), if you're interested.

TLDR; playing a pathfinder paladin, considering multiclassing, too many build ideas I don't know how to narrow down. Help?

[Der_DWSage]

From the looks of things, the group could use an Oradin-take the Life Mystery and the Life bond ability, so that you add to everyone's survivability. Gives you a little more flexibility in what you do.

[Drelua]

Well, I've seen enough Life Oracles to know that they're plenty effective, but I'm not sure how I feel about playing a healer. Right now I'm the only dedicated melee, or at least the only one that's very good. I guess the other more martial characters will probably start doing more damage over the next couple levels, and I'll still have decent melee ability. If I do go with Oracle, I think I'll go with Battle.

Say, is there a way to get another mystery's revelation? I seem to remember something like that, but I can't find it. Sidestep Secret would be pretty sweet on a Battle Oracle.

[NightbringerGGZ]

The Oradin doesn't have to go full Life Oracle. Taking two to four levels would work out great for your group (I'm a fan of four Oracle levels in Oradin builds) while still letting you fight quite effectively as a Paladin. This only works if you have the Fey Foundling feat though, so since your game is already in session I wouldn't recommend it.

You could go Bard, providing some decent buffs to the party. A Paladin/Bard using oration to encourage his allies to greater deeds would be fun to play.

Paladin / Bloodrager (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/hybrid-classes/bloodrager) has stat synergy while netting you some Rage rounds per day. Go with the Celestial (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/hybrid-classes/bloodrager/paizo---bloodrager-bloodlines/celestial) bloodline for that Holy Avenger feel.

Paladin / Ninja is quite fun as well. Pick up the Sword of Valor archetype on your Paladin and the Bandit archetype with your Ninja levels. Four levels of Ninja and two levels of Paladin would net you the ability to spend use of Lay on Hands to force a surprise round in which you have all actions available to you.

You could always go Synthesist Summoner since you're already the top damage dealer and front liner. Grow some extra arms and quad wield Great Swords!

[Baroncognito]

You should totally multiclass with Bloodrager and then go Mystic Theurge.

Unless you could go Martial Theurge.

[Drelua]

You should totally multiclass with Bloodrager and then go Mystic Theurge.
That is one of the worst ideas I have ever heard. I like it. :smallamused:

The Oradin doesn't have to go full Life Oracle. Taking two to four levels would work out great for your group (I'm a fan of four Oracle levels in Oradin builds) while still letting you fight quite effectively as a Paladin. This only works if you have the Fey Foundling feat though, so since your game is already in session I wouldn't recommend it.
Wow, that is an amazing feat for a paladin, I had completely forgotten about that. Oh well, too late now. :smallfrown: It does seem like I could still get quite a bit out of a few levels of Oracle though, especially considering it would open up the Extra Revelation feat.

You could go Bard, providing some decent buffs to the party. A Paladin/Bard using oration to encourage his allies to greater deeds would be fun to play.
Yeah, that does sound pretty cool. I guess I could take an archetype that trades out Bardic Knowledge since the rest of the party seems to have that thoroughly covered. What do you think of a Paladin/Bard/Dragon Disciple? It feels extremely silly, but also extremely metal.

Paladin / Bloodrager (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/hybrid-classes/bloodrager) has stat synergy while netting you some Rage rounds per day. Go with the Celestial (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/hybrid-classes/bloodrager/paizo---bloodrager-bloodlines/celestial) bloodline for that Holy Avenger feel.
There is definitely some flavour synergy there, although I'm liking the look of the Destined Bloodline. Some of it's later abilities seem to get really good, like the luck bonuses and the critical stuff.

Paladin / Ninja is quite fun as well. Pick up the Sword of Valor archetype on your Paladin and the Bandit archetype with your Ninja levels. Four levels of Ninja and two levels of Paladin would net you the ability to spend use of Lay on Hands to force a surprise round in which you have all actions available to you.
It does sound like a lot of fun invisibly Sneak-Smiting evil people. Unfortunately it's too late for me to take Sword of Valor unless I do some retraining; I was planning to take the Oath of Vengeance to get as many smites as I can with only 4 levels, since I could easily get as many as 6/day with a Silver Smite Bracelet (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/wondrous-items/wondrous-items/a-b/bracelet-silver-smite). I was thinking Scout just to guarantee some sneak attacks without costing me ki.

You could always go Synthesist Summoner since you're already the top damage dealer and front liner. Grow some extra arms and quad wield Great Swords!
I don't know about this one, I'm not a huge fan of the Synthesist's mechanics. If I was going to play something like this, I'd use DSP's Aegis, though of course that doesn't work for this character. Plus, the DM's new and doesn't know psionics, so he's not allowing them. Still though, I feel like if I was playing a Synthesist I'd be all too aware that there's a class that does the same thing but better.

[grarrrg]

Well, I've seen enough Life Oracles to know that they're plenty effective, but I'm not sure how I feel about playing a healer. Right now I'm the only dedicated melee, or at least the only one that's very good.

That's the thing about Life Oradins, you can still smashy face all you want.
Here, have a guide-thingy (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?257365-PF-Oradin-Mini-Guide-Or-How-to-be-a-Healbot-minus-the-bot)
The key things are Lay on Hands, and Life Link.
Life Link automatically heals your allies without requiring ANY actions on your part. The downside is that you take whatever damage they heal.
Lay on Hands can be used as a Swift Action on yourself, and heals a decent amount.

You can be just as front-line/face-smashy as you are now, and still take care of most of the party's healing needs.

[Drelua]

I don't know about Life Oracle, somehow I'm not feeling it. Battle, maybe. I'd be interested to hear more thoughts about the Paladin/Dragon Disciple. I just realized that I can add Skald to the list of caster options, probably a better thematic fit than Bard, although I would be losing out on some good archetypes. I'm reading a Dragon Disciple Guide, but it doesn't talk too much about Paladin.

I'm also considering Eldritch Heritage (Arcane) for a bonded weapon, but I'm not sure it would be worth 2 feats.