Gnome Paladin

[Hydra]

So, I'm a former player but I never really got a character much higher than in the mid-teens. Recently I've been lurking here while fighting (and failing) the urge to reactivate.

After reading a recent post about demographics (http://forum.gsplayers.com/showthread.php?87260-some-demographics) I'm inspired to make a Forest Gnome Paladin. Is this just a horrible idea? What are some of the pitfalls that I could expect to encounter with going this route. I'm guessing encumbrance and a lower AS then most other races will top the list of drawbacks. What are the best ways to mitigate these, or other glaring issues?

My initial inclination is to make him a polearm user and try to get to plate ASAP.

Any help is appreciated.

[Dendum]

I made a forest gnome paladin a while back he played fine, I think I stopped pretty earlier simply because I don't like running two characters. The Strength Bonus of being a paladin offsets the strength penalty of being a forest gnome, forest gnomes already have a wisdom bonus and agility bonus and that helps a bit, if I recall the projected stat growth allowed for all but one 100 at max if you set for growth but it was awhile ago when I did it so I could be wrong.

Encumbrance can be a pain unless you spend the simucoins for the potion but it is better than halflings and burghal gnomes (not by much), swing time reduction is second only to elves and burghals.

[Cereal Killer]

There's nothing wrong with this path. You'll have a lower AS, but you'll have a higher casting TD and great maneuver defense. As long as you're willing to take the encumbrance hit, I'd say go for it. In terms of mitigation, basically you're going to want to minimize fluff, rush to higher ASG lightened armor (there's a merchant in Talador selling gnome sized armor this month that you should clean out right away), and become friends with enough wizards to keep you perma-disked/strengthed.

[Donquix]

Yes, motivating the people. Mission accomplished.

[Hydra]

Thanks for the feedback. I don't mind the encumbrance hit, as I used to play Halflings before. I'll check out that merchant in Talador soon. As I am starting up new I have to get some silvers before I go buying anything.

A couple of other questions:

I was wondering what the training breakpoints were for armor? Like I said before, I'd like to get into full plate ASAP, but I'm not sure at what point I should be upgrading armor.
What polearm would people recommend for a gnome? The +9 RT for the lance is murder. I currently have a halberd, but was wondering if there was a better option.

Thanks

[SHAFT]

Great thing about being a gnome or a halfling these days is you can buy the 30 day encumbrance potions from the Simu store. They're my favorite thing on the store.

[Donquix]

Thanks for the feedback. I don't mind the encumbrance hit, as I used to play Halflings before. I'll check out that merchant in Talador soon. As I am starting up new I have to get some silvers before I go buying anything.

A couple of other questions:

I was wondering what the training breakpoints were for armor? Like I said before, I'd like to get into full plate ASAP, but I'm not sure at what point I should be upgrading armor.
What polearm would people recommend for a gnome? The +9 RT for the lance is murder. I currently have a halberd, but was wondering if there was a better option.

Thanks

Lance is definitely your best bet in the long run, especially as a smaller race. You'll need -4 RT from agidex so (4-1)*15 + 8 = 53.

53 - 15 = 38 combined bonus natural without the racial modifiers so, something like an average of 87 between the stats. Totally worth it though.

Halberd would be my choice if i needed a slightly faster polearm, and early levels before your training/spells start to overtake the STR deficit an e-bladed naginata is a good, cheap option as well. Within the first 30 days as well when you have instant skill migration, you could consider other weapons as well like using two handers for mauls/claids (which are a little faster) to let some stat growth kick in. But during your first 30 days you also have 5 free stat migrations so, assuming you trust yourself to fix it at the end of the 30 days there's no reason to NOT have your agi+dex high enough for a lance in that time too :D

this article should have all the training breakpoints for armor:
http://www.krakiipedia.org/wiki/Armor_Use