another daft question

[Target]

For my next game I’m thinking of going with a Pally/CoT character. But is it better to put points in Cha or Str at the level ups? I know that Cha is important to a pally but what does it do?
Cheers

[robertthebard]

Cha affects saving throws, and the cha modifier also contributes to divine shield and divine might. With divine might you add your cha bonus to dmg rolls for a number of rounds equal to your cha bonus, and in divine shield, you add to your ac the same way. Both of these feats work off of your turn undead ability too, so extra turning may be a good idea.
For me, I'd go with the cha on lvl ups until at least 20 or so, which would still allow for a very playable char. Starting stats, I'd put str at around 14, with dex, int and cha as well. Spells are wis based, but pallys only get to lvl 4 spells, so a final wisdom of 14 should be fine.

[Legolas]

Other things affected by your Cha score are the strength of your Turn Undead ability, the hitpoints you heal with the Lay on Hands ability, and the attack bonus of your Smite Evil.
A CoT also benefits from Cha bonusses for ability duration.
Usually, a magically modified Cha between 16 and 22 is respectable enough though. A Cha cleric is better at undead slaying, and Cha does more for a sorcerer (or bard, but they have other fields to spend points on too). The only time you really want to maximize the paladin's charisma attribute is if you're planning on taking the Greater Smiting feats (base Cha 25 required). A build like that is very scary for evil, and non-warrior evils in particular.
Of course, the Devestating Critical feat is equally lethal against most foes, and that one requires a strength build.

The thing about paladins really, is that you are always short on ability points. You'd like a Dex of 12 (or better if you want Dodge and/or a two weapon fighting style), an Int of 13 (improved knockdown is a must, improved disarm and improved expertise are also great little tricks to have), you want your Str to be at least 13 as well (Power attack is required for the Divine feats), a Wis of 14 for your spells, a positive Cha for reasons above, and as much Con as you can get to toughen up on hitpoints.
On one hand that means you never get all that you want. On the other, it means that paladin builds are very forgiving, there's always a use for your investments.

[Target]

Cheers, that's good to know.
I was also toying with the idea of putting in 5 harper scout levels just because I've never used that class before. Do you think that would be a good idea, or go for a few fighter levels?