John,
I know this is digging back a bit, but I took a short break from leveling my main team and decided to level some of the "lesser" classes.
I agree that the Paladin needs... something... its a pretty hard exp hit for plate and swords compared to the Priest. Even in their end-game weapons, the priest weapon can be considered better/less situational... The "Touch" would be a lot more useful if you could use it more often (ie. once a floor) and in combat. I understand people might exploit it, so that might be difficult. I have my Paladin up around 50, hes fun, but a liability on the front line... even with a +3 shield, +5 plate, Platinum Ring, Holy Sword and Protect Party, he can be two shot by Titans. I should say that he is also an Elf and his max HP is 395 right now, but with that much gear, he should be able to go toe to toe IMO. So... In my party, when we go dungeon diving, he is always relegated to the third slot, in case one of my Samurai (who can actually fight Titans better NAKED than my Paladin) takes a random spell and takes a little dirt nap.
Ninja's, on the other hand, have been screwed. Compared to a thief... they take an EXP hit, pick locks worse and lose seduce (if a female)... all for a VERY minimal HP boost, like 1 point a level. How can you make the Ninja better? Simple... allow him to use Mage/Sage scrolls and gems. The traditional Ninja's were known to have some touch with the mystical (disappearing) and alchemical (poisons). This would solve the range problem you were thinking about, and they would have to still find the scrolls... Also, Mages have two endgame weapons, Ninjas have none. Allow the Ninja's to use all the daggers to include Ligne. They start out being able to use the normal one anyways. Besides... some of these spells are available for all classes to use through other endgame items. The only issue I see with this is the Ninja's ungodly fast AGI, but that hopefully would be offset with the low INT.
Hopefully this might be the direction your were looking for, if not... I got to talk about this wonderful game a bit. =)
Hellion
Playing on a AT&T Samsung Infuse (SAMSUNG-SGH-I997) Firmware 2.2.1
1.3.4
(V 2.2g) Dwarf, Human, Gnoll, Hobbit and Elf Rangers all created
200 hours and loving every minute of it !!!