[Mentathiel]

Honestly? There are groups who will turn you down, but you don't want to be in those groups anyway.

A human cleric who just hit level 11 will need 121% of the experience a human cleric who just hit level 10 will need. A level 12 cleric will need 144% of the experience, more than the 140% a level 10 paladin of their race needs. Once that cleric hits level 13, they are taking a larger share of the experience gain (169%) in your group than even a troll SK (168%) who brings bash and regen to their tanking. The grouping rules allow for characters to groups up who are 1.5 times the level of the lowest member, taking 225% of their xp; compared to that, what's 40%?

Let those min-max idiots try to build a group out of halfling rogues and warriors, eking out every drop of xp bonus they can. I would rather take a hit to my XP and group with a paladin whose company I enjoy than worry about levelling a little slower. Besides, there's a set of dungeons (Befallen, Unrest, Mistmoore) filled with undead where you'll get a group more easily than a warrior simply because you are a paladin.