At something of an impasse here while brainstorming a character, but to get the heart of the story, we have to go back to the beginning (a cookie who can tell me where that line is from... XD):
He can feel this change, and decides to find peace in battle, so becomes an apprentice to a local paladin order, which almost don't take him, as they can sense his inner conflict, but the Lord Commander takes pity on him and tutors him as his apprentice personally for no one else will.
He spends less then a year honing his skills as a Paladin, before he's anger and spite comes out one to many times, and he kills a defenseless man suspected of murder before he even get a proper trial. On top of that it's late found out the man was innocent to begin with.
This was the final disgrace, he is stripped of his title, his armor, his powers and thrown out of the order, exiled from his own homeland forever on pane of death if he returns.
Shattered and broken, having lost everything, everyone, the void in his heart that once held the light of his love and faith slowly gets filled with a seeping darkness, as some primordial force of dread and spite starts to whisper into his ear, making promises of vengeance is he will give his soul in exchange.
He agrees, and over the course of several years goes through the arduous journey to become a Antipaladin, finding it so easy to wield the profane mockeries of the powers he couldn't wield as a Paladin, gifted to him by this nameless god with whom he made his pact with.
He takes over a large group of bandits, but literally stabbing his sword down the Bandit Chief's throat and killing him right in front of all his henchmen.
Rallying the rabble of thugs he executes a major attack of the very same town which houses the Paladin order he was thrown out of years ago. The Paladins themselves don't stand idly by and actively work to repel the bandits as the town has few guards besides them, but this was all part of the Antipaladin's plan.
The town wasn't his true target, the bandits are a means to an end, nothing more, and that end is to lure out his former master, whom he wishes to slay in single combat and offer his soul to his unholy patron.
He gets his wish for this one on one duel to the death, and in the first half of their battle he easily overpowers his former master, taunting him for being weak in his belief in the life, and that only death was absolute, even knocking his war hammer out of his hand.
But his underestimates his master's devotion to the light, and willingness to suffer so others don't have to, fully calling on his light blessed powers he turns the tide of the battle and then in the final climax impales his former apprentice with his own cursed sword, leaving him for dead, he himself badly injured but alive.
As the Antipaladin lays dying, his world shattered for a third time, he hears his patron whisper to him just as his vision fades to black, and a massive infusion of unholy energy revives him in undeath.
The dark god explains that his death was the last part of his training, and that now he can fully serve him, and gain the revenge on the world that so badly wronged him.
Of note though is unlike so many other servants of deities like this my character is well aware he is being used, and fully embraces being a means to an end.
As he puts it; "I am the tip of the spear thrust into gaping, festering wound of a world. Let it rot, let it die, let me break off in them, let me end their pain with the stillness and peace of death! Let all come to nothing before my hand. For death has no fear for one who has died thrice before!"
So that's the backstory but I'm torn on what I want him to be when he's raised into undeath by his dark master;
The first is my favorite so far, with no modification to hit dice, powers more in line with a Warcraft-esq Death Knight (which if it wasn't obvious is what I'm interested in going for.) Right down to the name and some of the abilities, which makes me thing it was made in homage to Warcraft's take on an evil Paladin.
But the other option seems like it could be more powerful in the long run, including a skeletal mount rather then a zombie one, and immunity to cold which a Death Knight doesn't have.
So all that being said, thoughts and opinions? Assume all third party content noted here is allowed by the DM for the sake of which would be the better fit for my character, and thanks in advance for feedback.
Grave Knight, it's a lich like template but for martial characters
also Grave Knight doesn't change your Hit Dice since you don't have any racial HD