After much toiling, experimenting, and body-retrieval, I have found a Holy Fire Paladin that actually works. I tried this out because I've played this game long enough that most of the standard builds have lost their new-car smell, and I've been having fun with underdog, non-cookie-cutter, more-challenging builds. Holy Fire, being the least-popular of the 3 Holy element skills, seems to fit into that catagory.
This build makes use of some non-standard equipment, which is good for a few things. First, it means that the unpopular gear will be easy to come by, since either you have it and can't trade it away for even a chipped ruby, or someone else will be willing to trade it to you cheap (a trick here is to offer a small item... people like to make space when they trade away stuff they don't need). Also, I found it to be pretty fun to make use of some items I'd never really had much use for, until now. I don't mention many runewords because, well, I didn't need any, and most are out of my reach anyway. There may be some that improve the build, but you're on your own there.
This is a PvM build. I tried it PvP, but it's not a power character. Maybe you'll have better luck.
---stats---
Strength - 142 is enough for Dragonscale, your heaviest item. 110 hard points should do, give or take. This will do fine, unless you plan on upgrading your Gore Riders, or something.
Dex - Enough for max blocking with Holy Shield. Dragonscale doesn't give you any extra, but I think I maxed my blocking at about 135 or so.
Vitality - Everything else. You know the drill.
Energy - Nope.
---Skill Points---
Max Holy Fire - Max this first, for a huge advantage early in the game, when coupled with Zeal.
Max Resist Fire
Max Salvation
1+ in Sacrafice (more here if you want damage)
4+ in Zeal (more here if you want Attack Rating) - Put 4 here as soon as possible, then hold off and finish it later when your fire damage is high enough.
Rest in Holy Shield
There are 2 ways to go with this. You can try to have higher physical damage, or Attack rating. Both have their obvious uses, and will make a difference in your gear later. I went Attack rating, with good Crushing Blow, to make up for the lack of physical damage.
---Gear---
Note: I used the first item I list for each section. Also included are suggestions for use before you get to your final gear. I included some options for sets at the end of the equipment section.
Weapon 1: Djinn Slayer, socketed with 2 fire Facets. Fast, adds huge fire damage, and has 2 open sockets for Facets. The physical damage isn't terrible, either, and the small amount of lightning absorb comes in handy once your lightning resist is maxed.
Other options:
-Famine runeword. Decent fire damage, but seems frivilous for this build.
-Glimmershred. Good fire damage, and can be thrown. I'd recommend it for your secondary weapon, though.
-Nord's Tenderizer/Frostwind/Glimmershred/Azurewrath/Lightsabre. This build centers on fire damage, but if you really feel the need for another elemental type, these are your best bet.
When leveling: Early on, anything will work. Move on to a decent weapon like a Gleamscythe, or a Steel runeword Longsword (Tir+El), and eventually a Butcher's Pupil, Coldsteel Eye, or Bloodletter will rock your world. Feel free to socket any of these with a Shael for some IAS, but you don't have to. Early, damage is good. Later, look for speed and rely on your aura for damage.
Shield 1: Dragonscale, socketed with a Pdiamond or Um. This shield is MADE for this build. Adds huge fire damage, and adds 15% to Fire Skill Damage, which applies to ALL of your fire damage sources: Aura, weapons, gear, charms, everything, like Fire Mastery. I basically made the character around this. Accept no substitutes. It has high defense, but no additional blocking or resists, so you'll have to make that up elsewhere in your gear.
Other options:
-If you can't find someone trying to get rid of one of these, you aren't looking hard enough. Nobody wants them, since HoZ is better for every build except this one. They just can't bear to throw them away, though :)
When leveling: Any high-blocking shield with some resists is good. Eventually, shoot for a Steelclash (blocking, resists, +1 pally skills). You can ride this one until you get the Dragonscale if you want, especially with a Pdiamond in it. Otherwise, switch it out for an Ancient's Pledge pally shield with resists (Ral+Ort+Tal), which is basically a beefier Dragonscale.
Weapon 2: A throwing weapon for Iron Maiden. Yes, it still hurts like a mother. I used a Scalper, but there are better options. Glimmershred would be the best choice, I think.
Other options:
-Kuko or Demon Machine. They fire exploding arrows, which carry your Holy Fire damage. You'll lose your shield, though.
When leveling: Don't worry too much about this area. Any decent throwing weapon will work, since it will carry your fire damage.
Shield 2: Any high blocking, high resist shield (you may want to socket it with a Pdiamond or Um). I used a Ward, but Moser's Blessed Circle, Gerke's Sanctuary, or Tiamat's Rebuke are all good choices. There are lots of others, plus runewords.
When leveling: Toss your old primary shield here each time you switch out, and you'll do just fine.
Helmet: Guiamme's Face, socketed with Um. A good choice if you want more melee mods, like Crushing Blow.
Other options:
-Rockstopper, socketed with a Ral. Good defense, Damage Reduction, awesome resists. Couldn't ask for more.
-Crown of Ages. I don't have one, but this would almost definitely be better than a Rockstopper. Socket it with Ber and Um, I'd guess.
-Harlequin Crest Shako, socketed with Um. Damage reduction, +2 skills, and 15 res. all. Not bad, but you'll look kinda silly.
-Spire of Honor. High defense, good resists.
When leveling: I generally use my helm to make up some missing resists or gain some FHR. Good low-level options are a Duskdeep (res. all is nice), Biggin's Bonnet (extra damage), or a Lore Runeword (Ort+Sol), which will give you a +skill to boost your fire damage and some lightning resist.
Boots: Gore Riders. Especially if you opt for lower physical damage, these are awesome. I don't need to preach to the choir about these. You know why they rock.
Other options:
-Infernostrides. Fire damage, fire resist, +max fire resist (though you'll get those from your skills).
-Sandstorm Trek. Life, strength, and poison resist. Good all-around boots.
-Tearhaunch. If you need resists, these are decent. Plus, you can actually USE the +2 to Vigor :)
When leveling: FRW and resists. Perfect ones would be tripe-resist boots with FRW. Defense is secondary. If you want a decent unique, Goblin Toes are sort of like mini-Gores, and Tearhaunch are good for general use.
Gloves: Lava Gouts. Fire damage, and enchant proc will help your AR tremendously. The 20 IAS means you only need 6% more to reach the fastest break you can expect without Fanaticism or a total overhaul of your gear. They're perfect for this build.
Other options:
-Dracul's Grasp. Leech, Life Tap proc, but no IAS. Generally good for any melee build.
-Laying of Hands. IAS, damage to demons.
-Any rare/crafted gloves. Look for IAS, Attack Rating, resists, life leech, maybe some Crushing Blow.
When leveling: IAS, IAS, IAS. Resists are a nice bonus, as is leech. Bloodfists are probobly the best unique to use, and will last you until you can get your Gouts.
Belt: Verdungo's. Damage reduction, extra life, Hit Recovery.
Other options:
-String of Ears. Damage reduction, life leech. Almost as good for this build as Verdungoes, and much cheaper.
-Nosferatu Coil. Brings your attack speed to max, slows target, great life leech.
-Credendum, if you need resists.
When leveling: A good resist belt with 4 rows for potions will serve you well. FHR is a good belt mod, so a Bladebuckle can work, as well. Goldwrap is an excellent option for the IAS, and why not pad out with some MF and GF? A String of Ears only has a lvl req. of 29, so you can wear it pretty early on.
Armor: Upgraded Duriel's Shell, socketed with Um. The defense on this armor can break 1400, and keeps going up with each level. The resists will make up for your low-resist shield, and Çannot Be Frozen means you don't HAVE to have a Ravenfrost, or Cham your helmet. You can't go wrong with this one. Only downside: You'll be making a fashion statement with your SUPER COOL green tights.
Other options:
-Duress runeword. Good defense, great melee mods, decent resists. Good choice if you opt not to wear Gore Riders or Guiamme's Face.
-Gloom runeword. High-defense, high-resist, meat-and-potatoes armor. No frills, but good.
-Chains of Honor runeword. I don't have one, but I suspect this would be about as good as the Duriel, but with +2 skills. Not worth the money for this build, in my opinion.
When leveling: Defense comes first, unless you've got a decent unique stored away. Just check to see hat's for sale and switch out when you start having issues getting beaten up. Uniques that will help you: Twitchroe (IAS, FHR, FRW, awesome stats, and all at lvl 16. AWESOME armor, and you can even upgrade it to ride it out a little longer), Hawkmail (decent defense, Cannot Be Frozen), Boneflesh (good defense, Life Leech, Open Wounds), Silks of the Victor (+1 skill, good defense), Crow Caw (IAS, Open Wounds, and really useful with an IAS jewel). Use your non-upgraded Duriel until you meet the lvl 63 req.
Rings: Any combination of these should work just fine. I used Carrion and a rare AR/life leech/resist all ring.
-Ravenfrost: A must if you don't use Duriel's Shell. The Dex+AR helps a lot, too.
-Carrion Wind: Leech (which this build can be low on, if you're not careful), and poison resist. The tornado proc helps more than you think.
-Nature's Peace: Comparable to Carrion, plus the Bad Guys stay down. Don't use this if you plan on spending points in Redemption, though.
-Any rare/crafted ring with resists, attack rating, and leech. Mana leech comes from your Djinn Slayer, and isn't really necessary anyway, so don't go out of your way to find it.
When leveling: Resists and AR are good to look for, and leech will help a lot. Manald Heal and Nagelring are good uniques to use.
Amulet: Highlord's Wrath. +1 skill, tops off your attack speed, and great lightning resist. The Deadly Strike is just icing on the cake.
Other options:
-Metalgrid. Resists, extra defense, and Attack rating. Exactly what you need. If it had IAS, it would be perfect.
-Cat's Eye. Mostly, if you need more IAS.
-Mara's Kaleidoscope. +2 skills and resists. No IAS, though.
-Rising Sun. Happens to have +2 to your main skill.
-Rare/crafted ammy with skills, resists, and Attack Rating.
When leveling: I look for resists in an Ammy, but try to find or gamble a rare with +1 skill and some other mods to make up for whatever you're lacking at the time. You can wear one with +2 to Auras as soon as lvl 30, so keep an eye out for rare amulets.
Inventory:
Stack your fire damage with charms. Fill in gaps in your resists and Attack Rating. Aura Grand Charms will help you more than Combat. Look for Life as a second mod on your charms. Common sense here.
Set options: While they don't make for good final equipment, they can be GREAT for leveling.
Hsaru's - Lvl 3 requirement? 30% FRW? Cannot be Frozen? AR/level? Bonus strength? Yeah, it's pretty sweet.
Sigon's - Most popular low lvl set, by far. It will cover you until late NM, if you want. Leech, resists, IAS, stats, +skills, MF, all at the low lvl of 7. Not bad, if I do say so myself.
Iratha's - This set will give you 20% IAS and nearly max your resists, as well as almost nullify poison damage, all at lvl 15. Even just the ammy+helm will give you GREAT resists and Poison length Reduction, or ammy+gloves will give you resists and IAS.
Milabrega's - At lvl 17, you can have +3 skills, good dual leech, a decent AR boost, and a nice life boost.
Tancred's - Lvl 20. Decent damage, leech, good MF, awesome str. bonus (total of 25), slows target. A good combo is just the helm and boots, for FRW, extra damage, and resists. The ammy and one other item will provide 78% MF. Underrated, but really useful.
Note: If you can afford to drop a rune socket, don't be afraid to add more Facets. They do help.
---Mercenary---
Act 2, Nightmare, Holy Freeze. Next choice would be Might, if you went for high damage from Sacrafice, or Blessed Aim. None of the others really help much.
My Holy Freeze merc uses:
-Honor Thresher
-Courpsemourn
-Stealskull
Anyone can put together basic merc equipment, so I won't go into it. Just give him enough leech to stay up and keep his Aura active.
---Strategy---
Click and hold until everything's dead. Physical Immunes aren't an issue, and fire immunes are only slightly more of an issue than phys immunes, unless you have high Crushing Blow. Your merc will help lots on the fire immunes, and if you opted for high damage from Sacrafice, it'll be even easier. If you run into a phys+fire immune (I have 2 or 3 times EVER), have a spare weapon with high, non-fire elemental damage in your stash. For this I recommend Nord's, Frostwind, Glimmershred (helps when you already have this on switch), Azurewrath, Lightsabre, or Baranar's Star. There are lots of others to chose from.
My total damage is around 3400 max, mostly fire, with -9% to enemy fire resist.
Okay... second time around. This time, it's saved. :)
Thoughts, comments, criticism are always welcome, since there's a good chance they'll help me improve my own character.