I think Oathbreaker is one of the highest damage / hit paladins possible. With a Hexblade dip it's possible to just stack Charisma which makes Aura of Hate and Aura of Protection vastly more impressive. Adding Great Weapon Master on top of AoH, gives you +20 damage on a hit (with max charisma). And that's without factoring in Hex, or Hexblade's Curse, although Bless might prove to be higher DPR by mitigating the -5 to hit from GWM. Overall I think it's very powerful.... Although it is not my favorite Oath. I find the channel divinity options to be lack luster, and I think for a subclass to be truly great, the class resource options should be ones you WANT to use all the time. One sneaky loophole that I've noticed with the Aura of Hate. Find Steed, and Find Greater Steed, can be "Celestial, Fey, or Fiend" player's choice. Taking the fiend option allows the mount to benefit from the bonus damage of Aura of Hate. If you take enough levels of paladin to get 4th level spells in order to find your greater steed, you can now be a "Beastmaster" that doesn't suck. Not how I would personally go, but it's an option. Additionally, if you have a Wizard or Arcana Domain Cleric in your party, you can use Nystul's Magic Aura to cause party members to "identify" as Fiends or Undead, allowing them to gain the benefits of the aura as well. And if your Wizard does this every day for 30 days the effects become permanent, so not bad as a downtime activity potentially. "Abusing" the aura in this way would make your whole party's damage go through the roof. Especially if you have a fighter on your team that already has GWM or Sharpshooter. Theoretically, if you ONLY take 8 levels of paladin, you could take up to 12 levels of Hexblade. At level 12 you would gain access to the "Life Drinker" invocation which would add another +5 (charisma modifier) Necrotic Damage to each attack. With PAM, attacking 3 times / round you'd be doing +25 damage / swing without spending resources. With Hexblade's Curse that would go up by your proficiency bonus (6) to 31, and if you're using Improved Pact Weapon your weapon is at LEAST a +1 for a minimum of (1dx+ 32) * 3 attacks for about 2d10 + 1d4 + 98 PER ROUND damage without hex. Keep in mind... with Hexblade's Curse active you can now crit on a 19-20, AND if you do crit, you can use divine smite AND Eldritch Smite (if you took the invocation...which you should have) and if you're an elf using Elven Accuracy... you're rolling 3 dice with advantage + bless so you're probably gonna hit, and probably going to crit a lot... and things are probably going to get melted. I mean this IS all at level 20 so you'd expect face melting damage. But realistically you can do most of this damage as early as lvl 12-13, you'd just be waiting on that last level before you could pick up Lifedrinker.
Currently im playing an Oathbreaker paladin who happened to abandon his old Oath because his adoptive daughter was killed by the very people who fought with him in the order, she was believed to be the reincarnation of an witch, and thus hunted. His objective is to find the soul of the dead daughter, even if he needs to descend into hell for it.
My oathbreaker I'm about to start playing was forsaken by the gods. He was enslaved for 4 years when he was taken alive during a lost battle, and he lived malnourished and overworked during this time and never had the strength to rise above his captors. However, he was granted the power to break free from his chains by taking an oath of vengeance, and broke free from his chains. He was finally free, and upon stealing a boat from his former captors, and he devoted his time to helping others who were chained and enslaved. However, after freeing dozens of other prisoners he was on his way to his homeland. During his voyage, his boat was destroyed and he sank to the depths drowning after a rope had tied around his legs. In his last moments he had called to the gods to help him, but none of them answered his calls and pleas. His restless angry spirit roamed the oceans for years, causing the same fate that had happened to him upon sailors unfortunate enough to enter his waters. Years after his death, and causing dozens of shipwrecks, a powerful mage had found his restless soul, and offered him a new shot at life, as she had hated the gods as well. She transplanted his soul into a mechanical body (warforged) and got him accustomed to his new body. The light that had burned in his heart had died. Only darkness and despair remained. Using his hatred for the gods, he now wields the power of necromancy, to spite his fallen enemies who believe they will make it to Valhalla. He now seeks clerics and paladins to ensure they realize their gods won't save them, the same way he was forsaken
I'm trying to build an oathbreaker paladin more akin to a grey knight from star wars legends, so not blindly following the light or sink deep into the dark...a balance. Also I plan to play them as more of a vengeful realist like "why would a god or a patron cars about our mortal whims and desire?"
I think I would try-if I could-to rework/reflavor the subclass into something else. Like “The Oath Of The Forsaken”: a subclass that uses necrotic powers instead of radiant. Basically an order that walk in and uses the shadows to serve the light.
I"m not sure the groups you are in, but the consensus I've read from various D&D forums and communities (including multiple discords) is that Level 15+ campaigns are rare. I'm not sure why you mention so heavily the end game lvl 20 skills so much, by then all characters in the party are World Hero level and… what's the point? I'd like to see more realistic Race/Class opinions based on what people will actually play on average (meaning not level 15+). Also, taking the entire party into consideration - "if you have a cleric in your party then this skill is useless and is the most valuable skill for this class" would go a LONG way to propel new player learning, rather than generalized discussion over what we can already read in the rules.
I once made a homebrew version of the oath breaker paladin who is not evil , I forgot what I called it (I think it was the Lone Wolf or Stray Dog) and it's power activate when he is alone and out numbered, his spells are usually what is use for escaping and stealth
My oath breaker is awesome because he’s a oath breaker he has a dragon a axe-hammer thingy which can do OVER 200 DAMAGE PER ATTACK TURN(btw nice video extremely underrated)
I appreciate your comments at the end about leaving religion. Former fundamentalist christian turned atheist and I am looking forward to playing my polemaster / charlatan oathbreaker Paladin : )
my character idea a good person who had his soul sold by their father at birth and is bound to an evil god gaining power but also corrupting them and making them become a corrupt version of themselves possibly being neutral or evil( lawful so torturing the people who deserve it or killing bad people on sight without mercy) but not for them to be insane they never broke their oath but they would use it as an excuse to do bad stuff to bad people but still protect the innocent
I'm about to play a paladin who as a holy Knight committed war crimes and has turned on the gods and the crown. He will seek justice, but true justice, so may even defend criminals if the punishment doesn't fit the crime.
@@TheRPGDaily thank you, didn't want to derail the group and both paladin and evil dick oathbreaker can. This way I get to be Chaos Neutral, do what needs to be done, but there will be things I won't do, people I won't help, and fights that I will always take. I'll also stick to being brave and never run unless I'm the last to go. Keeping strict rules means like a normal paladin I will have to follow certain paths at times and may even be at odds with the group.
I want to do an oathbreaker paladin who left their oath of the crown to an oppressive corrupt society because by following their oath they betrayed someone they loved and they were killed, causing them to run into the wilds (feel free to steal)
Finally I can be an edgy Dark Knight role 😂 As a new player I wanted to create my very first character but I am an edgelord metalhead. I only saw Warlock and Rogue as a fighting style that fits a character I would want....but this. This is what I like 😂
In my campaigne we played it so that the oathbreaker gained powers through his sheer hate against the ways of his own oath. He chose to challenge the order of paladins to become better. As he reaches his goal the powers faded, since he could restore his faith in his old oath now that it had been restored its ways
Counterpoint; the Oathbreaker isn't just a paladin that broke their oath, but did so to pursue a dark ambition. For example, being a devotion paladin and simply becoming jaded and retiring from your oath does not make you an Oarhbreaker. It simply makes you lose your paladin power as you 'gave up' To be an Oathbreaker, the Devotion Paladin would have to willingly slaughter innocents and be unrepentant. This would mean perverting the very power that has blessed you, corrupting it towards darkness. The point of the Oathbreaker subclass is to be a villain. Same with the Death Domain (as contrast to the Grave Domain).
My drow used to be a conquest paladin worshiping Lolth. Now, as an oathbreaker he’s a pretty chill guy
I think Oathbreaker is one of the highest damage / hit paladins possible. With a Hexblade dip it's possible to just stack Charisma which makes Aura of Hate and Aura of Protection vastly more impressive. Adding Great Weapon Master on top of AoH, gives you +20 damage on a hit (with max charisma). And that's without factoring in Hex, or Hexblade's Curse, although Bless might prove to be higher DPR by mitigating the -5 to hit from GWM. Overall I think it's very powerful.... Although it is not my favorite Oath. I find the channel divinity options to be lack luster, and I think for a subclass to be truly great, the class resource options should be ones you WANT to use all the time.
One sneaky loophole that I've noticed with the Aura of Hate. Find Steed, and Find Greater Steed, can be "Celestial, Fey, or Fiend" player's choice. Taking the fiend option allows the mount to benefit from the bonus damage of Aura of Hate. If you take enough levels of paladin to get 4th level spells in order to find your greater steed, you can now be a "Beastmaster" that doesn't suck. Not how I would personally go, but it's an option.
Additionally, if you have a Wizard or Arcana Domain Cleric in your party, you can use Nystul's Magic Aura to cause party members to "identify" as Fiends or Undead, allowing them to gain the benefits of the aura as well. And if your Wizard does this every day for 30 days the effects become permanent, so not bad as a downtime activity potentially. "Abusing" the aura in this way would make your whole party's damage go through the roof. Especially if you have a fighter on your team that already has GWM or Sharpshooter.
Theoretically, if you ONLY take 8 levels of paladin, you could take up to 12 levels of Hexblade. At level 12 you would gain access to the "Life Drinker" invocation which would add another +5 (charisma modifier) Necrotic Damage to each attack. With PAM, attacking 3 times / round you'd be doing +25 damage / swing without spending resources. With Hexblade's Curse that would go up by your proficiency bonus (6) to 31, and if you're using Improved Pact Weapon your weapon is at LEAST a +1 for a minimum of (1dx+ 32) * 3 attacks for about 2d10 + 1d4 + 98 PER ROUND damage without hex. Keep in mind... with Hexblade's Curse active you can now crit on a 19-20, AND if you do crit, you can use divine smite AND Eldritch Smite (if you took the invocation...which you should have) and if you're an elf using Elven Accuracy... you're rolling 3 dice with advantage + bless so you're probably gonna hit, and probably going to crit a lot... and things are probably going to get melted. I mean this IS all at level 20 so you'd expect face melting damage. But realistically you can do most of this damage as early as lvl 12-13, you'd just be waiting on that last level before you could pick up Lifedrinker.
That is some very well thought out use of the oathbreaker and friends! I dig it!
Currently im playing an Oathbreaker paladin who happened to abandon his old Oath because his adoptive daughter was killed by the very people who fought with him in the order, she was believed to be the reincarnation of an witch, and thus hunted.
His objective is to find the soul of the dead daughter, even if he needs to descend into hell for it.
Yes! not an "evil" character at all! though that is a pretty dark story!
Man that actually sounds dope
I love the idea of a individual who broke their oath for a selfless reason only for them to be cursed as an oathbreaker.
@@sammorse1412 cursed with becoming more powerful?
@@jerryhampton5755 yes but I feel like oathbreaking would be like something shunned or shameful in the world of paladins
My oathbreaker I'm about to start playing was forsaken by the gods.
He was enslaved for 4 years when he was taken alive during a lost battle, and he lived malnourished and overworked during this time and never had the strength to rise above his captors. However, he was granted the power to break free from his chains by taking an oath of vengeance, and broke free from his chains. He was finally free, and upon stealing a boat from his former captors, and he devoted his time to helping others who were chained and enslaved. However, after freeing dozens of other prisoners he was on his way to his homeland. During his voyage, his boat was destroyed and he sank to the depths drowning after a rope had tied around his legs. In his last moments he had called to the gods to help him, but none of them answered his calls and pleas. His restless angry spirit roamed the oceans for years, causing the same fate that had happened to him upon sailors unfortunate enough to enter his waters. Years after his death, and causing dozens of shipwrecks, a powerful mage had found his restless soul, and offered him a new shot at life, as she had hated the gods as well. She transplanted his soul into a mechanical body (warforged) and got him accustomed to his new body. The light that had burned in his heart had died. Only darkness and despair remained. Using his hatred for the gods, he now wields the power of necromancy, to spite his fallen enemies who believe they will make it to Valhalla. He now seeks clerics and paladins to ensure they realize their gods won't save them, the same way he was forsaken
I’m gonna steal this someday
Bro that’s Kratos with extra steps
This was an awesome read Mt friend! Paladin class in general was always my favorite to play!
Kratos meets Darth Sion by the sounds of it. Love it
Commenting to help the algorithm. Love your vids. Thanks for sharing.
I'm trying to build an oathbreaker paladin more akin to a grey knight from star wars legends, so not blindly following the light or sink deep into the dark...a balance. Also I plan to play them as more of a vengeful realist like "why would a god or a patron cars about our mortal whims and desire?"
I dig it! characters that live in the moral grey area are always the most interesting to me!
I think I would try-if I could-to rework/reflavor the subclass into something else. Like “The Oath Of The Forsaken”: a subclass that uses necrotic powers instead of radiant. Basically an order that walk in and uses the shadows to serve the light.
I really like this idea! Try it out!
I"m not sure the groups you are in, but the consensus I've read from various D&D forums and communities (including multiple discords) is that Level 15+ campaigns are rare. I'm not sure why you mention so heavily the end game lvl 20 skills so much, by then all characters in the party are World Hero level and… what's the point? I'd like to see more realistic Race/Class opinions based on what people will actually play on average (meaning not level 15+). Also, taking the entire party into consideration - "if you have a cleric in your party then this skill is useless and is the most valuable skill for this class" would go a LONG way to propel new player learning, rather than generalized discussion over what we can already read in the rules.
That is a good idea, definitely something I'll keep in mind for future videos.
I 100% agree an Oathbreaker isn't necessarily evil.
I once made a homebrew version of the oath breaker paladin who is not evil , I forgot what I called it (I think it was the Lone Wolf or Stray Dog) and it's power activate when he is alone and out numbered, his spells are usually what is use for escaping and stealth
I played an Orc Oathbraker that was good he broke his oath to Grummish after seeing how easy it was for him to be forgotten by his tribe
Underrated content, good stuff!
Thank you so much!
My oath breaker is awesome because he’s a oath breaker he has a dragon a axe-hammer thingy which can do OVER 200 DAMAGE PER ATTACK TURN(btw nice video extremely underrated)
I appreciate your comments at the end about leaving religion. Former fundamentalist christian turned atheist and I am looking forward to playing my polemaster / charlatan oathbreaker Paladin : )
my character idea a good person who had his soul sold by their father at birth and is bound to an evil god gaining power but also corrupting them and making them become a corrupt version of themselves possibly being neutral or evil( lawful so torturing the people who deserve it or killing bad people on sight without mercy) but not for them to be insane they never broke their oath but they would use it as an excuse to do bad stuff to bad people but still protect the innocent
I'm about to play a paladin who as a holy Knight committed war crimes and has turned on the gods and the crown.
He will seek justice, but true justice, so may even defend criminals if the punishment doesn't fit the crime.
Ooh! that's a great way to play it!
@@TheRPGDaily thank you, didn't want to derail the group and both paladin and evil dick oathbreaker can. This way I get to be Chaos Neutral, do what needs to be done, but there will be things I won't do, people I won't help, and fights that I will always take. I'll also stick to being brave and never run unless I'm the last to go. Keeping strict rules means like a normal paladin I will have to follow certain paths at times and may even be at odds with the group.
I'm excited to play my first Oathbreaker w/ polearm master who's background is kinda...maybe...similar to a certain man who dresses like a bat.
I want to do an oathbreaker paladin who left their oath of the crown to an oppressive corrupt society because by following their oath they betrayed someone they loved and they were killed, causing them to run into the wilds (feel free to steal)
Just started a non evil oathbreaker it’s awesome out dm is the best
I want to make a oathbreaker who was forced into a paladin at a young age and eventually breaks their oath in search of themselves
That's right, Jay!
Do you keep your paladin spells that you already have or do you lose everything when you break oath
Finally I can be an edgy Dark Knight role 😂
As a new player I wanted to create my very first character but I am an edgelord metalhead. I only saw Warlock and Rogue as a fighting style that fits a character I would want....but this.
This is what I like 😂
Why would you GET powers if you break your oath?
In my campaigne we played it so that the oathbreaker gained powers through his sheer hate against the ways of his own oath. He chose to challenge the order of paladins to become better. As he reaches his goal the powers faded, since he could restore his faith in his old oath now that it had been restored its ways
If necromancy=evil ya boring
Counterpoint; the Oathbreaker isn't just a paladin that broke their oath, but did so to pursue a dark ambition.
For example, being a devotion paladin and simply becoming jaded and retiring from your oath does not make you an Oarhbreaker. It simply makes you lose your paladin power as you 'gave up'
To be an Oathbreaker, the Devotion Paladin would have to willingly slaughter innocents and be unrepentant. This would mean perverting the very power that has blessed you, corrupting it towards darkness.
The point of the Oathbreaker subclass is to be a villain. Same with the Death Domain (as contrast to the Grave Domain).
oath breaker paladins are evil its in the lore but as a dm you can rewrite the rules.