My analytics tell me like 20% of you stay through the whole video and I gotta say thank you so much. It really helps UA-cam recommend the video. Also, thanks for sharing all your awesome Paladin multiclasses and stories in the comments. It warms my heart :)
This is the first video of yours I’ve seen. I play a “Tankadin”. I like the way you present and the organization of the topics. I learned a few new things about my favorite class here. Paladins FTW!!
The best paladin fighting style is 'duelling' not ''blessed warrior'' or ''defence''. d8 '+2' +stat closes the gap of other martials with a 2d6 maul or d12 weapon let alone Pole arm master builds. A paladin should be side arm & board or Pole arm master for no pole arm 2 handed weapons are better suited to fighters-barbarians or even cleric with a maul can be dangerous. A paladin is a mounted knight or heavily armoured footmen with a halberd/glaive-poleaxe for flavour is free. I agree paladin is the best class but many of your choices are suboptimal as you get to obsessed with AC or tank survivability which should be no problem for a paladin. if you have 20 let alone 22 AC 1hich is not difficult to achieve as paladin any more AC is really not worth the return as a 20 on a role will always hit. More Ac is nice even if you did face a creature with a high +10 to attack any more then 29 is pointless. Most creatures will have a +3 to hit on average so 22 is optimal though if you value Ac 23 starching to 24 is acceptable for an investment but I'd rather wait for magic armour & magic shields for them +1 to +3's to stack. A basic paladin in plate & shield is 20Ac but a + 3 shield & armour is 26AC before Shield of Faith for 10 minutes +2 AC in those rare combats you need more AC. I have seen a paladins obsess over AC till get in the 40's region & they crippled Pc's. 29Ac is enough let the 30's Ac region is not needed. How often does anyone face a Tarrasque with +19 to hit & even then 38Ac is the cut off as 39 or higher does nothing from critical gits.? You want to never be hit wear adamantium armour get a 39 Ac & aura of protection of +7 of you can some how get a +24 charisma. 29AC is fine & so is 20 in Charisma as if nothing can kill you their is no tension or reason to play the game beside RP if that! Because a Paladins only real weakness is range sip warlock for eldritch smite or if paladin all the way seek movement speed from say the mobile feet or play a goblin for bonus action dash. A paladin running at 80ft per turn will scare a DM more then any other build as you who & what to engage with no way to stop you!
You ideas for screwing the paladin class over are all absurd and blasphemy - you can go to the down down place, and take that nonsense with you - you will never do that in any game I am in.
My favorite multiclass for Paladin is 50/50 Paladin(Glory)/Bard(Valor). The idea of a person who sings the songs of the heroes of old and commits to living in their image or surpassing their deeds.
Valor’s greatest strengths are giving you an additional attack and armor, which you already have as a paladin. Go with Lore, Eloquence or Glamor instead.
I understand, but the combo is for the roleplay aspect as the valor bard's specifically represent skald's. If I wanted to be optimal Lore is definitly my go to for the magical secrets.@@ryancparker
@@ryancparker He's prolly into the roleplay concept, and frankly, it's dope imo. You are most likely gonna be ok either way with paladin and bard multi, so might as well go with flavor
@@giannig5258 A Glory Pally / Lore Bard offers the same flavor while providing more tools to roleplay with. How does one come to know the songs of long lost ancient heroes without an appreciation and knowledge of history? Roleplaying a valorous character doesn’t require a class title or redundant class mechanics.
It's my favourite class, it doesn't need to do anything just standing close to your allies is enough. That's true power my friend. I wouldn't change a thing about them it's the perfect class to me.
The fact that it’s one of the only classes that it’s hard to multiclass out as every level you get something worth keeping and it’s hard to make the argument to loose when you would get from just staying paladin. The only thing that works out is the hexblade thing
@@enterthedungeon while I disagree with nerfing classes, I totally understand interesting ideas to nerf said classes. I played a Paladin fighter multi class (18 Paladin 2 Fighter) and I have to say playing at a table that runs the 3/4 combat encounters a day I really did struggle with resource management even in single big boss fights.
I've always loved this class from the moment I first read it because it played against my preconceptions of everything I had heard of the class. And now as a more veteran player I love how stupid OP it can be when used right while still hitting some of my favorite RP itches
A negative to the Aura of Courage is that, while the dragon may not frighten you, your entire party is now well within AoE breath attack range of each other...
By the rule they don’t need to be in the aura right away. Anyone in it can’t have the frighting condition so just run around everyone that fails the save and now they are good
If you built your Paladin around Charisma -- which is stronger than building around Strength -- they also have a +5 to all their saving throws and are thus likely to take half damage regardless.
I've always loved Hexblade Warlock looking like King Arthur, as it is Excalibur that gives him special powers. With that in mind, it makes for a good combo. A paladin who swears upon his sword, and that sword itself becomes the source of some of his power.
yeah absolutely such a powerfull dip, with just 1 level in Hexblade you only need charisma, con and a little bit of dex and you can ignore Strength. I played a Vengeance paladin once and the weapon he made a pact with was the magical greatsword of his murdered father who was an archangel. He swore to avenge his death and swore and oath of Vengeance. He would find the murderer (who was a lich by now) and bring Vengeance upon the wicked. The campaign ended upon level 14 ish. 3 level's of Hexblade warlock/11 levels of paladin yeah crazy strong and made a ton of thematic sense as wel. So it's very easy to have both a very mechanical Powerful character and a very rich rp character as wel.
That even works thematically because in many cases it's Authur's charisma that makes people flock to him and a lot of that doesn't happen until after receiving Excalibur. In most versions the dude is a nobody before getting the sword.
Years ago my friend and I were playing in a campaign with some mates at uni. He was oath of vengeance paladin, myself oath of redemption. It was one of the most intense RP sessions of that campaign when we had one of the bbeg's right hand were at our mercy. Think the DM was pretty happy about that
16:13 Yes i use my channel divinity ALL the time. Im an oath of conquest paladin. and i get 2 choices for my channel divinity. 1) a +10 on hit roll, to ensure i hit my target (i usually wait a bit till i figure out what their AC is like... otherwise its a waste... and sometimes you just NEED to land the hit, especially with regenerating enemies. 2) i can fear EVERYONE, even friends in my sight.... like even ignoring the other conquest abilities (reducing movement of frightened enemies to 0 and dealing dmg to them per turn) this is already god tier. Swarm of goblins are killing your cleric? All of you make a wisdom saving throw, meanwhile i casually walk over to my downed cleric (which is safe because the enemies cannot go near me so also not near him) and ill just heal him with lay on hands. Surrounded at all sides by enemies, completely swarmed? Send them running away. Like these powers are worth more than just a smite... I mean yes a smite does deal more damage than either of these... But you need to HIT first before you can smite.... And it doesnt matter if you smite 2,3 or 36 times.... if you die... These channel divinity can ensure that you hit when it matters most. Or Crowd control an unlimited amount of targets. Anyone who redeems this power for a MERE smite... is a fool in my opinion. Oh great you deal a 2d8 damage in one turn... Meanwhile you can have 27 goblins feared for 10 turns with some luck. who all get disadvantage on attacks etc... Guess how many d's worth of damage you can do on your normal attack without being in any danger?
I’ve been watching quite a few Paladin guides over the last few week. This is probably the BEST Paladin guide I’ve seen. I’ve watched it 5 or 6 times. Great job. Please keep up the good work!
Currently running two campaigns, one as a Giff Paladin serving Tyr, the other is a Deep Gnome Necromancer lol basically polar opposites. You’re making me much more excited to play the good guy now 👍
I’m currently playing a Paladin who was raised to and planned on swearing the Oath of the Watchers (the campaign has a lot to do with planar travel and the threats related.), though right before she was going to swear her oath she suffered a huge betrayal and instead swore the Oath of Vengeance and it has been an rp highlight of my dnd career!
31:51 One of the most interesting moral struggles I had as a Paladin was in Bauldur’s Gate 3 towards the end of Act 2. Spoilers ahead. I highly recommend looking away if you haven’t played the game because the storytelling is truly phenomenal and is ruined by spoilers: Throughout the course of Shar’s Guantlet, my character, an Oath of the Ancients Paladin had come to realize that Shadowheart would need to sacrifice someone at the end of the trials to become a dark justiciar. It was also becoming increasingly apparent that doing so would turn her into an emotionless husk. When finally confronted with making that sacrifice, my character failed the persuasion checks to tell Shadowheart what she was doing was wrong. Because of this, Shadowheart made it clear that I’d either have to let her sacrifice this innocent person, or I’d have fight (kill) her. My dialog options were: 1. Fine, get this over with. 2. This is wrong… but I don’t want to loose you. And 3. Fight me then. This was a major conundrum for me since as a Paladin, my character can’t let innocent people be killed. At the same time, I’d imagine that a Paladin should be very hesitant to kill their friends. Part of the Oath of the Ancients is to kindle the light (look in PHB for the tenants) and I thought that killing the person my character was courting/romantically involved with violated that tenant twice over. So the decision really was: does my character protect this innocent person but kill his close friend and lover, or does he let this person die to avoid hurting his friend. I was so torn up about it, I let my gf decide and she went with the middle option: “This is wrong but I don’t want to loose you”. This ended up working out for me, as Shadowheart decided not so sacrifice this person of her own volition, but even weeks later I wonder if this was the moral decision. I even sorta think this should have counted as a break of the character’s oath even if it was the most moral outcome.
paladin is the most versatile class in dnd, it fulfills the role of a fighter and a caster multi-class in a way that no other class can do without multi-class
I'm going to be running an all lawful good paladin game soon. 5-8 paladins, each with different oaths, setups, etc. Their respective orders have tasked them to join forces and stop a dangerous cult. They will have plenty of opportunities to fail their god, order, and oaths. Smite accordingly
Last night I just got done with a session. I play a divine soul sorc mixed with bard (heavy support/heal build) and we have a paladin in our group. He just got aura of protection and it was literally the difference between most the party dying or making it out alive. Having an extra +4 and +bless to saves was a game changer! Our setup now is that my character isn't too far from his. I can distant cast cure wounds and throw out inspirations with a bonus action while he wails on anything that gets too close and makes sure I stay up. It was a lot of fun.
Crusaders mantle is so slept on. I was in a group with two pole arm masters and a dual wielder one of which was a echo knight. That 1d4 per attack doesnt sound like alot but omg does is add up quick
I happened to see this video by a notification and all I can say is: Thank you for the content and the tips I just love to see my favorite class receiving so much love and diligence. Subscribed to the channel!
hmm, what about a Swords bard paladin? Bard is a great multiclass for Paladin. Only thing I see you missed, this is an incredibly in depth video, keep up the great work!
I love Bards! However, the benefits can be augmented with any of the other classes mentioned. The Swords Bard's flourishes are just Battle Master maneuvers in my mind. Hexblade Warlock, Eldritch Knight fighter, or a Divine Soul sorcerer with the martial adept feat I think can all occupy that same role quicker and arguably with more benefits. However, Bards still mesh incredibly well with Paladins! Bardic inspiration, lots of new spells, and expertise make for a strong character. Thanks for commenting!
I remember a time when I played a paladin, and I felt more powerful than any demon, and the scene that got me like "Yeah paladins will rule," was when a demon transport us to his area ig, I was the only paladin so my other members were trying to get out but we had to fight 3 demons, 1 boss and 2 like body guards, but my party went after the guards, I went after the boss. My plan was simple, hurt the boss a little and keep the boss fighting me until my party could help me, I hurt the boss so much he started to run away into a poisonous gas, the demon felt safe, until I walked into the gas, passed a check save and took 0 points of damage, I pushed the demon to a wall and Smited his ass back to hell. I killed the boss as fast as my party killed the two guards It was the moment I imagined the demon is like "I trapped you hear to kill you all," and my paladin just laugh psychotically "We're not trapped in here with you, Your trapped in here with ME."
Hey man, brilliant video, i personally like paladins. I've noticed a mistake: divine smite. It starts at 2d8 radiant damage, for a 1st level spel slot, to a max of 5d8 for a 4th level. And a bonus 1d8 against particular creature types. Thoroughly entertaining video, and it must have been a huge effort that went into editing. I loved it. In fact here have a subscriber. 😁 Edit: "cast a spell or cast sword" had me a good giggle.
Thanks for the sub I really appreciate it! I think you might've gotten confused by the way I explained smite. Yeah you do 2d8 radiant damage at 1st level which is broken down into 1d8 base + 1d8 per level of the spell. Since its a first level spell, that adds up to 2d8. I could've messed up throughout the video so I'll scrub through and check. It was a LOT of editing but occasionally mistakes slip through!
@@enterthedungeon In all sincerity, NO pressure. It's a small mistake I could overlook, because the effort that goes into crafting a video like this; that's fun, informative and entertaining. You change your tone enough that even your voice is fun to listen to, without becoming a bore. I can appreciate the effort, because there's so much to think about. Honestly, THANK YOU!
@@trevorgreenough6141 I don't know if Enter the Dungeon edited the video or not, but as of 10/27/2023 it is correct. Base D&D has some bad wording for various things so I often have to discuss the fine print of D&D with my DM and the players I DM for. As in I allow smite to be used at a Cantrip level... hehe. Base D&D (Player's Handbook pg. 82): "...The extra damage is 2d8 for a 1st-level spell slot, plus 1d8 for each spell level higher than 1st, to a maximum of 5d8. The damage increases by 1d8 if the target is an undead or a fiend, to a maximum of 6d8." Enter the Dungeon (8:23-8:35): "...extra radiant damage to a target. You essentially >he did say essentially so he's not going exact wording< do 1d8 radiant damage plus an additional 1d8 for each spell level you burn. So if you're smiting at second level that's 2d8 damage from the spell level and an extra 1d8 on top of it." The way that the PHB describes Smite is going off of the fact that each level of the spell slot used provides an additional 1d8. So I like thinking of it like this: Smite is like a non-infinite cantrip that must use a spell slot. If you were able to not use a spell slot it would only deal 1d8. This 1d8 I like to say is the base, it also what EtD means when he says "...an extra 1d8 on top of it." (8:32) Then, for every spell level burned you get an additional 1d8, "...plus an additional 1d8 for each spell level you burn." (8:23) So if Smite does a base of 1d8 + 1d8 per spell slot level if you used the highest level spell slot (4th-level) you'd get 5d8. Since Smite has to be used with a spell slot and the lowest is 1st-level then Smite is forced to have a minimum of 2d8, but in technicality it has a minimum of 1d8. That is why Enter the Dungeon said, it starts off at 1d8 and increased from there. I hope that clears the misunderstanding. It was neither party's fault and was actually the third party's fault... Wizards of the Coast. Tl:dr? Think of Smite like a cantrip, base damage 1d8, increasing with the level of the spell slot used.
I've been running an ancients paladin moon druid (only 2 in druid) multiclass in bg3. It compounds on paladin's ability to tank w/ wild shape, offers versatility (like being able to stealth as the cat), & thornwhip helps with paladins limited range.
Great video but we’ve got to talk about Devotion Paladin. It’s secondary aura is *Immunity to Charm* which has been so clutch. It saves the friendly fire consideration for hypnotic pattern, not to mention other offensive spells being cast at you. It is basic, yes. But it is by far the best defensive Paladin I have seen because it’s Channel Divinity means you can use Charisma as your primary stat, buffing your aura and spells. I’ve just hit 14th level with mine and he’s an absolute beast.
I like the segment in Smite 101. I personally use my first few Actions using my Channel Divinity (since I use oath of the watchers) and casting moonbeam etc. So I accidentally already follow this haha.
Yeah, horrible at sneaking, will likely dump int so won't be your party loremaster, they definitely aren't swimming in that heavy armor, and in combination with their resource management (which yes, it is still a weakness even if it doesn't come up at YOUR table), general lack of ranged damage in comparison to your ACTUAL ranged fighters, and they already have weaknesses BUILT INTO THEM from the jump. No adjustments required.
@@persuisixh4804 lol but it doesn't negate the inherent weakness of the class. I can literally say the same thing about Wizards covering the Fighter's general weakness against magic but it doesn't negate that weakness. Teamplay ends up mitigating many weaknesses because.. it's a team game. Duh. But in order for that to even matter, the class must have that weakness to begin with, which Paladin's definitely have, in spades.
Paladins: Massive attack damage boosts with smite Able to heal themselves and others and even cure diseases with lay on hands. Able to resist any disease no matter how vile. Able to have some of the best saving throw mods in the game. Has a useful set of spells that increase their resilience and that of their teammates. Can wear heavy armor and shields for great AC or can wield two handed weapons like a boss and smite with it. And most importantly. They get to choose their manor of devotion and oath for hella flavor and rp.
For so many years no one wanted to play a goody good paladin, let alone have one in the party. 5e comes along and now they're the life of the DND party.
Your pronunciation of blessed is correct for Blessed Warrior. Blessed is always pronounced that way when used as an adjective meaning holy. It is completely different from the verb to bless.
My most memorable Paladin Experience was in a 16th level campaign, and the party was going through the Final Dungeon to get to the Big Bad. They were taking a Short Rest to get back some HP, but just noticed a Fire Giant coming down the hall to attack them, so ran into the next room... The Throne Room... So during the opening conversation, the Paladin dumped his ENTIRE Lay on Hands pool into himself, for 80 healing, to put him in a reasonable place for the last encounter :P
This is a really excellent deep dive into the Paladin class. It's informative but not verbose, it's insightful too, the whole section on how to play Paladin was the best part as it was what I've looked been looking for in a bunch of Pally build vids. Thank you! 👍
I love Oath of the Ancients, and any time I'm forced to use official content, it's always my go to. I've also made a Dex-heavy Paladin and took two levels in rogue and he was a nightmare.
A paladin can solo an easy to mid-level dungeon, not because they’re so strong, but because they’re so reliable in every single field But the coolest thing is how much better all of your allies get when they’re near you
28:02 If a paladin believes his actions are righteous, a lie can be excused when told to protect or defend. If the oath is to protect a kingdom, a lie may be necessary to keep the king from making a grave mistake.
@18:55 "all 6 saving throws" - All 7 saving throws, at least where it concerns other party members. Death Saving Throws are a Saving Throw; this has likewise been established in a rule clarification regarding an ability on the Monk table that says they gain proficiency on all saving throws, that it also includes Death Saves. While the Aura of Protection stipulates that the Paladin has to be conscious (so they won't get this benefit from it themself) it says nothing about the recipient likewise having to be. That means that as long as you are near a fallen ally, they still have a greater chance of not dying with the Paladin there. Of course at that point Spare the Dying or Lay on Hands may be the better option unless for some reason (like being out of charges, or the area is under a Silence effect) they cannot be used right then.
My Paladin/Sorcerer had the blind sight fighting style. In any instance where there was magical darkness, this paired with Shadow Blade turned my pally into a boss blender.
New player here, and I played paladin as my first character. Most of the weaknesses you mention can be covered by just going a few levels into Hexblade Warlock. Now you can make CHR and CON your main stats to focus, while STR just sits at a 15 to make sure you can weild full plate. This also solves the low spell slots issue as you can get quite a bit back on just a short rest so you can keep smiting and/or buffing, and you get ranged attacks in the form of warlock spells, like Eldritch Blast. I'm currently a 2 paladin/1 Hexbalde warlock, and it works so well for me. I plan on getting at least 6 into warlock so I can get the spectre feature from hexblade. Still debating on weather to go Pact of Blade or Pact of Tome though. I love the magic system warlocks have, but with it being a paladin, Blade seems for appropriate to go so melee is even stronger.
24:28 every paladin I've ever played has struggled with resources. Any time we enter a dungeon or situation where we will have several small engagements over a length of time without room to rest I ended up being the weakest link. And when every spell opportunity is plagued by the "if I cast a spell it takes away a smite on the boss monster" issue then it gets really hard to use those support spells at low levels when resources are tight. It feels like playing a hexblade without the cantrips. It's why I almost never take more than 2 levels in paladin. Give me the smites and then let me get enough resources to use them
Ive only played one game, its a long campaign that we just got 9th level after starting at 3rd, ive used divine smite 4 times (and thunderous smite onve to knock a person off a ledge) and it feels I'm near worthless in combat or out of spell slots all the time. Could be bc we dont have a healer anymore so I have to use healing spells and my lay on hands feels drained all the time. Maybe weve just had a lot of ranged encounters as well but I do feel resource limited
For races I like the option of Half-Elf specially because you could trade skill versatility with a wizard cantrip (Booming Blade) and combine it with War Caster and Polearm Master for a free reaction smite
My party is level 6. I am the paladin, our DM throwed a fuckn Glabrezu at us. Our sorcerer casted haste on me and I went ham on this thing… four attacks, four smites, 1 crit. Good rolls. One phased this Boss solo. THIS is why paladins are the MVPs.
Personal notes: 15 CON resilient + multiclass celestial warlock for eldritch blast (scales off character level) and Light cantrip in the dark, variant human polemaster sentinel, with shield as holy symbol and staff as arcane focus, free action to holster staff in shield hand when casting somatics, eldritch mind to keep hex going on 3 warlock levels, misty step, and 2nd invocation to boost your pact. RP wise a justice archon patron slowly takes over your body when you break your oath, eventually making you an DMPC vessel for the archon.
My most loved multiclass combo is oath of conquest paladin and warlock... of the undead. Gave it quite a overhaul when I took the unarmed fighting style and my hair went golden in form of dread. I became super Vegita!
I can’t say I was a fan of this guide but I certainly understand where you are coming from. I think you are missing a few things but that is me. Thanks for giving me your point of view.
Two other feats that you should consider using for paladins are Magic Initiate and Spell Sniper!! Paladins don't have any cantrips innately, so either getting two cantrips and a first level spell or one attack roll based cantrip and double the range on all spells that you cast gives your spell slots a much needed break!! Thoughts?
In my opinion, magic initiate suffers from having only 1 cast of your 1st level spell without the chance to use your spell slots. With access to blessed warrior, Fey touched, and other newer feats, I don’t think magic initiate is as valuable. Definitely not a bad feat but there are almost certainly better ways to get its effects. Spell sniper is an interesting one. For certain subclasses (like Oath of Glory) I think it’s a good option. You’d really have to commit to ranged damage. It’d be outside the typical Paladin MO but I think it could work. Thanks for commenting!
@@enterthedungeon I don't know about that. Choose Shield (or absorb elements) as your 1st level spel for magic initiatie. You can not only cast the spel once with the feat but you also learn the Shield spel and can cast it again with your lower level spel slots. Or yeah just multiclass into sorcerer but if that's not an option I think Magic Initiate could be worth it not the first feat i would take but good stuff.
Mounted combattant is very good on a paladin because of find steed and find greater steed. Perfect for slaying smaller enemies if there's space for a large warhorse to run arround that is. But advantage on all attack rolls against enemies that are smaller is crazy strong.
I’ve played paladins since 2nd edition. This is well put and nicely done. If everyone followed this especially the Roleplaying aspect then Wizards probably wouldn’t have relented on the Lawful Good requirement (which is playing easy mode for a paladin). Good stuff. Wouldn’t nerf them at all. Oft times they suffer from being MAD and gear dependence.
This was a great video. Thank you for this information dump on the Paladin. There was a time in the video you said don't dump all your lay on hands on a single PC but always save 10 for emergencies. I think there is one exception. If it's just you and the barbarian still alive and your barbarian is low on HP. Give it all to them.
I'm on my first campaign, and I went sorcerer for most of it but later for story reasons I also put 3 levels into paladin, though I didn't convert sorcery points into spell slots, instead the strategy was quickened spell, cast and then do a weapon attack, smiting was optional. It wasn't too game breaking cause we were past the halfway mark of the campaign by that point and the monsters the DM came up with could handle it, and it was also a lot of fun!
Also, I just wanted you to know that I have a Half-Elf Oath of Vengeance paladin that uses Vow of Enmity almost exclusively to gain advantage on ALL attack rolls on one creature for one minute!! Works for me, I'd say!!
Fantastic! I was more so alluding to parties where either a rule like flanking or faerie fire is employed so often that the Vengeance Paladin doesn't need to use Vow of Enmity often. But when you don't have that environment, it is absolutely a fantastic feature. Thanks for commenting!
This is an awesome video. ^_^ I dont think pally needs a nerf, but otherwise. Divine sense. I like that advice. I'll try and use it more often. Fighting styles: I feel like Dueling is still a good option. I dont like thje magic option so much,. Patient smiting is chef kiss perfect. So many pallies over use smite and then complain they have nothing to do. "Well yeah you dealt like 30 damage to a 5hp goblin and had nothing left for the actual boss.". It also fits thematically, Paladins shouldn't generally be gunning for a fight, much less breaking out their smites. This lets your party get moments in and saves your resources for where they really count. Encounter day- Soooo many problems are solved by "Run a full encounter day!"4-6, with 1-2 short rests. Weaknesses: DMs just dont make it impossible/boring. Spending an hour doing nothing... not fun. On exploiting oaths, give your pallies a heads up. A.) So they know to play along (Some players will forget to because they dont want to be a jerk) and B.) to talk about how you want to approach it. Too often in DnD we play improv, but it is ok to script and talk about it for moments like these. Specially when it involves areas that can be sticky or messy. The Paladin may not want to explore that avenue, or maybe the Rogue just needs to get their revenge on, you dont want a table situation where your players have hurt feelings) RP: "Paladins dont need a god" no, but it is MUCH more fun if you do. It is true that they aren't crusaders (Waay too many Pally players play like crusaders and not Knights.) Strategy I watched like 4 times... partly because Ive been up too long. But all good advice. Stick next to your allies, let the barb rush off alone. set the pace of battle, even if you arent using any tactics just letting your party know helps a lot (And a good DM wants you to win, so even if they see a way around it they are more likely to let you do the cool thing.) Healing was a new idea for me, I'll keep it in mind. Multiclassing, yeah Sorc/Pally and War/Pally can really bend the power curve over your knee and too often they are just power gaming. Thats where my line is on PG. Make a strong build, sure, but it shouldn't just be power gaming. Oaths- Conquest rings very "Evil Pally" for me, even more then oath breaker. Vengeance, no notes. Devotion is Pally classic, its a very good subclass if you want to just be a Paladin. Ancients was my first Pally, I liked it because it didnt seem so edge lordy as Ven but not as restrictive as Devotion. Sadly its CD is really lame but its a fun subclass. Watchers is cool, Im not sure I love redemption as much as you but it is a great subclass. Oathbreaker i have run annnd yeah its not really meant for that. If you want to play a Dark Knight kind of character, vengeance is an easier bet.
Playing an OoV Paladin and I really got into making myself a character arc before I realized that... duh. The campaign starts at level. Two. I don't have that yet. So I took inspiration from the archetypal perfect Oath of Vengeance Paladin fiction, Frank Castle. My guy just wants people who hurt others to get theirs and believes the world is a better place when bad guys are just dead. Maybe it doesn't fit exactly into D&D but it works. This video was a lot of help though. I always felt like Blessed Warrior HAD to be so good, and I look it up and see it getting trashed purely because of opportunity cost. Appreciated that validation.
Currently playing Pointy Hat's Oath of Love paladin. It's great because while I'm still very much the moral compass of the party I can still condone some pretty obvious laws being broken and while the character may not always be a fan it doesn't have anything to do with my oath. Even better, we are currently trying to save the son of one of the characters and before this quest started my paladin had said that there is few loves as powerful as that between a mother and their child. So while we have been on this quest they have been totally behind things that are borderline war crimes because it would almost be against their oath not to do whatever they can to reunite this mother and child. They are also a "non-denominational priest", essentially polytheist and pray to which ever god is most appropriate at the time. Both of these things have thrown off some veteran players in the game but the DM is loving it.
18:56 Ummm, akchually... That would be seven saving throws. 😉 Can't forget about those ever important death saving throws. Also, dipping two levels into Rogue would net you Cunning Action, really freeing you up to haul ass all over creation, smiting like a madman.
I am one who absolutely loves power gaming and finding ways to break the game. So Soradin and Padlock are awesome at that. Plus eldritch blast is definitely a nice fix for the whole range issue. Sorcerer is great with shield, misty step, hold person, quickened spell, twin spell, self haste, and just more spell slots in general. I am also an advocate for going champion if you take the fighter route. If you are a crit fisher, then doubling your chance of crit is absolutely beneficial.
Vengeance paladin is arguably one of the best ranged martials if you put even a 14 into your dexterity. Hunters mark does an amazing job at levelling the playing field and then some.
i absolutely agree with your stance towards the Aura of protection. one of my players is a Paladin multiclass with a focus on Charisma (it's a roleplay heavy game) and since 6th level, all saving throws get a +5 on all saving throws. (18 cha. at random stat roll + 2 at 4th level). as Long as the team is near the Paladin, nothing hits them properly xD But it forces me to use the battlemaps and terrain even more. combats without shoving my players around somehow are a lost cause for the enemies. I think the need to seperate the players creates quite the realistic and dynamic fight scnenes.
I played an oath of crown half orc paladin with a few levels in sorcerer (it made sense in story and it was more a out the natural AC if she was caught oit of armour and a little metamagic, in the end it was a P15/S3 build) and the amount of times i could lock down a battlefield with my divinity was insane. Saved the party alot of times cause she was an Abrams tank.
hey there, I'm playing a Paladin as my first 5e character and 1st actual campaign of DnD. I "played" 3/3.5e but that was more just massive one shot battles we did with friends. We're about to get 11th level and I wanted some opinion on which would be a better weapon upgrade from my generic +1 warhammer. A Holy Hammer: +1 warhammer with 1d8 bonus Radiant damage on hit (1d10 if I use 2 hands, which is never) with 1/day action to do 2d10 Radiant to all undead in 30 feet and Charisma save or be frightened of me. A Frost Hammer: +1 warhammer with 2d6 bonus cold damage. I'm the "semi" healer of the party. And yes I know "you should pick what you want to RP" If I get a choice (and the theme of the Character fits the Holy Hammer much better) but your videos are great and having already watched twice through to help the algorithm AI overlords I'd figure a comment would help the most. And I just want your opinion on how you would evaluate them as for a Paladin. Going with the Holy Hammer, it fits the theme of my Character, how I've RP'ed it but the holy hammer would basically be double dipping into radiant damage; where as the Frost hammer (or any other elemental, just type 2d6 bonus damage other than fire) would give the party consistent other damage type to go with Radiant. How do you weigh the ability versus the consistent damage.
Had a really fun campaign with all of us being paladins and we’re apart of an order of demon hunters ( basically space marines from 40k) it was awesome fighting hordes of demons and their lords
So I just started playing DnD and our DM was so happy I just didn’t start smiting from the beginning and that it gave everyone a chance to be their own character. Granted it was just a one shot and our group is only 4 people. 3 of us being absolutely new to the game with our DM the only one who has played multiple campaigns. We are starting an actual campaign soon and we have our session zero in about a week or two which we are all excited for! Currently for character creation I’m deciding between a swashbuckling rogue or glory paladin. Both seem fun to role play.
An excellent video to be sure, one that highlights my favorite class very well! My only question would be pertaining to 36:30 and the lack of Aasimar being mentioned? To me, it’s a perfect match, both thematically and mechanically.
1:04:36 I must ask, how have you seen their channel divinity fall flat? Vow of emnity allows 10 rounds of advantage on an enemy, that's like the samurai fighter's ability but better. I gotta know how such a thing failed?
If I were to make a crank guess at it, while advantage for 1 minute is valuable and certainly isn't the worst, most encounters tend to last 4ish rounds and once that target goes down, you've used up your channel. Not sure that's bad necessarily but it's certainly designed to be used against the nastiest threat and if not, there isn't as much value to it.
Charisma is also the move if you're playing a Hexadin. Hexblade Paladin can attack/damage with Charisma. Plus, you can RP it as your pact weapon being a shard of your chosen deity if your DM is up for that roleplay. This is due to the lore of Hexblades getting their powers from their weapons.
When you choose oath of vengeance for a subclass, I always like to use my vow of emity divinity which is a bonus action that allows you to have advantage on attack rolls for one minute on a target 10ft away from you. Just saying, combine that with a high level smite on a super strong boss... chef's kiss👌
Conquest paladin here, I tend to use the channel divinity when i notice a swarm of enemies, my barbarian has thanked me several times from simply turning his reckless attacks to a free advantage every round. Plus they can't move towards the group since I frontline and theyre afraid lol. I use blessed warrior too, using Guidance and Toll for a ranged option (other than my 2 level dip to hexblade to focus on charisma and con)
As paladin is my fav class, having played a CHA-based 5-lvl Hexblade/11-lvl Vengeance crit-fisher Pally in Candlekeep Mysteries, a CHA-based 3-lvl Eloquence Bard/8-lvl Redemption support/tank Pally in Icewind Dale, and a DEX-based X-lvl Blood Oath (yes, homebrew) Pally, I’d say the main weaknesses of the pally are ranged damage, which can absolutely be mitigated by a warlock/sorcerer multiclass, sneaking, but also crowd control. Yes, certain channel divinities give an AoE fear and Conquest(?) lets you set a frightened creatures speed to 0 but imo that’s nowhere near the level of CC of Slow, Hypnotic Pattern, but then also Wall of Force for instance. Paladins certainly are one of the stronger classes but imo wizards, druids, and sorcerers still reign supreme I’d say.
I really wanna play a half-elf paladin with a gladiator background for performance and fun braggy charisma personality. Start out with 16 in str con and char with 10 in wisdom. Blessed warrior with sword and shield. Probably oath of vengeance. Question is; should I level my ability scores at 4, 8 and 12 level, or settle with 16s and get sentinel, shield master, and war caster?
I would try to get your Cha to an 18 and then you can take feats. Like Warcaster and shield master. I personally wouldn’t take Sentinel as a Sword and Shield wielder.
Blessed Warrior really does change the game. At 5th level, a paladin'best ranged option is the javelin with a short range of 30ft, with a damage that taps out at 1d6+5, average of 8.5, because you can only throw one due to throw mechanics even if your dm ignores the rule its at best double that, which is fine. But a potential d12 of necrotic damage from Toll the Dead, that scales at 5th, 11th and 17th, against a dc thats arguably one of the weakest for enemies can be really fun. At 5th level its 13 damage on average for failure. 🔔
I have a Goliath Paladin I was playing with my parents (my dad's running the Rime of the Frostmaiden module), and his normal round of casting goes Shield of Faith and Divine Favor (we don't really pay attention to concentration on paladin spells.) then, I have 1 or 2 spell slots for critical moment smites.
The new earth genasi is also a good race for paladins. Being able to bonus action blade ward makes you so much more tanky. Immunity to difficult terrain makes you harder to slow down and a ones a day pass without a trace makes it vary hard to not make a stealth check and it helps the party
I was surprised to not see the Aasimar as a race recommendation. I mean, the race itself gets some Paladin adjacent abilities like a healing pool, mini-smites on each attack and gets fly speed to get around flying enemies. You basically get "more Paladin per Paladin".
Man that aura of protection. I sometimes try to force the party to split up just so my npc's can have a chance to use their tactics. Otherwise my ghost will just waste his turn trying to posses on of the pc's.
My favorite moment as a paladin was when I and some friends were playing Wildemount some time ago and we found a little rascal that had infested some tavern full of spiders. We followed the figure and encountered his lair, what succeeded was a fight agains a buttload of spiders in numerical advantage to us, while the guy just kept ressurecting them, but never attacked us. After the combat ended, we were shocked to discover the main enemy we were trying to bring down was just an abandoned child so lonely he resorted himself to being friends with spiders, and we had just killed his entire family. Needless to say we all almost killed ourselves when me and the wizard came in defense of the child, while the bard, the druid, the rogue and the fighter wanted to butcher it alive. I remember until these day the suspense when my character punched the living hell out of the bard for holding the child by it's neck and me and the mage teleporting when trying to prevent the rogue from stabbing the little one from behind.
I'm a big fan of Paladins to me I get a kick out of charging into a fight versus undead (Oath of Devotion) with Protection from undead, if your about to be surrounded use your Channel Divinity - Turn Undead. Reckless perhaps but fun, if you know your party members will back you up.
That's one of the great things about Paladins, the battle kinda moves around you! Plus, who wouldn't love nuking a horde of undead? Paladin is such a fun class :)
A while back I played a dex-based paladin. Backstory of a street rat that wishes to become better, and uses the tricks they learned in their youth to get the job done, was planning to be a true champion of inspiration When we hit level 3, we returned to our hub city from a quest to find the city was razed and everyone we knew dead or missing. Batman was just born lol Promised to find whoever did this, and make them pay, no matter what. DM looked at me and said it sounds like I just swore the oath of vengeance. The group ended up falling apart, but it was fun while it lasted. Used disguise kits and thieves tools to reach our targets. A paladin is often sworn to fight evil. Sometimes that evil is behind a locked door.
Best Paladin I have ever played in a roleplay setting is Oath of the Crown. Her oath to her queen. So when confronted with the suffering of the people, she was forced to examine her oath.
I use channel divinity a lot. For My Paladins. With devotion Sacred Weapon is a great opener in a fight do that and cast bless and then on your next turn destroy your enemies. And with Oath Of The Crown I like to use the rally when everyone is low or some people are knocked out you use it as a mass healing word. To heal everyone in the party.
I would argue that Charisma is the most important stat, then Constitution and Strength tied for second. A Strength of 16 is workable for sure. For Constitution, take war caster and the Resilient (Con) feat is another awesome option to max Con saves.
My shadar kai ranger/rogue was just reborn as a paladin (amazing story arc btw) and I am really looking forward to using the BotRQ to get into melee combat instead of out of.
My analytics tell me like 20% of you stay through the whole video and I gotta say thank you so much. It really helps UA-cam recommend the video. Also, thanks for sharing all your awesome Paladin multiclasses and stories in the comments. It warms my heart :)
Love your guides! Ive been watching this one and the druid ones on repeat (spore druid for the win!)
This is the first video of yours I’ve seen. I play a “Tankadin”. I like the way you present and the organization of the topics. I learned a few new things about my favorite class here. Paladins FTW!!
The best paladin fighting style is 'duelling' not ''blessed warrior'' or ''defence''.
d8 '+2' +stat closes the gap of other martials with a 2d6 maul or d12 weapon let alone Pole arm master builds.
A paladin should be side arm & board or Pole arm master for no pole arm 2 handed weapons are better suited to fighters-barbarians or even cleric with a maul can be dangerous.
A paladin is a mounted knight or heavily armoured footmen with a halberd/glaive-poleaxe for flavour is free.
I agree paladin is the best class but many of your choices are suboptimal as you get to obsessed with AC or tank survivability which should be no problem for a paladin.
if you have 20 let alone 22 AC 1hich is not difficult to achieve as paladin any more AC is really not worth the return as a 20 on a role will always hit.
More Ac is nice even if you did face a creature with a high +10 to attack any more then 29 is pointless.
Most creatures will have a +3 to hit on average so 22 is optimal though if you value Ac 23 starching to 24 is acceptable for an investment but I'd rather wait for magic armour & magic shields for them +1 to +3's to stack.
A basic paladin in plate & shield is 20Ac but a + 3 shield & armour is 26AC before Shield of Faith for 10 minutes +2 AC in those rare combats you need more AC.
I have seen a paladins obsess over AC till get in the 40's region & they crippled Pc's.
29Ac is enough let the 30's Ac region is not needed.
How often does anyone face a Tarrasque with +19 to hit & even then 38Ac is the cut off as 39 or higher does nothing from critical gits.?
You want to never be hit wear adamantium armour get a 39 Ac & aura of protection of +7 of you can some how get a +24 charisma.
29AC is fine & so is 20 in Charisma as if nothing can kill you their is no tension or reason to play the game beside RP if that!
Because a Paladins only real weakness is range sip warlock for eldritch smite or if paladin all the way seek movement speed from say the mobile feet or play a goblin for bonus action dash.
A paladin running at 80ft per turn will scare a DM more then any other build as you who & what to engage with no way to stop you!
You ideas for screwing the paladin class over are all absurd and blasphemy - you can go to the down down place, and take that nonsense with you - you will never do that in any game I am in.
Interesting points. Not that I agree with them all, but I’m on board with not allowing people to play paladins as an excuse to be disruptive.
My favorite multiclass for Paladin is 50/50 Paladin(Glory)/Bard(Valor). The idea of a person who sings the songs of the heroes of old and commits to living in their image or surpassing their deeds.
Valor’s greatest strengths are giving you an additional attack and armor, which you already have as a paladin. Go with Lore, Eloquence or Glamor instead.
I understand, but the combo is for the roleplay aspect as the valor bard's specifically represent skald's. If I wanted to be optimal Lore is definitly my go to for the magical secrets.@@ryancparker
@@ryancparker He's prolly into the roleplay concept, and frankly, it's dope imo. You are most likely gonna be ok either way with paladin and bard multi, so might as well go with flavor
@@giannig5258 A Glory Pally / Lore Bard offers the same flavor while providing more tools to roleplay with. How does one come to know the songs of long lost ancient heroes without an appreciation and knowledge of history? Roleplaying a valorous character doesn’t require a class title or redundant class mechanics.
I think Paladin (Ancient) and Bard (Lore) is also good since the Ancient likes song and dance
It's my favourite class, it doesn't need to do anything just standing close to your allies is enough. That's true power my friend. I wouldn't change a thing about them it's the perfect class to me.
I would make their channel divinity a bonus action. Perfection.
The fact that it’s one of the only classes that it’s hard to multiclass out as every level you get something worth keeping and it’s hard to make the argument to loose when you would get from just staying paladin. The only thing that works out is the hexblade thing
I love, how much respect you put on Oath of Ancients. It feels really underrated amongst the community and often overshadowed by Oath of Vengeance.
Always respect your elders!
@@enterthedungeon while I disagree with nerfing classes, I totally understand interesting ideas to nerf said classes. I played a Paladin fighter multi class (18 Paladin 2 Fighter) and I have to say playing at a table that runs the 3/4 combat encounters a day I really did struggle with resource management even in single big boss fights.
I played one and it made our team pretty unstoppable
I've always loved this class from the moment I first read it because it played against my preconceptions of everything I had heard of the class. And now as a more veteran player I love how stupid OP it can be when used right while still hitting some of my favorite RP itches
Heck yes with aura of prot your a one man shield
A negative to the Aura of Courage is that, while the dragon may not frighten you, your entire party is now well within AoE breath attack range of each other...
+4 to save ilia really nice tho
I once had my level 10 party survive 5-6 fireballs because of aura.
By the rule they don’t need to be in the aura right away. Anyone in it can’t have the frighting condition so just run around everyone that fails the save and now they are good
If you built your Paladin around Charisma -- which is stronger than building around Strength -- they also have a +5 to all their saving throws and are thus likely to take half damage regardless.
@@swxqt6826agreed with what you crossed out
I've always loved Hexblade Warlock looking like King Arthur, as it is Excalibur that gives him special powers. With that in mind, it makes for a good combo. A paladin who swears upon his sword, and that sword itself becomes the source of some of his power.
yeah absolutely such a powerfull dip, with just 1 level in Hexblade you only need charisma, con and a little bit of dex and you can ignore Strength. I played a Vengeance paladin once and the weapon he made a pact with was the magical greatsword of his murdered father who was an archangel. He swore to avenge his death and swore and oath of Vengeance. He would find the murderer (who was a lich by now) and bring Vengeance upon the wicked. The campaign ended upon level 14 ish. 3 level's of Hexblade warlock/11 levels of paladin yeah crazy strong and made a ton of thematic sense as wel. So it's very easy to have both a very mechanical Powerful character and a very rich rp character as wel.
That even works thematically because in many cases it's Authur's charisma that makes people flock to him and a lot of that doesn't happen until after receiving Excalibur. In most versions the dude is a nobody before getting the sword.
Years ago my friend and I were playing in a campaign with some mates at uni. He was oath of vengeance paladin, myself oath of redemption. It was one of the most intense RP sessions of that campaign when we had one of the bbeg's right hand were at our mercy. Think the DM was pretty happy about that
16:13 Yes i use my channel divinity ALL the time.
Im an oath of conquest paladin. and i get 2 choices for my channel divinity.
1) a +10 on hit roll, to ensure i hit my target (i usually wait a bit till i figure out what their AC is like... otherwise its a waste... and sometimes you just NEED to land the hit, especially with regenerating enemies.
2) i can fear EVERYONE, even friends in my sight.... like even ignoring the other conquest abilities (reducing movement of frightened enemies to 0 and dealing dmg to them per turn) this is already god tier. Swarm of goblins are killing your cleric? All of you make a wisdom saving throw, meanwhile i casually walk over to my downed cleric (which is safe because the enemies cannot go near me so also not near him) and ill just heal him with lay on hands. Surrounded at all sides by enemies, completely swarmed? Send them running away.
Like these powers are worth more than just a smite...
I mean yes a smite does deal more damage than either of these...
But you need to HIT first before you can smite....
And it doesnt matter if you smite 2,3 or 36 times.... if you die...
These channel divinity can ensure that you hit when it matters most. Or Crowd control an unlimited amount of targets.
Anyone who redeems this power for a MERE smite... is a fool in my opinion.
Oh great you deal a 2d8 damage in one turn...
Meanwhile you can have 27 goblins feared for 10 turns with some luck. who all get disadvantage on attacks etc...
Guess how many d's worth of damage you can do on your normal attack without being in any danger?
I’ve been watching quite a few Paladin guides over the last few week. This is probably the BEST Paladin guide I’ve seen. I’ve watched it 5 or 6 times. Great job. Please keep up the good work!
Currently running two campaigns, one as a Giff Paladin serving Tyr, the other is a Deep Gnome Necromancer lol basically polar opposites. You’re making me much more excited to play the good guy now 👍
Definitely need a Necromancer vid soon Dragon plz 🙏🙏🙏
I’m currently playing a Paladin who was raised to and planned on swearing the Oath of the Watchers (the campaign has a lot to do with planar travel and the threats related.), though right before she was going to swear her oath she suffered a huge betrayal and instead swore the Oath of Vengeance and it has been an rp highlight of my dnd career!
Need more long form videos like this! I was never interested in paladin. But watching this, I think I’ll take another look
We don't bend.
We don't kneel.
We will stand
and fight to the end.
If we fall
another will take the call.
31:51
One of the most interesting moral struggles I had as a Paladin was in Bauldur’s Gate 3 towards the end of Act 2. Spoilers ahead. I highly recommend looking away if you haven’t played the game because the storytelling is truly phenomenal and is ruined by spoilers:
Throughout the course of Shar’s Guantlet, my character, an Oath of the Ancients Paladin had come to realize that Shadowheart would need to sacrifice someone at the end of the trials to become a dark justiciar. It was also becoming increasingly apparent that doing so would turn her into an emotionless husk.
When finally confronted with making that sacrifice, my character failed the persuasion checks to tell Shadowheart what she was doing was wrong. Because of this, Shadowheart made it clear that I’d either have to let her sacrifice this innocent person, or I’d have fight (kill) her. My dialog options were:
1. Fine, get this over with.
2. This is wrong… but I don’t want to loose you.
And
3. Fight me then.
This was a major conundrum for me since as a Paladin, my character can’t let innocent people be killed. At the same time, I’d imagine that a Paladin should be very hesitant to kill their friends. Part of the Oath of the Ancients is to kindle the light (look in PHB for the tenants) and I thought that killing the person my character was courting/romantically involved with violated that tenant twice over.
So the decision really was: does my character protect this innocent person but kill his close friend and lover, or does he let this person die to avoid hurting his friend. I was so torn up about it, I let my gf decide and she went with the middle option: “This is wrong but I don’t want to loose you”. This ended up working out for me, as Shadowheart decided not so sacrifice this person of her own volition, but even weeks later I wonder if this was the moral decision. I even sorta think this should have counted as a break of the character’s oath even if it was the most moral outcome.
paladin is the most versatile class in dnd, it fulfills the role of a fighter and a caster multi-class in a way that no other class can do without multi-class
I'm going to be running an all lawful good paladin game soon. 5-8 paladins, each with different oaths, setups, etc. Their respective orders have tasked them to join forces and stop a dangerous cult. They will have plenty of opportunities to fail their god, order, and oaths. Smite accordingly
Last night I just got done with a session. I play a divine soul sorc mixed with bard (heavy support/heal build) and we have a paladin in our group. He just got aura of protection and it was literally the difference between most the party dying or making it out alive. Having an extra +4 and +bless to saves was a game changer! Our setup now is that my character isn't too far from his. I can distant cast cure wounds and throw out inspirations with a bonus action while he wails on anything that gets too close and makes sure I stay up. It was a lot of fun.
Crusaders mantle is so slept on. I was in a group with two pole arm masters and a dual wielder one of which was a echo knight. That 1d4 per attack doesnt sound like alot but omg does is add up quick
I happened to see this video by a notification and all I can say is: Thank you for the content and the tips I just love to see my favorite class receiving so much love and diligence. Subscribed to the channel!
Cha>Con>Str imo, aura of protection giving a +5 to every saving throw on entire party is just so insane
“…Because what is more evil than the government?”
You got me right there. Subbed.
hmm, what about a Swords bard paladin? Bard is a great multiclass for Paladin. Only thing I see you missed, this is an incredibly in depth video, keep up the great work!
I love Bards! However, the benefits can be augmented with any of the other classes mentioned. The Swords Bard's flourishes are just Battle Master maneuvers in my mind. Hexblade Warlock, Eldritch Knight fighter, or a Divine Soul sorcerer with the martial adept feat I think can all occupy that same role quicker and arguably with more benefits. However, Bards still mesh incredibly well with Paladins! Bardic inspiration, lots of new spells, and expertise make for a strong character.
Thanks for commenting!
I remember a time when I played a paladin, and I felt more powerful than any demon, and the scene that got me like "Yeah paladins will rule," was when a demon transport us to his area ig, I was the only paladin so my other members were trying to get out but we had to fight 3 demons, 1 boss and 2 like body guards, but my party went after the guards, I went after the boss. My plan was simple, hurt the boss a little and keep the boss fighting me until my party could help me, I hurt the boss so much he started to run away into a poisonous gas, the demon felt safe, until I walked into the gas, passed a check save and took 0 points of damage, I pushed the demon to a wall and Smited his ass back to hell. I killed the boss as fast as my party killed the two guards
It was the moment I imagined the demon is like "I trapped you hear to kill you all," and my paladin just laugh psychotically "We're not trapped in here with you, Your trapped in here with ME."
Hey man, brilliant video, i personally like paladins. I've noticed a mistake: divine smite.
It starts at 2d8 radiant damage, for a 1st level spel slot, to a max of 5d8 for a 4th level. And a bonus 1d8 against particular creature types.
Thoroughly entertaining video, and it must have been a huge effort that went into editing.
I loved it. In fact here have a subscriber. 😁
Edit: "cast a spell or cast sword" had me a good giggle.
Thanks for the sub I really appreciate it!
I think you might've gotten confused by the way I explained smite. Yeah you do 2d8 radiant damage at 1st level which is broken down into 1d8 base + 1d8 per level of the spell. Since its a first level spell, that adds up to 2d8. I could've messed up throughout the video so I'll scrub through and check. It was a LOT of editing but occasionally mistakes slip through!
@@enterthedungeon
In all sincerity, NO pressure. It's a small mistake I could overlook, because the effort that goes into crafting a video like this; that's fun, informative and entertaining. You change your tone enough that even your voice is fun to listen to, without becoming a bore.
I can appreciate the effort, because there's so much to think about. Honestly, THANK YOU!
@@trevorgreenough6141 I don't know if Enter the Dungeon edited the video or not, but as of 10/27/2023 it is correct. Base D&D has some bad wording for various things so I often have to discuss the fine print of D&D with my DM and the players I DM for. As in I allow smite to be used at a Cantrip level... hehe.
Base D&D (Player's Handbook pg. 82): "...The extra damage is 2d8 for a 1st-level spell slot, plus 1d8 for each spell level higher than 1st, to a maximum of 5d8. The damage increases by 1d8 if the target is an undead or a fiend, to a maximum of 6d8."
Enter the Dungeon (8:23-8:35): "...extra radiant damage to a target. You essentially >he did say essentially so he's not going exact wording< do 1d8 radiant damage plus an additional 1d8 for each spell level you burn. So if you're smiting at second level that's 2d8 damage from the spell level and an extra 1d8 on top of it."
The way that the PHB describes Smite is going off of the fact that each level of the spell slot used provides an additional 1d8. So I like thinking of it like this: Smite is like a non-infinite cantrip that must use a spell slot. If you were able to not use a spell slot it would only deal 1d8. This 1d8 I like to say is the base, it also what EtD means when he says "...an extra 1d8 on top of it." (8:32) Then, for every spell level burned you get an additional 1d8, "...plus an additional 1d8 for each spell level you burn." (8:23) So if Smite does a base of 1d8 + 1d8 per spell slot level if you used the highest level spell slot (4th-level) you'd get 5d8. Since Smite has to be used with a spell slot and the lowest is 1st-level then Smite is forced to have a minimum of 2d8, but in technicality it has a minimum of 1d8. That is why Enter the Dungeon said, it starts off at 1d8 and increased from there.
I hope that clears the misunderstanding. It was neither party's fault and was actually the third party's fault... Wizards of the Coast.
Tl:dr? Think of Smite like a cantrip, base damage 1d8, increasing with the level of the spell slot used.
@@codexoflols9515 Enter the Dungeon has replied. I didn't bother reading all of your reply it was too long. The problem is sorted.
@@enterthedungeonyeah you did the way it should be explained as its more intuative for how to use higher level spells.
I've been running an ancients paladin moon druid (only 2 in druid) multiclass in bg3. It compounds on paladin's ability to tank w/ wild shape, offers versatility (like being able to stealth as the cat), & thornwhip helps with paladins limited range.
This was absolutely excellent!!! I am playing my first paladin and you have helped me immensely.
good to see/hear you again, i like your content (especially druid)
Great video but we’ve got to talk about Devotion Paladin. It’s secondary aura is *Immunity to Charm* which has been so clutch. It saves the friendly fire consideration for hypnotic pattern, not to mention other offensive spells being cast at you.
It is basic, yes. But it is by far the best defensive Paladin I have seen because it’s Channel Divinity means you can use Charisma as your primary stat, buffing your aura and spells.
I’ve just hit 14th level with mine and he’s an absolute beast.
I like the segment in Smite 101. I personally use my first few Actions using my Channel Divinity (since I use oath of the watchers) and casting moonbeam etc. So I accidentally already follow this haha.
Maybe the most underrated dnd channel out there rn
For weaknesses, a Paladin will be horrible at sneaking
Yeah, horrible at sneaking, will likely dump int so won't be your party loremaster, they definitely aren't swimming in that heavy armor, and in combination with their resource management (which yes, it is still a weakness even if it doesn't come up at YOUR table), general lack of ranged damage in comparison to your ACTUAL ranged fighters, and they already have weaknesses BUILT INTO THEM from the jump. No adjustments required.
@@HighPhoenix1754ok yes except yes they will be swimming in that heavy armor because clerics spells and high athletics
@@persuisixh4804 lol but it doesn't negate the inherent weakness of the class.
I can literally say the same thing about Wizards covering the Fighter's general weakness against magic but it doesn't negate that weakness.
Teamplay ends up mitigating many weaknesses because.. it's a team game. Duh.
But in order for that to even matter, the class must have that weakness to begin with, which Paladin's definitely have, in spades.
@@HighPhoenix1754 no I mean paladins literally get walk on water and high athletics
@@HighPhoenix1754 not that they will get clerics to get spells cast on them I mean their spell list I’m over laps heavily with the clerics
Paladins:
Massive attack damage boosts with smite
Able to heal themselves and others and even cure diseases with lay on hands.
Able to resist any disease no matter how vile.
Able to have some of the best saving throw mods in the game.
Has a useful set of spells that increase their resilience and that of their teammates.
Can wear heavy armor and shields for great AC or can wield two handed weapons like a boss and smite with it.
And most importantly. They get to choose their manor of devotion and oath for hella flavor and rp.
For so many years no one wanted to play a goody good paladin, let alone have one in the party. 5e comes along and now they're the life of the DND party.
Your pronunciation of blessed is correct for Blessed Warrior. Blessed is always pronounced that way when used as an adjective meaning holy. It is completely different from the verb to bless.
You are making some of the best dnd videos, I’m adding to the algorithm
Thank you for the kind words!
My most memorable Paladin Experience was in a 16th level campaign, and the party was going through the Final Dungeon to get to the Big Bad. They were taking a Short Rest to get back some HP, but just noticed a Fire Giant coming down the hall to attack them, so ran into the next room...
The Throne Room...
So during the opening conversation, the Paladin dumped his ENTIRE Lay on Hands pool into himself, for 80 healing, to put him in a reasonable place for the last encounter :P
This is a really excellent deep dive into the Paladin class. It's informative but not verbose, it's insightful too, the whole section on how to play Paladin was the best part as it was what I've looked been looking for in a bunch of Pally build vids. Thank you! 👍
By now I have watched this video three times and taken notes. Thank you so much. Newish player here and this helped me a lot! Greetings from Germany.
I’ve watched this whole thing twice now in the past couple of months, I just really enjoy stuff like this
I love Oath of the Ancients, and any time I'm forced to use official content, it's always my go to. I've also made a Dex-heavy Paladin and took two levels in rogue and he was a nightmare.
A paladin can solo an easy to mid-level dungeon, not because they’re so strong, but because they’re so reliable in every single field
But the coolest thing is how much better all of your allies get when they’re near you
28:02 If a paladin believes his actions are righteous, a lie can be excused when told to protect or defend. If the oath is to protect a kingdom, a lie may be necessary to keep the king from making a grave mistake.
@18:55 "all 6 saving throws" - All 7 saving throws, at least where it concerns other party members. Death Saving Throws are a Saving Throw; this has likewise been established in a rule clarification regarding an ability on the Monk table that says they gain proficiency on all saving throws, that it also includes Death Saves. While the Aura of Protection stipulates that the Paladin has to be conscious (so they won't get this benefit from it themself) it says nothing about the recipient likewise having to be. That means that as long as you are near a fallen ally, they still have a greater chance of not dying with the Paladin there. Of course at that point Spare the Dying or Lay on Hands may be the better option unless for some reason (like being out of charges, or the area is under a Silence effect) they cannot be used right then.
My Paladin/Sorcerer had the blind sight fighting style. In any instance where there was magical darkness, this paired with Shadow Blade turned my pally into a boss blender.
New player here, and I played paladin as my first character. Most of the weaknesses you mention can be covered by just going a few levels into Hexblade Warlock. Now you can make CHR and CON your main stats to focus, while STR just sits at a 15 to make sure you can weild full plate. This also solves the low spell slots issue as you can get quite a bit back on just a short rest so you can keep smiting and/or buffing, and you get ranged attacks in the form of warlock spells, like Eldritch Blast. I'm currently a 2 paladin/1 Hexbalde warlock, and it works so well for me. I plan on getting at least 6 into warlock so I can get the spectre feature from hexblade. Still debating on weather to go Pact of Blade or Pact of Tome though. I love the magic system warlocks have, but with it being a paladin, Blade seems for appropriate to go so melee is even stronger.
24:28 every paladin I've ever played has struggled with resources. Any time we enter a dungeon or situation where we will have several small engagements over a length of time without room to rest I ended up being the weakest link. And when every spell opportunity is plagued by the "if I cast a spell it takes away a smite on the boss monster" issue then it gets really hard to use those support spells at low levels when resources are tight. It feels like playing a hexblade without the cantrips. It's why I almost never take more than 2 levels in paladin. Give me the smites and then let me get enough resources to use them
Ive only played one game, its a long campaign that we just got 9th level after starting at 3rd, ive used divine smite 4 times (and thunderous smite onve to knock a person off a ledge) and it feels I'm near worthless in combat or out of spell slots all the time. Could be bc we dont have a healer anymore so I have to use healing spells and my lay on hands feels drained all the time. Maybe weve just had a lot of ranged encounters as well but I do feel resource limited
This video is so good I subscribed by just watching this one from this channel.
Right now I'm playing a glory Paladin and I'm having a lot of fun
For races I like the option of Half-Elf specially because you could trade skill versatility with a wizard cantrip (Booming Blade) and combine it with War Caster and Polearm Master for a free reaction smite
My party is level 6. I am the paladin, our DM throwed a fuckn Glabrezu at us. Our sorcerer casted haste on me and I went ham on this thing… four attacks, four smites, 1 crit. Good rolls. One phased this Boss solo.
THIS is why paladins are the MVPs.
Wizards nerfed this.
I would have preferred we just give the boss a phase two.
So, what would you rather have as a Paladin? A higher constitution, or a higher charisma?
Constitution for America. Charisma for team buffs.
depends, but i would rather choose CON over CHA
Charisma
If you dip 1 level into hexblade so cha becomes your attack stat
Definitely charisma
I use channel divinity as an oathbreaker to control an undead pet, I refresh it everyday
Personal notes: 15 CON resilient + multiclass celestial warlock for eldritch blast (scales off character level) and Light cantrip in the dark, variant human polemaster sentinel, with shield as holy symbol and staff as arcane focus, free action to holster staff in shield hand when casting somatics, eldritch mind to keep hex going on 3 warlock levels, misty step, and 2nd invocation to boost your pact. RP wise a justice archon patron slowly takes over your body when you break your oath, eventually making you an DMPC vessel for the archon.
I use oath of vengeance channel divinity all the time
My most loved multiclass combo is oath of conquest paladin and warlock... of the undead. Gave it quite a overhaul when I took the unarmed fighting style and my hair went golden in form of dread. I became super Vegita!
Great video ty for this 🙏🙏
Amazing effort we appreciate it 😁🫡
I can’t say I was a fan of this guide but I certainly understand where you are coming from. I think you are missing a few things but that is me. Thanks for giving me your point of view.
Two other feats that you should consider using for paladins are Magic Initiate and Spell Sniper!! Paladins don't have any cantrips innately, so either getting two cantrips and a first level spell or one attack roll based cantrip and double the range on all spells that you cast gives your spell slots a much needed break!! Thoughts?
In my opinion, magic initiate suffers from having only 1 cast of your 1st level spell without the chance to use your spell slots. With access to blessed warrior, Fey touched, and other newer feats, I don’t think magic initiate is as valuable. Definitely not a bad feat but there are almost certainly better ways to get its effects.
Spell sniper is an interesting one. For certain subclasses (like Oath of Glory) I think it’s a good option. You’d really have to commit to ranged damage. It’d be outside the typical Paladin MO but I think it could work.
Thanks for commenting!
@@enterthedungeon I don't know about that. Choose Shield (or absorb elements) as your 1st level spel for magic initiatie. You can not only cast the spel once with the feat but you also learn the Shield spel and can cast it again with your lower level spel slots. Or yeah just multiclass into sorcerer but if that's not an option I think Magic Initiate could be worth it not the first feat i would take but good stuff.
Mounted combattant is very good on a paladin because of find steed and find greater steed. Perfect for slaying smaller enemies if there's space for a large warhorse to run arround that is. But advantage on all attack rolls against enemies that are smaller is crazy strong.
I’ve played paladins since 2nd edition. This is well put and nicely done. If everyone followed this especially the Roleplaying aspect then Wizards probably wouldn’t have relented on the Lawful Good requirement (which is playing easy mode for a paladin). Good stuff.
Wouldn’t nerf them at all. Oft times they suffer from being MAD and gear dependence.
This was a great video. Thank you for this information dump on the Paladin.
There was a time in the video you said don't dump all your lay on hands on a single PC but always save 10 for emergencies. I think there is one exception. If it's just you and the barbarian still alive and your barbarian is low on HP. Give it all to them.
I'm on my first campaign, and I went sorcerer for most of it but later for story reasons I also put 3 levels into paladin, though I didn't convert sorcery points into spell slots, instead the strategy was quickened spell, cast and then do a weapon attack, smiting was optional. It wasn't too game breaking cause we were past the halfway mark of the campaign by that point and the monsters the DM came up with could handle it, and it was also a lot of fun!
That's a great way to handle the multiclass. Also, with a good DM, any multiclass can be handled. Thanks for sharing!
Watched it all, great breakdown! I'm playing an Aasimar pali of redemption. Using either the blessed warrior or interception fighting style!
Also, I just wanted you to know that I have a Half-Elf Oath of Vengeance paladin that uses Vow of Enmity almost exclusively to gain advantage on ALL attack rolls on one creature for one minute!! Works for me, I'd say!!
Fantastic! I was more so alluding to parties where either a rule like flanking or faerie fire is employed so often that the Vengeance Paladin doesn't need to use Vow of Enmity often. But when you don't have that environment, it is absolutely a fantastic feature. Thanks for commenting!
This is an awesome video. ^_^ I dont think pally needs a nerf, but otherwise.
Divine sense. I like that advice. I'll try and use it more often.
Fighting styles: I feel like Dueling is still a good option. I dont like thje magic option so much,.
Patient smiting is chef kiss perfect. So many pallies over use smite and then complain they have nothing to do. "Well yeah you dealt like 30 damage to a 5hp goblin and had nothing left for the actual boss.". It also fits thematically, Paladins shouldn't generally be gunning for a fight, much less breaking out their smites. This lets your party get moments in and saves your resources for where they really count.
Encounter day- Soooo many problems are solved by "Run a full encounter day!"4-6, with 1-2 short rests.
Weaknesses: DMs just dont make it impossible/boring. Spending an hour doing nothing... not fun. On exploiting oaths, give your pallies a heads up. A.) So they know to play along (Some players will forget to because they dont want to be a jerk) and B.) to talk about how you want to approach it. Too often in DnD we play improv, but it is ok to script and talk about it for moments like these. Specially when it involves areas that can be sticky or messy. The Paladin may not want to explore that avenue, or maybe the Rogue just needs to get their revenge on, you dont want a table situation where your players have hurt feelings)
RP: "Paladins dont need a god" no, but it is MUCH more fun if you do. It is true that they aren't crusaders (Waay too many Pally players play like crusaders and not Knights.)
Strategy I watched like 4 times... partly because Ive been up too long. But all good advice. Stick next to your allies, let the barb rush off alone. set the pace of battle, even if you arent using any tactics just letting your party know helps a lot (And a good DM wants you to win, so even if they see a way around it they are more likely to let you do the cool thing.) Healing was a new idea for me, I'll keep it in mind.
Multiclassing, yeah Sorc/Pally and War/Pally can really bend the power curve over your knee and too often they are just power gaming. Thats where my line is on PG. Make a strong build, sure, but it shouldn't just be power gaming.
Oaths-
Conquest rings very "Evil Pally" for me, even more then oath breaker.
Vengeance, no notes.
Devotion is Pally classic, its a very good subclass if you want to just be a Paladin.
Ancients was my first Pally, I liked it because it didnt seem so edge lordy as Ven but not as restrictive as Devotion. Sadly its CD is really lame but its a fun subclass.
Watchers is cool, Im not sure I love redemption as much as you but it is a great subclass. Oathbreaker i have run annnd yeah its not really meant for that. If you want to play a Dark Knight kind of character, vengeance is an easier bet.
Playing an OoV Paladin and I really got into making myself a character arc before I realized that... duh. The campaign starts at level. Two. I don't have that yet.
So I took inspiration from the archetypal perfect Oath of Vengeance Paladin fiction, Frank Castle. My guy just wants people who hurt others to get theirs and believes the world is a better place when bad guys are just dead. Maybe it doesn't fit exactly into D&D but it works.
This video was a lot of help though. I always felt like Blessed Warrior HAD to be so good, and I look it up and see it getting trashed purely because of opportunity cost. Appreciated that validation.
Currently playing Pointy Hat's Oath of Love paladin. It's great because while I'm still very much the moral compass of the party I can still condone some pretty obvious laws being broken and while the character may not always be a fan it doesn't have anything to do with my oath. Even better, we are currently trying to save the son of one of the characters and before this quest started my paladin had said that there is few loves as powerful as that between a mother and their child. So while we have been on this quest they have been totally behind things that are borderline war crimes because it would almost be against their oath not to do whatever they can to reunite this mother and child. They are also a "non-denominational priest", essentially polytheist and pray to which ever god is most appropriate at the time. Both of these things have thrown off some veteran players in the game but the DM is loving it.
Always fun to see more pointy hat fans in the wild
Always fun to see more pointy hat fans in the wild
Always fun to see more pointy hat fans in the wild
Always fun to see more pointy hat fans in the wild
18:56 Ummm, akchually... That would be seven saving throws. 😉 Can't forget about those ever important death saving throws.
Also, dipping two levels into Rogue would net you Cunning Action, really freeing you up to haul ass all over creation, smiting like a madman.
I am one who absolutely loves power gaming and finding ways to break the game. So Soradin and Padlock are awesome at that. Plus eldritch blast is definitely a nice fix for the whole range issue. Sorcerer is great with shield, misty step, hold person, quickened spell, twin spell, self haste, and just more spell slots in general. I am also an advocate for going champion if you take the fighter route. If you are a crit fisher, then doubling your chance of crit is absolutely beneficial.
Vengeance paladin is arguably one of the best ranged martials if you put even a 14 into your dexterity. Hunters mark does an amazing job at levelling the playing field and then some.
i absolutely agree with your stance towards the Aura of protection.
one of my players is a Paladin multiclass with a focus on Charisma (it's a roleplay heavy game) and since 6th level, all saving throws get a +5 on all saving throws. (18 cha. at random stat roll + 2 at 4th level).
as Long as the team is near the Paladin, nothing hits them properly xD
But it forces me to use the battlemaps and terrain even more. combats without shoving my players around somehow are a lost cause for the enemies.
I think the need to seperate the players creates quite the realistic and dynamic fight scnenes.
I played an oath of crown half orc paladin with a few levels in sorcerer (it made sense in story and it was more a out the natural AC if she was caught oit of armour and a little metamagic, in the end it was a P15/S3 build) and the amount of times i could lock down a battlefield with my divinity was insane. Saved the party alot of times cause she was an Abrams tank.
I'm excited to start playing my Lawful Neutral Oath of Conquest Paladin in the D&D campaign I'm in soon.
hey there, I'm playing a Paladin as my first 5e character and 1st actual campaign of DnD. I "played" 3/3.5e but that was more just massive one shot battles we did with friends. We're about to get 11th level and I wanted some opinion on which would be a better weapon upgrade from my generic +1 warhammer.
A Holy Hammer: +1 warhammer with 1d8 bonus Radiant damage on hit (1d10 if I use 2 hands, which is never) with 1/day action to do 2d10 Radiant to all undead in 30 feet and Charisma save or be frightened of me.
A Frost Hammer: +1 warhammer with 2d6 bonus cold damage.
I'm the "semi" healer of the party. And yes I know "you should pick what you want to RP" If I get a choice (and the theme of the Character fits the Holy Hammer much better) but your videos are great and having already watched twice through to help the algorithm AI overlords I'd figure a comment would help the most. And I just want your opinion on how you would evaluate them as for a Paladin.
Going with the Holy Hammer, it fits the theme of my Character, how I've RP'ed it but the holy hammer would basically be double dipping into radiant damage; where as the Frost hammer (or any other elemental, just type 2d6 bonus damage other than fire) would give the party consistent other damage type to go with Radiant. How do you weigh the ability versus the consistent damage.
Had a really fun campaign with all of us being paladins and we’re apart of an order of demon hunters ( basically space marines from 40k) it was awesome fighting hordes of demons and their lords
So I just started playing DnD and our DM was so happy I just didn’t start smiting from the beginning and that it gave everyone a chance to be their own character. Granted it was just a one shot and our group is only 4 people. 3 of us being absolutely new to the game with our DM the only one who has played multiple campaigns. We are starting an actual campaign soon and we have our session zero in about a week or two which we are all excited for! Currently for character creation I’m deciding between a swashbuckling rogue or glory paladin. Both seem fun to role play.
An excellent video to be sure, one that highlights my favorite class very well! My only question would be pertaining to 36:30 and the lack of Aasimar being mentioned? To me, it’s a perfect match, both thematically and mechanically.
1:04:36 I must ask, how have you seen their channel divinity fall flat? Vow of emnity allows 10 rounds of advantage on an enemy, that's like the samurai fighter's ability but better. I gotta know how such a thing failed?
If I were to make a crank guess at it, while advantage for 1 minute is valuable and certainly isn't the worst, most encounters tend to last 4ish rounds and once that target goes down, you've used up your channel. Not sure that's bad necessarily but it's certainly designed to be used against the nastiest threat and if not, there isn't as much value to it.
I had a player make an oathbreaker to team up with a necromancer but the campaign didn't make far enough to get 3rd level spells.
Charisma is also the move if you're playing a Hexadin. Hexblade Paladin can attack/damage with Charisma. Plus, you can RP it as your pact weapon being a shard of your chosen deity if your DM is up for that roleplay. This is due to the lore of Hexblades getting their powers from their weapons.
My favorite is a Goliath Rune Knight fighter for the win.
When you choose oath of vengeance for a subclass, I always like to use my vow of emity divinity which is a bonus action that allows you to have advantage on attack rolls for one minute on a target 10ft away from you. Just saying, combine that with a high level smite on a super strong boss... chef's kiss👌
Spare the dying is a pretty meh cantrip for a paladin. Lay on hands does the job better.
I agree
I would take toll of the dead or sacred flame/word of radiance
Conquest paladin here, I tend to use the channel divinity when i notice a swarm of enemies, my barbarian has thanked me several times from simply turning his reckless attacks to a free advantage every round. Plus they can't move towards the group since I frontline and theyre afraid lol. I use blessed warrior too, using Guidance and Toll for a ranged option (other than my 2 level dip to hexblade to focus on charisma and con)
What about a paladin lancer with charge on a Pegasus or gryphon for closing distance? Also melee weapons with the Return enchantment like Mjolnir
As paladin is my fav class, having played
a CHA-based 5-lvl Hexblade/11-lvl Vengeance crit-fisher Pally in Candlekeep Mysteries,
a CHA-based 3-lvl Eloquence Bard/8-lvl Redemption support/tank Pally in Icewind Dale, and
a DEX-based X-lvl Blood Oath (yes, homebrew) Pally,
I’d say the main weaknesses of the pally are ranged damage, which can absolutely be mitigated by a warlock/sorcerer multiclass, sneaking, but also crowd control. Yes, certain channel divinities give an AoE fear and Conquest(?) lets you set a frightened creatures speed to 0 but imo that’s nowhere near the level of CC of Slow, Hypnotic Pattern, but then also Wall of Force for instance.
Paladins certainly are one of the stronger classes but imo wizards, druids, and sorcerers still reign supreme I’d say.
I really wanna play a half-elf paladin with a gladiator background for performance and fun braggy charisma personality. Start out with 16 in str con and char with 10 in wisdom. Blessed warrior with sword and shield. Probably oath of vengeance.
Question is; should I level my ability scores at 4, 8 and 12 level, or settle with 16s and get sentinel, shield master, and war caster?
I would try to get your Cha to an 18 and then you can take feats. Like Warcaster and shield master. I personally wouldn’t take Sentinel as a Sword and Shield wielder.
Oath of glory screams gladiator to me
Blessed Warrior really does change the game. At 5th level, a paladin'best ranged option is the javelin with a short range of 30ft, with a damage that taps out at 1d6+5, average of 8.5, because you can only throw one due to throw mechanics even if your dm ignores the rule its at best double that, which is fine.
But a potential d12 of necrotic damage from Toll the Dead, that scales at 5th, 11th and 17th, against a dc thats arguably one of the weakest for enemies can be really fun. At 5th level its 13 damage on average for failure. 🔔
I have a Goliath Paladin I was playing with my parents (my dad's running the Rime of the Frostmaiden module), and his normal round of casting goes Shield of Faith and Divine Favor (we don't really pay attention to concentration on paladin spells.) then, I have 1 or 2 spell slots for critical moment smites.
Your video guide is the best out there for paladins. I have used it like a gospel! Will you please do one for the 2024 version of paladin??
Instead of Charger feat I prefer to find a way to get a bonus action Dash (Orc, 2 lvls Rogue, 3 lvls Totem Eagle or Elk Barbarian)
The new earth genasi is also a good race for paladins. Being able to bonus action blade ward makes you so much more tanky. Immunity to difficult terrain makes you harder to slow down and a ones a day pass without a trace makes it vary hard to not make a stealth check and it helps the party
There should be a longsword and greatsword version of polearm master.
Swordsman use the entire sword, not just the sharp and pointy bits.
I was surprised to not see the Aasimar as a race recommendation. I mean, the race itself gets some Paladin adjacent abilities like a healing pool, mini-smites on each attack and gets fly speed to get around flying enemies. You basically get "more Paladin per Paladin".
Man that aura of protection. I sometimes try to force the party to split up just so my npc's can have a chance to use their tactics. Otherwise my ghost will just waste his turn trying to posses on of the pc's.
My favorite moment as a paladin was when I and some friends were playing Wildemount some time ago and we found a little rascal that had infested some tavern full of spiders. We followed the figure and encountered his lair, what succeeded was a fight agains a buttload of spiders in numerical advantage to us, while the guy just kept ressurecting them, but never attacked us. After the combat ended, we were shocked to discover the main enemy we were trying to bring down was just an abandoned child so lonely he resorted himself to being friends with spiders, and we had just killed his entire family. Needless to say we all almost killed ourselves when me and the wizard came in defense of the child, while the bard, the druid, the rogue and the fighter wanted to butcher it alive. I remember until these day the suspense when my character punched the living hell out of the bard for holding the child by it's neck and me and the mage teleporting when trying to prevent the rogue from stabbing the little one from behind.
I'm a big fan of Paladins to me I get a kick out of charging into a fight versus undead (Oath of Devotion) with Protection from undead, if your about to be surrounded use your Channel Divinity - Turn Undead. Reckless perhaps but fun, if you know your party members will back you up.
That's one of the great things about Paladins, the battle kinda moves around you! Plus, who wouldn't love nuking a horde of undead? Paladin is such a fun class :)
A while back I played a dex-based paladin. Backstory of a street rat that wishes to become better, and uses the tricks they learned in their youth to get the job done, was planning to be a true champion of inspiration
When we hit level 3, we returned to our hub city from a quest to find the city was razed and everyone we knew dead or missing. Batman was just born lol
Promised to find whoever did this, and make them pay, no matter what. DM looked at me and said it sounds like I just swore the oath of vengeance.
The group ended up falling apart, but it was fun while it lasted. Used disguise kits and thieves tools to reach our targets.
A paladin is often sworn to fight evil. Sometimes that evil is behind a locked door.
Best Paladin I have ever played in a roleplay setting is Oath of the Crown. Her oath to her queen. So when confronted with the suffering of the people, she was forced to examine her oath.
I use channel divinity a lot. For My Paladins. With devotion Sacred Weapon is a great opener in a fight do that and cast bless and then on your next turn destroy your enemies. And with Oath Of The Crown I like to use the rally when everyone is low or some people are knocked out you use it as a mass healing word. To heal everyone in the party.
I would argue that Charisma is the most important stat, then Constitution and Strength tied for second. A Strength of 16 is workable for sure. For Constitution, take war caster and the Resilient (Con) feat is another awesome option to max Con saves.
My shadar kai ranger/rogue was just reborn as a paladin (amazing story arc btw) and I am really looking forward to using the BotRQ to get into melee combat instead of out of.