5e paladin- Paladins in Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition (5e) are known for their devotion to a higher purpose, combining martial prowess with divine magic. These holy warriors are often the backbone of a party, capable of dealing significant damage, healing allies, and protecting the weak. In this guide, we’ll dive into everything you need to know about the 5e Paladin, including its key abilities, subclasses, and how to make the most of this powerful class.
Creating a Paladin: Choosing the Right Abilities
When creating a Paladin, the two most important ability scores are Strength and Charisma. Strength is crucial for melee combat, as Paladins often rely on heavy weapons to deal damage. Charisma powers many of their spellcasting abilities, a unique aspect that separates them from other melee-focused classes.
Primary Ability Scores:
Strength: Paladins are front-line fighters who rely on high Strength to wield weapons like greatswords and battleaxes. A strong Strength score will boost your attack and damage rolls, making you a force to be reckoned with in combat.
Charisma: Your spellcasting ability is based on Charisma. This score also enhances key class features such as Divine Smite and Lay on Hands.
Constitution: A decent Constitution score helps increase your hit points, which is crucial for any front-line character.
Secondary ability scores include Wisdom (for saving throws) and Dexterity (for initiative and armor class when not wearing heavy armor).
Paladin Class Features
Paladins come with a wide array of powerful features, allowing them to be versatile in combat and provide support to the rest of the party.
Divine Sense:
At 1st level, Paladins gain the ability to sense the presence of evil or good creatures nearby. This ability has limited uses per day, but it can be invaluable for detecting hidden threats like fiends and undead.
Lay on Hands:
This is one of the most iconic abilities for the Paladin. Lay on Hands allows you to heal yourself or others by using a pool of hit points equal to your Paladin level times five. This healing can be used all at once or spread out over multiple uses, giving Paladins powerful in-combat and out-of-combat healing options.
Fighting Style:
At 2nd level, Paladins can choose a Fighting Style that shapes their combat approach. Some popular choices include:
Defense: Grants a +1 bonus to Armor Class when wearing armor, making you harder to hit.
Dueling: Adds +2 to damage rolls when wielding a weapon in one hand, ideal for sword-and-shield setups.
Great Weapon Fighting: Re-rolls 1s and 2s on damage dice when wielding two-handed weapons, maximizing your damage output.
Divine Smite:
Perhaps the most beloved Paladin ability, Divine Smite allows you to expend a spell slot to deal radiant damage in addition to your weapon’s damage. This ability makes Paladins a serious threat against undead and fiends, but it also helps take down powerful enemies quickly.
Paladin Spellcasting
Starting at 2nd level, Paladins gain limited spellcasting abilities. While their spell slots are fewer than a full caster like a Wizard or Cleric, their spell list includes healing spells, buffs, and smites that enhance combat performance.
Notable Spells:
Cure Wounds: A reliable healing spell that can be cast in and out of combat.
Bless: A great support spell that enhances the attack rolls and saving throws of your allies.
Shield of Faith: Provides a +2 bonus to Armor Class, perfect for protecting yourself or an ally.
Wrathful Smite: A smite that adds psychic damage and causes enemies to be frightened if they fail a Wisdom saving throw.
Choosing a Sacred Oath
At 3rd level, Paladins must choose a Sacred Oath, which defines their overall role and flavor. Each Oath grants new abilities, spells, and role-playing opportunities.
Oath of Devotion: This is the classic Paladin, embodying the ideals of justice, honor, and virtue. Devotion Paladins are protectors of the innocent and destroyers of evil.
Sacred Weapon: Channel Divinity to add your Charisma modifier to attack rolls for one minute.
Aura of Devotion: Grants immunity to being charmed to you and nearby allies.
Holy Nimbus: At 20th level, you can emit an aura of sunlight that damages enemies and dispels magical darkness.
Oath of Vengeance: Vengeance Paladins are relentless hunters of evil. They are willing to do whatever it takes to bring their enemies to justice, even if it means bending the rules.
Abjure Enemy: Channel Divinity to frighten a single enemy and reduce their movement speed to zero.
Vow of Enmity: Gain advantage on attack rolls against a chosen enemy.
Avenging Angel: At 20th level, transform into a winged angel with increased damage output and flight.
Oath of the Ancients: Paladins of this Oath are protectors of life and nature. They take a more druidic approach, focusing on preserving the natural world.
Nature’s Wrath: Channel Divinity to restrain enemies with vines and nature magic.
Aura of Warding: Reduces damage taken from spells for you and your allies within 10 feet.
Elder Champion: At 20th level, become an avatar of nature, gaining regenerative abilities and increased spellcasting.
Aura of Protection and Auras
Paladins have a powerful class feature known as Aura of Protection, which kicks in at 6th level. This ability grants all allies within 10 feet of you a bonus to their saving throws equal to your Charisma modifier. As you level up, this aura grows in power, eventually extending to 30 feet at 18th level.
In addition to Aura of Protection, Paladins gain additional auras depending on their Sacred Oath. For example, Oath of Devotion Paladins get Aura of Devotion, which grants immunity to charm effects.
Multi-Classing as a Paladin
Paladins are great candidates for multi-classing, especially with classes that complement their strengths in melee combat and Charisma-based abilities.
Popular Multiclass Options:
Sorcerer: Sorcerers and Paladins both rely on Charisma, making this a natural combination. The sorcerer’s spellcasting can enhance the Paladin’s combat abilities, and Divine Smite can benefit from additional spell slots.
Warlock: Warlocks offer expanded spellcasting and unique invocations. The Hexblade subclass, in particular, is popular for enhancing the Paladin’s melee capabilities.
Fighter: Multiclassing into Fighter gives access to Action Surge, which allows you to take an additional action on your turn. This can be extremely powerful when combined with Divine Smite.
Role-Playing a Paladin
Paladins are driven by a strong sense of duty, but their personality and backstory can vary greatly depending on the chosen Sacred Oath. While some Paladins are lawful good and unwavering in their commitment to justice, others may have more complex motivations, such as the Vengeance Paladin’s desire for revenge.
When role-playing a Paladin, consider the following:
What drives your character? Are they driven by faith, a personal code of honor, or a specific cause?
How do they interact with others? Paladins often hold themselves to a high moral standard, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be flawed or conflicted.
Conclusion
The 5e Paladin is a versatile and powerful class that can take on a wide range of roles, from front-line tank to supportive healer. With access to heavy armor, divine smites, and spellcasting, Paladins are often seen as the ultimate holy warriors. Whether you’re fighting for justice, vengeance, or the protection of nature, the Paladin class offers rich gameplay and role-playing opportunities.
FAQs
What are the main abilities of a 5e Paladin?
A 5e Paladin excels in combat, healing, and support. Their main abilities include Divine Smite, Lay on Hands (healing), and spellcasting. They also have strong defensive auras that help protect allies.
What is Divine Smite, and how does it work?
Divine Smite allows Paladins to expend spell slots to deal radiant damage to a target when they hit with a melee weapon attack. The damage increases based on the level of the spell slot used, making it one of the most powerful Paladin abilities.
Can Paladins cast spells in D&D 5e?
Yes, Paladins are partial spellcasters. They gain spell slots from level 2 onwards, primarily focusing on support and healing spells. Popular spells include Cure Wounds, Shield of Faith, and Bless.
What are the best Paladin subclasses in 5e?
The most popular subclasses include Oath of Devotion (classic protector), Oath of Vengeance (damage-focused), and Oath of the Ancients (nature-themed). Each subclass offers unique abilities that cater to different playstyles.
How does a Paladin’s oath affect gameplay?
A Paladin’s oath determines their subclass and roleplay. Breaking an oath can have consequences, like losing certain abilities until atonement. The oath represents a code or mission that guides the character’s actions.
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