Warriors of justice, knights imbued with divine power, and mounted wielders of divine magic, paladins are one of the most self-sufficient classes in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dungeons & Dragons and fit easily into any party. In fact, they're almost a whole party by themselves, capable of healing, wearing armor, distributing buꦓffs, and dealing enormous amounts of damage.

Paladins were often considered to be the strongest class in the 2014 Player's Handbook, and while the 2024 rules update scaled them back slightly, they're still a force to be reckoned with, and they're far easier to roleplay in newer editions. With a little guidance, you can build your very own k♐night in shining armor.

Paladin Highlights

At a glance, paladins seem like they’re half fighter, half cleric: They get the same hit dice, weapon proficiencies, and Fighting Style as fighters, plus half of the spellcasting progression of clerics and a spell list that largely pulls from the cleric 🐎list.

The ability to wear plate armor and carry a shield combined with the ability to heal themselves makes paladins a force to be reckoned with in melee, and in a pinch, they can also act as the party’s healer. While no man is an island, a paladin is practically a one-man army.

Differences From The 2014 Players Handbook

Paladins have undergone a lot of changes between the 2014 and 20ജ24 Player’s Handbooks, mostly at ꧋lower levels.

Lay on Hands can no longer remove diseases, but it has been reduced to a Bonus Action instead of an Action, which makes it more useful in combat. Spellcasting has also been buffed slightly, since paladins can start casting spells at level one instead of waiting until level two. However, they’re a little more locked into their spell 🌜selection, since they can only change one prepared spell per Long Rest.

Paladins also get Weapon Mastery at level one, the same as fighters, allowing them to add additional effects to their weapon-based attacks. This works well with Fighting Style at level two. Paladins are now able to choose any Fighting Style from the same list as fighters, so you can finally make a ra🐠nged paladin with the Archery fighting style. Or, if you want to focus on divine spellcasting, you can take two cleric cantrips by choosing Blessed Warrior instead.

Just because you can make a ranged paladin doesn’t mean yoꦑu sh🗹ould. paladins get a lot of bonuses in melee that they miss out on during ranged combat.

Divine Smite is now a spell, and starting at level two, paladins always have it prepared. They can cast it once per Long Rest for free; after that, they can cast it with a spell slot as a Bonus Action immediately after landin🌳g 🍌a melee attack (including an unarmed strike).

Divine Health has been removed, and Divine Sense is an option for Channel Divinity instead of being separate. It’s the only Channel Divinity option initially available in the base class, but each sub💯class has an additional option at the same level that paladins gain this class feature.

Paladins have been traditionally associated with their mounts, and at fifth level, paladins now get the Find Steed spell to cast free once per Long Rest (or from a spell slot afterward). The summoned mounts all use the same stat blocks (with some variation based on the origin) but can be any type of appropriꦇate creature, so you can have a warhorse, an elk, a reindeer, or even a unicorn.

As always, the result of this spell is at your DM's🅠 discretion. They might be okay with a dir🍃e wolf mount for an orc, but not a gnome, and might outright reject your bid for a unicorn or griffon.

All paladin auras have been combined into Aura of Prꦓotection: instead of adding new auras at higher levels, those effects are added to the Aura of Protection. Functionally, it’s virtually identical but a little less clunky.

Abjure Foes moves the Abjure Enemy feature from the oath of vengeance subclass to the class proper, giving all paladins the ability to frighten their foes with their Holy Symbol or weapon.

Radiant Strikes is the new name for Improved Divine Smite but is otherwise unchanged. Meanwhile, Cleansing Touch is gone and replaced by Restoring Touch, which allows you to use five points worth of Lay on Hands to clear one status condition from the target.

Subclass Highlights

Paladin subclasses are represented as paladins who follow different oaths: an oath of oen𝄹geance oaladin is 🐲sworn to hunt and smite evil, while an oath of the ancients paladin is devoted to protecting life in all forms.

Oath of vengeance, oath of the ancients, and oath of devotion paladins received minor rules updates from the 2014 Player’s Handbook, as well as simplified versions of the oaths. Meanwhile, oath of glory paladins have been imported from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything into the core rulebook.

Oath Of Devotion

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Oath of devotion paladins are the most similar to the paladins from Third Edition: they’re very much driven by൲ honor and adherence to law and try to set the example of what a champion of their god or order should look like. Fans of cla🎃ssic paladins will enjoy this subclass.

Oath of devotion paladins can be tough to roleplay in more chaotic parties, and you may find your character at odds with your companions. This, c🐼ombined with the fact that all of a devotion paladin’s best features are available at level three, means that you might want to stick to low-level campaigns for this build.

Oath Of Glory

Paladins who take the oath of glory devote themselves to grand adventures and feats of strength and to the pursuit of glory. These are the crusaders who go out looking for adventure, not to get rich but rath✃er to become a hero of legend.

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Oath of glory paladins get a lot of class features that revolve around giving themselves and their allies bonuses, like the Enhance Ability ൲spell and Inspiring Smite. This makes them feel almost like bards in a suit of armor, but they have a lot mo🥀re survival skills and damage output than the classic buffing class.

Oath Of The Ancients

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Oath of the ancients paladins love life and celebrate nature. They devote themselves to protecting and encouraging⛄ life in all forms, so of all the paladins, they're the ones most likely to be found in ജthe wilderness or among the elves.

As defenders of life, oath of the ancients paladins gain abilities that help them protect themselves and their allies, wi🐭th a natural twist. Nature's Wrath gives them a little crowd control, while Aura of Warding protects everyone around you from Rad🐻iant, Necrotic, and Psychic damage.

Oath Of Vengeance

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Oath of vengeance paladins are devoted to justice, acting as judge, jury, and executioner and punishing evildoers. They can have a🦋 bit of an anime protagonist feel, since their primary drive is often revenge against the person or type of monster that traumati🍸zed them, like a construct razing their hometown or a giant eating their parents in front of them.

Paladins who have taken the oath of vengeance get several subclass features that help them to keep their targets from escaping, such as the Relentless Avenger feature, which allows them to drop an opponent's move speed to zero for a turn and to land attacks more consistently.

Best Species Options

Anyone can take the vows to b🅠ecome a paladin, but a few species are better suited for it than others. Don't let that stop you from choosing another species, though!

Dwarves make excellent paladins, and not just because of the stereotype of armor-clad dwarves swinging mauls as large as they are sticks in people's minds. They get extra hit points and resistance to Poison, one of the more common damage types, which are both phenomenal for melee combatants. Add Darkvision and Tremorsense so that they can fight in t𝔍he dark and🌠 against invisible opponents, and you've got a killer paladin from the start!

Elves may not seem beefy enough to be paladins, but they get some innate spellcasting outside the paladin spell list that adds to the class's utility. That, plus Darkvision and an extra skill, makes an el🎶vish paladin an extremely versatile character.

Gnomes don't seem like they'd be particularly intimidating paladins, but the advantage to saves from Gnomish Cunning, along with the bonus from your Aura of Protection, means you'll almost never fail an Intelligence, Charisma, or Wisdom saving throw. Plus, you get the always-useful Darkvision and a couple of cantrips outside the paladin spell list.

Depending on which Giant Ancestry option you choose, goliaths can make excellent paladins. Cloud’s Jaunt can get you in and out of combat easily, Fire’s Burn and Frost’s Chill add damage to your weapon attacks without taking up any action slots, and Stone’s Endurance can absorb a lot of damage. Hill’s Topple might be the bꩲest, though, allowing you to knock an opponent prone when you𝓰 land an attack.

Humans get an extra feat and skill, allowing them to pe෴rform well as any class. Human fighters are a little more versatile than other species as a result.

Best Stat Placement

Paladins are one of the classes that are most dependent on having a lot of high ability scores, requiring at least three high scores to function properly. This can make stat placement difficult, especially if you're using the standardꦚ array.

If your DM prefers to us🀅e randomized stats, talk to them about creating characters out of order. Three or four high rolls give you a great oppor𓆉tunity to make a paladin or monk, whereas a single high roll might mean it's a good campaign to play a wizard.

Strength is the most important ability score for Strength-based paladins, but it is usually a dump stat for Dexterity-based paladins. The exception is blessed warrior paladins, who will want 15 in order to 🀅qualify for heavy armor.

Similarly, Dexterity is the most important stat for a Dexterity-based paladin, but it’s a dump stat for strengt𓃲h-based pওaladins, since it doesn’t give the AC bonus of previous editions.

Constitution is vital, not onജl🅰y for the extra HP but also for the saves. Paladins do not get proficiency with Constitution saves, so you'll need as much as possible in order to avoid having spells interrupted by failed concentration checks.

Wisdom is good for all kinds of saves, but paladins are already stretched thin. Use this asᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ a dump stat unless you get a fourth high roll on randomized stats.

Intelligence does nothing for ꧃paladins. This should be your lowest score.

Charisma is a paladin's spellcasting stat; it also determines the bonuses from the Aura of Protection. Several paladin skills are Charisma-based, and blessed warrior paladins may end up using it as their main offensive stat instead of Strength or Dexterity. This should be your second-highest stat.

Best Spells For Paladins

Paladins don't get a lot of spells, and some of their best spells, like Divine Smite and Find Steed, are provided for free as part of their cl🗹ass features. Most spell slots will end up being used for smites, so no Smite spells aside from a level-one option will be presented.

Best Starting Equipment

By default, paladins get a set of chain mail, a shield, a longsword, six javelins, a holy symbol, a priest's pack containing a backpack, a blanke🐠t, holy water, a lamp, seven days worth of rations, a 🌺robe, and a tinderbox, plus nine gold pieces (GP). They can choose to start with 150 GP instead of this starting package.

The paladin starting package is solid for a Strength-based Paladin: you won't be able to buy better armor with that starting GP, but the weapons aren't outstanding. If you have the opportunity, use the remaining GP on a trident and a waterskin, and c♒oꦅnsider trading up the longsword for a maul or rapier, depending on your build.

If you're building based around Dexterity, you can rebuild the starting package from 150 GP and buy studded leather armor right off the bat.

Weapons

Paladins are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, and there are a LOT of good martial weapons. Unfortunately, the nature of Divi♑ne Smite means that they don't get any bonus to dual-wielding or ranged attacks, which locks them into melee. A ranged weapon is a good idea for a backup fꦿor dealing with flying or otherwise unreachable opponents.

If you want to play aggressively with a two-handed weapon, a maul is an excellent option. Topple m𒅌eans you can knock an oꦺpponent down and then take attacks with Advantage while they’re on the ground.

Rapiers are an excellent choice for paladins built around Dexterity. Since they’re Vex weapons, once you hit, you’ll keep on hitting on you♐r follow-up attacks.

The halberd has Reach and Cleave, so you can get a free attack against an enemy standing behind the first one that you attackജ. Reach weapons, 🍬in general, are fantastic.

Tridents are an excellent option: they're versatile (so you can use them with one or two hands), have the Topple trait, and can be thrown, giving you the ability to knock opponents prone at range. Use that feature to protect allies or drop flying enemies out𒉰 of the sky.

Armor

Like ability scores, armor is dependent on your build. Dexterity paladins should pick up studded leather armor, while Strength-based paladins should upgrade to full plate armor as soon as they can.

Shields provide a plus-two bonus to AC, which is pretty big, so any paladin not using a two-handed weapon should use their shield, as well.

Best Feats And Backgrounds

A lot of feats loꦛok initially appealing for paladins, but a few stand out above the rest. We won't address Epic Bo🍒ons, since by the time you earn those, you should have established your style and be more aware of your needs than this guide can hope to match.

Anyone can become a paladin, whether they were raised in a monastery or are a noble seeking vengeance for the murder of both of their parents. Still, some backgrounds are m🔯ore suitable for a Paladin than others.

Best Multiclass Options

Paladins have enough class features and do them well enough that there are really 🍎no multiclass options that make them more useful than their base class. However, a few offer some advantages.