D&D 5E Ok I have to ask..... what's with the Paladin hate on here?

[Mistwell]

It's really just a long-running joke started by [MENTION=6799753]lowkey13[/MENTION] - he really does seem to hate paladins. I think after some of us teased him about it, it became a more widely used gag.

You will also see the same effect spreading from lowkey's hate of gnomes and rapiers to a lesser extent.

It's dexadins and Polearm Master paladins that deserve the hate.

Regular old sword-and-board paladins, and even (maybe) great weapon Vengeance paladins, are just fine.

OK then I am making a gnome rapier-wielding dexadin. Maybe he will dual-wield them. This is going to be awesome!

 

[TwoSix]

All the paladin love in this thread is going to give Lowkey a serious case of the sads.

 

[Leatherhead]

It's a meme that originated back in the day due to Paladins being sticks-in-the-mud. Nowadays it's perpetuated partly to knock them down a peg, partly because they have some mechanics that earn the ire of DMs, and partly because it evolved into a meta-meme due to Paladins being considered a "tank" and thus drawing all the aggro of everything. Really though, they are at the best spot they have ever been at, and ahead of several other classes that need looking at.

Now, if you want a class everyone actually hates, it's Wizards.

 

[Ancalagon]

Hate is too strong a word, personally

But I do feel they are a little too powerful (not grossly OP, but a little bit), and it does bother me that they are essentially the best gish.

 

[Psikerlord#]

I dont like paladins in 5e because it appears that their code has no teeth, and they are otherwise borderline OP even without feats. Partly because smite does not require an action of any kind, partly because crits and bonus dice are stupid broken, and partly other reasons.

 

[Phineas Q. Conundrum]

I dont like paladins in 5e because it appears that their code has no teeth, and they are otherwise borderline OP even without feats. Partly because smite does not require an action of any kind, partly because crits and bonus dice are stupid broken, and partly other reasons.

I think the mechanical issues with paladin kind of mix with the player psychology/alignment issues. I think paladin is just two obvious in its power; too straightforward in its indestructibility combined with insane single target damage. This feeds that mindset of low teamwork and high overconfidence; but instead of being punished for that, the paladin's mechanics seem to only reward that much more than other classes.
That being said, I think paladin could be cool. But, their raw power in 5e combined with stereotypes and the way players think makes them sometimes intolerable to me.

 

[Lylandra]

Paladins are fine, I just wouldn't let my daughter marry one.

Especially if you're playing in a Warcraft setting. These relationships are always doomed

I'm always happy to have a paladin in my group. In most cases this is due to my husband being the one who plays them and he hated the Lawful Stupid cliche since he was a teen. And because the other regular paladin player tends to play non-traditional or traumatized paladins (He once made a paladin of Jergal who had the quest to hide a powerful artifact from Cyric's agents).

Now what did you say about marriages and paladins...?

 

[JonnyP71]

Plus, Paladins tend to attract sanctimonious, dogmatic trolls - "But I have to play him that way. My alignment says so! Hue hue hue"

This is the reason right here...

Along with the 1E/2E hangover of - need high stats to become one, the class of 'my way or the highway' powergamers, 'I'M playing a Paladin, so YOU have to be good, can't be thieves, etc etc'

I remember back in the 80s, gaming was very niche in the UK, I knew 3 other people who played who were local to me - and 2 of those were brothers. We had to meet at their house, otherwise they wouldn't play. The older brother played Paladins and was very dictatorial. He refused to play any other class.

Until that is UA came out - and he discovered Barbarians. Then he played Conan, every sodding time. Which meant no Mages or Clerics.... even more limiting for everyone else.

I'm not a fan of Paladins, or Barbarians!

 

[Oofta]

OK then I am making a gnome rapier-wielding dexadin. Maybe he will dual-wield them. This is going to be awesome!

With an owl familiar?

 

[Mistwell]

With an owl familiar?

View attachment 92511

I was more thinking he'd ride a mastiff!