D&D (2024) 2024 Player's Handbook Reveal #3: "New Paladin"

"the paladin who, if they were in a movie, would ... have impossibly white teeth".


New Paladin preview: here are some notes, focusing on what's new and changes from the playtest materials. Last time we saw the Paladin was in Playtest 6 [=PT6 below].
See also this comparison at D&D Beyond (by someone who saw the video before it was streamed!)

OVERVIEW

• spellcasting starts at level 1, specifically called out as an advantage for multiclassing. (Same for Rangers).
• Lay on Hands and Weapon mastery at 1
• Paladin's smite at 2, along with fighting style.
• NEW: Paladin fighting style restriction is removed (all are available). You may forego fighting style to learn cantrips. [The option to get cantrips was given in Tasha's. They're letting us have it, but it's not called a "fighting style". I suspect this ties to the decision that fighting styles are feats now, and this would be weaker than magic initiate (which also gives a level 1 spell).]
• Paladin's smite gives you the spell Divine smite, with one free casting.
• channel divinity [CD]: uses increase: start with 2, plus 1 on a short rest.
• divine sense in CD option (as in PT6). duration lasts 10 minutes.
• Find steed spell at level 5, cast 1/day with no slot. Redesigned so that spell can be upcast, with a unique steed statblock. [This strongly implies that it's a class-specific spell, not on others' lists. Awesome. (Will a Lore Bard be able to select it? I hope so, and the discussion of spell lists (see below) makes me think they might, since identifying class-specific spells is harder.)]
• Abjure Foes a CD option (given at 9 in PT6)
• Auras are single things, with a single radius, that gain abilities/functionality (not separate auras as in 2014).

SUBCLASSES

Oath of Devotion.

• NEW: Sacred Weapon is part of the attack action. (PT required a Bonus action).
• Smite of Protection (level 15 in PT6)
• Holy Nimbus (level 20) is a bonus action (as in PT6).

Oath of Glory ("...this for me is the paladin who, if they were in a movie, would look at the camera, have impossibly white teeth, with a little sparkle on them as they smile")

• Peerless athlete lasts an hour (as in PT6)
• NEW: Aura of Alacrity affects allies if they enter your aura on their turn (they no longer need to start there)
• Oath of Glory has a new spell at level 17: Yolan's Regal Presence. Created by the Queen of the Elves, and makes others kneel before you and take psychic damage. [It's said that others can cast this spell too -- if right, then it's a 5th level spell and Clerics (likely) will be getting this at level 9. Perhaps he misspoke, and it's a class-specific spell.]

Oath of the Ancients

• Nature's wrath range "has been extended"
• Aura of Warding as in PT6 (resistance to Necrotic, Psychic, and Radiant)
• Undying Sentinel at 15 as in PT6 (you don't return with 1hp, but [?] 3x class level.

Oath of Vengeance

• NEW: Vow of Enmity part of attack action (not Bonus action); can transfer (as in PT6)
• NEW: Level 20 Avenging Angel activated as a Bonus Action, and lasts an hour (not 10 min as in PT6)

NEW RULES

• new area of effect: it's been there since 2014, but hasn't been named. It's for AOE that emanate from a character or monster -- the Emanation.
• new approach to spell lists. Spell list is part of the class description (as we saw with the Artificer). Entries give the school, whether it needs concentration, and required components. [I presume spell descriptions will still be at the back of the book: this is referring to the lists currently on PHB 207-11.]
• oath spell lists, patron spell lists, etc. have all been vetted and updated throughout.

 

[Nikosandros]

We don't even know for sure that the Smite spell uses a Bonus Action, buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut it looks so far like 90%+ of the changes from the "last" UAs we saw went in, and that would include Bonus Action Smite spells.

It is confirmed now, by this article

 

[Frozen_Heart]

I'm hoping the divine favour spell doesn't lose its ability to work on ranged weapons. That's the only remaining way I can see to ranged 'smite'.

 

[Zaukrie]

No longer effects diseases, that's good, very good, as I want to release a PDF of fantasy diseases.....and easy cures kind of makes them less interesting....

 

[el-remmen]

divine sense in CD option (as in PT6). duration lasts 10 minutes.

Excuse my ignorance, but what does "CD option" mean? And "PT#" for that matter. . .?

 

[Charlaquin]

Do we know bonus action spells work the same clunky way? Given that 2024dnd was supposed to remove bits of clunk?

Well, what people are saying is clunky about bonus action Smite isn’t anything about how bonus action spells work, it’s that if you use your bonus action before you attack, you won’t have your bonus action to smite with, so you are discouraged from using your bonus action until after you attack in order to maximize your options for how to use it.

As for how that’s any clunkier than two weapon fighting costing a bonus action, your guess is as good as mine.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

So, yes, the Divine Smite as Spell was somewhere north of 70%, possibly a fair bit. So this is a prime example of the overall survey results being cemetery orthogonal to the online chatter.

Like I said, without actually seeing the specific "Made into a spell and a Bonus Action" with 70%+ approval, I wouldn't believe, so what you've managed to do is convince me that I shouldn't trust what Crawford says, because at best he's glossing over stuff (which we actually know he's done before, so I shouldn't be surprised).

The Bard, Rogue and the rest of the Paladin I can absolutely believe, just not that bit. Sorry.

 

[Kobold Stew]

Excuse my ignorance, but what does "CD option" mean? And "PT#" for that matter. . .?

Sorry:
CD = Channel Divinity
PT refers to the Playtest documents for D&D One.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Well, what people are saying is clunky about bonus action Smite isn’t anything about how bonus action spells work, it’s that if you use your bonus action before you attack, you won’t have your bonus action to smite with, so you are discouraged from using your bonus action until after you attack in order to maximize your options for how to use it.

As for how that’s any clunkier than two weapon fighting costing a bonus action, your guess is as good as mine.

I'm sorry, this is very simple.

You can only Smite when you Hit.

You want to Smite when you Crit.

Therefore you have make your attacks with the Attack action BEFORE you use ANY BONUS ACTION AT ALL.

Do you understand? This is completely different to other Bonus Action usage, which you can generally do in any order. You don't have to wait and decide, based on whether your attacks hit/crit how you're going to use the Bonus Action. If you can't see the difference, I honestly urge you to think about it a bit harder, because it's a very big difference.

EDIT - It's particularly bad because you can GOTCHA! yourself and prevent yourself from Smiting, where almost all other Bonus Action abilities are going to be pretty conscious. There's a reason Bonus Actions are relatively rarely used for "faux-reaction" abilities (there are a couple - the Great Weapon attack is a "faux-reaction" BA I think - but it's very unlikely you'd GOTCHA! yourself out of that because it's likely it was your only regular BA ability if you had it).

 

[Charlaquin]

Excuse my ignorance, but what does "CD option" mean? And "PT#" for that matter. . .?

CD = Channel Divinity
PT = Play Test

 

[Parmandur]

Like I said, without actually seeing the specific "Made into a spell and a Bonus Action" with 70%+ approval, I wouldn't believe, so what you've managed to do is convince me that I shouldn't trust what Crawford says, because at best he's glossing over stuff (which we actually know he's done before, so I shouldn't be surprised).

The Bard, Rogue and the rest of the Paladin I can absolutely believe, just not that bit. Sorry.

OK then. He speifically said every feature was over 70%, many well over. The 2014 version used in the prior Paladin UA was at u2%, so it seems most reasonable to believe that this final version improved on that.