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.

 

[Queer Venger]

Oh man people are going to love Divine Smite turning into a spell; we love turning class features into spells in these parts

yep, 100%
I have preordered the whole bundle, my players generously paying for it!!

 

[Undrave]

I mean... is it messy?

You can either use your bonus action to hit with the butt of your weapon for 1d4+5 or 7.5 damage that may miss. OR you can use your bonus action for a smite spell, which if it is Divine smite is 2d8 or 9 damage that cannot miss.

That's it. That's the entire interaction. The only other thing that MIGHT come up, is that if you hit with your glaive and decide not to smite, you could hit with the butt of your weapon and crit.. and not be able to crit smite. But you can't crit smite on any bonus action attack, so that's fine.

And I want to point out, we are talking about Divine Smite only... because no one ever used the other smite spells. They might actually get used now. You are essentially getting a guaranteed to hit bonus action attack that can carry a debuff effect by spending your bonus action smiting.

So Polearm Mastery is pretty much a trap for Paladins at this point. Same for TWF. You want to keep your bonus action for your smite so you can't take options that give you more of those because you won't be using them as often as someone who doesn't have smite so it's pretty much a subpar option.

The thing with Polearm Mastery is that you can attack different targets. Especially before you get your second attack. But now, if you do that, you can't use one of your main class feature.

And somehow that is worse from a single bland option that everyone used to the point people forgot options existed?

BIG NUMBERS are fun.

And it's a Class Feature: you're supposed to use it! If you don't use it, why are you that specific class then? You pick a class to do the things the class does, not to sit on it and pretend to be something else.

 

[Undrave]

The fact that the vast majority of people only used one of them was a problem that needed fixing.

Did it though? Like... if they were bad spells, why not just remove them and use the spaces to diversify some other caster? Are you afraid of hurting the Smite Spells' feeling or something? Even in Universe it's not alive! Why the insistence that Paladins should use those other, inferior, options? Why is the 'solution' to nerf the one people like and not buffing the ones they don't like?

this is possibly WotC's sneaky way in making paladins actually cast spells and not just smite everything.

bad way to do it, but still, it's a thought...

And why is it a bad thing that Paladins uses the class feature WotC gave them? Why the need to make Paladins 'actually cast spells'? Will the game break if someone decides not to engage with the mighty spell list?

 

[Oofta]

So Polearm Mastery is pretty much a trap for Paladins at this point. Same for TWF. You want to keep your bonus action for your smite so you can't take options that give you more of those because you won't be using them as often as someone who doesn't have smite so it's pretty much a subpar option.

The thing with Polearm Mastery is that you can attack different targets. Especially before you get your second attack. But now, if you do that, you can't use one of your main class feature.


BIG NUMBERS are fun.

And it's a Class Feature: you're supposed to use it! If you don't use it, why are you that specific class then? You pick a class to do the things the class does, not to sit on it and pretend to be something else.

Eh, I don't know about PAM or TWF being a trap option. Take your main attacks and if it makes sense use a smite use it. If it doesn't make sense use the bonus action attack. It may not be as optimal as I might like but it's not the end of the world. Same could be said for a fighter because they can't use second wind and so on.

 

[Gladius Legis]

Same for TWF.

Polearm Mastery, I'll give you, but TWF is actually better for Paladins this time around, for two big reasons:

1. The Nick Weapon Mastery, which keeps your bonus action available.
2. Paladins now get the whole range of Fighting Style feats to pick from in-class. That includes TWF.

Vengeance in particular is gonna be great at TWF because their Vow of Enmity no longer has an action cost of any kind, so they'll still have their bonus action available.

(Devotion will also be decent to an extent for the same reason, but Sacred Weapon still only buffs one of your weapons AFAICT, not both, so Vengeance will have the upper hand for TWF Paladin builds.)

 

[Remathilis]

Mearls once said that bonus actions were a bad idea because it felt like if you weren't using it, you were ripping yourself off for potential power. He thought they should be eliminated. I used to agree with him on this, but I feel more and more he was looking at the problem from the wrong angle. The fact that something as potent as smite could be used freely (as long as you had the slots to fuel it) and combined so well with other actions a paladin could use to nova shows the BA should be used as a balancing option. D&D combat is weirdly swingy and it's very easy to end dramatic battles before the fight begins and that has likewise led to HP bag monster design. A powerful foe like a vampire cannot withstand a paladin doing 100 points of radiant damage in a single turn. At a certain point, something as potent as 5d8 radiant damage (double on a crit) needs to cost you other tactical advantage.

 

[Oofta]

Polearm Mastery, I'll give you, but TWF is actually better for Paladins this time around, for two big reasons:

1. The Nick Weapon Mastery, which keeps your bonus action available.
2. Paladins now get the whole range of Fighting Style feats to pick from in-class. That includes TWF.

Vengeance in particular is gonna be great at TWF because their Vow of Enmity no longer has an action cost of any kind, so they'll still have their bonus action available.

We also don't know what the new Polearm Master feat will look like yet.

 

[Undrave]

Polearm Mastery, I'll give you, but TWF is actually better for Paladins this time around, for two big reasons:

1. The Nick Weapon Mastery, which keeps your bonus action available.
2. Paladins now get the whole range of Fighting Style feats to pick from in-class. That includes TWF.

Vengeance in particular is gonna be great at TWF because their Vow of Enmity no longer has an action cost of any kind, so they'll still have their bonus action available.

Oh right I forgot the change to TWF.

We also don't know what the new Polearm Master feat will look like yet.

Fair point as well.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

We also don't know what the new Polearm Master feat will look like yet.

Yeah if they've dumped the BA part of that and Great Weapon this does look a bit different - it's still a clumsy and bad way to do this nerf (and I'm with there being "a nerf"), because BAs are overloaded mechanically anyway and can't be used out-of-turn, but at least that might largely eliminate the "lol you finally rolled a hit, but you can't smite haha" factor.

My guess is that they haven't, but we shall see!

 

[mellored]

Mearls once said that bonus actions were a bad idea because it felt like if you weren't using it, you were ripping yourself off for potential power. He thought they should be eliminated. I used to agree with him on this, but I feel more and more he was looking at the problem from the wrong angle.

IMO, having different types of actions, as well a different levels of spells, forces you to do different things.

Otherwise you could easily end up spamming your best move over and over.

In Pathfinder 2 for instance, you get 3 actions. Sounds simple, but then they needed to add in a clunky penalty for attacking multiple times. And many turns are still doing a 2 action "main" move + 1 action "bonus" move.