D&D 5E (2024) Advice with building a 2024 Paladin?

[mellored]

I also like oath of glory Paladin for you and focus on divine smites which also provide temp hp for staying power and damage.

Cast Haste on your Find Steed and give it +10 speed from your aura, and take Mounted Combat and a lance and javelin (you can throw + smite).

Mount can disengage + dash for (60+10)*2*2= 280'.
Or disengage and dodge for 140'.

Flying Steed at higher levels.

 

[AlViking]

Personally I'd go for vengeance, getting misty step and hunters mark are both a lot of fun. Admittedly those are bonus actions now, as is your smite but if you really need to get out of (or into) danger misty step is really useful. I even summon a fey steed to my steed can also teleport - it's saved my bacon a few times now. Vow of enmity is nice since it gives you advantage to hit. If you have the option to request or buy magical items consider an Amulet of the Devout to get a +1 to save DC and an extra channel divinity per day. Kind of dependent on your DM and how often you get short/long rests but I use it all the time.

Since you have the dueling fighting style, I would consider a feat that adds +1 to strength to get it to 18. Crusher/slasher/piercer depending on your weapon gives you a minor benefit and a little bit if oomph. Charger is nice but kind of dependent on your DM's style and where you're going to be adventuring . The biggest benefit of Shield master is the interpose shield so no damage on successful dex save, bash is okay but you have to hit first.

You can also just add +1 to both Strength and Con at level 4, both are good because you'll be the front line.

 

[Lord Twig]

You could go Vengeance, it is a good subclass. In fact I have been almost a dozen games and every single Paladin I have seen has been Vengeance. Now I can't stand them. PLEASE DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT!

Another thing to consider about the Vengeance Paladin is if you play with the popular flanking house rule (which is terrible and I don't recommend it) getting Advantage with Vow of Enmity loses a lot of its value as getting Advantage has now become trivial (which is why I say it is a bad house rule).

Devotion's Sacred Weapon gives you a flat bonus to hit equal to your Charisma (+3 for you) and stacks with Advantage, it last for 10 minutes instead of just 1 minute, you can deal Radiant damage instead of your regular damage type, and your weapon looks super awesome because it is glowing.

Vengeance's Vow of Enmity does nothing but grant Advantage. It's good if you don't otherwise have Advantage, but other than that it is, in my opinion, boring.

Hunter's Mark is good, but it takes a spell slot, requires Concentration, and competes with smites for your Bonus Action. Plus, why do you want to do Ranger stuff when you are playing a Paladin? Divine Favor is only 1 point less, doesn't take Concentration, and is a Paladin thing you can do. It only lasts a minute, but if you are getting hit, you are going to lose your Concentration anyway.

Devotion spells are indeed already Paladin spells, but you now no longer need to prepare them and you can prepare other Paladin spells to be a better Paladin, instead of diluting your spells with other classes.

Finally there is the role-playing aspect. Do you want to be a grim-dark violent Paladin that is focused on Vengeance? Ruthlessly slaughtering those he perceives as Evil until he (or she) is hip deep in blood? If that is how you picture your Paladin, then Vengeance is indeed the way to go. But if you want to play the paragon of Good, the type of Paladin that people respect instead of fear, then Devotion is the way to go.

You mentioned Devotion and Vengeance, which is why I have been focusing on Devotion, but Glory and Ancients Paladins are fun too. And, again, in my opinion, less boring than Vengeance.***

*** Going to add this right now. I know people have fun with Vengeance Paladins. And like I said, if that is how you picture your Paladin, you should go with Vengeance because you will have more fun playing what you want. All of the Paladin subclasses are good, I just think Vengeance is the least interesting. And... SO... DAMN... COMMON!!! Ugh!

 

[Lord Twig]

Oh, for feats I suggest Heavy Armor Master (Str or Con), Shield Master (Str), Sentinel (Str), or Resilent: Con (Con).

Polearm Master is good if you picture your Paladin fighting with a spear and shield, but I don't think it is so good that you should sacrifice the image of your Paladin for it. Think about what you picture your Paladin fighting with and go with that. Only caveat is that you might want to be careful about knocking your opponents Prone. If your Cleric, Bard, and Sorcerer are making ranged attacks you will just be giving them Disadvantage on their attack rolls.