Anybody actually play a Redemption Paladin?

[CTurbo]

Or seen one in play? Particularly at higher levels

I think a Redemption Pally would be really interesting to play, but also have a hard time seeing how it would actually work in play.


I particular love the capstone and how it works with it's level 7 Aura

Emissary of Redemption - At 20th level, you become an avatar of peace, which gives you two benefits:• You have resistance to all damage dealt by other creatures (their attacks, spells, and other effects).• Whenever a creature damages you, it takes damage equal to half the amount it dealt to you.
If you attack a creature, deal damage to it, or force it to make a saving throw, neither benefit works against that creature until you finish a long rest.

Aura of the Guardian - Starting at 7th level, when a creature within 10 feet of you takes damage, you can use your reaction to magically take that damage, instead of that creature taking it. This feature doesn't transfer any other effects that might accompany the damage, and this damage can't be reduced in any way. At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.



Combined with probably the best regen feature as well as best unarmored AC besides a level 20 Barb, they seem pretty tough. I just don't understand how you're supposed to go from levels 1-20 when you're built to NOT attack.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

If I remember correctly, the official version of the archerype doesnt have the unarmored part that the UA had.

 

[Dualazi]

I would be surprised if anyone did. I loathe the concept but what I detest an order of magnitude more is the half-arsed implementation of the idea. WotC should have been far more experimental in something designed to change the playstyle of a character to that degree, but they were too conservative as usual. As a result, we got a half-baked sort-of pacifist with mechanically weak features.

 

[Gladius Legis]

If I remember correctly, the official version of the archerype doesnt have the unarmored part that the UA had.

Correct.

 

[Gladius Legis]

It's a pain to play simply because of its tenets where you can't kill anyone other than fiends and undead. So you'll be delivering knockout hits instead of killing blows, which just ... doesn't fit in with the MO of 99.99% of D&D parties. :/

It's got some very good Oath spells, but you're a half-caster. Having to use your spells more than all other Paladins do, instead of your weapon attacks and Smites ... there's just not gonna be a whole lot of success there.

 

[Draegn]

Once I played a paladin who was about peace and salvation. To end a war she married a cambion necromancer. The bard at the time thought it would be cute to compose a ditty "The laying of Elenestil" After that the other party members thought it would be heroic to nullify the wedding by assassinating the cambion. They knew not that the now grieving widow inherited an artifact which made her a little bit mad.

Now no one dares approach the bleak mountain of Widow's Peak where a zombie bard is said to wander about strumming an old out of tune harp.

In game terms Elenestil switched from Eldath to Myrkul. The other players did not expect the girl who braided flowers into her hair to begin gutting them like fish. Nor did I expect the assassination.

 

[Blue]

The only time I can really imaging playing one is in a solo game. Or maybe two where neither focuses on "standard" combat solutions. It doesn't seem to jive with how the other party members will strive for success, and therefore doesn't mechanically contribute a share to party successes.

I particular love the capstone and how it works with it's level 7 Aura

Emissary of Redemption - At 20th level, you become an avatar of peace, which gives you two benefits:• You have resistance to all damage dealt by other creatures (their attacks, spells, and other effects).• Whenever a creature damages you, it takes damage equal to half the amount it dealt to you.
If you attack a creature, deal damage to it, or force it to make a saving throw, neither benefit works against that creature until you finish a long rest.

Aura of the Guardian - Starting at 7th level, when a creature within 10 feet of you takes damage, you can use your reaction to magically take that damage, instead of that creature taking it. This feature doesn't transfer any other effects that might accompany the damage, and this damage can't be reduced in any way. At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.

Please note that even with the capstone, you will take full damage from anything you use Aura of the Guarding to take, since the resistance won't apply.

On the other hand, the attacker can reduce it, so a fire immune creature doing fire damage (for example) ignores your ability. Multiple attacks also degrade the Aura's usefulness.

 

[CTurbo]

It doesn't seem to jive with how the other party members will strive for success, and therefore doesn't mechanically contribute a share to party successes.



Please note that even with the capstone, you will take full damage from anything you use Aura of the Guarding to take, since the resistance won't apply.

I completely missed the "damage can't be reduced part some how so good call, and yes I agree about it not jiving with a typical party's methods which is why I made the thread. They seem like they'd be an annoying teammate to have other than the nice Auras, healing, and buffing they'd be capable of.

 

[Gladius Legis]

I wouldn't call its Aura "nice." Its ability can only be done once a round and uses up your reaction.

It's kind of ironic that of XGTE's subclasses, this was the blatant goody-good one and yet it's easily the most "made for NPCs" subclass that exists so far. And I mean that for all classes put together, not just the Paladin.

 

[Sleepy Walker]

Yes, I have one in my campaign right now at level 10. Full disclosure: I modified a lot of the base rules. The play is very similar, though combat is far less swingy and minor debilitating status effects are more common (wears the characters down besides HP and spell slots)

Running through a sunless citadel 100 years in the future. The goblins got wiped out by blights, the white dragon grew up, and the kobolds are surprisingly well equipped (scavenged chainmail and made chain shirts, wood shields, some have wings and breath alchemic materials, etc).


So far he has:


-Interrogated a blighted tree for information and tried to heal its disease (inadvertently hurting it a lot)
-Killed said tree by trying to help it by feeding it blood (he has immunities, so his blood hurts them)
-Impersonated a high dragon priest and was thought to be a dragon (IE: a god) to the kobolds
-helped save a captured patrol using his strength.
-Met with the ruling white dragon, actually rolling high enough on persuasion to not get immediately eaten when he offered it a gift
- Walked through intense alchemist flames to just about single-handedly diffuse a situation involving over 10 combat ready dragon Kobolds and over 10 Kobold civilians (Kobolds would have been slaughtered, but were using alchemist fire, javelins, and and retreating to good effect so could have beat the party back), resulting in only 2 Kobold casualties after the fight.
- Befriended another tree by watering and hugging it, only to be betrayed during the long rest.

He has diffused more situations than I thought possible and can take a massive beating, not to mention having splint mail and a high probability of not getting grappled. Many a time I expect his primarily pacifist ways to hurt him, but he has enough defenses and HP to weather quite the assault and often him choosing to be defensive makes opponents discount him (not attack or forget) and be more open to listening to what he says. I mean, he learned a lot of information I never thought the party would be able to access, all by asking a tree yes or no questions and having it rustle once for yes.

Fun stuff.