D&D 5E Damn paladins, you scary!

[I'm A Banana]

Now one of my players is making one and I'm worried about how to make encounters that won't die with just a few hits...this was already a very high damage party (Hunter Ranger with Colossus Slayer, Battlerager Barbarian and Storm Sorcerer).

Let your encounters die with a few hits. PC's will feel like badasses tearing through beasties.

But Have more encounters. They will feel less badass when they've blown their load and they're still 3 fights from the goal.

If the party's not having about 7 encounters between each long rest, you're going easy on 'em.

 

[pming]

Hiya!

If the party's not having about 7 encounters between each long rest, you're going easy on 'em.

Only 7? Man, I must be one sadistic DM! Having 7 combat encounters in a 'day' is considered a "slow day" for any of my adventures...well, once they get in the thick of it (re: get to the dungeon, or start wandering up level by level in the ruined tower, or start to push deeper and deeper into the shadow-steeped valley of death, etc). I'd probably say...the PC's in my campaign are likely to face anywhere from 12 to 20 combat encounters between 'long rests'. And trying to take a short rest, in a dungeon, in a room next to one where the PC's just finished slaying a dozen kobolds, and the kobold guards outside (which are still laying outside the rooms in the hallway)...well, lets just say the PC's have become fast-food, sitting on the heat rack of life, waiting for the other dungeon monsters to come and pick up their order of freshly seasoned adventurers!

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[bgbarcus]

Paladins are powerful. I've got a 9th level paladin in my game with GWM and a two-handed holy avenger. When he goes all out, he can easily deal 90 hp in a single round. That is devastating to the monsters and a heck of a lot fun for everyone around the table.

That paladin also gets into the thick of every battle and takes a lot of hits. He is routinely running on the edge of being knocked out and sucks up a large portion of the party healing. It all balances out.

 

[zaratan]

Palis are really powerfull, but wasting his spell slots in divine smite without a crit isn't his magnificence.

 

[randrak]

Turns out, the paladin died on the very first session and very first encounter, due to a series of bad rolls for her and good rolls for the monster they encountered...
She dealt massive damage, but was unfortunate enough to gain agro and take two crits from the Hard encounter they were fighting (the whole plot centered around one enemy, a headless horseman, being a nuisance the whole time).
Usually this party immediately searches for resurrecting their party members but this paladin had just met them and the players felt the characters had no reason to resurrect the complete stranger that they didn't even like (the barbarian and the paladin argued the whole time because of different views on solving the problem at hand.

 

[Illithidbix]

Paladins do kick ass in 5E, they've got a great toolbox of abilities and the Oaths add alot of flavour.

If a Paladin knows they don't need to hold back for the rest of the day, they can nova. Very spectacularly.
This does make them very effective in games that have only a few encounters per day.

Duel Wielding is limited by bonus action economy, Hunters Mark and the Smite *spells* (not Divine Smite the class ability) also require Bonus Action to cast.

The Encounter Builder guidelines are aimed at helping make sure newbie DM's with Newbie players don't accidentally Total Party Kill.
- If you think they're too wussy it's probably because they're not aimed at you and your group.

If you have a party of optimised characters with players who know the rules, then feel free to throw more challenging encounters. I've had player parties survive encounters far beyond "Deadly" for their level.
... Unless you ask your players and actually what they *want* from the game is to kurbstomp everything and not be challenged
- Ask them if they want challenges to match the high-damage character's they've built.

I would be a little wary about trying to throw non-combat challenges at a party who *do* just want to hack and slash.
Again, ask players an establish parameters of what they actually want from the game.

 

[Flamestrike]

If a Paladin knows they don't need to hold back for the rest of the day, they can nova. Very spectacularly.
This does make them very effective in games that have only a few encounters per day.

Yep. Also Barbarians who can rage every single encounter (by virtue of only getting 2-3 per long rest).

They're suppsed to ration those smites over 6-8 encounters. Paladins (along with full casters and the Barbarian) very much benefit from shorter ADs.

 

[Zardnaar]

Paladins are one of the best classes on 5E IMHO.

 

[Flamestrike]

Paladins are one of the best classes on 5E IMHO.

Ive been considering a Vengeance Paladin with a splash of Frenzy Barbarian for rage (damage resistance) and always on advantage (crit fishing).

It combines 'great vengeance with furious anger'.

Paladin/ Barbarian: You read the Bible, Brett?
Brett: [gasping for breath] Yes...!
Paladin/ Barbarian: Well, there's this passage I've got memorized, sorta fits the occasion. Ezekiel 25:17: "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who in the name of charity and good will shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. [begins pacing about the room] And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord... [pulls out his greatsword and looms over Brett] ...when I lay my vengeance upon thee."

He'll be known as 'Jules'

 

[Ancalagon]

I've been reading, posting and thinking a lot about this "not enough encounter per day so they go Nova" problem. A significant number of gaming group (30%? 50? 70%? I don't know, but it's not 1%...) don't like the notion of 6-8 encounters per day being the norm. I know I don't.

But I think some of the answers I got were pretty helpful. I think the best thing to do is not have the number of encounters be *predictable*. If your party knows that you usually only have 3 encounters per day *but not always*, on that third encounter they will hold back at least somewhat, keep a few aces in the hole so to speak, just in case this happens to be one of those "extra encounters" days.