D&D 5E [GUIDE] My Word Is My Sword: The Paladin Guide

[Gladius Legis]

I don't get why Tieflings are rated so low when they can bow be pratically identical to Aaracorca which are light blue.

Wait no, they get more than Aaracorca, although a slower fly speed.

Good catch. Tieflings can also fly in heavy armor, unlike Aarococra.

I'm going to downgrade Aarococra to blue, probably. Not sure how far to bump Tieflings, that wasted INT bonus will never sit well.

 

[Gladius Legis]

triggering at a minimum DC 10 Concentration check (often higher by the time you are level 9 and can cast Aura of Vitality, due to higher damage of foes at that level)

Most foes even at that level, and even much higher than that, don't deal more than 21 damage consistently on individual hits. (Most monsters' damage output comes from multiattack, not big individual hits.)

 

[SingingPaladin]

Regarding Multiclassing, would it be possible to look at Multiclassing with regards to your Archetypes rather than just the classes themselve? For example I'm seriously considering multiclassing my Vengeance paladin with a warlock that uses the new Undying Light Patron due to your Charisma modifier adding to the damage that spells dealing radiant or fire damage do, however that depends on if your DM feels it will affect your Divine Smites (which uses spell slots) and your spell smites such as Branding smite.

 

[slaughterj]

Most foes even at that level, and even much higher than that, don't deal more than 21 damage consistently on individual hits. (Most monsters' damage output comes from multiattack, not big individual hits.)

I certainly have done no statistical analysis of the situation, just have looked at some creatures of interest in a reasonable CR to PCs with Paladin Level 9+ (to cast the Aura), and see things have average damage such as:

Any Young Dragon does a lot of damage with its breath weapon (Green CR8 42dmg, Red CR10 56dmg, etc.).

T-Rex CR8 33dmg bite

Frost Giant CR8 25dmg axe 28dmg rock

Remorhaz CR11 40dmg bite (plus 10 fire)

Treant CR9 28dmg rock

Abominable Yeti CR9 45dmg breath

Sure, there are plenty who do lower but do multi-attack, but there are plenty over 20dmg too that are level-appropriate foes, not to mention crits happen.

 

[slaughterj]

But even if most foes are doing 20dmg or less, if you take a couple of hits a round, each with 20% chance of failure, that Aura will go down fairly quickly, and you will have used a round to put it up instead of fighting.

Aura seems like great 70hp distributed heal spell that takes 1 minute out of combat, avoiding the need for a short rest, that sure you could put up in combat occasionally but most likely not (maybe with cleric companion blessing you to up your Concentration check, or some other situations).

 

[Gladius Legis]

You do know by Lv. 9 it's easily possible to get CON saves into auto-save territory vs. DC 10, right? (+3 CHA +2 CON +4 Resilient = +9 CON save = auto-save vs. DC 10)

EDIT: Not that I advocate casting Aura of Vitality in actual combat. Just that Concentration, for the Paladin at least, is demonstrably not the issue you're making it out to be.

 

[Eltab]

_Moonbeam_ in a confined space against low-level enemies (HotDQ & kobolds, say) can effectively create "Horatius at the bridge" scenarios, where a horde of enemies can only reach you a few at a time. And nothing says that you have to move it in a straight line; zigzag to hit more enemies, or sweep it around a little and return to where it started.

Teamwork 1: You use Moonbeam to give your Colossus Slaying Ranger ally some juicy targets to work on.
Teamwork 2: You end your turn standing next to the monster that needs to go down quickly. Your Rogue ally automatically gets Sneak Attack on him just because you are there.

 

[Endur]

So I've been thinking about playing a 5e Paladin of Devotion. Most likely be a human or variant human. I want to fight on mount from time to time, but expect that the GM will have us inside more often than outside.

For fighting style, I see two choices that appeal to me:

Option 1: Great Weapon fighting for great sword. I go with GWF, then GWM makes sense as a feat. But I'd prefer not to use a two-handed weapon, even if it is optimal for damage.

Option 2: Duelist, bonus for long sword and shield, and also lance and shield when mounted. If I go with duelist, what feat works well? The four I'm considering are Shield Master, Sentinel, Lucky, and Mounted Combatant. Shield Master is ok for most fights, but there are some for which it is useless (huge or larger enemies who don't cause dex saves). Mounted Combatant is awesome while mounted, but its useless when not on a mount. Sentinel is cool, but seems like it would be used even less than the other two. Lucky doesn't seem as necessary for this class due to the Paladin's high saving throws and high AC (plate and shield).

I'm leaning towards shield master. Any comments?

 

[Endur]

I slightly modified the Oath of Devotion build to show what I have in mind. Another alternative to variant human would be a half-elf with Chr 16, str 16, con 16, dex 10, wis 8, int 8 and picking up shield master at level 4). I also picked some of the Smites over spells that were in the other build.

Changes I made below: priority on Charisma over Strength, didn't go with Resilent Con feat, and went with Lucky at level 19.

[sblock=Variant Human, Oath of Devotion, Shield Master]


Race: Human (Variant)
Background: Knight
Alignment: LG

Proficient skills: Persuasion (CHA), History (INT), Perception (WIS), Athletics (STR), Insight (WIS)
Proficient tools: Gaming set (one type)

Armor: Chain mail (Lv. 1) -> Plate (as soon as can afford it), Shield
Weapon: Longsword
Other: Holy Symbol (Emblem, on Shield)

Point buy array: 15, 15, 14, 10, 8, 8

Attributes and feats:
Lv. 1: STR 16, DEX 10, CON 14, INT 8, WIS 8, CHA 16, Shield Master
Lv. 4: STR 16, DEX 10, CON 14, INT 8, WIS 8, CHA 18, Shield Master
Lv. 8: STR 16, DEX 10, CON 14, INT 8, WIS 8, CHA 20, Shield Master
Lv. 12: STR 18, DEX 10, CON 14, INT 8, WIS 8, CHA 20, Shield Master,
Lv. 16: STR 20, DEX 10, CON 14, INT 8, WIS 8, CHA 20, Shield Master
Lv. 19: STR 20, DEX 10, CON 14, INT 8, WIS 8, CHA 20, Shield Master, Lucky

Fighting Style (Lv. 2): Dueling

Most oft-prepared spells (total 15 + Oath spells at Lv. 20):
1st level: Bless, Thunderous Smite, Wrathful Smite. Oath: Protection from Evil and Good, Sanctuary
2nd level: Find Steed, Magic Weapon. Oath: Lesser Restoration, Zone of Truth
3rd level: Blinding Smite, Crusader’s Mantle, Elemental Weapon, Revivify. Oath: Beacon of Hope, Dispel Magic
4th level: Banishment, Death Ward, Staggering Smite. Oath: Freedom of Movement, Guardian of Faith
5th level: Banishing Smite, Circle of Power, Destructive Wave. Oath: Commune, Flame Strike



[/sblock]

 

[Quartz]

Proficient tools: Gaming set (one type)

Really?

Point buy array: 15, 15, 14, 10, 8, 8

This is one reason I dislike the way humans are treated in 5E: to get two 16s you have to buy two 15s or a 15 and a 14 but choose a feat which gives a +1 boost to that stat whereas other races only have to buy a 15 and a 14 or even two 14s. Just look at your half-elf choice.

I do like your rationale for Shield Master & the Duelling style. As a wearer of heavy armour you might consider putting an 8 in Dex and a 10 in one of the mental stats: yo don't take a Dex penalty to AC in heavy armour and the Shield Master feat allows you to add your proficiency bonus to many Dex saves (more than negating the Dex penalty).

As you're using a longsword, you might consider the GWM feat anyway for the times you use the longsword two-handed - and the GWM feat gives its secondary benefit even when you use a 1H weapon. (And does the lance count as a Great Weapon?)