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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gladius Legis" data-source="post: 6779090" data-attributes="member: 68748">Lv. 5 Spells (Paladin Lv. 17)Destructive Wave: 1 action; V. Still the best pure horde-clearing spell the Paladin gets. The damage is equivalent to a Fireball cast at 5th-level, it's friendly (i.e. you can exclude your allies from the burst), and the area of effect is enormous, being a 30-foot radius from you. And it's only a Verbal component, so you can bust this out fully armed and shielded, even.Holy Weapon (XGTE): 1 bonus action; V,S; Concentration. The +2d8 radiant damage on all weapon hits (works on ranged weapons, too, by the way) is quite cost-efficient. You only need to hit 3 times with this spell active to match what a Banishing Smite will add (27 average). With the standard Paladin 2/attacks per round and a “typical” 65% hit rate, you can usually expect to get that in two or three rounds. Plus it can last a full hour, so it’s good for multi-part battles or some other scenario where you could run into a succession of battles. Also, here's another sexy part: You can buff someone else's weapon, instead. So if one of your allies just so happens to be a Fighter with those 3 attacks/round, and said Fighter plans on Action Surging, cast this on the Fighter's weapon instead and watch the damage numbers explode in short order. It also comes with a bonus-action AoE attack with modest damage and chance to blind if you run into a horde, but that’s just a neat added bonus more than anything.Banishing Smite: 1 bonus action; V; Concentration. Gets its mark for the extra damage it does alone; 5d10 is no joke, force is almost never resisted, and combined with a 4th-level Divine Smite results in a lovely damage spike against a boss (and if you crit, whoa). However, the banishment effect isn't really something you want to rely on or actively aim for, as it only goes into effect when you knock the enemy to less than 50 hit points with the hit. By then, it's about to die. If you DO happen to get that banishing effect, have everyone ready actions for when the enemy reappears and give it a swift end. NOTE: This Smite spell actually works with a ranged attack, too, so huzzah for that.Circle of Power: 1 action; V; Concentration. Grants what basically amounts to spell resistance for you and all allies within 30 feet: Advantage on saves vs. spells and magic effects. An added bonus is an Evasion-like effect except for all saves. A powerful defensive spell, to be sure, but again, it’s concentration so it competes with your staple offensive buffs and smites. If you’re fortunate enough to wield a Holy Avenger, you already get the most meaningful part of this spell as a constant effect (and the same range, even, being Lv. 17+). If you’re Crown, this is an Oath spell.Geas: 1 minute; V. Can definitely be useful if you need to compel some low-level NPC into doing your will. If you’re Crown, this is an Oath spell.Dispel Evil and Good: 1 action; V,S,M; Concentration. Basically a Protection from Evil and Good spell combined with either a very limited Banishment option or dispel of charm and fear and a possible exorcism. Considering its competition at this level, hard to recommend a full-time preparation. One better left to the Cleric if it must be cast.Raise Dead: 1 hour; V,S,M*. The 10-day limit on this spell is, in most cases, liberal enough that you’ll only prepare this on a need basis. Revivify is typically enough.Devotion Oath SpellsCommune: 1 minute; V,S,M. Asking a god for answers can come in pretty handy.Flame Strike: 1 action; V,S,M. If at all possible, you should be using Destructive Wave as your AoE of choice at this level, instead, which deals more damage and has a MUCH larger area of effect. The only time I can imagine using this spell, instead, is if you’re forced entirely into a ranged combat situation where wading into the middle of the horde to set up Destructive Wave is not possible. In that type of battle, the 60 feet of range this spell has will help you.Ancients Oath SpellsCommune with Nature: 1 minute; V,S. Solid exploration spell with a nice distance and some good knowledge gained.Tree Stride: 1 action; V,S; Concentration. Teleport between trees. That's handy at times.Vengeance Oath SpellsHold Monster: 1 action; V,S,M; Concentration. Like Hold Person, except works on everything. Paralysis is an incredible status effect, but this spell isn’t quite as nice at Lv. 17, as not only does it have all the same issues Hold Person had early on (e.g. all-or-nothing quality, repeated saves, timing of said saves), but you’re also facing more and more enemies with Legendary Resistance at this level.Scrying: 10 minutes; V,S,M*; Concentration. Spy on your quarry, even more effectively if you know them well or have a possession of theirs. Good for scouting.Crown Oath SpellsCircle of Power and Geas are both already on the Paladin list.Conquest Oath SpellsCloudkill: 1 action; V,S; Concentration. A winner if you can trap your enemies in a small room. Otherwise, this is actually pretty bad.Dominate Person: 1 action; V,S; Concentration. Mind-controlling humanoids is fun, and sometimes useful. All-or-nothing, though.Redemption Oath SpellsHold Monster: 1 action; V,S,M; Concentration. Like Hold Person, except works on everything. Same note as Vengeance.Wall of Force: 1 action; V,S,M; Concentration. Trap a bunch of enemies in a dome, cut an encounter into two manageable parts, or just drop the dome and mosey away. It just works, and it’s glorious.Oathbreaker SpellsDominate Person: 1 action; V,S; Concentration. Mind-controlling humanoids is fun, and sometimes useful. All-or-nothing, though.Contagion: 1 action; V,S. After the November 2018 errata, this spell now poisons the enemy, and if they fail three saves before succeeding on three saves, then they get afflicted by one of those lovely diseases on the list. Unfortunately, at Lv. 17, poisoned is a pretty weak condition to be inflicting all by itself with a spell slot in combat, and a lot of enemies you face at this level are also either (a) going to be immune to that condition, and/or (b) have Legendary Resistance to easily avoid getting your disease.</blockquote>

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