D&D 5E Orcish Fury for a Paladin

[Warpiglet-7]

Hello Gang,

just found an interesting combo. In other threads I mentioned a desire to play a paladin that just keeps going. Gets beaten up, exhausted but fights on!

this image or desire for play led me to consider a half orc. I was doing well with a firbolg concept! But I looked at half orc and relentless endurance was right in front of me all along. I imagined a more human appearance but I have an idea there too.

anyway, the discussion about uncommon use of race and class combos got me thinking about “orcish fury.”

I am afan of half feats but was stuck on heavy armor master and resilient con. And still am but...

with orcish fury if you are down to 0 but not dead outright, you are on your feet at 1 hp.

with orcish fury, you can also use a reaction to attack when knocked to zero....as a paladin, you can smite.

If you score a crit with a great axe, we are talking 5d12 not including a smite! No crit would still get you 2d12 if you have a use left of orcish fury extra damage die.

I do not think it’s super powerful and the opportunity cost is great. But I think I found my trick that fits the concept. Down but not out and able to deal a decisive blow instead of bleed on the ground!

taken further, with a conquest paladin you could also layer +10 to hit on that same (almost from the grave) strike.

not likely to come up often but damn if I don’t like d12s and staggering on to fight instead of die! Fits the concept.

I was thinking about a huscarl sort of character. Sadly? Oath of crown is probably the best fit (but I am not thrilled with its abilities). Trying to talk self out of conquest and go with stronger RP linkage...

 

[MarkB]

So basically, once per day you can make an attack as a reaction, but only when you are reduced to 0 hp while still having your reaction available - and you can turn it into a really powerful attack, but only if you somehow managed to get to the point of dying before blowing most of your Smite power.

You're certainly not wrong about that opportunity cost - we're probably looking at, say, once every 5-6 sessions if you're particularly (un)lucky.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

So basically, once per day you can make an attack as a reaction, but only when you are reduced to 0 hp while still having your reaction available - and you can turn it into a really powerful attack, but only if you somehow managed to get to the point of dying before blowing most of your Smite power.

You're certainly not wrong about that opportunity cost - we're probably looking at, say, once every 5-6 sessions if you're particularly (un)lucky.

you’re not wrong.

but it’s at the price of +1 to an ability score.

it also includes an extra damage die every short rest which can be applied on a crit.

again, it’s a half feat. I still like it. At the end of the day you are correct. If you are getting blasted to zero,a lot you are in trouble!

however I think I still like it. It’s a nice retributive strike and if it happens only a few times a campaign...well yeah.

for a follow up if I survive to 8th it would be hard to not take and ASI but survival first...

 

[Redwizard007]

You know, in a party where you are the only one in melee this could be ok. Coordinate with your healer to only heal you when you drop. Exploit the yo-yo and let them prioritize something more exciting than slapping band-aids on your boo-boos. I bet you could pull this off a lot more than you'd think. On top of that, encourage the casters to use AOE nukes regardless of your positioning. Your saves make it less harmful to you, generally, and it plays into the RP of a self-sacraficing paladin.

 

[Ancalagon]

I wonder if Tasha would change the cost/benefit of the orc?

Also, if there are feats that let you take warlock invocation... fiendish vigor and some others might work for you.

 

[Flamestrike]

So basically, once per day

Per short rest.

 

[MarkB]

Per short rest.

Relentless Endurance can be used once per long rest.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

I wonder if Tasha would change the cost/benefit of the orc?

Also, if there are feats that let you take warlock invocation... fiendish vigor and some others might work for you.

this is a very interesting question.

I was initially against many proposed changes in tashas. I like having to grapple with opportunity costs and think it’s good for the game. However, this has me rethinking it to an extent.

would I exchange the extravariant human feat for relentless endurance? For this concept I would.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

You know, in a party where you are the only one in melee this could be ok. Coordinate with your healer to only heal you when you drop. Exploit the yo-yo and let them prioritize something more exciting than slapping band-aids on your boo-boos. I bet you could pull this off a lot more than you'd think. On top of that, encourage the casters to use AOE nukes regardless of your positioning. Your saves make it less harmful to you, generally, and it plays into the RP of a self-sacraficing paladin.

interesting. And I would say using this more than once a day, even if possible would be a bit rough! Once a level would be memorable and fun.

I like the idea of a retributive smite, which is not trivial. I know of no other way to have a melee caster snack back from near death with that level of punch.

 

[Blue Orange]

It's original, and I like the counter-intuitive nature of it...lots of opportunities for roleplaying.

Depending on how anachronistic you like to be, you could use the theme from Rocky...