D&D (2024) Should paladin's aura of protection be "normalized" a little?

[Horwath]

Now, I like powerful features as much as the next guy, but is this really too much and does it forces paladin little too much into max CHA build?

one of the best features in the game, if not the best.

why not rework it a little, remove it from CHA and give it little more utility(in radius term)?


rework:
Aura of protection:
6th level;
20ft radius, +1 bonus to all saves for you and allies.

12th level;
radius increases to 40ft and bonus to +2

18th level;
radius increases to 60ft and bonus to +3

this would remove paladins pressure to CHA score, tone it down a little(or a lot) and give it more utility in combat.

 

[Will Brandiman]

Change it to a Reaction, give it a decent radius (30'?) and have it last until start of Paladin's next turn. Useable proficiency bonus times per long rest.

 

[James Gasik]

You could switch it to half proficiency bonus rounded up. +3 is still hella good, but not seeing it until the final levels of the game should make it feel more balanced. And this way, it's ability score agnostic.

The only reason I haven't applied this change to my own games is I feel pity for a primarily melee range caster who doesn't have Con proficiency. Sure, most Paladins only care about Smite, but the ones who do get it into their mind that casting things like Shield of Faith would be a good spell learn pretty quickly the true horror of a MAD class.

 

[mellored]

I don't mind Paladins having to make hard choices. And forcing it to be +3 is no different than having 16 Cha.


I do think the Aura should scale a little smoother though.

 

[Horwath]

You could switch it to half proficiency bonus rounded up. +3 is still hella good, but not seeing it until the final levels of the game should make it feel more balanced. And this way, it's ability score agnostic.

The only reason I haven't applied this change to my own games is I feel pity for a primarily melee range caster who doesn't have Con proficiency. Sure, most Paladins only care about Smite, but the ones who do get it into their mind that casting things like Shield of Faith would be a good spell learn pretty quickly the true horror of a MAD class.

that is +2 and +3 at 13th level. not bad and better than +4 and +5 at 8th level.

 

[aco175]

I like it being only 10ft since if the PCs gather together for the protection, I can hit them with a fireball better. This makes them want to spread out, which takes away the protection. Which makes them want to gather close. Then I can hit them with a fireball, which makes them want to spread out...

 

[Guest 7037866]

To answer the title question: No.

it forces paladin little too much into max CHA build?

Max CHA? No, not at all.

Most paladins will have a decent to high CHA due to using it for spellcasting anyway. CHA 16 is pretty much standard IME. STR is much more likely to be maxed out than CHA as it is typically the "combat" stat Paladins use.

If you take CHA away, they become STR-only for the most part (with CON of course, like everyone... so I don't count it in the MAD consideration). For everything they get, making them a SAD class is much too powerful IMO.

I do think the Aura should scale a little smoother though.

This I agree with. If it is 10' at 6th level, 30' at 18th, having 20' at 12th makes sense IMO.

If you want more granularity, you could even do 15' at 9th and 25' at 15th.

However, few games ever get to even 12th level, so I don't know how much impact such change would really have.

 

[Blue]

A class that can be built various different ways that are all valid at the table? STR-primary, CHR-primary, or DEX-primary? Sounds like good design to me.

 

[Stalker0]

I hate the fact that the paladin doesn't get its aura until lvl 6! Its not even a core feature of the paladin at that point anymore, when its long been one of their key traits.

But on the other hand, the aura as is....is nuts. I have paladins in most of my games, and saves are so incredible weak in comparison. I would prefer a more gradual ramp up of the ability.

 

[Pauln6]

You could switch it to half proficiency bonus rounded up. +3 is still hella good, but not seeing it until the final levels of the game should make it feel more balanced. And this way, it's ability score agnostic.

The only reason I haven't applied this change to my own games is I feel pity for a primarily melee range caster who doesn't have Con proficiency. Sure, most Paladins only care about Smite, but the ones who do get it into their mind that casting things like Shield of Faith would be a good spell learn pretty quickly the true horror of a MAD class.

I would probably say half cha bonus rounded up would be fine. One other possibility is to make the paladin choose which aura is active, like a stance, using an action or bonus action to switch.