D&D 5E So my Dm wants to nerf my Vengence paladin against all but chosen foes?!

[Horwath]

Beware of the misty step spell; you can only teleport TOWARDS your special foe

On a more serious note, talk to your DM, he clearly has it wrong.

 

[Charles Rampant]

Honestly, I'd just ask to play a Fighter instead. This house rule suggests an intention to interfere with your character because he is a Paladin, and if that turns out to be true then I doubt that this would be the last time that it happens.

 

[Olrox17]

Your DM is reading the rules wrong in this case. Pointing out this thread should be enough to make it clear for him. However, keep in mind that he might decide he doesn't like the rule as it is, and houserule his "vision" in the game. If that happens, you can either accept his decision, pick a different oath, or leave the game.

 

[tglassy]

One of my players is vengeance paladin. I had him choose a favored enemy. He chose “The evil gods and their devout followers.” I love that, cause it fits his character perfectly. No way would I restrict his special abilities to just those people, though, except, perhaps, the vow of enmity. Even then, I’d probably be very loose with it, as in he can’t target someone whom he knows for certain follows a good or neutral god.

 

[Henry]

Is he also telling the Evocation Wizard that she can't cast mage armor because it's not evocation? Or the Battlemaster Fighter that he can ONLY attack in a round that he uses a maneuver? Or that the monk must only attack with bare fists because "monk"?

There's a specific reason that the class of "Paladin" was widened from its classic stance of "painfully lawful good crusader". There should be other ways to play oaths, because the paladin does not have powers dramatically more powerful than other classes. House rules are in the purview of the DM, but they need to be agreed to by the other players. A new rule that causes the players to have no fun needs to be reconsidered.

 

[manduck]

For role playing purposes, having a vengeance paladin who is seeking some kind of chosen foe can be really fun. It gives the player a goal to strive for and some interesting RP interactions. Limiting class abilities is a very big no-no though. Think of it like this, just because the vengeance paladin is really set on taking out his chosen foe it doesn't mean he's going to ignore all the rest of the evil in the world. It also doesn't mean that paladin will be less effective as a warrior unless he's killing one very specific thing. How often does that specific enemy turn up?

If the paladin has sworn to rid the world of The Cult of Ill Intent, cool. He can hunt them down and smite them to his heart's content. Though if he comes across an ogre who's running around eating orphans who is just a solitary monster, he should be just as capable of stopping that ogre. He should want to stop that ogre and his god should let him. You could even justify it if the paladin worships and evil god. "My god demands me to test my mettle against that ogre". So there is really no good reason to limit the paladin oaths. They are designed to function against everyone for a reason. That reason is to be competitive with the other warrior classes. Can a barbarian active a rage any time or does someone need to tick him off, like the Hulk? He can do it at will. So the paladin should be able to as well.

 

[Demorgus]

Seems like a DM overreach. I'd try to reason with him or walk.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Ovinomancer]

Real monks only use two weapons.

Fist. And other fist.

This public service announcement has been brought to you by the Temple of Kicking Posterior and Taking Names in a Contemplative Fashion.

The Temple of Kicking Posterior blasphemes! They use their feet in contravention of the Holy Truth! Place your trust in the Temple of the Righteous Uppercut and you shall never be steered into evil.

 

[Eltab]

I'd ask the DM if he is not reading his memories of previous-edition rules into the current text. It sounds like he has. (In the interest of bending over backwards before making a final judgement - a very Classic Paladin-y thing to do - your description or my understanding may be unclear.)

You are not a preprogrammed target-seeking cruise missile that can only ever act against one foe and are useless against all / any others. You are sworn to get up in a particular enemy's face and get him off everybody else's backs - but if something else crosses your path, you can act EFFECTIVELY against them too.