97
votes
Accepted
My DM has removed heavy armour from the game. How can I make a Paladin work or convince him not to do this?
Since he's suggesting you play a Paladin and removed Heavy Armor and claim combat will be deadly, just start a conversation with him and how he imagines your character surviving without the Heavy ...
- 82.2k
83
votes
Do paladin oaths have to be taken seriously?
Paladin Oaths are meant to be taken seriously
The choice of oath is a significant part of the paladin class and it is meant to be a serious choice. The PHB suggests that even before reaching third ...
- 66.5k
60
votes
Is my Paladin stacking Smite spells correctly?
This is correct, but note how much of his available resources this character is using up for each of these attacks. If there's another battle before he gets a long rest, he's not going to be nearly as ...
- 1,480
56
votes
Accepted
Do paladin oaths have to be taken seriously?
A paladin must adhere to their oath, although they don't specifically need to be lawful good.
Before it was edited, this question asked if the paladin has to be lawful good. It was later clarified ...
- 84.5k
48
votes
Accepted
Can a Paladin use Divine Smite when attacking (with a natural 20) a creature immune to the weapon's damage type?
Divine smite only requires you to hit, which immunity does not prevent
Some creatures have vulnerability, resistance, or immunity to certain types of damage. Particular creatures are even resistant ...
- 95.6k
47
votes
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Is Turn the Tide completely OP?
You've missed one thing. Turn the Tide uses your Channel Divinity, which you can only do once per short or long rest.
When you use your Channel Divinity, you choose
which option to use. You must ...
- 145k
47
votes
Accepted
How to handle wrong application of Spells?
Learn about 'meta' knowledge and separate what the characters would know and what the players know (or, not know).
First, welcome to D&D!
It's worth pointing out that there are many things the ...
- 28.6k
46
votes
Accepted
Does a Paladin's Aura of Protection Affect Allies' Death Saving Throws?
A Death Save is, in fact, a save so bonuses to "all saves" apply to them as well. Just like a Monk gaining proficiency in "all saves" means they apply their proficiency bonus to ...
- 22.3k
46
votes
Accepted
What is the source of the powers of an oathbreaker?
It's a common misunderstanding of paladins to think that they draw their powers from a deity, but in 5e1 , this is a flavor thing. (If they drew their powers directly from a god, after all, they would ...
- 9,766
45
votes
This can't be right? 61 damage in one blow as a 3rd-level paladin?
Sure, once per day, if they roll max on everything
This works. But there are some caveats:
They can only do this once per day at level 3, because they do not have enough spellslots to do the combo ...
- 36.5k
44
votes
Accepted
What can a ranger 1/paladin 1 do with their spell slots?
You have no spell slots.
Even if you add before dividing and (1+1)/2 = 1, you have no spell slots. This is because the multiclassing rule that grants Combined spell ...
- 4,074
43
votes
Accepted
Are you allowed to stack Divine Smite and Eldritch Smite on the same attack?
Yes, they stack perfectly well.
Neither ability requires an action to use, so as long as you hit with a melee weapon attack that happens to use your pact weapon you can use both. The only exception ...
- 21.8k
43
votes
Can Lay on Hands be used to both heal hit points and remove diseases/poisons with the same action?
Unfortunately not.
RAW, the use of Lay on Hands is heal HP, or cure disease. The keyword in the phrase is "alternatively" (emphasis mine).
Alternatively, you can expend 5 hit points from ...
- 23.2k
43
votes
How do I handle a paladin who falls, but wants to choose a different class instead of taking the Oathbreaker subclass?
It’s a situation that has to be worked out with the DM; there aren’t hard and fast rules for it. Even what it means to “abandon” a class is unclear—that could mean the ex-paladin can’t take more ...
- 361k
42
votes
My DM has removed heavy armour from the game. How can I make a Paladin work or convince him not to do this?
Talk to him about the burden he's putting on you.
Talk to him about what he's asking you to do. Point out how hard it's going to be to tank without proper armor, how much more likely you are to die, ...
- 3,161
42
votes
What are the requirements for an Oath of Vengeance paladin to use Vow of Enmity?
Vow of Enmity can be used if all of these are true
You are able to use a bonus action.
You are able to "utter" things.
There is a creature within 10 feet of you.
You can see that creature.
...
- 19.3k
40
votes
Would limiting Paladins to 1 Divine Smite per turn make them weaker than other classes?
Consider the "gritty realism" variant resting rules.
Other answers have addressed how balanced your change to the paladin might be. However, it seems likely you have a more general problem with ...
- 66.5k
40
votes
Accepted
Does a humanoid possessed by a ghost register as undead to a paladin's Divine Sense?
RAW indicates No.
The phrase
the ghost then disappears
in the description of Possession, together with the following listing of untargetability indicated that the ghost for the duration of the ...
- 5,686
39
votes
Accepted
What happens to a Paladin's summoned steed if the Paladin dies?
The spell's duration is Instantaneous, so the Steed exists despite the Paladin dying.
The description of Instantaneous spells (PHB, p. 203) states:
The spell harms, heals, creates, or alters a ...
- 28.7k
39
votes
Would limiting Paladins to 1 Divine Smite per turn make them weaker than other classes?
Add More Encounters per Day
Most of the time they only have one fight per day
To me, this seems to be the source of your problem. The DMG recommends multiple encounters per day (DMG p84). As ...
- 6,361
37
votes
Would Spawn of Kyuss worms infesting a Paladin die?
(these answers, IMO, also apply to the Monk's Purity of Body)
RAW: Paladins are probably susceptible to Kyuss Worms
Because of… Reasons. 5th edition did away with a lot of verbose text present in ...
- 21.4k
36
votes
Accepted
What would happen if a Centaur Oath of the Ancients Paladin used Turn the Faithless?
Unclear, but I'd say No, the Centaur cannot turn itself
The Oath of the Ancients paladin's class feature you are referring to is this one (PHB, pg. 87):
Turn the Faithless. You can use your Channel ...
- 80.8k
35
votes
Accepted
Would Spawn of Kyuss worms infesting a Paladin die?
Not likely, but a case could be made for it
This is a bit of a tricky area, but in general we have go with the idea that things do what they say they do and no more. As with all things 5e, a DM can ...
- 126k
35
votes
Accepted
Is it reasonable to punish a paladin for breaking an oath to protect a creature they did not realize was a major antagonist?
You certainly can cause the Paladin to fall if they've amended their Oath to include a very specific creature, and are then compelled to attack said creature once they realize the deception.
You ...
- 53.1k
34
votes
Accepted
Should a paladin's alignment align with the alignment of their deity?
Paladins are not tied to their deity (or lack of a deity) any more than anyone else
In previous editions, paladins gained their power from there dedication to their deity or alignment and could even ...
- 76.1k
34
votes
Can a paladin decide who is considered "friendly", and thus gets the benefit of their aura(s)?
There is no official rule, nor was there ever meant to be one
It is, frankly, incorrect to analyze every time Wizards of the Coast used the word “friendly” in the text in an attempt to determine what “...
- 361k
33
votes
Accepted
Is Oath of the Ancients all about nature?
Paladins are not Druids
The Oath of the Ancients has nothing to do with nature; it is about life and light.
A Green Knight has committed to fighting for a world where things can live and grow and ...
- 23.4k
33
votes
My DM has removed heavy armour from the game. How can I make a Paladin work or convince him not to do this?
The core of the problem is that your DM is conflating an important game mechanic with its corresponding worldbuilding implications. Luckily, this means that a solution should be relatively ...
- 63.9k
33
votes
What is the source of a Paladin's spellcasting ability?
The Oath is the Source of Power
... a paladin's oath is a powerful bond. It is a source of power that turns a devout warrior into a blessed champion.
The Spellcasting feature is part of the ...
- 76.1k
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