Class
By Wizards of the Coast D&D 5e (2014)
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SRD 5.1 SRD 5.1 (current printing)

SRD 5.2 SRD 5.2.1

Paladin

Clad in plate armor that gleams in the sunlight despite the dust and grime of long travel, a human lays down her sword and shield and places her hands on a mortally wounded man. Divine radiance shines from her hands, the man's wounds knit closed, and his eyes open wide with amazement.

A dwarf crouches behind an outcrop, his black cloak making him nearly invisible in the night, and watches an orc war band celebrating its recent victory. Silently, he stalks into their midst and whispers an oath, and two orcs are dead before they even realize he is there.

Silver hair shining in a shaft of light that seems to illuminate only him, an elf laughs with exultation. His spear flashes like his eyes as he jabs again and again at a twisted giant, until at last his light overcomes its hideous darkness.

Whatever their origin and their mission, paladins are united by their oaths to stand against the forces of evil. Whether sworn before a god's altar and the witness of a priest, in a sacred glade before nature spirits and fey beings, or in a moment of desperation and grief with the dead as the only witness, a paladin's oath is a powerful bond. It is a source of power that turns a devout warrior into a blessed champion.

Hit Die
d10
Primary Ability
Strength, Charisma
Saving Throws
Wisdom, Charisma
Proficiencies
All armor, Shields, Simple Weapons, Martial Weapons, Saving Throw: WIS, Saving Throw: CHA

The Paladin

Level Prof. Bonus Aura Range Features 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
1st +2 — Divine Sense, Lay on Hands — — — — —
2nd +2 — Fighting Style, Spellcasting: Paladin, Divine Smite 2 — — — —
3rd +2 — Divine Health, Sacred Oath, Oath Spells, Channel Divinity 3 — — — —
4th +2 — Ability Score Improvement 3 — — — —
5th +3 — Extra Attack 4 2 — — —
6th +3 10 Aura of Protection 4 2 — — —
7th +3 10 Sacred Oath feature 4 3 — — —
8th +3 10 Ability Score Improvement 4 3 — — —
9th +4 10 — 4 3 2 — —
10th +4 10 Aura of Courage 4 3 2 — —
11th +4 10 Improved Divine Smite 4 3 3 — —
12th +4 10 Ability Score Improvement 4 3 3 — —
13th +5 10 — 4 3 3 1 —
14th +5 10 Cleansing Touch 4 3 3 1 —
15th +5 10 Sacred Oath feature 4 3 3 2 —
16th +5 10 Ability Score Improvement 4 3 3 2 —
17th +6 10 — 4 3 3 3 1
18th +6 30 Aura improvements 4 3 3 3 1
19th +6 30 Ability Score Improvement 4 3 3 3 2
20th +6 30 Sacred Oath feature 4 3 3 3 2

Class Features

Divine Sense — 1st level

The presence of strong evil registers on your senses like a noxious odor, and powerful good rings like heavenly music in your ears. As an action, you can open your awareness to detect such forces. Until the end of your next turn, you know the location of any celestial, fiend, or undead within 60 feet of you that is not behind total cover. You know the type (celestial, fiend, or undead) of any being whose presence you sense, but not its identity. Within the same radius, you also detect the presence of any place or object that has been consecrated or desecrated, as with the hallow spell.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to 1 + your Charisma modifier. When you finish a long rest, you regain all expended uses.

Holy Sniper — 1st level

Optional 1st-level paladin feature

At 2nd level when you choose your Fighting Style, Archery is added to your available options.

Also, you can now only use your Divine Smite feature with ranged weapon attacks, rather than with melee weapon attacks. The extra radiant damage dealt when you use the feature is also adjusted—it is now 2d6 for a 1st-level spell slot, plus 1d6 for each spell level higher than 1st, to a maximum of 5d6. The damage increases by 1d6 if the target is an undead or a fiend, to a maximum of 6d6.

Additionally, when you reach 11th level, your Improved Divine Smite feature now only deals its extra radiant damage on ranged weapon attacks, rather than on melee weapon attacks, and the extra damage radiant damage dealt is adjusted to 1d6.

Lay on Hands — 1st level

Your blessed touch can heal wounds. You have a pool of healing power that replenishes when you take a long rest. With that pool, you can restore a total number of hit points equal to your paladin level x 5.

As an action, you can touch a creature and draw power from the pool to restore a number of hit points to that creature, up to the maximum amount remaining in your pool.

Alternatively, you can expend 5 hit points from your pool of healing to cure the target of one disease or neutralize one poison affecting it. You can cure multiple diseases and neutralize multiple poisons with a single use of Lay on Hands, expending hit points separately for each one.

This feature has no effect on undead and constructs.

Divine Smite — 2nd level

Starting at 2nd level, when you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can expend one spell slot to deal radiant damage to the target, in addition to the weapon's damage. The extra damage is 2d8 for a 1st-level spell slot, plus 1d8 for each spell level higher than 1st, to a maximum of 5d8. The damage increases by 1d8 if the target is an undead or a fiend.

Fighting Style — 2nd level

At 2nd level, you adopt a style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can't take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.

Fighting Style: Defense — 2nd level

While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.

Fighting Style: Dueling — 2nd level

When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.

Fighting Style: Great Weapon Fighting — 2nd level

When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.

Fighting Style: Protection — 2nd level

When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be wielding a shield.

Martial Versatility — 2nd level

2nd-level feature (enhances Fighting Style)

Whenever you gain a level in this class, you can replace a fighting style you know with another style available to your class. This change represents a shift of focus in your martial training and practice, causing you to lose the benefits of one style and gain the benefits of another style.

Spellcasting: Paladin — 2nd level

By 2nd level, you have learned to draw on divine magic through meditation and prayer to cast spells as a cleric does.

Channel Divinity — 3rd level

Your oath allows you to channel divine energy to fuel magical effects. Each Channel Divinity option provided by your oath explains how to use it.

When you use your Channel Divinity, you choose which option to use. You must then finish a short or long rest to use your Channel Divinity again.

Some Channel Divinity effects require saving throws. When you use such an effect from this class, the DC equals your paladin spell save DC.

Channel Divinity: Harness Divine Power — 3rd level

3rd-level paladin optional feature

You can expend a use of your Channel Divinity to fuel your spells. As a bonus action, you touch your holy symbol, utter a prayer, and regain one expended spell slot, the level of which can be no higher than half your proficiency bonus (rounded up). The number of times you can use this feature is based on the level you've reached in this class: 3rd level, once; 7th level, twice; and 15th level, thrice. You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Channel Divinity: Harness Divine Power — 3rd level

3rd-level paladin feature (enhances Channel Divinity)

You can expend a use of your Channel Divinity to fuel your spells. As a bonus action, you touch your holy symbol, utter a prayer, and regain one expended 1st-level spell slot.

Divine Health — 3rd level

By 3rd level, the divine magic flowing through you makes you immune to disease.

Oath Spells — 3rd level

Each oath has a list of associated spells. You gain access to these spells at the levels specified in the oath description. Once you gain access to an oath spell, you always have it prepared. Oath spells don't count against the number of spells you can prepare each day.

If you gain an oath spell that doesn't appear on the paladin spell list, the spell is nonetheless a paladin spell for you.

Sacred Oath — 3rd level

When you reach 3rd level, you swear the oath that binds you as a paladin forever. Up to this time you have been in a preparatory stage, committed to the path but not yet sworn to it. Now you choose an oath, such as the Oath of Devotion.

Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 7th, 15th, and 20th level. Those features include oath spells and the Channel Divinity feature.

Ability Score Improvement — 4th level

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Martial Versatility — 4th level

4th-level paladin optional feature

Whenever you reach a level in this class that grants the Ability Score Improvement feature, you can replace a fighting style you know with another fighting style available to paladins. This replacement represents a shift of focus in your martial practice.

Proficiency Versatility — 4th level

4th-level feature (enhances Ability Score Improvement)

When you gain the Ability Score Improvement feature from your class, you can also replace one of your skill proficiencies with a skill proficiency offered by your class at 1st level (the proficiency you replace needn't be from the class).

This change represents one of your skills atrophying as you focus on a different skill.

Extra Attack — 5th level

Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Aura of Protection — 6th level

Starting at 6th level, whenever you or a friendly creature within 10 feet of you must make a saving throw, the creature gains a bonus to the saving throw equal to your Charisma modifier (with a minimum bonus of +1). You must be conscious to grant this bonus.

At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.

Sacred Oath feature — 7th level

When you reach 3rd level, you swear the oath that binds you as a paladin forever. Up to this time you have been in a preparatory stage, committed to the path but not yet sworn to it. Now you choose an oath, such as the Oath of Devotion.

Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 7th, 15th, and 20th level. Those features include oath spells and the Channel Divinity feature.

Ability Score Improvement — 8th level

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Proficiency Versatility — 8th level

8th-level feature (enhances Ability Score Improvement)

When you gain the Ability Score Improvement feature from your class, you can also replace one of your skill proficiencies with a skill proficiency offered by your class at 1st level (the proficiency you replace needn't be from the class).

This change represents one of your skills atrophying as you focus on a different skill.

Aura of Courage — 10th level

Starting at 10th level, you and friendly creatures within 10 feet of you can't be frightened while you are conscious.

At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.

Improved Divine Smite — 11th level

By 11th level, you are so suffused with righteous might that all your melee weapon strikes carry divine power with them. Whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon, the creature takes an extra 1d8 radiant damage. If you also use your Divine Smite with an attack, you add this damage to the extra damage of your Divine Smite.

Ability Score Improvement — 12th level

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Proficiency Versatility — 12th level

12th-level feature (enhances Ability Score Improvement)

When you gain the Ability Score Improvement feature from your class, you can also replace one of your skill proficiencies with a skill proficiency offered by your class at 1st level (the proficiency you replace needn't be from the class).

This change represents one of your skills atrophying as you focus on a different skill.

Cleansing Touch — 14th level

Beginning at 14th level, you can use your action to end one spell on yourself or on one willing creature that you touch.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (a minimum of once). You regain expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Sacred Oath feature — 15th level

When you reach 3rd level, you swear the oath that binds you as a paladin forever. Up to this time you have been in a preparatory stage, committed to the path but not yet sworn to it. Now you choose an oath, such as the Oath of Devotion.

Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 7th, 15th, and 20th level. Those features include oath spells and the Channel Divinity feature.

Ability Score Improvement — 16th level

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Proficiency Versatility — 16th level

16th-level feature (enhances Ability Score Improvement)

When you gain the Ability Score Improvement feature from your class, you can also replace one of your skill proficiencies with a skill proficiency offered by your class at 1st level (the proficiency you replace needn't be from the class).

This change represents one of your skills atrophying as you focus on a different skill.

Aura improvements — 18th level

At 18th level, the range of your auras increase to 30 feet.

Ability Score Improvement — 19th level

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Proficiency Versatility — 19th level

19th-level feature (enhances Ability Score Improvement)

When you gain the Ability Score Improvement feature from your class, you can also replace one of your skill proficiencies with a skill proficiency offered by your class at 1st level (the proficiency you replace needn't be from the class).

This change represents one of your skills atrophying as you focus on a different skill.

Sacred Oath feature — 20th level

When you reach 3rd level, you swear the oath that binds you as a paladin forever. Up to this time you have been in a preparatory stage, committed to the path but not yet sworn to it. Now you choose an oath, such as the Oath of Devotion.

Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 7th, 15th, and 20th level. Those features include oath spells and the Channel Divinity feature.

Multiclassing

Prerequisite
STR 13, CHA 13
Proficiencies Gained
Light Armor, Medium Armor, Shields, Simple Weapons, Martial Weapons

Official miniatures

Pre-painted minis of this creature, catalogued from minisgallery.com.

Some links below are affiliate links. Bookwyrm may earn a commission on qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.


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