The Best Paladin Subclasses!

Oath of the Crown

Oath of the Crown Paladin guarding a doorway

Does your Paladin look up to a king? To their nation? Then take the Oath of the Crown.

A few oath spells your paladin gets are Compelled Duel, Aura of Vitality, Banishment, and Circle of Power.

At level 3, your Channel divinity lets you do two things: Champion Challenge, which lets you compel a creature to duel you, and Turn the Tide which lets you give 1d6+CHA mod in health to those who have less than half health.

Level 7 gets you Divine Allegiance. It lets you take damage for an ally creature within 5 ft of you.

At level 15, you get Unyielding Saint. It gives you an advantage on saves to avoid getting paralyzed or stunned.

When you reach level 20, you gain Exalted Champion. You can use your action to gain resistance to Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage from non-magical attacks, Giving allies within 30 ft of you advantage on death saving throws and wisdom saving throws. They all last an hour unless you go unconscious.   

Why Oath of the Crown is Great:

• Great for Support Paladins
• Healing
• Resistances galore!

Oath of Redemption

Oath of Redemption Paladin in armor with her Goddess's sigil

Characters that have done evil deeds that are looking to atone for them look no further than the Oath of Redemption. They are great peacekeepers, as they don’t use weapons that much, only as a last resort.

At level 3, your Channel Divinity gets you Emissary of Peace which gives you a +5 bonus to persuasion checks and Rebuke the Violent to make a creature who dealt damage to someone take damage equal to the damage dealt on a failed wisdom save.

At level 7 you get the Aura of the Guardian. You can shield others at the cost of your health within 10 ft of you, 30 ft at level 18.

When you reach level 15, you can regain 1d6+CHA mod of health each turn if you’re under half health and aren’t unconscious.

At level 20, you gain the Emissary of Redemption. You get resistance to all damage against you and if a creature hits you with an attack, you can deal radiant damage equal to half of what they did to you.

Why Oath of Redemption is Great:

Another substantial support

Great damage, if redirecting

Good healing

Oath of Vengeance

Oath of Vengeance Paladin flying down from the Heavens

For those Paladins who want to kill a great, old evil. They are ruthless.

At level 3, Channel Divinity gets you Abjure Enemy and Vow of Enmity. Abjure enemy lets you fear a creature as a bonus action. The creature makes a Wisdom saving throw and is frightened and its speed is 0 for a minute. On a failed save, its speed is halved. Vow of Enmity lets you get an advantage to attack an enemy within 10 ft of you.

Relentless Avenger lets you move half your speed when you hit a creature with an opportunity attack. You get this at level 7.

At level 15, you gain the Soul of Vengeance. When a creature under Vow of Enmity attacks someone or you, you can make a melee attack against the target if it’s within your range.

You get to take on the form of an angelic avenger at level 20. Avenging Angel gets you wings that let you fly 60 ft and an aura of menace of 30 ft radius. Whenever an enemy creature enters your aura, it must make a Wisdom save or become frightened for a minute. Attack rolls against the creatures frightened this way have an advantage.

Why Oath of Vengeance is Great

Lots of damage

Flavorful

Gives you wings, unlike Redbull

Oath of Conquest

Oath of Conquest Paladin fighting on a battlefield

Ancient Crusaders were Paladins of Conquest. Does your character want to follow in their footsteps? Here is what they had.

At level 3, you get Conquering Presence and Guided Strike with your Channel Divinity. Conquering Presence lets you force a creature to make a wisdom save. On a failed save it becomes frightened of you for a minute, Guided Strike gives you a +10 to hit which you can use after you roll, but before it’s decided if you attack hits or misses.

You gain Aura of Conquest at level 7. It’s a 10 ft radius from you which increases to 30 ft at level 18. When a creature that’s frightened of you is in the aura, its speed is 0 and takes psychic damage equal to half your paladin level if it starts its turn there.

At level 15, you get Scornful Rebuke. Whenever a creature hits you with an attack, you can psychically damage the target equal to your CHA mod, a minimum of 1.

At level 20, you are an Invincible Conqueror. You get resistance to all damage, you can make an additional attack when you take the Attack action on your turn, and melee attacks are crits on rolls of 19s or 20s.

Why Oath of Conquest is Great:

Lots of damage

Flavorful

Psychic Damage!

Oathbreaker

Oathbreaker Paladin standing over bodies of fallen foes

If your Paladin ever breaks their oath to their god or people, they become the fallen Oathbreaker. Yes, you can redeem yourself, but Oathbreakers get some awesome power. Why would anyone go back to their Oath?

At any time your character can become an Oathbreaker. You gain the abilities instantly and lose your old abilities.

Your level 3 abilities get replaced with Control Undead and Dreadful Aspect. Control undead lets you control one undead for 24 hours if they fail the saving throw. Undead whose CR is equal to or greater than your level is immune to this effect. Dreadful Aspect lets you frighten a creature that fails a Wisdom saving throw within 30 ft of you.

Your 7th level ability turns into Aura of Hate. You, Fiends, and Undead within 10 ft of you get a bonus to attack damage equal to your CHA modifier, minimum of 1. Its range increases to 30 ft at level 18.

The 15th level ability is now Supernatural Resistance which gives you resistance to non-magical bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage.

If you are level 20, your Avatar ability is replaced with Dread Lord. As an action, you can surround yourself with gloom. Bright light becomes dim light within 30 ft of you. If a creature that’s frightened of you starts its turn in the aura, it takes 4d10 psychic damage. You can also make you and creatures you choose shrouded in even deeper darkness and gloom. Creatures that rely on sight have disadvantage to attacking you and those creatures.

You can make the shadows attack a creature within a 30 ft radius. The creature takes 3d10+CHA mod of necrotic damage if it hits.

This ability can only be used once per long rest.

Why Oathbreaker is Great:

Great for evil Paladins

Damage Galore!

Excellent villains for DMs

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