Paladin

Class Stat

For centuries, there have been those who have trained in sword and shield who have served as personal bodyguards to many guilds, the church, and even royal families. Known as paladins, these men and women marry exquisite swordplay with stalwart shield work to create a style of combat uncompromising in its defense. Not only that, but their connection with divine gods and energies allows for the casting of spells befitting for those who are known as protectors. Clad in brilliant silver armor, they charge fearlessly into battle, ever ready to lay down their lives for their liege.

To be a paladin is to protect, and those who choose to walk this path will become the iron foundation upon which the party's defense is built.

Hit Points (HP)

Hit Dice 1d10 per level
HP at Level 1 10 + CON modifier
HP at higher levels 1d10 (or 5) + CON modifier per level

Proficiencies

Armour All armour, shields
Weapons Simple weapons, martial weapons
Tools None
Saving Throws WIS, CHA
Skills Choose two from Athletics, Insight, Intimidation, Medicine, Persuasion, and Religion

Paladin Table

Spell slots per spell level
Level Proficiency Bonus Abilities Lay on Hands HP Skills Known 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
1 +2 Lay on Hands 5 1 - - - - -
2 +2 Fighting Style, Spellcasting, Divine Smite 10 2 2 - - - -
3 +2 Divine Sense, Martial Maneuver 15 3 3 - - - -
4 +2 Ability Score Improvement 20 4 3 - - - -
5 +3 Extra Attack 25 4 4 2 - - -
6 +3 Aura of Protection, Attack of Opportunity* 30 5 4 2 - - -
7 +3 Martial Maneuver 35 6 4 3 - - -
8 +3 Ability Score Improvement 40 7 4 3 - - -
9 +4 Spirit Guardian 45 7 4 3 2 - -
10 +4 Martial Maneuver 50 8 4 3 2 - -
11 +4 Radiant Smite 55 9 4 3 3 - -
12 +4 Ability Score Improvement 60 10 4 3 3 - -
13 +5 - 65 10 4 3 3 1 -
14 +5 Protective Spirit 70 11 4 3 3 1 -
15 +5 Martial Maneuver 75 12 4 3 3 2 -
16 +5 Ability Score Improvement 80 13 4 3 3 2 -
17 +6 - 85 13 4 3 3 3 1
18 +6 Powerful Presence 90 14 4 3 3 3 1
19 +6 Ability Score Improvement 95 15 4 3 3 3 2
20 +6 Holy Aura 100 16 4 3 3 3 2

Creating a Paladin

The most important aspect of a Paladin is to consider the principles by which they will stand. Almost all Paladins follow the path of justice and righteousness, however, the type of justice is dependent on the path they follow. Are you a devoted servant of a deity? How did you come to be under their service? Is your service one of faithful loyalty, or begrudging acceptance? How did you experience your call to become a Paladin under this deity?

If you didn't become a Paladin through following a deity, the other way is to become part of a Paladin group and commit to their principles, whatever that may be, receiving training from them. What compelled you to join their group? Was it the allure of making a difference, whether through lofty aspirations, or through frustration at other authorities? Perhaps you were captivated by the mission that drove them? What is the mission or vision of the group? Are your band of Paladins well known? Would people recognise you for being part of that group?

A small proportion of Paladins embrace the darker powers that are offered to them as they seek to fulfill their quests. Such Paladins are knows as beacons of darkness rather than beacons of light. While darkness may become their theme, this does not necessarily mean that they are evil, but the allure and temptation of the path of evil will always be there for those who try to resist. What caused you to fall down the path to seek supreme power from the darkness? Was it temptation from a god, or was it your own lust for power? Were you struck by the power of another creature? Or perhaps you sought the power in order to save something you loved?

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

Or, you could choose to start with 5d4 × 10 gp and purchase your equipment.

Class Abilities

Lay on Hands

At Level 1, 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 × 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 ailment afflicting it, choosing from

Blind
,
Deaf
,
Disease
,
Poison
,
Sap
,
Silence
,
Sleep
, or
Paralysis
. You can cure multiple ailments with a single use of Lay on Hands, expending hit points separately for each one. This feature has no effect on undead.

Fighting Style

At Level 2, you adopt a particular style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can't take a Fighting Style option more than once.

Defense

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

Duelling

When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons (a shield does not count as a weapon), you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.

Great Weapon Fighting

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, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.

Interception

When a creature you can see hits a target that is within 4m of you with an attack, you can use your reaction to move within 2m of the target if you aren't already, and reduce the damage the target takes by 1d10 + your Level + your proficiency bonus (to a minimum of 0 damage). You take half of the damage that you prevented (rounded down). You must be wielding a shield, or a simple or martial melee weapon to use this reaction.

Protection

When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 2m of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. If this reaction causes the creature to miss its attack, you can make an attack of opportunity against the attacker as part of the same reaction if you are within range. You must be wielding a shield.

Spellcasting

From Level 2 onwards, you have learned to draw on divine magick through meditation and prayer, if you are devoted to a deity, or focus on your just principles otherwise, to cast spells much like a White Mage does.

Spell Slots

The table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these Paladin spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

Preparing and Casting Spells

You prepare the list of Paladin spells that are available for you to cast, choosing from the Paladin spell list. When you do so, choose a number of Paladin spells equal to your Charisma modifier + half your Paladin level, rounded down (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots when calculating your Paladin level.

For example, if you are a 5th-level Paladin, you have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level spell slots. With a Charisma of 14, your list of prepared spells can include four spells of 1st or 2nd level, in any combination. If you prepare the 1st-level spell Cure, you can cast it using a 1st-level or a 2nd-level slot. Casting the spell doesn't remove it from your list of prepared spells.

You can change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of Paladin spells requires time spent in meditation and prayer to your god, or focus on your just principles: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list.

Spellcasting Ability

Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your Paladin spells, since the power of your magick relies on the conviction of your beliefs. You use your CHA whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your CHA modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a Paladin spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your CHA modifier

Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your CHA modifier

Spellcasting Focus

You can use a holy symbol, or a symbol representing your Paladin Order, as a spellcasting focus for your Paladin spells.

Divine Smite

From 2nd Level onwards, you have become skilled in imbuing righteous energy into your weapon.

When you hit with a Melee Weapon Attack, you can expend a 1st-level spell slot to deal an extra 2d8 HOLY damage to the target, in addition to the weapon's damage. (If you choose to use Divine Smite after scoring a critical hit, double the amount of damage dice for Divine Smite.)

If you expend a higher level spell slot, increase the damage by 1d8 for each spell level increase, to a maximum of 5d8 damage. The damage increases by 1d8 if the target is an Undead or a Fiend, to a maximum of 6d8.

Divine Sense

From 3rd Level onwards, 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 20m 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 CHA modifier. When you finish a long rest, you regain all expended uses.

Martial Maneuver

At Levels 3, 7, 10, and 15, you can learn some techniques that you can employ in combat which show your martial prowess. See the Martial Maneuvers page.

Ability Score Improvement

At Levels 4, 8, 12, 16, and 19, 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 skill.

You can forgo taking this feature to take a Feat of your choice instead.

Extra Attack

At Level 5, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Aura of Protection

Starting at 6th level, whenever a friendly creature within 4m of you must make a saving throw, the creature gains a bonus to the saving throw equal to your CHA modifier (with a minimum bonus of +1). You gain a bonus to your saving throws equal to half this amount (rounded up). You must be conscious to grant this bonus.

Attack of Opportunity*

From 6th Level onwards, you are able to train yourself to take advantage of any drop in guard of your enemies. You can chooose to forgo spending a skill point to learn the Attack of Opportunity reaction below:

Reaction Trigger: A creature within your reach makes a ranged attack, leaves a square during its movement, or casts a spell with somatic (S) or material (M) components.

Effect: Make a melee weapon attack against the creature.

*Attack of Opportunity variant: You can only learn this feature if you are using this variant.

Spirit Guardian

Beginning at 9th Level, as an action, you become able to impart a portion of your spirit to up to eight willing creatures who are all linked by touch to you, for up to 1 hour.

Choose a number up to 1/5 of your maximum HP (rounded down). You lose current and maximum HP equal to the number that you chose. The maximum HP is lost until you complete a short or long rest, or you are affected by the Esuna spell or similar.

For the duration, the targets gain temporary HP equal to the number that you chose, which manifests itself in a visible aura around the creature. This effect ends on a creature once the temporary HP is lost.

Your aura skills (Aura of Courage, Aura of the Guardian, Aura of Protection, Aura of the Relentless, Aura of Warding) exude from anyone imbued with your spirit, thus extending its range.

Furthermore, choose one of the following forms that the spirit takes, which grants a bonus to the creature for the duration:

You can choose to end this feature early as an action, and this feature also ends early once the effect ends on all creatures you chose. After using this feature, you can't use it again until you complete a long rest.

Radiant Smite

At Level 11, you are so suffused with righteous might that all of your melee weapon strikes carry divine power with them. Whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon, the creature takes an extra 1d8 HOLY damage.

Protective Spirit

Starting at 14th level, a holy presence mends your wounds in battle. You regain hit points equal to 1d6 + half your Paladin level if you end your turn in combat with fewer than half of your hit points remaining and you aren't

Incapacitated
.

Powerful Presence

From 18th Level onwards, the auras you give off now reach farther parts of the battlefield because of your heightened willpower. The range of your aura skills (Aura of Courage, Aura of the Guardian, Aura of Protection, Aura of the Relentless, Aura of Warding) increases to 10m.

Holy Aura

At Level 20, as an action, you can emanate an aura of divine sunlight. For 1 minute, bright light shines from you in a 10m radius Sphere, and dim light for another 10m. Whenever an enemy creature starts its turn in the bright light, the creature takes 10 HOLY damage. In addition, for the duration, you have advantage on saving throws against spells cast or abilities used by Fiends or Undead. Once you use this skill, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.