Paladin Oath of Conquest Character Ideas

[@blueeyeswhitemoron4488]

I have a conquest paladin who is gonna give the world to her childhood BFF as a wedding gift using the power of love and sociopathy to fuel her oath.

[@FlutesLoot]

A beautiful love story. That's amazing! :)

[@funbro99]

Sooo...how did the wedding go? Apologies for being 2 years late with asking.

[@blueeyeswhitemoron4488]

Life happened, unfortunately. We graduated high school, paired with some growing tensions the group split and I never got that far.

[@funbro99]

@@blueeyeswhitemoron4488 dang..well I hope your char found another adventure to join and give the world to someone special. "Insert le common phrase of villian sacrificing the world for you"

[@forfaerghus8092]

My idea of an Oath of Conquest paladin is the son of a noble who governs an impoverished territory. Said noble father is a bleeding-heart pacifist who has repeatedly tried, but failed to negotiate with surrounding territories for aid. The paladin grew up surrounded by this desolation, and it twisted his heart. He feels compassion for his suffering people, but that compassion turns to contempt for those outside his borders. He argues with his father, stating that since the other territories have ignored him, he should conquer their territory and take their resources for himself. In other words, "They turned their back on us, let us sink a knife into it." This argument leads to a falling out, with the paladin leaving home to "better himself" while secretly plotting to usurp the title. His adventures with a party, in his eyes, are just preparation for his upcoming conquests. However, I also have an optional plan. If a DM allows it, the battlefield is in danger of becoming intoxicating to the paladin, and he has to keep his mind firm or get lost in his bloodlust. If he falls enough from grace...you know what will happen. UPDATE: I have finally put this character idea into action. His name is Arkris, and he's my current character in Curse of Strahd.

[@FlutesLoot]

That's an excellent concept! The desire of conquest can be rooted in benevolence.

[@UrzaTron707]

I play a Paladin of conquest who's country was completely obliterated by another nation because his nation was turning to soft and ended invaded. Now he travels the world searching for power and trying to reconquest his devasted country again. Is a L/N paladin who was L/G on his youth, he feels like the godness has faults and he has a complex personal code who drives him on his quest.

[@FlutesLoot]

@@UrzaTron707 Such a good subclass for add-water epic backstories and goals.

[@UrzaTron707]

@@FlutesLoot also if you roleplay a good one is very political and a great leader for a party, personally my character wants to help his party on fullfil their goals first and he make deals with everyone of them to ensure his quest at the end will work

[@FlutesLoot]

@@UrzaTron707 That's a smart way to roleplay to be a team player and not just a selfish dope out for vengeance with no thought for building alliances. Nicely done!

[@crabmaster8174]

I like to think of it like General Grievous. A great commander who instils fear in the enemies in the frontlines! I love playing my Paladin like that!

[@FlutesLoot]

That's an excellent character for inspiration here :)

[@giraffedragon6110]

My idea for a conquest paladin is one who upon defeating bandits in battle, gives them the opportunity to join his banner. He believes in strength and self sufficiency, however he’s not fool enough to think he was the strongest at the start. He built himself to that level. He inspires loyalty through action and devotion to his group, and fear through his battle prowess and charisma. He trains them in combat, takes them on quests slightly above their level to have them overcome trials by fire.

[@FlutesLoot]

That's a perfect Conquest Paladin concept!

[@Whiplash557]

Great analogy to udo jine, really shows how terrifying a conquest paladin can be

[@FlutesLoot]

For sure! The oath's unique powers really stand out. I'm glad you like the Udo Jine reference; I was worried it was too obscure.

[@ron.c.koster]

The feat i love with fear is shield master. Make there speed 0 and push them prone .

[@FlutesLoot]

That's super interesting. Standing up requires the use of half the movement speed, and half of zero is zero. I wonder if the RAW intent is to allow standing up while speed is zero. I've never thought of this. Brilliant!

[@sarahwhitely6878]

I am four months later than this question but in chapter 9 of the phb under movement in combat it talks about being prone and directly states you can not stand up if your speed is zero.

[@ozy6252]

Couldn’t you use the cantrip that you get at level 1 command and command then to fall or trip?

[@theblindjedi41]

I had an idea for an oath of conquest paladin. Thinking of a dreaded pirate captain like Blackbeard. Probably chaotic but uses fear and intimidation to make enemies give up and take the treasure they want.

[@FlutesLoot]

I can definitely see the Oath of Conquest as a pirate. Great idea!

[@HierophanticRose]

This is great! I am creating an Asmodean Paladin for a campaign so this Oath is perfect I think. I am also thinking of interpreting the "you" in the tenets of the Oath of Conquest to mean the party, so as to not be "that guy" in the group

[@FlutesLoot]

Such a fun, powerful Oath! Definitely avoid being "that guy" and all will be well!

[@DHTheAlaskan]

I will be playing a Hobgoblin Conquest Paladin soon, going to be playing the honorable Lawful Evil conqurer. While he believes that the strong should rule, he still must cover his iron fist with a velvet glove and allow those beneath him to feel that he isn't a complete tyrant. Might come into conflict with some of the tenants, but if you rely on ruling through fear alone eventually someone won't be afraid and will rally people against you. It is better to be loved and feared after all.

[@FlutesLoot]

I've wanted to play a hobgoblin for a long time, but I haven't gotten around to it. Their lore and culture are interesting to me. I like their racial features, too.

[@DHTheAlaskan]

@@FlutesLoot I chose Hobgoblin for the same reason. Militaristic, rational and have a chance to turn a failure into a success with Saving Face.

[@simonwalker602]

My oath of conquest Paladin is a dragon borne called Gallxaatash the petrifier. He's a general infiltrating a party to capture the artifacts they have been collecting as they have the power to rule all. He's a mixture of Kane from early wwf and Jason Statham

[@FlutesLoot]

That name is godlike. I love it!

[@johntolentino8827]

That anime throwback was a great example. I certainly wasn't expecting it but it inspires my future paladin for sure.

[@FlutesLoot]

It's too perfect of an example! :D

[@KatoCoyoteCombatWorkshop]

Having a blast playing this subclass straight. Cackle with delight as you kill enemies, intimidate people with severed heads, aspiring to become a vampire. Drop the moral posturing, you're a killer, but you're honest. It's the ones who mask their desire for destruction behind a veil of altruism and righteousness that are the most venomous of snakes. "If everyone in the world thinks you are evil, are you?"

[@FlutesLoot]

That's the spirit! Conquest's theme is so fun compared to the other oaths.

[@MrSteveK1138]

Oath of Conquest Paladin follows the Tarkin Doctrine

[@FlutesLoot]

I had to Google that, but it sounds spot on!

[@MrSteveK1138]

@@FlutesLoot Fear will keep the Masked Lords in line...

[@Malisteen]

Unfortunately, the dragon fear racial feat for dragonborn suffers some anti-synergy with aira of conquest. The aura damages enemies at the start of the turn, while the feat gives a new save against the effect any time an affected creature takes damage. As a result, targets effectively get two saves against the frighten effect before suffering any of the key penalties to their movement or actions. This severely weakens the effect, and makes it arguably not worth the feat when compared to other half cha feats like fey touched.

[@FlutesLoot]

I totally agree, Malisteen. Mechanically, I wouldn't even play a Dragonborn because I find the breath weapon so disappointing, and there's not much else to the race. Most people I play with will choose the race because it is cool, so those same people might enjoy a fear effect. It's very weak, just like regular Dragonborn breath weapons, but some would enjoy it.

[@vaevictusasmadi84]

My conquest pally is a lawful evil half-elf worshipper of Loviatar. She can be racist, cruel, and sadistic; but, she's also dependable, protective, and VERY persuasive/intimidating. She works well with other adventurers because she respects strength and skill. She even tolerates good-aligned allies, as long as they keep focused on the larger goals of the group and don't get distracted helping every miserable soul along the way. She's always super fun to roleplay, especially when other players stand up to her and keep her ego in check!

[@FlutesLoot]

I like to hear about groups who can include touchy subjects in their games (I think games are great places to explore concepts alien to ourselves). Not everyone can separate their characters from themselves, or they have topics that make them too uncomfortable to enjoy the game (rightfully so, often). Assuming it's working for your group, kudos to you!

[@MidKnightOTC]

I went oath of conquest for a drow Jaluk that decided that he would no longer be outdone by the priestesses of lolth and left on a mad quest to bring lolth's darkness to the sword coast. with no support, it was essentially suicide to be on the surface longer than necessary for raids and such. He fought through countless ambushes on his way to the surface, tested by lolth in the darkness, until he reached the surface. When he reached the surface, he received lolth's favor and took an oath to break the forces of her children on the surface.

[@FlutesLoot]

That's an awesome backstory for the Oath of Conquest!

[@ShardPF2e]

Great video. I like the 'edgy' paladins like conquest and vengeance. I know the oathbreaker exists but I feel like 5e is missing a properly evil paladin like the blackguard from the Baldur's Gate games.

[@FlutesLoot]

I'm glad you liked the video. I love the Oath of Conquest for its flexibility. As the comments assure, there are many ways to play it!

[@TheRobversion1]

You just gained so much respect from me for mentioning Udo Jin-e from one of my favorite anime of all time in Rurounin Kenshin! big props for a perfect example of a conquest paladin, especially as a non-traditional, non-heavy armored paladin. I consider samurais as paladins thematically. Kenshin i consider as a redemption or devotion paladin. anyway i like the mechanics and possible builds of a conquest pal. i just found it lacking with high level play with more common frightened immunity, legendary resistance and magic resistance. I ran a build for a one-shot before that could frighten 4x in 1 round at level 12 just to power through legendary resistance. it was a: dragonborn fighter 2, conquest 7, hexblade 3 with a quasit familiar my action flow was: move towards enemy bonus action: wrathful smite action: attack + dragon fear action surge: conquering presence quasit: scare (with investment of the chainmaster) it didn't feel good when the DM threw frightened immune enemies at us so now i look at conquest pals as more of a niche build that requires some DM cooperation.

[@FlutesLoot]

That is an unfortunate burden that the subclass faces! It's important to consider. And I'm glad someone appreciated the Kenshin reference!

[@TheRobversion1]

@@FlutesLoot yeah reminds me of the assassin. on paper the assassin as a dip is great but it's a sad reality that alot of DMs are anti-surprise/nerf surprise/don't play surprise RAW. it also reminded me of the other fear based subclass in the fey wanderer.

[@vobgreat]

Am I the only one picturing Debbie from Adam's family values?

[@FlutesLoot]

I'm not familiar with Adam's family characters, but I looked her up and she seems like she'd be uniquely suitable to an Oath of Conquest character concept. :P

[@Lobsterwithinternet]

I played an Oath of Conquest Paladin named Konrad Darnatti who I played like a mix of Justice Lords Batman and Darth Vader. He lost his family to a bandit army and swore an oath to a demon to bring his order to a lawless world and make sure no child will ever lose their parents to some criminal.

[@FlutesLoot]

Perfect! Instilling order through submission and conquest.

[@Deris87]

I've been ruminating on a Feywild-based Eladrin paladin, kind of based on the Winter Sidhe from Dresden Files--cold beautiful predators who also serve the greater good by fighting outsiders to the mortal realm. Oath of Ancients would seem like an obvious choice but it's abilities don't really click for me. Then I saw the fear-effects and Armor of Agathys as an Oath spell, and that really clinched it for me. I can have a beautiful and terrible Fey character who uses the ice of Winter itself as armor, and is travelling the Prime Material Plane to hunt Outsiders on his Lady's command. Love it.

[@FlutesLoot]

That sounds epic. When this subclass first came out, it seemed like a straightforward concept, but players have come up with countless ways to apply it and they all sound awesome. Nice work.

[@kalamander8563]

I just started my first 5th edition campaign with my brother being DM, and I'm going with this class. He's a former soldier exiled from his home city for killing his incompetent commanding officer during a mission, even though he took command of his unit after and completed the mission with no other casualties. Upon his exile, he vowed to return a conqueror, and clean up the upper echelons of nepotism and power mongering. With this campaign being set in Forgotten Realms, that vow caught the attention of Bane, God of Tyranny and now his end goal is to be the first to conquer Calimport and devote it to his God.

[@FlutesLoot]

I love this concept (and very relatable, haha). You're gonna have a good time in your campaign. I also think Bane is a fun god to 'work for' as I worshipped Bane as a War Cleric in a campaign last year.

[@andrewburdsal576]

I'm trying to build an Oath of Conquest Paladin based off of the Warhammers Dreadlord fighting style with the Har Ganeth executioner religious style

[@FlutesLoot]

I'm not familiar with Warhammer other than its aesthetic. Sounds like a Conquest Paladin though!

[@thedarkistartist9366]

Talked it over with my dm and decided to make an Fallen Aasimar Oath of conquest paladin who is trying to get back in the good grace's of the celestials by conquering lands and making them all enforce laws that are "just and good", but their falling was played a big part into by their bloodlust and combat lust so they're taking more of a, manipulative usurper route, making themselves a right hand before eventually coming back and slowly but surely taking everything for themself

[@FlutesLoot]

Awesome! Mine was a similar character who was misguided into being heavy-handed in conquering for the good of all, and he trusted his authorities too much. It's a great character archetype.

[@bananabanana484]

If you want a more good aligned Conquest Paladin, Sir Galehaut of Arthurian Legend was a well-liked king who nearly deposed King Arthur by taking over his kingdom. So a Conquest Paladin may be fighting to take over a corrupt kingdom and establish a new era of prosperity and fairness for his fellow citizens

[@cosmoniums5990]

I’m planning on playing an oath of conquest paladin who worships a god of fear for my friends campaign. The character in his youth ended up in a fateful encounter with a rather nasty bear. In this moment of weakness and terror he hoped and prayed to the gods for salvation. Fortunately his pleas were answered. The god of fear sent down a protective blessing on the young boy which sent the bear fleeing in a frenzied panic. In that moment the relieved and grateful kid, now spared from a rather grizzly end (Apologies for the pun), took a personal vow to henceforth repay his debt to the merciful god and to serve him however he possibly can. Years later the meek child grew to be a strong warrior, who took a powerful oath in service of his god’s order; An oath to cast terror down on the wicked and to smite the fears of the weak and helpless.

[@FlutesLoot]

That's a perfect way to instill power in fear! I love it. The morality of the character is also left free to interpretation.

[@cosmoniums5990]

@@FlutesLoot thanks for the vote of confidence. I’m a fairly new player, so it’ll be my first time playing both a paladin and a half-caster.

[@FlutesLoot]

@@cosmoniums5990 if you're character ever comes close to death and you want to multiclass, I just realized the undead warlock's level-one dread form comes with a consistent fear trait that would work well with a conquest paladin.

[@cosmoniums5990]

@@FlutesLoot Undead warlock would be a good and useful addition, but I’m unsure if I want to multiclass, and I’m especially unsure if I want to multiclass into warlock since my paladin character is replacing my fallen genie warlock (Who was a rabbitfolk magician type character if you’re curious). If there is a good, in character and in universe reason/opportunity I’ll consider the multiclass as it’s something I previously had my eye on as well when I was first coming up with a conquest paladin build.

[@cosmoniums5990]

@@FlutesLoot I’m finally going to be playing this fear paladin for the first time tomorrow, if everything goes to plan. Got any helpful tips to give to a level one fallen (but not really) aasimar with an 18 to strength and charisma?

[@designatedvillain738]

My new character is a Conquest Paladin and Undead Warlock. He is a lovely young man whose family was cursed by a powerful undead. When the curse manifested in him, his parents sent him to a Paladin Order to help restrain that power and now he is on a quest to find and destroy the thing that cursed him.

[@FlutesLoot]

Ooo interesting! There's plenty for the DM to do with that.

[@felipedias427]

I like to play this with a little twist, as much as I like playing cheesy edgy characters, sometimes it can disrupt the party dynamic if your dm isn't experienced enough, so whenever I'm playing an oath of conquest paladin, i like to think of them as Iskandr from the Fate Series, not a protector, but a leader, someone who can inspire others, terrify his enemies and still be a hella sympathetic guy. My last character's name was Tobias, he was also a warlock, so he had this menagerie of evil spirits following him around, but around tye rest of the party, he was an absolute goofball.

[@FlutesLoot]

I enjoy characters with this kind of duality, so I appreciate it when the obvious choices are twisted to freshen them up. It's more fun!

[@MoXfy_Milling]

Personally my first instinct when it comes to Oath of Conquest is the Dark Knights of FFXIV. They are knights who swore themselves to the holy see of Ishgard, but after witnessing all the corrupt people of power, they broke off from the knighthood, to fight this corruption. And they use all the love for the people, and sorrow at seeing their former brothers in arm becoming so corrupt as a power source, though it's manifested by dark magics.

[@FlutesLoot]

Fantastic example. These are the sorts of ideas that make this subclass so inherently exciting.

[@Lizzardtong]

Hmm. the current idea of a Conquest Paladin swirling in my head would be a someone who is the embodiment of "Good is not soft", he will try to uphold peace and prosperity and all that. and in general would be a cool person to hang out with, but when evil rears it's ugly head, they would grab their weapon, and start to tear down the enemies fortress to downright rubble, and recycle that rubble to benefit the place they are ruling. The BBEG hides in some sort of steel fortress? they'll tear it down and smelt that steel back into ingots for the blacksmiths in their city. they're gonna recycle whatever they can get their hands on. as for dealing with enemies, they will cling to that tenet about crushing hope and willpower of their enemies, so if they let someone life, then only to spread the word that they are coming for the BBEG's ass, and nothing will stop them. and if they see that person again in said fortress, they will toss their lifeless body unto the pile of deceased that stood in their way if they decide to stay there. so yeah. generally good, but far from merciful, as they are willing to do some cruel stuff to snuff out hope. doesn't have to like it, but whatever it takes to break their enemies will. and in that sense, they don't conquer cities to rule over, but conquer the land and rescources for their current city to expand towards. of course, if they aren't ruling a place, obviously they'd conquer a city so that they can expand then.

[@FlutesLoot]

That's a great concept, tearing down the enemy's... well, everything, and recycling it to leave no trace.

[@challtheone6898]

I have a Warforged Oath of Conquest Paladin

[@FlutesLoot]

I love the Warforged race, so this is a top-notch match in my book.

[@sebastianfischer1539]

My Conquest Paladin is a Goliath who is sure that he is the one and only REAL god who got robbed of his godly powers and form. now he travels around the world, trying to regain his godly powers

[@FlutesLoot]

What a power trip! That sounds like fun to play.

[@sebastianfischer1539]

@@FlutesLoot yes it is super fun, only had like 4 or 5 sessions yet

[@beladan]

Just feedback and is not meant to complain at all. I enjoyed your video, but I couldn't finish it. The music is so dominant that it makes it unwatchable for me. You speak very well and have a pleasant voice. I like your approach and I skipped ahead to some of your newer videos to see if this calmed down. Some are better than others. In your one from a couple of days ago on the wizard feats, it was far more subtle. But you do an excellent job, and I would encourage you to consider taking an approach more like your latest video where the music is far more understated. Honestly, I don't think you need it at all - but I get the flute/lute thing. Again, I'm not looking to be mean or ruin your day but wanted to offer feedback on why *I* struggled with the video. You keep doing you! I've subbed and will watch with interest to see what else you bring us.

[@FlutesLoot]

David, thank you so much! We are still feeling out how to best get our message across, and this feedback is SO appreciated. Thank you for letting me know I'm doing a good job; we'll make a note to keep the music down. Also, I don't know if you're a fan of The Office, but I like to picture this feedback coming from that show's David Wallace :P

[@beladan]

@@FlutesLoot yeah I get that a lot! 😅. One of my favorite things was setting a reddit post from a Michael Scott. I had to reply even tho I knew nothing about what he was posting about!

[@Betterthenme]

Thinking of rolling an antideist Orc Conquest paladin who wants to kill Gruumsh and break the constant cycle of chaos for his people so they can actually grow strong. Whenever he encounters orcs he attempts to subdue and convert them to his creed raising other conquest paladins whenever possible trying to creating his own brutal version of a knightly order. I want him to be evil in the sense that he is brutal and merciless when things require that approach but is also smart enough to know to follow laws and respect strong allies no matter the race if it gets him closer to his ultimate goal. I’m thinking part Marcus Aurelius part Darth Vader part Kratos

[@FlutesLoot]

That sounds sick and I love it. You touched on something that I don't think gets enough attention, and that's gathering followers and spreading ideology. That's compelling for a Paladin that isn't the usual disher of justice.

[@Betterthenme]

@@FlutesLoot exactly what I’m going for! he’s essentially the prophet of a religion centred around himself and his own vision for the orcish people. I’m thinking of having his personal philosophy be sort of close to but not exactly like the Qun from the Dragon series and a heavy dose of orcish customs mixed in, with iconography that is deliberately insulting to the Orc Gods like a hand crushing an eye or a spear being snapped in half.

[@FlutesLoot]

@@Betterthenme sounds like a fascinatingly fun character!

[@pharaoh2426]

"Conquester" Bruh there's already a word for that. It's "Conqueror".

[@FlutesLoot]

Yep!