The Best Paladin Spells D&D 5e

My favorite spells for Paladins listed here. This list isn't exhaustive, but these are my spells that make the short list.
Questions? Leave me a comment down below, or
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[@44tuck3r]

Notably, Wrathful Smite is not ended with a saving throw but an ability check, meaning that that is also made at disadvantage if the caster is in view

[@deanlol]

I was going to write this but you beat me to it. Wrathful Smite is amazing.

[@smbakeresq]

Which means tactics-wise switch to another target and move to it (but still in range) and let the Wrathful Smite victim just sit there and quiver or move to you and provoke OppAtt.

[@Nr4747]

@@deanlol I played a Vengeance Paladin all the way through Princes of the Apocalypse and never used the smite spells because they all require concentration and I was almost always concentrating on Shield of Faith because I was the tank of the party. It would have been quite different in a different party composition, no doubt, but I feel like requiring concentration is a massive downside of the smite spells that makes them often quite difficult to use well.

[@deanlol]

@@Nr4747 I actually couldn't agree with you more. I played a VP in ToA and the DM asked us what type of custom magic items we would like to see in the game designed for our characters. I suggested a skull medallion that would act as a second mind for concentration so that I could concentrate on two spells at once. The DM didn't go for it despite the fact that he gave another player a magic item that gave them advantage on EVERY dexterity roll.

[@deanlol]

@@Nr4747 You gained a +2 to AC. With Wrathful Smite I immobilized an attacker. They are both useful and valid tactics.

[@smilingjay9863]

Honestly, I can't argue with a single spell choice you made here. These are all the same spells that I would use myself. The only one that I am not all that likely to cast is Shield of Faith. While the extra AC is nice, I think Bless is just a bit more powerful. Boosting saves, and attacks for 3 players is a really big deal, and the mantra of 5e seems to be "the best form of defense is making sure your enemies are all dead"

[@TreantmonksTemple]

I agree that Bless is more powerful, though I would be using them in different situations since SOF is a bonus action to cast.

[@Ciberbuster]

Playing Curse of Stradh, our Paladín used Locate Object to find some of the quest items inside the castle. It's a highly circunstancial spell, but I find it very underrated for exploration purposes. With the paladin been a daily preparation caster makes it a good candidate to use it.

[@deanlol]

I am constantly using Locate Object in Tomb of Annihilation. It's how we found some of the puzzle cubes in Fane of the Night Serpent.

[@frking100]

Late reply but i used death ward and threw myself with a catapult landed on the evil boss (had to roll with disadvantage to hit but still managed to) my falling dmg was also dealth to him and coupled with 3 smite attacks the boss died in a single round.

[@tommorgan9073]

Thanks to aura of protection, the paladin is one the best classes in the game to concentrate on a spell.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Or be nearby when concentrating on a spell!

[@chrism6315]

@@TreantmonksTemple TIL Paladins are basically that one kid in college who sold Adderal...

[@Treblaine]

I don't know, it's nice to take 15 damage as Abjurer Wizard and not need to make any roll at all.

[@tommorgan9073]

@@Treblaine That's actually interesting. Definitely forgot about considering that. I think I might give the paladin the edge, just because I personally put more value in flat consistent buffs increasing the odds of good things happening and vice versa, over features that might be temporary if used up. However, abjurer wizard does sound like a fun build that may have the same if not more impact on concentration, especially if you run a low-combat game.

[@ElJefeRules]

Throw Resilient CON on top of that and eventually you'll be guaranteed to pass DC 10 concentration checks. Heroism and Stoneskin just got a whole lot better.

[@migueldelmazo5244]

There are so many attempts to squeeze magic into fighters or squeeze martial skills into a wizard to make a Gish, but Paladin has been there this whole time! It's such a great, flexible class held back only be the preponderance of players that are stuck in the "my character is a paladin, therefore my character is an insufferable bore" trope. Have fun with the fact that pallies aren't required to be lawful good anymore. Also, spell slots aren't just for smite, so feel free to cast. Great job, Chris. Thx for the review.

[@44tuck3r]

And the valor bard! Personally, being a full caster is where I want to have a gish. The idea of only having 4th or 5th level spell slots at level 17 feels week to me, even though I know that some of the ranger and paladin -only spells are powerful compared to spells of the same level

[@smbakeresq]

@@44tuck3rAs a full caster your spells are better than melee attacks so you wont be making that many melee attacks. Paladin makes both relevant.

[@dougpridgen9682]

Or have a different take on what "Lawful Good" means. That's what I do. I interpret it according to Ayn Rand's books The Virtue of Selfishness and Capitalism, the Unknown Ideal. Worth a read if you're not familiar with them.

[@krampuskardashian5890]

I love that my paladin can be a chaotic good liar who will cheat & steal if it serves the greater good.

[@Kiyomoto657]

If it ain’t lawful good it ain’t a Paladin. Your characters are all infidels that need to be purged in holy fire, and eternal damnation is too good for DMs that allow such heresy. DEUS VULT

[@Malisteen]

Destructive Wave, while only /pretty good/ for most paladins, improves to actually rather decent for a conquest paladin, due to the interaction with your aura of conquest. AoC is an aura affecting all enemies frightened of you within range, reducing their speed to zero, and a creature with zero speed cannot stand from prone. So as a conqueror, the ability to roll up, frighten a bunch of mooks with Fear (much harder to escape) or their channel divinity (better & friendlier aoe), and then in the next round knock some or all of those targets prone with a single follow up attack is pretty nice. This same interaction makes other forms of tripping attacks more effective for conquerors, from the shield master feat to battlemaster fighter multiclass to the plain old generic shove. Of those, the shove is by far my favorite, as it is the least resource intensive (no feat, no multiclass, no spell slot, not even a full action, just one attack out of your normal attack action), and the fact that shoving is so good for conquerors is why I slightly prefer strength builds to dex builds for the subclass, even if you aren't multiclassing, despite dex otherwise being the more desirable stat, and initiative being pretty important for lockdown strats.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

That's so cool! I hadn't thought about that.

[@smbakeresq]

Remember for Destructive wave it’s a 30’ radius so it’s sphere all around you. You should be flying by the time you get this so your enemies flying with you that fail will plummet. Since it’s a sphere flying over tall enemies and using it will not effect your allies underneath. A 30’ sphere is a massive area. While it’s not as good at 17th level for Paladins it is much better for those that can get it at a lower level.

[@Malisteen]

@@smbakeresq it won't affect your allies regardless, as destructive wave is friendly. As a 5th level spell with not too much damage and a relatively low stakes debuff it'd be kind of underwhelming otherwise.

[@smbakeresq]

@@MalisteenIt is if you take it as a Paladin, but it is available to others at lower levels. They will be reading here also.

[@smbakeresq]

@@Malisteen My main use of it is with my son's Paladin, who he modeled after Reinhardt in Overwatch. To model the AWESOME Earthshatter ability he has in that game I started with Thunderwave and increased damage and area each time until I got to Destructive Wave. Its isn't optimized at all, but the game is about more than that.

[@johnlowkey359]

Gotta chime in on something. Paladins and Barbarians make an amazing pair. Casting Heroism on a Raging Barb effectively doubles the Temp HP. Having a main-Tank and an off-Tank allows the Paladin flexibility of staying near the rest of the party to give them your Aura, while you chuck Javelins and concentrate on a spell.

[@M0ebius]

Paladins just fits great into virtually any party configuration, being one of the most powerful and versatile classes in the game.

[@MegaMash77]

Another important thing to remember about Wrathful Smite is that the followup attempts to shake it off are actually checks and not saves. This means a creature that has proficiency in wisdom saves won't be able to use it for the attempts. It also combos well with a party member with Hex because of the disadvantage on checks it imposes.

[@corran2145]

The enemy will already have disadvantage on these checks, because of the frightened condition.

[@MegaMash77]

@@corran2145 True. That fact makes it even better than I thought. Hex could still be situationally useful though. If the target breaks line of sight with the paladin, they'll still have disadvantage if they've been Hexed.

[@corran2145]

@@MegaMash77 Yep, good point.

[@M0ebius]

Damn I just posted the exact same thing. Deleting for redundency.

[@Malisteen]

@@corran2145 yeah, no hex needed, frighten causes disadvantage already. And if you're a conqueror, it combines beautifully with your level 7 aura. It's just a very good spell, imo easily the best of it's 'smite spell' family. Not that that's saying much, as imo most smite spells aren't really worth bothering with. Very few of them are worth both a bonus action and your concentration.

[@ZipperonDisney]

Thanks for pointing out the rule about where PCs are when mounted! Interesting rules quirk

[@destroyerinazuma96]

Yeah, it's a messy business. RPGbot has a mounted combat guide which gives three ways of handling mounted characters, but I like Treant's way the most.

[@B0TFrosty]

Having a Paladin on your party is basically immediately having a big advantage on any battle. Depending on the party composition, he can be an off-tank that gives amazing buffs, a main-tank that is a wall between you and your allies, an amazing DPS if you play something like Oath of Vengeance + GWM + Two-Handed combat and etc. That's what I love about Paladins, they are so flexible that you could fit them into almost any role and they would do their job extremely well. Always a great addition to your party

[@Sulicius]

Sweet! Can’t wait for Warlock.

[@Vestu]

So basically the very essentials: 1) bless - maybe the best and something you should always use your concentration in the beginning of the fight. Give those missile weapon users that sweet add to their hit dice and continue until concentration breaks (usually that or the end of the battle happens within the 1 minute). 2) divine smite - not a spell but let's list it here as it's something that you'll use your spell slots in a lot. 3) spell smite on top of divine smite - mostly thunderous, branding, dreadful, banishing. if the battle is at a phase where your concentration a switch of concentration is suitable, for example there are no disadvantaged ranges anymore etc. 4) Find (greater) steed - very important and obvious 5) Every oath has at least one very useful spell and a channel divinity skill. For example Oath of vengeance you'll use vow of enmity every time between rests and probably hunter's mark and misty step in suitable situations. 6) Zone of truth for those non-battle story / rp moments.

[@Malisteen]

Ah, paladins, my favorite class in 5e. You get to do some of everything, you wear armor, wield weapons, cast spells. You can dps, tank, heal, buff, or even, subclass depending, debuff & cc. You have great ac, great saves, & great damage for combat, and a strong secondary, if not outright primary, charisma, one of the most important stats for skills in non-combat scenes. The only thing you don't do innately is stealth, and if you really wanted to do that, too, then a dex primary build is perfectly viable so long as you aren't planning to multiclass. Anyway, good list, and i definitely agree that paladins are often better off using their slots for spells rather than smites. You can make a perfectly functional paladin smiting all your slots away, but being able to recognize and leverage the utility and versatility of your spells is the difference between a paladin who is merely good and one who is truly great.

[@M0ebius]

Exactly. Having a Paladin in the party means you not only have a great tank, but also have automatic built-in redundency for almost every other party role with just the basic features.

[@tiradegrandmarshal]

Another good thing about Holy Weapon is that you can cast it on an ally's weapon instead of yours, so if your ally is a Fighter who will have more attacks than you, cast it on their weapon instead for even more damage from this spell. EDIT: A Fighter's Action Surge at this level will have 6 attacks, so Holy Weapon on the Fighter's weapon = up to 12d8 additional damage (14d8 if Polearm Master) on his AS turn ALONE. And it lasts a full hour besides that. That's some degenerate levels of damage this spell can add.

[@M0ebius]

I think Holy Weapon is best on a Divine Soul that can twin the spell.

[@aldoushuxley5953]

Why 14 with PAM? Action surge does not grant an additional Bonus Action...

[@Danish_raven]

@@aldoushuxley5953 Holy Weapon gives you 2d8 per attack, so 3 attacks per action * 2 actions + polearm master bonus attack is 14d8

[@aldoushuxley5953]

@@Danish_raven yes, I don't know what I was thinking :) Thank you

[@stranger6822]

My big question is: if I yell out "smite on a crit no jutsu" every time I do it, will I get kicked off the table?

[@TreantmonksTemple]

I'm probably kicking you off the table as soon as you climb on there.

[@geniumme2502]

@@TreantmonksTemple brilliant answer xD took me a year to find it and i love it!

[@taustyz5875]

Oathbreaker Paladin with Cursaders mantle on their skeletons is crazy

[@SmugLookingBarrel]

I really like the list, thanks for compiling the useful Paladin spells and reminding them that those spell slots are useful for things other than Divine Smite. Here's a quick overview of some of the best Oath exclusive spells: Level 1: -Hunter's Mark (vengeance) Better than a level 1 smite after just three hits, this is a great use of a level 1 slot and your bonus action once you get Extra Attack. However, it uses your concentration. Level 2: -Misty Step (Ancients, Vengeance) Use a bonus action, teleport yourself (and your mount if you have one) 30 feet. An excellent mobility tool, and doesn't require Charisma -Spiritual Weapon (Conquest) Essentially a free bonus action attack every round for a minute, and doesn't require concentration. Level 3: -Animate Dead (Oathbreaker) Synergizes well with your Aura of Hate, create a semi-permanent skeleton army that each deal a respectable 1d6+2+your Cha damage -Counterspell (Redemption) An effect unlike most of what the paladin has access to, and very effective. If you only ever counter spells cast at 3rd level or lower, this even doesn't require Cha, and it uses your reaction. -Fear (Conquest) Very important for the oath of conquest because it supports their aura of conquest feature. Because your aura prevents them from moving, they'll never be able to move to a spot where they don't see you, so they never get another save. -Hypnotic Pattern (Redemption) an strong AOE disable, which is something Paladins normally lack. -Spirit Guardians (Crown) A contender for the best oath exclusive spell, and drags the oath of the crown up from being the worst oath. Requires good Cha and your concentration, but it's the best AOE spell available to any Paladin and scales well to boot. Level 4: (I don't think any fourth-level oath spell is worth special mention here) Level 5: -Wall of Force (Redemption) Good for the same reason it is for wizards, and doesn't even require Charisma

[@billdaguy338]

Are we just gonna act like dimension door doesn’t exist?

[@SmugLookingBarrel]

@@billdaguy338 Honestly, I don't think Dimension door is that great for a Paladin. At this level, you have access to Find Greater Steed, and if you're riding a Pegasus, you'll get more mobility out of casting Haste on yourself (which will also affect your mount). The thing that made Misty Step so good is the fact that it only costs a bonus action. I'd honestly rather teleport 30 feet and be able to attack than teleport 500 feet and not, given that I also have the option to teleport 30 feet, fly 180 feet, and attack.

[@davidskibbins4188]

@@SmugLookingBarrel steeds fall, and when you are facing a dragon on your feet, and way down on hitpoints Dimension Door id=s a lifesaver.

[@laurenzreichelt4911]

12:36 I also recommend doing this, as well as just having a horse be two squares and not four - i have worked a lot with horses and usually they are more long than quadratic

[@DefeatistElitist]

Great work as usual! I 100% agree with you on the "position on a steed" issue. I feel like I really appreciate how much 5e has been streamlined and simplified compared to previous editions, and how it can make onboarding new players and teaching people how to play much easier. That said, ever since its release I've been increasingly frustrated by how non-specific and some times entirely unclear the rules are, which then often necessitates these semi-official rules clarifications that seem pretty ad-hoc or unsatisfying. I don't think being simple or easy to understand is mutually exclusive with having rules that are specific, detailed or holistic. In fact, I think rules that are clear and specific are a lot easier to understand, and after the initial introduction to the game, promote longer term learning. I wish the design team would put a little more emphasis on combining simplicity with specificity and clarity, if only to make my experience as a DM a little cleaner and easier.

[@MrNicster]

That's what you have Pathfinder for ;)

[@TreantmonksTemple]

@@MrNicster PF has the clarity, D&D the simplicity, but PF is needlessly complex and D&D has unnecessary vagueness

[@MrNicster]

@@TreantmonksTemple I agree completely, I just tried to boil it down a bit. I have been infuriated with both systems and I'm still trying to find a happy mix. but so far I am leaning 80% towards D&D simply because og simplicity. But boy o' boy all the homebrew decision you need to make..

[@MarkProjMgr]

Good Video, good analysis and commentary, it wasn't just a repeat of the rules which is very common now on KZbin D&D videos

[@tiradegrandmarshal]

Command definitely deserved a mention at 1st level. Nearly all its possible effects rob an enemy of an action plus leaves them in a bad situation (prone, disarmed). And the Flee option is especially great if you and a couple of melee allies are surrounding the target, in which case you all get a barrage of Opportunity Attacks against them.

[@M0ebius]

I agree. In fact I would say Command is arguably the best spell on the Paladin list at level 1. An additional use is for grounding flying enemies via Command: Fall/Drop.

[@Jpteryx]

"Fall" might not work since directly harmful commands fail, but "Land" should be fine.

[@smbakeresq]

Command is good but requires careful positioning to maximize its use. As a Paladin you will in front of your group most of the time, so ordering them to flee means directly away from everyone, not past them. Your steed should be able to get you behind them to force them past your team.

[@M0ebius]

smbakeresq The idea is to only cast Command that way when the target is surrounded by your teammates to maximize the effect.

[@keeganmbg6999]

Great Video as always Chris! Thanks again!

[@epickithri]

I love crusader's mantle cause of using it around stuff like Monks, Necromancer wizards , and others which are bringing quite a bit of extra damage.

[@JavierSanchez-mo2ef]

Great video! Keep them coming!!!

[@ChristnThms]

I was just rereading the verbage of the 2 steed spells. It doesn't dictate the size of the steed. That means that if you can present an even larger mount type to your DM and he oks it, you could be on a Huge or larger creature. Now, that does raise positioning questions. But it also make you a really effective wall.

[@Jpteryx]

But keep in mind, Medium creatures can move through the space of a Huge enemy (but not a Large one).

[@ChristnThms]

@@Jpteryx definitely. It's not all benefit. It's just an interesting option that I hadn't considered until Chris was discussing the mount's space consideration. Basically, it'd take a significant set-up, but the form of your summoned mount could have a tactical component w/ respect to size. The fact that it can be dismissed means that it's possible to get it into areas that a real mount couldn't.

[@robertlynch1834]

i have to say that aura of vitality is now effectively the best heal in the game. For a third level slot it way outperforms heal which is a fifth level slot. for me aura of vitality is an out of combat heal when you cant take a long rest, you take a minute to heal 20d6 to your party, saving your cleric or druid spending a slot and using it for something much better.

[@ChristnThms]

Glad to see this. I always hear about Paladins building for smite slots, and surely damage does matter. But I've never been in a group that lacked offense, while lacking utility and control is very common. Maybe now, more Paladins will be using spells a bit.more.

[@smbakeresq]

For the reasons you state I like the Paladins of order. Their ability to hold a group of creatures nearby is useful, as is Spirit Guardians to have a slowing, damaging zone. Their spell list is very good and makes it and underrated path.

[@ChristnThms]

@@smbakeresqI couldn't agree more. It seems that old fashioned paladins aren't cools any more. But, they are very useful.

[@Malisteen]

I hate to drag the conversation back to my favorite subclass yet again, but the high speed flying mounts of improved find steed are of particular interest to, you guessed it, oath of conquest paladins. Aura of Conquest, the defining feature of conquest paladins, affects all enemies that are frightened of the paladin within range, reducing their speed to zero. Unless it has the 'hover' ability, or is flying due to a magical effect, a flying creature whose speed is reduced to zero falls The interactions here become a bit weird and complicated, so don't necessarily take my word for it, but as best I understand it the creature's fall will interrupt your turn, and after the fall your turn can continue as normal. Further, as soon as the creature falls out of your aura range its speed is no longer zero and it stops falling, but since it's still your turn as long as you - or rather your mount - has movement left you can then follow the creature, bringing it back into your aura, reducing its speed back to zero, and interrupting your turn with an entirely new fall that again ends as soon as the creature has fallen back out of your aura. In this way you can continue to pursue the target all the way to the ground. It's worth noting that, barring favorable DM intervention, the target won't take any falling damage or be knocked prone - after all it's last fall was technically only 5 feet, or 1 feet, or whatever is the smallest increment of distance your DM uses. You can't crash monsters into the ground with aura of conquest, but what you can do is 'escort' them to the ground in a controlled manner, as though you were a traffic officer pulling over a speeding motorist. Once on the ground, the target is still frightened of you and still immobilized by your aura. With its maneuverability advantage negated, it will likely be easy pickings for any melee combatants in your party. And you've ended your turn safely on the ground, with no fear of falling damage for having your mount sniped out from under you. Heck, you could start on the ground two - riding safely on the ground at the start of your turn, you can spur your pegasus 90 straight up into the air, nail one or more enemies up to 10 feet above you with Fear or your channel divinity (or 20 feet above you, once you get the paladin's level 18 aura boost), have them fall past you, then escort them safely back down to the ground with your mounts dash action, all in a single turn. As the air traffic patrol officer you can pull manticores, wyverns, harpies, young dragons, various enemies mounted on giant bats or eagles, etc. A deadly fight against a red hand of doom scouting party mounted on giant bats and manticores and be turned into a cake walk in a single turn with a bit of luck on enemies failing their wisdom saves. Obviously enemies with hover, or that fly magically, or that are immune to frighten can't be brought down this way. And enemies with exceptionally good wisdom saves will probably laugh you off as well - a number of devils in particular have good wisdom saves plus advantage. But it's definitely a neat trick to have in your back pocket, and a more effective tool for tackling long ranged, flying enemies than most lockdown style tanks have easy access to.

[@dadadajasper]

The additional effect of Wrathful Smite does require your concentration though. Even though you're a Paladin with probably a quite high AC and good CON, it's still concentration. So an enemy doesn't have to use their action to make that saving throw, it can also use an ability or spell that requires you to make a saving throw, take damage and make a concentration check.

[@deanlol]

"So an enemy doesn't have to use their action to make that saving throw" Its an ability check, not a saving throw. It's done at disadvantage. "it can also use an ability or spell that requires you to make a saving throw, take damage and make a concentration check." unless you move out of range.

[@adamkaris]

Yeah that's just gonna tick our paladin off. And guess who's getting ALL THE SMITES for christmas next round?

[@felipedobbs2256]

With a +10 con save at lvl6? Good luck trying lol

[@deantitus9734]

Hey Chris, I believe that Bless can not only be upcast to add more allies to the spell, but also it can be used for death saving throws because, technically, it's still considered a saving throw!!

[@jeepersmcgee3466]

Crusader's Mantle specifies "weapon attacks," which means natural weapons do not get the bonus. This distinction is the same one that prevents smite from being applied to unarmed attacks

[@Chopstewie]

New to the channel, so if you're the Treantmonk I think you are, then I can only assume "we're better off casting spells." would be what was left if we reduced you down to residium

[@M0ebius]

Crusader’s Mantle is my favorite Paladin spell currently, due to my party having two casters with Animate Objects. Not only does it add tons of damage, it shores up in my opinion the only weakness to Animate Objects, which is resistance to damage from non-magical sources. I also like Beacon of Hope and an upcasted Healing Spirit as a combo, though this is more situational and requires some positional coordination to really maximize in combat.

[@smbakeresq]

It also works great with a conjurer and his summons.

[@M0ebius]

Noah Linden To really maximize damage, throw in Dissonant Whispers to trigger 20 opportunity attacks for (1d4+1d4+4)x20x2=360 in a single round.

[@M0ebius]

Noah Linden My table runs 5 Hexblade MCs, so the Hexblade Paladin, Divine Soul, and Lore Bard executes the primary combo, and the Hexblade Arcane Trickster (1 bard level) uses Magical Ambush+Cunning Action (hide) to spam Dissonant Whispers at DC18+Disadvantage. The Hexblade Eldritch Knight is also considering taking a Bard level at some point for Dissonant Whispers+Eldritch Strike, since even without Animate Objects we are a party with 5 War Casters and can combo DWhisper with Booming Blade or other debuff spells, and the extra Bardic Inspiration dice from Bard never hurt. And you’re right that the Dissonant Whispers doesn’t work as well against legendary resistance. For us its for quickly taking out the henchmen, which at our level is still a lot of HP to burn through. Against the boss generally we will just settle for the 180 bonus action damage per turn and use our regular attacks.

[@M0ebius]

Noah Linden The whole party is variant human. It’s a custom world inspired by Witcher and an anime called Claymore, and each multiclass path represents a different school of fighting style.

[@MGerdtell]

I just wanted to point out, a lot of the spells you mentioned don't rely on your charisma score to determine the effect; especially at lower levels. So having only mediocre or low charisma is actually acceptable if you get unlucky on your stat rolls.

[@user-mu8ok5xf8d]

I disagree with this. One of the best abilities of paladins is their aura and if you have low charisma you are allowing one of your best class features to simply not be useful

[@PlanetOfTheApes999]

Find Steed + Mirror Image = great Sorcadin combo.

[@killcat1971]

I'm not sure I'd recommend Lesser Restoration, as a Paladin can do the same effect with 5hp worth of Lay on Hands.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

For me, the #1 reason for LR is for removal of paralysis, which is devestating.

[@killcat1971]

@@TreantmonksTemple Ahh I missed that bit, well spotted.

[@shanebernier2483]

Great video Chris! One thing I never hear mentioned but that really should be brought up is that the Aid spell actually has another decent usage. Since it only takes one action to use and has a range of 30 feet, this is effectively the Paladin's version of healing word. It may take an action instead of a bonus action, and sure it is a second level slot instead of a first, but it also lets you stand up three unconscious PC's in a single turn, provided they are all within 30 feet of a single point. Depending on the turn order, this can be the equivalent of a net +2 turns this round alone for your party, which is situational but powerful when it comes up. Using it this way also gets around the low level restriction of Aid; a hit that jumps a player straight from 6 or more health to 0 effectively made your Aid do nothing for that player. This can happen at any level, but up-casting at least makes it less likely. Meanwhile using Aid on teammates who already went down ensures that those points matter... as long as they don't get hit before their turn comes up.

[@M0ebius]

I would even say that your scenario is the BEST use of Aid.

[@smbakeresq]

As far as the “getting hit before they get up” that’s a DMs call. A reasonably aware creature would know it just knocked you down and you are unresponsive and probably wouldn’t attack you and move on to a more threatening enemy. If you are down and out and get hit with an AId spell you don’t suddenly spring up and draw attention, as a DM I would consider it poor sportsmanship and meta-gaming to attack a creature in such a circumstance. In some cases I can see it, but in most I would consider it poor form.

[@angusargabrite2776]

one thing I think you missed about holy weapon is that it doesn't have to be your weapon, you can cast it on the fighter's weapon to do 8 or 10 d8 extra damage per round

[@ThienVuT]

Just one note about Find Steed: Area of effect spells become incredibly dangerous for you. Even if your warhorse mount takes the dodge action, it only has 19 hitpoints which is pretty quick to die, and you are likely to fall prone once the mount dies from under you. Happened several times when running my paladin because AoE effects and lair actions were much more common.

[@tiradegrandmarshal]

On the flip side of that, however, Find Steed lets you close distance very quickly with an enemy mage in the back ranks, most likely during the first round, and quite possibly kill him before he can get any of his AoEs off. That extra movement from Find Steed also lets you dart near the rest of the party, make your attacks, then dart away, thus not getting caught in AoEs as often.

[@ThienVuT]

@@tiradegrandmarshal True, although in the campaign I was in we fought bosses more often and had to deal with environmental hazards/lair actions. Unfortunately more than once I'd be reduced to normal movement speed because AoE's would capture me among other players because I tend to stay near my allies (within 10 feet) to give them the paladin auras because they have been literal lifesavers.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

There are no rules I can find for what happens if your mount dies while you're riding it, however, the closest (I would say) is the rules for your mount being knocked prone. In that case the rider does not fall prone if they use a reaction to land on their feet.

[@ThienVuT]

@@TreantmonksTemple That was probably a house rule then, my bad. Either way, losing that mobility all of a sudden can be really problematic if you're fighting a teleporting enemy (which was a very common occurrence). As you mention for Find Greater Steed, losing your pegasus can mean falling straight to the ground.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

@@ThienVuT Yes, losing the maneuverability hurts, but you're no worse off than if you hadn't had the steed, and you can always re-summon. Generally, if I have a flying mount and no feather fall, I try to stay fairly close to the ground. Of course, a mounts HP is boostable as well with Aid and things like Inspiring leader to make them more resistant to AOE

[@TheRobversion1]

Just to clarify, the find steed mount can attack/do other actions while you're mounted right? normally when mounted, the mount is either controlled or independent. If i pick mounted, the DM decides the actions. But since find steed gives me an intelligent/loyal mount that follows my commands, i can declare it independent but still dictate its commands right?

[@levishelley8018]

Great video. Im playing a forge cleric rock gnome. Specializing in buffs not healing. Yu know y question. Can you do acleric video next? Tha ks again great video

[@TreantmonksTemple]

I'll do better than that, I'll do a Forge Cleric video! (Won't be a gnome though)

[@levishelley8018]

Cant wait, and that is fine I'll watch it and learn from it

[@destroyerinazuma96]

Nice guide, thanks a lot. The reddit homebrew magical girl class has a subclass that uses the pal's spell list, so now I know what to prioritize :) On a similar topic what are your thoughts on a Fighter/Paladin multiclass? Action surge can really help with opportunity cost spells, plus you get a Fighting Style and 2nd Wind.

[@smbakeresq]

Destroyer Inazuma a dip into fighter first gets you Constitution save proficiency, which is FAR more important as you will be using concentration spells. It could save you a feat as you might decide to skip on warcaster or resilient. A second style and action surge are also good, as Battle Master features or Champion for improved criticals. A build I tried and worked was starting fighter, taking dual weapon fighting, then defense with the Paladin style. The 11th level boost works on all attacks, and Paladins don’t have a lot of pressure on bonus actions.

[@destroyerinazuma96]

@@smbakeresq wow, sounds cool! thank you for your input

[@smbakeresq]

Destroyer Inazuma for my build our DM allowed a race “rebuild” so I switched to a DragonBorn at level 5. I could take the Dragon Hide feat for free (DB are weak so we play they get a Race feat for free) and then just took dueling and then used a claw as my offhand weapon for theme.

[@destroyerinazuma96]

@@smbakeresq ah, so you could grapple too. Cool stuff

[@antoniodittman5820]

Do you still make class specific written builds and guides? I couldn't find them on your word press and, while I like your videos a lot, I really enjoy reading through written guides.

[@Dave004]

Aura of Vitality is pretty great out of combat. If you're looking to make it super OP, make a Life Cleric and get them the Feat Metamagic Adept and take Extended Spell. Now you're healing, on average, 240 HP using a 3rd lvl spell slot and 1 metamagic point.

[@claywebber2058]

On the mounts and character positioning, I disagree that the character should effectively be considered Large, or one with the mount. There’s no facing in Dungeons and Dragons, so I always interpreted the character movement on the mount to represent the character positioning the mount to make the most effective attacks. A Paladin with a sword and shield would be unable to hit an enemy at the horse’s haunches, whereas a glaive would more effectively cover the area around the mount and provide reach to the front. This seems like good design, and correctly privileges the role of longer weapons on horse(or whatever)back

[@ryancparker]

When I read through find steed 1) I have a telepathically linked intelligent mount 2) and rider and steed act as a ‘seamless unit’ 3) rider shares spells with mount. I interpret that as meaning I have a controlled mount that can attack and shares my initiative. Do you interpret seamless unit as flavor text or game mechanics?

[@destroyerinazuma96]

Thank you for your output. This will be very helpful for my campaign. I have a question, however. What are your thought on a Fighter 2/Paladin 3+ with Booming Blade? Not only can it be thematic and justified in rp, it adds Con Saves, a self-heal and Action Surge on top of a Fighting Style.

[@MGerdtell]

I personally would grab the third fighter level to unlock the Battlemaster archetype with maneuvers. Between things like riposte, trip attack and others it will make your melee a lot stronger with resources that replenish on a short rest. From my play experience it becomes rough to last through an entire adventuring day as a paladin since the only thing that recharges on a short rest is your channel divinity. How do you get Booming Blade, anyway? Paladins don't get cantrips; you'd need either a feat or the Eldritch Knight archetype to grab the spell.

[@destroyerinazuma96]

@@MGerdtell Thanks, BM sounds good for versatility. The easiest way to get Booming outside of EK is to play Half-Elf with the variant High Elf heritage from Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. You get one Wizard cantrip for free in exchange for Skill Versatility. Booming Blade is as effective on 8 int as it is on 18.

[@destroyerinazuma96]

@sum body you're correct. I proposed Booming Blade as a way to cope with no Extra Attack until level 7. Otherwise one could go VHuman PAM and still enjoy two attacks (one with the bonus action).

[@FelineElaj]

Hope you'll make a Cleric spells guide.

[@FelineElaj]

@James Jones fair enough.

[@FelineElaj]

@James Jones I'd still like to see some builds, at least. That Trickery domain build was neat.

[@HordeLord13]

Doesn't bless require concentration? I just find concentration spells for front line attackers weird cause you are probably going to get hit and possibly lose the spell before anything useful happens.

[@delilahfox3427]

That's fair, but Paladins are quite good ataintaining concentration. You hopefully have a decent CON, and you add your CHA bonus to concentration saves, and you add 1d4 from bless. So at level 6, with a 14 CON and a 16 CHA, you have +5+1d4. Pretty good save.

[@banan9377]

Do you think Destructive Wave is a good choice for a Bard's Magical Secrets? (I can't remember if you mentioned it in the Valor Bard guide)

[@TreantmonksTemple]

It wouldn't be a terrible choice, but nowhere near my top choices.

[@billdaguy338]

Bigby’s hand is good.

[@williambennett7935]

Paladin’s Crusaders Mantle + Wizard’s Animate Objects = Boss Killer

[@billdaguy338]

I have been trying to remake my first character who is a half elven paladin he is vengeance oath and I am using point buy have an idea of what I’m doing but wanted too see what others thought currently planning on maxing STR and CHA and either lucky or Inspiring Leader.

[@M0ebius]

Take three levels of Hexblade and Elven Accuracy, Great Weapon Master, and Polearm Master, and leave STR at 15. Your Vow of Enmity will pretty much destroy anything you target, with additional chances to crit-fish to boot.

[@billdaguy338]

I should have said this but I’m Not multiclassing with this character in order to fit the concept.

[@billdaguy338]

Also I am going for more than just raw dps here is my is asi for level one. STR 16 DEX 10 CON 14 INT 10 WIS 10 CHA 16

[@kyuzo3567]

Can we get a breakdown of the best spells to take from the Magic Initiate feat for melee classes? I'm curious of your opinions before I take the feat for my Monk

[@tiradegrandmarshal]

Find Familiar is as good as anything there.

[@certanmike]

Hex is good for a monk 1d6 for every attack

[@TreantmonksTemple]

As mentioned, FF and Hex are the obvious choices. I do have a Magic Initiate feat dedicated video already.

[@certanmike]

@Noah Linden monk have problems in many ways they are like rangers they are sub par fighters who are better if you muti class

[@billdaguy338]

Melee rouges make great use of the blade spells

[@derekishmael4034]

Chris, I appreciate your hard work in putting these videos together. Do you think these half casters are tenable up to 20? I know that you prefer full spell casters (wizards). Would you mix paladin with other classes? I do recall your cockroach build and I enjoy thinking about unusual class combinations or the under appreciated classes that you examine.

[@M0ebius]

Paladin is a great chasis for multiclassing purposes, particularly with Warlock, Sorcerer, Bard, and Fighter.

[@M0ebius]

SharkForce Agreed. Paladins are one of the better designed classes in 5E and a great addition to any party. Single classed they are not the best at anything except tanking and the occasional nova, but can fill multiple roles with just their base features. With a bit of multiclass tinkering they can be fine tuned into combat beasts.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

I've already demonstrated how a Ranger is tenable to 20, I think it's not necessary to demonstrate that a Paladin is. The real question IMO is whether a straight Paladin is as effective as a Multiclass (the obvious contenders are Sorcerer, Bard and Warlock), to which I would say likely not if the multiclass is done with care.

[@MsNathanv]

I feel like compelled duel is just *extremely* circumstantial. Use it when you dash? Command:"approach" is better (leaving missiles with disad against anyone, including you.) Use it against a melee combatant? Command:"flee" is better, wasting two turns and giving you (and allies!) an OA that makes up for the action vs BA cost, at least at levels where CD might be considered a reasonable use of your conc. And command has greater versatility, doesn't require conc, and doesn't limit your own behavior. The action cost is not important for most imaginable use cases. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a 100% black and white situation, but I would almost always prefer command.

[@billdaguy338]

Fun fact did you know that you can banish yourself with banishment?

[@kendrajade6688]

Only for a half-second. While banished from your native plane, you're incapacitated, which ends your concentration. Works fine if you're on a different plane of existence though.

[@Porphyrogenitus1]

People are smiting you in the comments *and* combining it with *Wrathful Smite!*

[@garybirch2520]

Why Do you get access to 3rd level spells but no slots

[@DefaultProphet]

Re: Steed sharing spells, I don’t think it’s very vague at all. It’s spells that target only you and as part of the spell don’t have you targeting another creature with it. The smites are self casts but to actually do anything they must target an enemy creature. Shield of Faith doesn’t have any target other than you. Same with Haste.

[@M0ebius]

So what happens if you cast say, Spirit Guardians while mounted? Can you then dismount and cover double the area between you and your ride? The spell targets self and being an AOE you are not targetting anyone else.

[@DefaultProphet]

M0ebius you are targeting other creatures in the same way a fireball does. Same goes for Dragons Breath

[@M0ebius]

I wish the D&D team at WotC take some cues from the MtG team and clean up their language then. There aught to be a difference between “targetting” and “affecting” another creature. Haste grants you an extra attack with which you target another creature with, but apparently that’s okay but Dragon’s Breath isn’t?

[@DefaultProphet]

M0ebius they should clean up the language. Haste works because the spell doesn’t change the nature of the attack. It’s just another attack, not a special magically infused attack. At least that’s how I’m rationalizing it

[@M0ebius]

Shawn Morris I mean... it’s a magically infused attack in that it’s the magic that is giving you the speed with which to make that attack, not to mention that special magic attack isn’t even actually a thing in 5E. But I hear you, the idea is that self-buffs are okay and everything else is not, which is definitely not clearly written in the spell.

[@Jacob-Day]

How do we feel in general about using 3rd or 4th level slots for Divine Smite?

[@M0ebius]

It depends entirely on how many combats your table run. My group runs 6-8 encounters, so in general smites are reserved for crits, the BBEG, or emergencies. But if you run 1-2 big fights per session, then I’d say smite away.

[@maddogs1989]

Contrary to those guys giving you pushback for banishing smite if you prepare one prior to engagement burn two smites and your bonus action with another banishing smite it's a potential max of 424 on a double crit without modifiers so its definitely worth it potentially one shotting most things if you're extremely lucky

[@lamichka]

command??

[@MadNitr0]

Expecting wizard lvl 2 spells and see palidin spells instead *slaps arm looki g for a fix*

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Wizard spells should come this Friday. For the latest news on what I'm releasing: treantmonk.wordpress.com/

[@jason1664]

Yup

[@user-gr9uy4ob7l]

Chris Compelled Duel ends if an ally attacks the compelled enemy that is why I think it is a very bad spell. In which cases do you find it useful?

[@TreantmonksTemple]

If I'm trying to lock down an enemy with a good offense.

[@user-gr9uy4ob7l]

@@TreantmonksTemple if the enemy is someone I can deal with single handedly there is no need to compel him to duel me. If he is not an enemy that I can deal with single handedly why would I cast compelled duel on him since it is going to end once my allies attack him?

[@TreantmonksTemple]

@@user-gr9uy4ob7l "if the enemy is someone I can deal with single handedly there is no need to compel him to duel me" - if the reason you can handle that enemy single-handedly is because you have a great defense, maybe something the party wizard doesn't have, it allows you to lock them down while the rest of the party deals with less offense driven foes. It's a tactical thing.

[@lorgarbeareroftheword5836]

Wizard uses animate object on ten holy symbols made of adamantium....paladin casts crusaders mantle......Dragon dies.

[@SapphireSandwichBoys]

When you gave the example of a Druid summoning creatures around you and then casting Crusaders Mantle in order to boost their damage: many creatures that are summoned by druids are animals and do not use weapons, and Crusaders Mantle boosts weapon damage. With this being the case I’m not sure that Crusaders Mantle would work as you described it.

[@binolombardi]

Sandwich Sapphire Pg 11 monster manual. Natural weapons are weapons. It also states in the stat blocks of creatures that bites and clawing are weapon attacks. MELEE AND RANGED A TTACKS The most common actions that a monster will take in combat are melee and ranged attacks. These can be spell attacks or weapon attacks, where the "weapon" might be a manufactured item or a natural weapon, such as a claw or tail spike. For more information on different kinds of attacks, see the Player's Handbook.

[@SapphireSandwichBoys]

Bobby Baker so the reason a specification is made is to differentiate it from magical attacks?

[@Jpteryx]

Yes, exactly.

[@needparalegal]

You barely get spells as a Paladin...

[@dustinsmith2021]

The best paladins are valor bards. Change my mind.