And for that campaign, I just did Divine Shield a Shield of Command (didn't bother with the other feats and I just had a warhorse). We rolled for stats and I was lucky enough to get an 18 (which I put into Cha) and another high stat (which I put into Str). I think my Cha was decently high for that too (so it was even more OP). I think there might have also been another feat out there where the Lay on Hands damage was doubled, and since my character was Mr. Anti-undead: I took that feat.
“It is a better world. A place where we are responsible for our actions, where we can be kind to one another because we want to and because it is the right thing to do instead of being frightened into behaving by the threat of divine punishment.” ― Oramis, Eldest by Christopher Paolini.
As a paladin would you take a dip in another class for versatility while delaying power gains in primary class. Starting at level one of course.
Paladin to level 3. Then a level of Mystic. Then bounce back and forth until you're at Paladin 7 / Mystic 5. Then stick to Paladin.
RP-wise, once the Paladin swears the Mystic Oath, focus on his inner conviction, and learn how to manifest it in the outside world. Perhaps there's a in-universe connection between an order of Paladins and an Order of Mystics. One who swore the Oath of Devotion and became an Avatar would be well-suited for leading the rest of the party into battle. One who swore the Oath of Vengeance and became an Immortal gains some insane durability.
Mechanically, it adds some much-needed ranged ability to the Paladin, the Crowns and Mantles can lend themselves well to a Paladin's playstyle, and Psionic Restoration boosts the Paladin's ability to heal his party members, and telepathy's almost never a bad thing to bring to the table.
Paladin 15 gets you almost the entire Paladin toolkit, Mystic 5 gets you two Talents, five Disciplines, 27 Psi Points, and a Psi limit of 5. Not too shabby, especially with a Paladin's armor / shield / weapon proficiency factored in.
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I am at Lv. 5 Paladin, about to multiclass to pick up 3 Levels of Fighter for superiority dice and action surge. I am a new player and I have fumbled quite a few times in combat, so I am justifying fighter levels as my paladin learning to be more efficient and capable on the battlefield. As we are roaming the country side I am asking fighters we meet to train with and give me tips so when I pick up my first level, it's not like hey I dreamt about being a fighter last night and now after this long rest totally learned some new moves.
“It is a better world. A place where we are responsible for our actions, where we can be kind to one another because we want to and because it is the right thing to do instead of being frightened into behaving by the threat of divine punishment.” ― Oramis, Eldest by Christopher Paolini.
I was torn between the extra ability score improvement, or level 5 spells. I felt that the spells unlocked at 17 would make me a greater asset to the team. But I'm open to sage advice
Tough call on that one, Sigur. One 5th level spell vs an ASI/Feat. I'd be tempted to take the latter unless you think your group is really in need of one of those 5th level Paladin spells. But then this isn't sage advice, I'm not expert on Paladin mechanics.
The thread has made for an interesting read in regards to RP/story reasons as to why a Paladin might multiclass. I've given it some thought and have to say whilst I question Paladin/Warlock thematically, it's perfectly legitimate - both in mechanics, and possibility. Rare and super unlikely I'd say, for sure, but definitely acceptable. Sorcerer/Warlock/Wizard aside, I can then easily see them dipping into most of the other classes.
I feel that Paladin Orders, like practically every group in existence, have individuals trained for specific roles - a little variety breeds strength, else what defeats one Paladin could defeat them all. I picture a band of Paladins on a holy quest, each with their own true niche.
- One leads them nimbly through the wilds, the paths of the forest as known to him as the vows of his oath, guiding his brethren to a dark lair. Paladin/Ranger. - Another clunks along behind him, ready to leap first into the fray, her blade as exotic and deadly as her skill. Paladin/Fighter. - The next one strides with bright robes entwined between his hefty plating. ready to better support his companions. Paladin/Cleric (or Pala/Druid if they've taken - Oath of the Ancients) - And trailing at the back, another paladin, golden harp plucked by clever fingers, her righteous hymn ringing with the strength of her convictions. Paladin/Bard .
At the end of the day, achieving the goal of your oath is likely to be the most important aspect driving your character's actions. If he or she believes the techniques of another class will better help them fight darkness and uphold their vow, then that's a perfectly valid reason.
It is an unusual class to multiclass away from, sure, but that just means your choice to do so is even more poignant.
PAL to 5th (extra Attack, 2nd level PAL spells access) or 6th (Aura of Protection) then SOR to at least 3rd (9th level total)
Generates MANY more spell slots for smites, and Sorcery points can Metamagic quick cast or buy/sell slots as you need them.
This does generate a situation where you have slots for spells in levels you have no spells for - no matter - smite, cast higher, or cash them in for sorcery points!
Very versatile.
Many like Warlock for the extra slots to smite. The Warlock has fewer spell slots, but they come back on a short rest. Choose you flavor, neither wrong.
I am planning the same thing with 3 levels of fighter for my Paladin, I think it's a good idea. Question, how has sentinel worked out for you so far. I currently only have Shield master as my one feat so far, but have been looking at it or heavy armor master. I am ax and board
I'm been trying to think of what might mesh with Redeemer Paladin and Tranquility Monk, but I don't know whether Wisdom or Charisma would be the better focus.
Other than that, Kensei Monk would be the best option to mix I think.
I took five levels of Paladin to justify extra attack, oath of vengeance, lay on hands and the divine smite with decent spell casting ability and I am going to devote three levels in a fighter to gain second wind, action surge and the protection fighting style which grants disadvantage to any baddie which doesn't attack me, I do have a shield slung to my back for times I need the boon to Armor Class. This lends well to a "defender" role a typical paladin might follow.
I took the Half Orc race which allows me to drop to zero hit points and still be alive as well as taking the two handed heavy weapon feat which I get to reroll damage on a 1 or 2. I have armor which doesn't allow critical hits so I can deliver a divine smite or two with the bonus action and deliver well above 40 hit points of damage at a modest level of my character. Because of the high level of combat in Adventure League, especially in Storm Kings Thunder, I needed a character that could stand up to any giant and survive. Find me a setting that's more role play then roll play and I choose flavor over mechanics anytime.
I am planning on building a Lizardman Rogue/Paladin.
I wanted to take Rogue in the "Scout" motif and to further the "Nature's Avenger" with the Oath of the Ancients.
Because he gets 4 skills from Rogue, 2 from backgrounds, and 2 from lizardman he'll start out with: Animal Handling, Athletics*, Insight, Investigation, Nature, Perception*, Stealth, and Survival. (*=Expertise). His primary weapon is going to be a Rapier (although I was thinking of reskinning it like a Zulu short warspear)
Level 1: Rogue, then 8 levels of Paladin. At 4th take Shield Mastery and after that maybe more rogue or keep paladin. He focuses on light weaponry, and subtle attacks.
I liked the idea of a sneaky paladin that guards the nature.
A 3rd level fighter turned paladin makes sense. And no matter what archetype you choose barring maybe EK it would help out and give you a sweet little buff.
From a "roleplay" approach, I think it's harder to justify moving on from being a paladin to a different class unless you become disillusioned with your tenets. After all, swearing an Oath requires commitment, and by switching classes, you would be breaking that commitment (maybe not to the ideals, but to the oath itself). I found the multiclass restriction from 3.5 quite appropriate.
Of course, that is just my opinion, and I can see that in many situations people find it interesting and logical (such as archfey warlock/ancients paladin or fiend warlock/fallen paladin), and I must admit they make sense to me. However, since I have only played as a Devotion Paladin, I find it rather difficult to justify multiclassing (not that I ever wanted to, though).
I like that the game has the ability to encompass everyone's "idea" of something.
For me I've been super excited that it's moved beyond it's Tolkien/Record of the Lodoss War foundations. Where Elf was a class (Druid) or that only humans can be Paladins, or Paladins have to be lawful and good. I've often been one of the first to call them "Lawful Stupid" and point out that if the idea of Paladins is based off of Crusader Knights the Teutonic Order were a group of very not nice people. Heck, if your read the Arthurian legend, they were pretty messed up people.
Now, there is more flexibility in the idea of a "holy warrior":
Oath of Devotion? Take few levels of Cleric to get closer to your deity?
Oath of the Ancients? What about some Druid? Ranger? Rogue with the Unearth Arcana Scout subclass?
Oath of Vengeance? Are you an Inquisitor with a few levels of Rogue?
A Paladin of Tiamat or Bahamut? Take some Sorcerer to show your closeness to her many headedness.
Warlock for any type of Paladin, making a Pact with a saint, prophet, avatar of your deity (they did add Seeker to Unearth Arcana)
Paladin of the god of Magic itself, so you take some Wizard studying the secrets of your deity.
The possibilities are nearly infininte. It's really what I loved about 4th and 5th has been the loosening up of a "correct" way to play.
This is essentially asking about power. What is going to make my paladin powerful enough to handle the fights, have a bit of role playing to make sense to the games names sake(A role playing game not a roll playing game.) I have always played paladins, and honestly due to some lackluster flaws in range in all editions I have always found myself dipping into other classes. From my Cleric/Paladin duel class speciality priest in 2nd edition, to a ranger/paladin/cleric in third, to my dwarf 3.5 paladin warden.....ect ect.
In current edition I am playing a bunch of AL and a few games a week on roll20 I have seen a bundle of paladins, and very few stick with pure paladin.
Common Paladin Multi-Classes
Paladin/Sorc(Sorcery Points for repowering smites and Shield Spell for stopping that big hit that might put you down.)
Paladin/Warlock Hex, Eldie Blast, Temp hit points for more tankyness, or the dreaded darkness and devils sight combo.
Paladin/War Cleric or Tempest Cleric for cantrips and extra damage.
Paladin/Fighter for action surge, extra combat style, more healing, and increased crit or utility with maneuvers.(Or precise strike so the great weapon smiting paladin can really juice that damage)
In the end it depends on your group your dm and the campaign your running.
I'll also throw Paladin/Bard into that list. Both feed off of Charisma for their spells, and Lore Bard's early Magical Secrets can give you some wonderful options if you invest that far.
Roleplay-wise you can spin the singing/musicianship into hymns, or prayers, or holy battle chants. It makes for some fun flavour.
And for that campaign, I just did Divine Shield a Shield of Command (didn't bother with the other feats and I just had a warhorse). We rolled for stats and I was lucky enough to get an 18 (which I put into Cha) and another high stat (which I put into Str). I think my Cha was decently high for that too (so it was even more OP). I think there might have also been another feat out there where the Lay on Hands damage was doubled, and since my character was Mr. Anti-undead: I took that feat.
Click Here to Download my Lancer Class w/ Dragoon and Legionnaire Archetypes via DM's Guild - Pay What You Want
Click Here to Download the Mind Flayer: Thoon Hulk converted from 4e via DM's Guild
“It is a better world. A place where we are responsible for our actions, where we can be kind to one another because we want to and because it is the right thing to do instead of being frightened into behaving by the threat of divine punishment.” ― Oramis, Eldest by Christopher Paolini.
Paladin 15 gets you almost the entire Paladin toolkit, Mystic 5 gets you two Talents, five Disciplines, 27 Psi Points, and a Psi limit of 5. Not too shabby, especially with a Paladin's armor / shield / weapon proficiency factored in.
⬐ If you thought I added value to the conversation, please let me know!
I am at Lv. 5 Paladin, about to multiclass to pick up 3 Levels of Fighter for superiority dice and action surge. I am a new player and I have fumbled quite a few times in combat, so I am justifying fighter levels as my paladin learning to be more efficient and capable on the battlefield. As we are roaming the country side I am asking fighters we meet to train with and give me tips so when I pick up my first level, it's not like hey I dreamt about being a fighter last night and now after this long rest totally learned some new moves.
Might as well make it 4 levels of fighter, just to get the Ability score improvement/feat that you are going to miss out on otherwise
Click Here to Download my Lancer Class w/ Dragoon and Legionnaire Archetypes via DM's Guild - Pay What You Want
Click Here to Download the Mind Flayer: Thoon Hulk converted from 4e via DM's Guild
“It is a better world. A place where we are responsible for our actions, where we can be kind to one another because we want to and because it is the right thing to do instead of being frightened into behaving by the threat of divine punishment.” ― Oramis, Eldest by Christopher Paolini.
I was torn between the extra ability score improvement, or level 5 spells. I felt that the spells unlocked at 17 would make me a greater asset to the team. But I'm open to sage advice
Tough call on that one, Sigur. One 5th level spell vs an ASI/Feat. I'd be tempted to take the latter unless you think your group is really in need of one of those 5th level Paladin spells. But then this isn't sage advice, I'm not expert on Paladin mechanics.
The thread has made for an interesting read in regards to RP/story reasons as to why a Paladin might multiclass. I've given it some thought and have to say whilst I question Paladin/Warlock thematically, it's perfectly legitimate - both in mechanics, and possibility. Rare and super unlikely I'd say, for sure, but definitely acceptable. Sorcerer/Warlock/Wizard aside, I can then easily see them dipping into most of the other classes.
I feel that Paladin Orders, like practically every group in existence, have individuals trained for specific roles - a little variety breeds strength, else what defeats one Paladin could defeat them all. I picture a band of Paladins on a holy quest, each with their own true niche.
- One leads them nimbly through the wilds, the paths of the forest as known to him as the vows of his oath, guiding his brethren to a dark lair. Paladin/Ranger.
- Another clunks along behind him, ready to leap first into the fray, her blade as exotic and deadly as her skill. Paladin/Fighter.
- The next one strides with bright robes entwined between his hefty plating. ready to better support his companions. Paladin/Cleric (or Pala/Druid if they've taken - Oath of the Ancients)
- And trailing at the back, another paladin, golden harp plucked by clever fingers, her righteous hymn ringing with the strength of her convictions. Paladin/Bard .
At the end of the day, achieving the goal of your oath is likely to be the most important aspect driving your character's actions. If he or she believes the techniques of another class will better help them fight darkness and uphold their vow, then that's a perfectly valid reason.
It is an unusual class to multiclass away from, sure, but that just means your choice to do so is even more poignant.
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My homebrew: [Subclasses] [Races] [Feats] [Discussion Thread]
I am a fan of Pal/Sor.
PAL to 5th (extra Attack, 2nd level PAL spells access) or 6th (Aura of Protection) then SOR to at least 3rd (9th level total)
Generates MANY more spell slots for smites, and Sorcery points can Metamagic quick cast or buy/sell slots as you need them.
This does generate a situation where you have slots for spells in levels you have no spells for - no matter - smite, cast higher, or cash them in for sorcery points!
Very versatile.
Many like Warlock for the extra slots to smite. The Warlock has fewer spell slots, but they come back on a short rest. Choose you flavor, neither wrong.
I am planning the same thing with 3 levels of fighter for my Paladin, I think it's a good idea. Question, how has sentinel worked out for you so far. I currently only have Shield master as my one feat so far, but have been looking at it or heavy armor master. I am ax and board
Anyone tried Paladin/Monk?
Other than that, Kensei Monk would be the best option to mix I think.
I took five levels of Paladin to justify extra attack, oath of vengeance, lay on hands and the divine smite with decent spell casting ability and I am going to devote three levels in a fighter to gain second wind, action surge and the protection fighting style which grants disadvantage to any baddie which doesn't attack me, I do have a shield slung to my back for times I need the boon to Armor Class. This lends well to a "defender" role a typical paladin might follow.
I took the Half Orc race which allows me to drop to zero hit points and still be alive as well as taking the two handed heavy weapon feat which I get to reroll damage on a 1 or 2. I have armor which doesn't allow critical hits so I can deliver a divine smite or two with the bonus action and deliver well above 40 hit points of damage at a modest level of my character. Because of the high level of combat in Adventure League, especially in Storm Kings Thunder, I needed a character that could stand up to any giant and survive. Find me a setting that's more role play then roll play and I choose flavor over mechanics anytime.
I am planning on building a Lizardman Rogue/Paladin.
I wanted to take Rogue in the "Scout" motif and to further the "Nature's Avenger" with the Oath of the Ancients.
Because he gets 4 skills from Rogue, 2 from backgrounds, and 2 from lizardman he'll start out with: Animal Handling, Athletics*, Insight, Investigation, Nature, Perception*, Stealth, and Survival. (*=Expertise). His primary weapon is going to be a Rapier (although I was thinking of reskinning it like a Zulu short warspear)
Level 1: Rogue, then 8 levels of Paladin. At 4th take Shield Mastery and after that maybe more rogue or keep paladin. He focuses on light weaponry, and subtle attacks.
I liked the idea of a sneaky paladin that guards the nature.
A 3rd level fighter turned paladin makes sense. And no matter what archetype you choose barring maybe EK it would help out and give you a sweet little buff.
From a "roleplay" approach, I think it's harder to justify moving on from being a paladin to a different class unless you become disillusioned with your tenets. After all, swearing an Oath requires commitment, and by switching classes, you would be breaking that commitment (maybe not to the ideals, but to the oath itself). I found the multiclass restriction from 3.5 quite appropriate.
Of course, that is just my opinion, and I can see that in many situations people find it interesting and logical (such as archfey warlock/ancients paladin or fiend warlock/fallen paladin), and I must admit they make sense to me. However, since I have only played as a Devotion Paladin, I find it rather difficult to justify multiclassing (not that I ever wanted to, though).
I like that the game has the ability to encompass everyone's "idea" of something.
For me I've been super excited that it's moved beyond it's Tolkien/Record of the Lodoss War foundations. Where Elf was a class (Druid) or that only humans can be Paladins, or Paladins have to be lawful and good. I've often been one of the first to call them "Lawful Stupid" and point out that if the idea of Paladins is based off of Crusader Knights the Teutonic Order were a group of very not nice people. Heck, if your read the Arthurian legend, they were pretty messed up people.
Now, there is more flexibility in the idea of a "holy warrior":
The possibilities are nearly infininte. It's really what I loved about 4th and 5th has been the loosening up of a "correct" way to play.
This is essentially asking about power. What is going to make my paladin powerful enough to handle the fights, have a bit of role playing to make sense to the games names sake(A role playing game not a roll playing game.) I have always played paladins, and honestly due to some lackluster flaws in range in all editions I have always found myself dipping into other classes. From my Cleric/Paladin duel class speciality priest in 2nd edition, to a ranger/paladin/cleric in third, to my dwarf 3.5 paladin warden.....ect ect.
In current edition I am playing a bunch of AL and a few games a week on roll20 I have seen a bundle of paladins, and very few stick with pure paladin.
Common Paladin Multi-Classes
Paladin/Sorc(Sorcery Points for repowering smites and Shield Spell for stopping that big hit that might put you down.)
Paladin/Warlock Hex, Eldie Blast, Temp hit points for more tankyness, or the dreaded darkness and devils sight combo.
Paladin/War Cleric or Tempest Cleric for cantrips and extra damage.
Paladin/Fighter for action surge, extra combat style, more healing, and increased crit or utility with maneuvers.(Or precise strike so the great weapon smiting paladin can really juice that damage)
In the end it depends on your group your dm and the campaign your running.
I'll also throw Paladin/Bard into that list. Both feed off of Charisma for their spells, and Lore Bard's early Magical Secrets can give you some wonderful options if you invest that far.
Roleplay-wise you can spin the singing/musicianship into hymns, or prayers, or holy battle chants. It makes for some fun flavour.
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My homebrew: [Subclasses] [Races] [Feats] [Discussion Thread]