Paladin comes with many spells and abilities you don't get from other sources. The divine spell list is pretty fantastic if you're trying to be a supporter, and some of the archetype lists provide a lot of interesting options as well. Paladin auras are universally considered good, and while they're often best used in melee, helping the casters who are in the back concentrating who absolutely do not WANT to fail a conc save is far from a waste of time.
I look at the ranger's spell list and get depressed. Nothing there really excites me. Paladin's spell list is much more interesting. Fighters bore me to tears, and I am not fond of rogues either. So it comes down to, playing an archer paladin makes sense because paladins look more interesting than fighters, rogues and rangers. I think Warlock is a superior archer for damage, but scratches an entirely different itch than being a backline supporter.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
What is the reason I want to play a Paladin with a bow? In my mind, a Paladin is a divine warrior that is bound by his / her oath. Maybe the god is nature based. Maybe the weapon of choice for the god is a bow. I like the idea of something a bit different.
I choose Paladin over Ranger because I feel like the ranger class is missing something. It lacks a substance in its abilities.
I am not a fan of multi class characters. I didn’t like them in 1st edition, 2nd, or 3rd.
If the ranger class gets improved. Maybe upgrade some of the spells to give the ranger a smite - like bonus. I would consider it. I appreciate the discussion.
What is the reason I want to play a Paladin with a bow? In my mind, a Paladin is a divine warrior that is bound by his / her oath. Maybe the god is nature based. Maybe the weapon of choice for the god is a bow. I like the idea of something a bit different.
I choose Paladin over Ranger because I feel like the ranger class is missing something. It lacks a substance in its abilities.
I am not a fan of multi class characters. I didn’t like them in 1st edition, 2nd, or 3rd.
If the ranger class gets improved. Maybe upgrade some of the spells to give the ranger a smite - like bonus. I would consider it. I appreciate the discussion.
All fine reasons, but a Paladin that reaches for a bow 1st the majority of time is a perception flaw. Original paladins were LG alignment only, and the perception of shooting someone with an arrow was considered cowardly.
If you are that gung ho on doing a "bow" because that is your divine inspiration, work with the DM to use smite for ranged vice hand weapons. Change the arrows to be blunt (aka modern rubber bullets), thus giving you less damage but a different weapon mastery like the prone or even the push effect. That is to allow you to drive the opponent away (push) and the arrows keep pushing as they get further or prone to allow you rush up and not smite but give them a good seeing to.
What is the reason I want to play a Paladin with a bow? In my mind, a Paladin is a divine warrior that is bound by his / her oath. Maybe the god is nature based. Maybe the weapon of choice for the god is a bow. I like the idea of something a bit different.
I choose Paladin over Ranger because I feel like the ranger class is missing something. It lacks a substance in its abilities.
I am not a fan of multi class characters. I didn’t like them in 1st edition, 2nd, or 3rd.
If the ranger class gets improved. Maybe upgrade some of the spells to give the ranger a smite - like bonus. I would consider it. I appreciate the discussion.
All fine reasons, but a Paladin that reaches for a bow 1st the majority of time is a perception flaw. Original paladins were LG alignment only, and the perception of shooting someone with an arrow was considered cowardly.
If you are that gung ho on doing a "bow" because that is your divine inspiration, work with the DM to use smite for ranged vice hand weapons. Change the arrows to be blunt (aka modern rubber bullets), thus giving you less damage but a different weapon mastery like the prone or even the push effect. That is to allow you to drive the opponent away (push) and the arrows keep pushing as they get further or prone to allow you rush up and not smite but give them a good seeing to.
This is dumb.
Just play a Paladin with a bow if you want to. Your DM will probably let you Smite with it and if he doesn't you can use those spell slots on more useful things.
While not optimized, a bow based paladin would absolutely fit the archetype offered by Oath of Ancients. I have spent some time struggling to build Rangery Paladins with Ancients that matched the flavor of the subclass with the abilities you can get from them. Its really hard. Hard enough that I sometimes wonder if Ancients needs a flavor rewrite to steer players better. As an Ancients Paladin you: 1. Aren't good at survival and without the right background you can't get it at all. Same for Nature. So you love Nature and the Wilderness but will probably die if you ever have to survive out there. 2. Bow based combat is only somewhat supported with Paladin. Archery style is now available BUT Divine smite AND radiant strikes don't work with bows. That is a lot of features to give up for the archetype. 3. Do get Ensnaring Strike which is a Smite style spell that is useful for bow users.
Thrown weapons work with smites and that might be the route to go to feel Rangery/wildernessy and supported by the class and subclass. My solution was to go melee dex based and dip into rogue for a level with guide as a background. It hurts your charisma the most (14) to pull off the multi, but with expertise is survival and good stealth you can start fitting the archetype. Sometimes to achieve the character you want you need to make sacrifices.
While not optimized, a bow based paladin would absolutely fit the archetype offered by Oath of Ancients. I have spent some time struggling to build Rangery Paladins with Ancients that matched the flavor of the subclass with the abilities you can get from them. Its really hard. Hard enough that I sometimes wonder if Ancients needs a flavor rewrite to steer players better. As an Ancients Paladin you: 1. Aren't good at survival and without the right background you can't get it at all. Same for Nature. So you love Nature and the Wilderness but will probably die if you ever have to survive out there. 2. Bow based combat is only somewhat supported with Paladin. Archery style is now available BUT Divine smite AND radiant strikes don't work with bows. That is a lot of features to give up for the archetype. 3. Do get Ensnaring Strike which is a Smite style spell that is useful for bow users.
Thrown weapons work with smites and that might be the route to go to feel Rangery/wildernessy and supported by the class and subclass. My solution was to go melee dex based and dip into rogue for a level with guide as a background. It hurts your charisma the most (14) to pull off the multi, but with expertise is survival and good stealth you can start fitting the archetype. Sometimes to achieve the character you want you need to make sacrifices.
Divine Favour acts as basically a Radiant damage type Hunter's Mark. Ensnaring Strike can fill that Smite niche if you desperately need it. Crusader's Mantle and Elemental Weapon are both available to Ancients Paladins and functionally work like improved Divine Favour, eventually culminating in Holy Weapon for a 2d8 to all attacks. If damage riders are your concern these equal or overpower Divine Smite and work with bows, albeit much less bursty as they function over a longer period of time than one turn.
I forgot holy weapon. Bow based paladin is doable, and reasonable on the damage front. I don't think a DM has to make allowances for it like making smite and radiant strikes work with bows.
I forgot holy weapon. Bow based paladin is doable, and reasonable on the damage front. I don't think a DM has to make allowances for it like making smite and radiant strikes work with bows.
As a DM I'd allow Radiant Strikes to work with ranged weapons as well but it's not super necessary. You're basically playing a different variation of a Ranger.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I did answer your question.
Paladin comes with many spells and abilities you don't get from other sources. The divine spell list is pretty fantastic if you're trying to be a supporter, and some of the archetype lists provide a lot of interesting options as well. Paladin auras are universally considered good, and while they're often best used in melee, helping the casters who are in the back concentrating who absolutely do not WANT to fail a conc save is far from a waste of time.
I look at the ranger's spell list and get depressed. Nothing there really excites me. Paladin's spell list is much more interesting. Fighters bore me to tears, and I am not fond of rogues either. So it comes down to, playing an archer paladin makes sense because paladins look more interesting than fighters, rogues and rangers. I think Warlock is a superior archer for damage, but scratches an entirely different itch than being a backline supporter.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
What is the reason I want to play a Paladin with a bow? In my mind, a Paladin is a divine warrior that is bound by his / her oath. Maybe the god is nature based. Maybe the weapon of choice for the god is a bow. I like the idea of something a bit different.
I choose Paladin over Ranger because I feel like the ranger class is missing something. It lacks a substance in its abilities.
I am not a fan of multi class characters. I didn’t like them in 1st edition, 2nd, or 3rd.
If the ranger class gets improved. Maybe upgrade some of the spells to give the ranger a smite - like bonus. I would consider it. I appreciate the discussion.
All fine reasons, but a Paladin that reaches for a bow 1st the majority of time is a perception flaw. Original paladins were LG alignment only, and the perception of shooting someone with an arrow was considered cowardly.
If you are that gung ho on doing a "bow" because that is your divine inspiration, work with the DM to use smite for ranged vice hand weapons. Change the arrows to be blunt (aka modern rubber bullets), thus giving you less damage but a different weapon mastery like the prone or even the push effect. That is to allow you to drive the opponent away (push) and the arrows keep pushing as they get further or prone to allow you rush up and not smite but give them a good seeing to.
This is dumb.
Just play a Paladin with a bow if you want to. Your DM will probably let you Smite with it and if he doesn't you can use those spell slots on more useful things.
While not optimized, a bow based paladin would absolutely fit the archetype offered by Oath of Ancients. I have spent some time struggling to build Rangery Paladins with Ancients that matched the flavor of the subclass with the abilities you can get from them. Its really hard. Hard enough that I sometimes wonder if Ancients needs a flavor rewrite to steer players better. As an Ancients Paladin you:
1. Aren't good at survival and without the right background you can't get it at all. Same for Nature. So you love Nature and the Wilderness but will probably die if you ever have to survive out there.
2. Bow based combat is only somewhat supported with Paladin. Archery style is now available BUT Divine smite AND radiant strikes don't work with bows. That is a lot of features to give up for the archetype.
3. Do get Ensnaring Strike which is a Smite style spell that is useful for bow users.
Thrown weapons work with smites and that might be the route to go to feel Rangery/wildernessy and supported by the class and subclass. My solution was to go melee dex based and dip into rogue for a level with guide as a background. It hurts your charisma the most (14) to pull off the multi, but with expertise is survival and good stealth you can start fitting the archetype. Sometimes to achieve the character you want you need to make sacrifices.
Divine Favour acts as basically a Radiant damage type Hunter's Mark. Ensnaring Strike can fill that Smite niche if you desperately need it. Crusader's Mantle and Elemental Weapon are both available to Ancients Paladins and functionally work like improved Divine Favour, eventually culminating in Holy Weapon for a 2d8 to all attacks. If damage riders are your concern these equal or overpower Divine Smite and work with bows, albeit much less bursty as they function over a longer period of time than one turn.
I forgot holy weapon. Bow based paladin is doable, and reasonable on the damage front. I don't think a DM has to make allowances for it like making smite and radiant strikes work with bows.
As a DM I'd allow Radiant Strikes to work with ranged weapons as well but it's not super necessary. You're basically playing a different variation of a Ranger.