The story behind the Dark Knight class in FFXIV is that they are basically knights who take up arms to defend the weak against tyranny in all forms be it monsters or "holy" men. I have a player who wants to translate this into 5th edition and could use some suggestions.
The overall theme of "protecting the weak" makes it a clear paladin but it's the subclass that's getting to me. With the darker tones and the whole theme around "embracing the abyss within" Oathbreaker may work. Then again, maybe just flavoring vengeance or devotion may be better.
Oath of Conquest is the best option here, it's features fit Dark Knight pretty well.
Ignore the tenants and make up your own to better fit the story, maybe rename somethings, and swap any Radiant Damage the character may deal with Necrotic Damage.
I can see it working also as a CG/NG Vengeance paladin or even a Devotion paladin. Both oaths have tennets that you use to pursue an ultimate "Good" beyond institutions and both support very well a greatsword fighting style due to their Channel divinity + GWM.
Vengeance Paladin+Warlock Hexblade Or Shadow Sorceror.
Paladin chassis up to lvl 5 or 7, then Hexblade for the Pact Slots and near limitless Smites all day as long that you can Short rest, and also the utility options of Eldritch Invocations.
Shadow Sorceror gives you a good versatility with the Meta Magic and Font of Magic features( convert Sorcery points into Spellslots for the Smites, or convert Slots into Sorcery points for extra effects on spells), Shadow Sorcerer has some nice Shadow magic features and abilities that could work great.
Be it Hexblade or Sorceror, both classes use CHA as spellcasting, so it synergies very well with Paladin, Warlock gives you more steady power and you only really need to bump your CHA after that( cause of Hex Warrior feature), but low count spellslots, while Sorceror, can give more slots if you go more the Sorceror side.
Any of these would turn your character into a Monster Slayer/Hunter, protecting the weak by kicking Evil's arse by preemptive strike.
A Dark Knight Motto should be " The Gods are the ones giving forgiveness, i'm just in Charge of the presentations".
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"Normality is but an Illusion, Whats normal to the Spider, is only madness for the Fly"
Ignoring FF14 lore for getting the Dark Knight (DRK), I think one should start of as a warlock. This will definitely cause some build issues as you won't have access to heavy armor nor martial weapons at the start. But I think it should be a short of training stage for a individual to train with their dark powers.
Fiend Warlock would work but probably change the fiend to the "darkness" with a character. Recommend to go to level 6 for extra attack (at level 5 invocation) and the Darkone's luck (at level 6) then multi class into Paladin and go vengeance for that channel divinity that grants advantage on attacks on one single target.
Note: this may be a super late but I want to help who have the same idea.
I disagree with conquest. Bullying the weak isn't just in the tenets of oath of conquest, it's baked right into the core mechanics of the subclass.
Maybe instead vengeance, or even ancients? In general, standing up for the weak against oppressive authorities isn't something that gets coupled with dark shadow powers in D&D very much, so I'm not sure either of intended dark knight subclasses of paladin really fit.
Maybe look outside of the paladin class? Perhaps psionic warrior, eldritch knight, hexblade, or bladesinger? Basically, it might work better to let divine gishes be the perview of 'warriors of light', and look to arcane gishes for your dark knight analog.
https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Dark_Knight_(Final_Fantasy_XIV) (link to the wiki for the class)
The story behind the Dark Knight class in FFXIV is that they are basically knights who take up arms to defend the weak against tyranny in all forms be it monsters or "holy" men. I have a player who wants to translate this into 5th edition and could use some suggestions.
The overall theme of "protecting the weak" makes it a clear paladin but it's the subclass that's getting to me. With the darker tones and the whole theme around "embracing the abyss within" Oathbreaker may work. Then again, maybe just flavoring vengeance or devotion may be better.
Oath of Conquest is the best option here, it's features fit Dark Knight pretty well.
Ignore the tenants and make up your own to better fit the story, maybe rename somethings, and swap any Radiant Damage the character may deal with Necrotic Damage.
I can see it working also as a CG/NG Vengeance paladin or even a Devotion paladin. Both oaths have tennets that you use to pursue an ultimate "Good" beyond institutions and both support very well a greatsword fighting style due to their Channel divinity + GWM.
Vengeance Paladin+Warlock Hexblade Or Shadow Sorceror.
Paladin chassis up to lvl 5 or 7, then Hexblade for the Pact Slots and near limitless Smites all day as long that you can Short rest, and also the utility options of Eldritch Invocations.
Shadow Sorceror gives you a good versatility with the Meta Magic and Font of Magic features( convert Sorcery points into Spellslots for the Smites, or convert Slots into Sorcery points for extra effects on spells), Shadow Sorcerer has some nice Shadow magic features and abilities that could work great.
Be it Hexblade or Sorceror, both classes use CHA as spellcasting, so it synergies very well with Paladin, Warlock gives you more steady power and you only really need to bump your CHA after that( cause of Hex Warrior feature), but low count spellslots, while Sorceror, can give more slots if you go more the Sorceror side.
Any of these would turn your character into a Monster Slayer/Hunter, protecting the weak by kicking Evil's arse by preemptive strike.
A Dark Knight Motto should be " The Gods are the ones giving forgiveness, i'm just in Charge of the presentations".
"Normality is but an Illusion, Whats normal to the Spider, is only madness for the Fly"
Kain de Frostberg- Dark Knight - (Vengeance Pal3/ Hexblade 9), Port Mourn
Kain de Draakberg-Dark Knight lvl8-Avergreen(DitA)
Ignoring FF14 lore for getting the Dark Knight (DRK), I think one should start of as a warlock. This will definitely cause some build issues as you won't have access to heavy armor nor martial weapons at the start. But I think it should be a short of training stage for a individual to train with their dark powers.
Fiend Warlock would work but probably change the fiend to the "darkness" with a character. Recommend to go to level 6 for extra attack (at level 5 invocation) and the Darkone's luck (at level 6) then multi class into Paladin and go vengeance for that channel divinity that grants advantage on attacks on one single target.
Note: this may be a super late but I want to help who have the same idea.
I disagree with conquest. Bullying the weak isn't just in the tenets of oath of conquest, it's baked right into the core mechanics of the subclass.
Maybe instead vengeance, or even ancients? In general, standing up for the weak against oppressive authorities isn't something that gets coupled with dark shadow powers in D&D very much, so I'm not sure either of intended dark knight subclasses of paladin really fit.
Maybe look outside of the paladin class? Perhaps psionic warrior, eldritch knight, hexblade, or bladesinger? Basically, it might work better to let divine gishes be the perview of 'warriors of light', and look to arcane gishes for your dark knight analog.
2 Paladin/18 Hexblade is what I'd go with.
If homebrew is allowed, have you considered the PDF on the GM Binder website?
5th Edition D&D x Final Fantasy XIV - Classes and Races Compendium | GM Binder
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