I’m trying to put together a multiclass of Paladin and Fighter to make something akin to the Paragon profession from Guild Wars 1, and I’m having trouble deciding where to cut off each class’ levels. This character may or may not see play, but if it does, my group tends to take things to 15th level or higher (with two campaigns so far actually reaching 20th level).
For those that don’t know the Paragon, a quote from the game’s instruction booklet on them:
”Paragons are the guardian angels of Elona, humanity’s champions against malefic threats. They rally the valiant with Shouts and Chants, aiding heroes, henchmen, and other adventurers through inspiration and motivation. A Paragon’s best weapons rely on an insightful mind, a courageous spirit, and a charismatic voice. Many Paragons also arm themselves with a spear and shield, striking from a distance as they shout their battle cries. Through insight, they help others resist Hexes and Conditions, echoing their commands across the field of battle (in fact, some “Echo” abilities renew themselves each time a Chant or Shout ends). When all hell breaks loose, a commanding Paragon shines as a beacon of light, driving back the forces of darkness.”
To me, this was screaming Paladin (of some flavor) and Battlemaster Fighter. My original thought was Oath of Glory Paladin 13 / Battlemaster Fighter 7 (starting with Fighter for the saving throw proficiencies since I’d get Aura of Protection to help take care of the other saves), but I’m having second thoughts. I even went and hand wrote the class and subclass features out side by side on a sheet of paper so I could see what I’d lose and gain and try to figure out a better split that way.
My original thought at stopping at 7th level Fighter was because it gave me the main 5 Maneuvers I felt most fitting for the fantasy: Commander’s Strike, Distracting Strike, Goading Attack, Maneuvering Attack, and Rally (since Paragon is very support-focused, I figured things that gave Advantage to allies, Disadvantage to enemies, and helped allies get out of sticky situations made the most sense). If I were to go to 10th level Battlemaster and get two more, I’d likely get the two role play maneuvers (Commanding Presence and Tactical Assessment) so I could help the part out more outside of combat, too.
I decided to go Oath of Glory because I liked the Inspiring Smite feature as well as being able to snag Haste from the Oath Spells list for that subclass. Spell choices on Paladin will be almost all support, with Searing Smite (because Paragon had a number of skills that caused fire damage and burning), Shining Smite, and Crusader’s Mantle being my primary 3 spells that contribute to my personal DPR (outside of plain ol’ Divine Smite).
I don’t mind not being the highest DPR player at the table, but I also don’t want to be absolute garbage, either (and yeah, I know using a spear or javelin as my primary weapon isn’t gonna be great for my damage since I’ll be ranged and one-handing [not using the spear’s Versatile property], but that’s the class fantasy, and I’m pretty sure I can still Smite with them when I throw them because of the wording on Smite spells stating “melee weapon” and not “melee attack”, and both spear and javelin state that they’re melee weapons).
So my tl;dr problem is this: is Paragon more Paladin or more Fighter, and where should I cap levels at?
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Hey y’all!
I’m trying to put together a multiclass of Paladin and Fighter to make something akin to the Paragon profession from Guild Wars 1, and I’m having trouble deciding where to cut off each class’ levels. This character may or may not see play, but if it does, my group tends to take things to 15th level or higher (with two campaigns so far actually reaching 20th level).
For those that don’t know the Paragon, a quote from the game’s instruction booklet on them:
”Paragons are the guardian angels of Elona, humanity’s champions against malefic threats. They rally the valiant with Shouts and Chants, aiding heroes, henchmen, and other adventurers through inspiration and motivation. A Paragon’s best weapons rely on an insightful mind, a courageous spirit, and a charismatic voice. Many Paragons also arm themselves with a spear and shield, striking from a distance as they shout their battle cries. Through insight, they help others resist Hexes and Conditions, echoing their commands across the field of battle (in fact, some “Echo” abilities renew themselves each time a Chant or Shout ends). When all hell breaks loose, a commanding Paragon shines as a beacon of light, driving back the forces of darkness.”
To me, this was screaming Paladin (of some flavor) and Battlemaster Fighter. My original thought was Oath of Glory Paladin 13 / Battlemaster Fighter 7 (starting with Fighter for the saving throw proficiencies since I’d get Aura of Protection to help take care of the other saves), but I’m having second thoughts. I even went and hand wrote the class and subclass features out side by side on a sheet of paper so I could see what I’d lose and gain and try to figure out a better split that way.
My original thought at stopping at 7th level Fighter was because it gave me the main 5 Maneuvers I felt most fitting for the fantasy: Commander’s Strike, Distracting Strike, Goading Attack, Maneuvering Attack, and Rally (since Paragon is very support-focused, I figured things that gave Advantage to allies, Disadvantage to enemies, and helped allies get out of sticky situations made the most sense). If I were to go to 10th level Battlemaster and get two more, I’d likely get the two role play maneuvers (Commanding Presence and Tactical Assessment) so I could help the part out more outside of combat, too.
I decided to go Oath of Glory because I liked the Inspiring Smite feature as well as being able to snag Haste from the Oath Spells list for that subclass. Spell choices on Paladin will be almost all support, with Searing Smite (because Paragon had a number of skills that caused fire damage and burning), Shining Smite, and Crusader’s Mantle being my primary 3 spells that contribute to my personal DPR (outside of plain ol’ Divine Smite).
I don’t mind not being the highest DPR player at the table, but I also don’t want to be absolute garbage, either (and yeah, I know using a spear or javelin as my primary weapon isn’t gonna be great for my damage since I’ll be ranged and one-handing [not using the spear’s Versatile property], but that’s the class fantasy, and I’m pretty sure I can still Smite with them when I throw them because of the wording on Smite spells stating “melee weapon” and not “melee attack”, and both spear and javelin state that they’re melee weapons).
So my tl;dr problem is this: is Paragon more Paladin or more Fighter, and where should I cap levels at?