Whether sworn before a god’s altar and the witness of a priest, in a sacred glade before nature spirits and fey beings, or in a moment of desperation and grief with the dead as the only witness, a paladin’s oath is a powerful bond.
You must have a Charisma score and a Strength score of 13 or higher in order to multiclass in or out of this class.
| Level | Features | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Divine Sense, Lay on Hands | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2nd | Fighting Style, Spellcasting, Divine Smite | 2 | – | – | – | – |
| 3rd | Divine Health, Sacred Oath | 3 | – | – | – | – |
| 4th | Ability Score Improvement | 3 | – | – | – | – |
| 5th | Extra Attack | 4 | 2 | – | – | – |
| 6th | Aura of Protection | 4 | 2 | – | – | – |
| 7th | Sacred Oath feature | 4 | 3 | – | – | – |
| 8th | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 3 | – | – | – |
| 9th | – | 4 | 3 | 2 | – | – |
| 10th | Aura of Courage | 4 | 3 | 2 | – | – |
| 11th | Improved Divine Smite | 4 | 3 | 3 | – | – |
| 12th | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 3 | 3 | – | – |
| 13th | – | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | – |
| 14th | Cleansing Touch | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | – |
| 15th | Sacred Oath feature | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | – |
| 16th | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | – |
| 17th | – | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 18th | Aura improvements | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 19th | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 20th | Sacred Oath feature | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
Class Base Features
As a paladin, you gain the following class features.
Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d10 per paladin level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per paladin level after 1st
Proficiencies
Armor: All armor, shields
Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Wisdom, Charisma
Skills: Choose two from Athletics, Insight, Intimidation, Medicine, Persuasion, and Religion
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a martial weapon and a shield or (b) two martial weapons
- (a) five javelins or (b) any simple melee weapon
- (a) a priest’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack
- Chain mail and a holy symbol
Class Features
Level 01: Divine Sense
The presence of strong evil registers on your senses like a noxious odor, and powerful good rings like heavenly music in your ears. As an action, you can open your awareness to detect such forces. Until the end of your next turn, you know the location of any celestial, fiend, or undead within 60 feet of you that is not behind total cover. You know the type (celestial, fiend, or undead) of any being whose presence you sense, but not its identity (the vampire Count Strahd von Zarovich, for instance). Within the same radius, you also detect the presence of any place or object that has been consecrated or desecrated, as with the Hallow spell.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to 1 + your Charisma modifier. When you finish a long rest, you regain all expended uses.
Level 01: Lay on Hands
Your blessed touch can heal wounds. You have a pool of healing power that replenishes when you take a long rest. With that pool, you can restore a total number of hit points equal to your paladin level x 5.
As an action, you can touch a creature and draw power from the pool to restore a number of hit points to that creature. up to the maximum amount remaining in your pool.
Alternatively, you can expend 5 hit points from your pool of healing to cure the target of one disease or neutralize one poison affecting it. You can cure multiple diseases and neutralize multiple poisons with a single use of Lay on Hands, expending hit points separately for each one.
This feature has no effect on undead and constructs.
Level 02: Blessed Warrior (-)
You learn two cantrips of your choice from the cleric spell list. They count as paladin spells for you, and Charisma is your spellcasting ability for them. Whenever you gain a level in this class, you can replace one of these cantrips with another cantrip from the cleric spell list.
Level 02: Fighting Style
You adopt a particular style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following fighting styles from the Fighting Style Options. You can’t take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.
- Defense
- Dueling
- Great Weapon Fighting
- Protection
Sprecht mit dem jeweiligen DM ab ob ihr auch andere Fighting Styles nehmen könnt.
~DM
Level 02: Spellcasting
By 2nd level, you have learned to draw on divine magic through meditation and prayer to cast spells as a cleric does.
Preparing Spells
You prepare the list of paladin spells that are available for you to cast, choosing from the paladin spell list. When you do so, choose a number of paladin spells equal to your Charisma modifier + half your paladin level, rounded down (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.
You can change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of paladin spells requires time spent in prayer and meditation: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list.
Spellcasting Ability
Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your paladin spells, since their power derives from the strength of your convictions. You use your Charisma whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Charisma modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a paladin spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.
Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier
Spellcasting Focus
You can use a holy symbol as a spellcasting focus for your paladin spells.
Level 02: Divine Smite
Starting at 2nd level, when you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can expend one spell slot to deal radiant damage to the target, in addition to the weapon’s damage. The extra damage is 2d8 for a 1st-level spell slot, plus 1d8 for each spell level higher than 1st, to a maximum of 5d8. The damage increases by 1d8 if the target is an undead or a fiend, to a maximum of 6d8.
Level 03: Harness Divine Power (-)
You can expend a use of your Channel Divinity to fuel your spells. As a bonus action, you touch your holy symbol, utter a prayer, and regain one expended spell slot, the level of which can be no higher than half your proficiency bonus (rounded up). The number of times you can use this feature is based on the level you’ve reached in this class.
- 3rd level, once
- 7th level, twice
- 15th level, thrice
You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest
Level 03: Divine Health
By 3rd level, the divine magic flowing through you makes you immune to disease.
Level 03 / 07 / 15 / 20: Sacred Oath
When you reach 3rd level, you swear the oath that binds you as a paladin forever. Up to this time you have been in a preparatory stage, committed to the path but not yet sworn to it. Now you choose one of the following oaths:
- Ancients (PHB)
- Conquest (-)
- Crown (-)
- Devotion (PHB)
- Glory (-)
- Oathbreaker (-)
- Redemption (-)
- Treachery (-)
- Vengeance (PHB)
- Watchers (-)
Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 7th, 15th, and 20th level. Those features include oath spells and the Channel Divinity feature.
Oath Spells
Each oath has a list of associated spells. You gain access to these spells at the levels specified in the oath description. Once you gain access to an oath spell, you always have it prepared. Oath spells don’t count against the number of spells you can prepare each day.
If you gain an oath spell that doesn’t appear on the paladin spell list, the spell is nonetheless a paladin spell for you.
Channel Divinity
Your oath allows you to channel divine energy to fuel magical effects. Each Channel Divinity option provided by your oath explains how to use it.
When you use your Channel Divinity, you choose which option to use. You must then finish a short or long rest to use your Channel Divinity again.
Some Channel Divinity effects require saving throws. When you use such an effect from this class, the DC equals your paladin spell save DC.
Level 04 / 08 / 12 / 16 / 19: Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
You can also choose to aquire a feat instead of an ability score improvement.
Level 04: Martial Versatility (-)
Whenever you reach a level in this class that grants the Ability Score Improvement feature, you can replace a fighting style you know with another fighting style available to paladins. This replacement represents a shift of focus in your martial practice.
Level 05: Extra Attack
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
Level 06: Aura of Protection
Starting at 6th level, whenever you or a friendly creature within 10 feet of you must make a saving throw, the creature gains a bonus to the saving throw equal to your Charisma modifier (with a minimum bonus of +1). You must be conscious to grant this bonus.
At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.
Level 10: Aura of Courage
Starting at 10th level, you and friendly creatures within 10 feet of you can’t be frightened while you are conscious.
At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.
Level 11: Improved Divine Smite
By 11th level, you are so suffused with righteous might that all your melee weapon strikes carry divine power with them. Whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon, the creature takes an extra 1d8 radiant damage.
Level 14: Cleansing Touch
Beginning at 14th level, you can use your action to end one spell on yourself or on one willing creature that you touch.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (a minimum of once). You regain expended uses when you finish a long rest.