Monday, July 3, 2023

PHB 6 Paladin Subclass Overview

 The Paladin arguably is the one class that benefits from the restoration of the old subclass feature levels, as they're the only class whose capstone level 20 ability is a subclass feature.

Paladins have the three existing PHB subclasses along with the Oath of Glory, first published in Mythic Odysseys of Theros, and then Tasha's.

Ancients:

3rd level:

Ancients gets the same oath spells.

Nature's Wrath is a lot more powerful - it can now restrain each creature of your choice within 15 feet, rather than a single creature within 10 feet, and they must make a Strength save, rather than their choice of Strength or Dexterity.

Turn the Faithless is gone, but you get similar functionality from the new Abjure Foes in the base class (which doesn't work quite the same way, but is also way less of a headache for DMs to run).

    An AoE restraint feels more worth your action and channel divinity than the old version.

7th level:

Aura of Warding no longer gives resistance to the damage from spells, but instead grants Necrotic, Psychic, and Radiant resistance.

    I suspect that this is, overall, a buff, though of course it will no longer protect against Fireball or Cloudkill. But attacks by incorporeal undead are usually necrotic, and lots of aberrations do psychic damage. And with the new NPC spellcasters' damage now often coming from spell attacks (which are ambiguous as to whether they are technically "spells,") means that this is simpler, rules-wise.

15th level:

Undying Sentinel has gotten a buff - rather than dropping to 1 hit point, you now drop to 1 and then regain HP equal to three times your paladin level (so, 45 when you get it).

    This is obviously a buff, but I also think will make it far less likely that you go down and then get back up only immediately go down again - such as from a multiattack, unless those attacks are hitting like a freight train.

20th level:

Elder Champion, like all the Paladin ultimates, is now activated with a bonus action rather than an action, and can be repeated by expending a 5th level spell slot (as the new subclasses have tended to do). The effects of Elder Champion are otherwise unchanged.

    So, I think we're looking at, overall, a polish. It's probably better overall, though I think the Aura of Warding change is definitely open to debate.

Devotion:

Of course, we already got a new version of Devotion in the Druid and Paladin UA, but let's compare this version with the original.

3rd level:

For your Oath spells, you lose Sanctuary but gain Shield of Faith, and lose Lesser Restoration but gain Aid. I think these are fine. The previous UA version gave some Smite Spells, but now that all Paladins always have those, there's no need.

Sacred Weapon looks the same as its previous UA version - it's a bonus action, and rather than "counting as magical" you can now have the weapon deal Radiant damage.

    Really, making this a bonus action rather than an action is the huge, important change to make it much better.

Turn the Unholy is gone, but you get the equivalent in Abjure Foes as a base paladin feature.

7th level:

Aura of Devotion looks like it works the same, more or less.

15th level:

Smite of Protection now causes any of your Smite spells to grant Half Cover to you and your allies that are within your Aura of Protection until the start of your next turn. Purity of Spirit is gone, though, so no more handing the Demonomicon of Iggwilv to the Devotion Paladin and having zero negative effects from it.

20th level:

Holy Nimbus is now a bonus action and can be done multiple times a day if you spend 5th-level spell slots on it. The saving throw advantage you get against fiends and undead now applies to any saving throw, not just from spells. Interestingly, radiant damage that enemies take within the aura is now equal to your proficiency bonus plus your Charisma modifier, rather than a flat 10. This is probably going to mean slightly less damage, unless you max out your Charisma. Also, a very slight nerf to its light - you no longer cast 30 feet of additional dim light - it's just the bright sunlight in your Aura of Protection (which is now 30 feet).

    Again, this works quite well as the standard Paladin option. I do think the half-cover from Smite of Protection is not as good as the previous temp HP the previous version gave. Paladins have gotten some nerfs overall, but I think this is still a solid choice for a solid class.

Glory:

I'll confess I didn't expect this one to make it to the PHB - I've honestly never found it very compelling, flavor-wise. But let's look at it, mechanically.

3rd level:

Oath spells are the same.

Inspiring Smite looks the same, though it doesn't use your bonus action (which makes sense, as all Smites now do). Also, now I think I understand why they changed Devotion's Smite of Protection, as it's too similar to this.

Peerless Athlete also appears unchanged.

7th level:

 Aura of Alacrity now uses your Aura of Protection, which has the benefit of buffing the radius of the Alacrity aura. Otherwise, it works the same.

15th level:

Glorious Defense is unchanged.

20th level:

Living Legend is unchanged (and as one of the newer Paladin subclasses, already worked as a bonus action and could be done again with a 5th level spell slot).

Vengeance:

3rd level:

For Oath Spells, Compelled Duel has replaced Hunter's Mark. Otherwise the spells are the same.

    Hunter's Mark could, in longer combats, be worth using, though I think sticking with Smites will probably mean it won't be missed too much.

Vow of Enmity has gotten a great buff, which now lets you transfer (no action required) the vow onto a new target if your current target drops to 0 HP - you can only do this once a turn, but that shouldn't be too bad a restriction (and I'd probably rule that if your second one dies instantly, you still have it "running" similar to Hex or Hunter's Mark.

Abjure Enemy has basically been replaced with Abjure Foes in the base class.

7th level:

Relentless Avenger now also reduces the creature's speed to 0 when you hit them with an opportunity attack, along with your own free movement.

    This is definitely a buff, but on my Paladin, I don't think I ever had a chance to use this feature, so I wouldn't mind something a little more at 7th level. The other paladins get an aura. Could Vengeance?

15h level:

Soul of Vengeance is worded a little more clearly to show that the enemy's attack resolves before you can make your attack, but otherwise works the same.

20th level:

Like all the other Paladin Ults, you can now activate this as a bonus action and use it multiple times a day if you spend 5th level spell slots. The duration is down to 10 minutes from an hour. Your fly speed is also now only equal to your walking speed (which is probably not 60 feet,) but you can also now Hover. But the Frightful Aura works the same, except that it uses your Aura of Protection (which doesn't change anything on a practical level). Actually, one change - the enemies only make their save when they start a turn within the aura, not when they first enter - which is a bit of a nerf, as it won't prevent a foe from getting into melee range with you.

    Vengeance has always been one of the best paladin subclasses, and I think it remains good.

So, generally speaking, I think these all work - I might have enjoyed a greater emphasis on the Druidic/Primal side of the Oath of Ancients, but the goal here was clearly to translate these subclasses into the new version, rather than come up with original stuff. (This does make me a little pessimistic that we'll see a serious redesign of the Great Old One Warlock).

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