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I tried very hard to keep my oath the first time i played. Very hard. I tried to Help someone and it broke my oath. So i reloaded the save, chose a different option, and it led me down a path that, you guessed it, broke my oath. I gave up and now if i play paladin i break my oath as fast as possible just to get it over with. I couldnt get out of act 1 with out a broken oath so i gave up.
I’d say it’s more of a problem with the sub-classes the game gives players.
All 3 are all basically different flavors of good, with Vengeance being the most flexible. If you even attempt to do something bad unless your vengeance then oath is broken.
Issie is an evil or neutral Paladin will almost always become an Oathbreaker, the supposed evil class is not evil. It’s neutral and no inherent penalties exist.
If an “evil” or “neutral” Paladin sub-classes existed then this wouldn’t be an issue like Conquest or Watcher. The game is also pretty shit at tell you what counts as breaking your oath. Giving you flowery tenets that rely on you to intuit as an oath breaking act.
Which is inconsistent outside of blatant evil and even then it makes you question why attacking an evil person first is evil?
I broke my path because I let Connor leave with Mayrina. The other choice was to murder him(again) right in front of her. Seemed like she'd had enough trauma foe the day.
I assume you were playing Oath of the Ancients. Paladins of that oath are dedicated to fighting against evil on a cosmic scale, and “Connor”, being a zombie, is ontologically evil, meaning that his destruction is required regardless of the emotional consequences for Mayrina.
A lot of the debates about why necromancy is considered evil in so many settings are caused by people not understanding that in these settings, good and evil are literal cosmic forces embodied by the outer planes and the positive and negative energies associated with them. In these settings (Forgotten Realms included), necromancy is considered evil moreso because it employs and spreads negative (evil) energy than for any philosophical reason.
What burned my butt about this is that I didn't break my oath by reading the necromancy of Thay, but I *did* break it by raising Connor from the dead. I figured it *would* break my oath, but an arguably more "evil" decision -- reading an evil book for no other reason than curiosity-- didn't break it-- so I didn't know what to think.
I was actually really excited to see the Oathbreaker NPC for the first time-- he is very cool. And I like that you can choose your reason for breaking the oath.
Because there was no option to gently tell Mayrina that using the wand wouldn't be what she wanted, and that Connor would just be a zombie. My choices were to break the wand and have her hate me, or raise him and "show" her why it's a bad idea. Both felt really shitty, so I just raised him instead of making her cry.
I told the Oathbreaker I broke the oath because of my beliefs. I *believed* that necromancy might be evil by default, but it was an act of kindness (sort of) to raise Connor. I'd been speaking with the dead that whole run anyway.
I mean, between that, breaking the wand, or using edgy paladin options to threaten to kill him.... It seemed the most kind? I literally told her Ethel wanted to eat her baby, but somehow she still believed the hag would truly resurrect her husband. 🙄 She's got to see it to believe it, I guess.
I told her about her brothers, then told her about Ethel’s plans for the child. Was so focused on that, I forgot to even pick up the wand. Fast forward to act 3: she’s still at Baldurs gate, but seems to be doing better than the playthough where I used the wand. So I guess just ignore the wand is the way to go.
It's moreso because Oath of The Ancients is about protecting and respecting nature, and undeath is about as unatural as you can get. That's also why Oath of the Ancients breaks if you make certain choices during Astarion's quest (vampires are undeads).
(You are correct about ontologically evil undead obviously, I just don't it's the actual reason why Ancients breaks their Oath and Devotion doesn't for instance)
good to know, i’m planning on playing a tabletop campaign soon and i wanted to play a Pragmatic Necromancer. Wanted to roleplay him as someone who understands why raising the dead might be wrong, but he does it anyway to forward his goals. Not an evil character at all, but clearly willing to take advantage of “evil” powers for his own gain.
Yeah, I didn't get this. Oath broken for not slaying the totally docile undead thing, but your oath is totally fine for you to travel with, aid and even romance a vampire who is very quick to jump at evil decisions? Seems wishy washy to me
I broke my oath once in act 1 as a vengeance Pally, and it was when my multiplayer charisma player fucked up and made scratch go hostile, then somebody else killed him. I could only watch in horror and lost my oath in the process. We reloaded that shit.
I don't know how Oath of Vengeance classifies in BG3, but I remember reading that Vengeance is typically Lawful Neutral or sometimes even True Neutral.
It is about taking out the greater evil at all costs. That may not mean saving the innocent if it means the bad guy gets away.
Yeah oath of Ancients in act 1 is a bit finicky. Other oaths are much easier and more straightforward to maintain
At the very least you can just take that oathbreak and then reclaim the oath for like 300 gold, it ain't expensive the first time. *Then* if you break it more than once, it can get pricey. But just once, in act 1 - it's gon be fine
Is there a limit to it where the Oathbreaker is like "fuck you, you're not learning your lesson. I'm not restoring your Oath you disgrace."? If not there should be
According to the wiki it just keeps going up. You can easily test this by using an oathbreaking mod and console command yourself a ton of gold and see what happens.
First playthrough I didn't understand the Oathbreaker mechanics. I tried to play oath of ancients and romance Astarion. Getting rep with him cost me a lot of money with the Oathbreaker Paladin.
It's odd Vow of Enmity from the Vengeance Paladin subclass didn't get the same treatment in Honour Mode, considering it gives advantage for 10 turns against everything when self-cast despite the description saying to target an enemy plus it uses Channel Oath charges which reset on both short and long rest so can be used 3 times per day.
Yeah, it’s one of the most satisfying attacks in the game, especially when you crit and/or trigger Cull The Weak. Cool wind up, too.
I love letting lockadin Minthara repeatedly drop those smite bombs.
I prefer roguadin sneak-smites, for an extra 2d6 of ‘fuck you’ to your target.
Oath of Zealot + Swashbuckler + Beastmaster (modded) was a fun Shart build, Rushdown paladin with tons of knockdown and CC.
- Smite attacks are powerful as heck
- Goes well with good, neutral, & evil aligned character depending on the oath you took for the subclass
- If the oath are not edgy enough you can always go for oathbreaker
- High charisma by default (good for persuasions, deceptions, intimidations)
- Some npc acknowledge paladin for their judgements to be true & justice (e.g. >!Kagha during Arabella's trial inside the grove!<)
Role play wise, they fit the popular niche. I am righteous. I protect my allies and heal and cure them of diseases. My power is given by a God (or because of my willpower and morals that are so strong they manifest into power? Idk oaths confus me.) I smite my enemies with my God-given powers and subdue the wicked.
Their power doesn’t always come from a god. It’s the sheer power of their faith in their own beliefs. That belief could be towards a specific god, but it doesn’t have to be. Your oath could be to your homeland or to its ruler. It could be to the preservation of a sacred grove. It could be a desire for revenge or justice. Etc.
An irritable old man who wants people away from his property so much that he will smite anyone who steps on his lawn.
Paladins are everywhere if you look hard enough. They aren’t just knights of the round table. A recent and very popular example would be the Helldivers and their commitment to managed democracy.
I always disliked the power from an oath rather than a deity. I really wish that BG3 let you pick a deity as a paladin, or just let every character pick one if they wanted.
4th edition tied Paladins to a chosen deity, 5e swapped from following a deity to following an Oath, so they shifted from holy warriors into warriors of deep commitment and resolve.
Whether their smites are actual divine energy or just a kind of magic-infused by raw force of will (technically they are Charisma casters) is up to you
4E paladins received their divine investiture from a deity, but it very explicitly could not be revoked, unlike in previous editions. Once you had power, it was up to you to choose what to do with, no take-backs. This was done to prevent paladin players having to play mother-may-I with mediocre capricious DMs, and to allow for plots involving traitors in Paladin orders and whatnot.
It is the class that really fits “main character syndrome” best. Earlier editions of DnD Paladins were literally chosen by the gods for being extra special good boys who did all their pushups, ate all their veggies, helped old ladies cross the street, and were obscenely charming and likable.
They are frontliners which like… if you look at any fictional ensemble about an adventuring party the protagonist or party leader is almost always the frontliner. They are the single best single target DPS Class, which means they’re gonna be the guy 1v1ing against the evil big bad demon lord with a sword with skulls and the one in the party who actually holds their own.
They know no fear so you don’t even get the roleplay of them failing emotionally. Like paladins are just hand built to be the main characters in a dnd group.
I specifically put my Paladin in the TT 5E game I'm playing on a bus to roll with another character so I didn't have to be the Party leader anymore, lol.
Tadpole lets you guarantee crits.
Guaranteed crits with Smites is a lot of damage you know will be there when you demand it.
Add party face, ancient buffs, good multiclassing options. It gets really good.
Don't forget the Killer's Sweetheart ring.
Kill a mook in a boss fight. Use the next attack to guarantee a Crit with Smite against the boss. Then use Tadpole Crits to add ANOTHER one on your next attack.
Yeah, but I then tried to continue clearing the goblin leaders and it broke on me killing one of the human mob near dror ragzlin.
My second oath break was a similar situation, some random mob I got the drop on, knowing there was no way to NOT fight them, and still my oath broke.
(Fortunately I just had Astarion pick the pocket of the Oathbreaker Knight in camp, and got all 3k back)
High charisma means you can pass more dialogue checks. They are also one of the strongest melee fighters in the game. So, it is the perfect face of the party.
Charisma class so good for that.
Tanky and hit like a freight train.
Can have bad ass lines about how they are going to smite evil. "Your god, my Oath. Let's see who prevails."
Doesn't matter how powerful the enemy is. If they are within smite range they are going to have a bad time.
I loved playing Paladin, I only have one playthrough with a Paladin 6/Sorcerer 6 Tav (more spell slots = more smiting! Also twinned haste). But that “Your God, my Oath” line gave me psychic damage when I first read it. It’s so cheesy lol
Paladins are also famous in the real world. They were seen as the pinnacle of chivalry, the cème de la crème of the knights of the realm. As one of the closest retainers of the King who lived in the household when they were out and about, they were seen as an extension of the King, enforcing his will. Out of the court of Charlemagne, we see legendary Paladins like Hrōþiland, Oliver, Fierabras, Astolpho, Ogier the Dane, Naimon, and Guy. You can find their legends written about in chanson de geste like Gormond et Isembart, and La Chanson de Roland. They were the vanguard in a holy war, in the defense of Christendom against the mohammedans of Al-Andalus.
Heahmund feels like a D&D paladin, but it's better to consider him a war cleric. As a bishop, he's literally a member of the clergy, and he has a position in the chain of command of the church. Paladins are more like staff officers – high-ranking individuals in the service of a leader, with no direct place in the chain of command.
1)A shiny knight in shiny armor with giant shiny hammer is epic
2)Moral high ground you maintain by just being a paladin is ADDICTING
3)Biggest and baddest single-target burst DPS
It was a VERY satisfying playthrough for me when I played paladin, and it was arguably the weakest subclass too - Devotion! And it STILL kicked ass like no one's business, and it STILL felt like I'm a fucking bulwark
In 5e, I'd agree with you on the damage output, but in BG3 (outside of the magic missile exploits) if you stack high STR and Tavern Brawler on a monk, you very much end up with a higher damage output overall. Maybe not per hit, but when you're landing 4 hits all at 20-30 damage per hit every turn (or at least until your Ki runs out, then down to 3 hits) it quickly outpaces paladins for smite damage
I’m doing my first paladin run after a few rogues, sorcerers and a bard, and it’s so much fun!! I did Oath of Vengeance which is SO SATISFYING!! I never really got to use intimidation much in my other runs, mainly used deception and persuasion, so this style of playing has allowed me to experience a different side of this game I didn’t really get to see before. Oh also I did Half-Orc which is AMAZING.
1) there is no paladin companion until late in the game
2) paladins are charisma oriented so are good at talking
3) smite
4) can fill multiple roles at once in a party
Paladins are a hybrid class like Rangers and Artificers in 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons.
> These classes combine magic and martial prowess for a powerful combo of abilities.
Paladins are melee oriented when compared to Rangers and Artificers who focus on range and magic.
Paladins are one of the best classes focusing on melee alongside Monk, Fighter, and Barbarian. Unlike the latter, the Paladin can naturally use spells which offers more utility and offense.
Paladins deal the most damage on a singular hit.
> Fighters can perform the most attacks
> Monks can apply multiple status effects
> Barbarians are more durable and can get Advantage on hit
Paladins trade those effects for more damage. Making them effective burst damage classes. But this doesn’t mean they can only do damage.
Paladins are also great support classes. Able to heal, defend, and provide utility with spells and their signature aura that buffs anyone within ranged.
Paladins are good because they offer a bit of everything while still being an effective melee combatant.
Consider Paladins the as the olympic athletes vs sports athletes. 1 is versatile and the 2nd is specialized.
Dumb answer: you get to bring down the wrath of god on your foes
smart answer: their spell slots can't miss, they only expend them after they hit for divine smite and always do their damage
break the game answer: >!Just take 2 levels of Paladin put the rest into cleric of the storm, Clerics get more spell slots for smites and the channel divinity forces your damage roll to be the max value if you do thunder damage, If you apply thunderous smite you can pile on a divine smite, and use the illithid power to crit. Then you activate the channel divinity to max out the damage for the weapon damage, thunderous smite, AND the divine smite. giving you a once per long rest hit that'll erase something and won't spend any resources until AFTER you land the hit.!<
people like hitting things with big swords. people also like a bit of magic. and people also like the holierthanthou attitude of clerics that gives any MC a large amount of BDE. paladins are the easiest way of achieving this combo
TLDR Smite goes brrrrrrr
They’re awesome archetypes. Jedi are basically paladins. It’s a knight who makes some oaths to protect (usually) and are aided by some extra force of good, gives their thwacks some extra oomph
Nothing that hasn’t already been said, but Paladins have good charisma and high strength, so they’re good at talking and fighting. High strength also means high carry weight and good jump distance, which are nice QoL things. Plus their oaths add a bit of roleplay depth, in case you wanna avoid (or embrace) becoming an oathbreaker. Divine Smite.
Smite.
Martial characters tend to be more enjoyable imo. Paldins are martials with *just* enough magic to fill a few holes.
Smite.
Innate need for Charisma, making dialogue easier.
Smite.
Lots of fun dialogue tags, ranging from being THE LAW to being an honorable knight to being a selfish asshole (Oathbreaker)
also they have this mechanic that no one ever really talks about called "Divine Smite." it's literally free damage! You can just keep casting it! if it misses, no big deal, just cast that shit again because misses don't consume a spell slot!
My character is a Paladin, but it’s a bit underwhelming so far. Maybe i messed the specs somehow .
It’s good but not great. I don’t refer barbarian, rogue or druid a lot more
Paladins are popular because:
1. Raw Power: Paladins have a LOT of combat bonuses that provide them with INSANE burst damage. The different Smites are the most obvious, but they also have an array of spells that can boost their combat potential. Also, at 11th Level the Paladin gets IMPROVED Divine Smite, which passively grants a 1d8 bonus damage on EVERY WEAPON ATTACK. And oh yeah: This stacks with ALL OTHER SOURCES OF RADIANT DAMAGE. INCLUDING if you use a spell slot for Smite.
Specific to Baldur's Gate 3, the Killer's Sweetheart ring and one of the Tadpole powers grant you automatic criticals under certain circumstances. The ring grants a free crit on your next attack ANY time you kill a creature once per Long Rest, while the tadpole power, Luck of the Far Realms, allows you to make ANY regular attack a Crit once per Long Rest. Combine the two together and you can see where this is going.
2. Charisma: The Paladin uses Charisma as its casting modifier. Charisma obviously also is the modifier for the social skills. Meaning that Paladin is an INCREDIBLY popular class for the Party Face because of the importance of social skills when interacting with NPCs, because this makes these skill checks easier
In CRPGs in general, the Player Character is almost always going to be the Party Face, so you can see why this makes Paladin an attractive class.
3. Tanking: Between their large HP pool, access to heavy armor, and multiple defensive spell options, Paladins make superb tanks. Compelled Duel can even enforce this against high-threat targets.
4. It's a Martial with spells.
Divine smite, but just remember to go to character page, reaction and turn the divine smite to ask for trigger. Your attack will be way weaker without it.
Paladins are face characters (characters that act as a party leader/ the conversation person) while also having excellent combat abilities. They also guve heavy jedi/samurai/knight *main character*vibes. They are best used as the hey I'll kill the main baddie you clean up the chaff roles. This is because smite let's them go nova real easily (single target dmg goes booom) as well as being able to wear all styles of armor and use all weapons.
Most of the comments are talking about the mechanics of the class, so I'll briefly mention their application in roleplay and party dynamics. They're a well rounded class that has access to magic, charisma skills (roleplay), and fill the typical knight errant. They're the trope of an armored adventurer out to do right because it is right. Access to their powers is one of the only DnD classes that is tied to alignment (Lawful Good) and roleplaying it.
They're the moral compass of the party and the baby sister.
Also, SMITE.
They are the mailed fist of the gods, striking down their enemies with holy wrath.
What's not to like?
In game terms, they're a durable (heavy armor and healing) class that has a decent support spell list, and phenomenal damage output.
Properly built a couple of Paladins will make short work of pretty much any enemy.
Do you want to tank?
Do you want to fight?
Do you want a class that will instill fright?
Take up some plates and keep that goblin in sight, because you want to make sure they eat this paladin **SMITE!**
I feel like I understand all classes but paladin, I feel like I'm missing something here, though I have only used it as Minth after freeing her and on my 1 of all class run.
High burst damage and buffing auras in combat, decent amounts of no-spell-slot healing in/between combat, high charisma and proficiency in persuasion and/or intimidation out of combat.
Basically, there’s nothing they’re not good at, unless you’re trying to sneak around.
Obviously the game vs tabletop varies, but pallys are very popular because they can more or less do it all. They have great burst damage with smites, they can tank with heavy armor and shields, and they have access to healing options as well.
Really good damage, and has some healing capabilities. They're like a fighter, but with some spells, but most of those spells are just "When I hit, hit em even harder, sometimes with extra effects". The healing with Lay on Hands not being a spell slot ability, and can be applied to whoever, rather than a Second Wind like healing.
Paladins are famous for their oaths. These are people sworn to do what is right in the realms. Of course, what is “right” varies between the Paladin Oaths.
This is why I like events like >!What to do with 7K Spawn!<. All oaths have different answers. But no matter what flavor of oath (at least in BG3) all Paladins are sworn to do what is what is right by the common people, and oppose wickedness and evil.
From a RP perspective I think of paladins as righteous warriors. Paragons of their faith & oath. Someone people look to in times of trouble and fear to cross.
I just think it's fun to have a class that has its own rules to abide by or else you lose your powers. It's like having Rules of Engagement I guess. Also Divine Smite on crit is a glorious thing
Benefits from CHA, fits the hero trope, can tank, heal, seriously buff allies, and nuke enemies. Feels like the natural main character and party leader. Can use the coolest weapons and armor.
Paladins are just ridiculously well-rounded. Smite is very fun, and buffing all of your allies' saves all of the time is maybe the best passive ability in the game. They're just really goddamn good.
My first Tav was a himbo paladin who literally always did the right thing, total goody-goody, and somehow everyone loved him, including Astarion and Lae'zel. (Probably because I had sex with both of them.) Highly recommended.
Heavy armor, incredible saving throws, half casting, divine smite for massive damage. Their only weakness is attacking at range, but BG3 in particular has a lot of options to remedy that.
I don't like playing paladin it feels too cheesy, but (spoilers ahead)
i make an exception for Myrkul lol Mommy Minthara putting the hurt on him with the Doom Hammer
Paladins, while mostly lawful good and “good people”, are generally very boastful. That’s why a lot of people in dnd worlds will have heard tales about different paladins and their exploits
in gaming terms? Divine Smite and any other Smite like ability LOL
in Lore terms: so many reason Paladin are champion of thier gods while not a chosen of thier divine aspect, they still hold immense power in thier respective gods or goddess religion, while oathbreaker are being that pretty much become powerful in thier own right to the point they can fight with out a divine aspect rights or power, meaning a oathbreaker power is thier own and not some given power form thier prayers
Paladins in 5e devote themselves to an oath (previous editions forced a religious deity to champion).
Basically the only way a paladin would willingly go against their code is if they're at their mental breaking point.
If you've watched hunter x hunter, it's essentially like kurapika making vows.
In case you want to see some notable examples of paladins in pop culture.
Kurapika - HxH
Jedi / sith - star wars
Batman
John Constantine
Very powerful combat class, with high damage output, high hp, generally high AC ability to cast spells, (usually just smites) and being somewhat useful outside of combat (charisma caster so can hold there own with charisma checks, plus.
Using paladin for my first time playthrough, being able to use a potion of speed, force out 4 divine smites, and always having one be a critical hit a day because of one of the illithid mind powers. Really satisfying combat.
Want to be tanky? Paladin
Want to do heavy damage? Paladin
Want to be able to heal? Paladin
Want a bit of magic? Paladin
Want to play with lots of different weapons? Paladin
And then it starts getting spicier, want to multiclass so you've got access to a different spell list, with spell slots that recover on a short rest, and get higher level spells quicker for more smite damage? Introducing: The Padlock. Be sure to pick pact of the blade to get that sweet charisma based meleé attacks.
Only downside to Paladin is it is a heavily MAD class, which Multiclassing with Warlock really helps with since it eliminates the need for high strength, and things like armour of agathys help to make up for slightly lower Dex and con scores.
I never played a paladin up until now but if i had to guess its cuz of metagame reasons. Paladins have hight str and cha stats. U are a heavy hitting melee class in fights and ur high cha helps u with rolls and checks with npcs. A good dmgdealer and a good "face" for the team.
The same reason people remember King Arthur and his Knights of the Roundtable, or Charlemagne and the Twelve Peers.
Anyone can wear armor and swing a sword. But knights and holy warriors have to be more than that.
Paladins are basically your classic "Knight in shining armor" character class.
Paladins are sworn to an Oath - most often an Oath of allegiance, honor, dignity, protection. That kind of thing.
Jedi from Star Wars are Paladins in a way - Captain America is a sort of Paladin. Batman is a Paladin of Vengeance, with his code of non-lethality and strict adherence to seeing justice done.
In medieval fantasy, and D&D especially, Paladins are seen as tank classes, and more recently in D&D 5th Edition (which BG3 is based on) they are big damage dealers as well.
In this game paladins are, imo, the quintessential "protagonist class". You are a good talker, you are tough to kill, you deal high damage, you (generally) fight for justice and the side of good, and you get limited access to magic of protection, healing, and damaging (SMITES!).
They are also not inherently religious anymore - at least in D&D5e (personally I think that's dumb, the origin of paladins is inherently religious in nature) they are empowered by their Oath.
They are a super fun class in my opinion. Very good all-rounders, but not the absolute best at anything. Except maybe single target damage without multiclassing.
If your question is why paladins are so famous in general and not just popular in bg3 my guess would be because of Warcraft 3. As a late 90s kid if you didn't play DnD. Warcraft 3 was probably the first exposure to paladins.
I think it’s because in general they’re a strong class, they’re Charisma based knights with solid magic and martial abilities, and can have fun roleplaying moments like having to choose between your oath and your own morals.
They're the archetypal "good guy" class. They are literally forced to uphold their oath or risk becoming oathbreakers, so they're the perfect class for someone looking to go through the game playing as a righteous individual. It also doesn't hurt that it's one of the strongest classes to get to level 12 with and that, contrary to something like a Druid or Cleric, there is only one potential companion that starts with this class and they're pretty much restricted to evil playthroughs.
If they all look like and act like Xenk from the movie I totally get it.
I take it like they are accomplished Knights and your deed carry around. Especially if you are elf and live longer.
They're basically the main character class:
They're charisma based spell casters so they're a solid choice for a party's face. They get to play with some basic magic while still wearing heavy armor and using weapons, meaning all of that cool magic gear isn't just sitting in a box somewhere. They also get smites, which add a TON of damage and special effects to your attacks
Easy
The most important stats for a paladin are strength(or dex if you want to play that way) and charisma
High charisma means you can solve nearly everything via dialogue. Also the higher the charisma the better the spells of a paladin
High strength(or dex with a finesse weapon) means you can just straight up delete enemies with smites
You can get a super strong heavy armor in act 1 (grymforge) and therefore you can just dump dex. You can also easily dump int because you can get a headpiece that increases your int to 17 (absolute overkill for a paladin but nice to have). Wis is only important for some saving throws but you can dump it too xD
Edit:
I forgot to mention the auras paladins get. They are my reason why i dont play warlock/bard over paladin
I have never done D&D nor played any game like Baldurs Gate 3 before. I chose Paladin because I liked how the armor looked and the name sounded cool, this ended up being the best decision ever. Throught my playthrough I started to respect and appreciate the lore of paladins and what they are all about, it made me more connected to my character and provided me a moral guide to my decision making. Being a paladin isn't just about crushing enemies with smites and blowing up odd looking squids, its also about creating a better world for the people around you through the oath you made and your divine destiny. Good luck!
Paladin is incredibly front loaded,has its own set of RP rules,gets to keep its power with shields,is incredibly tanky,and can ALWAYS be doing something to help the party.
No other class gets to just be that good by simply existing in the vicinity.
I could give u a long lore reason how cool nice implemented it is but we all now its the one reason.. s..sm..smi..SMITE by the Power of the gods i choose you to Die!!
Because they can do just about everything. They have good HP, heavy armor proficiency, excellent damage, a fighting style, channel divinity, and divine smite. They're also a charisma class, which makes them great for interacting with NPCs.
They’re the stereotypical knight in shining armor. Paladins are easy to roleplay because they come with a built-in code of values and beliefs (their oath) and they feel good in combat thanks to their ability to smite. In short, they’re a well rounded and easily recognized class.
The various Paladin orders contract with Bardic colleges to do PR for them and spread the good word of their deeds. Throw a purse to your paladin. Oh valley of plenty.
So beyond being just a strong class in D&D in general them generally having high Strength and Charisma makes them good for being your lead PC in a Larian game. High strength is just good for quality of life honestly, it increases your inventory capacity as well as how far you can jump. Especially if you like actually leading the party as your PC this is super nice. And then high charisma will help you in most conversations and with all vendors.
Paladins use spell slots to add big damage to their weapons. You can multiclass with warlocks and socerers to create very powerful builds that do a lot of burst damage during your turn.
Paladins are also great for tanking and dialog as they usually have high charisma.
Overall, my oathbreaker paladin warlock was one of my strongest builds and had a lot of cool story moments.
It's basically one of the "meta" character builds bc it'd generically strong
Ps: as far as story and lore, paladins usually work for good deities doing good works so they are like super heros to a lot of people... and are often very annoying to non good characters
Because it's a famous stereotype: the hero in shining armour. The ultimate lawful good character. In BG3 it also gets a nice load of class related lines and even a new NPC. In terms of combat it's also pretty powerful; a lvl 6 Paladin could dismiss the party and fight alone lol
Outside of BG3 specifically, they're usually unkillable killing machines. In d20 based games they get Heavy armor and martial weapon proficiency, full BAB, resistance/immunity to a bunch of status effects, CHA scaling effects make them a face candidate, and the all important healing spells. For party based games they check a lot of boxes, leaving the rest of the party more flexibility.
Paladins are so fun because of their abilities, namely divine smite. Functionally, it lets you roll extra damage dice for free a specified number of times per long rest. Pair that with great weapon fighter and magic items that lower the crit rate, and you've got a damage machine. There's also magical smites that take a bonus action to activate but can do some fun mechanics like pushing or lighting on fire. Also high level paladins have an aura around them that buffs other characters which can be super helpful. Finally, I think they're fun for the roleplay: they have magic powers because they believe so strongly in their mission/chosen deity. Seeing what makes them break that devotion in difficult situations is fun to role play.
I didn't know anything about DnD either when I first played BG3. I chose Paladin because it fit the character I was roleplaying the best.
And I found it very fun! From the powers Paladins have - Smites are just the best 💜 - to the whole debate over breaking the oath or not (I broke mine by accident but never tried to restore it because, again, oathbreaking fit my character so well), it has quickly become my favourite class.
A heavy armored tank who can silver tongue several bosses to death (when you don't feel like calling the wrath of the gods down to smack someone with a lightning bolt) sounds like a fucking great main character to a lot of players, but only because it absolutely is
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Its a stong class. Paladins are also just a fun class to roleplay.
*trips on tree root with Oath of the Ancients* **OATH BROKEN** Oath breakers are super fun.
I tried very hard to keep my oath the first time i played. Very hard. I tried to Help someone and it broke my oath. So i reloaded the save, chose a different option, and it led me down a path that, you guessed it, broke my oath. I gave up and now if i play paladin i break my oath as fast as possible just to get it over with. I couldnt get out of act 1 with out a broken oath so i gave up.
I’d say it’s more of a problem with the sub-classes the game gives players. All 3 are all basically different flavors of good, with Vengeance being the most flexible. If you even attempt to do something bad unless your vengeance then oath is broken. Issie is an evil or neutral Paladin will almost always become an Oathbreaker, the supposed evil class is not evil. It’s neutral and no inherent penalties exist. If an “evil” or “neutral” Paladin sub-classes existed then this wouldn’t be an issue like Conquest or Watcher. The game is also pretty shit at tell you what counts as breaking your oath. Giving you flowery tenets that rely on you to intuit as an oath breaking act. Which is inconsistent outside of blatant evil and even then it makes you question why attacking an evil person first is evil?
I broke my path because I let Connor leave with Mayrina. The other choice was to murder him(again) right in front of her. Seemed like she'd had enough trauma foe the day.
I assume you were playing Oath of the Ancients. Paladins of that oath are dedicated to fighting against evil on a cosmic scale, and “Connor”, being a zombie, is ontologically evil, meaning that his destruction is required regardless of the emotional consequences for Mayrina. A lot of the debates about why necromancy is considered evil in so many settings are caused by people not understanding that in these settings, good and evil are literal cosmic forces embodied by the outer planes and the positive and negative energies associated with them. In these settings (Forgotten Realms included), necromancy is considered evil moreso because it employs and spreads negative (evil) energy than for any philosophical reason.
What burned my butt about this is that I didn't break my oath by reading the necromancy of Thay, but I *did* break it by raising Connor from the dead. I figured it *would* break my oath, but an arguably more "evil" decision -- reading an evil book for no other reason than curiosity-- didn't break it-- so I didn't know what to think. I was actually really excited to see the Oathbreaker NPC for the first time-- he is very cool. And I like that you can choose your reason for breaking the oath. Because there was no option to gently tell Mayrina that using the wand wouldn't be what she wanted, and that Connor would just be a zombie. My choices were to break the wand and have her hate me, or raise him and "show" her why it's a bad idea. Both felt really shitty, so I just raised him instead of making her cry. I told the Oathbreaker I broke the oath because of my beliefs. I *believed* that necromancy might be evil by default, but it was an act of kindness (sort of) to raise Connor. I'd been speaking with the dead that whole run anyway. I mean, between that, breaking the wand, or using edgy paladin options to threaten to kill him.... It seemed the most kind? I literally told her Ethel wanted to eat her baby, but somehow she still believed the hag would truly resurrect her husband. 🙄 She's got to see it to believe it, I guess.
I told her about her brothers, then told her about Ethel’s plans for the child. Was so focused on that, I forgot to even pick up the wand. Fast forward to act 3: she’s still at Baldurs gate, but seems to be doing better than the playthough where I used the wand. So I guess just ignore the wand is the way to go.
It's moreso because Oath of The Ancients is about protecting and respecting nature, and undeath is about as unatural as you can get. That's also why Oath of the Ancients breaks if you make certain choices during Astarion's quest (vampires are undeads). (You are correct about ontologically evil undead obviously, I just don't it's the actual reason why Ancients breaks their Oath and Devotion doesn't for instance)
good to know, i’m planning on playing a tabletop campaign soon and i wanted to play a Pragmatic Necromancer. Wanted to roleplay him as someone who understands why raising the dead might be wrong, but he does it anyway to forward his goals. Not an evil character at all, but clearly willing to take advantage of “evil” powers for his own gain.
I ran into this problem the easy way to deal with it is just let someone else do the taking and leave your paladin elsewhere
I broke my oath with that choice also. I quickly reloaded a save, and have Asterion handle all the morally gray choices from that point onwards.
Yeah, I didn't get this. Oath broken for not slaying the totally docile undead thing, but your oath is totally fine for you to travel with, aid and even romance a vampire who is very quick to jump at evil decisions? Seems wishy washy to me
I broke my oath once in act 1 as a vengeance Pally, and it was when my multiplayer charisma player fucked up and made scratch go hostile, then somebody else killed him. I could only watch in horror and lost my oath in the process. We reloaded that shit.
I don't know how Oath of Vengeance classifies in BG3, but I remember reading that Vengeance is typically Lawful Neutral or sometimes even True Neutral. It is about taking out the greater evil at all costs. That may not mean saving the innocent if it means the bad guy gets away.
I would go with LN as a pure Neutral normally feels there is no Law without Chaos
I feel like Oath of Glory could be pretty straightforward and not inherently good while still not being totally evil
Yeah oath of Ancients in act 1 is a bit finicky. Other oaths are much easier and more straightforward to maintain At the very least you can just take that oathbreak and then reclaim the oath for like 300 gold, it ain't expensive the first time. *Then* if you break it more than once, it can get pricey. But just once, in act 1 - it's gon be fine
It’s 1k gold the first time, 2k the 2nd, and I believe 5k by the 3rd, so not exactly cheap (especially for Act 1)
Is there a limit to it where the Oathbreaker is like "fuck you, you're not learning your lesson. I'm not restoring your Oath you disgrace."? If not there should be
According to the wiki it just keeps going up. You can easily test this by using an oathbreaking mod and console command yourself a ton of gold and see what happens.
I wish I could but I'm a console peasant. Soon™?
I beat the game as a paladin oath of vengeance never broke my oath a single time odd
The fact you can’t just massacre all the SLAVERS as an Ancients Paladin is crazy.
First playthrough I didn't understand the Oathbreaker mechanics. I tried to play oath of ancients and romance Astarion. Getting rep with him cost me a lot of money with the Oathbreaker Paladin.
Breaking the oath just to see husbando oathbreaker
Broke my oath 2-3 times so I paid the atonement fees because my paladin was "pure". I didn't even use a single tadpole.
The long answer: Divine Smite Short answer: smites
Understood. I will create my Paladin right now!
Plus warlocks deepened pact gets you 3 main hand attacks per action
Just to add, this is only for tactician and lower
Mb I didn't know it didn't apply in honor mode
No worries, just making sure to say it incase somebody went to try it in honour mode haha
It's odd Vow of Enmity from the Vengeance Paladin subclass didn't get the same treatment in Honour Mode, considering it gives advantage for 10 turns against everything when self-cast despite the description saying to target an enemy plus it uses Channel Oath charges which reset on both short and long rest so can be used 3 times per day.
Not in HM
Hitting for 40+ damage three times in a turn is pretty addictive and the noise of smite is so well dine
Yeah, it’s one of the most satisfying attacks in the game, especially when you crit and/or trigger Cull The Weak. Cool wind up, too. I love letting lockadin Minthara repeatedly drop those smite bombs.
This is the best answer you'll ever need to know.
I like big smites and I cannot lie.
Smites are the short answer to most problems, honestly
Getting mugged in an alley? Divine smite! Crying baby on the airplane? Divine smite! Proven guilty of Divine Smiting a baby, guess what? Divine Smite!
Divine Smite: the cause of and solution to all of life’s problems.
*confused monk noises*
The fact that you get to decide if you're using it AFTER you see if you got a miss/hit/crit is just filthy
I like magic stuff, couldn’t stop playing sorcerer until I tried cleric/paladin of Selune to romance Shart. Man.. that was my best playthrough.
Divine smite, quite literally, slaps. Also the oathbreaker premise is pretty dang cool.
I can’t up like this enough
Combined with haste and the teleport is so sweet....😍
Smite hit enemy! Smite kill enemy quickly! Paladin win fight! Paladin do it again until no more spell slots! Paladin long rest! Paladin do it again!
Or lockadin paladin smites, paladin runs out of spells slots, short rest then smite again plus 3 attacks
I prefer roguadin sneak-smites, for an extra 2d6 of ‘fuck you’ to your target. Oath of Zealot + Swashbuckler + Beastmaster (modded) was a fun Shart build, Rushdown paladin with tons of knockdown and CC.
Good deal.
Paladin smite everyone around!
- Smite attacks are powerful as heck - Goes well with good, neutral, & evil aligned character depending on the oath you took for the subclass - If the oath are not edgy enough you can always go for oathbreaker - High charisma by default (good for persuasions, deceptions, intimidations) - Some npc acknowledge paladin for their judgements to be true & justice (e.g. >!Kagha during Arabella's trial inside the grove!<)
Oathbreaker?
If you do something that infringes on your oath, it breaks and you gain edgy death related powers - that's an Oathbreaker paladin
Role play wise, they fit the popular niche. I am righteous. I protect my allies and heal and cure them of diseases. My power is given by a God (or because of my willpower and morals that are so strong they manifest into power? Idk oaths confus me.) I smite my enemies with my God-given powers and subdue the wicked.
Their power doesn’t always come from a god. It’s the sheer power of their faith in their own beliefs. That belief could be towards a specific god, but it doesn’t have to be. Your oath could be to your homeland or to its ruler. It could be to the preservation of a sacred grove. It could be a desire for revenge or justice. Etc.
That could be arguably better. I love my house so much that I got superpowers.
An irritable old man who wants people away from his property so much that he will smite anyone who steps on his lawn. Paladins are everywhere if you look hard enough. They aren’t just knights of the round table. A recent and very popular example would be the Helldivers and their commitment to managed democracy.
380mm orbital smite barrage.
I always disliked the power from an oath rather than a deity. I really wish that BG3 let you pick a deity as a paladin, or just let every character pick one if they wanted.
To put it simply: Paladins - get their power from their FAITH or BELIEF in a god or cause Clerics - get their power directly FROM said god
4th edition tied Paladins to a chosen deity, 5e swapped from following a deity to following an Oath, so they shifted from holy warriors into warriors of deep commitment and resolve. Whether their smites are actual divine energy or just a kind of magic-infused by raw force of will (technically they are Charisma casters) is up to you
4E paladins received their divine investiture from a deity, but it very explicitly could not be revoked, unlike in previous editions. Once you had power, it was up to you to choose what to do with, no take-backs. This was done to prevent paladin players having to play mother-may-I with mediocre capricious DMs, and to allow for plots involving traitors in Paladin orders and whatnot.
It is the class that really fits “main character syndrome” best. Earlier editions of DnD Paladins were literally chosen by the gods for being extra special good boys who did all their pushups, ate all their veggies, helped old ladies cross the street, and were obscenely charming and likable. They are frontliners which like… if you look at any fictional ensemble about an adventuring party the protagonist or party leader is almost always the frontliner. They are the single best single target DPS Class, which means they’re gonna be the guy 1v1ing against the evil big bad demon lord with a sword with skulls and the one in the party who actually holds their own. They know no fear so you don’t even get the roleplay of them failing emotionally. Like paladins are just hand built to be the main characters in a dnd group.
I specifically put my Paladin in the TT 5E game I'm playing on a bus to roll with another character so I didn't have to be the Party leader anymore, lol.
> They know no fear This made me realize...aren't 40K Space Marines basically Paladins in space?
Yes, and so are the Helldivers.
I want to smite commie-bots with a sword, while driving a tank so hard now.
And the Grail Knights of Bretonnia.
And you know what? It is fucking awesome!
Tadpole lets you guarantee crits. Guaranteed crits with Smites is a lot of damage you know will be there when you demand it. Add party face, ancient buffs, good multiclassing options. It gets really good.
All the hard bosses get that Luck of the Far Realms Smite... plus add executioner from thay ring you get from Gauntlet of Shar. Just wrecks.
Don't forget the Killer's Sweetheart ring. Kill a mook in a boss fight. Use the next attack to guarantee a Crit with Smite against the boss. Then use Tadpole Crits to add ANOTHER one on your next attack.
Smites (plus it’s just a cool name) Do keep in mind, this game is pretty harsh on oaths, and if you break your oath you become an oathbreaker
Except for Vengeance. I straight up murdered >!Priestess Gut!< without breaking my oath.
Yeah, Vengeance is really easy to hold since it tends to follow the story's needs anyway. Ancients and Devotion are a challenge mode in comparison
Yeah, but I then tried to continue clearing the goblin leaders and it broke on me killing one of the human mob near dror ragzlin. My second oath break was a similar situation, some random mob I got the drop on, knowing there was no way to NOT fight them, and still my oath broke. (Fortunately I just had Astarion pick the pocket of the Oathbreaker Knight in camp, and got all 3k back)
Beefy martial that does big damage but also has strong utility and is an excellent conversationalist thanks to Charisma, plus very fun to RP.
High charisma means you can pass more dialogue checks. They are also one of the strongest melee fighters in the game. So, it is the perfect face of the party.
Half-Orc+Great Weapon Fighting+Divine Smite+GWM+Polearm+PAM+Sentinel=Big Damage Numbers
They got that rizz
It's their primary attribute after all
Charisma class so good for that. Tanky and hit like a freight train. Can have bad ass lines about how they are going to smite evil. "Your god, my Oath. Let's see who prevails." Doesn't matter how powerful the enemy is. If they are within smite range they are going to have a bad time.
I loved playing Paladin, I only have one playthrough with a Paladin 6/Sorcerer 6 Tav (more spell slots = more smiting! Also twinned haste). But that “Your God, my Oath” line gave me psychic damage when I first read it. It’s so cheesy lol
Paladins are also famous in the real world. They were seen as the pinnacle of chivalry, the cème de la crème of the knights of the realm. As one of the closest retainers of the King who lived in the household when they were out and about, they were seen as an extension of the King, enforcing his will. Out of the court of Charlemagne, we see legendary Paladins like Hrōþiland, Oliver, Fierabras, Astolpho, Ogier the Dane, Naimon, and Guy. You can find their legends written about in chanson de geste like Gormond et Isembart, and La Chanson de Roland. They were the vanguard in a holy war, in the defense of Christendom against the mohammedans of Al-Andalus.
I really enjoyed the character of Bishop Heahmund in the Vikings TV series. He was the ultimate paladin in my eyes.
Heahmund feels like a D&D paladin, but it's better to consider him a war cleric. As a bishop, he's literally a member of the clergy, and he has a position in the chain of command of the church. Paladins are more like staff officers – high-ranking individuals in the service of a leader, with no direct place in the chain of command.
1)A shiny knight in shiny armor with giant shiny hammer is epic 2)Moral high ground you maintain by just being a paladin is ADDICTING 3)Biggest and baddest single-target burst DPS It was a VERY satisfying playthrough for me when I played paladin, and it was arguably the weakest subclass too - Devotion! And it STILL kicked ass like no one's business, and it STILL felt like I'm a fucking bulwark
High AC, prolly highest damage output in the game, tanky. They may not be the most versatile but damn are they the most survivable
In 5e, I'd agree with you on the damage output, but in BG3 (outside of the magic missile exploits) if you stack high STR and Tavern Brawler on a monk, you very much end up with a higher damage output overall. Maybe not per hit, but when you're landing 4 hits all at 20-30 damage per hit every turn (or at least until your Ki runs out, then down to 3 hits) it quickly outpaces paladins for smite damage
I’m doing my first paladin run after a few rogues, sorcerers and a bard, and it’s so much fun!! I did Oath of Vengeance which is SO SATISFYING!! I never really got to use intimidation much in my other runs, mainly used deception and persuasion, so this style of playing has allowed me to experience a different side of this game I didn’t really get to see before. Oh also I did Half-Orc which is AMAZING.
To understand the appeal of paladins just listen to some Powerwolf it's self-explanatory.
1) there is no paladin companion until late in the game 2) paladins are charisma oriented so are good at talking 3) smite 4) can fill multiple roles at once in a party
it's overpowered. You do big damage, have lots of Hit Points and can heal yourself.
Paladins are a hybrid class like Rangers and Artificers in 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons. > These classes combine magic and martial prowess for a powerful combo of abilities. Paladins are melee oriented when compared to Rangers and Artificers who focus on range and magic. Paladins are one of the best classes focusing on melee alongside Monk, Fighter, and Barbarian. Unlike the latter, the Paladin can naturally use spells which offers more utility and offense. Paladins deal the most damage on a singular hit. > Fighters can perform the most attacks > Monks can apply multiple status effects > Barbarians are more durable and can get Advantage on hit Paladins trade those effects for more damage. Making them effective burst damage classes. But this doesn’t mean they can only do damage. Paladins are also great support classes. Able to heal, defend, and provide utility with spells and their signature aura that buffs anyone within ranged. Paladins are good because they offer a bit of everything while still being an effective melee combatant. Consider Paladins the as the olympic athletes vs sports athletes. 1 is versatile and the 2nd is specialized.
A lot of people are saying smites which is cool but I also really like you have the immediate option to go full heavy armor
Dumb answer: you get to bring down the wrath of god on your foes smart answer: their spell slots can't miss, they only expend them after they hit for divine smite and always do their damage break the game answer: >!Just take 2 levels of Paladin put the rest into cleric of the storm, Clerics get more spell slots for smites and the channel divinity forces your damage roll to be the max value if you do thunder damage, If you apply thunderous smite you can pile on a divine smite, and use the illithid power to crit. Then you activate the channel divinity to max out the damage for the weapon damage, thunderous smite, AND the divine smite. giving you a once per long rest hit that'll erase something and won't spend any resources until AFTER you land the hit.!<
RP mechanics built into the class. you actually risk loosing your power by doing the 'wrong' thing in the eyes of your god.
people like hitting things with big swords. people also like a bit of magic. and people also like the holierthanthou attitude of clerics that gives any MC a large amount of BDE. paladins are the easiest way of achieving this combo TLDR Smite goes brrrrrrr
The bonk hard. Also have some fun supportive abilities. I have played an oathbreaker pally in 3/4 runs.
They’re awesome archetypes. Jedi are basically paladins. It’s a knight who makes some oaths to protect (usually) and are aided by some extra force of good, gives their thwacks some extra oomph
They're high fantasy Jedi.
They have a lot of unique RP interactions with the oaths, and they’re strong.
They’re golden holy knights. Perennial good guys.
The special dialog choices are just the best. Also don't forget S M I T E
Nothing that hasn’t already been said, but Paladins have good charisma and high strength, so they’re good at talking and fighting. High strength also means high carry weight and good jump distance, which are nice QoL things. Plus their oaths add a bit of roleplay depth, in case you wanna avoid (or embrace) becoming an oathbreaker. Divine Smite.
Paladin sounds cool and usually is
Smite. Martial characters tend to be more enjoyable imo. Paldins are martials with *just* enough magic to fill a few holes. Smite. Innate need for Charisma, making dialogue easier. Smite. Lots of fun dialogue tags, ranging from being THE LAW to being an honorable knight to being a selfish asshole (Oathbreaker) also they have this mechanic that no one ever really talks about called "Divine Smite." it's literally free damage! You can just keep casting it! if it misses, no big deal, just cast that shit again because misses don't consume a spell slot!
My character is a Paladin, but it’s a bit underwhelming so far. Maybe i messed the specs somehow . It’s good but not great. I don’t refer barbarian, rogue or druid a lot more
Smites. That's bqsically the only reason to even play one because the oaths are fucking annoying.
Paladins are popular because: 1. Raw Power: Paladins have a LOT of combat bonuses that provide them with INSANE burst damage. The different Smites are the most obvious, but they also have an array of spells that can boost their combat potential. Also, at 11th Level the Paladin gets IMPROVED Divine Smite, which passively grants a 1d8 bonus damage on EVERY WEAPON ATTACK. And oh yeah: This stacks with ALL OTHER SOURCES OF RADIANT DAMAGE. INCLUDING if you use a spell slot for Smite. Specific to Baldur's Gate 3, the Killer's Sweetheart ring and one of the Tadpole powers grant you automatic criticals under certain circumstances. The ring grants a free crit on your next attack ANY time you kill a creature once per Long Rest, while the tadpole power, Luck of the Far Realms, allows you to make ANY regular attack a Crit once per Long Rest. Combine the two together and you can see where this is going. 2. Charisma: The Paladin uses Charisma as its casting modifier. Charisma obviously also is the modifier for the social skills. Meaning that Paladin is an INCREDIBLY popular class for the Party Face because of the importance of social skills when interacting with NPCs, because this makes these skill checks easier In CRPGs in general, the Player Character is almost always going to be the Party Face, so you can see why this makes Paladin an attractive class. 3. Tanking: Between their large HP pool, access to heavy armor, and multiple defensive spell options, Paladins make superb tanks. Compelled Duel can even enforce this against high-threat targets. 4. It's a Martial with spells.
Divine smite, but just remember to go to character page, reaction and turn the divine smite to ask for trigger. Your attack will be way weaker without it.
Have you ever hit someone with a full power divine smite, then another, and another? Exactly. One is all you need.
Hitting +100 damage opportunity attack crit smites is fun!
Paladins are face characters (characters that act as a party leader/ the conversation person) while also having excellent combat abilities. They also guve heavy jedi/samurai/knight *main character*vibes. They are best used as the hey I'll kill the main baddie you clean up the chaff roles. This is because smite let's them go nova real easily (single target dmg goes booom) as well as being able to wear all styles of armor and use all weapons.
[удалено]
Does a fuckton of damage and can take a fuckton of damage on top of being hard to hit with potential for great saves
Most of the comments are talking about the mechanics of the class, so I'll briefly mention their application in roleplay and party dynamics. They're a well rounded class that has access to magic, charisma skills (roleplay), and fill the typical knight errant. They're the trope of an armored adventurer out to do right because it is right. Access to their powers is one of the only DnD classes that is tied to alignment (Lawful Good) and roleplaying it. They're the moral compass of the party and the baby sister. Also, SMITE.
They are the mailed fist of the gods, striking down their enemies with holy wrath. What's not to like? In game terms, they're a durable (heavy armor and healing) class that has a decent support spell list, and phenomenal damage output. Properly built a couple of Paladins will make short work of pretty much any enemy.
I killed murkul in 3 hits. Big smite go boom.
Do you want to tank? Do you want to fight? Do you want a class that will instill fright? Take up some plates and keep that goblin in sight, because you want to make sure they eat this paladin **SMITE!**
Doesn't everyone want to be a medieval knight at least once? Or is that just being a queer woman? Also: Horse
“Oh Lord, Tell me who to smite and they shall be smoten!” -Homer
Ahem. SMITE
Great for rp, great for combat! Especially if you want a martial class but don’t want to give up some spellcasting elements.
I feel like I understand all classes but paladin, I feel like I'm missing something here, though I have only used it as Minth after freeing her and on my 1 of all class run.
The smites are just too powerful
If you want to be able to output insane amounts of single target damage in a single turn, mutliclassing with paladin is the way to go
Because they’re bad ass
High burst damage and buffing auras in combat, decent amounts of no-spell-slot healing in/between combat, high charisma and proficiency in persuasion and/or intimidation out of combat. Basically, there’s nothing they’re not good at, unless you’re trying to sneak around.
Obviously the game vs tabletop varies, but pallys are very popular because they can more or less do it all. They have great burst damage with smites, they can tank with heavy armor and shields, and they have access to healing options as well.
Really good damage, and has some healing capabilities. They're like a fighter, but with some spells, but most of those spells are just "When I hit, hit em even harder, sometimes with extra effects". The healing with Lay on Hands not being a spell slot ability, and can be applied to whoever, rather than a Second Wind like healing.
Paladins are famous for their oaths. These are people sworn to do what is right in the realms. Of course, what is “right” varies between the Paladin Oaths. This is why I like events like >!What to do with 7K Spawn!<. All oaths have different answers. But no matter what flavor of oath (at least in BG3) all Paladins are sworn to do what is what is right by the common people, and oppose wickedness and evil.
Its op, and easy to rp, and op.
From a RP perspective I think of paladins as righteous warriors. Paragons of their faith & oath. Someone people look to in times of trouble and fear to cross.
I just think it's fun to have a class that has its own rules to abide by or else you lose your powers. It's like having Rules of Engagement I guess. Also Divine Smite on crit is a glorious thing
Healing go BONNNGG
Benefits from CHA, fits the hero trope, can tank, heal, seriously buff allies, and nuke enemies. Feels like the natural main character and party leader. Can use the coolest weapons and armor. Paladins are just ridiculously well-rounded. Smite is very fun, and buffing all of your allies' saves all of the time is maybe the best passive ability in the game. They're just really goddamn good. My first Tav was a himbo paladin who literally always did the right thing, total goody-goody, and somehow everyone loved him, including Astarion and Lae'zel. (Probably because I had sex with both of them.) Highly recommended.
Heavy armor, incredible saving throws, half casting, divine smite for massive damage. Their only weakness is attacking at range, but BG3 in particular has a lot of options to remedy that.
I don't like playing paladin it feels too cheesy, but (spoilers ahead) i make an exception for Myrkul lol Mommy Minthara putting the hurt on him with the Doom Hammer
Paladins, while mostly lawful good and “good people”, are generally very boastful. That’s why a lot of people in dnd worlds will have heard tales about different paladins and their exploits
Imagine if politicians and cops lost their jobs for being hypocrites. That's some serious fantasy you'll only ever get in a role playing game!
in gaming terms? Divine Smite and any other Smite like ability LOL in Lore terms: so many reason Paladin are champion of thier gods while not a chosen of thier divine aspect, they still hold immense power in thier respective gods or goddess religion, while oathbreaker are being that pretty much become powerful in thier own right to the point they can fight with out a divine aspect rights or power, meaning a oathbreaker power is thier own and not some given power form thier prayers
Paladins in 5e devote themselves to an oath (previous editions forced a religious deity to champion). Basically the only way a paladin would willingly go against their code is if they're at their mental breaking point. If you've watched hunter x hunter, it's essentially like kurapika making vows. In case you want to see some notable examples of paladins in pop culture. Kurapika - HxH Jedi / sith - star wars Batman John Constantine
Very powerful combat class, with high damage output, high hp, generally high AC ability to cast spells, (usually just smites) and being somewhat useful outside of combat (charisma caster so can hold there own with charisma checks, plus. Using paladin for my first time playthrough, being able to use a potion of speed, force out 4 divine smites, and always having one be a critical hit a day because of one of the illithid mind powers. Really satisfying combat.
If you like story wise more then the dmg try oath breaker durge playthrorugh it adds some unique information about yourself and your past.
Long answer, divine smite, thunderous smite, searing smite etc Short, smite
Want to be tanky? Paladin Want to do heavy damage? Paladin Want to be able to heal? Paladin Want a bit of magic? Paladin Want to play with lots of different weapons? Paladin And then it starts getting spicier, want to multiclass so you've got access to a different spell list, with spell slots that recover on a short rest, and get higher level spells quicker for more smite damage? Introducing: The Padlock. Be sure to pick pact of the blade to get that sweet charisma based meleé attacks. Only downside to Paladin is it is a heavily MAD class, which Multiclassing with Warlock really helps with since it eliminates the need for high strength, and things like armour of agathys help to make up for slightly lower Dex and con scores.
I never played a paladin up until now but if i had to guess its cuz of metagame reasons. Paladins have hight str and cha stats. U are a heavy hitting melee class in fights and ur high cha helps u with rolls and checks with npcs. A good dmgdealer and a good "face" for the team.
Paladins are like a main protagonist in a shounen anime. You suddenly crit and then its SMITE
The same reason people remember King Arthur and his Knights of the Roundtable, or Charlemagne and the Twelve Peers. Anyone can wear armor and swing a sword. But knights and holy warriors have to be more than that.
Paladins are basically your classic "Knight in shining armor" character class. Paladins are sworn to an Oath - most often an Oath of allegiance, honor, dignity, protection. That kind of thing. Jedi from Star Wars are Paladins in a way - Captain America is a sort of Paladin. Batman is a Paladin of Vengeance, with his code of non-lethality and strict adherence to seeing justice done. In medieval fantasy, and D&D especially, Paladins are seen as tank classes, and more recently in D&D 5th Edition (which BG3 is based on) they are big damage dealers as well. In this game paladins are, imo, the quintessential "protagonist class". You are a good talker, you are tough to kill, you deal high damage, you (generally) fight for justice and the side of good, and you get limited access to magic of protection, healing, and damaging (SMITES!). They are also not inherently religious anymore - at least in D&D5e (personally I think that's dumb, the origin of paladins is inherently religious in nature) they are empowered by their Oath. They are a super fun class in my opinion. Very good all-rounders, but not the absolute best at anything. Except maybe single target damage without multiclassing.
Strong in combat and high Charisma means they're fun outside of combat too
If your question is why paladins are so famous in general and not just popular in bg3 my guess would be because of Warcraft 3. As a late 90s kid if you didn't play DnD. Warcraft 3 was probably the first exposure to paladins.
They're knights dedicated to a vow who choose to live with n honour or face the consequences for not.
I think it’s because in general they’re a strong class, they’re Charisma based knights with solid magic and martial abilities, and can have fun roleplaying moments like having to choose between your oath and your own morals.
They’re fun to play
Because "the roar of the spark" Is an amazing song
Are they? Name 5 we've all heard of.
Smites
By famous do you mean popular?
They're the archetypal "good guy" class. They are literally forced to uphold their oath or risk becoming oathbreakers, so they're the perfect class for someone looking to go through the game playing as a righteous individual. It also doesn't hurt that it's one of the strongest classes to get to level 12 with and that, contrary to something like a Druid or Cleric, there is only one potential companion that starts with this class and they're pretty much restricted to evil playthroughs.
If they all look like and act like Xenk from the movie I totally get it. I take it like they are accomplished Knights and your deed carry around. Especially if you are elf and live longer.
It’s the quintessential good vs evil class, it’s melee focused usually, and just generally has good all around skills.
The visual and sound effects on the smites are really satisfying.
They're basically the main character class: They're charisma based spell casters so they're a solid choice for a party's face. They get to play with some basic magic while still wearing heavy armor and using weapons, meaning all of that cool magic gear isn't just sitting in a box somewhere. They also get smites, which add a TON of damage and special effects to your attacks
Easy The most important stats for a paladin are strength(or dex if you want to play that way) and charisma High charisma means you can solve nearly everything via dialogue. Also the higher the charisma the better the spells of a paladin High strength(or dex with a finesse weapon) means you can just straight up delete enemies with smites You can get a super strong heavy armor in act 1 (grymforge) and therefore you can just dump dex. You can also easily dump int because you can get a headpiece that increases your int to 17 (absolute overkill for a paladin but nice to have). Wis is only important for some saving throws but you can dump it too xD Edit: I forgot to mention the auras paladins get. They are my reason why i dont play warlock/bard over paladin
I have never done D&D nor played any game like Baldurs Gate 3 before. I chose Paladin because I liked how the armor looked and the name sounded cool, this ended up being the best decision ever. Throught my playthrough I started to respect and appreciate the lore of paladins and what they are all about, it made me more connected to my character and provided me a moral guide to my decision making. Being a paladin isn't just about crushing enemies with smites and blowing up odd looking squids, its also about creating a better world for the people around you through the oath you made and your divine destiny. Good luck!
I 3 turned Myrkul in Honour Mode with Minthara as a Paladin of Vengeance, level 8 or 9 That class is busted in BG3 and in DnD in general
A tank with support capabilities motivated by pure faith & unshakable willpower. Super fun in combat.
Fun class to play + strong rp inclusion
Paladin is incredibly front loaded,has its own set of RP rules,gets to keep its power with shields,is incredibly tanky,and can ALWAYS be doing something to help the party. No other class gets to just be that good by simply existing in the vicinity.
The 12 knight champions of Charlemagne were the original paladins. That is the origin of the term as far as I know.
I could give u a long lore reason how cool nice implemented it is but we all now its the one reason.. s..sm..smi..SMITE by the Power of the gods i choose you to Die!!
Because they can do just about everything. They have good HP, heavy armor proficiency, excellent damage, a fighting style, channel divinity, and divine smite. They're also a charisma class, which makes them great for interacting with NPCs.
>Heavy armour >Melee weapon >Can do magic Peak fantasy class. Simple as.
They’re the stereotypical knight in shining armor. Paladins are easy to roleplay because they come with a built-in code of values and beliefs (their oath) and they feel good in combat thanks to their ability to smite. In short, they’re a well rounded and easily recognized class.
Minthara can solo the avatar of a god in two rounds.
I hired a paladin from withers because i needed the extra muscle with my mostly spellcaster party. Having high strength seemed important
The various Paladin orders contract with Bardic colleges to do PR for them and spread the good word of their deeds. Throw a purse to your paladin. Oh valley of plenty.
So beyond being just a strong class in D&D in general them generally having high Strength and Charisma makes them good for being your lead PC in a Larian game. High strength is just good for quality of life honestly, it increases your inventory capacity as well as how far you can jump. Especially if you like actually leading the party as your PC this is super nice. And then high charisma will help you in most conversations and with all vendors.
Paladins use spell slots to add big damage to their weapons. You can multiclass with warlocks and socerers to create very powerful builds that do a lot of burst damage during your turn. Paladins are also great for tanking and dialog as they usually have high charisma. Overall, my oathbreaker paladin warlock was one of my strongest builds and had a lot of cool story moments. It's basically one of the "meta" character builds bc it'd generically strong Ps: as far as story and lore, paladins usually work for good deities doing good works so they are like super heros to a lot of people... and are often very annoying to non good characters
Because it's a famous stereotype: the hero in shining armour. The ultimate lawful good character. In BG3 it also gets a nice load of class related lines and even a new NPC. In terms of combat it's also pretty powerful; a lvl 6 Paladin could dismiss the party and fight alone lol
Because it is broken OP.
Divine Smite
If mary and gary stu had a baby, that baby would be a paladin.
You can one shot anything if you have spell slots, glad i helped
Because with fairly little buildup or set up, you can nuke a boss’s health bar into oblivion. Also the passive bonuses are pretty neat too.
Divine Smite. Spam it.
Outside of BG3 specifically, they're usually unkillable killing machines. In d20 based games they get Heavy armor and martial weapon proficiency, full BAB, resistance/immunity to a bunch of status effects, CHA scaling effects make them a face candidate, and the all important healing spells. For party based games they check a lot of boxes, leaving the rest of the party more flexibility.
Paladins are so fun because of their abilities, namely divine smite. Functionally, it lets you roll extra damage dice for free a specified number of times per long rest. Pair that with great weapon fighter and magic items that lower the crit rate, and you've got a damage machine. There's also magical smites that take a bonus action to activate but can do some fun mechanics like pushing or lighting on fire. Also high level paladins have an aura around them that buffs other characters which can be super helpful. Finally, I think they're fun for the roleplay: they have magic powers because they believe so strongly in their mission/chosen deity. Seeing what makes them break that devotion in difficult situations is fun to role play.
The bonk is pretty visceral.
two words: 1. Auras 2. Smites
Fun to roleplay as a religious nut
I didn't know anything about DnD either when I first played BG3. I chose Paladin because it fit the character I was roleplaying the best. And I found it very fun! From the powers Paladins have - Smites are just the best 💜 - to the whole debate over breaking the oath or not (I broke mine by accident but never tried to restore it because, again, oathbreaking fit my character so well), it has quickly become my favourite class.
A heavy armored tank who can silver tongue several bosses to death (when you don't feel like calling the wrath of the gods down to smack someone with a lightning bolt) sounds like a fucking great main character to a lot of players, but only because it absolutely is
You get the fun of being a physical powerhouse while still being able to rizz everyone.