A Paladin can prepare a limited number of spells per day using their available slots.
Some of their options involve bolstering themselves or their allies, though a few enable them to deal even more damage in combat—directly and indirectly. ..
Paladins have a limited number of spell slots, which means they have to choose carefully which spells to cast. Casting a spell versus using it to smite often feels like a balancing act - trying to get the most out of Paladin’s limited resources. ..
The Paladins are a great martial class for roleplaying games. They have a lot of options for builds, and I’ve played a few with different ones.
- The Paladin’s Blessing: This buff allows the Paladin to gain an extra 25% damage bonus against all enemies for a set amount of time.
- The Paladin’s Shield: This buff allows the Paladin to gain an extra 25% damage resistance against all enemies for a set amount of time.
- The Paladin’s Fury: This buff allows the Paladin to deal an extra 50% damage against all enemies for a set amount of time.
- The Paladin’s Might: This buff allows the Paladin to deal an extra 75% damage against all enemies for a set amount of time.
Paladins are able to cast a wide variety of spells, many of which are not available to other classes. This is due in part to the Paladin’s Oath of Devotion, which binds them to a specific deity or set of deities. This oath gives the Paladin access to spells that would otherwise be unavailable to them. Paladins have a minimum spell slot level requirement for many of their spells, which allows them to cast only a subset of their potential spell list. For example, a Paladin must have at least a 4th-level spell slot in order to cast the spell cure wounds. ..
20. Magic Weapon
Beginning at 2nd level, paladins gain access to a second-level spell. This spell is available to them at the same time they gain their Extra Attack feature. ..
The magic weapon buffs a given weapon with a +1 to attack and damage rolls.
This spell bypasses magical defenses, allowing the caster to damage any creature with nonmagical weapons.
This spell will help your Paladin to deal more damage against enemies that scoff at mundane damage sources.
19. Thunderous Smite
After casting thunderous smite, you deal an additional 2d6 thunder damage the next time you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack.
The main benefit of this spell is that it has two additional effects. First, you can push the creature you hit 10 feet away from you. Second, if the creature is prone when you cast this spell, they are knocked prone. ..
The spell creates an extremely loud noise when you hit. So it’s not ideal for any situations requiring subtlety.
18. Destructive Wave
Most Paladins don’t have access to powerful blasting abilities with their spells.
Paladins can cast destructive wave at 5th level, the highest-level spell they can cast. ..
This effect affects all creatures within 30 feet of you. Targeted creatures must make a Constitution save against a whopping 5d6 thunder damage and 5d6 of either radiant or necrotic damage, as well as to avoid being knocked prone.
The Paladins’ destructive wave helps them shore up their weaknesses at effectively dealing with large numbers of enemies simultaneously.
17. Aid
This spell grants up to three creatures with bonus hit points (HP).
At the lowest level, casting this spell with higher level slots will increase your extra HP by 5.
The buff lasts for up to 8 hours, without taking up your concentration.
16. Command
This spell allows you to issue a single-word command to another creature. You can use it as a way to control or command that creature.
If the target fails their Wisdom save, they must do their best to follow your order for a round. If they successfully follow your order, they take no damage and are immune to being charmed or frightened for the next round. ..
Command can provide a way to nullify an enemy’s action, which can come in handy if you need to control the battlefield.
The spell description provides some examples of words that you can use, though creative wording with Command can lead to more possibilities. ..
15. Banishment
As mentioned before, Paladins have few ways to disable enemies short of dealing damage to them.
Banishment can remove a creature from play—potentially permanently if targeting an extraplanar creature.
Banishment is a powerful spell that can be very effective against certain creatures. If the caster has a Charisma score of at least 10, they can successfully cast the spell and banish any creature within 30 feet of them.
14. Blinding Smite
The paladin gets a number of great 3rd-level spell options that can help them deal with their many challenges.
Blinding smite is a spell that functions similarly to thunderous smite. However, blinding smite grants an additional 3d8 radiant damage on a hit, and its special effect blinds the creature you attacked for up to a minute if they fail the Constitution saving throw. ..
This spell inflicts blindness on the target, making them unable to see.
13. Compelled Duel
This spell choice is another great 1st-level spell that targets a single creature within 30 feet of you. It can be used to quickly and easily duel an opponent, or to take down a pesky foe who has managed to get close.
If you fail a wisdom check against an enemy, they have disadvantage on all attacks against you for up to a minute.
The main point of this essay is that the person the speaker is talking to has a difficult time moving away from them.
Your Paladin can only attack the spell’s target, and your allies can’t cause harm to your target either. Otherwise, the effects of compelled duel ends.
You can cast this spell as a bonus action. You can focus on your target, and it will be affected by the spell.
12. Heroism
The first buff is a 20% increase to your spell damage. The second buff is a 20% increase to your spell critical strike chance. ..
Two, the target is able to think more clearly and make better decisions. One, the target becomes immune to the frightened condition. This means that they are no longer scared of what is happening around them and can think more clearly. They may also be able to make better decisions based on what they know.
The Paladin gains temporary hit points equal to their Charisma modifier. This temporary hit points refresh at the start of each of the target’s turns.
In combat, heroism can provide temporary hit points that are very efficient for the spell slot you spend. However, if you stay in combat for more than three rounds, your heroism will run out.
11. Death Ward
A Paladin is a powerful and unkillable creature that can often be the most terrifying.
The spell Death Ward gives a non-concentration 8-hour buff to a single target, which helps protect it from possible death.
The spell prevents the target from going down to 0 from taking damage, instead reducing them to 1 hit point before ending.
The creature can’t be killed by effects, like spells or special abilities that can cause instantaneous death.
This benefit can prove especially valuable at higher levels of play, but it’s nonetheless an assurance to your Paladin’s general survivability.
10. Holy Weapon
Xanathar’s Guide to Everything is a comprehensive guide to all things roleplaying game-related. It is the perfect resource for players and Dungeon Masters alike, providing everything from character creation tips to in-game advice. ..
Holy weapon is an aptly potent choice for Paladins who wish to use it to fight evil. It provides a +2 bonus on attack rolls and damage rolls against evil creatures, as well as a +1 bonus on saving throws against evil effects.
You can spend up to an hour imbuing your weapon with holy energy, which causes it to deal an extra 2d8 radiant damage each time you hit.
The weapon emits light for this duration, and can be used to see in the dark.
You can cast a spell that causes a burst of radiant damage and blindness.
Your spell provides a significant boost to your damage each round.
9. Protection from Evil and Good
evil good
There are many different types of supernatural creatures in the world. Some are Aberrations, Celestials, Elementals, Fiends, Fey, Undead. ..
This spell protects a target from being possessed, charmed, or frightened by creatures of the subtypes for up to 10 minutes.
The creatures are at a disadvantage to attacking the target.
Overall, protection from evil and good gives some very significant advantages for those specific types of enemies. ..
The downside to this spell is that it consumes holy water or silver as a casting component.
8. Divine Favor
A divine favor spell choice allows Paladins to add a d4 of radiant damage to their damage rolls for weapon attacks.
You can cast this spell as a bonus action on your turn. The spell lasts for up to a minute. ..
Starting out as a Paladin, you’ll quickly find that divine favor gives you a decent and straightforward offensive buff. This buff works even better once you can attack multiple times per turn!
7. Revivify
You can resurrect a recently deceased creature with a touch using this 3rd-level spell. ..
- You must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
- You must have a valid driver’s license or state ID card from one of the following states:
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana (except for Indianapolis) Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming ..
The Paladin’s revivify ability gives them some measure of control over death, which makes for a cool concept overall.
6. Crusader’s Mantle
This spell creates a 30-foot radius aura around your Paladin that blocks all hostile magic.
The effects of divine favor are like that of a blessing from the gods—for up to a minute, each nonhostile creature in your aura (including you) deals 1d4 extra radiant damage each time you hit with a weapon attack.
The buff to your team’s offensive abilities is greatly increased with this change. This is especially beneficial if your party has a few characters that rely on weapon attacks.
5. Aura of Vitality
The Aura of Vitality spell creates a healing aura around your Paladin. This aura is beneficial to the Paladin as it provides them with increased health and protection from damage.
You can spend a bonus action each round to heal another creature within 30 feet of you for 2d6 HP. ..
Aura of Vitality restores a generous amount of HP and is particularly effective for healing outside of combat.
4. Wrathful Smite
The Wrathful Smite spell lets you spend a 1st-level spell slot to empower your next successful melee weapon attack, dealing an additional 1d6 psychic damage and forcing the targeted creature to save against being frightened by you. This effect lasts for 3 rounds.
Wrathful smite has a persistent effect that can be punishing to remove. ..
A creature must spend an action to end the spell.
If you remain in sight of a creature that is frightened, they must make a Wisdom check with disadvantage. This helps to keep the condition on your target.
3. Shield of Faith
This spell grants your target a +2 bonus to Armor Class for up to an hour. ..
The Paladins are a melee-focused class that benefits from the Shield of Faith buff. This buff increases the damage dealt by your melee attacks by 25%.
Shield of Faith is a powerful defensive ability that allows you to apply it and then spend your action attacking in the same turn. ..
2. Bless
Your Paladin can provide three creatures with a d4 to add to their attack rolls and saving throws.
Bless remains one of the most powerful and resource efficient buffs in the game. It provides a direct bonus to rolls, making it an essential tool for any caster looking to maximize their performance.
You can cast bless using a higher-level slot, targeting an additional creature per spell level above 1st.
Since bless is an action spell, you can optimize its use by casting it just before a fight. ..
1. Find Steed/Find Greater Steed
Xanathar’s Guide to Everything is a comprehensive guide to the Planes of existence, including the planes of magic. It covers everything from the basic rules for magic users to more in-depth information on magical creatures and spells.
The Paladin’s most iconic spell is the find steed and find greater steed. These spells allow the Paladin to track down and capture any creature they wish with ease.
Both spells summon a loyal, intelligent mount that follows the Paladin’s orders, from transporting them across the land to charging them into battle.
Different creatures you summon can have different appearances, which also brings in different abilities to your party. ..
The second-level version of the spell summons a mount that is as powerful as a war horse. ..
The 4th-level version of the mount allows your mount to take on an even more powerful form, such as a griffon or a pegasus.
If your Paladin dismisses your “steed,” the supernatural mount stays with you for as long as they don’t lose all their hit points, making them effectively a permanent companion during your adventures. ..
These mounts can prove extremely useful both in and out of combat.
