CoS: Devotion or Ancients Paladin? (Possible Spoilers)

[jaappleton]

My campaign is coming to an end, and the DM has agreed to run CoS next. Its something we've wanted to play for quite awhile.

Now, its no secret that the enemies in there include undead. Specifically Vampires. And its not a stretch to realize that Vampires can often Charm people.

However, its also not a stretch to realize that anyone who has read the MM sees that many Undead are also spellcasters... Looking at you, Flame Skull. You ****, you.

Its likely going to be a two person party. Myself and another player. We haven't discussed what classes and races we'd play yet. I'm here just spitballing ideas.

In a two person party, its tough to just say "Play what you want!" in an adventure that's known to be a bit... rough at times, when it comes to what's being thrown at you. (I hear its pretty easy to die)

Devotion gets immunity to Charms, which includes Domination effects. The classic Paladin spells (useful, but NOTHING for AoE), and something to boost damage. I'd likely go 2H with GWM, concentrating on Bless and my Channel Divinity (Note: The CD turns my weapon magical, which could be very useful) to carve through enemies. But Ancients gets Moonbeam (Not AMAZING but some solid radiant damage), and it can mitigate spell damage. This would likely be sword and shield, likely Dex-based. Probably Eladrin to still get Fey Ancestry and Advantage VS Charms.

[Man_Over_Game]

My campaign is coming to an end, and the DM has agreed to run CoS next. Its something we've wanted to play for quite awhile.

Now, its no secret that the enemies in there include undead. Specifically Vampires. And its not a stretch to realize that Vampires can often Charm people.

However, its also not a stretch to realize that anyone who has read the MM sees that many Undead are also spellcasters... Looking at you, Flame Skull. You ****, you.

Its likely going to be a two person party. Myself and another player. We haven't discussed what classes and races we'd play yet. I'm here just spitballing ideas.

In a two person party, its tough to just say "Play what you want!" in an adventure that's known to be a bit... rough at times, when it comes to what's being thrown at you. (I hear its pretty easy to die)

Devotion gets immunity to Charms, which includes Domination effects. The classic Paladin spells (useful, but NOTHING for AoE), and something to boost damage. I'd likely go 2H with GWM, concentrating on Bless and my Channel Divinity (Note: The CD turns my weapon magical, which could be very useful) to carve through enemies. But Ancients gets Moonbeam (Not AMAZING but some solid radiant damage), and it can mitigate spell damage. This would likely be sword and shield, likely Dex-based. Probably Eladrin to still get Fey Ancestry and Advantage VS Charms.

Vengeance Paladin has a lot of the similar benefits that the Devotion gets, including the ability to increase accuracy and to Turn Undead/Demons. The bonus that they get is that you have several abilities that work with PAM, and you can regularly abuse Elven Accuracy. The added bonus is that you don't have much need for Charisma with this build, where the Devotion Paladin is pretty MAD. The Devotion Paladin is better with a party (with its aura and Beacon of Hope), but the Vengeance Paladin is better with fewer players (as it has more ways of dealing damage and relies on attacks and reach).




A solid option for a teammate would either be a Life Cleric or a Celestial Warlock.

The Life Cleric can abuse the relationship between Heavy Armor Master and Warding Bond, and Warding Bond and their level 6 feature. Warding Bond would make sure you don't ever die, and the Heavy Armor Master would mean that the damage that your friend takes is mitigated by 3 (as long as the attack was a non-magical attack). Their level 6 feature means that your friend can heal both of you with a single healing spell. This works really well so that you can focus on positioning and damage without having to worry about either of you falling in combat.

The Celestial Warlock has several options that increase Radiant damage and can consistently heal you as you be the group's frontline. If they grab the knockback Eldritch Blast invocation while you have Polearm Master + Sentinel + Vengeance Paladin features, you can consistently get several hits in before taking much damage. This works really well to take care of targets before they can be a threat, but is a little bit squishier against hordes that can overwhelm your reach. Because of this, both of you should focus on abilities that take out multiple targets quickly.

[Innocent_bystan]

. But Ancients gets Moonbeam (Not AMAZING but some solid radiant damage).
I am currently running CoS and my players have used Moonbeam to great effect. Do not underestimate that spell.

[Ganymede]

My campaign is coming to an end, and the DM has agreed to run CoS next. Its something we've wanted to play for quite awhile.

Now, its no secret that the enemies in there include undead.

You're not going to fail the adventure just because you neglected to hyper-optimize against undead.

Just pick the oath that you think will tell a better story and stop worrying about whether you're gonna lose the campaign before character creation is done.

[Angelalex242]

Devotion is optimal for CoS.

Ancients is optimal in general. So if he's going to run anything AFTER CoS...

[JakOfAllTirades]

Anything that specializes in killing undead will wreck face in CoS.

Note that there are quite a few non-undead encounters, so don't over-specialize.

[jaappleton]

Looks like we’re rocking Light Cleric and Devotion Paladin.

A nice combo. Not much for stealth, but there’s going to be downsides no matter what.

Thinking of going Tiefling Paladin, maybe, for the Fire Resistance. I may end up getting caught in the blast of a little friendly fire, plus I’ve heard there’s plenty of Flame Skulls. Or Dragonborn, that works too.

[Trustypeaches]

I think you'll be fine with any kind of paladin between Divine Sense and Divine Smite.

I think Oath of Devotion will be better early on cause Sacred Weapon and Turn the Undead. Also Aura of Devotion will protect your allies from Vampire's charming which can be annoying, although between you and the cleric both being proficient in wisdom saving throws and likely having an additional +3/4 from Aura of Protection, I doubt that's much a real threat anyways.

[TerakasTaranath]

Devotion is your most optimal option however don't be afraid to play any paladin you want. All oaths work well in Barovia and if RP is your thing I'd suggest picking your oath based on RP. I had a vengeance paladin and evocation wizard in my party of 2 when I ran CoS and they did just fine long as they were smart. I also used Ismark (you'll meet him right away) to help them, but he was only an ok fighter.

Sum up: Devotion is most "optimal" but pick the oath you like the most for RP, you'll enjoy it more. Paladins in general will do great in all games and in CoS.

[jaappleton]

I was originally going to go GWM with VHuman.

However, I realized it’ll take awhile to actually set it up properly with Devotion.

Bless as my Action
Faerie Fire from the Light Cleric

That’s a full round.

And Sacred Weapon is an action to activate.

With just two people, I have doubts that it’ll be worth the setup.

So now I’m heavily considering going PAM, for the bonus action attack. Now, this also opens up my Oath again.

GWM with Vengeance
PAM with any other