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    Default Violence as a Last Resort - A Guide to the Oath of Redemption Paladin

    Violence as a Last Resort - A Guide to the Oath of Redemption Paladin

    Introduction:

    Inspired by another terrific subclass guide The Wall of Fear: A Complete Guide to the Oath of Conquest by Legimus and the very useful Good is Not Nice: A Paladin's Guide by EvilAnagram I've had the idea churning around in my head for quite a while to make a guide on playing my personal favorite Paladin Subclass, the Oath of Redemption.

    Where most Paladins inspire hope through their righteous actions in crushing evil where it springs up and others become walls against the darkness that never fall, You've chosen the difficult path. Treading ground between the Light and the Darkness, you work tirelessly to bring those not too far lost to evil back into the light of good. Only those well and truly lost to evil will force your hands to violence.

    You're no fool, however. In situations of great peril and when faced with creatures that are inherently evil, your martial prowess is free to be unleashed. Despite your tendency towards diplomacy, never forget that you are still a champion of the light at heart. The Undead, Demons and Devils will not be spared your considerations. Those unwilling to repent for their wickedness will be dealt with similarly.

    This is a guide for those Paladins who believe that anyone can be a force for good, given the right motivation and a strong push to do better.

    Color Scheme
    • Features and Spells colored Sky Blue are part of your core build or too good to pass up in consideration.
    • Features and Spells colored Blue are altogether useful and should be high on your list of priorities.
    • Features and Spells colored Black are average. There's nothing wrong with them and you should take them in the event that a better option isn't available.
    • Features and Spells colored Red should be glossed over with minimal consideration, they're not for you.
    • Features and Spells colored Purple are situationally useful and should be looked at with additional context, such as Campaign or Party Composition in mind when you consider them.

    Disclaimer: As this is a class guide, you may see generally good Features or Spells rated lower on the scale than they usually would be. This doesn't mean that they are bad overall, simply that they may be less useful for Oath of Redemption. Naturally, the opposite will also be true in some cases.

    Table of Contents
    1. Character Creation and Subclass Overview
    2. Spells and Feats
    3. Your Role in the Party, When to React and Multiclassing

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    Default Re: Violence as a Last Resort - A Guide to the Oath of Redemption Paladin

    Character Creation and Subclass Overview

    Ability Scores
    • Strength: This is your preferred attack stat, although it's probably going to be a tertiary focus at best. You need a minimum of 15 here as Plate Armor is a necessary pickup.
    • Dexterity: Arguably the most important stat in 5E, you don't want a negative modifier here at least. If you prefer Dexterity as your main attack stat, consider this Blue and consider dumping Strength.
    • Constitution: Your hitpoints are more valuable with this subclass. They're a resource to be used and the more you have the better you do your job.
    • Intelligence: Intelligence is, unfortunately, not at all necessary for you.
    • Wisdom: It's strange to even consider dumping this stat, both mechanically and with roleplay in mind you should have a pretty decent score here. However, other ability scores may take priority depending on how your table determines starting ability scores.
    • Charisma: Some of your most powerful abilities key off this. You should look to maximize this stat.

    You're probably scratching your head at the two Sky Blue options listed. This is the first major hurdle in creating an Oath of Redemption Paladin, MADness (Multi Ability Dependant). As a support character, much of your battlefield control relies on your positioning and spells. You lack the strong passive area control that a Conquest Paladin has or the passive durability that an Oath of Ancients Paladin offers to a group. Constitution is vitally important to making the best possible use of Aura of the Guardian so if you really can't afford to maximize both Con and Cha as well as meet the minimum requirement of 15 Str, Charisma can be considered secondary.

    Class Features
    • Hit Points: 1d10 is very good.
    • Proficiencies: All the Armor, all the Weapons. The only note is that Persuasion is mandatory.
    • Saving Throws: Wisdom and Charisma, keeping with the theme of most classes you have a very common save proficiency and a rather uncommon one.
    • Divine Sense: Nothing wrong with this, although it may not see frequent use.
    • Lay on Hands: You're going to be using this a lot. It's functionally an extension of your effective hit points.
    • Fighting Style
      • Dueling: A solid choice, a flat bonus to damage is nothing to scoff at.
      • Great Weapon Fighting: Leave the Greatsword swinging to other Paladin oaths.
      • Protection: Taking a reaction with only a 5ft range, this competes too closely with Aura of the Guardian. However, if you've got a decent frontline then giving disadvantage to a strike might be more effective in preserving the hit points of both you and your allies.
      • Defense: Even with Aura of the Guardian we want to be the target of most attacks anyway so any boost to AC is a welcome one.
    • Divine Smite: You're still a Paladin and this is still one of the best uses of your spell slots.
    • Divine Health: Basically a ribbon ability.
    • Extra Attack: Ideally your action isn't being used to attack but when it is, this is great to have.
    • Aura of Protection making saving throws is important, with your above average Cha score you'll be making them often.
    • Aura of Courage: Becoming frightened can ruin your positioning in combat.
    • Improved Divine Smite: More damage is always good but damage isn't your focus.
    • Cleansing Touch: Aura of the Guardian can only block damage. If a spell happens to have a rider effect this is how you deal with it.


    Subclass Features
    • Channel Divinity
      • Emissary of Peace: +5 to persuasion for 10 minutes is pretty good for a party face and thematically appropriate for a Paladin whose goal is to convince people to side with good.
      • Rebuke the Violent: With a 30ft Range, this is a good way to make an enemy think twice about attacking a comrade of yours.
    • Aura of the Guardian: As far as I'm concerned this is your capstone ability. This makes the class function in the way that it does, without it you're not really capable of performing your role.
    • Protective Spirit: You should be below half of your hit point maximum if things are going well. Regenerative ability is very useful for someone who takes constant damage.
    • Emissary of Redemption: This ability is very strong and while the limitations may seem severe you're only rewarded more for following them. Choosing to ignore the limitations doesn't make it that much worse as it's a completely passive ability. The only reason it isn't Sky Blue is because the damage reduction doesn't work alongside Aura of the Guardian.


    Races
    Spoiler: Races (All official Listed Alphabetically and including Wayfinders Guide to Eberron)
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    Aarakocra:If your DM is allowing you to pick a race with natural flight, Winged Tiefling compltely edges this race out.
    Aasimar: With +2 Cha this is a viable choice.
    • Protector: Solid but not outstanding.
    • Scourge: Thematically not very appropriate but has a bonus to Con so it gets points for that.
    • Fallen: Mechanically it's a middling tier subrace for us, thematically it's a hard pass.
    • Variant: It's protector Aasimar with spells instead of Healing Hands and a transformation. Worse but not terrible.

    Bugbear: Works nicely for more offensive builds.
    Centaur: If your DM allows your party to use you as a mount then that's a fantastic place to put the ally you're aiming to protect most, otherwise it's no good.
    Changeling: The deception theme is counter to our goals but the racial features more than make up for it. Unsettling Visage paired with a +2 Cha makes this good.
    Dragoborn: If Dragonborn had Darkvision this would be an instant Sky Blue. Sadly they don't and Breath Weapon isn't a good enough compensation.
    Dwarf: +2 Con automatically puts this high on our list. Being unencumbered by Heavy Armor also mitigates MADness by a small degree.
    • Hill: More hitpoints and a boost to Wisdom, good.
    • Mountain: Barebones but it's a huge boost to two of your most sought after stats.
    • Duergar: Mostly a thematic choice although the racial spells are pretty useful.

    Elf: There are 3 subracess that will be listed here. If it's not listed here, consider it situational.
    • Wood: A +1 Wis is not what you want with a Dex build in mind. 5ft extra movement isn't completely wasted but boy Mask of the Wild sure is.
    • Shadar-Kai: +1 Con, once per rest teleportation with a nifty damage resistance attached. Passive Necrotic resistance is good too.
    • Eladrin[MToF]: Pretty embarrassed that I overlooked this one. It might just be your best option for a Dex build. A special nod goes to the Spring Form Fey Step which allows you to reposition a willing creature, very useful.

    Firbolg: Good racials, not very good ability score increases.
    Genasi: Can't say no to +2 Con
    • Air: Sure.
    • Earth: OK.
    • Fire: The worst one.
    • Water: Wisdom is nice, swimming speed and water breathing are situationally useful.

    Gith: The only consideration we make here is that Githzerai can cast Shield once per rest without components. It's not a lot, but it's usable.
    Gnome: With a +2 to Int it's already not looking good for us. Advantage on Int, Wis and Cha saving throws that are from magic doesn't make this good either.
    Goblin:Decent for a Dex build, otherwise unimpressive.
    Goliath: Natural Athletics proficiency is always useful and the stat distribution isn't bad. Even though Stone's Endurance doesn't stack with Aura of the Guardian it's always useful to have another reactionary way to influence your effective hit points.
    Half-Elf: Half-Elves are often considered the go-to for a Cha-based class. This is one of those times, everything it gives you is useful.
    Halfling: None of the subraces stand out. The only reason you'd want this is for the Lucky racial. With a +2 to Dex and your choice of +Con and +Cha though it can be workable for a Dex build.
    Half-Orc: Good bonuses and Relentless Endurance is quite possibly the best racial ability for this subclass.
    Hobgoblin: +2 Con is good, Saving Face is good but Intelligence is bad and the weapon and armor proficiencies are redundant.
    Human: Standard Human is fine.
    • Variant: Contender for top choice. Feats like Inspiring Leader and Tough that increase your effective hit points are fantastically useful. If those don't strike your fancy, there aren't very many flat out bad Feat choices, pick one that does.
    • Mark of the Sentinel: The only Dragonmarked Race we'll be listing, it's a flavorful pick that gives you another decent reaction option that can be situationally better than Aura of the Guardian.

    Kalashtar: a bonus to Cha and Wis and a floating bonus to either Str or Con is good. The best part however Psychic Glamour, which can be used to gain permanent advantage on persuasion checks to influence those you are redeeming or Insight to know for certain if someone is capable of being redeemed.
    Kenku: Annoying deceptive birds who can't talk.
    Kobold: A surprisingly good Dexterity build option. Grovel, Cower and Beg is a pretty useful support tool.
    Lizardfolk: One of my personal favorite races, unfortunately, the mental disposition of Lizardfolk make them not very good at redeeming. If you look past that though, solid choice.
    Loxodon: Natural Armor that keys off constitution gives you a decent starting point. Everything else is a bonus
    Minotaur: Strong offensive option with the option to start with natural Persuasion proficiency.
    Orc: This looks bad and for the most part it is pretty bad, however, any ability that lets you position more appropriately in combat is good and Aggressive will sometimes be able to do that.
    Simic Hybrid: Situationally useful Animal Enhancements and a versatile ability score increase option.
    Shifter: with the exception of the Beasthide subrace none of the options are very good. You do get a surprisingly large amount of temporary hit points from shifting, however.
    Tabaxi: Probably the second best Dexterity based option.
    Tiefling: +2 Cha and innate spellcasting make this good.
    • Feral: Absolutely not, a strictly worse version of standard Tiefling as far as this build is concerned.
    • Devil's Tongue: Good face pick
    • Hellfire: AoE is a weakness for this build so even a small amount of it from Burning Hands is welcome. It helps that Hellish Rebuke is potentially one of the worst uses of your reaction so losing access to it is worth it.
    • Winged: We kind of want Heavy Armor but the strength of a +2 Cha with natural flight is undeniable.
    • Levistus: This is the only MToF variant we're going to list here. Armor of Agathys is a fantastic pickup and it changes your useless +Int to a +Con.

    Tortle: If you could take reactions while using Shell Defense this would be a fantastic choice. It doesn't work though, so it's not very good. The Natural Armor is close enough to Plate Armor if you're into that.
    Triton: A +1 to each and every one of your required stats. The only downside is that you're pretty generic. We don't care about that though, do we?
    Vedalken: The only useful feature is Vedalken Dispassion and that doesn't do enough to make this any good to us.
    Warforged: +1 Con, enormous natural AC and the ability to remain conscious during long rests. No bad options.
    • Envoy: You're built for the job with a +1 to each of your required stats (with the option of a Dex or Str Build) couple that with free proficiencies and expertise with a tool of your choice and you've got an extremely solid race.
    • Scout: Generic Dex build material. An extra 5ft of movement is enough of a push in my mind to put it above situational.
    • Juggernaut: Second only to Half-Orc in terms of strength and durability.

    Yuan-Ti Pureblood: It's always been funny to me that a race that should be so beyond redemption works so well as a Paladin. Intelligence is wasted but Magic Resistance makes up for it in spades.
    Last edited by ProsecutorGodot; 2019-03-11 at 10:02 PM.

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    Default Re: Violence as a Last Resort - A Guide to the Oath of Redemption Paladin

    Spells and Feats

    Oath Spells
    Spoiler: Oath Spells
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    • Sanctuary:A sidegrade to Shield of Faith in my opinion. Much less useful since the 2019 errata.
    • Sleep:I'm obligated to inform you that this spell becomes pretty bad at later levels.
    • Calm Emotions: This is more of an out of combat spell, however, it does have limited use in countering widespread charm or fear effects.
    • Hold Person:Nothing bad about auto crits
    • Counterspell:A fantastic use of your reaction to prevent damage but 3rd level spells are scarce for you and you're not quite as good at counterspelling as a full caster would be.
    • Hypnotic Pattern:For the level of this spell it sure does a lot.
    • Otiluke's Resilient Sphere:: It's like a localized Wall of Force. Ask your DM if you're able to make use of Aura of the Guardian from inside the sphere.
    • Stoneskin: Personal hot take, I don't like this spell. You've got better things to concentrate on to mitigate damage.
    • Hold Monster: When the chips are down on the table and it's just you, your friends and the BBEG this could make the fight.
    • Wall of Force: This is often considered one of the best area control spells in 5E. It very well might be.




    Paladin Spells

    Spoiler: 1st Level Spells
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    • Bless: This will be what you're concentrating on in most cases.
    • Ceremony: Thematically this is a very cool spell. In practice I've never personally had a good enough excuse to use it.
    • Command: This is one of your most useful tools in shaping the battlefield to your advantage.
    • Compelled Duel: Make sure your party knows the exact functionality of this spell. I can't begin to express my frustration with how many times my party has immediately ended the spell by targetting the creature that I cast this spell on.
    • Cure Wounds: It's not as good as Lay on Hands but can be essential in some cases.
    • Detect Evil & Good: Just use Divine Sense.
    • Detect Magic (ritual): This is more for the full casters to prepare but if they don't have it you should.
    • Detect Poison & Disease: Really situational. You will almost never need it.
    • Divine Favor: It's not worth your concentration.
    • Heroism: we've talked a bit about how useful effective HP is for this build. Upcasting this is pretty effective for this build
    • Protection From Evil & Good: Only worth your concentration if you know you're going to be fighting certain types of creatures.
    • Purify Food & Drink (ritual): Same as the detection spells.
    • Searing Smite: Decent damage, easy to use.
    • Shield of Faith: Use your own personal judgement to decide if +2 AC is worth your concentration. In some cases this can push an ally far enough out of the to hit range of a creature that it will be.
    • Thunderous Smite: Good crowd control option.
    • Wrathful Smite: Single-target fear on demand, but that's not what we're trying to work with.

    Spoiler: 2nd Level Spells
    Show
    • Aid: There's that effective hit point buffing again, do it.
    • Branding Smite: Decent damage and it scales, but lackluster if you’re not fighting invisible enemies.
    • Find Steed: Even if you never use this spell it's still always worth considering.
    • Lesser Restoration: Sometimes you need this.
    • Locate Object: Highly situational.
    • Magic Weapon: Good to have, sometimes mandatory.
    • Protection from Poison: If your party’s dealing with poisonous things, this is for you. Stacks well with Aura of the Guardian in preventing the poisoned condition.
    • Zone of Truth: Thematically appropriate and ups your chances of getting a straight answer out of a less cooperative creature.

    Spoiler: 3rd Level Spells
    Show
    • Aura of Vitality: Bonus action healing is good, even if it's a bit on the small side.
    • Blinding Smite: Damage is not for you but Blinding an enemy can prevent damage.
    • Create Food & Water: If your DM is checking up on your eating habits you probably already stocked up on rations.
    • Crusader’s Mantle: The offensive counterpart to Aura of Vitality. Worth considering.
    • Daylight: Fantastic against Sunlight Sensitive creatures, dispels most darkness. Still situational.
    • Dispel Magic: Very powerful, very important, and very likely that one of your casters has this prepared.
    • Elemental Weapon: Cast it on an Ally, maybe.
    • Magic Circle:You probably won't use this.
    • Remove Curse: Everyone needs a good curse-breaker.
    • Revivify: You can't take all the damage and sometimes people go down, you need this.

    Spoiler: 4th Level Spells
    Show
    • Aura of Life: Altogether good but not great. It's a ranged pick me up on unconscious allies though.
    • Aura of Purity: It looks pretty limited in use but sometimes it's going to be what you need.
    • Banishment: Make an enemy disappear for a minute or gets rid of them altogether.
    • Death Ward: The best kind of prevention you have against death.
    • Find Greater Steed: Flying Mount.
    • Locate Creature: Like Locate Object. Useful, but situational.
    • Staggering Smite: We like this for the debuffs.

    Spoiler: 5th Level Spells
    Show
    • Banishing Smite: Considerable damage and control, a good use of this spell slot.
    • Circle of Power: A great preventative measure against spells. Become a mini Ancients Paladin
    • Destructive Wave: We're lucky this spell allows us to choose targets otherwise we'd be avoiding it. AoE Prone with significant damage attached.
    • Dispel Evil & Good: Pretty situational but not so situational as to get a purple rating.
    • Geas: Use it on a stubborn creature to help push them towards redemption or yourself to convince them that your word is true. Creativity is the goal of this spell.
    • Holy Weapon: Cast this on the Fighter's weapon.
    • Raise Dead: Don't prepare it until you need it, never forget that you have this.


    Feats

    Spoiler: Standard Feats
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    • Abberant Dragonmark: A bonus to Con and spellcasting that keys off Constitution. It's pretty comparable to Magic Initiate.
    • Alert: You can't react if you're surprised.
    • Athlete: Not for us.
    • Actor: Deception isn't our wheelhouse.
    • Charger: If I could rate this lower I would.
    • Crossbow Expert: You are a support. You are not ranged.
    • Defensive Duelist There are better uses for your reaction but a little extra AC is always welcome.
    • Dual Wielder: Unless you win the lottery and receive a pair of Defender to wield, leave this one alone.
    • Dungeon Delver: I like this feat a lot but you're not the trap man.
    • Durable: You want Con and you're going to be spending a lot of hit die throughout the day.
    • Elemental Adept: Even if we ignore the lack of elemental damage available to Paladin we're already hoping to not attack very often.
    • Grappler: Another way to subdue enemies is good.
    • Great Weapon Master: This is for the other Paladins.
    • Healer: More effective hit points.
    • Heavily Armored: Useless.
    • Heavy Armor Master: It doesn't stack with Aura of the Guardian but when you become the target of the attacks this is pretty good.
    • Inspiring Leader: Borderline required for this build. A very under appreciated feat.
    • Keen Mind: You dumped int and wanted to take this feat so that you wouldn't forget it.
    • Lightly Armored: Useless.
    • Linguist: You're going to be using Command a lot. This is for when common doesn't cut it.
    • Lucky: Make the enemies miss.
    • Mage Slayer: Not our thing.
    • Magic Initiate:There's no wrong choice with Magic Initiate.
    • Martial Adept: Some Maneuvers will looks appealing enought that you would consider taking this.
    • Medium Armor Master: Situationally as good as Heavy Armor.
    • Mobile: Your positioning is important but you probably are better off just holding firm where you're at.
    • Moderately Armored: Useless.
    • Mounted Combat: It's decent, if you're using Find Steed this is very appealing.
    • Observant: This is for the Rogue.
    • Polearm Master If you've settled on a Quarterstaff or Spear as your weapon this is good
    • Resilient: Constitution saving throw proficiency.
    • Ritual Caster: Plenty of useful rituals out there.
    • Savage Attacker: The name and purpose of this feat should give you enough of a red flag.
    • Sentinel: The only thing keeping this from being sky blue is that it's yet another use of your reaction, however, this one will be the least likely to mitigate any damage. If you plan to be a more offensive focused Redemption Paladin, go ahead and consider it great
    • Sharpshooter: Absolutely nothing about this is for us.
    • Shield Master:Damage mitigation and crowd control. Speak with your DM about utilizing the bonus action.
    • Skilled: You can get proficiency in all of those flavorful skills that you dumped the ability score it was associated with.
    • Skulker: You don't sneak.
    • Spell Sniper: No thanks.
    • Tavern Brawler: Lets you use your shield as a weapon.
    • Tough: If your ability scores are looking satisfactory, pick this up.
    • War Caster: You’ll be maintaining concentration often, so this can do a lot for you.
    • Weapon Master: Useless

    Spoiler: Racial Feats
    Show
    • Bountiful Luck [Halfling]: The one saving grace from choosing Halfling is marginally more useful.
    • Dragon Fear [Dragonborn]: We're trying to inspire hope, not fear.
    • Dragon Hide [Dragonborn]: Really not useful, Dex build maybe?
    • Drow High Magic [Drow]: it's okay.
    • Dwarven Fortitude [Dwarf]: Combine with Durable and you're a super tank.
    • Elven Accuracy [Elf & half-elf]: It's worth considering even though you won't be making attack rolls very often.
    • Fade Away [Gnome]: No Gnomes.
    • Fey Teleportation [High Elf]: If you absolutely had to play a High Elf, this is really good.
    • Flames of Phlegethos [Tiefling]: +1 cha and an okay feat means good.
    • Infernal Constitution [Tiefling]: Even though damage resistance doesn't work with Aura of the Guardian this is good to have.
    • Orcish Fury [Half-Orc]: Pass.
    • Prodigy [Human and half-humans]: Versatile, allows expertise in Persuasion or Insight.
    • Revenant Blade:Even if you rolled an Elf this requires you to use a two-handed weapon, which you shouldn't be doing.
    • Second Chance [Halfling]: Not terrible, not great. You can annoy your DM into attack you more often by stacking this with Lucky though.
    • Squat Nimbleness [Dwarf & small races]: Escaping grapples is good.
    • Wood Elf Magic [Wood Elf]: No thanks.
    Last edited by ProsecutorGodot; 2019-07-15 at 10:00 AM.

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    Default Re: Violence as a Last Resort - A Guide to the Oath of Redemption Paladin

    Your Role in the Party, When to React and Multiclassing

    Your Role
    Above all else, as a Redemption Paladin, you are a support class. Your best work shows when you allow the other party members to shine brightly. Your secondary role is as a tank. You have decent area control spells and you're effective at keeping your party alive by just standing around. Spells like Command, Bless and Hypnotic Pattern will see frequent use. You should also advocate for frequent Short Resting, as you will be spending many hit dice throughout your career.

    Consider taking a leadership role so that you can effectively guide your party members into advantageous positions. The most important thing is that you always remain close to an ally, your potential is wasted if you ever wander off on your own. Identify which of your allies is most likely to shine in an encounter and position yourself accordingly.
    • In encounters with many enemies present you want to position yourself next to the party member with the most amount of area control. Sorcerers and Wizards are most likely to fit this category with spells like Fireball, Storm Sphere and Synaptic Static. As the encounter winds down you want to transition yourself to protecting the following groups:
    • In encounters with many minions and a singular (or duo) Big Bad, you have two priorities.
      • Stick with your DPR classes, such as the Fighter, Rogue or Paladin
      • Stick with your buffers, such as Cleric, Bard or Sorcerer
    • The lowest on the priority list are your mobile fighters and tanks, such as Monk, Barbarian or Paladin. They don't really need your protection and in the case of Monk, you'd only limit their flexibility. Stay within 40 or so feet from them so that you could move to help them if necessary.
    • Yourself. Don't put yourself into outrageously dangerous scenarios to defend someone. You're no good to the party dead.


    When to React
    The most important aspect of this subclass to utilize is Aura of the Guardian. For us to fully make use of this feature, we need to understand it's strengths and limitations.
    Starting at 7th level, you can shield others from harm at the cost of your own health. When a creature within 10 feet of you takes damage, you can use your reaction to magically take that damage, instead of that creature taking it. This feature doesn’t transfer any other effects that might accompany the damage, and this damage can’t be reduced in any way.
    Take note of the downsides, as they are the most likely reason that you might choose not to react.
    • This feature doesn’t transfer any other effects that might accompany the damage
    • This damage can’t be reduced in any way.

    Strengths
    • You're the Wizards best friend. Using your reaction to take a blow for him serves the dual purpose of keeping his powerful magic available for the party to benefit from as well as preventing him from having to make constitution saving throw to maintain concentration on a spell.

      If there's a vitally important concentration spell being cast, your top priority should shift to maintaining it.
    • Your presence draws attention in combat. Whether you're taking the damage using your reaction or by being physically attacked on your own, you're doing your part.
    • If your party is caught in an Area of Effect spell you can take the risk of shouldering twice the burden. Keep note of which party members fail a saving throw and decide whether or not it's worth taking their share of the damage.


    Weaknesses
    • The most likely problem you'll run into is poisoned weapons, or attacks with secondary effects. You can take the damage without issue, however, the poisoned condition that follows is something you can not. With some poisons being as benign (comparatively) as simply giving the Poisoned Condition, some can be as dangerous as Incapacitating or Paralyzing. In cases where you would be dealing with attacks like this your reaction may be better used for the Protection Fighting Style or Rebuke the Violent.
    • The damage you choose to take can't be reduced. Resistance, Flat Damage Reduction and even Immunity won't prevent you from taking the full brunt of the damage. Unfortunately, with a strict RAW reading your target having those features won't reduce the damage you take either since they never took the damage and had no opportunity to reduce it.


    Solutions
    Think of your hit points as a resource to be spent. If you're not consistently spending your hit points that only means you could be doing more. Even if you only have a single hit point remaining it can block an entire attack.

    Buffer your hit points with spells such as Aid, Heroism and Death Ward. Inspiring Leader and Healer are also quite useful in giving you additional per rest resources and Tough gives you a scaling increase to your most useful resource. By level 15 your goal is to be hovering around half of your maximum hitpoints during extended encounters so that you can make the most use out of all of your sustainability.

    Be conservative with your healing options. You should be quite hardy and unless you're at risk of being dealt a killing blow you should avoid healing yourself or allies. Lay on Hands is a great use of your action in combat if you're dealing with a singular hard hitting threat and Aura of Vitality is a good spell to maintain concentration on if you're dealing with a swarm of enemies.

    The best way for you to deal with things is to react to them afterward. There are only so many preventative measures you can take and if you can't adapt to an encounter shifting in one way or another you run the risk of wasting resources or being too aggressive in your use of Aura of the Guardian.

    Multiclassing
    There are a few important details to keep in mind about Multiclassing
    • Str 13 is required unless your home game allows prerequisites to be ignored.
    • Do not under any circumstances* multiclass prior to level 7
    • Avoid further MADness. You're already focusing heavily on 3 different ability scores, if any class option that you choose involves the need for a 4th you should think carefully on whether the class features you gain in return are worth that much of a commitment.
    • Avoid taking more than 2 levels outside of Paladin. Increasing the range of Aura of the Guardian is an incredible power spike, increasing your presence on the battlefield.


    Spoiler: Multiclassing
    Show
    • Barbarian: You can't concentrate on spells, have a worse AC with unarmored defense and lose out on just about every benefit to raging.
    • Bard: If you're willing to give up the increased aura radius potential that Paladin 18 would give you, Lore or Glamour Bard 3 offers you fantastic support abilities in the form of Cutting Words and Mantle of Majesty. Couple that with Bard's solid early game class features and you've got yourself a Sky Blue.
    • Cleric: It's pretty mad but dipping Order Cleric gives an offensive bonus to your Bless spell. Order's Demand was nerfed since the UA but can still be a useful tool in some cases.
    • Druid: There's not a lot here for us. Shepherd Druid offers a pretty small amount of temp HP and healing spirit is on this spell list. That's about it.
    • Fighter: There's nothing wrong about Fighter but as a support Action Surge just doesn't seem as appealing.
    • Monk:Multiclass MAD into MAD is just all kinds of wrong.
    • Ranger:Unfortunately you miss out on a subclass if you want to maintain the increased aura radius dream. You don't gain a lot to compensate for it either.
    • Rogue:Cunning action is a great way to use your bonus action and expertise is always fun. Only consider this if you really need someone who can open up a locked loot chest. You probably have a Wizard who can do that for you though.
    • Sorcerer:: Normally this would be the single best Nova multiclass in the game. Since Nova damage isn't even on our Radar it becomes just a good choice. Draconic Ancestry can give us a small bonus to HP with the added spellcasting strength or Divine Soul/Shadow Magic can be used to up our survivability.
    • Warlock: dipping Warlock is famous for being too easy. Hexblade only compounds on that problem. Look below this for a summary written by Legimus on exactly what Hexblade is a Gold Tier multiclass.
    • Wizard: I let you take Keen Mind anyway and you still forgot that Intelligence is not for you.



    Spoiler: The Big "*" - Hexblade Warlock (A summary of why Hexblade is so good for Paladin written by Legimus)
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    Foreword: I urge you again to visit and read through The Wall of Fear: A Complete Guide to the Oath of Conquest if you haven't already done so. This summary below was written by Legimus. I could have written down my own summary of why Hexblade is so invaluable for this subclass build but every point would be an echo of what has already been outlined here.

    The Hexblade is probably the strongest and most versatile subclass to come out of Xanathar’s Guide to Everything. Its multiclassing potential is borderline outrageous. Just one level into Hexblade gets you:
    • Hexblade’s Curse, for better criticals and scary bonus attack damage.
    • Hex Warrior, which basically means you don’t have to worry about STR anymore.

    The warlock is already a solid pick to multiclass into, but Hexblade instantly turns you from a MAD character to a SAD one. Normally you would use three or four of your ASIs to max out CHA and round out STR. With Hexblade you can stop at 15 STR, just enough to wear plate. This means you can easily afford three feats with your remaining ASIs. If you take four levels, you still get all your ASIs, a Pact Boon, and two Eldritch Invocations.

    If I’m being honest, I’m tempted to rate this gold instead of sky blue. So long as you don’t multiclass until after level 8, I think Conquest 19 / Hexblade 1 is almost universally superior to Conquest 20. The only thing level 20 gets you is Invincible Conqueror, and I’ll grant it’s one of the best capstones. But Hex Warrior makes everything before level 20 so much easier for you. You will do more a lot more damage, have more feats, get access to two great cantrips (Booming Blade and Eldritch Blast), and have a short rest spell slot to use for divine smites, Shield, or whatever you please. And losing Invincible Conqueror isn’t so terrible considering you have Hexblade’s Curse. To illustrate:
    • Assuming you have max STR and CHA at level 20 and are using a longsword, your standard attack is 1d8 (sword) + 1d8 (improved smite) + 5 (STR) ≈ 14. The standard 5% to crit adds 2d8 damage to one in every twenty attacks, which translates to an average of ~0.45 extra damage per hit. With two attacks, your average DPR is around 29.
    • If you pop Invincible Conqueror, you get a third attack and a 10% chance to crit. The bonus crit chance translates into ~0.9 extra damage per hit. 14.9 x 3 ≈ 45. This represents a 55% increase in damage output on a long rest.
    • If you use Hexblade’s Curse, you add your proficiency bonus (+6) to every hit, making your standard attack hit for ~20. The 10% chance to crit still only translates into ~0.9 extra damage per hit, so we’re looking at 20.9 x 2 ≈ 42. This is a 45% increase in damage output on a short rest.

    There’s a noticeable difference, and there are ways to widen that gap (e.g. factoring in Dueling), but it’s not as stark as you may think. Of course, Invincible Conqueror gives you more chances to pop smites, and resistance to all damage should not be overlooked. It’s incredibly strong. When you’re fighting the BBEG, it will undoubtedly be better to have a level 20 capstone than a level 1 subclass feature. But that is the only time it will be worth it.

    That one level into Hexblade also gives you access to Booming Blade. By level 20 it does an extra 3d8 damage to your target whether they move or not. With Hexblade’s Curse, using Booming Blade instead of attacking twice is 1d8 (sword) + 1d8 (improved smite) + 3d8 (BB) + 5 (CHA) + 6 (proficiency) ≈ 34. A 10% to crit translates into ~3 damage per hit, so one hit with BB gets you ~37 damage on average. But if your enemy is stupid enough to move, they take another 4d8 (~20), damage. At level 20 you’re going to run into a lot of enemies that are either resilient or outright immune to being frightened, so BB is a versatile tool for keeping them grounded.

    If you don’t think you’ll be making it all the way to level 20, you should seriously consider putting a level into Hexblade. And even if you think you will make it to level 20, Hex Warrior will make the journey there significantly easier.


    Thank you for taking the time to read through this Guide of mine, any and all feedback is appreciated.

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    Default Re: Violence as a Last Resort - A Guide to the Oath of Redemption Paladin

    Don't sleep on Dexterity-based Redemption Paladins. Or elves for that matter (especially MToF Eladrin). There's no way they should be rated red.

    Edit: You also shouldn't sleep on Emissary of Redemption.
    Quote Originally Posted by ProsecutorGodot View Post
    [*]Emissary of Redemption: This ability is a tough sell. Mechanically it's very powerful but its limitations are severe. Additionally, the damage reduction you receive from this doesn't function alongside Aura of the Guardian.
    • Before your turn comes up, you have Resistance to all damage and unusually good retribution damage.
    • In an encounter with multiple foes, you can go all out, wailing away on whichever foe you like, and still have Resistance and good retribution damage against every other creature in the encounter. Breaking the conditions only ends it for that one creature you just hit. Have fun holding off an army while eviscerating one at a time.
    • You can of course still use things like ally buffs or Wall of Force without breaking it.
    • Emissary of Redemption is passively active and not limited in uses/day.

    In other words, you can expect a lot of benefits from Emissary of Redemption even if you're going full aggro. Simply having it active until you make your move on any given foe is excellent.
    Last edited by LudicSavant; 2019-03-11 at 05:29 PM.
    Quote Originally Posted by ProsecutorGodot
    If statistics are the concern for game balance I can't think of a more worthwhile person for you to discuss it with, LudicSavant has provided this forum some of the single most useful tools in probability calculations and is a consistent source of sanity checking for this sort of thing.
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    Default Re: Violence as a Last Resort - A Guide to the Oath of Redemption Paladin

    Quote Originally Posted by LudicSavant View Post
    Don't sleep on Dexterity-based Redemption Paladins. Or elves for that matter (especially MToF Eladrin). There's no way they should be rated red.
    I'll be updating the races a bit in the following days. In my haste to get the guide posted I forgot about Eladrin and Shadar-Kai completely. Both would be very good for a dexterity build. I'll probably be adjusting my rating of Dexterity in general with more consideration taken towards the racial feats available for dex races.

    I'll fully admit to taking too hard a stance against it, hindsight and all that.
    Edit: You also shouldn't sleep on Emissary of Redemption.


    • Before your turn comes up, you have Resistance to all damage and unusually good retribution damage.
    • In an encounter with multiple foes, you can go all out, wailing away on whichever foe you like, and still have Resistance and good retribution damage against every other creature in the encounter. Breaking the conditions only ends it for that one creature you just hit. Have fun holding off an army while eviscerating one at a time.
    • You can of course still use things like ally buffs or Wall of Force without breaking it.
    • Emissary of Redemption is passively active and not limited in uses/day.

    In other words, you can expect a lot of benefits from Emissary of Redemption even if you're going full aggro. Simply having it active until you make your move on any given foe is excellent.
    My line between purple ratings and black/blue isn't that far. I'll probably adjust the rating, if only to emphasize that it's a very powerful feature that (much like Aura of the Guardian) can shift your priorities.

    I may have put too much weight in a potential Hexblade dip meaning that you may never get this feature but I realize that rating a class feature with optional rules in mind is a mistake.

    The feedback is very much appreciated, one players point of view doesn't make a very good guide.

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    Default Re: Violence as a Last Resort - A Guide to the Oath of Redemption Paladin

    Quote Originally Posted by ProsecutorGodot View Post
    The feedback is very much appreciated, one players point of view doesn't make a very good guide.
    Happy to help.

    Quote Originally Posted by ProsecutorGodot View Post
    My line between purple ratings and black/blue isn't that far. I'll probably adjust the rating, if only to emphasize that it's a very powerful feature that (much like Aura of the Guardian) can shift your priorities.
    Okay. I just want to emphasize that it's not really situational and doesn't put severe limitations on you.

    Even if you choose to go full aggro and just play like a pure smite machine, it's an excellent ability just because of its usefulness against alpha strikes and multiple foes... both of which are pretty much the main existential threats at level 20. The value from that alone is enough to make it a great capstone, before you even count any benefits you'd get from shifting your priorities.

    And unlike so many Paladin capstones, it's action economy free.
    Last edited by LudicSavant; 2019-03-11 at 08:03 PM.
    Quote Originally Posted by ProsecutorGodot
    If statistics are the concern for game balance I can't think of a more worthwhile person for you to discuss it with, LudicSavant has provided this forum some of the single most useful tools in probability calculations and is a consistent source of sanity checking for this sort of thing.
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    Default Re: Violence as a Last Resort - A Guide to the Oath of Redemption Paladin

    While not optimal (SCAG half-drow dominates except for -1 skill), a Drow dexadin ought to hold its own with +2 DEX and +1 CHA. A redemption paladin of Eilistraee seems on-point.

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    Default Re: Violence as a Last Resort - A Guide to the Oath of Redemption Paladin

    Depending on starting level you might consider some Bard with Oathbreaker on a Dwarf.

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    Default Re: Violence as a Last Resort - A Guide to the Oath of Redemption Paladin

    The PHB Errata added Spears to polearm master, so ... I suggest you amend your feat description to ..

    Polearm Master If you've settled on a Quarterstaff or a Spear as your weapon this is good
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    Gosh, 2D8HP, you are so very correct!
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    Default Re: Violence as a Last Resort - A Guide to the Oath of Redemption Paladin

    Quote Originally Posted by Talionis View Post
    Depending on starting level you might consider some Bard with Oathbreaker on a Dwarf.
    This isn't a general Paladin Guide, this is a guide to a specific subclass. You can't take both the Redemption and Oathbreaker subclasses. That said I still wouldn't recommend multiclassing other than Hexblade. The build is focused around the Aura of the Guardian and any worthwhile dip into Bard will prevent you from getting your Aura increase at Paladin 18. Divine Soul Sorcerer is a better pick in my opinion and gives you reasonably powerful skills for a lower level investment.

    Quote Originally Posted by KorvinStarmast View Post
    The PHB Errata added Spears to polearm master, so ... I suggest you amend your feat description to ..

    Polearm Master If you've settled on a Quarterstaff or a Spear as your weapon this is good
    Fixed, thanks. The errata had already been done when I was writing this it had just slipped my mind.

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    Default Re: Violence as a Last Resort - A Guide to the Oath of Redemption Paladin

    Quote Originally Posted by OracularPoet View Post
    While not optimal (SCAG half-drow dominates except for -1 skill), a Drow dexadin ought to hold its own with +2 DEX and +1 CHA. A redemption paladin of Eilistraee seems on-point.
    Quite on point. With a good if not optimal mechanical fit for dex builds at least and strong thematic angle, drow probably warrant a nod in the main post. I probably wouldn't rate them higher than black personally, but still.

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    Default Re: Violence as a Last Resort - A Guide to the Oath of Redemption Paladin

    Quote Originally Posted by ProsecutorGodot View Post
    Fixed, thanks. The errata had already been done when I was writing this it had just slipped my mind.
    I like your guide. It's going to help me solve an in game problem, I think.

    I am currently dealing with a weird thing in - character. My NG Life Domain cleric just got pregnant (IC). My brother rolled a 100 while we were discussing her romantic fling (and now she's living in dump city) and we just looked at each other.

    The fates have decreed, it's gonna be a baby.

    We both agreed that she doesn't know it yet. The DM's going to keep track of days with some care and alert me to when she either (1) gets morning sickness or (2) perceives the heartbeat.

    At some point IC she needs to retire her for a while in the campaign. As a Life cleric, I've pondered her choices and arrived at an in character choice.
    She's gonna have the baby.
    DM and I discussed this at length. None of the other party members are aware and we're not gonna share it until (1) she's aware of this In-Character, and (2) she arrives at a point where she has to tell her companions "Guys, I have something to tell you" and off she goes after the big reveal.

    The neat part is that her religious order? I have already fleshed it out for my DM almost two years ago at character creation. I provided him a small temple, and a few NPC's. Her mentor, when I invented her, had a single magical item that has a wind walk spell on it. So she can send a message (sending spell) and her mentor may fly her home to give birth to and raise the baby is a safe place.

    DM has asked me to cast around for some other class PC to add in where my current PC's absence becomes a thing. We had a second player join and he too has a life cleric. So we'll add a different class to our party.

    My two ideas were
    some kind of Paladin,
    or a Celestial Warlock.

    Since my PC has been playing mostly as a support, I am more inclined to take on Redemption Paladin, rather than Celestial Warlock, now that I've gone through your guide. It's pretty darned good.
    Last edited by KorvinStarmast; 2019-07-15 at 01:27 PM.
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    Default Re: Violence as a Last Resort - A Guide to the Oath of Redemption Paladin

    Under Warlock you might consider Chain Warlock with the Gift of the EverLiving Ones. Being a Chain Warlock is still very possible with Hexblade.

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    Default Re: Violence as a Last Resort - A Guide to the Oath of Redemption Paladin

    Away from books so some of my readings might be off... but would fiend pact Warlock be a worthwhile dip for temp HP as well as the usual solid ranged options?

    Also, wondering f barbarian is underrated? Sure rage resistance doesn't work with absorbing damage from others but it can help make sure you go into critical fights with more HP to soak damage on, both in terms of resistance and a beefier HD for HP recovery. Ancestral guardian barbarian seems like it can add some ways to fulfil your role.

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    Default Re: Violence as a Last Resort - A Guide to the Oath of Redemption Paladin

    Quote Originally Posted by Talionis View Post
    Under Warlock you might consider Chain Warlock with the Gift of the EverLiving Ones. Being a Chain Warlock is still very possible with Hexblade.
    It's a tradeoff on whether you want the increased Aura Radius, I value the increase in that radius very highly because it helps to not have your allies clumped so closely together with you in those high end encounters.

    Quote Originally Posted by MrStabby View Post
    Away from books so some of my readings might be off... but would fiend pact Warlock be a worthwhile dip for temp HP as well as the usual solid ranged options?

    Also, wondering f barbarian is underrated? Sure rage resistance doesn't work with absorbing damage from others but it can help make sure you go into critical fights with more HP to soak damage on, both in terms of resistance and a beefier HD for HP recovery. Ancestral guardian barbarian seems like it can add some ways to fulfil your role.
    To the previous comment, as well as this first paragraph, Warlock in general is a very good multiclass option for this subclass (and Paladin in general) because of how low investment it is. Many of the features you would gain for taking a pact boon are also worth considering over an increase to the aura radius as they can turn on earlier. If your campaign isn't going to see past level 11-15 I would be all for a 3 level dip into almost any Warlock subclass.

    On the Barbarian note, it's pretty MAD already and Barbarian's have that problem innately. I wouldn't recommend Barbarian unless spellcasting is low on your list of priorities, I also don't think it's well suited for this subclass in general. Ancestral Guardians also overlaps heavily, if your goal is to make use of the Ancestral Guardians aura then I would recommend just playing a full Barbarian with that subclass rather than taking this Paladin subclass.

    To be clear, Paladin and Barbarian normally mix very well. This subclass just happens to focus on all of the aspects of Paladin that don't mesh with Barbarian. Since this is a guide intended for Oath of Redemption and not a general Paladin guide, I don't rate Barbarian multiclassing very highly, it's my opinion that you lose too much and the ability score requirements are too heavy.

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    Default Re: Violence as a Last Resort - A Guide to the Oath of Redemption Paladin

    I don’t disagree it’s a trade off but you have put other three level multi class dips in your guide. I think this is better than those dips, but I wouldn’t blame anyone for wanting the bigger radius for the aura. However after you gone 17 levels without the larger aura you kinda don’t need the larger aura.

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    Default Re: Violence as a Last Resort - A Guide to the Oath of Redemption Paladin

    Quote Originally Posted by Talionis View Post
    I don’t disagree it’s a trade off but you have put other three level multi class dips in your guide. I think this is better than those dips, but I wouldn’t blame anyone for wanting the bigger radius for the aura. However after you gone 17 levels without the larger aura you kinda don’t need the larger aura.
    I consider Bard and Warlock to be the best multiclass options for this subclass, just because I didn't list every 3 level dip doesn't mean I don't think they can be good. I rate the aura very highly because both Aura of Protection and Aura of the Guardian give you presence on the battlefield, increasing that zone of effectiveness helps mitigate the core weakness of those features, especially at high level play where more and more enemies can capitalize on your party being grouped up in a tight formation.

    If you're not getting to those higher levels to begin with though, I would definitely consider taking more levels in other classes.

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    Default Re: Violence as a Last Resort - A Guide to the Oath of Redemption Paladin

    I am curious would you consider this build good for Curse of Stradh?

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    Default Re: Violence as a Last Resort - A Guide to the Oath of Redemption Paladin

    Quote Originally Posted by TheeHarkness View Post
    I am curious would you consider this build good for Curse of Stradh?
    Not really, for two reasons:
    -The core of the build comes on late, other subclasses would offer you better early options (Devotion/Vengeance) or more useful auras (Devotion/Ancients)
    -Aura of the Guardian does not prevent effects caused by the attack you took. Curse of Strahd features monsters that can reduce your hitpoint maximum, and when you block attacks that do that you take needless damage as well as not entirely reducing the damage your ally took because their hit point maximum is still lowered.

    This second point is a bit ambiguous, but I believe that since the damage is still "taken" by the Redemption Paladin, the hit point reduction triggers.

    There are some good points in favor of the class though, despite the fact that I personally would prefer a Devotion/Vengeance Paladin for CoS:
    -Rebuke the Violent is a powerful source of radiant damage.
    -Calm Emotions as an Oath Spell can be used to overcome fear and charm effects for your allies.

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    Default Re: Violence as a Last Resort - A Guide to the Oath of Redemption Paladin

    Is Redemption really mostly about soaking damage with the aura? Like obviously you do other things, but that's the "bread-n-butter" of it?

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    Default Re: Violence as a Last Resort - A Guide to the Oath of Redemption Paladin

    I'm currently playing a redemption paladin (with a level in ghost in the machine warlock for some fun interactions in our campaign). I was wondering if someone much smarter than me could tell me how Oath of Redemption Paladin stacks up to the Cleric Unity Domain, do both fulfill the same role? Is one strictly better than the other in terms of sharing/taking damage intended for others. Or do both carve out their own niche?

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    Default Re: Violence as a Last Resort - A Guide to the Oath of Redemption Paladin

    Quote Originally Posted by Arcphage View Post
    I'm currently playing a redemption paladin (with a level in ghost in the machine warlock for some fun interactions in our campaign). I was wondering if someone much smarter than me could tell me how Oath of Redemption Paladin stacks up to the Cleric Unity Domain, do both fulfill the same role? Is one strictly better than the other in terms of sharing/taking damage intended for others. Or do both carve out their own niche?
    As far as the preventing damage schtick, Redemption is hands down better at protecting casters when it's in range, since it obviates the need for a concentration check at all. Unity has a better working range as well as actually reducing the overall damage dealt, but requires more active investment in the form of spell slots to keep bonds up, as well as actions to refresh them when they run out.

    It really comes down to this: if you have a tank that isn't using reactions regularly, Unity cleric will give them a good reaction to protect a given squishy. Redemption paladin will itself be a tank for the party, and can move to where it's needed at a given moment in the flow of battle.

    Also, Unity hasn't seen a published release yet, so we have will see if it changed some in Tasha's.
    All advice given with the caveat that you know your group better than I do. If that wasn't true, you'd be getting advice face-to-face. So I generalize.

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    are you asking us to do research into a setting you wrote yourself?

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    Default Re: Violence as a Last Resort - A Guide to the Oath of Redemption Paladin

    Quote Originally Posted by Hellpyre View Post
    As far as the preventing damage schtick, Redemption is hands down better at protecting casters when it's in range, since it obviates the need for a concentration check at all. Unity has a better working range as well as actually reducing the overall damage dealt, but requires more active investment in the form of spell slots to keep bonds up, as well as actions to refresh them when they run out.

    It really comes down to this: if you have a tank that isn't using reactions regularly, Unity cleric will give them a good reaction to protect a given squishy. Redemption paladin will itself be a tank for the party, and can move to where it's needed at a given moment in the flow of battle.

    Also, Unity hasn't seen a published release yet, so we have will see if it changed some in Tasha's.
    Awesome, thanks so much for the swift response. I'd been ummm-ing and ahhh-ing about this ever since the UA for Unity Domain was released. Now I know that Redemption is the way to go for our party.

    Whilst I love the aesthetic and playstyle of the Unity Domain. The party needs the mobile tank especially when our cleric and wizard are the ones to be consistently in danger during fights but are on opposite ends of the battlefield. Being able to adjust during the flow of battle is very fun

    I am very keen to see what pops up in Tasha's. Thanks again for clearing things up for me.

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    Default Re: Violence as a Last Resort - A Guide to the Oath of Redemption Paladin

    Can you adapt the third paragraph and rewrite undead to "non thinking or mechanically evil undead"
    Because there is kinds of undead that can be non evil(ex: ghosts) so the really problematic undead is stuff like skeletons, zombies, liches and so on that either can not think or are unable to live without causing terrific harm (liches eats souls).
    Also demons and devils can redeem: it is documented that they change type when they do so and that it is why there is only evil demons or devils but it also means they can stop being evil.
    Last edited by noob; 2020-10-12 at 01:40 PM.

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    Pixie in the Playground
     
    AssassinGuy

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    Feb 2021

    Default Re: Violence as a Last Resort - A Guide to the Oath of Redemption Paladin

    Playing a Redemption Pally for the first time any its easily one of my top 3 favorite builds i have played so far. Having hit level 7, i am wondering if anyone has ever tried a three level dip as a Warlock before? I know id be giving up the level 18 Aura range extension for the paladin, but the Pact of the Chain with the Gift of the Ever Living Ones eldritch evocation is a really tantalizing feature to have and seems like it has real potential for boosting my effective hitpoints in a fight.

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    Troll in the Playground
     
    ProsecutorGodot's Avatar

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    May 2017
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    Default Re: Violence as a Last Resort - A Guide to the Oath of Redemption Paladin

    Quote Originally Posted by MortiferusRosa View Post
    Playing a Redemption Pally for the first time any its easily one of my top 3 favorite builds i have played so far. Having hit level 7, i am wondering if anyone has ever tried a three level dip as a Warlock before? I know id be giving up the level 18 Aura range extension for the paladin, but the Pact of the Chain with the Gift of the Ever Living Ones eldritch evocation is a really tantalizing feature to have and seems like it has real potential for boosting my effective hitpoints in a fight.
    For my 18th level Paladin16/Hexblade2 I had been considering doing so, I have the fortune here of knowing that my campaign will hit 20th level so I can guarantee I will see this aura increase instead. I've taken Durable and carry a Periapt of Wound closure already. I like it as an option, I think it would be especially powerful if you can manage to get your hands on a Periapt of Wound Closure to maximize your short rest healing.

    As far as combat healing is concerned I'm not sure, it does pair well with Protective Spirit and Paladin does have some healing spells, however your most powerful in combat healing abilities are Lay on Hands which involves no dice or Aura of Vitality which you generally wish to avoid using on yourself and also has a small die size. I would say it's probably not that bad a choice if you know you won't be getting the 18th level aura increase, Warlock 3 does offer a lot. Paladin 7/Warlock 3 seems alright here.

  28. - Top - End - #28
    Pixie in the Playground
     
    AssassinGuy

    Join Date
    Feb 2021

    Default Re: Violence as a Last Resort - A Guide to the Oath of Redemption Paladin

    So, my DM has allowed us to optional features in TCoE and i decided to give the Blessed Warrior fighting style a go instead of multiclassing warlock at the moment. The long and short of it is... dang that fighting style works wonders.

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