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TheDungeons & DragonsPaladin’s defining class feature is the oath they swear to uphold no matter what kind of challenges or evils they face. While these oaths may differ in the tenets they value most, all Paladin oaths support the cause of righteousness, the protection of the weak, and the pursuit of justice.
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However, these oaths sometimes prove too lofty or cumbersome for certain Paladins to champion. In cases where a Paladin not only breaks their oath but chooses to forsake it instead of seeking forgiveness, an Oathbreaker is born, and the light that Paladin once brought to the world turns to the service of darkness.
The Best Species Options For An Oathbreaker Paladin
As always, thefeatyou get at level 1 from bothVariant Human and Tasha’s Custom Lineage makes these species strongerthan any other benefit you might receive from choosing another species. Thankfully, many dungeon masters run games witha homebrew rule that provides all species with a free feat at level 1.
If you are lucky enough to play in such a game, the species to consider as your frontrunners areChromatic Dragonborn, Aasimar, Half-Elf, Eladrin, Orc, Githyanki, Tiefling,andShadar-Kai. As it just so happens, each of these species lends itself to roleplaying inspiration for an Oathbreaker.
They all have a dark sidethat can serve as a seed in the story of why your Paladin broke their oath.
Tiefling
The legacy Tiefling species, including the Mephistopheles Tiefling and the Zariel Tiefling, are incredibly good choices if your dungeon master allows them.
The Best Ability Scores For An Oathbreaker Paladin
While popular opinion might convince you that Strength is the most important ability score for a Paladin,it’s actually Charisma. A Paladin’s attack rolls may be based on their Strength modifier, but thePaladin’s best feature is the 6th level ability Aura of Protection.
This aura provides all allies within 10 feet as well as the Paladin themselves witha bonus to saving throws equal to their Charisma modifier.
A +5 bonus to all saving throws for your entire party is much more impactful than increasing your chance to hit and damage. Granted, your party does need to stay within 10 feet of you to receive this boon.
Additionally,Charisma is the Paladin’s spellcasting ability score, so it’s not like you aren’t receiving other benefits from prioritizing this ability score over Strength. All of that being said,Strength is your next most important ability score.
Ideally, you’ll be able to maximize your Charisma and Strength scores at some point in your character’s career. However, this won’t be possible for all character builds.
There’s also a way to builda Dexterity-based Paladininstead of a Strength one. If that’s your goal, swap instances of Strength in this guide with those of Dexterity and vice versa.
Constitution is your third most important ability score, and you should aim to acquire a Constitution score of 14 pretty early on. Paladins are melee characters and benefit greatly from a deeper hit point pool.
The Paladin is one of the most demanding classes when it comes to raw stats. If you’re rolling for stats, don’t play a Paladin unless you roll well in three stats.
Whether you want to valueWisdom or Dexteritymore as your next stat is debatable, buteither choice is ultimately fine. A higher Wisdom score will help you with ability checks and resisting enemy saves.
Meanwhile, a higher Dexterity will better your initiative.Wisdom resonates more with the Paladin’s abilities,but choosing Dexterity is totally fine as well.
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The Best Feats For An Oathbreaker Paladin
On top of juggling three ability scores, Paladins also want to grab at least acouple of feats. The most important among them isGreat Weapon Master. This feat will allow you todeal many times more damage than you could otherwise.
It does require that you forgo a shield and wield a heavy weapon, but that’s rather thematically on point for an Oathbreaker anyways.
You can offset the -5 penalty Great Weapon Master gives to your attack rolls with the 1st level concentration spell Bless.
Whilemaintaining concentration on your spells is usually importantfor spellcasters, the Paladin’s Aura of Protectionmakes maintaining concentrationeasy enough. Consequently, you don’t need to worry about picking up War Caster or Resilient (Constitution).
However, some other feats are worth considering if our ability scores allow another feat selection.
Sentinel
There are somefeats with species restrictionsthat also serve an Oathbreaker well. They include Dragon Fear (Dragonborn), Fey Teleportation (Elf), Elven Accuracy (Elf or Half-Elf), and Infernal Constitution (Tiefling).
The Best Spells And Smites An Oathbreaker Paladin Can Use
Paladins may be half-casters that use a lot of their spell slots on divine smites, but that doesn’t mean thattheir spell selectionisn’t important. In fact,there are some key spells that you’ll absolutely want to havefor your Oathbreaker. Below is a table of the most crucial ones.
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
No
The combination ofBless with the Paladin’s Aura of Protectionmakes it nearly impossible for your party to fail their saving throws.
In addition to these spells, you also receive some unique Oathbreaker spells. The ones worth using includeHellish Rebuke, Darkness, Animate Dead, Bestow Curse, Confusion,andDominate Person.
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The Best Subclass Abilities Available To An Oathbreaker Paladin
The Oathbreaker’s subclass abilities are some of the coolest and most flavorful among all subclasses. That being said,some of them can be a bit situational. Your channel divinity provides you with two new options, both of which are incredibly powerful.
Control Dead
The first is control undead which allows you to, as an action, force an undead within 30 feet to make a Wisdom saving throw. If the undead fails that saving throw,it becomes your puppet for the next 24 hours and obeys your commands. This abilityonly works on undead whose challenge rating is equal to or less than your Paladin’s total level,though, sochoose your targets wisely.
Dreadful Aspect
The second is dreadful aspect, which allows you toinflict the frightened condition on all enemies within 30 feetthat can see you as long as they fail a Wisdom saving throw. While this ability is also very powerful, many enemies have completeimmunity to the frightened condition. Therefore, you need tobe smart in choosing your spots with this ability.
Aura Of Hate
Lastly, Aura of Hate increases your damage rolls by your Charisma modifier. This is yet another reason why we should maximize Charisma over Strength, especially in the case of an Oathbreaker. However, the real kicker here is that itincreases the damage rolls of all fiends and undead within 10 feet of you by your Charisma modifier.
While the Aura of Hate is meant to increase the damage of your allied fiends and undead, it also applies to enemy fiends and undead.
Thisempowers the undead you manage to mind control with your control undead ability and those you summon using the Animate Dead spell. Consequently, you’ll want tokeep a small army of undead at your beck and callat all times to make the most of your Aura of Hate. Don’t forget that these creatures benefit from your Aura of Protection too!
If you really want your undead army to slap, try casting Crusader’s Mantle.
Found only in the Dungeon Master’s Guide, the Oathbreaker Paladin subclass isone of the most narratively rewarding subclassesin all of Dungeons & Dragons. A Paladin’s fall from grace makes for an incredible character arc, and it’s one that any lover of fantasy will enjoy playing.
Beware, though:things don’t typically end well for bad guys—even the ones with the best of intentions.
