Dungeons and Dragons: What Are Paladins
Having fun with a Paladin in D&D is good for both new and experienced players. This helpful guide will teach you all the important things about playing this class and what are paladins.
In Dungeons and Dragons, making your own character is super cool. You get to create someone completely new, choosing everything like their name, story, boy or girl, and even what kind of creature they are. Then you put them in a really cool make-believe world. But if you’re new, making a character might seem a little scary.
You can choose from twelve different groups, and some of them even have extra versions and changes to the already kind of tricky game numbers. The paladin is a special group because it has some really clear main things about it, but it can also do lots of different stuff. Let’s start our discussion about what are Paladins:
What are Paladins Look Like?
Paladins are fighters who do what they do because of their strong religious beliefs. They act based on their sense of being good and responsible, and they’re super loyal to their chosen god. This usually makes them want to help people and fight bad stuff whenever they see it, so people usually think of them as really good and following rules.
But some people make fun of them for always following rules so much that they seem not very smart. But that’s not always true. Paladins can actually have any kind of way they act. They can be a little crazy, or really bad. It all depends on who they worship and what they promised to do.
No matter what they pick, paladins have to stick to their special promise even when things get tough. This usually comes with really clear rules about how they should do what they want to do, but these rules can be different for each paladin.
A paladin who likes rules might make sure they never hurt regular people and try to make things fair. But a paladin who’s a bit wild might promise to beat up their enemies no matter what.
Strengths and Weaknesses
People might mix up paladins and clerics because they both have strong beliefs. But the big difference is that paladins are better at fighting, not just helping others. Paladins are good at wearing all kinds of armor and using simple and big weapons too.
This means they can pick lots of different things to fight with, like a brave warrior with a sword and shield or a tough warrior with two heavy flails.
Paladins have a neat bonus – they can use spells along with their fighting skills. While fighters who follow the “arcane knight” path can do this too, paladins are special because they can start using spells at level 2. They can’t use all their spells at once, but they can change them after a long rest, kind of like a sorcerer.
Some Paladin Examples:
- Bayek of Siwa from Assassin’s Creed: Origins
- King Arthur from Monty Python and the Holy Grail
- Lady Cassandra from Dragon Age: Inquisition
- Wonder Woman
- Obi-Wan Kenobi from the Star Wars prequel trilogy
- Samara from Mass Effect 2
- Pharah from Overwatch
Special Powers:
Magic Feeling: When a paladin reaches level 1, they can use magic feeling to figure out if there might be something dangerous nearby. This helps them know if there are strange creatures with special powers and if they’re good or bad. It’s super helpful when things are unclear or the group wants to find a monster.
Lay on Hands: When a paladin is at level 1, they can use their special power to heal by using some of their own health points. This is really good if there’s no cleric around. They can choose how much health to give to a friend. But they only have a certain amount of health they can use, and they can’t heal a lot because they have to rest to get more.
Divine Smite: Once a paladin gets to level 2, they can use their magic to make their melee attack even stronger. They use some of their spell power to do this.
Paladins have an important thing that makes them special. They make a serious promise, called an oath. They officially do this at level 3, but usually have an idea about it before that. Oaths are like the reasons they do what they do and how they do it.
Paladins can choose different promises to make. Some promise to be fair and help others, but there are lots of choices. These promises are like rules for them. It can be about not hurting certain people or being willing to do anything for their goals.
No matter what, paladins have to stick to their promises and do everything they can to keep them.
Different Promises to Choose From
There are a few promises a paladin can pick:
- Promise of Doing Good: These paladins really like fairness and helping others.
- Promise of Nature: They promise to take care of the world and keep it beautiful even when it’s dark.
- Promise of Revenge: If someone hurt them, they promise to make that person pay.
- Promise of Rulers: They promise to follow rules and be loyal to a king or country.
- Promise of Crushing: They want to beat their enemies really hard.
- Promise of Changing Hearts: They promise to see good in people and help them be better, using fighting as a last choice.
- Promise of Glory: They promise to do amazing things that people will always remember.
Making a Paladin
To make a paladin, it’s good to know who they are. Think about where they came from and what they want to do.
It’s important to understand why a paladin does what they do. Some paladins want revenge because something bad happened to them. Others want to be fair because they saw unfairness. And some want to help others because they saw people being kind.
Once you know who the paladin is, the next thing is picking a god they believe in. There are many gods, but it’s best to pick one that matches what the paladin wants.
For example, it wouldn’t make sense for a paladin who wants revenge to follow a god of peace. Or a paladin who wants to be kind to follow a god of revenge. Also, think about how the paladin talks to their god. Do they talk often, or does the god show up sometimes? And what does the paladin think about their god?
Some FAQs
What are Paladins?
Paladins is a free-to-play, hero shooter developed and published by Hi-Rez Studios. It is a team-based game where players choose from a variety of champions to battle each other in objective-based game modes.
How many champions are there in Paladins?
There are currently over 50 champions available in Paladins. Each champion has their own unique abilities and playstyle.
Is Paladins a pay-to-win game?
Paladins is not a pay-to-win game. All champions can be unlocked with in-game currency, and there are no items that give players a significant advantage.
