Spell-less Paladin
Figured I'd try my hand at a little homebrew. We already saw the Spell-less Ranger in the UA article, so figured I'd attempt a Spell-less Paladin using the same principles.
Lay on Hands
As described in Player's Handbook, except the total number of hit points you can restore between long rests is Paladin level x 10.
Designer's note: The Spell-less Paladin's Lay on Hands is doubled to make up for the loss of healing spells.
Combat Superiority
At 2nd level, you learn maneuvers that are fueled by special dice called superiority dice.
Maneuvers. You learn two maneuvers of your choice, which are chosen from the list of maneuvers available to fighters with the Battle Master archetype. Many maneuvers enhance an attack in some way. You can use only one maneuver per attack.
You learn one additional maneuver of your choice at 5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th levels. Each time you learn a new maneuver, you can also replace one maneuver you know with a different one.
Superiority Dice. You have four superiority dice, which are d8s. A superiority die is expended when you use it. You regain all of your expended superiority dice when you finish a short or long rest.
You gain another superiority die at 9th level and one more at 17th level.
Saving Throws. Some of your maneuvers require your target to make a saving throw to resist the maneuver’s effects. The saving throw DC is calculated as follows:
Maneuver save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength or Dexterity modifier (your choice)
Designer's note: Yes, this is ripped wholecloth from the Spell-less Ranger's version of Combat Superiority. It works.
Divine Smite
Starting at 2nd level, when you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you may expend one superiority die to deal radiant damage to the target, in addition to the weapon's damage. The extra damage is equal to 1d8 plus the superiority die you spent. The damage increases by 1d8 if the target is an undead or fiend. You may spend a superiority die for this feature even if you had already spent one for a maneuver on the same attack.
At 5th level, you may spend up to two superiority dice for this feature on one attack, adding the damage from all dice to the attack. At 9th level, you may spend up to three superiority dice for this feature on one attack in the same manner.
At 13th level, the extra damage from this feature increases to 2d8 plus the superiority dice you spent. The damage still increases by 1d8 if the target is an undead or fiend, as before.
Designer's note: This reworking of Divine Smite to work with short-rest recharge superiority dice, as opposed to long-rest recharge spell slots, is meant to be roughly on par with a Paladin/Warlock multiclass' use of the Warlock slots to smite.
Relentless
Starting at 17th level, when you roll initiative and have no superiority dice remaining, you regain 1 superiority die.
Designer's note: Yes, if you're keeping score, this essentially gives the Spell-less Paladin the equivalent of a 2nd-level smite always on hand. Probably making Relentless a tad more meaningful for this class than for the Battle Master Fighter or the Spell-less Ranger.
New Oath features
Designer's note: As with the spell-less Ranger, new features at 3rd, 9th and 13th level will be needed to make up for the loss of spells. (Relentless takes care of 17th level.) Fortunately, we see an easy way to make these new features via the Oaths, which normally get Oath Spells at these levels. These new features may not be the exact same benefits as these Oath spells and will attempt to be less overtly magical, but they will be designed to serve similar purposes.
Oath of Devotion
Devoted Bodyguard
Starting at 3rd level, you may use your reaction to move up to half your speed next to a creature who takes damage from an attack, spell, or trap. You reduce the total damage the creature took by half, and you take the other half of the total damage yourself. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks.
Designer's note: We want to give a solid ally protection option here to make up for the loss of Sanctuary and Protection from Good and Evil. This is a nice flavorful benefit that still essentially uses your hit points as its "limited resource."
Aura of Hope
Starting at 9th level, you and friendly creatures within 10 feet of you have advantage on death saving throws. If you are unconscious, you still retain this benefit, but you do not grant it to friendly creatures.
At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.
Designer's note: This is one aspect (arguably the most useful one) of Beacon of Hope.
Zealous Advance
Starting at 13th level, your movement is unaffected by difficult terrain, and you cannot be paralyzed or restrained by spells and other magical effects.
Designer's note: This is basically half of Freedom of Movement as a constant effect.
Oath of the Ancients
Thicket of Blades
Starting at 3rd level, any creature you hit with a weapon attack has its speed reduced by half until the end of its next turn.
Designer's note: Obviously, a constant benefit can't be quite as strong as the effect Ensnaring Strike provides, but for an Oath geared toward party defense, cutting down enemy movement as an at-will ability is pretty solid and within the spirit flavor-wise. (Plus it was an excuse to reuse the Tome of Battle-inspired ability name.)
Aura of Elemental Shielding
Starting at 9th level, you may choose one damage type: acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder. You and friendly creatures within 10 feet of you gain resistance to the damage type you choose. You must be conscious to grant this benefit. You may change the damage type at the end of a long rest.
At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.
Designer's note: Yeah, this is better than the actual spell Protection from Energy. But considering the Ancients Paladin loses a lot of anti-horde tools from its lack of Oath Spells, it needs something rather strong.
Uncanny Dodge
Starting at 13th level, when an attacker that you can see hits you with an attack, you can use your reaction to halve the attack's damage against you.
Designer's note: Same as the Rogue's 5th level or one of the Hunter Ranger's 15th-level options. It works to make up for the loss of Stoneskin, but I didn't quite want to go as far as making that a constant effect a la Oathbreaker or War Cleric.
Elder Champion
As in the Player's Handbook, except replace the second and third bullet points (related to paladin spells) with the following:
- Enemy creatures have disadvantage on all saving throws against your maneuvers and Channel Divinity options.
Oath of Vengeance
Vengeful Superiority
Starting at 3rd level, your superiority dice turn into d10s. In addition, any dice you roll in relation to the Divine Smite class feature are d10s.
At 11th level, your Improved Divine Smite class feature adds 1d10 extra radiant damage to all melee weapon attacks, instead of 1d8.
Designer's note: This damage boost is meant to reflect the Vengeance Paladin's damage advantage early on from Hunter's Mark.
Swift Avenger
Starting at 9th level, your speed is increased by 10 feet. You may move freely through enemy spaces but may not end your turn in an enemy's space. Enemies have disadvantage on all opportunity attacks against you.
Designer's note: Just a little extra speed, along with a couple movement-related benefits mainly to somewhat make up for the loss of any teleporting from Oath Spells.
Avenger's Action
Starting at 13th level, you gain an additional action on each of your turns. That action can be used only to take the Attack (one weapon attack only), Dash, Disengage, Hide, or Use an Object action. If a creature casts the spell Haste on you, you do not gain an additional action from that spell, but you do gain the spell's other effects.
Designer's note: The most visible benefit of Haste. (But note that you're still not getting the double speed, AC bonus, or DEX save advantage.) It's a way of giving the Vengeance Paladin 3 attacks/round, but it does not get doubled like the Fighter's third attack if say, the Vengeance Paladin were to dip 2 Fighter levels for Action Surge. Of course, being able to use that action to Dash or Hide also helps make up for loss of Dimension Door.
Oathbreaker
Smite of Darkness
Starting at 3rd level, you may deal necrotic instead of radiant damage when you use your Divine Smite class feature. Furthermore, any necrotic damage you deal ignores resistance to necrotic damage.
At 11th level, you may choose to deal necrotic instead of radiant damage with your Improved Divine Smite class feature. You must make this choice when you first gain the Improved Divine Smite feature, and the choice is permanent for as long as you remain an Oathbreaker.
Designer's note: A tricky one. Oathbreaker 1st-level spells kind of suck, but an option to smite with necrotic damage roughly matches up flavor-wise with Inflict Wounds. (Not that a traditional Spellcasting Oathbreaker uses that spell in place of a smite anyway.)
Curse Smite
Starting at 9th level, when you use your Divine Smite to deal necrotic damage, you inflict the equivalent of the Bestow Curse spell on your target. If the target fails a Wisdom save equal to your Channel Divinity DC, you may afflict the target with any one of that spell's usual options, or another effect with DM approval. The curse you inflict lasts 10 minutes, and you do not need to concentrate to maintain the curse. A Remove Curse spell ends this effect, as it does for the Bestow Curse spell.
Designer's note: Pretty self-explanatory, a direct replacement for the Oathbreaker's 3rd-level Oath Spell. It's stronger to start (longer duration, no concentration) than a 3rd-level Bestow Curse, but the duration can't be improved in any way, so its ceiling isn't as high as the spell.
Call Animated Undead
Starting at 13th level, when you are in an area with sufficient corpses or skeletal humanoid remains, you can release a call that raises up to eight skeletons or zombies, or any combination thereof that adds up to eight, within 1 mile of you to aid you. These skeletons or zombies approach you from their current location, and will fight alongside you, attacking any creatures that are hostile to you. They are friendly to you and your comrades, and you roll initiative for the called undead creatures as a group, which takes its own turns. The DM has the creatures’ statistics.
After 1 hour, these undead creatures return to their previous locations and cease to be animated. Once you use this feature, you cannot use it again in the same general area for 24 hours, since the same undead remains will not repeatedly heed your call.
Designer's note: I just ripped the Spell-less Ranger's Call Natural Allies feature and applied it to skeletons and zombies instead. It works as a limited, on-the-spot version of Animate Dead, which the Spellcasting Oathbreaker has as a 3rd-level Oath Spell.
|