Paladin Guide - D&D 2024 (5.5)

What a 2024 Paladin brings to the table

The Paladin is a durable melee character whose strongest party contribution is often prevention rather than damage: a saving-throw bonus in the right place, a condition removed before it costs a turn, or a healing pool used to get an ally back into the fight. The class still has weapon attacks and prepared spells, but its best turns depend on positioning around the party as much as on reaching an enemy.

Build a reliable front line, then select an oath that gives that front line a specific job. The approved source set has five oaths. Four are in the Player's Handbook 2024; the elemental Oath of the Noble Genies is in Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerun.

Core Paladin decisions

Ability scores and equipment

Strength and Charisma are the class's primary abilities. Strength supports most melee weapon attacks; Charisma sets the spellcasting ability and determines the saving-throw bonus from Aura of Protection. Constitution matters because the Paladin is normally close enough to allies and opponents to be hit.

At level 1, Lay on Hands provides a healing pool equal to five times Paladin level after each Long Rest. It works as a Bonus Action and can heal the Paladin or a creature they touch. Spending five points can instead remove the Poisoned condition. This makes the pool a triage resource: a small amount of healing may change who remains conscious, while saving points for Poisoned can matter in the right adventure.

Weapon Mastery also starts at level 1. Choose two weapon kinds you are proficient with and use their mastery properties; those choices can change after a Long Rest. Do not treat one property as a permanent answer. A shielded Paladin, a reach weapon user, and a character who expects to fight at range can all need different weapons. See the D&D 2024 Weapon Mastery guide for the property rules.

Spells, smites, and Channel Divinity

Paladins prepare Charisma-based spells after a Long Rest. At level 2, Paladin's Smite always prepares Divine Smite and permits one casting without a spell slot per Long Rest. Because Divine Smite is a spell, check its casting time and the spellcasting rules before assuming it fits alongside another spell on the same turn. The exact timing is more important than an old edition comparison.

At level 3, Channel Divinity has two uses, recovers one use on a Short Rest, and fully recovers on a Long Rest. The class gains a third use at level 11. Divine Sense is its initial option, and each oath adds options that compete for the same resource. Ask before an encounter whether identifying outsiders, locking down an enemy, improving a weapon, or using an oath-specific effect is the higher-value use.

Hot Take: Aura of Protection is the feature that should shape a Paladin's movement. Chasing one more point of personal damage is often a worse turn than standing where the allies making critical saving throws receive the Charisma bonus.

The class features that change your role

At level 5, Extra Attack improves the basic weapon turn and Faithful Steed always prepares Find Steed, with one no-slot casting per Long Rest. At level 6, Aura of Protection gives the Paladin and chosen allies in a 10-foot Emanation a saving-throw bonus equal to the Paladin's Charisma modifier, with a minimum of +1. It increases to a 30-foot Emanation at level 18.

Aura of Courage at level 10 gives the Paladin and allies in Aura of Protection immunity to Frightened. Radiant Strikes at level 11 adds 1d8 Radiant damage when a melee weapon attack or Unarmed Strike hits. At level 14, Restoring Touch lets Lay on Hands also remove Blinded, Charmed, Deafened, Frightened, Paralyzed, or Stunned; each removed condition costs five points from the pool. These features make the Paladin especially valuable when the group expects debilitating conditions, not only hit-point damage.

Paladin oaths

All oaths begin at Paladin level 3 and receive additional features at levels 7, 15, and 20. The right choice is the oath whose recurring table problem matches the campaign, not the one with the loudest single feature.

Oath of Devotion

Devotion is the oath for a visible protector whose job includes holding the line against corruption and keeping allies functional. Its level 3 Sacred Weapon uses Channel Divinity during the Attack action to enhance a held melee weapon, adding Charisma to attack rolls and allowing its normal damage type or Radiant damage. That makes Charisma matter on both offense and defense without requiring a separate combat routine.

At level 7, Aura of Devotion protects the Paladin and allies in Aura of Protection from Charmed. Later features add short-term cover after Divine Smite and turn the aura into a damaging, sunlight-filled space. Choose Devotion when charm protection and a straightforward sacred-warrior identity are regular campaign needs; it is less specialized than an oath built around pursuit or a particular damage type.

Oath of Glory

Glory suits a party that wins encounters by reaching people, repositioning, and turning a successful smite into help for several allies. Its level 3 Inspiring Smite spends Channel Divinity immediately after Divine Smite to distribute a shared pool of temporary hit points among creatures within 30 feet. Peerless Athlete uses the same resource to improve Athletics and Acrobatics checks and jumps for an hour.

Aura of Alacrity at level 7 increases the Paladin's Speed and gives allies a temporary Speed increase when they enter or start in Aura of Protection. At level 15, Glorious Defense can add Charisma to AC as a Reaction after a nearby target is hit and can create a weapon attack if it turns the hit into a miss. Pick Glory for rescues, moving battle lines, and a team that benefits from speed. It is a poor fit only when the campaign rarely rewards movement or groups seldom stay near the Paladin.

Oath of the Ancients

Ancients is a controller and protector with a life-and-light theme. At level 3, Nature's Wrath spends Channel Divinity as a Magic action to restrain chosen nearby creatures that fail a Strength save. That is a positioning tool: use it where the party can capitalize on restrained enemies rather than as a solo opening flourish.

Aura of Warding at level 7 gives the Paladin and allies in Aura of Protection resistance to Necrotic, Psychic, and Radiant damage. At level 15, Undying Sentinel can keep the Paladin at 1 hit point and restore hit points when they would otherwise fall, once per Long Rest. Choose Ancients for adventures where those damage types and close-range enemy control recur. The resistance is powerful in its lane, not universal protection against every spell.

Oath of Vengeance

Vengeance is built to stay on a dangerous target. At level 3, Vow of Enmity spends Channel Divinity while taking the Attack action to give the Paladin advantage on attacks against one visible creature for a minute. If the target falls, the vow can move to another nearby creature. This is a clear priority-target tool, but it spends a resource that could otherwise fuel Divine Sense or an oath option.

Relentless Avenger at level 7 stops a creature hit by the Paladin's Opportunity Attack and lets the Paladin move as part of the same Reaction. Soul of Vengeance later allows a melee Reaction after a creature under the vow attacks. Choose Vengeance when the group needs someone to pursue a dangerous enemy and deny its escape routes. It asks the player to identify the encounter's real priority instead of spreading effort across every target.

Oath of the Noble Genies

Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerun adds Noble Genies, an elemental oath with an explicit Faerunian and planar hook. Its level 3 Elemental Smite uses Channel Divinity immediately after Divine Smite to choose one of four genie effects: restraining the target with earth, teleporting into a brief defensive form, spreading Fire damage, or pushing nearby creatures and knocking them Prone. Genie Spells and Genie's Splendor reinforce a mobile elemental theme, including an unarmored AC option that can still use a Shield.

Aura of Elemental Shielding at level 7 selects Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, or Thunder resistance for the Paladin and allies in Aura of Protection; the choice can change at the start of each Paladin turn. At level 15, Elemental Rebuke offers a defensive Reaction and elemental retaliation after an attack hits. Choose this oath for elemental opponents, a genie-focused story, or a table that can make use of changing damage resistance. Confirm setting access with the GM before treating its Faerun-specific material as automatic.

Build and table checklist

• Keep Strength and Charisma high enough for the role you actually plan to play; Aura of Protection gives Charisma a party-wide payoff.
• Select two Weapon Mastery weapons for likely encounter conditions, then revisit the choices after a Long Rest when the adventure changes.
• Reserve Lay on Hands points for the kind of emergency the party faces: hit points, Poisoned, or after level 14, a condition that would remove an ally from play.
• Spend Channel Divinity on the encounter's key decision rather than automatically using an oath feature.
• Stand where Aura of Protection and later Aura of Courage affect the saving throws that matter.
• Plan spell choices with the party's saving throws, mobility, and action economy in mind.

Class Spells

Use the Paladin spell guide for spell-selection detail rather than duplicating that guide here.

Class Feats

Use the Paladin feat guide when a feat choice is on the table. It compares options without treating a Paladin's oath, weapon plan, and party role as interchangeable.

Related D&D 2024 class guides

Start with the D&D 2024 class guide hub. For adjacent roles, compare the Fighter guide, Cleric guide, Barbarian guide, and Warlock guide.