Ancients Paladin Build Guide – The Knight of Nature – 2024 Update
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For all D&D guides on Nat1gaming, they only use the main sourcebooks (Player’s Handbook, Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, Xanathar’s Guide to Everything) as well as Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos (mostly for Silvery Barbs) as those tend to be the most commonly used books at tables. Always be sure that if you’re following a guide that you’re adhering to your tables rules about what sourcebooks you are allowed to follow.
Any spell, class, feature, or other game item that is linkable on this website is covered by the 5th edition Open Games License and will be in the Player’s Handbook, but not everything in the Player’s Handbook will be linked to. All other materials that aren’t linked to are from other sourcebooks or aren’t allowed to be linked to per the 5th Edition Open Games License, so please refer to the appropriate sourcebooks for that information.
For the purposes of this guide, it will be assumed that you would not be multiclassing. While multiclassing can be excellent for many of these, this is for those who want to play the build all the way through in the same class. Guides that use multiclassing will be separate from these.
For spellcasters, you may notice substantial overlap between the spell lists of builds with the same base class. This is due to each guide utilizing a generically good spell list and not considering extenuating factors that will influence how you particularly sculpt your spell list. When creating your own spell list, you should take into account the campaign setting, what spells any other party members are capable of casting, potential overlap (ritual spells tend to overlap so it’s rare you need multiple people capable of casting them), or potential shortcomings in the parties total spell list. While this guide can definitely help point you in the right direction for crafting a spell list, you should use your judgement and preferences to figure out what spells make the most sense for your character.
To that end, please refer to the Spell List and Spell Tier list for any substitutions you’d want to make to the build.
Paladin Spell List and Spell Tier List
Why Oath of the Ancients Paladin?
Realistically, this is definitely one of the weaker Paladin subclasses similar to how Nature Domain Clerics are quite weak relative to the other subclasses. The good news is that Paladins are so good inherently, that it doesn’t matter much!
If you want to play a nature themed Paladin, then this is the perfect subclass for you as you get to play a Paladin with Druid flavor intermingled. Even in high powered campaigns, this will still serve you quite well.
Ancients Paladin Abilities Ranked
Nature’s Wrath (Level 3) – C+ Tier – This is a much more restrictive Entangle, but even that’s still pretty decent (at least in lower levels).
1st Level Spells (Level 3) – D+ Tier – I’m not too thrilled with either option here, but Ensnaring Strike can be solid for a bit.
2nd Level Spells (Level 5) – B Tier – If nothing else, Misty Step is a great pickup. Moonbeam isn’t great, but it’s something you can consider using.
Aura of Warding (Level 7) – D Tier – While we don’t know how monsters are going to be changed in 2024, if we’re basing it off the current monster manual, these damage resistances are really niche. Resistance in general is nice, but allies would also have to stick pretty close by you to get this rather niche effect.
3rd Level Spells (Level 9) – C Tier – Not great, but not horrendous spells.
4th Level Spells (Level 13) – D+ Tier – Ice Storm is really bad, but Stoneskin isn’t too bad. It’s not something I would be excited about, but reasonable if you are the lone front line, you’re low on health, or you’re in a tough encounter.
Undying Sentinel (Level 15) – B+ Tier – I’m all about abilities that stop you from going down, and healing 45 health (thus far) when you would normally start napping is quite strong, even if it only triggers once per day.
5th Level Spells (Level 17) – D- Tier – Tempted to give this an F, but Commune with Nature does have some value.
Elder Champion (Level 20) – A+ Tier – Three excellent abilities packed into one. This is what I want to see out of a capstone.
Quick Level Up Guide
| Level | Class Features/Feat | Notes |
| 1 | Lay on Hands, Spellcasting, Weapon Mastery | + Bless + Thunderous Smite |
| 2 | Fighting Style (Protection), Paladin’s Smite | Protection Fighting Style + Divine Smite + Wrathful Smite |
| 3 | Oath of the Ancients, Channel Divinity: Nature’s Wrath | + Ensnaring Strike (Ancients) + Shield of Faith + Speak with Animals (Ancients) |
| 4 | Feat: Shield Master (Strength) | + Compelled Duel |
| 5 | Extra Attack, Faithful Steed | + Aid + Find Steed + Misty Step (Ancients) + Moonbeam (Ancients) |
| 6 | Aura of Protection | None |
| 7 | Aura of the Warding | + Lesser Restoration |
| 8 | Feat: War Caster (CHA) | None |
| 9 | Abjure Foes | + Dispel Magic + Plant Growth (Ancients) + Protection from Energy (Ancients) + Revivify |
| 10 | Aura of Courage | None |
| 11 | Radiant Strikes | + Aura of Vitality |
| 12 | Feat: Charisma to 18 | None |
| 13 | None | + Banishment + Ice Storm (Ancients) + Stoneskin (Ancients) |
| 14 | Restoring Touch | None |
| 15 | Undying Sentinel | + Death Ward |
| 16 | Feat: Charisma to 20 | None |
| 17 | None | + Commune with Nature (Ancients) + Holy Weapon + Tree Stride (Ancients) |
| 18 | Aura Expansion | None |
| 19 | Epic Boon: Boon of Combat Prowess | + Circle of Power |
| 20 | Elder Champion | None |
Level One Build
Species: Goliath (Hill Giant)
Attributes:
| POINT BUY | |
| STRENGTH | 15 (+2 background) = 17 |
| DEXTERITY | 8 |
| CONSTITUTION | 15 (+1 background) = 16 |
| INTELLIGENCE | 8 |
| WISDOM | 8 |
| CHARISMA | 15 |
Class: Paladin
Class Features: Lay on Hands, Spellcasting, Weapon Mastery
Skill Proficiencies: Intimidation and Persuasion
Background: Farmer (Tough)
Starting Equipment: Trident, Shield, 10 Javelins, Explorer’s Pack, Chain Mail, Holy Symbol, and 40 gold + 50 gp from background
Starting Spells:
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| 1st Level Spell | Bless |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
Species: Goliath (Hill Giant)
For any martial character, it’s hard to justify not going for Goliath as the Hill Giant topple is so incredibly good to get advantage on attacks. There are other solid options for species as well like Human for an additional origin feat or Aasimar as they are just generally strong, but Goliath is generally going to be my choice.
Attributes
| POINT BUY | |
| STRENGTH | 15 (+2 background) = 17 |
| DEXTERITY | 8 |
| CONSTITUTION | 15 (+1 background) = 16 |
| INTELLIGENCE | 8 |
| WISDOM | 8 |
| CHARISMA | 15 |
Paladins are MAD classes so it can be a bit difficult to properly balance the attributes, but you want to prioritize Strength, Constitution, and Charisma for all Paladins.
Proficiencies: Intimidation and Persuasion
Pretty standard skill proficiencies for Paladins. Nothing novel here.
Background: Farmer (Tough)
The best background for Paladins as it gives Strength and Constituion on top of the best Origin feat that you can get with this attribute split.
Starting Equipment – Trident, Shield, 10 Javelins, Explorer’s Pack, Chain Mail, Holy Symbol, and 40 gold + 50 gp from background
The standard equipment if you use the starting gold rather than what the book gives you.
Class – Paladin
Your starting class is Paladin and you get two abilities to start off with – Lay on Hands, Spellcasting, and Weapon Mastery.
Your first ability is Lay on Hands. You get a pool of health equal to 5 times your paladin level, and as an action, you can heal someone as much as you’d like using that pool. This is a solid ability and will always provide a decent amount of healing whether you need to bring an ally up, top an ally off, or even spend 5 points to cure a disease or neutralize a poison. A solid ability all around.
Your second ability is Spellcasting which will be expanded upon later, but Paladins are your typical half-caster.
Finally, you get Weapon Mastery for two weapons, and you should choose whatever weapons you have currently have. Which, in this case, will be the Trident and Javelins.
Starting Spells
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| 1st Level Spell | Bless |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
You can only prepare two spells to start with, and I will always recommend starting with the best two – Bless and Thunderous Smite.
Bless is an excellent buff that gives you and a few homies a little buff to attack rolls and saving throws.
Thunderous Smite is a derivative of Divine Smite which gives up a smidge of damage for the chance to push an enemy back and knock them prone. We love knocking enemies prone already, so having another shot at it is always nice.
The Build Level 2 Onward
Level 2-5
Level 2
Class Features: Fighting Style (Protection), Paladin’s Smite
Spell Change Log: + Divine Smite (Paladin’s Smite) + Wrathful Smite
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| 1st Level Spell | Bless |
| 1st Level Spell | Divine Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
Level 2 brings more spells, your Fighting Style, and Paladin’s Smite!
While there are a few fighting styles that are super reasonable for Paladins, for this build, I like grabbing Protection. Giving attacks against an ally disadvantage is super nice if you have an ally that’s palling around in the front lines. That said, if it’s only one other melee ally in your group, you may want to opt for Defense instead as you may not get enough mileage out of Protection to make it worth it.
As the Paladin’s most famous feature, you get Divine Smite! Divine Smite lets you convert spell slots into damage with the base being 2d8 radiant which is quite strong. What makes Divine Smite so potent is that you can tack it on after you know whether you hit or not so you can never accidentally waste them, and better yet, you can throw them into a critical hit to get double the damage! As a general note, a lot of Paladins tend to use all their spell slots on just simply Divine Smiting, and while you absolutely can do that and have good results, I think it’s generally better to save Smites in an attempt to finish a problematic enemy off or when you get a critical hit rather than just doing it with every hit. Even as a half-caster, your spells are potent so don’t forget about them!
Finally, you get your spell choice this level with Wrathful Smite. Unfortunately, this spell did get nerfed from the previous version, but giving up damage to potentially frighten the enemy is a pretty good deal.
Level 3
Class: Oath of the Ancients
Class Features: Channel Divinity: Nature’s Wrath
Spell Change Log: + Ensnaring Strike (Ancients) + Shield of Faith + Speak with Animals (Ancients)
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| 1st Level Spell | Bless |
| 1st Level Spell | Divine Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Ensnaring Strike (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Speak with Animals (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
Level 3 brings your subclass, and of course, you’re picking Oath of the Ancients!
Like all other Paladin subclasses, Ancients comes with a Channel Divinity feature – Nature’s Wrath.
Nature’s Wrath is an option that can ensnare enemies and restrain them, but they have to pass a Strength check to escape initially and a chance to escape at the end of their turn, so it is a bit of a middling option as there are ample opportunities to avoid this. However, restraining enemies is obviously great, so this you’ll likely still use this often.
Your get Oath spells this level and you can pick up Ensnaring Strike and Speak with Animals.
Ensnaring Strike is good if you need to lock down a particular enemy, and while this is generally better on a ranged weapon (which Paladins could use, just typically don’t), potentially preventing the target from running to a more squishy ally can be quite strong.
Speak with Animals, on the other hand, is very self-explanatory. This can be a decent utility spell, but can be better or worse depending on how amenable your DM decides to be.
For your spell choice this level, you can pick up Shield of Faith. Getting +2 AC when your AC is high makes it that much harder to hit you, which is especially good with the Protection fighting style.
Level 4
Feat: Shield Master (Strength)
Class Features: None
Spell Change Log: + Compelled Duel
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| 1st Level Spell | Bless |
| 1st Level Spell | Compelled Duel |
| 1st Level Spell | Divine Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Ensnaring Strike (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Speak with Animals (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
Level 4 brings your first feat, and while raising your Charisma is tempting, I would opt for more Strength. To that end, I really like picking up Shield Master first. This feat is phenomenal as you can potentially knock an enemy down with your attack which is great, especially the more martial allies you have. This whole build loves knocking enemies down as, if you can restrain them with your Channel Divinity before hand, they won’t be able to get up!
For your spell choice, you can pick up Compelled Duel! If you need to get an enemy off of an ally or want to ensure they only have eyes for you, Compelled Duel is the way to do it.
Level 5
Class Features: Extra Attack, Faithful Steed
Spell Change Log: + Aid + Find Steed + Misty Step (Ancients) + Moonbeam (Ancients)
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| 1st Level Spell | Bless |
| 1st Level Spell | Compelled Duel |
| 1st Level Spell | Divine Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Ensnaring Strike (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Speak with Animals (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Misty Step (Ancients) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Moonbeam (Ancients) |
Level 5 brings what all martial characters have been waiting for – the Extra Attack. Double the damage potential is obviously insane!
This level brings a new feature for Paladin as well in Faithful Steed. This gives you Find Steed for free, and while this may tempt you to fight on horseback, you absolutely don’t need to and having a free horse is more helpful than many may anticipate.
You also get additional Oath spells at this level with Misty Step and Moonbeam.
Misty Step is unparalleled for in combat movement as it only costs you a second level spell slot and a bonus action which is very much worth it. Even though Misty Step is likely at its worst on a Paladin as you rarely need to escape an encounter, it is still beyond excellent for anyone that can use it.
For your other option, Moonbeam is an alright damage spell that can continue to sear enemies if you can keep them inside of it. To that end, the Crusher feat can help you push enemies back in if they manage to get out which is a nice, little synergy! While the damage is definitely not that high, especially for this level, this can be good in prolonged fights where the enemy doesn’t have much opportunity to move.
For your actual spell choice, you get to pick up one of (if not the best) second level spells with Aid! 15 temporary hit points spread throughout your team is pretty strong, and getting 15 more to work with for each upcast makes this good in earlier and later levels!
Level 6-10
Level 6
Class Features: Aura of Protection
Spell Change Log: None
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| 1st Level Spell | Bless |
| 1st Level Spell | Compelled Duel |
| 1st Level Spell | Divine Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Ensnaring Strike (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Speak with Animals (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Misty Step (Ancients) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Moonbeam (Ancients) |
Level 6 brings what is the most important ability a Paladin can get – Aura of Protection.
Giving your allies a flat bonus to saving throws is extremely powerful, especially if you have a team that tends to group up. Aura of Protection is the reason that an optimized party will always have a Paladin where every other class is more or less replaceable.
Level 7
Class Features: Aura of Warding
Spell Change Log: + Lesser Restoration
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| 1st Level Spell | Bless |
| 1st Level Spell | Compelled Duel |
| 1st Level Spell | Divine Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Ensnaring Strike (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Speak with Animals (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Lesser Restoration |
| 2nd Level Spell | Misty Step (Ancients) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Moonbeam (Ancients) |
Level 7 brings a new Aura to work with in Aura of Warding.
This aura gives you and the homies resistance to necrotic, psychic, and radiant damage which can be excellent or useless depending on what enemies you encounter. Obviously, it’s hard to say what you are going to face, so it’s hard to rate this ability.
For your spell choice, you can pick up Lesser Restoration. While you won’t use this often, being able to heal a few status conditions can be really helpful.
Level 8
Feat: War Caster (CHA)
Class Features: None
Spell Change Log: None
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| 1st Level Spell | Bless |
| 1st Level Spell | Compelled Duel |
| 1st Level Spell | Divine Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Ensnaring Strike (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Speak with Animals (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Lesser Restoration |
| 2nd Level Spell | Misty Step (Ancients) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Moonbeam (Ancients) |
For your second feat, you absolutely have to pick up War Caster. Buffing your Charisma to 18, getting advantage on concentration checks, and being able to spellcast when you don’t have two free hands is excellent.
Level 9
Class Features: Abjure Foes
Spell Change Log: + Dispel Magic + Plant Growth (Ancients) + Protection from Energy (Ancients) + Revivify
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| 1st Level Spell | Bless |
| 1st Level Spell | Compelled Duel |
| 1st Level Spell | Divine Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Ensnaring Strike (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Speak with Animals (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Lesser Restoration |
| 2nd Level Spell | Misty Step (Ancients) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Moonbeam (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Dispel Magic |
| 3rd Level Spell | Plant Growth (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Protection from Energy (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Revivify |
Level 9 brings access to level 3 spells and your next base class feature, Abjure Foes.
Abjure Foes lets you trade in a Channel Divinity for a mass fear that also limits the amount of things an enemy can do in a turn. This is very strong and helps if you don’t have a particularly good Channel Divinity option otherwise.
You get two more Oath spells this level in Plant Growth and Protection from Energy.
Plant Growth is an excellent CC spell that can create a massive amount of extremely difficult terrain that can be sculpted to your exact specificity making it really potent. The only issue with it is that you need plants to make this work which not every environment will provide for you, but when you have them, this is a very strong option. The only other issue, which is more exclusive to Paladins, is that this spell works better when you can hit enemies from afar which you likely won’t be able to do too well, but if your allies can, then this is still fine.
Protection from Energy is a simple defensive buff that protects from one type of elemental damage of your choosing, solid if you’re going into an area with a lot of that element, but pretty niche over all.
For your chosen spells, you can pick up Dispel Magic and Revivify.
While it’s not Counterspell, you get to pick up Dispel Magic at this level! Being able to stop an ongoing magical effect is really powerful and there will be plenty of spells that Counterspell won’t be able to stop (it was already happening, you’re out of range, you failed the Charisma check) that Dispel Magic could potentially clear!
Revivify is just a staple spell that anyone who can take likely should. You never know who might kick the bucket, so having a way to bring them right back up and without penalty.
Level 10
Class Features: Aura of Courage
Spell Change Log: None
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| 1st Level Spell | Bless |
| 1st Level Spell | Compelled Duel |
| 1st Level Spell | Divine Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Ensnaring Strike (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Speak with Animals (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Lesser Restoration |
| 2nd Level Spell | Misty Step (Ancients) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Moonbeam (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Dispel Magic |
| 3rd Level Spell | Plant Growth (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Protection from Energy (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Revivify |
Level 10 brings a new Paladin ability with Aura of Courage. Now allies within 10 feet of you can’t get frightened anymore which can be extremely relevant, especially since there are a lot of fearsome foes that will use fear against use (like the titular Dragons with their Frightful Presence!)
Level 11-15
Level 11
Class Features: Radiant Strikes
Spell Change Log: + Aura of Vitality
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| 1st Level Spell | Bless |
| 1st Level Spell | Compelled Duel |
| 1st Level Spell | Divine Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Ensnaring Strike (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Speak with Animals (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Lesser Restoration |
| 2nd Level Spell | Misty Step (Ancients) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Moonbeam (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Aura of Vitality |
| 3rd Level Spell | Dispel Magic |
| 3rd Level Spell | Plant Growth (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Protection from Energy (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Revivify |
Level 11 brings the strong ability of Radiant Strikes. This makes it so that all your melee attacks deal an additional 1d8 radiant damage. Simple, yet great ability.
For your spell choice, you can pick up Aura of Vitality. Aura of Vitality is a weird healing spell that lasts for a minute and you can dole out 2d6 healing per bonus action which isn’t ideal in combat, but can be an excellent healing option outside of combat offering a staggering average of 70 health split however you want. You likely don’t want to use this often over Lay on Hands or short resting, but it’s there for you if you need it.
Level 12
Feat: Charisma to 18
Class Feature: None
Spell Change Log: None
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| 1st Level Spell | Bless |
| 1st Level Spell | Compelled Duel |
| 1st Level Spell | Divine Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Ensnaring Strike (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Speak with Animals (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Lesser Restoration |
| 2nd Level Spell | Misty Step (Ancients) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Moonbeam (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Aura of Vitality |
| 3rd Level Spell | Dispel Magic |
| 3rd Level Spell | Plant Growth (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Protection from Energy (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Revivify |
Level 12 brings your next feat, and you should be pumping Charisma to make your spells and your Aura of Protection as strong as possible.
Level 13
Class Features: None
Spell Change Log: + Banishment + Ice Storm (Ancients) + Stoneskin (Ancients)
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| 1st Level Spell | Bless |
| 1st Level Spell | Compelled Duel |
| 1st Level Spell | Divine Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Ensnaring Strike (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Speak with Animals (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Lesser Restoration |
| 2nd Level Spell | Misty Step (Ancients) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Moonbeam (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Aura of Vitality |
| 3rd Level Spell | Dispel Magic |
| 3rd Level Spell | Plant Growth (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Protection from Energy (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Revivify |
| 4th Level Spell | Banishment |
| 4th Level Spell | Ice Storm (Ancients) |
| 4th Level Spell | Stoneskin (Ancients) |
Level 13 means access to fourth level spells!
This level gives you more Oath spells with Ice Storm and Stoneskin.
Ice Storm, unfortunately, is just not a good spell. It isn’t a good spell for full casters who get it 4 levels earlier and it’s definitely not good on half-casters. The damage is way too low and getting difficult terrain for just one turn is just not great. The only saving grace is that this has a massive range and a solid AOE, so if that matters to you, then this can be an option, but I would avoid casting this most of the time.
Stoneskin is a pretty nice defensive option that at the cost of an 100gp consumable component (which should be no big deal at all at this point) you can give yourself or an ally resistance to all non-magical damage. Considering very few creatures exclusively deal magical damage, this is going to be a pretty potent buff against most enemies, and with an hour long duration, you may even get multiple fights out of this!
For your spell choice, you get to pick up Banishment! Banishment is an extremely strong CC spell that has the ability to take an enemy out of the fight for a full minute, but if they’re an extraplanar enemy, the combat just ends if they fail the saving throw and you can concentrate for a minute. They are just simply sent back to their home plane with very little recourse to come back (unless they specifically have Plane Shift or some strange ability).
Level 14
Class Features: Restoring Touch
Spell Change Log: None
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| 1st Level Spell | Bless |
| 1st Level Spell | Compelled Duel |
| 1st Level Spell | Divine Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Ensnaring Strike (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Speak with Animals (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Lesser Restoration |
| 2nd Level Spell | Misty Step (Ancients) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Moonbeam (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Aura of Vitality |
| 3rd Level Spell | Dispel Magic |
| 3rd Level Spell | Plant Growth (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Protection from Energy (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Revivify |
| 4th Level Spell | Banishment |
| 4th Level Spell | Ice Storm (Ancients) |
| 4th Level Spell | Stoneskin (Ancients) |
Level 14 brings your final non-subclass Paladin ability with Cleansing Touch. When you spend 5 points on your Lay on Hands, you functionally get a better Lesser Restoration. Solid ability, this just feels a bit late to get!
Level 15
Class Features: Undying Sentinel
Spell Change Log: + Death Ward
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| 1st Level Spell | Bless |
| 1st Level Spell | Compelled Duel |
| 1st Level Spell | Divine Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Ensnaring Strike (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Speak with Animals (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Lesser Restoration |
| 2nd Level Spell | Misty Step (Ancients) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Moonbeam (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Aura of Vitality |
| 3rd Level Spell | Dispel Magic |
| 3rd Level Spell | Plant Growth (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Protection from Energy (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Revivify |
| 4th Level Spell | Banishment |
| 4th Level Spell | Death Ward |
| 4th Level Spell | Ice Storm (Ancients) |
| 4th Level Spell | Stoneskin (Ancients) |
You get your penultimate subclass ability at level 15 which is Undying Sentinel! Once per day, you can just refuse to go to 0 hit points and heal up to 3 times your Paladin level! The best part about this ability is you get to choose, so if you staying up seems hopeless and you want to save it for later in the day, you do have that option! Even still, being able to stay standing when you are so hard to hit can be much more of a nuisance for enemies than it may seem!
Death Ward is a bit niche, but it is nice insurance against you or an ally going down in combat, or better yet, stopping instant death effects.
Level 16-20
Level 16
Feat: Charisma to 20
Class Feature: None
Spell Change Log: None
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| 1st Level Spell | Bless |
| 1st Level Spell | Compelled Duel |
| 1st Level Spell | Divine Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Ensnaring Strike (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Speak with Animals (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Lesser Restoration |
| 2nd Level Spell | Misty Step (Ancients) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Moonbeam (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Aura of Vitality |
| 3rd Level Spell | Dispel Magic |
| 3rd Level Spell | Plant Growth (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Protection from Energy (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Revivify |
| 4th Level Spell | Banishment |
| 4th Level Spell | Death Ward |
| 4th Level Spell | Ice Storm (Ancients) |
| 4th Level Spell | Stoneskin (Ancients) |
For your final feat, you should definitely be maxing out your Charisma for the best spells and the most potent Aura of Protection possible.
Level 17
Class Features: None
Spell Change Log: + Commune with Nature (Ancients) + Holy Weapon + Tree Stride (Ancients)
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| 1st Level Spell | Bless |
| 1st Level Spell | Compelled Duel |
| 1st Level Spell | Divine Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Ensnaring Strike (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Speak with Animals (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Lesser Restoration |
| 2nd Level Spell | Misty Step (Ancients) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Moonbeam (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Aura of Vitality |
| 3rd Level Spell | Dispel Magic |
| 3rd Level Spell | Plant Growth (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Protection from Energy (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Revivify |
| 4th Level Spell | Banishment |
| 4th Level Spell | Death Ward |
| 4th Level Spell | Ice Storm (Ancients) |
| 4th Level Spell | Stoneskin (Ancients) |
| 5th Level Spell | Commune with Nature (Ancients) |
| 5th Level Spell | Holy Weapon |
| 5th Level Spell | Tree Stride (Ancients) |
This level brings fifth level spells and your final Oath spells with Commune with Nature and Tree Stride.
Commune with Nature is an extremely weird Divination spell that gives you information in very specific areas like bodies of water or caves which may or may not be helpful depending on the adventure/campaign. Not being able to ritual cast this is extremely brutal, though, as you may not have a fifth level slot to spare a lot of the time.
Your final Oath spell is unfortunately the weakest on your spell list with Tree Stride. This spell only works when you have an overabundance of trees, and even then, this spell isn’t even good. Just a rough spell all around.
For your chosen spell, you get to pick up the very powerful Holy Weapon. Simply having a damage buff that deals a lot of damage is nice for longer fights, even at this level of play. Then when you want to stop concentrating on it, you can make your weapon explode for additional damage rather than letting it peter out.
Level 18
Class Features: Aura Expansion
Spell Change Log: None
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| 1st Level Spell | Bless |
| 1st Level Spell | Compelled Duel |
| 1st Level Spell | Divine Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Ensnaring Strike (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Speak with Animals (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Lesser Restoration |
| 2nd Level Spell | Misty Step (Ancients) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Moonbeam (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Aura of Vitality |
| 3rd Level Spell | Dispel Magic |
| 3rd Level Spell | Plant Growth (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Protection from Energy (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Revivify |
| 4th Level Spell | Banishment |
| 4th Level Spell | Death Ward |
| 4th Level Spell | Ice Storm (Ancients) |
| 4th Level Spell | Stoneskin (Ancients) |
| 5th Level Spell | Commune with Nature (Ancients) |
| 5th Level Spell | Holy Weapon |
| 5th Level Spell | Tree Stride (Ancients) |
Level 18 is when all your auras extend from 10 feet to 30 feet, so this is a pretty nice upgrade to have.
Level 19
Epic Boon: Boon of Combat Prowess (STR)
Class Features: None
Spell Change Log: + Circle of Power
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| 1st Level Spell | Bless |
| 1st Level Spell | Compelled Duel |
| 1st Level Spell | Divine Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Ensnaring Strike (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Speak with Animals (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Lesser Restoration |
| 2nd Level Spell | Misty Step (Ancients) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Moonbeam (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Aura of Vitality |
| 3rd Level Spell | Dispel Magic |
| 3rd Level Spell | Plant Growth (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Protection from Energy (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Revivify |
| 4th Level Spell | Banishment |
| 4th Level Spell | Death Ward |
| 4th Level Spell | Ice Storm (Ancients) |
| 4th Level Spell | Stoneskin (Ancients) |
| 5th Level Spell | Circle of Power |
| 5th Level Spell | Commune with Nature (Ancients) |
| 5th Level Spell | Holy Weapon |
| 5th Level Spell | Tree Stride (Ancients) |
You get another spell this level so you can pick up the second best fifth level option – Circle of Power. Alongside your Aura of Protection, your allies will have a really hard time failing any saving throws which can be extremely important in some encounters. If you’re lucky, you’ll know to set this up before hand to not lose your action.
Level 20
Class Feature: Elder Champion
Spell Change Log: None
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| 1st Level Spell | Bless |
| 1st Level Spell | Compelled Duel |
| 1st Level Spell | Divine Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Ensnaring Strike (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Speak with Animals (Ancients) |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Lesser Restoration |
| 2nd Level Spell | Misty Step (Ancients) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Moonbeam (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Aura of Vitality |
| 3rd Level Spell | Dispel Magic |
| 3rd Level Spell | Plant Growth (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Protection from Energy (Ancients) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Revivify |
| 4th Level Spell | Banishment |
| 4th Level Spell | Death Ward |
| 4th Level Spell | Ice Storm (Ancients) |
| 4th Level Spell | Stoneskin (Ancients) |
| 5th Level Spell | Circle of Power |
| 5th Level Spell | Commune with Nature (Ancients) |
| 5th Level Spell | Holy Weapon |
| 5th Level Spell | Tree Stride (Ancients) |
Level 20 brings your capstone ability for your subclass!
Your capstone ability for Oath of the Ancients is Elder Champion. This is a transformation ability that takes a bonus action, but you do get a pretty nice payoff for it. Health regeneration, faster spell casting, and enemies having inherent disadvantage against your spells is nice, even if you don’t have too many spells to take advantage of it. This is a solid ability, and if you need to do it again, you can spend a fifth level slot to use it again! A very solid capstone ability overall.
