Oathbreaker Paladin Build Guide – Sinful Strength – 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 Oathbreaker Paladin?
Oathbreaker Paladins are Paladins who, unsurprisingly, broke their oath which leads to incredible roleplaying opportunities, much more so than other classes as this is the subclass of failure and potential redemption (or falling even deeper).
Beyond the roleplaying opportunities, Oathbreaker is just a solid paladin class all around, especially at higher levels. While the Oath spells can leave a lot to be desired, the late game abilities are quite strong so this can excel in a higher level campaign.
Oathbreaker Paladin Abilities Ranked
Channel Divinity (Level 3) – A+ Tier – Control Undead is pretty niche, but it is a cool feature. However, this gets an A+ because of Dreadful Aspect which is a really powerful fear enabler as targets can only start making saves when they are far enough away from you. Additionally, if you want to homebrew this to more so line up with how the updated Paladins work, I would personally keep Dreadful Aspect as it’s more powerful and more flavorful.
1st Level Spells (Level 3) – D Tier – Neither spell here is particularly good here as the damage is just not high enough to justify using your spell slots most of the time.
2nd Level Spells (Level 5) – D Tier – Unless you are in a party that can make great use of magical darkness, this is not a good set of spells for you.
Aura of Hate (Level 7) – F* Tier – It really sucks that this hasn’t been officially fixed as this is the only ability in the entire game that is an active detriment to you and your team as it doesn’t specify that the undead have to be friendly.
3rd Level Spells (Level 9) – C- Tier – Once again, neither option is great, but Animate Dead is important so your Aura of Hate isn’t an active detriment.
4th Level Spells (Level 13) – D- Tier – These are a yeesh.
Supernatural Resistance (Level 15) – B+ Tier – While the wording of this ability is a bit awkward because it specifies non-magical, since the new rule book doesn’t concern itself with magical attacks specifically, then I would assume this just blanket applies to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage which is obviously quite good.
5th Level Spells (Level 17) – D- Tier – Once again, not good, but not unusable spells here.
Dread Lord (Level 20) – A- Tier – A bunch of extra damage and making it harder to hit you and your friends is definitely pretty strong. The only downside is the action cast time, but if you want to make this ability line up with the updated Paladins, homebrew it so it activates as a bonus action.
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 | Oathbreaker, Channel Divinity | + Hellish Rebuke (Oathbreaker) + Inflict Wounds (Oathbreaker) + Shield of Faith |
| 4 | Feat: Shield Master (Strength) | + Compelled Duel |
| 5 | Extra Attack, Faithful Steed | + Aid + Crown of Madness (Oathbreaker) + Darkness (Oathbreaker) + Find Steed |
| 6 | Aura of Protection | None |
| 7 | Aura of Hate | + Lesser Restoration |
| 8 | Feat: War Caster (CHA) | None |
| 9 | Abjure Foes | + Animate Dead (Oathbreaker) + Bestow Curse (Oathbreaker) + Dispel Magic + Revivify |
| 10 | Aura of Courage | None |
| 11 | Radiant Strikes | + Aura of Vitality |
| 12 | Feat: Charisma to 18 | None |
| 13 | None | + Banishment + Blight (Oathbreaker) + Confusion (Oathbreaker) |
| 14 | Restoring Touch | None |
| 15 | Supernatural Resistance | + Death Ward |
| 16 | Feat: Charisma to 20 | None |
| 17 | None | + Contagion (Oathbreaker) + Dominate Person (Oathbreaker) + Holy Weapon |
| 18 | Aura Expansion | None |
| 19 | Epic Boon: Boon of Combat Prowess | + Circle of Power |
| 20 | Dread Lord | 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: + Hellish Rebuke (Oathbreaker) + Inflict Wounds (Oathbreaker) + Shield of Faith
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| 1st Level Spell | Bless |
| 1st Level Spell | Divine Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Hellish Rebuke (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Inflict Wounds (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
Like the old Paladin subclasses, Oathbreaker comes with two Channel Divinity options to work with in Control Undead and Dreadful Aspect.
You’d never believe what Control Undead does. While you can only target one undead at a time, you could potentially hit a high CR one when you’re higher level which is cool!
Your second ability is what draws many players to the class – Dreadful Aspect. This is a mass frighten effect that only gives rerolls once they are far enough away from you. This is a very powerful ability whether or not you decide to build around it in any capacity. One interesting idea is to pair this with Variant Human so you can pick up Sentinel immediately, use this, walk up to whoever failed the save, and attempt to lock them in place so they’re frightened for most of the combat. This is certainly a fun interaction you can utilize, I think going Half-Elf for better attributes and the opportunity to take Fey-Touched is a bit stronger, but you can totally go Variant Human if you prefer.
If you/your DM wants to replicate the updated Paladins and you only have one Channel Divinity option, Dreadful Aspect is both much better and more thematic than controlling an undead.
On top of your Channel Divinity options, you get to pick up Oath Spells as well, and this level you get Hellish Rebuke and Inflict Wounds. Both of these spells are highly damaging first level options, and while that may be nice on a full caster, getting these level 3 is a lot less exciting. In reality, using the slots on one of your other spells or just good ol’ Divine Smite is likely the better option.
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 | Hellish Rebuke (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Inflict Wounds (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 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 + Crown of Madness (Oathbreaker) + Darkness (Oathbreaker) + Find Steed
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| 1st Level Spell | Bless |
| 1st Level Spell | Compelled Duel |
| 1st Level Spell | Divine Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Hellish Rebuke (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Inflict Wounds (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Crown of Madness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Darkness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
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.
Furthermore, you get more Oath spells to work with in Crown of Madness and Darkness.
Crown of Madness is a really weird CC spell that can be good if you use it in a crowd of enemies, but can quickly not work when enemies are too spread apart. Forcing an enemy to use their action before their movement really gates how strong this can be as other enemies can just move away from the affected individual. Furthermore, the target gets constant saves making this a super unreliable option.
Darkness does as stated, makes an area of darkness! Magical darkness is nearly impossible to see through unless you have the Devil’s Sight Eldritch Invocation, so while this may hurt enemies, it’ll hurt you just as much. I’m sure you could find scenarios in which this would be helpful like if you’re trying to make an escape, but like the Oath spells from a few levels ago, you’re likely better off conserving the spell slots.
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 | Hellish Rebuke (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Inflict Wounds (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Crown of Madness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Darkness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
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 | Hellish Rebuke (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Inflict Wounds (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Crown of Madness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Darkness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Lesser Restoration |
Level 7 brings your next subclass ability with Aura of Hate, and it may be the only ability in the game that can actively make your character worse.
This aura gives a bonus to fiend and undead attacks, but since this doesn’t specify friendly, this just randomly makes encounters with fiends or undead harder for no good reason. I personally errata this ability to only include friendly creatures, or if you’re feeling more ambitious with changes, make the Aura work specifically for allies so they get bonuses to their damage. To that end, only working for fiends and undead is an extremely weird choice when all the other auras work for your allies, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s some sort of update with this in One D&D (even if it’s not one of the listed subclasses).
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 | Hellish Rebuke (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Inflict Wounds (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Crown of Madness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Darkness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Lesser Restoration |
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 | Hellish Rebuke (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Inflict Wounds (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Crown of Madness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Darkness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Lesser Restoration |
| 3rd Level Spell | Animate Dead (Oathbreaker) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Bestow Curse (Oathbreaker) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Dispel Magic |
| 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 with Animate Dead and Bestow Curse.
Animate Dead is a bit of a wacky spell that lets you reanimate some corpses and have control over for 24 hours until they turn into mindless undead again. How good this is really depends on how strong the targets you use this on are, but this can be a decent option if you need some cannon fodder.
Bestow Curse is an interesting CC option that has a range of effects (where only half are reasonable), but the mode of potentially locking an enemy out of their action multiple times over the course of a longer fight is definitely tempting, and the touch range is obviously no issue for a Paladin.
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 | Hellish Rebuke (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Inflict Wounds (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Crown of Madness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Darkness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Lesser Restoration |
| 3rd Level Spell | Animate Dead (Oathbreaker) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Bestow Curse (Oathbreaker) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Dispel Magic |
| 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 | Hellish Rebuke (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Inflict Wounds (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Crown of Madness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Darkness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Lesser Restoration |
| 3rd Level Spell | Animate Dead (Oathbreaker) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Aura of Vitality |
| 3rd Level Spell | Bestow Curse (Oathbreaker) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Dispel Magic |
| 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 | Hellish Rebuke (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Inflict Wounds (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Crown of Madness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Darkness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Lesser Restoration |
| 3rd Level Spell | Animate Dead (Oathbreaker) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Aura of Vitality |
| 3rd Level Spell | Bestow Curse (Oathbreaker) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Dispel Magic |
| 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 + Blight (Oathbreaker) + Confusion (Oathbreaker)
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| 1st Level Spell | Bless |
| 1st Level Spell | Compelled Duel |
| 1st Level Spell | Divine Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Hellish Rebuke (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Inflict Wounds (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Crown of Madness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Darkness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Lesser Restoration |
| 3rd Level Spell | Animate Dead (Oathbreaker) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Aura of Vitality |
| 3rd Level Spell | Bestow Curse (Oathbreaker) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Dispel Magic |
| 3rd Level Spell | Revivify |
| 4th Level Spell | Banishment |
| 4th Level Spell | Blight (Oathbreaker) |
| 4th Level Spell | Confusion (Oathbreaker) |
Level 13 means access to fourth level spells!
Level 13 means two more Oath spells and you get to pick up Blight and Confusion.
Unfortunately for both of these spells, they are just not very good. Blight is a pretty crappy damage spell while Confusion is a crappy CC spell. Pretty disappointing all around for Oath spells this level.
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 | Hellish Rebuke (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Inflict Wounds (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Crown of Madness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Darkness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Lesser Restoration |
| 3rd Level Spell | Animate Dead (Oathbreaker) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Aura of Vitality |
| 3rd Level Spell | Bestow Curse (Oathbreaker) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Dispel Magic |
| 3rd Level Spell | Revivify |
| 4th Level Spell | Banishment |
| 4th Level Spell | Blight (Oathbreaker) |
| 4th Level Spell | Confusion (Oathbreaker) |
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: Supernatural Resistance
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 | Hellish Rebuke (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Inflict Wounds (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Crown of Madness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Darkness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Lesser Restoration |
| 3rd Level Spell | Animate Dead (Oathbreaker) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Aura of Vitality |
| 3rd Level Spell | Bestow Curse (Oathbreaker) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Dispel Magic |
| 3rd Level Spell | Revivify |
| 4th Level Spell | Banishment |
| 4th Level Spell | Blight (Oathbreaker) |
| 4th Level Spell | Confusion (Oathbreaker) |
| 4th Level Spell | Death Ward |
You get your penultimate subclass ability at level 15 which is Supernatural Resistance! You now have resistance to non-magical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage. To that end, this iteration of the rules doesn’t have specifically magical weapons anymore, so this is just going to be pretty much blanket resistance, which is obviously, very strong!
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 | Hellish Rebuke (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Inflict Wounds (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Crown of Madness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Darkness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Lesser Restoration |
| 3rd Level Spell | Animate Dead (Oathbreaker) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Aura of Vitality |
| 3rd Level Spell | Bestow Curse (Oathbreaker) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Dispel Magic |
| 3rd Level Spell | Revivify |
| 4th Level Spell | Banishment |
| 4th Level Spell | Blight (Oathbreaker) |
| 4th Level Spell | Confusion (Oathbreaker) |
| 4th Level Spell | Death Ward |
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: + Contagion (Oathbreaker) + Dominate Person (Oathbreaker) + Holy Weapon
| SPELL LEVEL | SPELL NAME |
| 1st Level Spell | Bless |
| 1st Level Spell | Compelled Duel |
| 1st Level Spell | Divine Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Hellish Rebuke (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Inflict Wounds (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Crown of Madness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Darkness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Lesser Restoration |
| 3rd Level Spell | Animate Dead (Oathbreaker) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Aura of Vitality |
| 3rd Level Spell | Bestow Curse (Oathbreaker) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Dispel Magic |
| 3rd Level Spell | Revivify |
| 4th Level Spell | Banishment |
| 4th Level Spell | Blight (Oathbreaker) |
| 4th Level Spell | Confusion (Oathbreaker) |
| 4th Level Spell | Death Ward |
| 5th Level Spell | Contagion (Oathbreaker) |
| 5th Level Spell | Dominate Person (Oathbreaker) |
| 5th Level Spell | Holy Weapon |
You also get your final Oath spells as well with Contagion and Dominate Person.
Contagion, unfortunately, is a horrendous CC spell that gives the targets a million opportunities to make the spell functionally worthless for a fifth level slot. Don’t cast this.
Dominate Person is a weird CC spell that likely won’t have too many in combat uses (unless you’re facing a particular mighty human), and unlike its counterpart Dominate Monster, this only lasts a minute so there’s much less you can do with this. Realistically, you’ll have to be pretty creative to get good use of this, but there will be times this can be extremely helpful.
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 | Hellish Rebuke (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Inflict Wounds (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Crown of Madness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Darkness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Lesser Restoration |
| 3rd Level Spell | Animate Dead (Oathbreaker) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Aura of Vitality |
| 3rd Level Spell | Bestow Curse (Oathbreaker) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Dispel Magic |
| 3rd Level Spell | Revivify |
| 4th Level Spell | Banishment |
| 4th Level Spell | Blight (Oathbreaker) |
| 4th Level Spell | Confusion (Oathbreaker) |
| 4th Level Spell | Death Ward |
| 5th Level Spell | Contagion (Oathbreaker) |
| 5th Level Spell | Dominate Person (Oathbreaker) |
| 5th Level Spell | Holy Weapon |
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 | Hellish Rebuke (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Inflict Wounds (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Crown of Madness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Darkness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Lesser Restoration |
| 3rd Level Spell | Animate Dead (Oathbreaker) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Aura of Vitality |
| 3rd Level Spell | Bestow Curse (Oathbreaker) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Dispel Magic |
| 3rd Level Spell | Revivify |
| 4th Level Spell | Banishment |
| 4th Level Spell | Blight (Oathbreaker) |
| 4th Level Spell | Confusion (Oathbreaker) |
| 4th Level Spell | Death Ward |
| 5th Level Spell | Circle of Power |
| 5th Level Spell | Contagion (Oathbreaker) |
| 5th Level Spell | Dominate Person (Oathbreaker) |
| 5th Level Spell | Holy Weapon |
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: Dread Lord
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 | Hellish Rebuke (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Inflict Wounds (Oathbreaker) |
| 1st Level Spell | Shield of Faith |
| 1st Level Spell | Thunderous Smite |
| 1st Level Spell | Wrathful Smite |
| 2nd Level Spell | Aid |
| 2nd Level Spell | Crown of Madness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Darkness (Oathbreaker) |
| 2nd Level Spell | Find Steed |
| 2nd Level Spell | Lesser Restoration |
| 3rd Level Spell | Animate Dead (Oathbreaker) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Aura of Vitality |
| 3rd Level Spell | Bestow Curse (Oathbreaker) |
| 3rd Level Spell | Dispel Magic |
| 3rd Level Spell | Revivify |
| 4th Level Spell | Banishment |
| 4th Level Spell | Blight (Oathbreaker) |
| 4th Level Spell | Confusion (Oathbreaker) |
| 4th Level Spell | Death Ward |
| 5th Level Spell | Circle of Power |
| 5th Level Spell | Contagion (Oathbreaker) |
| 5th Level Spell | Dominate Person (Oathbreaker) |
| 5th Level Spell | Holy Weapon |
Level 20 brings your capstone ability for your subclass!
Your capstone ability is Dread Lord, which as an action, you can activate to do a lot of things. This deals a bunch of damage to frightened creatures, this makes it harder for enemies to hit you and your allies, and it gives you a bonus action attack as well! While using a full action to activate it sucks, getting a bonus action attack means your whole turn isn’t consumed with just activating an ability. Furthermore, if you want this ability to fall in line with the updated Paladins, you should be able to reactivate this ability with a fifth level slot.
