‘Dungeons And Dragons’ Unearths Dark Paths For Paladins

I have never enjoyed playing paladins. They always seem to fall into one of two categories: either they are rigid, sanctimonious killjoys, or air headed do-gooders, who are so syrupy-sweet, it makes you a little sick. I like characters with a dark side to them (I think it keeps things interesting), and even when I made a paladin and tried to make her different, she fell into the stereotype.

The new Unearthed Arcana offers a change from that status quo. While these paladins are probably still going to fall into a lawful alignment, they do create an interesting alternative for those with a craving for a new lawful evil. Wizards offers two new Oaths for paladins: Oath of Conquest and the Oath of Treachery.

The Oath of Conquest boils down to three simple words: might makes right. The tenets of this oath ensure that you not only conquer your enemies, you crush and subjugate them. At third level, you can Channel Divinity as a Conquering Strike to strike fear into your enemy for one minute, or a Guided Strike, which adds +10 to your attack roll. At higher levels, paladins under the Oath of Conquest earn additional spells and skills that help them strike fear and control their enemies (like Hold Person, and Blight) and increase the damage dealt to their enemies.

The Oath of Treachery is designed for egocentric paladins who are less concerned with bettering a cause, and more interested in doing what’s best for themselves. It’s a great tool for when your paladin has had enough of being following the status quo, and has forsaken their Oath. Channel Divinity with this oath, and you can Conjure Duplicate  to create an exact copy of yourself to confuse your enemy, or Poison Strike which adds 2d10+ your level poison damage (20 + your level on a roll with advantage). Higher level perks give you the ability to have advantage against enemies in groups, Treacherous Strike, which lets you attack as a reaction on a missed attack by an enemy, and at level 15, invisibility.  Oath of Treachery would be an interesting multi-class with a rogue assassin, and cause some serious damage.

Wizards of the Coast has again given us some amazing new options for character creation, and in my opinion, flushed out the paladin class to be more interesting.

What do you think? Do these new oaths make you more inclined to play a paladin? Let us know!