Sub-Classes: Alternative ‘Paladin’ Builds

Combining different species, classes, and backgrounds with proficiency and feat selection allows most people to make characters close to their original vision. But, sometimes, a character concept is original, or complex, and requires a unique look at character options to build it. There are often many ways to build characters with similar abilities, and finding the best option(s) to choose can be challenging, but challenging can be fun and rewarding. In the substitute classes (Sub-Classes) features we will look at ways to make different classes work in similar ways through combinations of backgrounds and class and subclass selections along with class feature and spell selection. These explorations won’t be to optimize them, but to develop interesting and unique characters with the abilities you want them to have. We will only provide example paths of up to 3rd level when you can get a subclass and recommendations of your first Feat you might get at 4 or 5 depending on multiclassing.

This time we will look at how to build characters similar to the paladin class, combining melee weapon (or, yes, even unarmed—see here) combat with magic to improve their combat. I don’t crunch numbers, but supposedly the new Paladin is nerfed a bit in their smites, so, by looking to other classes, can we make a character equal to or possibly better through a different approach?

Smiting, adding radiant or other damage, to melee attacks is the epitome of being a Paladin. They have other abilities like healing and auras for buffing, but the appeal is usually high damage output by amping the effect of attacks through magic. Depending how you view them, current versions veer away from the more strictly divine source of power and ethos, their smites can be infused with different flavor as to why your character is able to manifest this power. We can use this new flexibility to look at other ways that will enhance our attacks. In addition, smites are normally considered ‘burst’ damage, doing highest damage in single attacks—usually when you get a critical, but in looking at other paths to a similar play style, there may be ways to do higher damage all the time. Finally, they are typically heavily armored, which is an area we can change as well.

As already mentioned, smiting and doing a lot of damage aren’t a Paladin’s only traits. They can also heal with Lay on Hands and possibly spells, and buff party members through Auras and other abilities. Where possible we will try to get both of these additional features.

As we explore options, it may look similar to the already covered alternative rangers—as both are magically enhanced warrior types—but where rangers are primal or nature themed, paladins and their options will lean towards community and the divine.

Builds

Here are a few concise recommendations for alternative paladin builds.

Backgrounds & Origin Feats

Depending on your table and group, you may or may not be able to create Custom Backgrounds. First are recommendations of Origin Feats that are useful and relevant Backgrounds.

• Magic Initiate Origin Feat (as further explored in its own entry) is a great way to give any class, especially non-magic classes, a way to do do some of the class traits of the Paladin, first and foremost adding to melee attacks. And remember that you get to select the ability scores used for attacks and saving throws.
  Acolyte (Cleric): this won’t increase our damage much but can provide the healing and buffs of a Paladin. Guidance, Resistance ; Bless, Command, Cure Wounds or Healing Word, Detect Evil and Good, Protection from Evil and Good, Sanctuary, Shield of Faith
  Sage (Wizard) may be a surprisingly better option than Cleric, getting higher radiant damage attacks from one specific cantrip: Blade Ward, True Strike; Alarm, Charm Person, False Life, Mage Armor, Protection from Evil and Good, Shield. True Strike is that aforementioned option providing radiant damage melee weapon attacks.

• Musician Origin Feat. Giving Heroic Inspiration to all your party members.

Of course other Origin Feats can be useful as well such as Healer, Lucky, and Tough.

If you are not looking for a specific Origin Feat, these Backgrounds can help with flavor, or even the best Ability score selection:

• Acolyte for a traditional religious take and any of the three spellcasting abilities.

• Hermit. Gives Healer and CHA/CON/WIS bonuses.

• Noble for a knightly type and STR/INT/CHA.

• Soldier is a place a Paladin type might start out.

Classes

These are suggestions on routes to take for your class and subclass, including multi-class options which can really open up combination possibilities to achieve your goal.

These first ones are the most straightforward paths to build a non-paladin magical melee:

• Bard: This may seem an odd choice: a performer as a devout warrior? But, they are a Charisma based class that can cast spells. They are inspiring and exceptional at buffing party members. Sound familiar? They just aren’t by default melee fighters. They lack Weapon Mastery and other traits to put them on par. But they get True Strike for radiant melee weapon attacks, they can heal, they get access to Heroism. The College of Valor makes them a more melee combatant with martial weapon and Medium armor proficiency, and their Combat Inspiration is a nice buff and they get Extra Attack, just one level later. When you add it all up, this could come close to approximating the traits of a paladin.
  (Magic Initiate: Cleric can provide Bless and other radiant spells with CHA instead of WIS as the modifier. Multi-class Fighter a level or two to get Weapon Mastery and a Fighting Style, or even Warlock with more CHA based magic and spoiler: the best feature to mimic Paladin fighting abilities—see below.)

• Cleric: Maybe the most obvious choice especially if you take the Protector Divine Order, almost too obvious especially with one specific Domain: War. Protector allows you to use all martial weapons and Heavy armor and the base class spells and features—such as Channel Divinity—are Paladin-like (or is it the other way around). Later on, at Level 7, they get Blessed Strikes: Divine Strike which can basically low-level Smite every turn. The War Domain really turns you into an actually holy or divine warrior akin to Paladins including a relevant spell list and extra attacks.
  (Magic Initiate: Wizard gives the oddly missing True Strike which can be taken to use WIS modifier. Like Bard, multi-class Fighter for Weapon Mastery and Fighting Style or Ranger for Masteries and 1 level delayed Fighting Style but additional combat WIS-based spells.)
  This may seem like the front-runner, but there may be one yet which can equal or exceed Cleric as an alternative paladin build.

• Fighter: Like the ranger alternative, the Fighter class is a great place to start for a paladins as they are mostly martial characters. The right background and origin feat will help greatly towards providing proficiencies and spells similar to a Paladin. You can gain spells from Magic Initiate (see previous recommendations) or multi-classing, and from Eldritch Knight or even spell-like abilities from Psi Warrior.
  (Mutliclassing a few levels in Cleric can give not only spells but Channel Divinity and other traits listed above.)

• Warlock: If you aren’t familiar with the class, it might be surprising that this is probably even better than Cleric, especially if you take the Celestial patron. Like Bard they are Charisma based for similar skill proficiencies. They swear an oath to someone versus an ideal. Right at first level they can get the Pact of the Blade Invocation to be good with a weapon that can deal radiant damage (and can just get better as you level up including the ability to Smite with Eldritch Smite and Extra Attack with Thirsting Blade). Regardless of their patron they are already getting close: just no heavy armor. Fiendish Vigor can give more HP. Lessons of the First Ones gives another Origin Feat which could be Magic Initiate to get Cleric spells and Pact of the Tome could give cantrips and rituals. What really pushes them above Cleric is taking the Celestial Patron. It gives some Paladin/Cleric spells but most importantly Healing Light which is like a ranged Lay on Hands.
  (Multi-class Fighter for Heavy Armor,Weapon Master with your Pact Weapon, and Fighting Style)

These are ways to mold other classes into wilderness martial characters that may not be as straightforward or effective as the ones above:

• Barbarian: Barbarians warriors, melee fighters, which puts them in the running. And while most might not see a knightly paladin type ‘rage’, zealots (hint, hint) could easily be pictured to go off the rails defending their faith. They get additional damage on melee attacks. Path of the Zealot makes us very much like an angry Paladin providing extra damage per attack from Divine Fury and it can be radiant. But they are highly focused on personal abilities.
  (Since barbarians can’t cast or concentrate on spells when raging, Magic Initiate and magical class multi-classing won’t provide much for combat but could add to non-combat effects and role-playing. A few fighter levels could provide the abilities below.)

• Monk: Monks are good in melee, including with weapons (which can be overlooked because of their Unarmed Strikes, which they can enhance with Focus vs. magic. Warrior of Mercy does give healing, and more melee damage through Hand of Harm/Healing. But, though they can get a decent AC unarmored, their lack of armor just doesn’t quite fit the image and most abilities only enhance themselves not others.

• Ranger: Ranger can be a melee fighter with enhanced weapon attacks and they can heal. But their main traits including spells and proficiencies focus too much on nature and on the self versus the party. The subclasses all take you farther away from anything close to a Paladin so more than two levels makes it harder to meet the expectations.
  (Multi-class Cleric or Wizard [WIS] to get either more support spells or True Strike.)

Sorcerer and Wizard (with the Free/PHB 2024 options) do not have viable options as a primary class (in the core rules) being the hardest to get martial abilities and would essentially require multiclassing with a martial class. Sorcerer at least uses Charisma for some synchronicity and Clockwork lawful rigidity could emulate a Paladin’s oath. Rogue is probably just too far ethically and not martial enough to be useful as a primary or even multicalss option.

Feats

Paladin-like options are hard to recommend as there is a range of preferred abilities, but here are a few that can help some of the options above get closer at 4th level. Any martial, weapon type feat especially those related to your preferred weapon’s damage type are of course good such as Crusher, Piercer, Slasher or Great Weapon Master. And depending on your primary class or chose spellcasting ability the preferred ability score modifier is flexible.

• Chef can give additional healing options

• Heavily Armored to get Heavy Armor proficiency.

• Inspiring Leader for Bolstering Performance, a decent buff.

• Martial Weapon Training if you haven’t gotten proficiency another way.

• Moderately Armored if you want DEX instead of CON as an option vs. Heavily Armored (and Medium Armor is an acceptable upgrade.)

• Ritual Caster to get some spells, only rituals, if you haven’t gotten any another way.

• War Caster to be able to do a spell vs. a weapon attack as an Opportunity Attack Reaction—such as True Strike and be able to wield a weapon and still cast spells.

• Weapon Mastery if you don’t want to multi-class to a martial class and still use a Weapon Mastery (such as for a Warlock’s Pact Weapon).

Ylithe: A Celestial Warlock Warrior

This one is almost too easy. Maybe because he is a character I currently play, but he uses the best recommended alternative class from above. Here is an example of a Celestial warlock melee weapon character.

Meet Ylithe Starscry, an elf who was granted Powers by a celestial when the celestial witnessed a tragic encounter with evil when Ylith was young. He was given the power to protect himself and his family and hunt the evil he was exposed to at such an early age. He is built to level 3 to get his subclass, and I will make recommendations for 4th level (and either multi-class or Feat options).

The Build

The biggest thing that Ylithe will lack is the ability to wear anything more than Light armor, but he will be able to get a decent AC from magic and will be able to do radiant damage with a melee weapon, heal, and more.

Ability Scores
Since this can vary on assignment (Array, rolling, etc.) and because we are not ‘optimizing,’ no specifics here. Recommendations are Charisma (for class abilities), Dexterity (for AC and Initiative) and wither Wisdom or Intelligence for proficiencies.
Using Point Buy with Ability Score increases I chose this setup:
STR 10, DEX 14 (+1 Background), CON 10, INT 13 (+1 Background), WIS 10, CHA 15 (+2 Background)
for these final scores
STR 10, DEX 14, CON 10, INT 14, WIS 10, CHA 17

Origin Background/Feat
Acolyte. Ylithe gets Insight and Religion proficiencies and Calligraphy as a tool, all make sense for his character. Most importantly he gets the Magic Initiate (Cleric) Origin Feat for two cantrips and one 1st-Level Spell. I selected Guidance, Word of Radiance, and Shield of Faith. Plus he can get +2 to Charisma and a +1 to wither Intelligence or Wisdom. Dexterity would be better so if you can do a custom background shoot for that, otherwise pick which one you like better: I went with Intelligence.

Species
Ylithe is an elf (in my background really a half-elf but in the new rules he leans elfish and selected that as his species). His lineage is Drow and I selected Charisma as his spellcasting ability so his class, feat, and species spells will all use Charisma. I selected Perception and he gets the rest of the elf traits. He has 120’ Darkvision and Dancing Lights.

Class:
Level 1: Warlock 1
Proficiencies: Arcana and Intimidation.
Eldritch Invocation: Pact of the Blade. I select Longsword as his pact weapon, since he can use CHA to attack and damage bonuses, he can wield the sword without using STR, it can do radiant damage to get around resistances, and it is Versatile for 1h 1d8 or 2h 1d10. Since it is a magical focus he does not need a free hand.
This is the primary ability that will allow us to fight like a paladin. Ylithe can use any martial weapon, use his Charisma modifier to make attacks, and do radiant damage.
Pact Magic: He gets two cantrips and two 1st-Level spells. I select Blade Ward for some defense and True Strike to attack without his pact weapon and still do CHA-based radiant attacks; and Detect Magic and Protection for Evil and Good (since he will be hunting and fighting evil creatures.)
Level 2: Warlock 2
Eldritch Invocations: He gets two more. I select Armor of Shadows to get a better AC without wearing Amror with at-will Mage Armor, and Lessons of the First Ones which gives me another Origin Feat. I select Magic-Initiate: Wizard with Charisma to get more spells, which is always good for a Warlock. He gets more variety of cantrips but the big benefit is that his 1st level spell can be used once per Long Rest without expending a spell slot. I select Friends and Message for some extra utility and Shield for a great defense option—which he doesn’t normally have access to and again can use once without expending one of his 2 spell slots.
Magical Cunning: He can recover one of his limited 2 spell slots once per Long Rest.
Level 3: Warlock 3
He gets his sub-class of which we are choosing Celestial Patron. This gives him more spell selections (Aid, Cure Wounds, Guiding Bolt, Lesser Restoration, Light, Sacred Flame) that thematically are good with a paladin-like character. And he gets Healing Light, for now 4d6s he can use as a Bonus Action to heal someone within 60’. Similar to Lay on Hands, perhaps better because it is 60’ versus Touch, he just can’t cure the Poisoned condition. I’ll trade range for that.

He has AC 15 (Mage Armor + DEX) and 18 HP

At 3rd level a typical combat for Natan would look like this:

• Use BA to cast Shield of Faith for +2 to AC (now 17)

• Attack with pact weapon longsword, two-handed, at +5 to hot and doing 1d10+3 radiant damage. If he wants to stay at range he could use True Strike with a Short bow to also be at +5 to attack using CHA, and do 1d6+3 radiant damage.

• Instead of Shield of Faith he could cast Faerie Fire to get advantage on attacks, but its a full action and targets get a save vs. a bonus action that just takes effect.

Summary

Ylithe can fight in melee or ranged with a weapon using his CHA modifier (his best ability) and do radiant damage instead of physical. He has a decent AC all the time which he can make better. Even though as a Warlock he has limited spell slots, he has a few free uses from his species and feats: He can cast Faerie Fire, Shield and Shield of Faith each once without a spell slot. With his two spell slots he can do damage with Guiding Bolt, heal, or protect.

Level 4+

Ylithe is doing pretty well at 3rd level to mimic a paladin with radiant weapon attacks using his CHA and having spells and features that can heal and protect. This build will really become paladin-like with Pact of the Blade Warlock traits ad 5th level, so at 4th and 5th we will stick with Warlock. |
At 4th level we get a Feat and since his CHA is 17 we will take a ‘half-feat’ that gives him +1 to CHA to get it to 18 and +4 modifier to improve attack rolls and damage. I would take War Caster for the +1 to CHA, advantage on concentration checks (to keep Shield of Faith or Faerie Fire up for example.)
At 5th level he gets two more Invocations, and both the ones he is taking have a min level requirement of 5th. He will take Eldtritch Smite. Yes, a ‘smite’ from a class other than paladin. He can expend a Pact Magic spell slot to deal an extra 1d8 Force damage to the target, plus another 1d8 per level of the spell slot. As Warlock at 5th level he only has 3rd-level spells so his smite would do 4d8 extra damage. Plus he male the target Prone if it is Huge or smaller—no save allowed. He will also take Thirsting Blade which is basically Extra Attack with his Pact Weapon. So at 5th level—the same as martial classes—he can get two attacks for every Attack Action. And he now gets 3rd level spells. With increases in Proficiency Bonus and his Charisma he went from +5 to +7 to attack with his Pact Weapon or True Strike.