One D&D Paladin Playtest

The there are some significant changes from the 5e paladin contained in the One D&D playtest materials.

One of the biggest changes I’ve noted so far is the removal of Divine Smite. It’s replaced with Radiant Strikes, but that will be cold comfort for paladin fans out there.

I also noticed the Dazed condition for the first time in this UA. See the image I posted below. You can find the playtest material here.

One D&D Paladin Playtest Changes By Level

1. At level 1 in D&D 5e, paladins get Divine Sense and Lay on Hands. In One D&D, Paladins get Lay on Hands and Spellcasting.
2. Level 2 in in 5e grants Fighting Style, Spellcasting and Divine Smite. In One, you get Divine Smite and a Fighting Style.
3. Divine Health and Sacred Oath came at Level 3 in the current edition. Sacred Oath is still there in the new edition, but it’s called Paladin Subclass. You get your Channel Divinity, which at this level is limited to just Divine Sense.
4. Level 4 in 5e is an Ability Score Improvement (ASI), now, as with all classes in the playtest so far, it is a Feat, one of which is an ASI.
5. In the current edition, level 5 paladins get Extra Attack. Next edition, they get Extra Attack and Faithful Steed.
6. Last edition, paladins got Aura of Protection. In One, they get a Subclass Feature.
7. That subclass feature in 6 above use to be here as a Sacred Oath Feature. Under the next editions rules, Aura of Protection is granted at level 7.
8. This level was an ASI, now it’s a Feat.
9. 5e gives you no new feaures at level 9; One gives you Abjure Foes. This is a beefed up version of the Abjure Enemy feature that Oath of Vengeance paladins got as part of their oath. It also introduces the Dazed condition.
10. One D&D gives you a Subclass Feature at this level. 5e rules give you Aura of Courage.
11. Improved Divine Smite was your prize for attaining level 11 previously. Now it’s Radiant Strikes. This is the first time Paladins will get taste of that sweet smite damage they used to get. They’ll also only get 1d8 of additional damage, and no bonus for undeads or fiends. I guess the good news is that it happens on every attack and doesn’t require the use of a spells slot.
12. This level was an ASI, now it’s a Feat.
13. No additional features were granted here previously, now you get Aura of Courage. The feature is mostly the same as it was previously, but now it only suppresses the frightened state of a creature that was frightened while not in the paladin’s aura.
14. This level gives Cleansing Touch in 5e. Now it grants a Subclass Feature.
15. This level previously granted a Sacred Oath Feature, now you get Restoring Touch. This is an altered version of Cleansing Touch. Cleansing Touch allowed you to end a spell on yourself or a willing creature a number of times equal to your charisma modifier. The new ability lets you remove one condition from a creature when you use Lay on Hands and expend 5 Hit Points of Healing.
16. This level was an ASI, now it’s a Feat.
17. In 5e, a paladin gets no new features at level 17. In One, they get Aura Expansion. This was previously baked into the auras, and was granted at level 18.
18. Was Aura improvements, now it’s a Feat.
19. This level was an ASI, now it’s a Feat.
20. At level 20 5e gives you your final Sacred Oath Feature. Now you get an Epic Boon and and Ability score increase of 2 that can raise your ability score above 20, but not above 30.

That’s all for now!

I may come back and do a round up of epic boons so far for my next article. If you like this review, you can find my other reviews of One D&D playtest materials here. If you want to help support the Coliseum, please use our Amazon link to do your shopping!