Listener Question: Paladins

Listener Andrew asks:

Hey so I was listening to one of your podcasts yesterday and it got me to thinking. I was wondering about min/maxing a pally in 5e. Now I am thinking long term about 15 levels, over the course of a campaign. I was thinking either Ancients or Vengeance. Leaning towards Ancients for the ability at 7th (resistant to damage) Not sure what this leaves open. I realize that this will hamper my pallys heals with LoH, is there a way I can circumvent that. I am Human Variant with Halberd, Polearm Master, LN alignment, I want to do significant damage and heal well, not sure if this is possible but if anyone can help it is Orc Labs. Thanks

The Measure of a Hero: Intelligence

Forgetting to Remember to Learn with Your Brain

by Meorty Matt

Hey orcs. It’s been a while. Official splat material is starting to come out for 5th Edition, which will (hopefully) provide a fresh stream of relevant content for fans and critics alike. There are still some areas of core content that this blog has not examined in detail, however, and some of it raises Big Questions that haven’t really been answered… until now.

MISTAKES WERE MADE

Error & Errata Round-Up

by Steve

So it seems I made some pretty egregious errors in the last couple podcasts. Fortunately, our listeners caught a number of them.  First off, what were the errors?

5th Edition D&D Limit Breaks, Part 3

How Far Is Too Far?

And How Far Is Not Far Enough?

Building a Better D&D Experience

by Meorty Matt

Anytime you pick up a game that involves pen & paper, dice, cards with a lot of words on them, or even a video game that grants you the freedom to build a character to your liking, there will come a moment when you have a clear choice. That is, a choice between doing what makes sense thematically (or flavor-wise) and doing what makes sense for your own self-interest. At the best of times, these two options will not be diametrically opposed or might actually be the same option. At the worst of times, extreme suspension of disbelief is required to continue without wanting to shout obscenities or throw something. What does any of this have to do with 5E?

5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons is not perfect. There, I said it.

5E D&D Blogcast: Bow vs. Axe

“Can I Axe You A Question?”

by Steve & Matt (feat. Tom)

In many of our previous posts, we’ve discussed in very general terms how good certain abilities or bonuses are for characters. More recently in the Max Damage blog series, we have taken a closer look at the specific contexts in which some of those abilities are beneficial. We’ve also taken a stab at backing up some of our analyses with numerical approximations of expected damage, but it’s never been terribly precise.

Until now, that is. (Pretty charts after break!)

Max Damage: Smite Knight

a 5th Edition D&D Build

by Steve & Matt

What happens when you mix two of the burstiest martial class abilities with a healthy dose of casting abilities? Great things. Amazing, wonderful things. If single target damage is your priority, prepare to have your socks blown off. This time we’re combining Devotion Paladin and Eldritch Knight, and the world of 5E D&D is not ready.

Max Damage: Master Battle Master

a 5th Edition D&D Build

by Steve & Matt

Ever felt like all those fancy builds with their skills and magic and multi-classing were just too complicated to bother with? No worries, 5E D&D has got you covered. If you still want a massive damage potential, look no further than the Fighter. As mentioned in the last section of Limit Breaks, Part 2, going with the Champion specialization is about as easy as it gets. Crave a little more control over the flow of battle, maybe a way to ensure that you land those crucial early hits? Then Battle Master is your custom-built developer favorite for just that, its mechanics and flavor imported fresh from 4th Edition. 

Max Damage: Surprise Evoker

a 5th Edition D&D Build

by Steve & Matt

One of the key goals of any high damage build is that the character be able to quickly eliminate opponents with insurmountable damage. But what if an opponent has more hit points than the average goon? Especially at late levels, it behooves any character who relies on violent resolution of conflicts to be able to dispatch even the mightiest of foes as quickly as possible (preferably to the chagrin of the DM). One extreme example of this sort of ‘glass cannon’ is an Evocation Wizard with dips into Rogue and Sorcerer. 

Max Damage: Tempest Evoker

a 5th Edition D&D Build

by Steve & Matt

If you found the limitations of a single-classed Tempest Cleric to be frustrating, consider instead taking levels of Wizard with a limited dip into Cleric. Your character will have a much greater degree of flexibility when choosing their spells each day and the types of damage dealt by those spells. If you are committed to keeping high damage as your build’s focus, the natural choice of Wizard specialization is the School of Evocation. 

Max Damage: Tempest Cleric

a 5th Edition D&D Build

by Steve & Matt

Hey folks, this is the first post in a series taking quick looks at different builds, each focused on a specific mechanic or theme. We are going to start off with a very simple idea: doing high amounts of damage within a round. One class specialization that does this with ease? The Tempest Cleric.