Human Paladin 5e D&D Guide

A Human Paladin is the veritable paragon of virtue and righteousness, clad in shining armor and wielding a mighty weapon, ready to smite evil wherever it may be found.

Paladins are beacons of hope and inspiration, inspiring their allies to greater heights of bravery and selflessness and embodying the best of what it means to be a hero.

With their unshakable faith, indomitable will, and unwavering sense of justice, they are indeed a force to be reckoned with.

Creating a Human Paladin

Humans

Humans are known as the youngest of all common races and are short-lived compared to dwarfs, elves, and dragons. Perhaps this is why they strive to achieve as much as possible in the few short years they live through.

Others believe they want to prove themselves to the elder races, hence their building of gigantic empires, large armies, and constant trade. It is because of this that humans have become the achievers, innovators, and pioneers of the worlds they inhabit.

Note: These features can be slightly changed or modified if some variations don’t fit your character.

Human Subraces

Humans have 7 different subraces if you exclude the humans from Plane Shift. These humans all have different strengths and weaknesses, so choose carefully.

Standard Human – Standard Humans can be found throughout any world, being good at everything but not excelling in anything.

Variant Human – Variant Humans are found in the same places other humans are found; however, they have extra proficiency in one skill and are given a Feat of their choice.

Variant Human: Mark of Finding – Mark of Finding Humans have a knack for tracking both objects and creatures; they can also communicate with those who speak Goblin.

Variant Human: Mark of Handling – Mark of Handling Humans have deep knowledge about nature and its animals. They have great animal communication and handling abilities to turn even the fiercest animals into loyal companions.

Variant Human: Mark of Making – Mark of Making Humans are experts at creation. They can conjure magical weapons, mend armor, and even move landscapes.

Variant Human: Mark of Passage – Mark of Passage Humans are known for their expert movement skills. With their magical abilities to increase stealth/movement, they can skillfully operate land vehicles and even unlock powerful teleportation magic.

Variant Human: Mark of Sentinel – Mark of Passage Humans are the guardians of those around them. With their spells, they protect the innocents, shield their allies and block incoming attacks without issues.

Note: All Variant Humans have spell lists where they have access to specific spells.

Paladin Class Features

Hit Points

Proficiencies

Paladin Sacred Oaths

Once you reach your 3rd level, you may swear an oath, binding you as a Paladin forever. Each oath has a different focus and brings you closer to the path of righteousness.

Ancients – The Oath of the Ancients is one of the oldest Sacred Oaths a Paladin can take. 

Those who take this oath cast both the light and darkness aside, all because of their love for nature and all things that grow. You can identify these Paladins by the images of plants their armor portrays.

Conquest – The Oath of Conquest calls for Paladins who seek glory on the battlefield and the destruction of their enemies.

Their duty is to crush the forces of chaos, serving gods and philosophies of war. Some Paladins even go so far as to reach out to powers of the Nine Hells, like the archdevil Bel, the warlord of Avernus.

Crown – The Oath of the Crown calls upon Paladins who value civilization above all else, the spirit of their nation, and their sovereignty.

In many cases, these Paladins become the watchful guardians atop palisades, protecting their civilization against the evils of the world.

Devotion – The Oath of Devotion contains Paladins who fight for justice, order, and virtue. They hold everyone to the highest standard of conduct, devoted entirely to their gods of good and law.

You can identify these Paladins by the angelic symbols and craftsmanship present on their equipment.

Glory – The Oath of Glory Paladins believe that they and their allies are destined for glory, achieved only through deeds of heroism.

Redemption – The Oath of Redemption Paladins believe in absolute vindication, seeing violence as a last resort. They face evil in the hopes of turning them to the light but are often reminded that their ideals are only that – ideals.

Vengeance – Oath of Vengeance Paladins seek retribution on those who committed the most horrific crimes.

Watchers – Oath of the Watchers Paladins are the protectors of the mortal realms, fighting against extraplanar intruders.

Oathbreaker – Oathbreaker Paladins are those who broke their sacred oaths to pursue a dark ambition or serve some evil power. 

Whatever light once burned in the hearts of these Paladins has long been extinguished, only darkness now remains.

Combining Paladin With Human

Determining Your Paladin Subclass

You’ll be making your own subjective choice when choosing your subclass, so before choosing, try to understand what your character wants to do and how well the chosen subclass fits with your subrace.

Optimal Human Subrace

Humans are extremely versatile creatures, gaining a bonus ability score point for each attribute (1). That means the subrace you pick for a human will have to be really good in order to top that.

Human Paladins will benefit most from the Variant Human: Mark of Sentinel subrace. 

Simply put, the Constitution (2) and Wisdom (1) bonus works well with Paladin’s proficient saving throws, also giving the Paladin extra survivability through its spell list.

Your Human Paladin Background

You need to think of a background that embraces the core values of a Human yet leads you down the path of becoming a Paladin.

Start by asking yourself some basic questions: Where were they born, and where did they come from? Do they have any goals, bonds, or ideals, and what are their flaws? Where do they belong in social circles and society as a whole? What inspires them?

Place of Birth

A Human Paladin needs a unique background that will affect their choices, as well as the way they see the world and what they want to achieve.

Try to make their place of birth and upbringing correspond with their personality traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws – this will truly bring their character alive.

Note: The birthplaces of races are usually mentioned in the Player’s Handbook or some of its expansion books.

Characteristics and Personality Traits 

Humans are extremely hardworking, never giving up when a challenge emerges, even in unfavorable situations. Humans are all different, so try to make your personality match this difference.

Human Paladin Examples:

• I worship a particular hero of my faith and constantly refer to that person’s actions and example.

• Nothing can shake my optimistic attitude.

Ideals, Bonds, and Flaws

Ideal – Express one ideal that is a driving force in a Human Paladin’s life – their conviction, ethical principle, and moral standing (probably something about nature).

I know that my deity will always guide my actions. I believe that if I start working hard, things will go well.

Bonds – Think of a single bond that your Human Paladin has to an event, person, or place. Bonds will tie them to their background and can inspire bravery or stimulate memories driving them against their ideals.

I would die to recover an ancient artifact of my faith that was lost a long time ago.

Flaws – Choose a single flaw for a Human Paladin – their unhealthy compulsion, greatest fear/weakness, or most vile vice.

My devoutness sometimes leads me to blindly trust those that profess faith in my god.

Inspiration

The DM can use inspiration to reward you for playing according to your bond, personality traits, ideals, and flaw.

Holy books are your specialty, and you don’t mind reciting them to those who need them.

Note: If you’re struggling to create your background or just don’t want to think, the Player’s Handbook has well-thought-through backgrounds that you can use for your character or use as a mold.

Supplies and Gear For Human Paladins

Paladins start with the following equipment, together with the equipment from their background. Choosing equipment based on your situation and your character’s proficiencies is the easiest way to go about things.

• (a) Martial weapon and shield or (b) Two martial weapons
• (a) Five javelins or (b) Any simple melee weapon
• (a) Priest’s pack or (b) Explorer’s pack
• A holy symbol and chain mail

You can decide how your character came about these goods – whether they stole, inherited, or purchased them some time back – adding to your character’s background.

Note: You can also use your starting wealth to buy equipment (5d4 x 10 GP for Paladins).

Final Thoughts

Human Paladins excel at most things they do; however, they always hold the gospel of their deity close to their hearts.

A party looking for a well-rounded Defender, Controller, or Support should try recruiting a Human Paladin.

You might also be interested in the following:

• Human Barbarian
• Human Monk
• Human Sorcerer
• Human Warlock
• Halfling Bard
• Halfling Monk
• Halfling Warlock