The Wall of Fear: A Complete Guide to the Oath of Conquest

[Alucard89]

It's crazy, so crazy that it needs you to either roll well or be a Half-Elf, but what about multiclassing Long Death Monk 6?
You need your stats all over the place, and it's not ally friendly, but it is an at-will mass frighten.

Why you need to be Half-Elf? Conquest requires high CHA for high DC but with Point buy a lot of other races can get that. Conquest is not best at abusing Elven Accuracy.

You can also go Vuman and have 20 CHA by level 8, same like with Half-Elf but with extra feat, which imo works better for Conquest than Accuracy because Conquest don't have much ways to gain advantage on demand.

As for monk- too mad imo.

[Yunru]

Why you need to be Half-Elf?

Because you need 16 Str/Dex, 13 of the other, 16 Wis, and 13 Cha at character creation.
There's just not enough points on point-buy without Half-Elf.

EDIT: Although I guess if we do use Hour of Reaping most every round, our attack stat doesn't matter too much.

[Alucard89]

Because you need 16 Str/Dex, 13 of the other, 16 Wis, and 13 Cha at character creation.
There's just not enough points on point-buy without Half-Elf.

EDIT: Although I guess if we do use Hour of Reaping most every round, our attack stat doesn't matter too much.

A, ok, I understand what you mean. Imo Pala/Monk won't work good together. Whole Divine Smite features goes to waste on higher levels and doesn't scale up. You Need STR, DEX, CON, WIS, CHA. Imo it's sounds cool from roleplay perspective but it's super weak from mechanic point of view.

[Yunru]

A, ok, I understand what you mean. Imo Pala/Monk won't work good together. Whole Divine Smite features goes to waste on higher levels and doesn't scale up. You Need STR, DEX, CON, WIS, CHA. Imo it's sounds cool from roleplay perspective but it's super weak from mechanic point of view.

But an at-will mass frighten! You wouldn't need Divine Smite (or Cha). Of course, you also wouldn't want to play the character from level 1.

[Quoz]

Making a Yuan-ti conquest paladin for an upcoming campaign. Rolled quite well, so starting at level 7 with 16 Str, 18 Con and 20 Cha. +5 and advantage to all saves vs magic should shut down whole categories of enemy attacks.

One aspect that hasn't gotten a lot of discussion here is magic items. I know they are very dependent on table and GM but they can have a drastic impact on playstyle. With high CHA and proficiency in persuasion see if your GM would be willing to do the buy/sell rules option in Xanathar's.

I get to start with one rare and one uncommon item. I'm decided on uncommon as Winged Boots. Not only is it useful as a way to drop flyers with your aura (either during your turn or theirs - charge wrathful smite for use with a held action or a sentinel attack. Fall as a free action after the hit so you drop with them.) Flying also gives a lot of control over the 30' cone of your Fear spell. Casting downward from an angle can avoid allies and sets how wide an area you target. Not perfect for a pitched battle, but good enough to take a few priority targets out of the fight without screwing your team up.

As for a rare item, I'm at a toss up. I normally love ring of spell storing for the versatility, and would jump all over it if we had a warlock to cast fear in it every time he had an extra slot before we rest, but my party is mostly martial or multi class, and I already have a lot of good spells on my own. Cloak of displacement also seemed great but frightened enemies already have disadvantage. At this point I'm at a toss up between necklace of prayer beads (bonus action bless, cure, or restoration would be great) or a +2 shield and take shield master for my next ASI for shoves and Dex saves.

[Sception]

I'll again reccomend belt of hill giant strength for your rare item. Solving the maddness issues inherent in the build without multiclassing lets you stick to a pure conquest build while freeing up your later asis for feats that such a build normally doesnt have room for.

In addition to the usual feat spent on mitigating concentration saves (pick one of resilient con, warcaster, or lucky, not really a wrong choice among them), you'll have three slots to pick from the likes of sentinel, inspiring presance, polearm master, shield master, spell sniper, ritual caster, magic initiate, etc.

Again, not really a bad choice among them, but my personal preferences would be warcaster, magic initiate wizard (booming blade, minor illusion, find familiar), inspiring presance, and sentinel.


For uncommon item, winged boots are a good call, but be careful about falling damage from that grounding strategy you mentioned.

[Seba]

Playing a conq. paladin that just hit lvl 4 and I'm debating between one of these two choices:

1. Do I bump my STR/CHA? I Currently have 14 STR 19 CHA (because I'm v.human with the menacing feat).

2. Take the sentinel feat and worry about rounding out my stats at lvl 8.


Would love some input. Thank you

[Corran]

Playing a conq. paladin that just hit lvl 4 and I'm debating between one of these two choices:

1. Do I bump my STR/CHA? I Currently have 14 STR 19 CHA (because I'm v.human with the menacing feat).

2. Take the sentinel feat and worry about rounding out my stats at lvl 8.


Would love some input. Thank you

I would pick either resilient con or +1str +1cha.

[Frandopolis]

Playing a conq. paladin that just hit lvl 4 and I'm debating between one of these two choices:

1. Do I bump my STR/CHA? I Currently have 14 STR 19 CHA (because I'm v.human with the menacing feat).

2. Take the sentinel feat and worry about rounding out my stats at lvl 8.


Would love some input. Thank you

For sure max CHA and get STR high enough to wear plate (while you should be getting before level 8).

Think about sentinel vs. res CON vs. warcaster vs. PAM etc for level 8.

[the_move]

For sure max CHA and get STR high enough to wear plate (while you should be getting before level 8). Think about sentinel vs. res CON vs. warcaster vs. PAM etc for level 8.

You can also wear plate armor without STR 15. You‘ll only lose some speed at start, which you can eventually regain with uncommon Gauntlets of Ogre Power.

While I really enjoy this guide I think it somehow neglects the true potential of the Hexblade.

My personal approach would be to dump STR (10) in favor of CHA (16), CON (16, Scourge Aasimar), and WIS (14). Further I‘d invest in two levels of Hexblade warlock, the first one as early as lvl 2 to become formidable at melee plus gaining early access to Booming Blade and Eldritch Blast, the other at around lvl 9 to acquire 2 invocations, a third warlock spell, and a second lvl 1 warlock spell slot.

As for warlock spells early on I‘d pick Shield (Hexblade expanded spell list) and Expeditious Retreat. That gives you either a strong extra protection spell, or extra speed during a battle (per short or long rest), as long as your party does not grant you haste, or until you aqcuired the gauntlets. At lvl 9 you can trade ER, if you do not need it any longer. Protection from Evil and Good might be a good replacement depending on your campaign. You also gain a third spell. And since you got your Aura of Conquest up you‘ll most certainly choose Wrathful Smite from the warlock‘s spell list. Now you can use it 2 times per short, or long rest without touching your paladin spell slots. Or 2 uses of the shield spell, if you so choose. You could also take Wrathful Smite directly at lvl 2. One use per short, or long rest won‘t hurt. You could skip ER completely for it. If you do not reach a target, throw EB at them. At lvl 5 you already got two shots.

As for the two invocations, my choice would be the Grasp of Hadar which might help pulling targets (back) into your Aura of Conquest (and probably Radiant Consumption), and Agonizing Blast, which will make you a formidable ranged combatant, too. As a matter of fact combined with the spiritual weapon you can generate lots force damage attacks, since afaik cantrips such as Eldritch Blast scale with character level. Oh, and Eldritch Blast also benefits of the Hexblade‘s curse regarding crit range and bonus damage. That means even running away from you, or staying out of melee/auras won‘t be an option, and will result in even more punishment.

At lvl 10 you should then have your second ASI and with it CHA 20. Or, if your DM approves, you can go for the Angelic Protection feat from the Expanded Racial Feats list. Definately not a bad choice.

You don‘t need War Caster (at least early on). Your CON bonus plus Aura of Protection adds up to +8 on any CON save, which is at least decent. However, there are still two ASIs left at lvl 14 and 18.
Correction: For the usage of the Shield Spell you might need the War Caster feat early on. Eldritch Blast however can be achieved by just stowing your weapon.

[Stardfox]

Hey everybody - I've been a DM for a few campaigns, and just got my first opportunity to be a PC in a new campaign. This is a fantastic guide, and it got me really excited for a thematic Conquest Paladin.

I was really interested in dipping into Hexblade, but I've since been really back-and-forth on it, as it seems like sticking with pure Conqueror might be just as good (if not better) for my situation. I'm looking for some opinions from others!

I'm playing a Fallen Aasimar Paladin (currently level 2), and rolled fairly middle-of-the-road for stats. Factoring in racial bonuses: 16/12/14/11/14/16. I took the Dueling fighting style (Flail & Shield), and I expect the campaign to likely conclude around level 11, with the possibility of maybe pushing into later levels. Party comp: a Cleric (Tempest) Druid (Land), Monk (Open Hand), and Sorcerer (Shadow) - so a nice frontline support with the monk, and a couple supportive characters.

With my STR & CHA being equal at this point, I don't see a real advantage with multiclassing into Hexblade early, so I'm currently considering dipping at level 10 at the earliest, due to really needing those ASIs to max out CHA as early as possible. Sadly, I don't think I'll be able to get any feats unless the campaign goes longer.

I've compared the DPR numbers for dipping into Hexblade vs just sticking with Conqueror, and they appear to be extremely similar with a 16 STR & 20 CHA, factoring in the extra 3rd spell slot from 11 Conquerer that could be used as a smite to offset the damage increase against the Hexed target. Two rounds of attacks vs my hexed target is the breakpoint for damage vs Improved Divine Smite and the extra 3rd-level smite. (If anyone's interested in my math, I can do a separate post.)

Since we've accounted for the damage tradeoff, let's do the rest. Let's assume I go 9 Conqueror then 2 Hexblade. Pros of dipping are: Increased crits against hexed target, a short rest slot recharge, Shield spell, and 2 Cantrips & Invocations. Cons of dipping: Reduced damage if you don't spend two turns fighting a hexed target, lose Aura of Courage (!), some Lay on Hands HP (mostly offset by Hex target healing), and the flexibility of that 3rd-level slot.

A few specific questions I'm looking for answers on, as well as general feedback:
1) Just how good is Aura of Courage, especially considering the Monk and I will probably be the only ones in the frontline for the most part?
2) Since I'm likely not going to be picking up feats, do the Warlock's spells (specifically Shield & Booming Blade) lose their potency without Warcaster?
3) Related to the above... I can't seem to find a consensus on whether the Shield spell will cause problems without having a free hand. (Can I just "drop and pick back up my weapon?")
4) I see some comments from others about gaining a CON save proficiency by dipping into Fighter/Sorcerer... where's the rules support for this?

[Wildarm]

A few specific questions I'm looking for answers on, as well as general feedback:
1) Just how good is Aura of Courage, especially considering the Monk and I will probably be the only ones in the frontline for the most part?
2) Since I'm likely not going to be picking up feats, do the Warlock's spells (specifically Shield & Booming Blade) lose their potency without Warcaster?
3) Related to the above... I can't seem to find a consensus on whether the Shield spell will cause problems without having a free hand. (Can I just "drop and pick back up my weapon?")
4) I see some comments from others about gaining a CON save proficiency by dipping into Fighter/Sorcerer... where's the rules support for this?

1) Probably not critical. Monk will generally have a good save anyway if you do happen to tag him with a fear effect. Make sure he's within your aura.
2) &3) You definitely want Warcaster if you plan on using the shield spell. It's awkward to use it otherwise. Booming blade is not a huge issue. Warcaster just lets you use it as an AoO. You're low level slots is probably better spent on wrathful smite though.
4) Con save prof and/or warcaster is strongly recommended. You are a controller tank who may be getting hit often. Losing concentration on your spells is horrible. I would at the very least pick up Res(Con) at level 12 after maxing out charisma. Warcaster if you want to focus on booming blade and shield spell use.

[Xihirli]

The mtof Tiefling subraces are definitely worth looking at here.

[Wildarm]

The mtof Tiefling subraces are definitely worth looking at here.

Any of the +2 CHA +1 STR/CON/DEX ones are all options. Nothing particularly synergistic other than Levistus - +2CHA/+1CON and which gives you a CHA based ranged control cantrip(Ray of Frost) plus AoA(Lv2 only) and darkness. Possibly a good option for a straight up STR/CHA Conquest Pally. Don't think there are any Tiefling half feats worth picking up to round out 17 CHA so you'd likely pick up 16 STR/18 CHA at level 4 and max CHA/STR going forward.

[Jacque]

I am having some difficulties with my Oath of Conquest paladin as well.

I am fond of the idea of taking a Hexblade level at level 2 so that I get more options and feel that I can contribute more when charisma becomes my main fighting stat. I have chosen Fallen Aasimar as my race and am considering distributing my stats as 15, 10, 14, 8, 10, 17.

Now I am juggling with the need to max my charisma as soon as possible while also getting my Warcaster feat in early. Additionally, if I chose +2 charisma as my first ASI then I am stuck with charisma 19 and need a half-feat that provides a +1 charisma. Other than Menacing, which isn't an option, I don't find any that really suits my taste.

I could go for a starting wisdom of 8 and constitution of 15 and then take a +1/+1 ASI to get my con to 16 and cha to 20.

Or I could start with a charisma 16 and then take +2 charisma at level 4 and 8. But if I go with this option, isn't human a better race and get a feat from level 1? It is the only way I see that nets me the Warcaster feat early - if I start out as a Hexblade.

[Xihirli]

Any of the +2 CHA +1 STR/CON/DEX ones are all options. Nothing particularly synergistic other than Levistus - +2CHA/+1CON and which gives you a CHA based ranged control cantrip(Ray of Frost) plus AoA(Lv2 only) and darkness. Possibly a good option for a straight up STR/CHA Conquest Pally. Don't think there are any Tiefling half feats worth picking up to round out 17 CHA so you'd likely pick up 16 STR/18 CHA at level 4 and max CHA/STR going forward.

There’s two CHA/DEX options and DEX is totally viable if you don’t plan on multiclassing.

[Yunru]

My personal approach would be to dump STR (10) in favor of CHA (16), CON (16, Scourge Aasimar), and WIS (14).

You need at least 13 Strength to be able to multiclass with Paladin.
At which point you might as well have 14 Strength so you can Prone easier when your aura's online.

[the_move]

You need at least 13 Strength to be able to multiclass with Paladin.
At which point you might as well have 14 Strength so you can Prone easier when your aura's online.

Who said anything about MC into paladin? I would be dumb NOT to go pally first, as I would lose heavy armor prof by doing so. Of course you multiclass into warlock, which takes CHA 13. I said "MC warlock at 2nd level", that implies Paly at lvl1, and for that you don't need STR 13. When the Conquest Aura comes online (either lvl 8, or 9) I either have already gathered Gauntlets of Ogre Power (STR 19) by then, or I look for other ways to prone my opponents (Command?). And of course there's the party...

However I am somewhat tempted to take the 2nd lvl of warlock at lvl 5 instead of lvl 9, because while I am delaying my auras and extra attack I gain a formidable eldritch blast (2x(1d10+CHA + Grasp of Hadar)), a second warlock spell slot for two Divine Smites per short/long rest, and in melee I can work with Green Flame Blade in the meantime. It will not fully replace an extra attack, but an extra 1d8 fire damage for the first target, plus 1d8+3 for a 2nd adjacent target is reasonable.

[Klaus Teufel]

I thought you needed the minimum stats listed for both classes when you multiclass?

[the_move]

I thought you needed the minimum stats listed for both classes when you multiclass?

True, but we have it houseruled. But even without houserule there is little to change here.

Str 13 is 5 Points
Dump Dex to 8 is 0 points
Con 15 is 9 points (+1 stat with the Scourge)
Int 8 is also 0
Wis to 12 is 4 points
Cha to 14 is 7 Points (+2 stat for Aasimar)

That's 25 Points, so you even got some leftover. Personally I'd prefer to even out DEX (10) to be not too far behind in initiative and saving throw.

2) &3) You definitely want Warcaster if you plan on using the shield spell. It's awkward to use it otherwise. Booming blade is not a huge issue. Warcaster just lets you use it as an AoO. You're low level slots is probably better spent on wrathful smite though.
4) Con save prof and/or warcaster is strongly recommended. You are a controller tank who may be getting hit often. Losing concentration on your spells is horrible. I would at the very least pick up Res(Con) at level 12 after maxing out charisma. Warcaster if you want to focus on booming blade and shield spell use.

2&3) Well, Most V,S spells (buffs) can be cast at the beginning of the battle. Also just keep your sword sheathed until you reach the nme, or he reaches you.
4) 16 Con + Aura of Protection with 20 CHA is going a long way regarding concentration, until you can grab Warcaster at a higher level. I'd go for the CHA 20 first as it makes it more difficult to resist your spells... With +3 Con, +5 CHA (Aura) and Warcaster I wonder if the CON prof might be a little over the top. +14 on a CON save with advantage?

Edit:
Btw. Is the Holy Weapon spell not lasting for up to an hour? The guide says a minute, but the book says up to one hour. Depending on the campaign/dungeon this might be a whole bunch of 2d8s to roll.

[Seba]

Hey guys, I was just curious to know of your experiences with your conq paladins from levels 5-7; how fun are they? These early levels have been kinda stale for me (1-4).

[Wildarm]

Hey guys, I was just curious to know of your experiences with your conq paladins from levels 5-7; how fun are they? These early levels have been kinda stale for me (1-4).

The CD at level 3 is impactful and can give you some decent short rest control. Otherwise, conquest plays as a pretty standard Paladin till you get your level 7 aura. Then your whole playstyle shifts.

[McSkrag]

Hey guys, I was just curious to know of your experiences with your conq paladins from levels 5-7; how fun are they? These early levels have been kinda stale for me (1-4).

I don't think this is a Conquest issue. I think Paladins in general are kind of late bloomers compared to other classes and don't start to feel really strong until they get to level 6+ when they have their CD, Extra Attack, Aura of Protection, and a few spell slots to work with.

[Sception]

Hey guys, I was just curious to know of your experiences with your conq paladins from levels 5-7; how fun are they? These early levels have been kinda stale for me (1-4).

Before you pick up aura of conquest, you are a paladin. Early level paladins are a bit slow, but still functional. At first level, you live on your proficiencies as a melee class, and they're good enough. A bit of free healing from lay on hands helps you operate in melee without draining party resources.

-----------

As a note, while you do gain useful features in the next few levels, Paladin is a bit slower before level 5 than most, so if you're thinking about dipping a level or two in another, more front loaded class - hexblade being the ur example here - doing so earlier on might make the next few levels a bit more engaging for you. I personally don't like delaying aura of conquest, but if your campaign is only going to run to around level 10, the extra toys a hexblade dip delivers earlier on are probably worth the one level delay to later features.

----------

At level two, spells and smiting show up, and for the most part you keep on keeping on as a somewhat plain melee beat stick leaning on your martial weapon/heavy armor/shield proficiencies to function, now buffered by a combat style and even more bonus healing from lay on hands. The main thing that changes is, of course, spell slots, and there are generally two effective ways to go. The first, and probably most effective, is to cast bless in two combats per day. As a melee dude you do risk losing it to concentration saves, but for the rounds you have it up it's a massive boost, and if you have a cleric in the party then between the two of you bless can be cast in nearly every combat, which is pretty fancy. The second option is to save your spell slots for boss monsters and burn them on smites - either regular divine smite for reliable damage, or wrathful smite for less damage plus a debuff, at the cost of potentially wasting the spell if you miss your attacks or if the enemy passes their save. Wrathful is my preference of the two, since it's really good if it lands, and it starts giving the impression of where you're going, but all in all bless is probably the best use of your first level spell slots for the next several levels.

At level three you pick up your oath, and with it channel divinity. You should make a point to use it every short rest. Even before you get aura of conquest it's still a great, concentration-free aoe debuff. It's an anti-crowd ability, so you don't need to worry about saving it for special occasions. Otherwise, you're as you were in 2nd level, just with more hp and more lay on hands, and an extra spell slot.

At level 4 you get more hp, more lay on hands, and an ASI. This ASI is probably going into charisma, which means your attack stat is a bit lower than you'd otherwise want. And that charisma isn't doing all that much for you at this level besides making your CD and wrathful smite a bit harder to shrug off. This is honestly probably the blandest level in the progression, so I can certainly understand those who take a slight hit to optimization to take a cooler feat at this level - maybe sentinel, or inspiring leader, or magic initiate, or warcaster, or even alert - a solid feat that maybe hasn't gotten enough attention in this thread. In the long run it's probably best to max cha, and maybe boost your attack stat some, before branching out into feats, but you do you.

-----

To this point, assuming you haven't multiclassed at all, things have admittedly been a /little bit/ slow. You're a melee beatstick with a solid AC and martial weapons, but your round-by-round damage output isn't really any better than any other character who happens to pick up a weapon. Your main advantages are a couple castings of bless a day - which is great, but a cleric could do that better/more frequently/plus be casting 2nd level spells by now - and that you have an extra 5hp healing per level out of combat usable on yourself or anyone else. That's nice & reliable, even a cleric would have a hard time replicating that without eating unacceptably into their combat casting options, but that's admittedly not the most super engaging. You could burn your slots on smite instead of bless and feel like a hero in maybe one combat per day... but the overall contribution to the party's success is probably less than if you just cast bless.

The channel divinity is great, but I find a lot of paladins save that for important fights and end up using it far less than 1/short rest as a result. Again, Conquest's channel divinity is an anti-crowd tool. Use it the first time you can get 3+ enemies in the aoe in each rest cycle. Assuming even one short rest, you should be able to use either bless or the CD in 5 combats per day. Against a horde of weenies, use the CD. against anything else, cast bless.

So if you're level 4 right now... your character shouldn't be bad at all. High AC melee beatstick with a longsword, duelist style, 3/day bless, ~2 per day AOE frighten, and 20 extra hp for the party is /not/ a bad character by any stretch, but I could understand if, at this particular level, you feel like maybe paladin isn't maybe the flashiest or most exciting character option, especially if you aren't capitalizing on that channel divinity. But things are about to ramp up for you dramatically, so I'd say stick around for at least a few more levels...

-----

At level 5 things start to step up dramatically. A second attack puts you well out in front of non-combat-specialists when it comes to baseline fighting ability - though other combat specialists will still outperform you in round by round damage. More importantly, a fourth first level slot plus a two second level slots literally doubles the number of spells you can cast per day compared to fourth level. Now you can throw out either your channel divinity (against regular-attacking crowds) or bless (against foes with good AC or save-based offense) in basically every combat, plus in two fights per day you can cast spiritual weapon - something not easily available to other paladins - giving you a good use for your bonus action and moving your damage output from 'respectable' to 'impressive' for the duration of that combat. You also get a permanent, intelligent pet/mount/extra ally in find steed. 5th level is huge for a lot of classes, but for paladins in general, not just you, it's titanic.

At level 6 the gravy train keeps rolling with aura of protection, one of the strongest defensive features in the game and by itself justification for many sorcadins to take a whole four more levels of paladin after picking up divine smite - the only other feature they really care about out of the paladin class, apart from maybe one or two of the oath auras. Between bless, aura of protection, and what is at least a +3 cha mod, honestly should be +4 at this point, you and those of your party who stick close to you shouldn't have to worry about most saving throws, and that is a big deal.

At level 7 you pick up your oath aura and become a conqueror proper, not just a paladin with a solid CD and oath spells. It's a good thing you have the aura now, because suddenly bless isn't really the best use of your first level spell slots, wrathful smite is. You might still cast bless some, though. Conversely, you might even start casting wrathful smite instead of spiritual weapon with your second level slots. Your CD goes from 'solid debuff' to 'aoe lockdown nightmare' as well, though the save at the end of every round means enemies will wake from that nightmare eventually.

Level 8 is another 'ASI and nothing else' level, with the ASI again probably going into charisma. At this point, your weapon attack accuracy will be starting to noticeably fall behind against tougher, high-AC type enemies, and as such Bless remains an important tool in your belt. But with auras of defense and conquest active you and your party will feel the benefits of your increased charisma immediately, instead of it being a 'down the road' kind of benefit. Enemies are more likely to fail saves against your CD and wrathful smites, and you and nearby allies are less likely to fail saves against... anything.

Level 9 is another big one as you pick up two third level slots for Fear. Fear is massive on any conqueror, an aoe frighten that allows no further saves at all for any monsters who fail the initial saves and become trapped in the aura? Amazing. Fear + Aura of Conquest is basically the Conqueror core package, and from here you have a few options.

Keeping on in paladin is just fine. Unlike more smite-oriented paladins, Conqueror gets something significant at every level, and has no particular need to jump out.

On the other hand, with, presumably, Cha 20 at this point, but only Str 16, your melee attack stat is lagging noticeably, so if you've been planning to dip hexblade and haven't done so yet, now's the time.

Alternatively, you can multi out at this (or really any future) point altogether, into hexblade, or divine sorcerer, or sword bard, or battlemaster, or cavalier, or some mix of the above. I personally prefer straight conqueror with maybe a 1-2 level dip of hexblade, but high cha, aura of defense, aura of conquest, and Fear mix well into a number of multiclass builds.

If you know you're going to take 5 or more levels of warlock, sorcerer, or bard then you might stop at level 7 of paladin, but... it's hard to stop one level shy of an ASI on a build that wants to max CHA /that badly/, and if you do take level 8 then it's even harder to stop one level shy of Fear when you already have aura of conquest, even if you'll /eventually/ get it from another class 5 levels down the line.


Again, though, full conquest, or conquest with just one or two levels of hexblade, does perfectly well on its own, picking up a more party friendly fear from aura of courage, better base line melee damage from improved divine smite, a dramatically upgraded pet/ally/mount that lets you take your aura to the sky to drive flying enemies to the ground from find greater steed, some thorns damage from the level 15 conquest feature, aoe damage & prone from destructive wave (fantastic on enemies already caught in your aura of conquest), expanded aura range (!) and, if you don't dip at all, a shockingly strong capstone. Not to mention a steady ASI progression with which to shore up your physical attack stat (if you didn't dip hexblade), concentration saves, and maybe even take a feat just for fun and flavor later on.

Don't get me wrong, you can get a very nice alternative suite of abilities from 11 levels of other classes, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with straight conqueror. Honestly, even for other paladins, the pressure to multiclass is overstated, and mostly comes from disregarding stronger paladin spells for the more immediate & reliable divine smite.

[KyleG]

Im curious if those of you reading think the conquest paladin can be a focused conquest. I am considering a Dragonborn who wants to turn the tables of history and Conquer and subjugate Dragons as his people were once subjugated. For the most part I dont want that almost evil tendancy to be a barrier within a good party. This character is driven only to subjugate Dragons and possibly those who might worship dragons, replacing himself as their focus of devotion.

Any thoughts on how to roleplay this if indeed his oath of conquest can be narrowed in this way?

[Sception]

Talk to your DM, basically. I've got some thoughts on role playing by-the-book conquerors, evil or otherwise, and will get to a long post about it sooner or later, but whenever you're looking at interpretations of paladin oaths and want to know what interpretations will be kosher at your particular table, there's really only one person who can definitively answer that for you.

For the record, I'd be fine with it. But I'm a relatively permissive DM open to reinterpretation or even rewriting of paladin oaths and similar 'fluff mechanics' generally.

[KyleG]

Fair enough. But your take is that its probably not intended to be so narrowly focused?

[Sception]

Fair enough. But your take is that its probably not intended to be so narrowly focused?

My take is that, by default, paladin oaths are meant to define their general philosophocal disposotion towards the world as a whole. Individual characters might have a personal focus beyond that, but the disposition should be there more broadly.

For instance, an oath of vengeance paladin might be personally focused on and dedicated to avenging a particular wrong influcted during their backstory.
Pursuing that particular vengeance may define their adventuring career. It might have motivated their choice of oath. But they will still, by default tend to be vengeful people in general, insisting on some kind of penence or restitution for whatever wrongs they witness.

So to with a conqueror. They might have a specific domain they wish to conquer or a parricular enemy or group of enemies they wish to subjugate based on their backstory, and that particular focus might have motivated their choice of oath, but they will still be at least somewhat domineering by nature.

[Wildarm]

So my warforged envoy dex cnquest pal4/war1is finishing up DH shortly and the plan is to do CoS after. Hopefully I’ll have a big chunk of gold to spend in between. Any recommendaions for magic items to hunt for? Don’t expect much beyond uncommon. Current wish list is goggles of night, +1 shield, +1 weapon, +1 pact keeper rod, cloak of protection, any stat boosting item, ?

Suggestions? Can be CoS specific or general for a conquest paladin.

[M@XIM]

Building a level 10 ConPaladin. I need some advice.

• Level 10
• Point Buy
• Start off with 1 Uncommon Magic Item and any mundane items

I'm debating between Strength and Dex build. This will most likely be a one off or small series of one offs so the present strength is more important than future strength.

1. How would you stat him (include relevant race and feats)?
2. Recommendation for UC Item/Other gear?