You are a Paladin who follows the Oath of the Crown, but what does this mean? It means that, above all else, you believe in upholding the law, maintaining loyalty, and dealing with the consequences of your actions.
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In return for upholding these tenets in the world ofBaldur’s Gate 3, you are given the power to protect your allies in a far greater way than anyFighteror Cleric. You are given the ability to smite your foes with divine justice.
Are you prepared to take up this oath? If so, here is how best to build the Oath of the Crown Paladin.
Best Character Creation Settings for Oath of the Crown Paladin
While you can create your own character for the Oath of the Crown Paladin, you can also use origin characters.Karlachmakes a great Paladin, andMinthara, recruited later in the game, is also a great Paladin.
If you want to create your own character, there are some great choices to make.
Best Race Selections
Multiple races make good choices for Oath of the Crown Paladins. I recommend using any of the following races:
Zariel Tiefling
Tieflings get Darkvision and have fire resistance. More specifically, Zariel Tieflings gain the Thaumaturgy cantrip, as well as the Searing Smite and Branding Smite spells.
Gold Dwarf
Dwarves get Darkvision and advantage on saving throws against poison. Gold Dwarves also get additional health for each level, making them much tougher.
Half-Orcs also have Darkvision. On top of this, they get Relentless Endurance, allowing them to regain a hit point instead of getting downed, as well as Savage Attacks, which lets them deal an extra dice of damage when they roll a critical hit.
My go-to choice forPaladins in general is the Zariel Tiefling,as this race gets two additional Smite spells, giving you more spells to work with. This way, if you happen to run out of smites, you can fall back to using your racial smites, which you get after each long rest.
If you don’t want the extra smites, you can fall back on theGold Dwarf,which gets extra hit points per level, allowing them to be tankier than most other races, or theHalf-Orc, which gets a great damage buff on critical hits and Relentless Endurance.
Best Background/Skills Selections
When it comes to choosing your character’s background, the best for a Paladin are oftenAcolytefor its Insight and Religion,Soldierfor Athletics and Intimidation, orOutlanderfor Athletics and Survival. I typically stick withAcolytefor the Insight skill since Paladins are Charisma casters and I like to do the talking.
As for skill choices, I recommend takingIntimidationandPersuasionif you like to be the face of your party, as these are great for talking out situations. You can switch out Intimidation withMedicineif you want some extra knowledge of healing.
Best Ability Score Choices
Paladins are very much strength-based characters who are meant to tank hits and strike back hard. They also rely heavily on Charisma to cast their spells. For these reasons, you will be focusing onCharismaandStrengthfor your two main stats.
Constitution
Intelligence
I recommend setting your Strength score to 17, as this is your primary attack stat, and you should set your Charisma to 16, as this will be used for all of your spells. After that, Constitution is set to 14, as this will make sure you have health to tank hits.
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The other three stats don’t matter as much, but I chose to keep Wisdom at 10 for the sake of my skills. Intelligence and Dexterity are both set to 8 because they aren’t needed. Most of the time, I will be wearing heavy armor, which removes the Dexterity bonus to Armor Class, making it useless.
Oath of the Crown Paladin Abilities/Feats
The Oath of the Crown Paladin takes the role of the tank very seriously, as it has multiple abilities that help draw enemy attention and protect its allies. You will get the following abilities as you level up:
Description
Righteous Clarity
Allows the target to add their proficiency bonus to attack rolls.
Champion Challenge
Compel enemies around you to attack you. Also imposes disadvantage on enemies that attack your allies.
Turn the Tide
Heal nearby allies.
Oath Spells
CommandWarding Bond, Spiritual Weapon, Spirit Guardians, Crusader’s Mantle.
Divine Allegiance
Allows you to use your reaction to substitute your own health with your allies', healing them, while you take radiant damage.
These powerful abilities will help keep your allies from getting harmed throughout the campaign, and should always be used during battle to help keep everyone alive. When you get access to Feats, consider the following:
Allows you to use your reaction to attack an enemy that attacks a nearby ally. Also grants you advantage on attacks of opportunity. When you hit an enemy with an opportunity attack, they cannot move for the rest of the turn.
War Caster
Grants you advantage on saving throws to maintain concentration.
You gain a +5 bonus to initiative and can’t be surprised.
Regain full hit points each time you take a short rest. Also increases your Constitution score by 1.
Great Weapon Master
Allows you to make another melee attack as a bonus action after you score a critical hit or kill an enemy.
Your hit point maximum increases by 2 for every level you have gained.
When it comes to Feats, I recommend takingSentinel, Great Weapon Master,andTough.These will allow you to further help your allies by using your reaction to attack enemies that attack them, get extra hits each time you land a critical hit or kill an enemy, and grant you more hit points.
If you frequently find yourself losing concentration, considertakingtheWar Caster Feat,as this will help prevent that from happening. I typically use a lot of smites, making this Feat unnecessary. TheDurableFeatis okay to take instead of Tough if you want to get more health back with each short rest, allowing you to be better prepared for future fights.
On top of this, you will get tochoose a fighting style at level 2.The two best fighting styles for the Oath of the Crown Paladin areProtection,if you plan on using a shield, orDefense,if you want to increase your armor class even further.
Oath of the Crown Paladin Spell Choices
Paladins only get access to up to third-level spells. Because of this, you get to choose a lot of spells as you level up, making the spell choices much easier. I recommend the following spells:
Cure Wounds
Heal a creature you can touch.
Wrathful Smite
Possibly inflict an enemy with fear.
Grants up to 3 targets +1d4 on attack rolls and saving throws.
Divine Favor
Your weapon attacks deal an additional 1-4 radiant damage.
Shield of Faith
Increase the target’s armor class by +2.
Thunderous Smite
Push your target away and possibly knock them prone.
Heal your allies and increase their hit point maximum by 5 points.
Branding Smite
On hit, it possibly marks the target with light.
Lesser Restoration
Cure a creature from disease, poison, paralysis, or blindness.
Blinding Smite
Possibly inflict blind on your target.
Elemental Weapon
+1 bonus to attack rolls and adds extra elemental damage.
Remove Curse
Remove curses and hexes affecting a creature.
Revive a companion. They return to life with 1 hit point.
When it comes to spells, your smites will be your most powerful and useful on the battlefield. These can be used to decimate foes, and if you miss, you don’t expend a spell slot, making the consequences of using them minimal.
You will also get additional spells from your Oath. These includeCompelled Duel, which is great for taking aggro,Spiritual Weapon,which allows you to summon a magical weapon to aid you in combat, andSpirit Guardianswhich can help shield you and your allies from enemies that get too close.
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If you want additional spells, it doesn’t hurt to take a few levels in Sorcerer, as this will increase your ranged spell options, making you a greater threat across the battlefield.
Best Equipment For Oath of the Crown Paladin
Sword of Chaos
Regain 1-6 hit points when you hit with this weapon.
Balduran’s Giantslayer
Doubles the damage from your strength modifier when you hit, grants advantage on attack rolls against large and greater creatures, and grants you the Giant Form class action.
Defender Greataxe
Allows you to reduce the weapon’s enchantment by 1 to increase your armor class and saving throw bonus for the next turn.
Viconia’s Walking Fortress
Use your reaction to deal 2-8 force damage to a melee attacker, possibly knocking it prone. Grants you the Reflective Spell class action and the Warding Bond spell.
Shield of Returning
The shield comes back to you after you throw it.
Helldusk Armor
Succeeding on a saving throw burns the caster for 3 turns, you gain resistance to fire, and you take 3 less damage from all sources. Also grants the Fly spell.
Armor of Persistence
You are granted the Resistance and Blade Ward spells. Also reduces all incoming damage by 2.
Adamantine Splint Armor
Critical hits cannot hit you, and it reduces all damage by 2.
Helm of the Balduran
Gain 2 health per turn, get a +1 bonus to armor class and saving throws, you can’t be stunned, and you cannot be hit by critical hits.
Helldusk Helmet
Prevents you from being blinded and allows you to see in magical and ordinary darkness. It also grants the Immolating Gaze class action and a +2 bonus to saving throws against spells.
Helldusk Boots
Prevents you from being moved by spells or actions, ignores the effects of difficult terrain, allows you to succeed failed saving throws, and grants the Hellcrawler class action.
Evasive Shoes
Armor class +1. Acrobatics +1.
Cloak of Protection
Armor class +1. Saving throw +1.
Cloak of the Weave
+1 bonus to spell save and spell attack rolls, absorb elemental damage per long rest, take half damage from elemental attacks, and deal additional elemental damage.
Nymph Cloak
Grants the Dominate Person spell.
Vivacious Cloak
When you cast a spell in melee range, gain 7 temporary hit points.
Craterflesh Gloves
Deal additional force damage when you score a critical hit.
Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength
Strength increased to 23.
Legacy of the Masters
Gain a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls with weapons.
The Reviving Hands
When you heal a creature, it gains the effect of Blade Ward. When you revive a creature, it gains the effect of Death Ward. Strength Saving Throws +1. Grants the Revivify spell.
Gloves of Heroism
Gain Heroism when you use your channel oath spells.
When it comes to combat, I prefer touse two-handed weaponsrather than a shield. I often find the defense of the Paladin to be acceptable without needing a shield, and would rather have the damage output, which is why I recommendusing the Sword of Chaos, as it heals you every time you get a hit.
If you have access to it, useBalduran’s Giantslayer, as this is the only +3 greatsword, and it deals great damage. As an added bonus, you can assume a giant form while wielding the weapon. Early in the game, you can use theHamarhraft, as it is fun to maneuver the battlefield with, since jumping causes damage to enemies and allies.
If you decide to use a shield,Viconia’s Walking Fortressis perfect for its defense, and it allows you to knock enemies prone using your reaction, while also dealing damage to them. While most shields are good, I find that theShield of Returningis a personal favorite because it grants me some form of ranged attack if needed.
The Helldusk Armoris perhaps the best in the game for anyone who can use heavy armor, as this armor has some great perks and is a +3 armor set. TheAdamantine Splint Armoris also great for avoiding critical hits, but is unnecessary if you are using theBalduran Helm.
I recommend using theNymph Cloakif you want to be able to use Dominate Person. This is very strong and is one of the ways a Paladin can get access to a 5th-level spell. I also recommend theCloak of Protectionfor an additional bonus to your armor class. Being a walking fortress is great when you are a tank class, such as a Paladin.
TheHelldusk Bootsare the best choice since they grant the Hellcrawler ability, allowing you to teleport to your allies. You also can’t be forcibly moved with them on, making you even more of a walking fortress.
The gauntlet slot has a range of options. You have theGauntlets of Hill Giant Strength,if you want an added strength bonus for higher damage, theReviving Hands,if you want to further help your allies whenever you heal them, theGloves of Heroism,if you want to gain Heroism whenever you channel your oath, orLegacy of the Masters,if you want a smaller bonus to damage and attack rolls.
Of these gloves,I recommend using the Legacy of the Mastersor theReviving Hands.I find them to be the most useful, with theReviving Handscoming in clutch on many occasions when you have squishy allies.
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