Simple 5e Tweaks: Paladin Repaired

Simple 5e Tweaks is a collection of various homebrew rules for Dungeons and Dragons: 5th Edition compiled over several years. No frills, no filler, just 8 and a half pages of compact improvements for 5e, with a focus on being simple to understand and straightforward to implement for DMs and players of any experience level. As always, it is up to the DM to determine whether these tweaks are a good fit for their game, and whether it will be fun for their players.

The focus of this volume of 5e Tweaks is one I put off for some time, since the 5e Paladin is not as flawed as the other classes I’ve tweaked. Moreover, it is such a beloved and iconic class that any major changes to it would be akin to blasphemy. However, after playing it myself and seeing the 2024 PHB version of Paladin, I decided it was finally worth attempting, if only as a response to the new class.

The changes to the Paladin in the 2024 PHB aren’t all bad, and the idea of a ‘mandatory horse’ as some have put it is a feature taken from older editions of the game. The way it was implemented in the new PHB however was questionable at best. A free cast of Find Steed just isn’t a particularly good feature, and some players might not even want a steed at all. For this reason, I looked to older editions, and also to other systems entirely, for a better option. What I found is, I think, a fun and flavourful option which plays into the fantasy of being a Paladin, while being mechanically beneficial for any character.

The other issue I’ve attempted to solve with this tweak is Channel Divinity. The new PHB simply gave Paladins multiple uses of the feature, like Clerics, however I think the problem lies with the feature itself. As I mentioned in my Fighter Tweaks, I’m not a fan of ‘panic button’ features, especially at low levels when a class’s features should be building its toolkit and identity. I’ve solved this problem by removing Channel Divinity altogether, and reworking most of the options into their own standalone features. Some have stayed mostly untouched, others have been turned into smaller passive benefits that offer much more flavour and utility to the subclasses overall.

I hope you enjoy perusing this eclectic collection of esoteric RPG rules as much as I enjoyed writing them. Any critiques or other feedback on DMsGuild would be greatly appreciated, and expect occasional updates as playtesting data comes in and balancing is fine-tuned.

Happy adventuring!