One DnD, the latest edition of the Dungeons and Dragons franchise, will be released in 2024, and it comes with a wide range of changes to classes like the Paladin. The latest updates to the Paladin include tweaks to its Spellcasting feature. Players can now change spells after a Long Rest and spell preparation is not tied to spell slot level anymore.

This means that One DnD’s Paladin can learn more prepared spells as they level up compared to before. First-level cantrips were also removed in favor of Weapon Mastery, which may push players to be more deliberate in their spellcasting and use their actions on weapon attacks. Apart from Spellcasting, the Paladin also received these other changes and additions:

• Weapon Mastery, a new feature
• Paladin’s Smite, a revised version of Divine Smite
• Feature tweaks, which affect Lay on Hands and Radiant Strikes

Wizards of the Coast is currently running a playtest for One D&D, which is now on its seventh iteration. This gives players early access to the new game’s content, which also includes improvements to the Dungeon Master’s Guide structure, the Bastion System, and changes to backgrounds and feats.

One DnD is expected to be backward compatible with Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition sourcebooks, so players don’t have to unlearn the rules they’ve gotten used to in the past decade. However, they still have to do some extra reading on the new game’s classes, as they do come with big revisions that will affect existing player characters, as well as the creation of new ones.

RELATED: Monk Changes in One D&D Explained

Weapon Mastery Makes the Paladin More Versatile in Combat

The One DnD playtest Paladin seems to be relying more on their weapon rather than spells, with Weapon Mastery replacing cantrips at level one. The Paladin shares this feature with other classes, like the Fighter and Barbarian. Weapon Mastery gives the player the Mastery Property of two types of weapons they’re proficient at. For the Paladin, these are simple and martial weapons.

The Paladin gets a Javelin and Longsword as starting equipment, which have different Mastery Properties. The Javelin has the Slow property, which, upon a successful hit, reduces the enemy’s speed by 10 feet until the start of the player’s next turn.

The Longsword, on the other hand, has Flex, which lets the Paladin deal Versatile damage (1d10 instead of 1d8), even if they’re only using the weapon on one hand. Paladins in D&D often wield shields on their off-hand, so getting access to Versatile damage is a significant boost to the Paladin’s effectiveness in combat. Upon finishing a long rest, the player can change the weapon types they have mastery over.

Paladin’s Smite and Other Revisions to the One D&D Paladin’s features

The Paladin is one of the most beloved classes in the franchise, which is probably why the designers didn’t introduce a lot of sweeping changes to it. Nonetheless, some of its features did receive a few significant tweaks.

Paladin’s Smite

This replaces Divine Smite at the second level. Instead of having one effect (radiant damage in addition to weapon damage), the Paladin now has access to six exclusive Smite Spells with different attributes. These are always prepared once a player reaches their level requirement. The most impressive one is the Level 17 Banishing Smite, which deals a whopping 5d10 force damage and banishes the target creature if their HP gets reduced to 50 Hit Points and they fail a Charisma saving throw.

Lay on Hands and Radiant Strikes

Lay on Hands is now a bonus action instead of a magic action, which is great for clutch heals for allies or oneself. Radiant Strikes, formerly known as Improved Divine Smite, can now work with Unarmed Strikes. This may prove useful if the Paladin gets into a situation where they lose their weapons.

The Paladin didn’t get sweeping changes like the Fighter or Monk, but that’s fine for fans of this class. It already has the perfect mix of utility and damage. However, improvements like weapon mastery and Paladin’s Smite gives every Paladin build in D&D a more aggressive edge in combat.

Dungeons and Dragons

Created by Gary Gygax, Dungeons & Dragons is a tabletop game in which players craft their own worlds and band together to take on adventures through mysterious realms outlined in companion materials. One of the best role-playing games ever made, it has been adapted into a variety of video games and other media.

Franchise

Dungeons & Dragons

Original Release Date

1974-00-00

Publisher

Wizards of the Coast

Designer

E. Gary Gygax , Dave Arneson