There are plenty of paladins that fight for lofty ideals in Dungeons & Dragons. Most fight for truth, honor, justice, and all that is good. An Oath of Conquest paladin fights for victory at any cost. These paladins impose their will or the will of their masters on the masses, ensuring order at the tip of a blade.
Those who take the Oath of Conquest aren’t the nicest paladins you’ll ever meet, but they are the most ruthless. Taking the Oath of Conquest means ensuring your supremacy, even if it means performing acts no other paladin would even consider. If you’re willing to do whatever it takes, here’s how you can make an Oath of Conquest paladin.
Oath Of Conquest Paladin Features
You can take the Oath of Conquest once your paladin reaches level three. Upon doing so, you learn the first of your Oath of Conquest Spells (with more learned at subsequent levels detailed in the table below) as well as your two Channel Divinity options.
Conquering Presence forces each creature you see within 30 feet to make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, they become frightened for one minute. Guided Strike provides you a +10 bonus to your attack roll, which can be applied after rolling your d20 but before being told whether or not your attack hits.
At level seven, an Aura of Conquest emanates from you for 10 feet. If a creature is frightened within this aura, its speed is reduced to zero, and it takes psychic damage equal to half your paladin level every turn it starts within that aura. At level 18, the aura extends to 30 feet.
Scornful Rebuke at level 15 applies psychic damage equal to your Charisma modifier to any creature that strikes you. And at level 20, Invincible Conqueror provides you with resistance to all damage, an additional attack, and critical hits on rolls of 19 and 20 for one minute.
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Paladin Level |
Spells |
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Third Level |
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Fifth Level |
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Ninth Level |
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13th Level |
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17th Level |
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Best Species For An Oath Of Conquest Paladin
Any species can be a paladin, so feel free to play yours however you like. That said, there are a few species with abilities that lend themselves to being a paladin more than others. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.
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Astral Elf |
Having Sacred Flame as a cantrip provides a much-needed ranged attack, while Starlight Step gets you into combat faster. Charm resistance is great for a class that struggles with mind-control effects, and Keen Senses provides another much-needed skill proficiency. |
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Centaur |
Why bother with a horse when you could just be the horse? Ten extra feet of movement is always good, hooves give you an unarmed strike option and added bonus action damage, and Equine Build lets you pull the party’s cart. |
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Dragonborn |
There’s less reason to be a dragonborn paladin ever since the custom origin rules allowed more flexible ability score bonuses. That said, Breath Weapon is still a valuable and viable crowd control ability for a class that sometimes struggles with crowds, and damage resistance is never a bad thing. |
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Duergar |
Enlarge/Reduce is a useful spell for a melee-focused class, and Invisibility can help with a paladin’s complete lack of subtlety. Resistance to poison and advantage against being poisoned, charmed, or stunned are all good for paladins, as is 120 feet of Darkvision. |
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Earth Genasi |
Like the duergar, earth genasi’s Pass Without Trace can help with those unavoidable stealth checks. Earth Walk can ensure your mobility, and Darkvision is always nice to have. |
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Goblin |
Fury of the Small is a great damage boost for an already highly damaging subclass. Being able to disengage as a bonus action is great too, although you’re not likely to use Nimble Escape to hide. Darkvision and charm resistance are good too. |
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Goliath |
Paladins don’t do a lot with their reactions (outside of opportunity attacks), so Stone’s Endurance can really help keep you in the fight when other species are in their death saves. Athletics is a good skill to have, and cold resistance is also nice. |
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Half-Orc |
Intimidation is a good skill proficiency for paladins, and Darkvision is great to have too. Relentless Endurance keeps you fighting beyond your hit points, and Savage Attacks can make those rare crits that much more impactful. |
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Hobgoblin |
If you’re playing with more than one front-line character, hobgoblins are incredible. Fey Gift lets you consistently use your bonus action to provide buffs to your pal. Fortune of the Many makes your rolls more consistent. Darkvision and Fey Ancestry are always groovy. |
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Human |
Variant human gives you access to a powerful feat at level one. Polearm Master, Mobile, and Great Weapon Master are all great choices. |
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Kobold |
Draconic Cry gives you another option to gain advantage in combat against a whole crowd of enemies. Draconic Sorcery provides you with a ranged attack cantrip like Fire Bolt or a useful combat trick like Booming Blade. Darkvision is always great to have. |
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Minotaur |
Horns give you a useful unarmed strike, a bonus action push, and an attack after using a Dash action. Survival is a fine proficiency to have and definitely on-brand for an Oath of Vengeance paladin. |
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Satyr |
Performance and Persuasion are both useful Charisma-based skills, and Magic Resistance helps protect you from a paladin’s typical weakness. Mobility comes from Mirthful Leaps and an extra five feet of movement, and your horns give you a useful unarmed strike if you’re ever disarmed. |
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Shifter |
Paladins are already very tough. Shifters add some temporary hit points and either some AC or additional movement, but both are good. Pick Intimidation for your skill proficiency. |
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Warforged |
Paladins are traditionally the heavy armor class of D&D. Add +1 to that AC, then add resistance to poison and immunity to sleep effects. Then add a skill and tool proficiency of your choice. Perfect match for a paladin. |
Best Ability Scores For An Oath Of Conquest Paladin
You’ll want high Strength and Charisma scores to be an effective Oath of Conquest paladin. Strength ensures your melee attacks hit accurately and hard. Charisma empowers your spells and abilities, so you’ll want this to be as high as possible as well.
Constitution ensures you keep concentration for some of your spells and also provides you with all-important hit points.
You’ll be wearing heavy armor, so Dexterity can be safely ignored along with Intelligence and Wisdom.
You’ll be able to choose a few skill proficiencies, but you’ll probably be relying on your teammates for skill checks that don’t involve Strength or Charisma.
If you’re using the points buy system for D&D, a good starting ability score spread might look something like this:
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Strength |
Dexterity |
Constitution |
Intelligence |
Wisdom |
Charisma |
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17(+3) |
8(-1) |
15(+2) |
8(-1) |
8(-1) |
16(+3) |
Best Starting Equipment For An Oath Of Conquest Paladin
A paladin has a lot of options in terms of starting equipment. You could play more defensively with a shield and a single martial weapon, or you could go for high-octane offense with two martial weapons.
A battleaxe, longsword, and warhammer are all good options with a shield, or you can pair any of these with a larger two-handed weapon like a lance, maul, or greatsword.
Five javelins provide you with a ranged option, but you can replace that with a simple melee weapon if you’ve taken a species that provides a ranged-attack cantrip.
An explorer’s pack provides more goodies than a priest’s pack, so pick that. A set of chain mail and a holy symbol are the last you need to prepare for your adventure.
Best Spells For An Oath Of Conquest Paladin
Paladins don’t get many spells, and they’re often competing with Divine Smite, so the spells you pick had better be good. Here are a few suggested spells to consider at each paladin level.
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Spell Level |
Spell Name |
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First Level |
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Second Level |
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Third Level |
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Fourth Level |
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Fifth Level |
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