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Unleash Your Inner Darkness: Why the Oathbreaker Paladin is a Powerhouse

The Oathbreaker Paladin is good because it offers a unique and powerful playstyle focusing on damage, crowd control, and a potent aura that bolsters allies (including undead and fiends!). It flips the traditional Paladin archetype on its head, providing a compelling option for players seeking to explore morally gray or outright evil characters without sacrificing combat effectiveness. The Oathbreaker’s strength lies in its ability to dish out necrotic damage, control the battlefield with fear, and enhance the power of its allies through its Aura of Hate. This makes it a formidable force in any campaign, especially those delving into darker themes.

The Allure of the Fallen: Understanding the Oathbreaker’s Strengths

Unlike other Paladin subclasses that focus on upholding specific tenets, the Oathbreaker embraces the freedom (or curse) that comes with breaking a sacred vow. This manifests in several key strengths:

Offensive Prowess: The Oathbreaker isn’t just a tank; it’s a damage dealer. Spiteful Suffering offers a potent damage-over-time effect, while Unholy Smite converts Divine Smite into necrotic damage, bypassing resistance and vulnerability considerations based on creature type. Combined with typical Paladin weapon attacks, this creates a character that consistently dishes out serious harm.
Crowd Control Capabilities: Dreadful Aspect is a powerful area-of-effect fear ability that can cripple enemy formations, rendering them vulnerable to attack. This makes the Oathbreaker invaluable in large-scale battles and against groups of weaker enemies.
Buffing Dark Allies: The Aura of Hate is arguably the Oathbreaker’s most distinctive feature. It grants both the Paladin and nearby fiends and undead extra melee damage, synergizing with undead minions or allies who deal necrotic damage. This transforms the Oathbreaker into a force multiplier for specific party compositions.
Roleplaying Potential: The Oathbreaker provides rich roleplaying opportunities. Players can explore themes of redemption, corruption, revenge, or the corrupting nature of power. The reason for breaking the oath becomes a central part of the character’s backstory and motivation.
Unexpected Versatility: While often perceived as purely evil, an Oathbreaker can become a compelling anti-hero, someone willing to do what is necessary (however morally questionable) for the “greater good” (as they see it). This nuanced interpretation allows for a flexible and engaging character.

Diving Deeper: Oathbreaker Abilities and Spells

A closer look at the Oathbreaker’s core abilities and spells highlights its strength:

Oathbreaker Spells: The spells gained at levels 3, 5, 9, 13, and 17 provide a mix of offensive and utility options. Spells like Hellish Rebuke, Darkness, Crown of Madness, Bestow Curse, and Dominate Beast offer battlefield control, enhanced damage output, and the ability to manipulate foes.
Channel Divinity: Dreadful Aspect: As mentioned earlier, this ability frightens nearby creatures, making them easier to hit and hindering their ability to attack.
Channel Divinity: Control Undead: This allows the Oathbreaker to command undead creatures, potentially turning enemies into allies. This ability further bolsters the Oathbreaker’s effectiveness in campaigns with significant undead presence.
Aura of Hate (Level 7): Adds the Paladin’s Charisma modifier as bonus necrotic damage on melee attacks, which is also applied to any fiend and undead ally.
Supernatural Resistance (Level 15): Grants advantage on saving throws against spells and magical effects. This significantly increases the Oathbreaker’s survivability against spellcasters and other magical threats.
Dread Lord (Level 20): The ultimate Oathbreaker ability, Dread Lord, allows the Paladin to become an avatar of fear and destruction, gaining additional temporary hit points, dealing extra necrotic damage, and imposing disadvantage on saving throws against their spells and Channel Divinity options.

Is Oathbreaker Paladin Right for You?

Choosing the Oathbreaker subclass depends on your playstyle and campaign setting. If you enjoy playing complex characters with morally ambiguous motivations and excel in combat roles with a focus on damage and battlefield control, the Oathbreaker is an excellent choice. Moreover, the Oathbreaker can also lead to a deep dive into the character’s past and allows for an exploration of the reasons for falling from grace.

Frequently Asked Questions About Oathbreaker Paladins

1. What are the main benefits of playing an Oathbreaker Paladin in terms of gameplay?

The primary benefits are:

High damage output, especially necrotic damage.
Effective crowd control through fear effects.
Strong synergy with undead and fiend allies.
Unique roleplaying opportunities as a fallen hero or anti-villain.

2. How does the Oathbreaker’s Unholy Smite differ from the Divine Smite of other Paladins?

Unholy Smite deals necrotic damage, whereas Divine Smite deals radiant damage. While radiant damage is effective against undead, necrotic damage has a lower resistance rate among creatures, thus making it more reliable in general scenarios.

3. Is it possible for an Oathbreaker Paladin to be good or neutral in alignment?

Yes, although it requires a nuanced approach. An Oathbreaker can be “good” in a very particular way, pursuing a goal that requires them to forsake their oath, or a neutral character who is simply driven by personal ambitions rather than a dedication to evil.

4. What are some good multiclass options for an Oathbreaker Paladin?

Popular multiclass options include:

Warlock (Fiend Patron): Synergizes with the Aura of Hate and provides access to powerful offensive spells.
Sorcerer (Draconic Bloodline): Boosts spellcasting ability and offers additional defensive options.
Barbarian: Boosts melee damage.

5. How does the Aura of Hate work, and who benefits from it?

The Aura of Hate grants the Paladin and any friendly fiends or undead within 10 feet bonus necrotic damage equal to the Paladin’s Charisma modifier on melee weapon attacks.

6. What are some common reasons why a Paladin might break their oath and become an Oathbreaker?

Reasons include:

Betrayal of their ideals.
Desire for power.
Loss of faith.
Forced violation of their oath.

7. Can an Oathbreaker Paladin take a new oath and become a “regular” Paladin again?

Yes, but it usually requires a significant quest and atonement process, at the DM’s discretion.

8. Does the Oathbreaker’s powers come from a god or another source?

The text states A paladin’s strength comes from their dedication to their ideals alone., even in their betrayal.

9. How does the Oathbreaker Paladin perform in terms of damage compared to other Paladin subclasses?

The Oathbreaker typically deals higher damage than most Paladin subclasses due to the Unholy Smite, Spiteful Suffering, and Aura of Hate.

10. Are Oathbreaker Paladins inherently evil, or is it possible to play them in a more nuanced way?

While often presented as evil, Oathbreakers can be played with nuance. They can be anti-heroes, pursuing goals that require morally questionable actions, or simply individuals disillusioned with traditional Paladin ideals.

11. What are some of the best feats for an Oathbreaker Paladin?

Good feats include:

Great Weapon Master: More damage on successful attacks.
Sentinel: Control the battlefield through opportunity attacks.
Polearm Master: More opportunity attacks.
Tough: Adds Hit Points.

12. Can Oathbreaker Paladins use Lay on Hands?

Yes, As an Oathbreaker, you still have all the traits, abilities, and spells you did as a regular ol’ oath-keeping paladin. This includes your fighting style, divine health, divine smite, being able to heal, and casting lay on hands!

13. What is Spiteful Suffering?

Spiteful Suffering offers a potent damage-over-time effect, that works on CHA saves that most monsters will not pass.

14. Is Oathbreaker the best paladin subclass in Baldur’s Gate 3?

The Oathbreaker subclass is a powerful choice in Baldur’s Gate 3 because it offers powerful damage abilities, crowd control, and combat-heavy focus.

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Yes, gaming can be a powerful tool for learning and skill development. To explore this further, check out the Games Learning Society and see how gaming is used to promote educational outcomes. You can also visit GamesLearningSociety.org.

Why is Oathbreaker paladin good?