Editing Paladin (section)

==Paladins in different editions of D&D==
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===BECMI===
Introduced in the Companons Set for [[Dungeons & Dragons]], the Paladin in this iteration of D&D is a kind of proto-prestige class. A [[Fighter]] with a Lawful alignment who reaches 9th level can choose to swear fealty to a Lawful church to be inducted into their order. This causes them to gain certain abilities as if they were a [[Cleric]] of much lower level, namely casting clerical magic and turning undead, as well as an innate ability to detect evil. Their only restrictions are that they must obey their churchly superiors (unless commanded to do evil), and they must offer what assistance they can to non-evil people in need of help, unless already on a mission for a higher authority.

This same edition introduced the [[Avenger]] as the Chaotic counterpart to the Paladin, essential a proto-[[Blackguard]].

===AD&D 1st Edition===
[[Alignment|Lawful Good]].  If you fuck up at being Lawful Good, you're busted down to Fighter at the same level, and your church shuns you. The controversial [[Unearthed Arcana]] book adds the chance to play Paladin-[[Cavalier]]s, who are incredibly ridiculous in power level (can stay conscious and retreat at negative hit points, can boost Str, Con, Dex, and Cha a little bit each level up, immunity to fear, etc).

For whatever reason, only humans could become Paladins in this edition.

===AD&D 2nd Edition===
A sub-class of Warrior, 2e Paladins are notable primarily by their potential to use Holy Avenger swords, which inflict an additional +10 damage versus Chaotic Evil foes (which is a lot for 2e), and create a circle of power that is a selective antimagic field versus lower level magical effects (so all enemy buffs and enemy magic items created by a level 12 wizard power down when a level 13 paladin walks up). The Paladin's [[kits]] have their own brands of notoriety. Most notably, the [[Cavalier]] kit recreates about half of the abilities they used to have for a Paladin; in fact, the 3e Paladin actually takes its Fear Immunity trait from this kit, rather than the core AD&D Paladin. Meanwhile, the Inquisitor was probably pound-for-pound the best anti-mage fighter in the game, with a redonkulous amount of Dispel Magic spells per day so potent [[Monte Cook]] ''still'' has bitch-fits at the thought of adapting the Inquisitor to 3.X. A straight Paladin probably does not have a good chance of being worthwhile compared to a fighter if they cannot expect to find their holy sword, however.

As in 1e, Paladin is ''the'' most racially restricted class, only being open to humans, for the most part. However, certain other races were also able to become Paladins:
* [[Rakasta]] could be Paladins in Basic, but in AD&D, only the Sibasta strain from Dragon #247 retained this trait.
* [[Lupin]]s could be Paladins in Basic, and the Maremma, Golden Retriever, Zvornikian Sentinel strains and "Mongrel" breeds from Dragon #237 were Paladin-capable for AD&D.
* [[Saurial]]s of the Finhead strain had a special "pseudo-paladin" [[fighter]] [[kits|kit]] available to them, called the Saurial Paladin.
* [[Aasimar]] could become straight-up paladins, as you'd expect given they are the children of [[angel]]s.
* [[Bariaur]] males could become paladins since their introduction in the [[Planescape]] campaign setting - surprisingly, given the race's association with the Chaotic side of the [[Upper Planes]].
* Earth [[Genasi]], at the DM's discretion, could be paladins - ironically, they could reach 15th level, whilst the aasimar could only reach level 14!
* [[Irda]] could be Paladins when they came out in AD&D.
* Black [[Swanmay]]s (Dragon #266) can be Paladins, Clerics or Crusaders, whilst the White Swanmays can only be Druids or Rangers.
* Daergar, Hylar and Theiwar dwarves could be Paladins in the Dragonlance Monstrous Compendium.
* Silvanesti elves could be Paladins in the Tales of the Lance boxed set and in the Dragonlance Monstrous Compendium.
* Dargonesti and Dimernesti sea elves could be Paladins in the Dragonlance Monstrous Compendium.

===3rd Edition===
[[Alignment|Lawful Good]], with an explicit Code of Conduct, in exchange gains a number of immunities to various status effects, their famous ability to Smite Evil, and the service of an intelligent and useful mount. Splatbooks introduced various alternative-alignment variants. The first and most well-known is the Blackguard prestige class from the DMG, which could be any flavor of evil and could gain additional abilities for every level of Paladin that the player had prior to becoming a Blackguard. Later, [[Complete Divine]] introduced the Holy Liberator prestige class as a Chaotic Good version of a Paladin. There are also options to make the Paladin more cleric-like in Dungeonscape, or completely remove spells such as in Complete Warrior.

3rd Edition Paladins are [[Tier System|tier 4]]: Good (but not amazing) at destroying evil creatures, competent at diplomacy and good at pretty much nothing else. They also suffer from a severe case of [[MAD]], relying on Strength and Constitution to be decent in combat, and Wisdom and Charisma for spellcasting.

===D20 Modern===
[[Urban Arcana]] adds the (Un)Holy Knight prestige class which requires one have Good or Evil allegiance. As a prestige class, it's fairly late to qualify for (8 BAB in a system where full BAB is rare) but it packs the main Paladin abilities into five levels. Since it gives Divine Grace at first level, it's a good way to finish off a Sorcerer or Telepath build and is still solid for any combat brute.

===Pathfinder===
[[File:Seelah.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Seelah, Pathfinder's Iconic Paladin/Champion]]
[[Pathfinder]] made a number of mechanical improvements (''beefy'' ones, Pathfinder paladins are ''badass''), but mostly left them alone conceptually.  Now they cast spells off charisma rather than wisdom ([[MAD|and praise Sarenrae for that]]. One unusual consequence of this is that thanks to high natural will save and adding charisma to all saves, Paladins are now free to [[Stupid Good|dump Wisdom]] as low as it can go), and their Smites, on top of granting better defensive and offensive bonuses, ''keep Smiting'' until they either Smite something else or the Smitee is dead.  (Sure, it can ''theoretically'' run out in twenty-four hours, but almost nothing suffering from a Smite is going to live that long).  The Code of Conduct was also softened a little to allow paladins to more easily be team players and not 100% stick-in-the-mud party cops.  One problem, if you can call it that, is that the paladin is ''too'' specialized (even with Pathfinder's improvements he still won't break tier 4): If the DM keeps throwing evil outsiders or undead into the campaign as [[BBEG]]s a modestly-well-prepared paladin will be able tear through them like a holy-powered buzzsaw without a lot of effort, since he deals better "burst" damage than almost any of them and has great saves and immunity to shit like ''mummy rot'', so he won't be afraid to charge in and [[rip and tear]] when another class would be adverse to taking risks around one.  If the final boss keeps getting one-shotted by a well-timed Smite Evil ''litany of righteousness'' power attack/deadly aim combo, it may very well be time to invest in "moral complexity."  (Read: throw some constructs or wild animals at him.). Despite this the Paladin still struggles to be worthwhile outside his niche. A major reason for this is that Paladins have only 2+int skill points per level, being the only player class in the system aside from Fighter to have only 2 skill points without getting at least 6th level spells. Their class list is at least much better than the Fighter’s, and they do have some spellcasting and healing for out of combat utility.

Thanks to their variety of class abilities that can be traded away, a Paladin has some of the most varied archetypes in the game, second only to [[Monk]]. These range from simple (Divine Hunter, which trades melee abilities for ranged ones) to "free planar ally and more casting" (Sacred Servant, which can shoot a Paladin up to tier 2 if they worship a deity that gives a good planar allies and tier 3 even if they give something lame like elementals).

It wasn't until the "Antihero's Handbook" that there was a paladin archetype that worked on the very underserved niche of fallen Paladins in the Vindictive Bastard. This archetype sacrifices all the divine power of the Paladin for a bigger focus on Teamwork feats, being able to benefit from them without needing an ally to also share it in the same way as an [[Inquisitor (Pathfinder)|Inquisitor]], and loses out on Charisma's utility. Smite remains, benefiting the most by now working on anything that harms the former paladin or their party.

===Pathfinder 2nd Edition===
[[Pathfinder Second Edition]] decided to drastically change the class, with the least of these being its name: Yes, the Paladin is now called the '''''Champion'''''. This along with the option for any good alignment (evil later featured in Advanced player's guide and neutral is TBD) rather than the explicit Always Lawful Good nonsense.  The limited spellcasting has also been condensed into Focus Casting (meaning you have spells that you cast using limited points, but you recover them with a 10 minute rest). Smite has been removed and replaced with a counter-attack based on the Champion's specific alignment (Either a flat counter-attack while protecting an ally, force the enemy to choose between dealing no damage or dealing less damage and being weakened, or giving an ally a chance to break free of a restraining condition and escaping with protection. The evil versions spin on this by making it revenge whenever the champion takes damage, either forcing them to kneel lest they take mental damage, extra damage resistance or taking bonus damage that's reflected onto the enemy). Like the 1E Paladin, you also get a Divine Bond, though you also have the option to use it on a shield (to make it capable of absorbing more damage than normal) instead of a weapon or summoning a steed.

All in all, the Champion focuses on being a defender/striker (depending on alignment) and supporter type, with spells being a minor feature that's not quite as hamstringing thanks to how Focus Points and how some feats grant more of them (Especially when taking from a Cleric Domain) and how the class itself is practically divorced from needing any spellcasting stat.

===4th Edition===
In 4th Edition, the paladin must be the same alignment as their deity; no more [[Lawful Stupid]] out of fear of falling.  The slightest deviation from one's alignment no longer results in a DM bitchslap and losing class features; instead, you get vague threats that the other faithful of the paladin's religion will seek you out to administer chastisement for your failings. You would ''think'' that since this removes one of the oldest mechanical complaints about the class, fans would be happy, but "Paladins must be Lawful Good!" is such a sacred cow that people were bitching over its loss even as they bemoan the Lawful Stupid Paladins and Orc Baby Dilemmas of old editions. Because of this beloved sacred cow, /tg/ likes to joke that this applies literally, making a [[meme]] out of 4e-paladins taking no falling damage.

As they were mechanically slotted to the role of Divine Defender, Paladin abilities are more focused on being a meat-shield than being a holy avenger; for more smite-evil action, you want the [[Avenger]] class from Player's Handbook 2. What this enabled, though, was the ability to focus your paladin into two different styles: either the full Str-meathead attacking tank pally and the Cha-based casting-and-curing paladin. Regardless of which path you picked, Paladins have two features by default: Divine Challenge (Your alignment-neutral Smite Evil that now forces an enemy to fight you or suffer damage that scaled by tier) and Channel Divinity (Your 1/fight special powers weren't part of your leveling scheme that you only get more of by getting feats). There is ultimately one way paladins can differentiate yourself, and it was only realized with the advent of the ''Divine Power'' [[splatbook]]: 
* '''Lay on Hands''': That old staple that the PHB held onto. You spend one of your Healing Surges to heal an ally as if they spent it.
* '''Ardent Vow''': A damage-focused power that dealt extra damage the next time a paladin hit the designated enemy as well as designating them to the newly-made Divine Sanction (A challenge-lite that also hurt an enemy when they don't target a paladin but has far less restrictions on usage).
* '''Virtue's Touch''': Not quite as strong as Lay on Hands, but this allowed a paladin to cure various conditions they might run into.

The ''Essentials'' books later gave the Paladin two variant classes: The Cavalier (a very simplified paladin that pretty much exemplified the stereotypical "Essentials Class") and the [[Blackguard]] (A sort of bizarro-paladin that went more offensive and gained powers from their vices without becoming completely evil).

===13th Age===
In [[13th Age]], Paladins are similar to how they've always been, though as a "simple" class, their depth is considerably limited when compared to other classes. Their sole class feature is Smite Evil, which is a special attack that deals +1d12 damage to the attack (or half on a miss). This sounds badass on the outset except for one major issue: This damage doesn't scale without spending a whole feat chain on it. Considering the few feat slots any character gets, it results in forcing a Paladin into a conundrum between either being a better healer/tank or that improved smite.

They have talents that let them poach Cleric Spells and Cleric domains, they can get a genuine Mark (though no off-turn damage), the option of Lay on Hands to feed others your healing surges. They can also choose to be goody two shoes or dastardly bad guy (yes, there are two mutually exclusive Talents built off the idea of your character being an asshole or not). If you pick up the "Dark Alleys & Twisted Paths" 3PP book, you can even have these talents (as well as the others included in the splat; there's quite a few) add special riders to the Smite for an added amount of utility.

===5th Edition===
Mechanically speaking, 5th ed paladins have a few minor differences; their "detect evil" is now 1+Cha mod uses per day, and can no longer be used on the same turn as a smite because move actions no longer exist. Additionally, it has changed from detecting alignment to detecting Celestials, Fiends, and Undead, as well as if areas have been consecrated or desecrated, meaning that the paladin can now be caught by surprise by mundane evil ''(Which makes sense, since Alignment is now strictly for roleplaying purposes, and has little to no mechanical backing)''. Smiting now uses spell slots, with higher spell slots dealing more damage. They also get different types of Smite spells as they level up, with additional effects. And their "lay on hands" power taps into a reservoir of hitpoints-per-day that expands with each level, rather than healing for a fixed value a fixed number of times per day, and, taking a page from ''Pathfinder'', removes diseases and poisons.  This new setup sacrifices raw healing power for flexibility of use to let them fill in a different niche from, say, a Life domain [[Cleric]].

Really got the shaft, like the [[ranger| other half-caster this edition]], with [[Fail|"dead levels"]] where they literally gain nothing but hitpoints, proficiency, and a single spell slot, are heavily-reliant on a ''very'' limited resource pool that only ever recharges on a long rest, but don't let that fool you, the Paladin is now one of the strongest classes in the game, with some of the best tanking and "nova" damage ''(in 1 turn)'' of any non-multiclass character, and if you start dipping into other classes for just a few levels you can get most of your MAD issues solved with a single Hexblade level and most of your spell slot issues solved with a few sorcerer levels while STILL scaling as a paladin, a.k.a. a tank that can provide healing AND damage with incredible buffs on top of that in the form of your auras and even some form of control. Not to mention how unstoppable you'll feel ''(expecially with the right subclass)'' in a campaign mostly populated by enemy undead/fiends. 

However. The best Paladin in 5th edition is arguably not actually a paladin, but a Hexblade, Sorcerer, or Bard with some levels of Paladin. Because spell failure is no longer a thing, a Paladin who soon multiclasses into a normally squishy arcane caster class will still be rocking heavy armor and a shield. To start with, a single level dip into Warlock lets the Paladin pick the Hexblade feature, making her melee attack and damage scale off of charisma rather than strength or dexterity. This has the tremendous benefit of making them highly single-attribute dependent as they literally cut people in half with their sexiness-boosted melee attacks. Levels of Bard and Sorcerer, apart from the obvious benefit of giving the Paladin access to powerful charisma-based arcane spells, increase their smiting ability much faster than actual Paladin levels... meaning a "Paladin" who has six levels in Paladin and eight in Sorcerer is going to be laying sown hugely damaging smites all day long. While giving the party huge boosts to saving throws. And they can use sorcery points to supercharge their spells while also having massive single-damage melee capability. However, this comes at the cost of most of your sturdiness and some of the really good higher level features.

In 5th Edition, paladins no longer must adhere to any alignment ''(though the fluff still talks like they're all Lawful Good and are effective against fiends and undead regardless of alignment)''. However, when they reach 3rd level they swear their Paladin Oath, which gives him a code of conduct for him to follow. Also, since paladins have their codes of conduct clearly stated in the PH, rather than leaving it up to the nebulous personal decisions of a DM as to what actually ''constitutes'' "Lawful Good" and its required behavior, it's a lot harder for DMs to force a paladin to fall on grey area moralities. A paladin that breaks his oath must seek atonement and absolution. An unrepentant paladin, a paladin who abandons their quest for justice, or a paladin whose repeated oathbreaking demonstrates an unwillingness to follow their chosen path may become an Oathbreaker ''(see [[Blackguard]])''.

If you want to add more complexity to the Paladin Oath, maybe because you want to push it more towards the flavor of the elder editions, the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide gives an example of "general oaths" for Paladins. No mechanical crunch is enforced, so you don't have to uphold everything, but they offer great examples for more ways of fleshing out paladins in your setting, with tenets like "be honest and keep promises" or "be generous and tolerant".

There are three oaths in the corebook: the Oaths of Devotion, the Ancients, and Vengeance, each of which requires behaving a specific way and which gives specific powers.

* '''Oath of Devotion''' is the closest to the iconic Paladin archetype. This Oath requires you uphold the principles of '''Honesty''' ''(don't lie or cheat, let your word be your promise)'', '''Courage''' ''("Never fear to act, though caution is wise" in the book proper, which basically means "don't be a coward, but don't be [[Leeroy Jenkins]]ing dat shit either")'', '''Compassion''' ''(Aid others, protect the weak and punish those who threaten them, show mercy to your foes but temper mercy with wisdom)'', '''Honor''' ''(treat others fairly, do as much good as possible with as little harm as possible, be an example to others)'' and '''Duty''' ''(be responsible for your actions and their consequences, protect those entrusted to your care, obey those who have '''just''' authority over you, so you don't have to [[Lawful Stupid| obey the local tyrant because s/he is technically the ruler now]])''. 
:In exchange for all that, you get iconic Paladin type spells like protection from evil, lesser restoration, beacon of hope, etc, the Sacred Weapon ''(you can charge up a weapon to become a glowing magical weapon)'' and Turn the Unholy ''(make undead and fiends flee from you)'' uses of Channel Divinity, the Aura of Devotion feature ''(immunity to charm and give this to close-by allies)'', the Purity of Spirit feature ''(constant Protection From Evil on self)'' and the Holy Nimbus ''(create an aura of radiant damage-dealing, fiend & undead spell-weakening light once per day)''.
* '''Oath of the Ancients''' is a bit of an oddity, and possibly owes its origins to the [[Warden]] of 4th edition. Basically, this is a paladin who sides with the light due to their appreciation for beautiful, life-giving things of the world, making them allies of more benevolent druids, wilderness fae like [[dryad]]s and nature deities, in theory. In reality, this is a class people take because it has by the far the best defensive aura in the game, halving the damage from all spells taken by allies in their aura. Between passively boosting saves and passively cutting incoming spell damage in half, Ancients Paladins are one of the most potent anti-magic classes in the game. An Ancients Paladin with levels in Bard for counterspell purposes will make your DM cry any time he tries to throw casters at your party.
:They're frankly kind of hippyish, with the tenets of "'''Kindle the Light'''" ''(promote hope in others with mercy, kindness and forgiveness)'', "'''Shelter the Light'''" ''(protect beauty, love, good and laughter)'', "'''Preserve Your Own Light'''" ''(try to avoid turning into a bitter cuss)'' and "'''Be the Light'''" ''(serve as an example of why hope and joy are important to believe in)''.
:If you take this Oath, you get druidic spells like ensnaring strike, speak with animals, moonbeam and tree stride. Your Channel Divinity can be used to create entangling vines with Nature's Wrath, or to Turn the Faithless and so repel fiends and fey. Your Aura of Warding grants you and nearby allies resistance to damaging spells. Undying Sentinel lets you cheat death once per day and makes you immune to aging. Finally, the Elder Champion is a nature spirit-like form you can assume once per day for a number of benefits, including regeneration and more potent paladin spells.
* '''Oath of Vengeance''' is similar to the Grey Guard of 3rd edition, and probably best fits characterization like [[Batman]] or [[Judge Dredd]]. It's all about punishing the wicked and the sanctity of vengeance. Of course, you don't have to portray this guy as a total asshole - in fact, the 3rd edition [[Greyhawk]] Knights of the Chase are pretty applicable examples for a Vengeance Paladin. 
:The tenets of this creed are "'''Fight the Greater Evil'''" ''(basically, measure the evil you see vs. the evil your sworn enemy would do; if the guy you really have a hate-on for is less of a threat, then focus on stopping this douchebag first, otherwise focus on your sworn enemy)'', "'''No Mercy for the Wicked'''" ''(you can spare lesser foes, but sworn enemies need to die or otherwise be punished)'', "'''By Any Means Necessary'''", and "'''Restitution'''" ''(it's your fault that your enemies hurt people, so you have the responsibility of helping those that they hurt)''.
:A Vengeance Paladin's spells, as you might expect, focus on impeding the ability of enemies to escape and enhancing the paladin's ability to go after them - hold person, dimension door, scrying, etc. They can Channel Divinity to Abjure Enemy ''(frighten an enemy so bad they can't move)'' or declare a Vow of Enmity ''(make it easier to kick that creature's ass)'', gain the Relentless Avenger feature ''(free move if you score an attack of opportunity)'', gain the Soul of Vengeance feature ''(Vow of Enmity lets you get free attacks if the target tries attacking)'', and culminate with the Avenging Angel feature ''(transform into an angelic form once per day)''.
* '''Oath of the Crown'''  essentially more fully embraces the [[knight]] archetype of the Paladin's history, with the paladin's devotion being given specifically to society and the laws that built it up from the wilderness. You could alternatively flavor it as a hyper-patriotic ''(or nationalistic, depending on alignment)'' character like Stephen Colbert in the picture up top.
:This is a breed of paladin that focuses more on Law than on Good, with its tenets being '''Law''' ''(respect the law and hold it paramount)'', '''Loyalty''' ''(your word is your bond)'', '''Courage''' ''(do what needs to be done for the sake of order, no matter the odds)'' and '''Responsibility''' ''(the shit you do is all on you, so keep that in mind - also, you have duties & obligations, so you better damn will fill them)''. This means that Crown Paladins are the most likely archetype to fall back into the [[Lawful Stupid]] behavior feared and condemned of old, but they can also be sources of old-school Lawful douchebag character themes ''(i.e. "you lie, cheat and steal; you are scum and I must punish you!")'' and arrogant prick character themes ''(e.g. hating [[druid]]s, [[barbarian]]s, and nature [[cleric]]s for being primitives that don't appreciate the value of civilization)''.
:Because the Crown Paladin's focus is on the sanctity of law and society, with the specific ideology that the paladin is an Agent of Authority, their spells all fit into that theme, from the likes of zone of truth to outright mind-control spells like command and geas. They can use their Channel Divinity to issue a Champion Challenge ''(compel a creature to try and fight you)'' or to Turn the Tide ''(mass heal for allies)''. Divine Allegiance lets them soak up hits for nearby allies, Unyielding Spirit makes them harder to paralyze or stun, and their Exalted Champion feature means that, for an hour once per day, they can gain damage resistance vs. mundane weapons and grant advantage on death saving throws and Wisdom saving throws to themselves and allies.
:A comment on using Crown Paladins in homemade worlds in the back of the SCAG admits their magical powers don't quite mesh with the knightly archetype, but notes they make excellent examples of theocratic knightly orders - or even mystic ones, if one simply changes their flavor from "divine" to "arcane".
* '''Oath of Conquest''' is at best a fairly [[Lawful Stupid]] themed Oath and at worst goes all the way to Lawful Evil levels of tyranny; it dictates that its adherents should '''Douse The Flame Of Hope''' ''(use fear to intimidate defeated foes so badly they will never dare oppose you again)'', '''Rule With An Iron Fist''' ''(brook no dissent from those you have conquered)'' and to hold '''Strength Above All''' ''(what goes around comes around; if you can't beat someone, then either get stronger or be crushed in turn- there's no place for weakness in this Oath)''.
:Because Conquest Paladins are often allied to arch-devils, their bonus spells have a fairly [[Warlock]]ish feel to them, with spells like Armor of Agathys, Hold Person and Bestow Curse. Their Channel Divinity can be used to deliver a Conquering Strike ''(inflict fear with your weapon attack)'' or Guided Strike ''(big bonus to your To Hit roll)'', they exude an Aura of Conquest ''(disadvantage on saves vs. fear)'' at 7th level, they gain immunity to charming from their Implacable Spirit at 15th level, and at 20th level they become the Invincible Conqueror. This lets them buff themselves up for 1 minute once per day, during which time they Resist all damage, gain a bonus attack each turn, and deal critical hits on a 19-20 when making melee attacks.
* '''Oath of Redemption''', in stark contrast to the Oath of Conquest, is an oath dedicated to personal redemption for past misdeeds, using combat as a last resort. Of course, some morons might see this as an excuse to be [[That Guy]] and try to not help their allies in combat. However, the subclass is very good for support. They have shielding abilities and have an emphasis on rebuking those who attack first.

* '''Oath of Glory''', first printed in ''Mythic Odysseys of Theros'' and later reprinted in ''Tasha's Cauldron of Everything'', focuses on emulating legendary semi-divine heroes, such as Gilgamesh, Hercules, and Achilles. Its tenants are '''Actions Over Words''' ''(gain renown by actually '''doing''' awesome things, not just boasting)'', '''Challenges Are But Tests''' ''(don't get discouraged by hardship)'', '''Hone the Body''' ''(be swole)'', and '''Discipline the Soul''' ''(work to overcome your flaws)''.
:Oath of Glory paladins get spells related to buffing themselves and others, like ''Heroism'', ''Enhance Ability'', and ''Haste'', with a few 'ask the gods for help' spells thrown in. Their Channel Divinity can make them a Peerless Athlete ''(you're extra swole for a while)'' or deliver an Inspiring Smite ''(heals allies after you hit an enemy really hard)''. At 7th level, they gain an Aura of Alacrity, which increases the speed of anyone in its area of effect. At 15th level, they can mount a Glorious Defense, which makes an enemy attack more likely to miss, and allows the paladin to counter-attack if that happens. At level 20, they become a Living Legend, allowing them to draw upon the stories told about them to buff themselves, granting them boosts to charisma checks and saving throws, plus allowing them to hit an attack they would have missed.
* '''Oath of the Watchers''' is Men In Black Paladin or maybe [[HFY]] Paladin sworn to protect mortal realm from extraplanar beings - this includes the obvious culprits like fiends, aberrations, genies, slaadi and elementals, as well as less malicious types, such as fey and celestials. Because they're dicks to mortals too, using us as pawns in their games. Their oath requires them to be vigilant to the point of paranoia and beyond and put the interest of  mortals above all.
:Watchers get a set of spells best suited for locating, protecting from and BTFOing outsiders back to their planes, can turn all kinds of extrapanar creatures like priests turn undead, or give their allies advantages for most common saving throws used by outsiders. Their aura gives bonus initiative which is always nice, they can retaliate with force damage when someone casts spells around them and as a capstone get to channel the power of HFY to get truesight, advantage on attacks against outsiders, banishing them on a successful hit.

Also, got several new fighting styles with the new Expanded Class Features UA, namely a sweet new fighting style to let them poach two cleric cantrips for a ranged combat option and some extra utility, as well as the fighting styles everyone else got, namely 1)Blind fighting, which lets you effectively fight a creature you can't see as long as it's not hidden from you; 2)Interception, which works like the protection fighting style except that it a] reduces damage by 1d10 plus your proficiency bonus instead of imposing disadvantage, and b] works with either a shield ''or'' a weapon instead of just a shield; 3)Thrown weapon fighting, which lets you draw a thrown weapon as part of the attack you make with the weapon, and grants you a +1 to the damage roll; and 4)unarmed fighting, which changes your fists to 1d6 plus strength ''(1d8 if both your hands are free)'' instead of the flat 1 plus strength, although <s>[[What| it isn't clear if divine smite even works on your fists]]</s> [[FAIL| it has been stated that RAI you can't smite enemies using your fists]]; RAW however smite merely requires you to make a attack in melee with something other than spells so it works.