Aasimar Paladin Build Guide

Levels 1-4

Start with Chain Mail, a Shield, and a Longsword. At Level 2, you unlock Divine Smite and your Fighting Style; take Dueling for a flat +2 to damage, keeping your sword-and-board DPR competitive. At Level 3, choose the Oath of Vengeance. Vow of Enmity gives you advantage on your attacks, ensuring your Divine Smites and Celestial Revelation radiant damage actually land on the boss. At Level 4, take the Heavy Armor Master feat to bump your 15 STR to 16. The flat 3-point damage reduction against non-magical physical attacks turns you into an absolute juggernaut in Tier 1.

Levels 5-10

Level 5 brings Extra Attack, doubling your chances to land a critical hit for a massive Divine Smite. Level 6 is your biggest defensive spike: Aura of Protection. With a 14 CHA, you grant a +2 bonus to all saving throws to yourself and nearby allies. Combined with your Celestial Resistance, you are incredibly difficult to kill with magic. At Level 8, take an ASI to bump your STR to 18, ensuring your attack rolls keep pace with rising enemy ACs.

Levels 11-16

Level 11 grants Improved Divine Smite, adding 1d8 radiant damage to every melee hit. When you trigger Celestial Revelation, you are now adding 1d8 + Proficiency Bonus + Divine Smite dice in pure radiant damage to a single strike. At Level 12, use your ASI to increase CHA to 16, boosting your Aura of Protection to +3. At Level 16, max your STR to 20. Your role as a Defender is fully realized here; you hit consistently, hit incredibly hard, and protect everyone within 10 feet of you.

Levels 17-20

At Level 18, your Aura of Protection expands to 30 feet. This completely changes your battlefield positioning, allowing you to protect the backline casters while standing on the frontline. At Level 20, your Oath capstone unlocks. If you took Vengeance, Avenging Angel gives you a 1-hour flight speed and an aura of fear. Stack this with your Aasimar traits, and you become an inescapable, flying beacon of radiant destruction.

Cantrips

As an Aasimar, you gain the Light cantrip natively. Cast this on your shield before entering a dark area if your party lacks Darkvision, turning yourself into a glowing beacon that draws enemy aggro exactly where you want it.

Level 1-2 Spells

At level 1, Bless is mandatory; a +1d4 to attacks and saves stacks with your Aura of Protection to make your party invincible. Shield of Faith pushes your AC to 22 early on. At level 2, Find Steed gives you unmatched mobility, while Lesser Restoration frees up your Lay on Hands pool for raw healing.

Level 3-5 Spells

Revivify is your level 3 tax; always have it prepared. Aura of Vitality is fantastic out-of-combat healing. At level 4, Find Greater Steed summons a Pegasus. If you are a Protector Aasimar, you can fly alongside your mount, completely dominating the aerial battlefield.

High-Level Spells

At level 5, Banishing Smite adds 5d10 force damage to your attack. Stack this with a 4th-level Divine Smite (5d8 radiant), Improved Divine Smite (1d8 radiant), and Celestial Revelation (proficiency bonus radiant) to instantly obliterate a target and potentially banish them with zero saving throw.

Heavy Armor Master

Take this at Level 4. It rounds your starting 15 STR up to 16, and the damage reduction against slashing, piercing, and bludgeoning damage makes your d10 hit die stretch incredibly far. As a frontline Defender, you will take dozens of hits per session; this feat prevents massive amounts of aggregate damage.

Polearm Master

If you prefer a Halberd over a shield, take this instead of Heavy Armor Master. The bonus action attack gives you a third chance to crit and apply Divine Smite, and it ensures you can reliably trigger your Celestial Revelation extra damage every single turn.

Inspiring Leader

With a naturally high Charisma, taking this at Level 12 (instead of a CHA ASI) allows you to hand out a massive buffer of temporary hit points to your entire party after every short rest. It perfectly complements your Healing Hands and Lay on Hands, preventing damage before you ever need to heal it.

Tier 1 (Levels 1-4)

Your immediate priority is upgrading your starting Chain Mail to Splint Armor (200gp) and eventually Plate Armor (1,500gp). Stick to a Longsword and Shield. Keep a few Javelins handy for enemies out of your immediate reach until you can close the gap.

Tier 2 (Levels 5-10)

Acquire a +1 Longsword to bypass non-magical weapon resistances. Seek out a Cloak of Protection; the +1 to AC and Saving Throws stacks hilariously well with your Aura of Protection, making your saves nearly unbreakable. A Pearl of Power is also excellent for recovering a precious 2nd-level spell slot for an extra Divine Smite.

Tier 3 (Levels 11-16)

The Sun Blade is incredibly thematic for an Aasimar and adds extra radiant damage against undead, compounding your already massive radiant output. Alternatively, a Belt of Hill Giant Strength allows you to stop worrying about your STR stat and focus entirely on pumping your Charisma for better Auras.

Tier 4 (Levels 17-20)

The Holy Avenger is the ultimate Paladin weapon, granting advantage on saving throws against spells to everyone in your 30-foot aura. Combine this with your Celestial Resistance and high Charisma, and your party essentially becomes immune to enemy spellcasters.

As a Defender, your job is to hold the frontline, soak damage, and lock down the biggest threat with high burst damage. You pair exceptionally well with a Divine Soul Sorcerer. They can twin cast Haste on you and another martial, granting you more AC, speed, and an extra attack to fish for Divine Smite critical hits.

You also synergize perfectly with a Wolf Totem Barbarian. By giving you advantage on all melee attacks against targets within 5 feet of them, the Barbarian effectively doubles your critical hit chance. Since critical hits double all dice—including Divine Smite and Improved Divine Smite—this partnership will routinely vaporize boss monsters in a single round.

Hexblade Warlock 1-2 Dip

The infamous Hexadin build. A one-level dip into Hexblade lets you attack using your Charisma modifier instead of Strength. This means you only need 15 STR for Plate Armor, allowing you to max CHA to 20 quickly. This maximizes your Aura of Protection, spell save DC, and attack rolls all at once, while also granting the Shield spell and Hexblade's Curse.

Divine Soul Sorcerer 3+ Dip

Thematically perfect for an Aasimar, taking levels in Sorcerer gives you access to the Shield and Absorb Elements spells, making you virtually unhittable. More importantly, you gain Metamagic. Quickened Spell allows you to cast Hold Person as a bonus action, paralyzing a target, before using your action to auto-crit with two melee attacks, pumping max-level Divine Smites into them.

• Wasting turns on Celestial Revelation: Depending on your sourcebook version (Volo's vs. MotM), activating your Aasimar transformation takes an action or a bonus action. If it's an action, do NOT use it round one of combat if enemies are in melee range. Pop it right before you kick open a boss room door.
• Forgetting Celestial Resistance: You resist Radiant and Necrotic damage permanently. Do not burn spell slots on Absorb Elements or waste Lay on Hands points mitigating damage from undead that you already take half damage from.
• Hoarding Healing Hands: Your racial heal is a fast, free burst of HP. Use it to pick up an unconscious ally at 0 HP instead of burning 1 point of Lay on Hands, saving your Paladin pool for major burst heals or curing debilitating poisons.
• Abandoning your Aura: If you play a Protector Aasimar, it's tempting to pop your wings and fly after a dragon. But your Aura of Protection is only 10 feet wide until level 18. If you fly away, you leave your squishy casters vulnerable to saving throws.