Aasimar Oath of Vengeance Paladin Build Guide

Levels 1-4

Start with STR 15, DEX 10, CON 13, INT 8, WIS 12, and CHA 14. Your goal is to swing heavy weapons and wear heavy armor. At level 2, take the Defense or Great Weapon Fighting fighting style and grab Divine Smite. Level 3 is where the build comes online: you gain Vow of Enmity. Use this Bonus Action immediately against the biggest threat in the room to secure Advantage. You also get Bane and Thunderous Smite as Oath Spells; Thunderous Smite is a great low-level control option, but save most of your slots for Divine Smites. At level 4, take the Great Weapon Master (GWM) feat. Because Vow of Enmity gives you reliable Advantage, the -5 penalty from GWM is easily offset, resulting in massive +10 damage swings.

Levels 5-10

Level 5 brings Extra Attack and 2nd-level Oath Spells, notably Hold Person. If you land Hold Person, every melee hit is an automatic critical, doubling your Divine Smite dice. Level 6 grants Aura of Protection, boosting all your saving throws by your Charisma modifier. Level 7 introduces Relentless Avenger, which passively increases your speed by 10 feet and grants a Bonus Action attack when you hit with a melee weapon. This completely removes the need for feats like Polearm Master, allowing you to wield a Greatsword for maximum damage. At level 8, increase your Strength to 17 or round out your STR and CON scores. Level 9 is a massive power spike as you gain Haste from your Oath Spells. Cast Haste on yourself for +2 AC, double movement, and an extra attack every turn.

Levels 11-16

At level 11, Improved Divine Smite adds a free 1d8 radiant damage to every hit, significantly boosting your sustained DPR to 7.15+ even without spending spell slots. Level 13 grants Dimension Door. Forget running through the battlefield; just teleport yourself directly adjacent to the enemy spellcaster and start swinging. At level 15, Soul of Vengeance transforms your action economy. As a Reaction, you can attack a creature hit by you or an ally. This gives you consistent off-turn attacks, meaning even more chances to crit and Smite. At levels 12 and 16, use your ASIs to max out your Strength at 20, then begin pumping Charisma to improve your Aura of Protection and Soul of Vengeance uses.

Levels 17-20

Level 17 unlocks 5th-level spells, including Hold Monster. This is the endgame version of Hold Person, allowing you to paralyze dragons and fiends for automatic critical hits with 4th-level Divine Smites. Finally, level 20 grants Avenging Angel. For one hour, you gain a 60-foot fly speed, resistance to all damage, and an extra 5d6 radiant damage on every single melee hit. Activate this alongside your Aasimar Celestial Revelation, and you will deal world-ending amounts of radiant damage per round.

Cantrips

Paladins do not inherently get cantrips unless you select the Blessed Warrior fighting style. For an Oath of Vengeance striker, you should be swinging a heavy weapon, not casting cantrips. Skip Blessed Warrior and take Defense or Great Weapon Fighting.

Level 1-2 Spells

Your bread and butter are your Oath Spells. Hold Person is your strongest 2nd-level option for humanoid bosses, turning your attacks into auto-crits. Thunderous Smite is great at level 2 for knocking enemies prone. From the core Paladin list, keep Bless prepared to buff your party's attack rolls, and use Wrathful Smite to inflict the Frightened condition, which locks melee enemies in place.

Level 3-5 Spells

Level 3 spells are where Vengeance shines. Haste is mandatory; it gives you an extra attack, double movement speed, and +2 AC. Counterspell is a rare and incredibly potent defensive tool for a Paladin. At 4th level, Dimension Door lets you bypass walls, frontliners, and environmental hazards to reach your prey. At 5th level, Hold Monster is the ultimate save-or-die spell for a smite-heavy build.

High-Level Spells

As a half-caster, Paladins cap out at 5th-level spells. Aside from your Oath Spells, prepare Banishing Smite for a massive 5d10 force damage burst that can temporarily remove a threat from the combat entirely. Destructive Wave is also excellent for AoE damage and knocking a group of enemies prone without hurting your allies.

Great Weapon Master

Take this at level 4. The Oath of Vengeance is practically built for Great Weapon Master. Vow of Enmity gives you reliable Advantage against your primary target, making it incredibly easy to offset the -5 attack penalty. The flat +10 damage per hit is how you secure your role as a top-tier Striker.

Resilient (Constitution)

Take this at level 8 or 12. Once you reach level 9, your primary combat strategy involves casting Haste on yourself. If you lose concentration on Haste, you lose a full turn of actions. Resilient (Constitution) combined with your Aura of Protection ensures you will almost never fail a standard concentration check.

Fey Touched

If you need to round out an odd Charisma score, Fey Touched is phenomenal. It grants a free use of Misty Step, supplementing your mobility before you get Dimension Door at level 13. Pick up Silvery Barbs or Gift of Alacrity as your 1st-level Divination/Enchantment spell.

Tier 1 (Levels 1-4)

Start with Chain Mail and the biggest two-handed weapon you can find, preferably a Greatsword (2d6 damage). If your Dungeon Master allows you to start with a magical item, a simple +1 Greatsword drastically improves your early-game accuracy, especially when using Great Weapon Master.

Tier 2 (Levels 5-10)

Upgrade to Plate Armor (AC 18) as soon as you have the 1,500 gold. Look for a Belt of Hill Giant Strength. This allows you to set your Strength to 21, freeing up your Ability Score Improvements to focus entirely on Charisma or vital feats like Resilient (Constitution).

Tier 3 (Levels 11-16)

You want items that protect your concentration and mobility. A Cloak of Displacement pairs beautifully with the AC boost from Haste, imposing Disadvantage on attacks against you. Upgrade your weapon to a Flame Tongue Greatsword; the extra 2d6 fire damage multiplies on critical hits, which you will get frequently against paralyzed targets via Hold Person.

Tier 4 (Levels 17-20)

The legendary Holy Avenger is the dream weapon. It grants a +3 bonus to attack and damage, deals an extra 2d10 radiant damage to fiends and undead, and projects an aura of magic resistance. Combine this with Avenging Angel and you are an untouchable god of war.

Your role in the party is the Striker. You are not a traditional tank; your job is to identify the highest-threat enemy on the battlefield, lock onto them with Vow of Enmity, and erase them from existence using Divine Smites and Great Weapon Master.

This build shines brightest when paired with a control-focused Wizard or Sorcerer. If an allied caster can land Web, Hypnotic Pattern, or Hold Monster, they save you from having to use your own spell slots for crowd control, allowing you to funnel every ounce of your magic into raw Smite damage. Additionally, a Bard is a perfect companion; Bardic Inspiration can turn your near-miss GWM swings into devastating hits.

Sorcerer (Divine Soul)

Taking 1 to 4 levels of Divine Soul Sorcerer is an incredibly potent dip. It gives you access to the Shield and Absorb Elements spells, which dramatically increase your survivability. You also gain Favored by the Gods for an emergency +2d4 to a failed saving throw, ensuring you never drop concentration on Haste. Crucially, it accelerates your spell slot progression for more Divine Smites.

Warlock (Hexblade)

A 1-level dip into Hexblade Warlock allows you to use your Charisma modifier for your attack and damage rolls. This makes the build completely Single Attribute Dependent (SAD). You can leave your Strength at 15 (just enough for Plate Armor) and pump Charisma to 20, maximizing your weapon attacks, Aura of Protection, spell save DC for Hold Person, and uses of your Soul of Vengeance reaction.

• Action Economy Clashes: Vow of Enmity, Celestial Revelation, and casting Thunderous Smite all require a Bonus Action. Do not try to activate them all on turn one. Prioritize Vow of Enmity first to get your Advantage engine running.
• Dropping Haste: Casting Haste on yourself is incredibly powerful, but if you take a massive hit and fail your concentration check, a wave of lethargy sweeps over you, costing you a whole turn. Never cast Haste if you are surrounded by numerous small enemies forcing dozens of concentration checks.
• Wasting Soul of Vengeance: At level 15, you get reaction attacks based on your Charisma modifier. Do not waste these on low-health minions. Save your reactions for the boss you are focusing down, ensuring maximum value from your smites.
• Hoarding Dimension Door: Many paladins save Dimension Door for retreating. As an Oath of Vengeance Paladin, use it aggressively to teleport past walls of force or frontline tanks directly onto the enemy spellcaster.