Elf Oath of Glory Paladin Build Guide
Combining elven grace with the Oath of Glory turns you into a swift, unstoppable striker who inspires allies while dominating the battlefield.
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Why Oath of Glory?
The Oath of Glory transforms your Paladin into a highly mobile, inspiring hero. While Paladins are typically seen as slow, heavily armored tanks, this subclass focuses on speed, physical perfection, and heroic deeds. Your Elf's natural agility combines wonderfully with the Peerless Athlete channel divinity option, allowing you to leap over obstacles, climb difficult terrain, and navigate the battlefield with unmatched grace.
As a Striker, your job is to deal high damage quickly. Your Elf's Fey Ancestry provides a crucial defense here, giving you advantage against being charmed and immunity to sleep spells. This ensures you stay in control of your character so you can keep delivering devastating smites. Meanwhile, traits like Darkvision and Keen Senses ensure you can spot ambushers in the dark, keeping your party safe during exploration.
At later levels, your speed becomes legendary. Features like Aura of Alacrity increase your movement speed and that of nearby allies, allowing your elven Paladin to dart across the battlefield, bypass enemy defenses, and strike down key targets before they can react.
Oath of Glory Features
Inspiring Smite
Level 3Immediately after you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack using Divine Smite, you can spend 1 sorcery point to grant yourself or a creature within 30 feet of you that you can see temporary hit points equal to 1d6 + your Paladin level. The temporary hit points increase to 1d8 when you reach 6th level, 1d10 at 14th level, and 1d12 at 18th level.
Oath of Glory Spells
Level 3You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed in the Oath of Glory Spells table. [Oath of Glory Spells: 1st - Guiding Bolt, Heroism; 2nd - Enhance Ability, Magic Weapon; 3rd - Haste, Spirit Shroud; 4th - Dominate Beast, Stoneskin; 5th - Cone of Cold, Hold Monster]
Peerless Athlete
Level 3As a Bonus Action, you can gain temporary hit points equal to your Paladin level. Additionally, your Speed increases by 10 feet, and your Armor Class is increased by 1 until the start of your next turn.
Aura of Alacrity
Level 7You emanate an aura of quick action while you aren't Incapacitated. When an ally within 10 feet of you that you can see rolls initiative, that creature gains a bonus to its roll equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of +1).
Glorious Defense
Level 15When a creature within 10 feet of you takes damage while you're conscious, you can use your Reaction to grant that creature temporary hit points equal to 1d6 + your Charisma modifier.
Living Legend
Level 20As an action, you can take the Dodge action and gain temporary hit points equal to your Paladin level + your Charisma modifier. Until the end of your next turn, whenever a creature within 10 feet of you takes damage, you can use your Reaction to reduce that damage by half (round down) using your Lay on Hands. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a Long Rest.
Recommended Ability Scores
Elf Traits That Benefit Oath of Glory Paladin
Fey Ancestry
Extra saving throw advantages protect against debilitating spells and effects.
Darkvision
Elf Darkvision helps Paladins scout ahead and fight in darkness without needing a torch.
Keen Senses
Free Perception proficiency is valuable for any Paladin, especially in exploration.
Trance
Trance means shorter rests and the ability to keep watch more effectively.
Combat Effectiveness
| Level | HP | Melee DPR | Spell DPR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 5 | 39 | 7.8 | 0 |
| Level 11 | 81 | 7.15 | 0 |
| Level 17 | 123 | 7.15 | 0 |
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Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
- ♦ Oath of Glory grants Inspiring Smite at level 3
- ♦ High hit points for frontline durability
- ♦ Darkvision for dungeon exploration
- ♦ Strong melee damage output
- ♦ Divine Smite provides burst damage
Weaknesses
- ♦ May require careful feat selection to optimize
Pro Tips
Use Peerless Athlete before a tough encounter to easily jump over enemy frontlines and strike their vulnerable spellcasters.
Activate Inspiring Smite right after landing a Divine Smite to distribute a buffer of temporary hit points to your injured allies.
Position yourself dynamically so your allies can benefit from your Aura of Alacrity speed boost on their turns.
Leverage your Fey Ancestry to fearlessly engage enemy spellcasters, knowing you have a natural defense against their charm effects.
Other Paladin Subclasses for Elf
Other Races for Oath of Glory Paladin
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Oath of Glory a good subclass for Elf Paladin?
What makes Oath of Glory different from other Paladin subclasses?
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