Goliath Oath of the Ancients Paladin Build Guide
A Goliath Oath of the Ancients Paladin fuses primordial giant heritage with nature’s sacred light, creating an immovable, spell-resistant guardian of the wilderness.
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Why Oath of the Ancients?
Combining the colossal physical heritage of the Goliath with the nature-preserving Oath of the Ancients Paladin results in the ultimate frontline defender. Your primary role is to stand between your allies and danger, absorbing hits while controlling the battlefield. The Goliath's Giant Ancestry provides supernatural defensive traits (like reducing incoming damage) that complement your heavy armor and high health pool, making you incredibly difficult to take down.
As you grow in level, you will unlock powerful magical defenses. At level 7, you gain Aura of Warding, an incredible subclass feature that grants you and nearby allies resistance to damage from spells. When you pair this aura with your Large Form trait—which allows you to physically grow in size—your presence on the battlefield becomes massive, making it easy to block choke points and shield fragile allies from harm.
By focusing your highest stats on Strength and Charisma, you ensure your physical attacks strike hard while keeping your spell save difficulty high. This makes subclass spells and features like Nature's Wrath highly effective at rooting enemies in place, letting you lock down fast-moving targets right where your giant-sized weapons can reach them.
Oath of the Ancients Features
Nature's Wrath
Level 3When a creature within 10 feet of you that you can see hits a target with an attack roll, you can use your Reaction to add your Charisma modifier to the attack roll or saving throw DC. In addition, when you cast a spell that deals damage, you can spend 1 spell slot to increase the damage by 1d6 per spell slot spent.
Oath of the Ancients Spells
Level 3You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed in the Oath of the Ancients Spells table. [Oath of the Ancients Spells: 1st - Entangle, Goodberry; 2nd - Barkskin, Spike Growth; 3rd - Call Lightning, Plant Growth; 4th - Grasping Vine, Guardian of Nature; 5th - Maelstrom, Wrath of Nature]
Aura of Warding
Level 7Ancient magic still lingers in your aura, shielding you and your allies from fey and undead creatures. You and friendly creatures within 10 feet of you have Resistance to damage from spells. In addition, creatures within 10 feet of you have Advantage on saving throws against being Charmed or Frightened.
Undying Sentinel
Level 15You gain the ability to sense the presence of undead within 1 mile of you. If you sense undead this way, you know their general direction. When you sense undead this way, you can use your Reaction to gain Advantage on attack rolls against that creature until the end of your next turn.
Elder Champion
Level 20When you reach 20th level, you can use your action to gain temporary hit points equal to your Paladin level + your Charisma modifier. Additionally, for 1 minute, whenever a friendly creature within 30 feet of you takes damage, you can use your Reaction to reduce that damage by half.
Recommended Ability Scores
Goliath Traits That Benefit Oath of the Ancients Paladin
Giant Ancestry
Giant Ancestry grants a supernatural ability that enhances the Paladin's combat or utility.
Powerful Build
Enhanced size and carrying capacity complement the Paladin's physical combat style.
Large Form
Enhanced size and carrying capacity complement the Paladin's physical combat style.
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 the Ancients grants Nature's Wrath at level 3
- ♦ High hit points for frontline durability
- ♦ Strong species-class synergy enhances core abilities
- ♦ Strong melee damage output
- ♦ Divine Smite provides burst damage
Weaknesses
- ♦ No Darkvision — may need light sources in dungeons
- ♦ May require careful feat selection to optimize
Pro Tips
Activate Large Form to expand your physical reach, making it easier to trap slippery enemies using your Nature's Wrath feature.
Position yourself centrally so allies can stay within your Aura of Warding while you block enemy advances with your Powerful Build.
Use your Giant Ancestry damage reduction to shrug off minor hits, saving your Paladin spell slots for powerful Divine Smites.
When facing overwhelming odds, rely on Undying Sentinel to keep you standing at 1 hit point, surprising enemies with a giant-strength counterattack.
Other Paladin Subclasses for Goliath
Other Races for Oath of the Ancients Paladin
Frequently Asked Questions
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