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The paladin is a character class in Dungeons & Dragons.

Abilities[]

Notable paladins[]

For a complete list, see Category:Paladins.

Publication history[]

Original D&D[]

The paladin was introduced in Supplement I: Greyhawk (1975) as a fighting-man sub-class.

AD&D 1st edition[]

Paladins appear as a fighter sub-class in the Players Handbook (1e) (1978).

In Unearthed Arcana (1e) (1985), paladins became a sub-class of cavalier.

AD&D 2nd edition[]

The paladin appears in the AD&D 2nd edition Player's Handbook (2e) (1989).

The PHBR12 The Complete Paladin's Handbook (1994) added new class options for the paladin.

D&D 3rd edition[]

Paladins are one of 11 character classes introduced in the Player's Handbook (3.0) (2000), and returning in the Player's Handbook (3.5) (2003).

Unearthed Arcana (3e) (2004) presented three paladin variants: the paladin of freedom, the paladin of slaughter, and the paladin of tyranny. Complete Warrior (2003) provided a variant paladin without spellcasting abilities.

D&D 4th edition[]

The paladin appears in the Player's Handbook (4e) (2008).

They returned in Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms (2010) with the Cavalier build.

D&D 5th edition[]

The paladin is one of 12 classes appearing in the Player's Handbook (5e) (2014).

At level 3, paladins select a sacred oath which customizes the class further. The sacred oaths detailed in the Player's Handbook are the Oath of Devotion, the Oath of the Ancients, and the Oath of Vengeance. The Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide (2015) adds another oath, the Oath of the Crown, while Xanathar's Guide to Everything (2017) adds two more, the Oath of Conquest and the Oath of Redemption.

Creative origins[]

The paladin was inspired by characters such as Holger Carlson from Poul Anderson's novel Three Hearts and Three Lions.

References[]

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