Best Races for Paladin 5e
by Prince Phantom
As a martial class focused on weapon attacks primarily, Paladins are predisposed to races that grant a feat at level one more than almost any other class. This makes races selection tough if you want to play anything other than a Variant Human or Custom Origin. You have to really want the features of a race to justify taking it over those two, or have a very specific build in mind that requires a certain racial trait. Simply being a generically strong race just won’t cut it, unless we are getting a free feat at level one. I understand that many tables play with this rule, so I’ll separate this list into races to consider if you do not have that house rule and ones to consider if you do. As always, I exclude races that grant a feat at level one and flying races from these lists.
Best Races if You Aren’t Getting a Free Feat
Gem Dragonborn: There’s a lot to like about all three of the revised Dragonborn found in Fizban’s, and I believe the Gem variant is the strongest of them. We get a breath weapon that we can seamlessly mix into our attack flow for some AoE damage (something Paladins normally lack), telepathy for out of combat utility, and one minute of flight for combatting flying foes (another thing Paladins don’t normally have an answer for). We also get access to the now-fantastic Dragon Fear feat, which works wonders when paired with the Oath of Conquest and all its fear effects and payoffs. This is a race that’s good for all Paladins and great for Conquest Paladins specifically.
Tortle: A great race if you rolled terrible on stats and also want to primarily attack with Charisma thanks to a Hexblade dip. This allows you to put your highest in Charisma and then all you need is a 13 in strength so you can multiclass out of Paladin. Outside of that very specific circumstance, look elsewhere.
Grung: Paladins do get Create Food and Water, so we have a method for dealing with our water dependency. The Grung is well suited for a spartan-like build that plans on holding a spear and shield and taking the Polearm Master feat. We can add extra damage to the spear attacks (though not the butt-end attack, but maybe you could sharpen the other side of that spear and have it deal piercing damage, talk to your DM), helping to bring our DPR closer to that of a Great Weapon Master/Polearm Master build. Just make sure your campaign isn’t going to be filled with poison-immune enemies.
Shifter (Longtooth): This Shifter grants a bonus action attack when we shift, helping to bridge the damage gap if you want to wield a two handed heavy weapon that isn’t a polearm. This extra attack doesn’t get to be buffed by Great Weapon Master, but it does allow us to make an attack after casting a spell, so both options have their niche.
Best Races if You Get a Free Feat:
Obviously all of the above races also fall in this category, but the following ones open up as strong options under this condition.
Genasi (Earth): Contrary to popular belief, Paladins are not very good tanks, at least once you’re out of low level play and a 20 AC isn’t as impressive. With no access to the Shield spell (yet another reason to take a Hexblade dip), no Absorb Elements, and no means of reducing incoming damage, you can find your HP total dropping very fast if you’re trying to tank. Yes, Aura of Protection helps with saving throws, but normal attacks can bring us down quick in the mid and definitely late game. Blade Ward as a bonus action helps a ton with our defense allowing us to actually fulfill that tank fantasy many Paladin players chase. Pass Without Trace also fixes the Paladin’s famous problem of being dreadful at stealth, and immunity to most difficult terrain will help with our low mobility slightly. All the features here directly address weaknesses of the class, making this a home run selection if you’re already getting a feat.
Harengon: In a similar vein of addressing weaknesses of the class, the Harengon helps fix the Paladin’s usually low Dexterity. We get a significant boost to our initiative, a boost to Dexterity saves that can stack with our Aura of Protection, and a bonus action movement option to help us navigate the battlefield. I see this as a slightly weaker version of the Earth Genasi, though it’s very build dependent as different characters will need different holes to be patched.
Aasimar (Radiant Soul/Necrotic Shroud): The Necrotic Shroud Aasimar has the same synergy with the Conquest Paladin as the Dragonborn and Dragon Fear feat have, so I really only recommend it for that subclass. For everyone else, the Radiant Soul is a similar design as the Gem Dragonborn, I just like the Breath Weapon more than the slight amount of damage once per turn that this race provides. Healing Hands is just a diet Lay on Hands, making it much less impactful on this class.
Githzerai: If you are dead set on not multiclassing but also want the Shield spell, this is how you get it. There are other perks offered too that are nice, but we’re here for Shield.
Paladin is considered one of the strongest classes in the game, and while I agree with that on some aspects, I can’t call any class as dependent on feats as this one one of the best. That makes race selection a particular pain point, as I’m certain many of you are tired of playing humans all the time just so you can get that feat you really need at level one to contribute meaningfully in combat. That’s a real shame, as the Paladin has a lot more weaknesses (namely defense and utility) than just feat dependency that could be addressed by many races. I’d argue that no class benefits more from the free feat at level one houserule adopted by many tables. Take your race selection here seriously, the difference in power between a Paladin of a strong and weak race is quite the gap.
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