A paladin is a character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game). Paladins are holy knights who crusade in the name of good and order, and are divine spellcasters). They are united by their oaths to stand against the forces of evil and to uphold justice and righteousness. Paladins are expected to uphold their sacred oath in the face of adversity, and they have a strict moral code about how they are to accomplish their goals. Although many paladins are devoted to gods of good, a paladins power comes as much from a commitment to justice itself as it does from a god. Paladins train for years to learn the skills of combat, mastering a variety of weapons and armor. They have a long list of class features, touching on all of the games core mechanics, and they are one of the more complex classes to play. Some strengths and weaknesses of paladins include:

Strengths:

• Extremely durable and can survive a long hard day of adventuring
• Can hold their own in combat and are heavily-armored melee monsters
• Have nearly no options for fighting at range, but they have a nice mix of buffs and healing options
• Have access to a variety of abilities that can make them quite adaptable

Weaknesses:

• None of their abilities except Channel Divinity recharge on a short rest, so they need to ration their resources more strictly than many classes
• Nearly every paladin is a heavily-armored melee monster, and they have almost no options for fighting at range
• Paladins can be seen as "lawful stupid" by adhering too strictly to their code even when it defies common sense
• Players should avoid making an overly detailed backstory for their paladin character, as it can be tempting to come up with a lot of commitments that go with being a paladin