A guide to building a powerful warrior who utilizes both might and magic through a fierce devotion to their unique ancestry.
Hello again esteemed adventurers, followers, readers, and lurkers, and welcome back to Kobold Stew. Last time, we talked about Charisma and how it doesn't affect how your character looks necessarily. You can check that out here. It has been awhile since I have done a character build, and I really enjoy doing them. Once in awhile, I get a good idea that I feel is worth sharing, such as the Fantasy WWE styled Grappler. Today, I have one I think should not only be cool narrative-wise, but also potentially powerful. That build is what I am calling the "God-Blade."
On the surface, the God-Blade is a Gish build. For those unfamiliar with the term, a Gish is a character that is built to be a blend of a warrior and a caster. Sure, there are things like the Eldritch Knight or dipping into Wizard or Warlock, but this build will come with both effectiveness and flavor. Mechanically, the God-Blade is going to utilize the Paladin and the Sorcerer classes. We're going to take advantage that both classes utilize Charisma as a major ability score and spell casting modifier as well as their features. Flavorfully, the God-Blade is going to utilize their ancestry, but they're going to take it a step further by pledging an oath to whatever source of their ancestry is as a paladin. Anyway, let's break it down.
Without any further ado, let us get down to it and talk about the God-Blade.
Why play the God-Blade?
"For I was born with Tarmarc's light in my soul, and I shall bring that light forth into the world."
Are you stuck between whether you want to play a warrior or caster class?
Did you roll god-tier stats and want to try out something new?
You have a party that is in dire need of both a caster and a warrior, or perhaps your party is pretty well rounded out, but you don't want to tip the scales?
Are you interested in playing a character who's story could be deeply intertwined with the lore of the setting?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, the God-Blade may be the character for you to try out. Just imagine a warrior, clad in plate mail striding onto the battlefield and blasting enemies with magic as they charge at the foes that are still standing. The image of a warrior swinging a magically infused sword, slinging spells, and then calling upon magic power to smite is all just too cool to pass up in my mind.
Pros
· High, single-turn damage potential for dropping big enemies
· Casting adds utility and versatility
· Multi-role with both magic and martial prowess
· Potential for good flavor making an easy sell to a DM
Cons
· Resource management is a must
· Doesn’t take off until later levels
· Multiple Ability Score Dependency (MAD)
Preference/Situational
· Gets 2 skills, so skill monkeys may not likey
· Late extra attack, if at all
· Potentially squishy
***Do note that this build will rely on multiclassing and feats, both of which are optional rules according to the Dungeon Master's Guide (DMG). As I always recommend, talk to your DM before making a God-Blade character.
The God-Blade's Role
"My ancestors sent me to be an exemplar of their ideals."
As I said in my Grappler article, I am not a fan of making DnD too 'video-gamey,' but I do like to describe roles for builds/classes as it helps visualize what they're good for. Classes fill various roles for the most part, and it helps to give an idea of what a character will be doing. The God-Blade is a pretty sweet build as it can fill multiple roles at once. It takes both roles as a caster and a tank. You will be able to nuke enemies while also swinging a sword. With your high damage potential, you will be a great asset in taking down tougher monsters while your party handles the horde.
What is really nice is that you can adjust it to what your party needs as you build it and gain levels. Need more spells? Put more levels into Sorcerer. Need more beef? Dump a few more levels into Paladin. Unlike other builds, it is not as nichey, and can be effective in many different situations. You will be able to help your team out with buffs in a pinch, and when you're all out of spells, you can still deal decent damage standing in the midst of combat.
The Basic Package
"We are all destined for greatness. I can show you the path."
1) Strength and Charisma - In order to not only be able to attack and cast effectively, you are going to need at least 13 Strength and 13 Charisma to be able to multiclass between Paladin and Sorcerer. A higher Strength means more weapon hits and damage and a higher Charisma means more oomph to spells.
2) BONUS BONANZA: Divine Smite and Quickened Spell - Divine Smite already helps a Paladin deal a hefty amount of damage, and the PHB does not specify where the slots we consume come from. With Sorcerer giving us access to higher level spell slots, we can use them to make for some BIG smites. You thought Paladins dealt MOAR damage on a regular basis? Get ready to do it even more.
Along with this, metamagic from the Sorcerer will grant us access to Quickened Spell, which allows us to cast a spell as a bonus action. This is great on its own, but now we can either attack and cast a spell or cast two 1 action spells. This can be handy in any pinch such as getting more damage in, or perhaps firing off an attack/damaging spell and then healing a party member in need.
These are the main mechanical reasons to play this build.
3) War Caster - War Caster is an almost must have for this build, especially if you aren't able to put as many points into your Constitution score. Not only will we be having our concentration challenged more than most casters, but we will also be able to wield our great weapons OR go sword and board and still be able to cast any spell with somatic components. The proverbial icing on the metaphorical cake is that we can use an opportunity of attack to cast a spell. War Caster is something that a God-Blade would be!
4) Profit - With the use of your features, you can whoop ass as need be. Your stuff is going to jive, and you can adjust your build as need be.
Race Breakdown
"I am a mortal in flesh, but so much more in my soul."
Now, when we do the race breakdown for this build, we are going to look at for increases to our Strength and Charisma. Bonus to Constitution isn't bad as well. Along with this, we are going to be looking for features that will help with either being a frontline warrior and/or spellcaster. Of course, play whatever your heart desires, but this is to help make the best choice.
For this build, we are going to look at all officially released races. This means everything from the PHB, Volo's, Mordenkainen's, and the new Eberron setting guide. I will not be touching on any of the UA races. With this, before using all the races mentioned, talk with your DM to see what races they will and won't allow.
Let's take a look.
Dwarf - +2 Constitution is nice for helping keep a good concentration save. Resistance to poison damage is a nice touch, and the proficiencies in the weapons will be useful if you end up taking sorcerer early instead of Pali. The Hill Dwarf's increasing hit points is nice for helping with those worried about being squishy, but the Mountain Dwarf can give us +2 Strength, another nice touch. 7/10
Elf - The Dexterity increase is only going to be helpful if we are going with a non-heavy armor build or a Dexterity based build (which we will be shying away from). The free cantrip from High Elf is notable, and the Drow does give us a bonus to charisma. Elves do have the free weapon proficiencies, but other races ability score increases are much more useful for it. 4/10
Halfling - At the surface, the +2 to Dexterity might begin to make us turn our heads sideways as it is similar to the elf bonus. We like the advantage on being frightened and lucky is always nice to have. Lightfoot Halfings will give us that Charisma bonus we need, but we wouldn't be using the naturally stealthy too much except maybe when we are trying to sneak with our party. The Stout Halfing will give us a +1 Constitution. It's doable, but there are some better options. 5/10
Human - +1 to all ability scores isn't too bad as it aids with the MADness of the build. Variant human is nice in that we get the free proficiency, but the free feat isn't as good if you don't take sorcerer at level 1 due to the requisites of War Caster. You could also grab Resilient to give proficiency in Constitution saving throws. It does leave oh-so-important Ability Score Increases open instead of using it on a feat. Regular Human 6/10, Vuman 8/10
Dragonborn - With +2 to Strength and +1 to Charisma, it is almost as if the Dragonborn was made for this build. Resistance to a damage type from the Draconic Ancestry is a sweet thing to get, and certain damage types are very relevant (like fire). The Breath Weapon is a fun and flavorful feature that can be useful in certain situations. I've seen it do some work. The way to look at it is a free, single use, horde killing spell. The Dragonborn gets bonus points for flavor because why not be a paladin of a god like Bahamut and then have your draconic lineage manifest in sorcererous magic? Behold the dragon's fury! 10/10
Gnome - Bonus to intelligence? Meh. the advantage on the mental ability saving throws versus magic is nice to have. Sure, Rock Gnomes get a bonus to Constitution, but these small bois and gurls leave a lot to be desired for the God-Blade. Look elsewhere. 3/10
Half-Elf - I'm already looking at that juicy +2 Charisma, which is going to be nice for us. The two +1s can be tossed into Strength and Constitution, only helping toward the God-Blade build more. Fey Ancestry will help keep you in the fight. The additional skill proficiencies are cash money, and if you can get away with it, you could swap them out for the variant for one of the features of the elf subraces. I'd personally grab the high elf for the free cantrip or Drow for the free spells. 9/10
Half-Orc - Bonuses to Strength (+2) and Constitution (+1) are a nice thing to get. It'll help us be tougher. Savage attacks will make our crits that much nastier when we decide to smite on top of the weapons damage making the damage from a crit hit like a truck. Relentless endurance will keep us in the fight, and the free Intimidation is a nice touch. 7/10
Tiefling - +1 to Intelligence? Meh. +2 to Charisma? Yeeeeea! Resistance to fire is always relevant, and we'll welcome it. The free spells and cantrip are also a nice touch. If you can sell your DM on the idea of one of the variant tieflings, it only gets better from there as you can ditch that +1 Intelligence for a Constitution or Strength bonus. The flavor of less a God-Blade and more of a Fiend-Blade is pretty cool, regardless of if you use those powers for good or bad. Regular Tiefling 6/10 Variant Tielfing(s) 7/10
Aarakocra - We are missing out with +2 Dexterity and +1 Wisdom, on bonuses for Strength and Charisma. As cool as flying is, we want to be wearing armor to help protect us, making it so we can't even use flying. Natural weapons are usually pretty inconsequential. Not really worth taking. 2/10
Genasi - The +2 to Constitution isn't bad to have. The only subrace for Genasi that will give us an Ability Score Increase to help us out is going to be the Earth Genasi with a +1 to strength. Earth walk is kind of meh and a free Pass Without Trace is also kind of just okay. The other subraces don't really add too much. They do get a slight bonus for flavor as there is Storm Soul sorcerer and an elemental paladin seems kind of cool! 4/10
Aasimar - We are already liking that initial +2 to Charisma. The resistance to necrotic and radiant damage will prove helpful as the former often times comes up while facing undead or fiendish things. Being able to heal is always nice though the amount healed isn't anything to get excited about. Free light cantrip is alright. Subrace-wise, the Scourge Aasimar will get a +1 to Constitution, which is a good touch. The transformation is pretty damn cool and super flavorful as well. Fallen Aasimar get a +1 to Strength which is money as well as a transformation of their own. Aasimar also get major bonus points for flavor as they fit the mantra of a God-Blade almost to the bill. By claiming Divine Soul Sorcerer and being devoted to whatever god/angel they share ancestry with, they can be just as flavorful as the Dragonborn. Are you there God? It's me, a CAN OF WHOOP-ASS!. 10/10
Firbolg - Firbolgs have certainly gained some popularity lately. +2 to Wisdom is meh, but the +1 to Strength is something to note. Free spells are always nice to get. Free invisibility is pretty cool too, but the other features are just okay. 5/10
Goliath - +2 Strength is going to help us hit harder and a +1 to Constitution is going to help us out. The Stone's Endurance will help with potential squishiness from the caster side of things. Mountain Born is pretty situational, and the free Athletics skill is a nice touch. 6/10
Kenku - The other bird-person, the Kenku gets bonuses to Dexterity and Wisdom, which we aren't looking for. Sure, free skills are cool and all, but their features also leave a lot to be desired. Looks like the God-Blade is just not feeling keen on wearing a suit of feathers. 2/10
Lizardfolk - +2 to Constitution is a nice bonus, but we could live without the Wisdom. The Natural Armor won't be noticed as we will be trying to wear heavy stuff. Hungry jaws is nice to help with the squish, and free skills are cool, but there are better options out there. 4/10
Tabaxi - +2 Dexterity is not what we're looking for, but a +1 to Charisma is. The features are great for cat flavor, but they are not very helpful in making us a bad ass arcane warrior. 3/10
Triton - We are getting +1 in the three Ability Scores we are trying to boost. Free spells are always nice to have, especially as a caster, and the modifier for them is Charisma which is cool. Resistance to cold damage is nice to have, and for a swashbuckling game or an adventure at sea, the other features are going to really shine in those settings. Bonus flavor for being a "child of the sea" and being a Paladin of a sea god and taking Storm Soul Sorcerer. 7/10
Gith - The original gishes, the Gith offer a +1 to Intelligence which is not what we're looking for, but the Githyanki do give us the +2 to Strength. Free spells are cool and the armor/weapon proficiencies aren't bad if starting sorcerer. 5/10
Tortle - +2 Strength is what we're looking for. +1 Wisdom is not. The natural weapons are inconsequential 90% of the time. The Natural AC of 17 is frikken sweet, especially if we are grabbing Sorcerer as our first class. The shell defense is nice if we are low on health and need to survive. Launch a concentration spell and literally turtle up! 7/10
Changeling - +2 Charisma is very nice for our magic stuff, but the two choices for +1 one are not ideal. Change appearance is cool and all, but not exactly something that will aid what we're trying to do. Free skills and a debuff are cool, but not exactly things to help make us more effective at doing what we do. 5/10
Kalashtar - +1 Charisma is good. +1 to Wisdom is not what we want, but +1 to a score of any choice is good to put into Strength. The advantage on Wisdom saves is money for keeping us in the battle and effective. Free skills are nice, and the telepathic communication is more useful than you'd think. 6/10
Shifter - A +1 to Dexterity is not what we're looking for. The shifting is real neat-o and gives us bonus Constitution while shifted, which helps with the concentration. The right sub-race can help make this choice better. Beasthide will have the +2 to Constitution. Longtooth gives the Strength we are looking for. Swiftstride gives +1 to the Charisma we need. 5/10
War-Forged - The bot gets a base +1 Constitution. The features of being harder to poison and not getting exhausted is always cool! Integrated protection is nice for our armor stuff. You can get big armor ratings at lower levels with it. Envoy is good int that we can boost Strength and Charisma by one along with a free skill proficiency. Juggernaut is nice if we wanna hit hard, but natural weapons are meh. Skirmisher is meh with the +2 Dexterity. 7/10
Bugbear - +2 Strength is what we are looking for. +1 to Dexterity is not. Long-Limbed is nice I suppose in some situations, and the surprise attack is nice if we are taking advantage of spells like Invisibility. 5/10
Goblin - +2 Dexterity is not what we are looking for, but +1 to Constitution isn't so bad. Fury of the Small is flavorful, and Nimble Escape is nice if we want to duck in and out, but the Gobbo is not that great for what we want to do. 4/10
Hobgoblin -The goblins larger cousin fairs a little better with a +2 Constitution, but the +1 to Intelligence brings it down. Free martial weapons are cool if we take the early start in Sorcerer or were playing a pure caster. Saving face is flavorful and cool if you are in a large party, but other than that, it isn't going to do tons of work for us. 4/10
Kobold - The poor, roasted namesake of my blog is going to have a hard time with this build due to the -2 to Strength. That alone makes it a rough choice. 1/10
Orc - The green bois and girls are nice in that we get a boost to our Strength and Constitution. I never like to see stats go down in 5E, but Intelligence is something we can afford to lose. The free dash is helpful for getting around the battlefield, and powerful build is useful in some instances. 5/10
Yuan-ti Pureblood - The sneks get a +2 to Charisma, which is nice. +1 Intelligence is not what we want, but oh well. Free spells are always welcome in a caster build, and with their modifier being Charisma, it only gets nice. Immunity to poison damage is a nice perk to have. 6/10
Sheesh, that took awhile. Dear Wizards, please slow yah roll. But please don't because I love having so many fun options to choose from. Well, now that we know what races are the best for this build, get yah books, cuz we going to talk Class!
Class
"Beneath their dark visages, an evil grin came across their faces. She grinned back as she charged forward, and her sword burst into flames that lapped at her enemies."
The Split
When building any multi-class, the question that is going to come up is "what should the split be?" The God-Blade has different ways we can approach this, and it depends on what you hope to accomplish or what you need.
There are some things to consider when thinking about how to split your levels between Paladin and Sorcerer. Here are a few that might come to mind as you plot out your God-Blade's progression?
The importance and rarity of Ability Score Increases. Outside of playing variant human, this is the only time you can pick up a feat, and even sacrificing one for a feat can be tough. For both Palidin and Sorcerer, they get them at 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level.
What role you hope to fill more of. Do you want to be tankier? Are you hoping to get access to some of the more powerful spells from the Sorcerer's book?
At what levels do you pick up certain class features, and do you want these features. For example, if you want an extra attack, you will need at least 5 levels of Paladin.
Some more food for thought:
1) Your levels and the path you take are not set in stone until you gain a level and invest it into whichever class. This is great for role filling and picking up slack either in what the party needs OR for what you feel your shortcomings are.
2) As much as we wish our campaigns would last forever, most characters rarely ever see play to level 20. Keep this in mind when you decide to play the God-Blade and when plotting your characters destiny.
3) Sorcerous Origin and Sacred Oath are more of a preference thing. I plan to use them more for flavoring the class more than anything. Choose whichever you like best.
Paladin 2 // Sorcerer 18
If anything is a must, it is imperative we take at least 2 levels of Paladin so we can take advantage of the Divine Smite class feature. With putting the rest of our levels into Sorcerer, we only miss out on one Ability Score Increase, and we get access to 9th level spell, which we can use to deal some B.F.D. (Big F***ing Damage) or to cast things like Wish, Time Stop, and Meteor Storm. You will be on the squishier side of things, but you will be pleased with your spell selection and damage, but you also will get all your meta-magic features.
Paladin 4 // Sorcerer 16
With this split, you still have access to high level spells barring the 9th level slot. You miss one spell known. It still beats out both the Paladin and Eldritch Knight's maximum spell levels (5 and 4 respectively). The nice thing with this split is that it is set up so that you do not miss an Ability Score Increase, but we also will be missing out on the final meta-magic option. You get some extra beef from taking a few more Paladin levels, and you get access to a Sacred Oath and Channel Divinity. We do miss out on extra attack, but the amount of B.F.D. we can deal with a divine smite and quickened spell should help to offset missing out on the extra attack.
Paladin 5 // Sorcerer 15
The major reason for going with this split is to ensure you get an extra attack from the Paladin. Spell-wise, you aren't going to miss anything from the Paladin 4 // Sorcerer 16 split, but we do miss an Origin Feature, and we miss out on a coveted Ability Score Increase. It is worth considering this split if you want to be more effective as a warrior once you have used up your resources.
Paladin 6 // Sorcerer 14
We trade the 8th level spell of the Sorcerer's for the Paladin's Aura of Protection. The Aura is great if you are looking to be a supporty-tank character. Bonuses to saving throws to your allies are always great. You may consider taking Paladin up to 7 to get your oath feature to boost your Aura, but then we start to give up Sorcerer features.
Paladin 9 // Sorcerer 11
At this point, you will be pretty beefy, but you have traded a lot of magical prowess in the name of melee combat. It isn't bad if you want to be more about tanking and up-close combat. We will have access to more Paladin spells and plenty of Lay on Hands hit points to give out for healing in a pinch. You will miss an Ability Score Increase. 9 is about as high you want to take your Paladin level because after that you are going to lose a lot of the benefits of having the Sorcerer class built in.
Progression
Now that we have some sort of idea on how to split up our levels, we should take a second to talk progression. First things first, you will want to make sure to allot your stats so that your Strength and Charisma are both 13s to ensure we can multi-class. This is important if you want to do a Dexterity based Paladin, which I personally find sub-optimal, and, as mentioned, we won't be touching on. Don't forget to make the third stat you pump Constitution for better concentration checks!
Sadly, we can't just start at level 10 and have all the proficiencies we want. Things to consider for which class to take level 1 in are this:
The Paladin only gives us the heavy armor proficiency if we take it at level 1. A high armor class is going to be important to us, so we can survive having those lower hit-points. Other than that, we will get everything else from the level change.
Saving throw proficiencies: The Sorcerer gets Constitution and Charisma while the Paladin gets Wisdom and Charisma. Constitution saving throw proficiency is relevant because it makes our concentration saves better.
If you are going Variant Human for race, Paladins cannot cast spells at level 1 blocking you off from grabbing War Caster. If you want that as your free feat, you will have to take Sorcerer. Resilient can give us proficiency in Constitution saves, though. Heavily Armored Feat will give us the heavy armor proficiency we need if we go Sorcerer at level 1.
We do not have to worry about losing out on any skill proficiency jumping between the classes.
Personally, I am biased toward taking Paladin at 1st level to be able to utilize heavy armor and not have to worry about having a good Dexterity score on top of the other Ability Scores we are managing. I would take Paladin to level 2 so we have access to Divine Smite, then our character can have a moment where they discover their special ancestry, and you can turn it into a big character development narrative. After Paladin 2 // Sorcerer 1, you're pretty much free to progress as you see fit. I would try and get a few more Sorcerer levels under your belt before putting more levels into Paladin, if that is the version of the God-Blade you are going for.
Feats
"The tavern grew silent as Magnus slung the severed head of the Night Fiend onto a table with a heavy, wet thud."
Depending on how you roll, what classes you take, and what fighting style you choose, there could be a bit of a Feat Tax for the God-Blade. If your stats are looking pretty alright, some feats are worth considering as well. Feats do take up a highly valuable Ability Score Increase, so choose wisely when you take them, especially with level and class splits where you miss out on an Ability Score Increase.
Feat Tax
War Caster - For the sword n board God-Blade, War Caster is a must-take. You will be able to cast spells with somatic components while holding a shield. This will also allow you to dual wield, (but remember the Paladin lacks dual weapon fighting style). War Caster is also worth taking in general as we plan to be in the thick of battle, and will need as much help as we can to maintain concentration as enemies try to wail on us. What really is the icing on the cake here is being able to cast a spell as a reaction on an attack of opportunity. This one is probably the must have feat.
For your consideration
Resilient - This one is not as good as War Caster in my opinion, but choosing Constitution and getting a +1 in it with the proficiency in saving throws is a good option if you are taking Variant Human and level 1 Paladin. Resilient is also good to consider if you want to boost another stat and some help in passing those saving throws.
Heavily Armored - If you went Sorcerer as your level 1 pick, you may consider picking up Heavily Armored to help with getting our AC a little higher for survivability. The +1 to Strength will help it feel like we didn't completely miss out on an Ability Score Increase.
Great Weapon/Shield Master - This is dependent on what fighting style you choose and what you choose to arm yourself with. They only help make you better at using those things and in combat.
Tough - Feeling too squishy? Take this for some bonus hit points!
Elemental Adept - Definitely a flavor choice, and not terrible if you tend to pick spells of a certain damage type.
Spells
"You thought you bested me? I have plenty of tricks up my sleeve."
Now, I could get into a whole comprehensive list of what spells you should grab, but where's the fun in that?! This is a guide, not a tell all. Plus, you may grab certain spells to better fit the flavor of your God-Blade. I'm not here to stop you, but I will say that Booming Blade and Green Flame Blade are nice to have and are worth grabbing. Those are really only the two I'm going to tell you to take.
But what I can do is just give a quick few hints on spell selection. My first big hint is my rule of "1 of each." This is a personal preference for playing a caster, which the Sorcerer part of this build makes our character. I try to grab an even amount of spells that help with different parts of your adventure.
One spell should go toward combat; Dealing damage, de-buffing enemies.
One spell should go toward buffing and aiding our allies.
And finally, one spell should have a use for utility.
Of course, this is just a general guideline I follow. You can take whatever spells you damn well please, and Paladin is going to help give us some spells to help round things out.
My other big hint for spell selection really pertains to damage dealing spells. "Combat" classes are already good at dealing large amounts of damage to single targets, and the God-Blade is especially good at bringing big damage on a single target. So, with that, what I would do is grab damage spells that are crowd killers. Fireball is the classic example of a horde killing damage spell.
Other than that, grab whatever spells fit your fancy!
Playing the God-Blade: Hints and Tips
"Well I have all sorts of solutions, but when all else fails, I prefer good ol' fashioned beating it until it stops moving."
Like playing with any class, especially casters, resource management is very important to the God-Blade. You can deal big Smite damage or cast good spells as long as you have the slots open. Once you use your slots, you will need a long rest before you can use them again. Know when to dump slots into big smites and when to cast spells. Save big smites for big, boss-y creatures.
Even though you need your resources to be effective, luckily, unlike some pure casters, you are not out of a fight because you can still deal decent damage with your weapon. This is doubly true if you took Paladin to level 5.
You can do a lot of different things. If the Rogue has big DPS covered, consider helping with support. Fighter needs help keeping the enemies at bay? Join him on the line. Your bards flirtations failed? You can save face with that good charisma score! You are a Swiss Army character, and can adapt very well to situations. Don't think you are confined to either a warrior or a caster.
Depending on the level split you go with, remember you do not get all d10s for hit points, so try not to eat all the incoming damage from the enemies. If you need to disengage, don't be afraid to protect yourself.
If you don't plan on getting War Caster early (your first Ability Score Increase is what I would call early), you may consider Great Weapon Fighting or Dueling over Sword n Board.
More a general, min/max-y piece of shit tip; damage resistance will help keep you alive. This is important considering our lower hit-points. Fire and Necrotic tend to be very common damage types you may find yourself taking. Of course, this all depends on the DM as well.
Hold Person + Divine Smite is a dirty dirty combo.
Before using your bonus action for the turn, you may wish to try and attack to see if you can land the hit for the smite.
Buckle Up, Cuz We're Going to Flavor Town
"That's gangster."
Now that we got mechanics out of the way, we can finally talk about flavoring your God-Blade, and get some ideas as to how to form a backstory around them. What is really great about this build is not only are the mechanics sound, but there is enough flavor to make Guy Fieri cry. The base of the God-Blade is that they have some sort of special heritage that they learn about, and they devote themselves to their heritage much in the same vein a paladin devotes themselves to a god or a cause. This opens up lots of interesting ways to make your character around this revelation, and it gives your DM lots to work with.
It helps to give your character a root and an investment in the setting/world you are playing in. It also gives them something to strive for. Now as we look at flavoring the God-Blade, this is where the sub-classes can really come to play, especially the sorcerous origins as that is the root of your arcane power. Keep in mind your race choice, as some tend to lend themselves toward this type of character.
These are of course just examples of what kind of backstory and narrative you could do with your God-Blade. The examples are all based off of one of the Sorcerous Origins.
The God-Blade
Protector Aasimar Oath of Devotion Paladin // Divine Soul Sorcerer
"The gods protect... and to uphold that promise, they sent me."
The namesake of the character build. As the God-Blade, you are a protector Aasimar; it would seem you were already born into the Realm to protect those who cannot defend themselves from whatever darkness lurks in the shadows. You are already devoted to the crusader's cause, lending your sword and your shield wherever it is needed to defend the weak, but some sort of event causes your celestial heritage to manifest more-so than other Aasimar in the form of arcane magic. You pledge to use your new found abilities to uphold your oath as you try to be an exemplar of the light, holding the dark at bay.
You could also play this out as a Scourge Aasimar sent to destroy evil and fiends wherever they stood. Raised at a young age to defend the realm from a sinister, hidden foe, you have honed your abilities and your heritage to be the searing light the brings the wrath of the gods upon evil creatures.
The Dragon-Knight
Anything really (but Dragonborn fits real well) any oath Paladin // Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer
"Fire is my blood and fury my soul, for I am the dragon's chosen."
You joined the King's Knights in the hopes of finding glory, finding honor, riches, and/or the greater good. (For non-Dragonborn) During your time, you begin getting fevers without any sort of answer. No sickness. You go to get checked by the local cleric, and she notices a strange, scale-y growth on you. Skip this if you went Dragonborn for obvious reasons. During one of your quests, you a explode with power, spewing fire (or whatever element your ancestry gives you), and your draconic ancestry manifests in newfound, magical power.
You can use this, or perhaps you are a Dragonborn and have pledged devotion to your great, ancient, dragon ancestor. There are plenty of ways you could run with this, but you can turn your character into a powerful knight who wields arcane power granted to them through their Draconic Bloodline.
The Fey-Blade / Green Knight
Any race Oath of Ancients Paladin // Wild Magic Sorcerer
"I have the heart spring morn, but can bring the wrath of a winter storm."
You grew up in a village that bordered an enchanted, primeval forest. One of your parents could have been a druid perhaps, and perhaps the other you were not sure of. You always could be found frolicking in the forest at a young age. As you grew older, you found all the time you spent outside made you strong, and you joined the local militia.
During a raid on your village, you erupt in a fit of Wild Magic, and it is then you discover that you are unlike the others, as some had suspected. You eventually discover that your heritage includes the blood of Fey creatures, giving way to magic power. You pledge your sword to the cause of defending the natural world from those who would seek to defile it.
The Stormbreaker
Any race (Genasi or Triton would be cool) any Oath Paladin // Storm Sorcery Sorcerer
"Lightning courses in my veins and thunder is my voice."
You had lived your life on the sea. You grew up by it, and you had become a sailor of some sorts. The captain really took a liking to you as you had aided in the ship's defense against pirates as a paladin to the god of the Sea. One night, your ship was caught in what was probably the worst storm you had ever seen. The ship was torn asunder, and you were the only survivor to wash ashore, but your eyes and veins crackled with lightning as you seemed to surge with a new found power. Stranded in a foreign land with no connections and nothing but the clothes on your back, you set forth to learn what happened to you and for whatever else lie in wait.
The Cursed
Any (Fallen Aasimar is a nice touch here) Oath of Vengeance/Conquest/Oathbreaker Paladin // Shadow Magic Sorcerer
"No use praying to your gods for mercy. I'm the best you're going to get."
You were once an exemplar of what was good and right. The bastard of a noble, you had the heart of a crusader and tried to do what was honorable, but one day, your noble sibling turned on you in fears of you usurping the house for you had the people's favor. They conjured a terrible spell from the Shadowfell that cursed and twisted you, turning your heart black. Your newfound curse left you changed and with new magic powers to use. Will you use your dark powers to destroy evil by fighting fire with fire, or will you succumb to the curse?
In Conclusion
Well, that was quite the ride. I really like the idea of this character build because not only does it have potential to be a fun build to play out, but the narrative of it had me thinking of a lot of ideas. This will certainly be the next build I try out when I get the chance to give it a shot.
I hope you enjoyed this Character Build Guide, and if you use it, let me know how your character was and if you enjoyed it! Got any ideas for other character builds for me to try? Let me know.
Vote for the next character build will be a poll on Twitter! Until then, I do hope to post more about my homebrew setting, and continue my Change-Up mini-series where we look at how to flavor classes in new and interesting ways!
Anyway, until next time,
Happy gaming!
Uncle Puddins