Bravery is a fine thing in real life and in Dungeons & Dragons. With an Aura of Courage, Paladins motivate their companions to overcome the fearsome things they see during their adventures and stand tall in the face of eldritch horrors beyond their comprehension. Let’s jump into how this feature works when it comes online, and how it benefits everyone.
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When Does It Become Available?
Aura of Protection comes online at 10th level. Remember, this feature is based on the number of Paladin levels you have, not your character level. If you are multiclassing, you need to take 10 levels in Paladin before this feature becomes available.
How Does Aura of Courage Work?
Anyone within 10 feet of you is immune to the frightened condition. If you reach level 18 in Paladin, your aura range expands to 30 feet. There are plenty of enemies with spells or innate effects that can cause the frightened condition, so it’s very handy to be able to avoid it entirely.
Creatures with the frightened condition have disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls as long as the source of their fear is within their line of sight. Additionally, you can’t move closer to the source of your fear, even if that would take you toward an exit. Whether you’re in battle or not, you’re seriously impaired when frightened, and it’s something that you want to avoid at all costs.
When Should You Use It?
Aura of Courage is always active, so you never need to choose to use it.
Are There Any Limitations?
There is the same limitation for this feature as with Aura of Protection: you must be conscious for it to be active. However, it is very rare for Paladins to lose consciousness either during combat or not because they have the highest number of hit points under Barbarians, so this shouldn’t be much of a limitation.
Additionally, Paladins have Lay on Hands, a pool of hit points that they can use an action to distribute. If a Paladin is nearing unconsciousness, they can use Lay on Hands on themselves to last a bit longer.
In Summary
Aura of Courage is a useful Paladin ability that lets everyone within 10 feet of them avoid the frightened condition. The frightened condition seriously impacts your capabilities, so having your pal, the Paladin, stop that in its tracks is a fantastic buff that is constantly available as long as they are conscious.
