Hello team! I hope you are all well!
I have an idea for you today that I think is interesting and a rather simple rework to improve the versatility of the paladin class. This idea is driven by the fact that I rarely see paladins that aren't Oath of Vengeance, and most of the reason for that seems to be due to paladins being starved for feats. After all, how else are you going to get Divine Might and Extra Smiting for free?
My suggestion is to give paladins two pre-epic bonus feats. Give them the same bonus feat list as Divine Champion, for ease and since the classes are similar in flavor. These feats can be gained at levels 10 and 15. At these levels, this will prevent them from being abused by those who take a paladin dip, and reserve them more for those who are building a deep pally, as that is where the loss of feats are at.
The main reason for this suggestion is the oaths. With the Oath of Perseverance rework, I'm seeing that one played a bit more often, since you no longer have to sacrifice one of the necessary feats to pick up divine might/shield. Outside of level one, paladins only get six pre-epic feats, and they are usually taken by the same feats: weapon focus, improved crit, power attack, blindfight, divine might/shield, SF discipline, taking expertise at level one. With two extra feats, the class will have just a bit more wiggle room for more unique paladin builds to appear. Or even if not unique, it would give paladins the option to keep discipline and abjuration, or discipline and knockdown, without having to choose one or the other.
It's a simple addition that I think will make a lot of difference, without being overpowered or upsetting the class balance.
I also think these extra feats will eliminate much of the concern for rework on other oaths, as they will no longer have to drop important feats to compensate for the ones their oath does not have. I would love to see more Inquisition, Reckoning, and Ancients, but currently they seem to be driven more by flavor, and are less effective that their Vengeance and Perseverance counterparts.
Thank you for your time, and I hope my suggestion can open insights into the class and how they are regularly built and played.
Love you all,
Sylaes