Unlocking Disease Immunity: A Paladin‘s Divine Health

As a long-time lover of RPGs like D&D, few things excite me more than discovering a new way to make my paladin even MORE awesome. And let me tell you, paladins get some truly divine gifts as they level up. Case in point: at 3rd level, they gain immunity to all diseases! Now we‘re talking. No more failing Constitution saves vs filth fever for us!

What is Divine Health?

The Divine Health feature says:

By 3rd level, the divine magic flowing through you makes you immune to disease.

Short and sweet. But what does it actually mean? Well, the divine energy that empowers a paladin slowly transforms their physical form over time. According to the Player‘s Handbook, paladins are "united by their oaths to stand against the forces of evil." This inner conviction infuses them with holy power from the gods…or directly from the fabric of reality itself if they don‘t serve a specific deity.

Either way, this energy protects the paladin‘s body and soul. And by 3rd level, it makes the paladin completely immune to mundane and magical diseases alike!

D&D Diseases: More Than Just the Sniffles

Diseases in D&D are no joke. We‘re not just talking about catching a cold – an infectious disease here can rot your flesh, drain your life force, or transform you into a murderous beast!

The Dungeon Master‘s Guide includes villainous examples like:

• Demon Fever: This metaphysical infection turns victims into maniacal agents of chaos.
• Devil‘s Dance: This diabolical disease makes you dance…forever. Until you die from exhaustion, that is!
• Mummy Rot: This curse gradually transforms you into a undead monster.

And the real kicker? Cure wounds and other magical healing won‘t help cure these nasties on their own. You need the Remove Curse, Lesser Restoration, or Heal spell to stop these diseases in their tracks!

Paladins Can Still Help Allies vs Diseases

Now I know what you‘re thinking: "But what good is being immune to diseases if your poor friends aren‘t?"

Well don‘t you worry! Just because you‘re immune doesn‘t make you helpless to assist others. On the contrary, paladins gain access to some great anti-disease spells:

• Lesser Restoration (2nd level): Cures one disease or condition afflicting the target.
• Remove Curse (5th level): Ended curses, including those that function like diseases.
• Heal (6th level): Instantly cures all diseases and restores hit points.

So while you might laugh in the face of a Behir‘s venom or troglodyte stench, you can still restore your infected buddies later on. Heroic and selfless? Now that‘s the paladin way!

How Disease Immunity Stacks Up

Paladins aren‘t the only ones with traits that make them resistant or immune to diseases. How does their Divine Health ability compare? Let‘s take a look:

As you can see, no other class unlocks blanket disease immunity as quickly as the paladin‘s 3rd level Divine Health. Only warforged share unconditional disease immunity, while monks have to wait until 10th!

And yes, I‘m jealous of those Yuan-ti purebloods not going to lie. Almost magic disease immunity AND poison resistance from level 1? So not fair.

Playing a Disease-Immune Paladin

Anyway, back to paladins! Having disease immunity can really change your gameplay approach. Need to access some long-lost ruins full of traps and disease-cursed undead? Sign me up!

As a paladin, I literally laugh as the mummy lord‘s filth rains down around me. And while the rogue and ranger are rolling death saves from sewer plague, I‘m still dishing out the holy justice without a care in the world!

Here are some great ways to leverage your Divine Health:

• Take point exploring plague-stricken regions
• Save gold on disease curing spells after battles
• Tank hits from virulent monsters without worry
• Fulfill sacred quests to lift horrific curses
• Lead the charge against demonic cultists

Just try not to rub your immunity in too much, alright? We don‘t want any party drama or jealous wizard curses. Unless you‘re playing an Oath of Conquest paladin of course!

The Light Protects Against the Darkness

At the end of the day, Divine Health showcases everything that makes paladins special. Their commitment to an oath grants mystical gifts over time. And by 3rd level, the paladin can cleanse disease with their very presence as the embodiment of purity and light!

This divine protection allows them to carry on the good fight without fear of sickness or plague. So while lesser heroes may fall from a well-placed contagion, the paladin marches on – bringing salvation and health in their holy wake.

Hail the victorious dead! Now back to smiting evil in the name of all that‘s righteous!