Holy Avenger 5e: The Paladin's Legendary Weapon and Its Aura

The Holy Avenger is a legendary +3 weapon that only a paladin can attune to. It deals an extra 2d10 radiant damage when it hits a fiend or undead, and while you hold it drawn, you and friendly creatures within 10 feet have Advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. At 17 paladin levels the aura reaches 30 feet. In 2014 it must be a sword; in 2024 it can be any Simple or Martial weapon. For a paladin, it is the item to want: the damage is good, and the aura protects the whole party.

Table of Contents

• •Holy Avenger Rules Text
• •How the Holy Avenger Works
• •Holy Avenger: 2014 vs 2024
• •Is the Holy Avenger Worth It?
• •Holy Avenger for DMs
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Holy Avenger Rules Text

2014 card (SRD 5.1) first, then 2024 (SRD 5.2.1).

How the Holy Avenger Works

Who can attune

Attunement requires a paladin. Both SRDs define a class prerequisite as being a member of that class, so a character with a single paladin level qualifies. The 30-foot aura is different: it counts paladin levels, so a paladin 6 / sorcerer 14 keeps the 10-foot version.

The weapon

It's a +3 weapon. Against a Fiend or an Undead, every hit adds 2d10 radiant damage (11 on average), and on a critical hit those dice double to 4d10. That stacks with Divine Smite, which adds its own extra die against the same creature types. A 2024 paladin who hits a Vampire with a +3 longsword held in two hands, Strength 20, and a level 1 Divine Smite deals 1d10 + 8 (13.5) + 2d10 (11) + 3d8 (13.5): 38 on average from one hit.

The aura: Advantage on saves against magic

While you hold the drawn weapon, you and creatures friendly to you within 10 feet get Advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. Advantage on a save the target would pass on a 12 or higher moves the success chance from 45 percent to about 70 percent.

It stacks with the paladin's own Aura of Protection, a bonus equal to your Charisma modifier on every saving throw for allies within 10 feet from level 6. Advantage and a bonus are different kinds of help, so both apply. With +4 Charisma, that same save now succeeds on an 8, 65 percent on one die and about 88 percent with Advantage.

The aura needs the weapon in hand and drawn. A paladin who sheathes or drops it loses the aura until the weapon is drawn again.

What counts as a "magical effect"

The 2024 SRD defines it: an effect is magical if it comes from a spell, a magic item or a phenomenon a rule labels as magical. A dragon's breath weapon isn't labelled magical, so the aura doesn't help against it in 2024; a lich's Fireball and a Hold Person from an enemy cleric are both covered. The 2014 SRD has no definition. DM ruling, not rules text: use the 2024 definition in a 2014 game too, so the table has a clear test instead of arguing creature by creature.

Level 17: 30 feet

At 17 paladin levels the aura grows to 30 feet, one level before Aura of Protection expands to 30 feet at level 18. From 18 on, both auras cover the same area, and anyone inside it gets the Charisma bonus and Advantage against every magical save.

Holy Avenger: 2014 vs 2024

The rules change is the weapon list. A 2024 paladin can have a Holy Avenger maul, warhammer, glaive or lance. It can even be a longbow, though 2024 Divine Smite requires a melee weapon hit, so a ranged Holy Avenger gives up the smite. Everything else is the same.

Is the Holy Avenger Worth It?

For a paladin, yes. It is a +3 weapon, which alone is very rare, and the aura is the part that wins fights against spellcasters. A party whose fighter fails a save against Hold Person or Banishment loses that fighter's turns; Advantage nearly halves those failures. Read our paladin class guide for how the aura stacks with the rest of the paladin's kit.

Against other legendary weapons:

A paladin with a Vorpal Sword deals more damage against dragons; a paladin with a Holy Avenger keeps the wizard standing after the lich's spells. Only the Avenger protects the allies standing near its wielder.

It's a trap only in a campaign with few fiends, undead or enemy spellcasters, where it's a +3 weapon and little more.

Holy Avenger for DMs

Where it turns up. Legendary, so late-campaign, and given its prerequisite it should be placed for the paladin. The 2024 SRD values it at 200,000 GP plus the base weapon, and suggests items above rare sell only in wondrous places. The 2014 SRD has no prices. The magic item rarity calculator helps gauge the rest of the hoard.

What it changes. Save-or-suck spells lose their bite inside 10 feet of the paladin. Spellcasting villains need to target characters outside the aura, or use effects that aren't magical (breath weapons, poison, falling). Fiend and undead bosses lose hit points fast.

Hooks.

• •A temple keeps a Holy Avenger sheathed in its altar. The last paladin to carry it is now a Wight guarding the crypt below, and the temple wants both problems solved.
• •A Pit Fiend offers the party a Holy Avenger in exchange for one favor. The weapon is genuine.
• •An oath sworn at a shrine is answered: the weapon appears, but only in the hands of whichever paladin keeps the oath.

When the Avenger finally turns up, the session where it happened deserves a good record. Loreify records the game and writes the recap.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Holy Avenger require attunement?

Yes, by a paladin. Any character with at least one paladin level can attune to it.

Does the Holy Avenger aura stack with Aura of Protection?

Yes. Aura of Protection adds your Charisma modifier to saving throws; the Holy Avenger gives Advantage on saves against spells and magical effects. Both apply to the same roll.

Can the Holy Avenger be a weapon other than a sword?

In the 2024 rules, yes: any Simple or Martial weapon. In the 2014 rules it must be a sword.

How much damage does the Holy Avenger do against undead?

+3 to the weapon's damage on every hit, plus 2d10 radiant damage against fiends and undead (4d10 on a critical hit).

How much is a Holy Avenger worth?

200,000 GP plus the base weapon's cost under the 2024 SRD. The 2014 SRD gives no prices for magic items.

Item text: System Reference Document 5.1 (2014) and 5.2.1 (2024), Wizards of the Coast, CC-BY-4.0. Analysis, rulings and ideas are Loreify's own.