He’s noble, courageous, and a huge stick in the mud. He’s the brave Xenk Yendar, played by Regé-Jean Page in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves! The handsome human paladin is the most humorless of the bunch, much to the other party members’ dismay. Perhaps his stoic expression is a mask hiding the pain of his past. As Xenk gets to know the thieves during an unlikely adventure together, could they be the ones to help him lighten the heavy load he carries?

 Origin Story 

Xenk is late to the party and the last adventurer to join, so his origin story is a bit of a mystery to the others. What is apparent is that he’s skilled with a sword, faithful to his ideals, and far too serious. Xenk knows that the Red Wizards pose a significant risk to the world. He begrudgingly teams up with the group of thieves to stop them and their undead army before it’s too late. Eloquent and intelligent, Xenk is a natural leader who clashes with Edgin Darvis, the adventuring party’s unofficial point man. 

Paladin Characteristics 

Paladins in Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition are a lot like what you imagine what a knight of old must have been like: shining heavy armor, quests to fulfill, and adventures to be had. Each paladin swears an oath to take a stand against evil, although that sacred oath can take many different forms. 

Xenk dresses in gold and silver plated armor. Its luster might not be as bright as it once was, but the faith of the man wearing those metal plates never dims. His clothes underneath the armor are fine and fitted. 

The noble paladin wields a unique weapon, a dagger-sword: a smaller blade is housed within the main blade, creating two weapons in one. The main blade of his longsword detaches and flies toward an unlucky target, who is usually surprised by the ingenious weapon. The hilt with a smaller blade remains in Xenk’s hand.

When a situation looks particularly grim, Xenk empowers his sword with divine radiance. It glows with a holy light. Paladins also have heals at their disposal, such as Lay on Hands, a class-defining ability that comes in handy in a pinch. 

Creating Your Own Paladin Like Xenk 

Does a glowing sword and gleaming armor to match sound like a dream D&D character to you? You can create a human paladin just like Xenk for your own D&D campaign! When beginning character creation, Strength should be your paladin’s highest ability score, followed by Charisma. 

What were the humble – or not so humble – beginnings of your character? Perhaps they are like Xenk, resplendent in finery and a posh accent, and part of the nobility either by birth or as an award for your glorious exploits. If so, choose the Noble Background from the Player’s Handbook and enjoy the looks of admiration as your paladin makes their way through the world. 

When they reach 3rd level, all paladins take a sacred oath to declare and uphold their ideals. Is your character highly moral and a staunch believer in justice? Take the Oath of Devotion from the Player’s Handbook. Courage, compassion, honesty – there are the tenets of this most noble of paladins. Other oaths taken by paladins are quests for glory, redemption, or even vengeance. 

Xenk, an endless font of courage, is capable of leaping toward a dragon with sword in hand to save his party member from a grim fate. Do you want to rush to the rescue of a valued ally or dear friend? Take the Charger Feat from the Player’s Handbook at 3rd level to add an attack at the end of your paladin’s Dash. 

Stat Block 

Ready to add the proud paladin from Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves to your D&D game as a sidekick or NPC? Here’s one suggestion for adding Xenk to the adventuring party.

Xenk the Paladin

Medium humanoid (human), lawful good

Armor Class 12

Hit Points 68

Speed 30 ft.

STR 17 (+3) DEX 9 (-1) CON 14 (+2) INT 11 (+0) WIS 13 (+1) CHA 16 (+3)

Saving Throws Wis +4, Cha +6

Skills Athletics +6, Persuasion +6

Senses passive Perception 11

Languages any one language (usually Common), Elvish

Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)

Sacred Weapon. As an action, Xenk can imbue one weapon that he is holding with positive energy using Channel Divinity. For 1 minute, add the Charisma modifier to attack rolls made with that weapon (with a minimum bonus of +1). The weapon also emits bright light in a 20-foot radius and dim light 20 feet beyond that. If the weapon is not already magical, it becomes magical for the duration. End this effect on Xenk's turn as part of any other action. If he is no longer holding or carrying this weapon, or if he falls unconscious, this effect ends.

Spellcasting. Xenk is a 2nd-level spellcaster. His spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 12, +4 to hit with spell attacks). Xenk has the following spells prepared:

1st level (4 slots): divine favor, heroism, protection from evil and good

2nd level (3 slots): aid, lesser restoration, magic weapon

Actions

Dagger-Sword. Xenk can use an Action to separate the main blade of the longsword from the hilt. When he does, the sword blade flies up to 30 feet and Attacks one creature of your choice within 5 feet of it. The sword uses the Attack roll and ability score modifier to Damage Rolls.

Once the sword is separated, Xenk wields the dagger that was hidden inside the main blade.

After the sword blade Attacks, it flies up to 30 feet and tries to Return to the dagger. If the sword has no unobstructed path, it moves as close to the dagger as it can and then falls to the ground.

Bonus Actions

Charger. When Xenk uses the Dash action, he can use a bonus action to make a melee weapon attack or shove a creature. If he moves at least 10 ft. in a straight line before using this bonus action, he either gains a +5 bonus to the damage roll (with a melee attack and hit) or push the target up to 10 ft. away from him (with shove and success).