A paladin has Smite Evil declared on a target. That target is not yet dead. Paladin wants to use a second Smite Evil on a second target.
To be clear, I am -not- asking if he can have two smites active at once; I think it is well settled that he cannot. The question is whether he can switch Smite targets like that.
I see nothing in the rules preventing it, but it seems wrong to allow the paladin to get multiple "first rounds of smite" (both targets are demons). If this is allowed, what is to prevent him from using a third smite to go back to the original target and get a second "first round of smite" on it? It seems broken to allow this.
A paladin has Smite Evil declared on a target. That target is not yet dead. Paladin wants to use a second Smite Evil on a second target.
To be clear, I am -not- asking if he can have two smites active at once; I think it is well settled that he cannot. The question is whether he can switch Smite targets like that.
I see nothing in the rules preventing it, but it seems wrong to allow the paladin to get multiple "first rounds of smite" (both targets are demons). If this is allowed, what is to prevent him from using a third smite to go back to the original target and get a second "first round of smite" on it? It seems broken to allow this.
Pretty much nothing to prevent that, except the extremely limited number of smites he can do per day.
Also remember that its not first round of smite that gets the bonus, they errataed that, its the first hit only, so its not really that big a deal.
It's worth noting that there's nothing preventing the paladin from reactivating Smite Evil on the first target without ever redirecting to another target. They can Smite Evil one round, then use another Smite Evil on the same target the next round. They're essentially concentrating all of their righteous wrath into a smaller time frame. There's nothing broken about this; it's very costly for the paladin, as they won't be able to use Smite on as many different targets that day.
It's the same as "what prevents a wizard to shoot 3 fireballs at the same guy?" Answer: Nothing. And nothing should.
There's nothing broken about this
It's the same as "what prevents a wizard to shoot 3 fireballs at the same guy?"
You are both stating a philosophy as a truth. My own position is closer to blahpers and further from Quatar's. I don't think it is closely analogous to a wizard casting spells. Wizards will run out of spells, but how often will a paladin run out of smites? Never, in my experience (past low levels).
I can't say you're wrong; by RAW you are right. But it feels wrong to me.
A Paladin starts with Smite Evil 1/day at level 1 and gets 1 more every 3 levels, 7 at level 19.
Now if he reapplies them every round, so he gets the "first round" bonus again, then he will run out of them way way faster than a wizard can burn through his spells. Even at 10th level he'll only have 4 of them.
He spends an additional use of his very limited resource to get another "first round". I really don't see how that's any different from a wizard spending another of his limited spellslots to get another spell on the target.
You're right, most Paladins probably don't actually run out of Smite Evil, but that's because they don't do what you asked. They declare Smite once, and then keep it running till the target is dead and then maybe declare it again on another target. And they probably don't use it on mooks either, but save it for the tough enemies where they need it.
There's nothing broken about thisIt's the same as "what prevents a wizard to shoot 3 fireballs at the same guy?"You are both stating a philosophy as a truth. My own position is closer to blahpers and further from Quatar's. I don't think it is closely analogous to a wizard casting spells. Wizards will run out of spells, but how often will a paladin run out of smites?
Really, really often, unless they're in the 15-minute adventuring day, and maybe even then. In any other situation, only the most arrogant (or desperate) fool of a paladin would burn another smite on the same target while the first is already active.
Wizards get way, way more chances to fireball-equivalent-or-better than paladins get smites. They top out at 7/day at 20th. A 7th-level paladin gets only 3 smites. There is no Extra Smite feat. Using the advantage of this mechanic, they could easily decide to burn all 3 on one blue dragon to get the job done quickly, then get set upon by the dragon's twin brother lurking in the shadows. Whoops...No more smites.
A 7th-level combat-focused wizard with decent Int, on the other hand, can have three fireballs, four scorching rays (sometimes better than a fireball), and one or two dragon's breaths. Arcane bond supplies another of any of those. Wizards can nova just fine.
The real power of Smite Evil is the flexible duration--you only need one of them per tough enemy; even if the dragon is wounded, flees, sends some minions after the party, and makes the party hunt it down for a couple of hours, that 7th-level paladin still gets Charisma bonus to attack rolls and +7 (!) to each and every damage roll, whether it's a sword to the gut or a crossbow bolt to those soft wing parts. They can even smite other targets without losing the smite effect against the dragon. The extra +7 to damage on the first hit (note: iteratives/TWF don't get more extra damage here) is just icing compared to the overall smite effect lasting until the end of the adventuring day.
That said, in some games the paladin might be justified in bursting right through his entire arsenal on one bad guy. Maybe that GM likes to throw nothing but single bosses at the party every session. Maybe the party really needs to kill the demon on the first couple of turns before it finishes its Horrible Ritual of Mass Virgin Despoiling. Or maybe the paladin is on his last hit point (see "desperate" above)--this is the best time to use the extra smite, and it makes for a fun story to tell later whether the paladin lives or dies.
So let the paladin have his little bonus. It's nothing compared to what a desperate 7th-level arcanist can do with a regular old familiar, Improved Share Spells, and detonate (though, at 7th-level, they probably won't live through it).