Oath of the Crown 5E Guide | Tips, Builds, Rules and More

The Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide was full of interesting ideas. The Oath of the Crown is… Probably one of the least original ones. The Oath of the Crown is the definition of a lawful oath. Whatever the law of the land is, that’s your creed. You listen to sovereignty, and make sure that the Word is obeyed by every citizen within your jurisdiction. You are a bulwark against barbarism, the light in the sky, the crown jewel of society… And probably should have picked up Oath of Conquest. But hey, the Crown has plenty of unique flavor and options to view. Let’s talk about them!

Honor Your King: Oath of the Crown 5E

The tenets of the Crown vary from ruler to ruler. You’re essentially upholding whatever law you grew up under. This Paladin is unfailingly loyal to whatever creed you’ve decided to work with. You’re courageous in any situation that is thrown at you, and you accept responsibility for the actions that you commit. Interestingly, if you do decide to turn your back on your ruler – for example, if they’re corrupt or become evil – then this is one of the best non-evil ways to become an Oathbreaker Paladin. So… That’s cool!

Mechanically, the Oath of the Crown is one of the more potent defender options when it comes to paladin oaths. You’ll be extremely good at defending your allies, and you’ll have a few ways to make it hard for your enemies to target anyone else. In addition, you’ll get a few things that make it a bit easier to take damage without going unconscious… Which will be extremely useful. However, with the addition of the Redemption subclass, this one loses a bit of its strength.

Oath Spells

The Oath spells are the big difference between Oath of the Crown and Oath of Redemption. In addition to the already strong paladin spells the class has, Crown’s list is more focused on defending yourself, rather than out-of-combat solutions.

Compelled Duel is almost guaranteed to be on your spell list to begin with, so having it always prepared changes little. It’s basically a +1 known spell. Command is a solid utility spell if you can’t get in range of your enemies. Against enemies with low Wisdom saves, you’ll be happy to drag them around the battlefield.

Warding Bond is neat, giving a +1 bonus to AC and saves. The total damage dealt to the party remains the same, so it’s not exactly damage reduction. Might be good if your Monk is getting destroyed and you want to heal yourself a little longer… Otherwise, not exactly fantastic. Zone of Truth is a great out-of-combat spell, allowing you to more easily gather information with Intimidation. If you’re not looking for information though… You’re not exactly happy with it.

Aura of Vitality is solid. Paladin’s bonus actions are usually spent on magic, so spending them on healing 2d6 is far from bad. A total of 20d6 is actually pretty efficient for a healing spell. Since they’re split up into 2d6 chunks, that becomes a great way to pick your allies up. Spirit Guardians is interesting, especially as an anti-escape tool, but you’ll have to constantly chase enemies. Don’t use this with the intention to kill enemies with it, since they can keep their distance rather easily.

Banishment is a fantastic spell, keeping a threat (or a healer) out of a fight. It has additional utility of saving the life of your party member in worse-case scenarios. Guardian of Faith is… Solid. 60 damage for a level 4 spell slot is actually pretty great. Use it to make the battlefield painful for your opponents, usually by putting it between them and your backline casters.

Circle of Power makes you effectively immune to magic, a great use of your spell slot. Geas is extremely flavorful, and super cool. Not exactly a valid combat spell, but it’s fun.

This list suffers from having a surprising amount of Paladin spells already on it, limiting your utility from out of class spells. However, the Paladin spells it has are rather valid, and a good use of your spells known. This is a great spell list.

Channel Divinity

Like all Paladins, you get two channel divinity options. Both of these are somewhat impressive.

Champion Challenge. As a bonus action, you issue a challenge that compels other creatures to do battle with you. Each creature of your choice that you can see within 30 feet of you must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, a creature can’t willingly move more than 30 feet away from you. This effect ends on the creature if you are incapacitated or die or if the creature is more than 30 feet away from you.

Champion Challenge is one of the best Taunt effects in the game.

The bonus action is nice, leaving your Action open for casting or attacking. By restricting combat to within 30 ft of you, you can stop any melee fighters from approaching the backline. In addition, keeping all enemies within 30 ft from each other means much easier targets for your allied spellcasters. It stops teleportation effects, burrow speeds, fly speeds, or any other way a GM would have an NPC escape a fight.

The downside is that 30 ft range. You’ll still need a full movement action. If your movement is in any way restricted, you actually can’t keep up with an enemy who wants to get away from you. And if two enemies are 30 ft away from you – one above you, one below you – you actually have no choice but to let one escape from your Champion Challenge for free. This might be one of the few Paladins that you want to build Dexterity instead of Strength, just to have a ranged option.

Turn the Tide. As a bonus action, you can bolster injured creatures with your Channel Divinity. Each creature of your choice that can hear you within 30 feet of you regains hit points equal to 1d6 + your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1) if it has no more than half of its hit points.

Turn the Tide heals your average party for 4d6+20 at Charisma 20. That’s not insignificant, especially compared to Healing Word. The best use of this Channel is, of course, to get allies out of unconsciousness… And it does that perfectly!

The health restriction does limit it’s utility as just a generic healing spell, but you should be saving this for emergencies.

Not much to say here. Use it to give your Cleric more actions, give your whole party a boost, and spend your channel on something universally good.

Turn the Tide is perfect for emergencies, but Champion Challenge is there for combat control. If your allies are still damaged after a Short Rest, consider saving your Channel for Turn the Tide. Otherwise, Champion Challenge’s movement restriction is extremely powerful.

Divine Allegiance

So, uh, this ability is the main reason why you take this archetype… And the main reason you should consider Oath of Redemption.

Starting at 7th level, when a creature within 5 feet of you takes damage, you can use your reaction to magically substitute your own health for that of the target creature, causing that creature not to take the damage. Instead, you take the damage. This damage to you can’t be reduced or prevented in any way.

This is a good ability… But Wizards literally just overshadowed it when they printed Volo’s Guide to Monsters. Whoops!

So, this does have a few advantages over the Protection reaction. You guarantee that your ally won’t take damage, which can save lives. As a Paladin, you tend to have high health, and your naturally high AC and saves prevents a lot of damage. You’ll have the resources to stay afloat, whereas a melee Warlock or Monk might not be as healthy. Protection has the benefit that you might prevent damage in general, but this just makes it so you’re the only person in the fight who is taking damage.

Now… The problem. Oath of Redemption has this same ability at this level. Except the range is 10 ft. And it increases to 30 ft at level 18. If your sole reason to take this subclass is for Divine Allegiance, then please consider Redemption.

Unyielding Saint

Level 15 tends to be a pseudo-defensive buff for most of the subclasses. Crown follows this formula, in a specific direction.

Starting at 15th level, you have advantage on saving throws to avoid becoming paralyzed or stunned.

So, you add your Charisma bonus to saves. You’re gonna be essentially immune to paralysis or stun. The advantage isn’t even necessary, but it can be nice to avoid the worst-case scenario by having the extra dice. Since stun effects tend to be Constitution saves – which you don’t have proficiency in naturally – the double roll can save you.

Cool! Paralysis and Stun are both really, really bad status effects; any turn where you’re unable to act or react is not one this archetype wants to be part of. Both Stun and Paralysis are fairly common amongst all spell lists (especially with Hold Person), so you can counter a lot of otherwise devastating options. You’ll be the life of the party against mummies, too! This works great with Cleansing Touch, so you can get out of Paralysis and then end Paralysis on someone else.

You’ll absolutely love this ability when spellcasters come around… But you’re not out of the woods. You can still be immobilized through effects like Banish or Entangle. Come prepared!

Exalted Champion

The Oath of the Crown is a little weird compared to most other archetypes (other than Redemption) in that their level 20 ability lasts for 1 hour. As an action, you gain these 3 benefits;

• You have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons.
• Your allies have advantage on death saving throws while within 30 feet of you.
• You have advantage on Wisdom saving throws, as do your allies within 30 feet of you.

For an hour. Getting knocked out ends it early, as does… dying. That one might be obvious.Getting Stoneskin is a pretty good benefit. You don’t need to spend any money, and you’ll get great resistances. In some campaigns, this will essentially halve all damage that you take. In others, it’ll be completely worseless. Against dragons or creatures with natural attacks and multiattack, you’ll probably reduce a significant amount of damage. If your campaign is low-magic, then you’ll actually benefit from fighting anything that battles with physical weapons, other than Monks.

The advantage on death saving throws is always good. Obviously you want your allies to be off the ground as soon as possible, but getting two rolls to not immediately die is nice. Two chances to roll a 20 might pick you off the ground without the need for any healing magic, and two chances to avoid a 1 is essential for survival. It’s situationally relevant… But try not to let that situation happen.

Advantage on Wisdom saves is unsurprisingly fantastic. Wisdom saves tend to be effects like Dominate Person or Command; spells that force you to fight your allies. In the late game, it’s essential that every turn belongs to you and you alone. And, well, rolling twice on Wisdom saves will make sure you don’t give your turn to an enemy.

Overall, really good benefits that’ll usually last 3-5 combats, maybe more if your group doesn’t need short rests. And by now, almost every enemy will probably have some spellcasting ability. This is one of the better capstones for the Paladin subclass.

Best Race for Crown Oath Paladins

Crown Oath Paladins really want some Charisma. Charisma affects your DCs, your bonus to saves, and how much your Channel Divinity heals. However, they also really want Constitution to better soak hits. And you’ll need either Strength or Dexterity to deal realistic damage… So… Uh… You’re in a bit of a pickle, huh?

We recommend Strength or Dexterity, then Charisma, then Constitution. Consider taking the Tough feat to better soak damage without needing to put too many points into Constitution… Though you’ll still want some so you can have okay Constitution saves.

Genasi (Air or Earth)

The Elemental Evil Player’s Companion offers a really good race with the Genasi. You start with a +2 racial bonus to Constitution, which is fantastic for your new life as a meatshield. Or… Well, I guess air-shield, since you’ll be born from the union between the elemental and material planes. 

Air Genasi gain a bonus to Dexterity, access to Levitate, and very slight utility with your ability to hold your breath. Earth Genasi get a bonus to Strength, can ignore difficult terrain to better chase down enemies, and some anti-tracking tech through Pass without Trace. Depending on what weapon you prefer, you’ll want one or the other. Both are great options for taking hits and compelling duels.

Simic Hybrid

This is, admittedly, a weird option. The Simic hybrids are a group of prebuilt races from the Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica. Occasionally calling themselves Guardians, they get a +2 to Constitution, and can throw another +1 onto Strength, Dexterity, or Charisma; your choice! In addition to Darkvision, you also get some animal bonuses. Depending on your campaign, you’ll probably want Nimble Climber the most – for water campaigns, Underwater Adaption is a bit better. If you find yourself on the Elemental Plane of Air, Manta Glide might be correct. Afterwards, you can gain grapple options, acidic ranged attacks, or bonus AC while not wearing heavy armor. This extremely adaptable race is perfect for your tanky self!

Crown Oath Gods

The crown oath is naturally attuned to gods of loyalty, law, and duty. Because of this, if you choose to worship a deity, they should be Lawful in some way. While this archetype might seem to cater towards good gods, there is actually not too much keeping you from worshiping a neutral or even evil god.

Helm (Faerûn)

A guard on the wall feels fatigue come over his eyes. He has been working for so long that he doesn’t remember when his shift ends. A glance down at the Eye on his gauntlet reminds him of what he is defending. His loving wife and kids, safe only by his watch. He is the first bastion against evil, and he is the only bastian needed. The Watcher sits behind him, and will ensure that law is held in this walled-off town.

Helm is the Lawful Neutral god of vigilance and protection. He is the epitome of guards, often symbolizing the watchful gaze of policing. Helm is the spirit of good – and evil – servitors and police. He only cares for the law, and is concerned with the enemies of all of his worshipers. Long ago, he was pushed out of public thought. But, as wars heighten and as politics become ever more complex, many have turned back to him.

His followers are typically guards, judges, or bodyguards. They are taught to be ever-vigilant and to watch closely for potential danger. These individuals are inflexible about the current law, and often very resistant to change. They are closely connected to public safety, but at the cost of losing privacy.

A Helm Paladin taking the Oath of the Crown focuses on the duty and law side of their tenet. They have a duty to their nation or their people, and they must uphold that. They’re single-minded obsession with the protection of their allies should be obvious. And they should have a clear code for themselves. While laws can be broken in critical situations or when they go against the morals of people around them, they should always respect laws.

Pholtus (Greyhawk)

When people look up into the sky, they know who is looking back at them. When they go to their town hall to review the lawbooks, they know who is over their shoulder. And when they petition to provide the stability of tradition over the horror and unknowability of change, there is a god who sits beside them. They call upon the name of the God of Law and Light, and he will always support their way.

Pholtus is the Lawful Good god of light and law. He is the god of both the sun and moon in the Greyhawk tradition. He is depicted as a slender man with pale skin whose eyes burn with the fires of devotion. As such, he is closely attuned to the laws of the lands, and supports the keeping of these laws for the sake of stability. 

Worshipers of Pholtus, or Pholtans, believe that Pholtus is the one who put the sun in the sky. They wear beautiful gowns reminiscent of the silver and pale that Pholtus is depicted in. They are often lawyers, judges, and arbiters. 

Crown Paladins of Pholtus consider law to be their one and only concern. Like Pholtus himself, they should be inflexible when it comes to obeying laws and merciless when laws are broken. However, they should also embrace Pholtus’s ideas of light and truth. He is not a god only of law, so laws that provoke evil actions or prevent people from flourishing should be examined with a close eye.

Tiamat (Faerûn)

The Scaled Tyrant’s influence is heard across every nation. Whenever a Chromatic Dragon comes to roost, her name and influence echoes for miles. Civilizations crumble under her gaze, and often under her claws. She is a betrayer god, and the god of evil dragons. Her wingbeats move continents, and all for her own gain.

Tiamat is the Lawful Evil goddess of the Chromatic Dragons. She is an incredibly greedy and selfish deity who is known for her aspects of envy and hoarded wealth. She is the epitome of the standard dragon, but with excellent power. Because of this, she is imprisoned in Avernus, worming her influence through other dragons and worshipers so that she can one day enact her revenge.

Worshipers of Tiamat tend to be draconic in nature, though any who wish for wealth may follow her tenets. Despite her innate evil, she does have commandments to follow: Amass wealth, let no affront go unpunished, and take what you covet. Those who follow her commandments will find their wealth expand, even more so than they might normally. 

Crown Paladins of Tiamat follow her commandments to a T. Using their natural charisma, these paladins follow their code and use their strength to amass wealth for themselves. They are powerful braggarts who, nonetheless, are far from cowards. They are eager to show their strength in duels and protect those that they deem useful.

Example Feats for Crown Oath Paladins

Like many Paladins, the Crown Oath Paladin desperately wants 20 Charisma to maximize its offensive and defensive options. So, your feats should supplement your defensive goals. You want to stay on the front lines for as long as possible.

Fey Touched

A traditionally powerful feat from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, you can’t get much better than Fey Touched for a utility feat. +1 Charisma is a good start for Crown Paladins, but you also get a ton of options!

You get two spells that you can cast once for free and then they become permanently prepared. The first is Misty Step, a Bonus Action 60 foot teleport. This is an insanely powerful option, especially for Paladins. Your Bonus Action is normally for Spell Smites, but you can instead convert them to the best mobility in the game. An excellent spell! Another good spell is any 1st level in the divination or enchantment school. This list includes classic damage ups like Hunter’s Mark or Hex. It also includes a new reaction spell called Silvery Barbs! We recommend the latter, as Paladins do not have many reactions outside of Opportunity Attack. You have plenty of things to spend Concentration on.

A really strong feat with excellent utility options. A very good choice for whenever you have an odd number for Constitution.

Inspiring Leader

Inspiring Leader is an old feat with a very simple concept. Once per short rest, you can spend 10 minutes to grant up to 6 characters temporary hitpoints equal to your Level + Charisma. That’s… Quite a bit, actually. At level 20, 25 temporary hitpoints can let you survive a melee hit or half of a spell. That can be the difference between life and death! And an average of 100 HP between 4 characters every short rest is really nice!

Resilient

If you need to survive fights, you can’t get much better than Resilient. +1 Constitution and proficiency in Constitution Saving Throws can make you really hard to affect with Constitution saving throws. Without magical items, you can easily get above a +10 without any magical items by the late game! That’s… Wild, honestly. 

If you want to guarantee that you make your Concentration checks, this and War Caster will help a lot.

Tough

Tough is a stellar way to get to high HP totals without high Constitution investment. +2 HP per level might not seem like much, and it really isn’t. But, by level 20, 40 HP can get you through a spell uninjured! And you can heal it afterwards. That’s really nice!

+2 Constitution gives you half as much, but also gives you slightly more for your Constitution saving throw. It’s a reasonable choice, but Tough usually comes in clutch!

War Caster

War Caster gives three very apt benefits. First, you get advantage on Concentration checks. More than half of the Paladin Spell list is Concentration spells, so making this save will happen a lot. Getting advantage on it is a good way to make it more likely that you keep spells like Holy Weapon or Bless.

Then, you can cast with your hands full of weaponry. For a sword and shield paladin, this is pretty nice. Paladins have the ability to convert spells instantly into guaranteed damage, though. So, it’s not as necessary.

But, if you want to use the last benefit, the second one is nice to have! For an opportunity attack, you can instead cast a 1st level (or higher) spell on the target. Trying to walk away? With a Command, they instead drop prone. Or they get Banishment’d and sent to a different dimension. You’ve got some great options here that go far beyond just smacking someone in the back of the head.

Overall, this feat is notable for making Sword and Shield paladin significantly stronger. And even Two-Handed paladins should consider it for the spellcasting benefits.

Multiclassing for Crown Paladins

Paladins have two fairly simple paths for multiclassing, both of them improving the Paladin’s fantastic burst options. Let’s talk through them.

Fighter

Fighter is great for a Paladin! Fighting Style is always nice, improving defense or offense. Second Wind is a great Bonus Action for a Pally, since Lay on Hands is an action. But… Level 2 is where this really shines. Action Surge allows a Paladin to use Divine Smite 4-5 times per round, which is a murderous assault. Landing 5 hits with the extra damage of Smite can guarantee downs. If you’ve ever wanted to see what a high burst turn looks like, a Fighter is where you should look.

Warlock

Warlocks provide one very simple benefit through the Hexblade. If you have that Patron, you can ignore Strength or Dexterity and just focus on Charisma. You’re limited to 1-handed weapons, but that’s pretty great! You can still use a Shield, and use your Charisma for attack and damage. And that’s not all! If you go to level 2, you can add your Charisma to Eldritch Blast, a cantrip that grows with Paladin level. And, you can get another great benefit like Devil’s Sight or other utility invocations. 

Suggested Crown Paladin Backgrounds

A paladin’s background is important to their story. However, we are going to focus on the mechanical benefits of getting a background as well! Becoming proficient in skills such as Perception or important tools can be a lifesaver in dungeons.

Gambler

This background, from Acquisitions Incorporated, can be strong if your DM allows it. You get Deception, Insight, and a Gaming Set as proficiencies. Paladins don’t normally get Deception. While it might be out of your character’s wheelhouse, sometimes a lie is required to keep the law in the place. You get a language, which is nice, and your equipment is just fine.

Your feature, “Never Tell Me The Odds,” tells you the odds of random events. Fun, and can help you make money or embrace an otherwise risky venture. Reflavored to be that your character used to be a gambler, this archetype can really come in handy for a repentant Crown Pally.

Noble (Knight)

The Variant Knight Noble from the Player Handbook is a standard choice with some okay options. History and Persuasion isn’t fantastic for you, but it opens up your Paladin choices for options like Intimidation and Athletics. You get a gaming set proficiency and a language, both of which are hard to make good use of without creative DMs. Your equipment comes with 25 gold, which is actually good, and your Retainers feature is both exceptionally powerful and allows your DM to add characters into the game for you and you alone. Treat them well and help your party loyally, and you’ll have both an awesome story and the chance for even more intrigue with your party!

Sailor

While you might not think of a Crown Paladin as one to take on the high seas, you can spin this as a Paladin who is fighting against ocean crimes with a loyal crew. In that case, getting Athletics and Perception proficiency is really, really good. The rest of the background is just fine: Navigator’s Tools and Water Vehicles will rarely come up, and your equipment is pretty standard. 

Your Feature of “Ship’s Passage” might come up in long-term campaigns with a lot of travel. But, just getting Perception proficiency is good enough for me!

How to Play Crown Paladins

Out of Combat

• Utilize Skills. In most cases, a Paladin’s most impactful contribution out of combat is with your skills. Persuasion and Intimidation is a great way to talk to others, and Athletics will let you solve puzzles by climbing or jumping. 
• Use Magic. Don’t be afraid to use spell slots on out-of-combat spells like Locate Object. Sometimes, magic will take a problem and throw it in the garbage can by itself. And, in the worst case scenario, you can turn a spell into d8s worth of damage.

In Combat

• You Should Focus on Melee. Melee combat is the Paladin’s focus. Get used to moving into combat and Attacking. You’ll do it often!
• Save Healing for after fights. Healing takes up time that can be spent defeating enemies. If you are not saving someone’s life or picking them up from unconsciousness in a safe way, heal later. You need to protect others and kill enemies so that the healing won’t be wasted.
  • That being said, healing someone from Dying can both save a life and give them turns that they otherwise wouldn’t have.
• Spells vs. Smite. Spells for Paladin offer utility and buffs. Smite offers guaranteed damage after a hit. Try to do a mix of these options to improve your party’s chance of survival while killing enemies.
• Use Channel Divinity Wisely. Since you get Channel Divinity after a rest, feel free to use it. A lot! Champion Challenge is a really good debuff, but Turn the Tide is a great emergency heal that can pick people off the ground. Decisions, decisions.
• Divine Allegiance is a good reaction, but… As a reaction, this ability lets you put damage onto yourself. The focus is nice, since healing later is easier for one character. But, consider saving reactions for catching foes who are trying to run away from you.
• Exalted Champion lasts an hour. Use it! Don’t be afraid to pop this ability right before a fight. As long as your party doesn’t need to take a short rest, you can use it for multiple fights in a row. That’s a good thing, since you resist peasant’s attack and powerful wisdom-targeting magic alike.

Crown Paladin FAQ

Is the Oath of the Crown a Good Oath?

It’s okay. The Oath of the Crown suffers from a terrible set of Oath Spells that pull next to no influence from out-of-class spell lists. Its abilities are a bit situational, as well. It’s not quite the worst, as it does offer some strong choices and a good mix of buffs and debuffs. You can check out Redemption for an example of a defensive paladin with a focus on debuffs, if you want a slightly better archetype.

Do Crown Paladins Need a God?

No, though they should have their loyalties put into place. Crown Paladins are natural aides and servants to higher powers. However, a Crown Paladin can just as easily be someone who helps an adventuring party instead.

What Book is Oath of the Crown in?

The Crown Oath is located on page 132 of the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide.

Crown Paladin Example Build

Time for a quick example! Our Dungeon Master is letting us build our character, with a few caveats: It must use original race rules, with Standard Array for ability scores, and standard equipment rules. They’re throwing us a bone by letting us use any core book that we like, though. This is gonna be fun!

The first step to making an effective Paladin is talking to your party. Our party will have a Wizard, Cleric, and Rogue. We can use the Crown Paladin to protect our rogue and keep enemies close to them. Good enough reasons for us! This also lets us build for Strength early on, since we’ll be the only ones in contention for Strength-based magical items. We’ll use a Sword and Shield build to be tankier for our relatively squishy party. Also, a lot of the Paladin’s damage comes from Smite, so we’re not losing too much for not two-handing.

We’ve decided to go with a weird character, and make a Zariel Tiefling. We plan on making good use of their racial Smite spells! This Tiefling will brave the high seas as a Sailor, giving us Perception and Athletics for free. Since the campaign will be going on for a long time, that’s a good opportunity to make use of our background’s Feature, too!

We do have to keep in mind our Paladin’s skills, and we’re going to just grab Intimidation and Persuasion. Having a few ways to interact with other characters out of combat is going to come in handy.

Finally, we must consider our Ability Scores. Our focus will be on ensuring that our Charisma reaches 20 by level 8 or 12. That’s really important for a Paladin!

Conclusion – Our Take on the Crown Oath Paladin

The Oath of the Crown subclass suffers from a really strange problem, almost unique to the Crown Oath. The Oath of Redemption does what it wants to do… But often slightly better. The Crown gives more impressive self-buffs, and has some anti-death benefits. If you have a few melee allies – especially weaker caster classes – then the Crown can be a slightly better defender and help pick them up early on. Otherwise, I would consider looking at the Redemption oath, and potentially changing your mind. For more on the awesome class, see our complete Paladin 5E guide!