Paladin Oaths

Oath of Heroism

You are bound to the oath of mighty heroes from ages past. You seek to carry out the heroic deeds of those that walked the same path before you and hopefully one day those of future generations will follow after you.

Tenets of Heroism

The tenets of the Oath of Heroism have been passed down through the ages, forming the backbone for heroic deeds for generations to come

  • Be Brave When others would shirk away from danger, you instead meet it with a smile on your face. You are not suicidal, you know when caution is the better part of valor. Even so you believe that a true hero does not turn their back lightly and you will try to stand strong in the face of danger.
  • Inspire Others to Be Great: You seek to make the world a better place by inspiring others to greatness. You know the power of heroes doesn’t just come from saving people but also by inspiring others to be great themselves. You seek to lead by example and always have a word of encouragement for you allies and the people around you.
  • Pick Yourself Up: Heroes lose, heroes die but true heroes never break. You stand strong in the face of adversity, when you fail you try again, when you fall you pick yourself up. Through surviving the hardships of life you can become a true hero.
  • The Quest: Great and mighty heroes are drawn to legendary quests that cement them in the annuals of heroism. You pick a quest that might take the rest of your life to complete as it usually something on a grand scale. During this time you like to tell tales of the heroics that you have undergone and the great things that you still wish to do.

Oath Spells

You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed

Oath of Heroism Spells
Paladin Level Spells
3rd Earth Tremor, Heroism
5th Enlarge/Reduce, Warding Bond
9th Beacon of Hope, Haste
13th Freedom of Movement, Stoneskin
17th Contact Other Plane, Legend Lore

Channel Divinity

When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options.

Might of Heroes

As a Bonus action you imbue a single melee weapon that you wield with the might of heroes long since passed by using your channel divinity. For 1 minute, your weapons damage die doubles (example a 1d8 weapon becomes 2d8 and a 2d6 weapon becomes 4d6) and you cannot be disarmed of this weapon through any means. If the weapon is not already magical it becomes magical for the duration of this effect. You can end this effect on your turn as part of any other action. If you are no longer holding or carrying the weapon or if you fall unconscious this effect ends.

Turn the Unworthy

As an action, you present your symbol and utter an oath against those that are unworthy of being in the presence of a hero, using your channel divinity. Each enemy within 30 feet of you that can see and hear you, which has fewer hit die then you must make a Wisdom saving through. If the creature fails its saving throw, it is turned for 1 minute or until it takes damage. A turned creature must spend its turn trying to move as far away from you as it can, and it can’t willingly move to a space within 30 feet of you. It also can’t take reactions. For its action, it can use only the Dash action or try to escape from an effect that prevents it from moving. If there’s nowhere to move, the creature can use the Dodge action

Heroic Smite

Starting at 7th level, whenever you hit an enemy with your smite you can choose to either knock the opponent prone or to push them 10 feet. The target must make a Strength saving throw to resist this effect. The DC for these effects are 8+ Your proficiency bonus + Strength modifier. Level 15: Greater Might of Heroes Your weapon damage increases to three times the normal weapon damage when under the effect of might of heroes.

True Hero

At 20th level, you can draw on the power of heroes past to undergo a transformation. For 1 hour, you gain the following benefits:

  • You can make three attacks with the Attack action instead of just two.
  • Your movement increases by 10ft and you ignore all forms of difficult terrain.
  • When you first assume this form you get 50 temporary hit points. These temporary hit points last the entire duration of the transformation or until depleted through damage.

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

Oath of Saints

So many other oaths are geared towards bringing an end to evil through the use of force, paladins that take this oath try to seek a more peaceful solution. Though the world is full of violence, anger and fighting, those are not the only ways of the world, as diplomacy, compassion and care also exist. By using those tools, paladins of this oath seek to bring about a harmonious world in which good brings peace and not violence. Many who take this oath find themselves becoming martyrs, as their blood is spilled by those who they have shown compassion and mercy for. Still through their steadfast belief in non-violence can lead them to the path of saints.

Tenets of Saints

The tenets of the Oath of Saints are normally taught through scripture. Churches that turn out paladins that follow this oath often teach children at an early age.

  • Violence as a last resort: Even in the face of evil you abhor the use of violence and must try to reasonably talk to the enemy first to work out a peaceful negotiation. Only when it is obvious that talks have fallen through will you resort to violence.

  • Be Merciful: If someone requires mercy, then you seek to give it to them. Even those that have fallen off the path of light deserve a chance at redemption. Despite this you are not naïve, just because you are merciful it doesn’t mean that you have to believe those that will try to use that to their advantage.

  • Be Charitable: Those that follow this oath often provide free healing services, labor, food and other charitable endeavors to the needy. It hurts you deeply to spend money excessively while others starve, therefore you must be humble, kind and generous to those that have less then you.

Oath Spells

You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed

Oath of Heroism Spells
Paladin Level Spells
3rd Healing Word, Sanctuary
5th Calm Emotions, Prayer of Healing
9th Remove Curse, Water Walk
13th Divination, Guardian of Faith
17th Hallow, Greater Restoration

Channel Divinity

When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options.

Benediction of Light

Starting at 3rd level, as an action you can raise your holy symbol and release a nimbus of Light. All allies within 15 feet of you can make a saving throw against a condition that is effecting them that allows for a saving throw.

Turn the Violent

Starting at 3rd level you can use your Channel Divinity as reaction, you can present your holy symbol and attempt to turn one enemy that has just attacked you or one of your allies. That enemy must make a Wisdom saving throw. If the creature fails its saving throw, it is turned for 1 minute or until it takes any damage. A turned creature must spend its turns trying to move as far away from you as it can, and it can't willingly move to a space within 30 feet of you. It also can't take reactions. For its action, it can use only the Dash action or try to escape from an effect that prevents it from moving. If there's nowhere to move, the creature can use the Dodge action.

Restoring Touch

Starting at 7th level, your lay on hands can now remove conditions that trouble your allies. You can spend 20 hit points of healing with lay on hands to cast the the lesser restoration spell without having it prepared and without using a spell slot, once you reach level 10 as a Paladin you can spend 50 hit points of healing with lay on hands to cast greater restoration without having it prepared and without spending a spell slot. When you use lay on hands this way the creature you touch does not recover HP.

Cleansing Light

Starting at 15th level, when you use Benediction of Light the radius becomes 30 feet and you and your allies can make save from a condition even if they normally wouldn’t be able to.

Saint of Light

At 20th level, you are the embodiment of saintly virtues and can undergo a transformation that ascends beyond the mortal plane. For 1 hour you gain the following benefits.

  • Allies within 15 feet of you have advantage on all their saves.
  • You can fly at a speed of 30 feet a round.
  • Each round you can use a bonus action to heal one ally 15 hit points.

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

Oath of the Seal

There are secrets in the world that are better left lost and there are beings in the world that are better left buried. Those that follow the Oath of the Seal, seeks to make sure that forbidden lore does not get out into the world. Rituals such as the one that turned Vecna into a lich are hunted down and destroyed when possible. Sometimes a secret or dangerous entity cannot be destroyed in such cases the only choice is to seal them away. Paladins of this order are often burdened with secrets that they most keep from everyone, even their friend and loved ones. After all even a single whisper of the dread secrets that the order keeps, could spell disaster to the people of the world.

Tenets of the Seal

The method in which the tenets of the Oath of the Seal are taught are just as guarded as everything else about the order. None the less these are the methodology that they employ.

  • Find Ancient Secrets: You and those of your order seek to find the ancient and hidden secrets of immeasurable power that can lead to harm of those in the world. You don’t look for these secrets however to use them, you instead look for them so you can make sure that they don’t fall into the wrong hands.
  • Destroy Forbidden Text: Though knowledge is power there are things that are best left unknown. When you come across forbidden and dangerous lore or knowledge you should move to censure it lest it brings harm to the innocent.
  • Vow of Secrecy: It sometimes pains you to do so, but you keep silent on matters dealing with great powers of evil and the secrets you learn. Unless revealing information is important to your quest and helps you complete it, you avoid doing so.
  • Seal Away Evil: As your order’s name suggest you have been charged with sealing away great evils and threats to the world. You actively move to lock away creature, beings or bizarre phenomena from damage the world.

Oath Spells

You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed

Oath of Heroism Spells
Paladin Level Spells
3rd Comprehend Language, Identify
5th Locate Object, Silence
9th Remove Curse, Tongues
13th Divination, Locate Creature
17th Modify Memory, Seeming

Channel Divinity

When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options.

Sealing Smite

Starting at 3rd level, you can use your channel divinity as an action to make an attack. If you hit the target with this attack, then that target must make a saving throw against your Paladin spell save DC or become sealed, the target can make a new saving throw at the end of each of their turns to end this effect. While sealed the target can't use their action.

Ward Area

Starting at 3rd level, you can use your channel divinity as an action to select a 10 foot space within 60 feet of you to ward. This ward last for 1 minute and you can set it to keep out specific creatures, if these creatures try to cross into the ward they must make a Wisdom Saving throw against your Paladin spell DC or be unable to enter the warded area.

Remove Knowledge

Starting at 7th level, while not in combat you can touch a target and erase up to 10 minutes of their memory. If the target is unwilling, they must make an Intelligence saving throw against your Paladin Spell save DC to avoid this effect. Once you use this ability you can’t use it again until you complete a long rest.

Return to Source

At 15th level, you can use an action to return a creature to whence it came from. If the target is an elemental, a fiend, a fey or a celestial it must make a Charisma saving throw against your Paladin spell saving throw or be banished to an extradimensional plane for the next 1 minute. While in this plane you learn more about the target, including the resistances, immunities, and vulnerabilities it has.

Keeper of Secrets:

At 20th level, you have sealed so many ancient and damning secrets, that it has left its mark on your body. Using your action you can gain these benefit for 1 hour:

  • You gain Blind sight up to 30 feet.
  • You have advantage on saving throws against Spells.
  • As a bonus action, you can teleport to a space within 30 feet of you that you can see.

Once you use this ability you can’t use it again until you complete a long rest.

Oath of the Scourge

There are those that care not about mercy or kindness, instead they put their faith in the unflinching steel of law. Paladins that take up the Oath of the Scourge seek to punish those that they deem wicked. Normally, this means they punish those that break the law or defame the holy, even if it’s a minor infraction. Often humorless and dour, Paladin’s that follow this path have little in the way of friends. They only tolerate, rule breaking the flaunting of the law, if it can lead them to stop another more dangerous wickedness.

Tenets of the Scourge

These tenets are not so much as taught to young hopefuls, as they are beaten into them. The Oath of the Scourge takes their tenets very seriously and are always watchful for those that are faltering.

  • Punish the Wickedness: While others seek to save innocents or carry out noble causes, you seek out those that are wicked and punish them with all you’re might. While some see what you do as vengeance, you see it more as upholding justice.
  • Be Forever Vigilant: Wickedness does not only lie without but also within. You must resist temptation, you must avoid the darkness that seeks to devour you from within. You seek to avoid things that tempt you, whether it be excess or some other form of corruption.
  • Purge the Darkness: Your order often takes the most extreme approach in dealing with those that you deem as wicked. This can take the form of extreme vigilance and punishment of minor crimes, or it can take the form of extreme self-discipline. Either way the order is very serious about dealing with what the feel is the encroaching darkness.

Oath Spells

You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed

Oath of Heroism Spells
Paladin Level Spells
3rd Ensnaring Strike, Inflict Wounds
5th Blindness/Deafness, Detect Thoughts
9th Fear, Nondetection
13th Locate Creature, Phantasmal Killer
17th Immolation, Insect Plague

Channel Divinity

When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options.

Share Pain

Starting at 3rd level, you can as a reaction use your channel divinity when you receive damage from an attack to deal half the damage you took back to the attacker. This damage is radiant and ignores resistance and immunities to radiant damage.

Inter the Damned

Starting at 3rd level, you can as an action use your channel divinity to target one creature within 30 feet of you. That creature must make a Dexterity saving throw against your Paladin spell save DC or be grasped by spectral chains from the ground and be restrained. At the end of each of that creatures turns it can make a Wisdom saving throw on a success the chains are forced to dissipate ending the restrained condition.

Wounding Smite

Starting at 7th level, when you smite a creature you can also have it to suffer horrendous wounds, the creature loses 10 feet of its movement. This ability can be used with each smite and stacks with itself. The creature must make a Constitution Saving throw against you Paladin spell save DC in order to end this effect.

Eternal Pain

At 15th level, you can as an action show visions of Pain and suffering to a target within 30 feet of you. That target must make a Wisdom saving throw against your Paladin spell save or be Stunned until the start of your next turn. Once you use this feature you can’t use it again until you complete a short or long rest.

Scourge of the Wicked

At 20th level, you have become the epitome of your order, wickedness will not go unpunished. As an action you surround yourself in a 20 foot aura that takes the form of chains preventing those near you from escaping. The aura last for 1 minute and enemies in the aura grant advantage to all your attacks, if an enemy in the aura tries to fully leave the aura, they must first make a Strength or Dexterity saving throw (their choice) if they fail then cannot leave the aura and cannot attempt to do so again until their next turn. If the target attempts to teleport out of the aura they must make a Wisdom saving throw instead, or fail to teleport out. All saving throws are made against your Paladin spell save DC

Once you use this ability you can’t use it again until you complete a long rest.