Paladin subclass
The Oath of Vengeance is a solemn commitment to punish those who have committed a grievous sin. When evil forces slaughter helpless villagers, when an entire people turns against the will of the gods, when a thieves' guild grows too violent and powerful, when a dragon rampages through the countryside -- at times like these, paladins arise and swear an Oath of Vengeance to set right that which has gone wrong. To these paladins -- sometimes called avengers or dark knights -- their own purity is not as important as delivering justice.
The tenets of the Oath of Vengeance vary by paladin, but all the tenets revolve around punishing wrongdoers by any means necessary. Paladins who uphold these tenets are willing to sacrifice even their own righteousness to mete out justice upon those who do evil, so the paladins are often neutral or lawful neutral in alignment. The core principles of the tenets are brutally simple.
You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.
Oath of Vengeance Spells | |
Paladin Level |
Spells |
3rd | bane, hunter's mark |
5th | hold person, misty step |
9th | haste, protection from energy |
13th | banishment, dimension door |
17th | hold monster, scrying |
When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options.
Abjure Enemy. As an action, you present your holy symbol and spear a prayer of denunciation, using your Channel Divinity. Choose one creature within 60 feet of you that you can see. That creature must make a Wisdom saving throw, unless it is immune to being frightened. Fiends and undead have disadvantage on this saving throw.
On a failed save, the creature is frightened for 1 minute or until it takes any damage. While frightened, the creature's speed is 0, and it can't benefit from any bonus to its speed.
On a successful save, the creature's speed is halved for 1 minute or until the creature takes any damage.
Vow of Enmity. As a bonus action, you can utter a vow of enmity against a creature you can see within 10 feet of you, using your Channel Divinity. You gain advantage on attack rolls against the creature for 1 minute or until it drops to 0 hit points or falls unconscious.
By 7th level, your supernatural focus helps you close off a foe's retreat. When you hit a creature with an opportunity attack, you can move up to half your speed immediately after the attack and as part of the same reaction. This movement doesn't provoke opportunity attacks.
Starting at 15th level, the authority with which you speak your Vow of Enmity gives you greater power over your foe. When a creature under the effect of your Vow of Enmity makes an attack, you can use your reaction to make a melee weapon attack against that creature if it is within range.
At 20th level, you can assume the form of an angelic avenger. Using your action, you undergo a transformation. For 1 hour, you gain the following benefits:
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
Player's Handbook. Wizards of the Coast, 2014.
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