Oath of Retribution

The Oath of Retribution is a solemn vow to punish those who have committed a grievous sin against the paladin or those dear to him or her. When evil forces slaughter their helpless kin or subjects, when an entire people turns against the light and embraces darkness, when a thieves’ guild grows too violent and assassinates a benevolent ruler, when a dragon rampages the land they love — at times like these, paladins arise and swear an Oath of Retribution to set right that which has gone wrong. To these paladins — sometimes called searing revengers or wrath knights — their own purity is not as important as delivering just retribution.

TENETS OF RETRIBUTION

The tenets of the Oath of Retribution vary by paladin, but all the tenets closely align with the Oath of Vengeance, and revolve around delivering searing justice by any means necessary. What differs from the cold, focused pursuit of the Oath of Vengeance is the embrace of a burning intensity, which manifests outward as fiery wrath. Paladins who uphold these tenets are willing to burn away even their own righteousness to mete out justice upon those who have persecuted them or others under their care. To this end, these paladins are often neutral or lawful neutral in alignment. The core principles of the tenets are brutally simple.

Expunge the Convicted. Foes guilty of crimes against those I honor or others under my care will be burned away.

No Mercy for the Wicked. Ordinary foes might win my mercy, but my sworn enemies do not.

By Any Means Necessary. My qualms cannot and will not get in the way of exterminating my foes.

Fight the Greater Evil. Faced with a choice of fighting my sworn foes or combating a greater evil, I will set aside my pursuit for a time to vanquish the greater evil.

 

Channel Divinity

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

Searing Weapon. As an action, you can imbue one weapon that you are holding with fiery energy, using your Channel Divinity. For 1 minute, you add half of your Charisma modifier (rounded up) to attack rolls made with that weapon, and half of your Charisma modifier (rounded up) as additional fire damage to each successful hit. The weapon also emits warmth and a fiery 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.

You can end this effect on your turn as part of any other action. If you are no longer holding or carrying this weapon, or if you fall unconscious, this effect ends.

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.

Oath Spells

You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.

Oath of Retribution Spells

Aura of Cinders

Starting at 7th level, and while the paladin is conscious, the paladin and friendly creatures within 10 feet gain resistance to fire damage, and the first time a hostile creature within the aura takes fire damage during a round, it will take an additional 1d6 fire damage.

At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.

Soul of Retribution

Starting at 15th level, the authority with which you speak your Vow of Enmity gives you greater power over your foe, and your fire burns with a wrathful radiance. 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. Additionally, when you deal fire damage against an enemy with fire resistance, you may ignore the resistance. If the enemy is immune to fire, it is instead treated as resistant.

Searing Avatar

At 20th level, the paladin can, as an action, surround himself or herself with an aura of flame that lasts for 1 minute. The aura produces bright light in a 30-foot radius around the paladin and dim light for 30 feet beyond that. Whenever an enemy that is hit by a weapon attack from the paladin starts its following turn in the aura, it takes 4d10 fire damage. Additionally, the paladin and creatures he or she chooses in the aura are resistant to cold damage.

While the aura lasts, the paladin can use a bonus action on his or her turn to cause the flames to rage out and attack one creature. The paladin makes a melee spell attack against the target. If the attack hits, the target takes fire damage equal to 3d10 plus the paladin’s Charisma modifier.

After activating the aura, the paladin can’t do so again until he or she finishes a long rest.