Oath of the Hydra

The Oath of the Hydra is taken by paladins who value survival above all else. Their oath does not dedicate them to an ideological cause, but instead empowers them to defend their own principles against all attacks.

Some outsiders view this oath as selfish - one inspired by a many-mouthed beast of legendary greed. And while this may be true of some paladins, many others use the powers granted to them as a way to guarantee the survival of their allies, of their communities, or even of entire nations. After all, what good is a long life if you have no one to share it with?

TENETS OF THE HYDRA

The tenets of the Oath of the Hydra remind a paladin that the winner of any conflict is the last one standing.

Bide your Time. Even small strikes can defeat great foes, if only you have the patience.

Harden your Scales. Against unlimited endurance, all arsenals run dry

One Falls, Two Rise. If you are ever defeated, return stronger and flanked by allies.

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This subclass was created in Episode 3 of Untested Arcana - new content weekly on YouTube!

Oath Spells

You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed in the Oath of the Hydra Spells table.

Oath of the Hydra Spells

Channel Divinity

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

Corrosive Venom. You can use your Channel Divinity to douse an enemy with deadly poison. As an action, you force a creature of your choice that you can see within 15 feet of you to make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature is drenched in hydra venom for 1 minute or until it uses its action to wipe it off. While it is covered in venom, it takes poison damage equal to your paladin level at the beginning of each of its turns.

Serpent’s Hiss. You can use your Channel Divinity to draw the ire of those around you. As an action, you present your holy symbol and force each hostile creature within 60 feet of you to make an Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save, a creature regards you as an imminent threat for 1 minute. Creatures that cannot be charmed are immune to this effect.

Aura of Interception

Starting at 7th level, you can intercept danger in the blink of an eye. Whenever a creature you can see within 10 feet of you is the target of an attack, you can use your reaction to teleport to an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the creature. If you teleport to a space that places you between the creature and its attacker, you become the target of the attack instead. If you have another ability that uses your reaction, such as a spell or fighting style, you can activate that ability as part of this reaction.

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

Mystic Regeneration

By 15th level, your magic is bolstered by the hydra’s unbreakable spirit. When you cast an abjuration spell of 2nd level or higher using a spell slot, you regain one expended spell slot. The slot you regain must be of a level lower than the spell you cast and can’t be higher than 3rd level.

Hydra Incarnate

At 20th level, your enemies must face the full might of your serpentine idol. As an action, you can turn into a hydra, as if transformed by the spell true polymorph. This form has the game statistics of an ancient green dragon, but with the following additional features:

• Multiple Heads. The hydra has three heads. Whenever the hydra takes 50 or more damage in a single turn, one of its heads dies. If all its heads die, the hydra immediately drops to 0 hit points.
• Regeneration. At the end of its turn, it grows two heads for each of its heads that died since its last turn, up to a maximum of five heads. The hydra regains 10 hit points for each head regrown in this way.
• Reactive Heads. For each head the hydra has beyond one, it gets an extra reaction that can be used only for opportunity attacks.

This transformation lasts for 10 minutes or until you dismiss it as an action. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.