Oath of Refuge

The Oath of Refuge is taken by those who have seen the stigmas of society, the cruelties of castes, and the tragedies of the world, and seeks to right them, or at the very least get those who have suffered from them to safety. Whether by merely providing haven to those cast aside by society, providing transit to those who have lost their homes, or by spreading the tenets they follow to any willing to uphold them, the oath of refuge calls to both the truly selfless and the boundlessly dutiful to heed its bonds.

Most oath of refuge paladins view good as more powerful than law, for laws can be unjust, but all of them view the tenets of their faith as supreme even above laws they agree with. They need not be lawful, even though it is a stringent code that guides them, and they needn't pledge fealty to a divine who would normally host a paladin order. They exist to offer protection by whatever means necessary to those who request it, and will do so until they have seen a request through. These holy guardians use their divine gifts to ensure that all are given the chance that all life deserves, but will not hesitate if one wastes this chance or proves they have no place in the furthering of the world. The protection offered by the oath of refuge is not absolute, however, for those found guilty of abusing their offer of sanctuary will suffer tenfold the punishment at the hands of these protectors before those who they had committed crimes against even have the chance to distribute justice. Also, if one would risk many, the one may be cut loose to save the many without mercy, though there will always be a warning preceding this. Everyone gets one warning before a Paladin of the Oath of Refuge takes direct action, any additional warnings are mercies not to be taken lightly and at the discretion of the individual paladin. Typically, this warning is best exemplified in how they respond to a request for sanctuary at a holy place, where they will detain and disable as many pursuers of the requestee as possible in one fell swoop. If any of the detained so much as reach for a weapon, the offending appendage is lost, if not the offender's life, and there is no hesitation in doing so.

The oath of refuge is generally headed by matrons of their clergies, the care and scorn of a mother being taught to any who take the oath as the basis upon which their protection and concerns are measured. Their harsh duality of absolute protection and judgment of those who requested it is known to be a mother's expectation, and the deities they follow tend to be goddesses who share such absolute ideals of justice and guardianship as their order's tenets. For this reason, many Dwarven, Orcish, and war goddesses tend to be the ones worshipped by those who pledge this oath. However, the collective faith in the philosophy of sanctuary can equally grant the holy powers received by a paladin of this oath, allowing orders such as that of the Silver Flame to grant the divine power utilized by refuge paladins. 

Almost all paladins of refuge are of good alignment, though, as in all things, those who diverge from truly selfless and good intentions do exist within their numbers. Generally, those of neutral alignment show their capacity to not be wholly righteous only in their own vices and desires, or in how they deal with those that threaten the ones they protect. Those of evil alignment, on the other hand, tend to view those they protect as possessions, assets, obligations, or means of bringing about their own desires, be they of a grand scheme or of a personal nature.

TENETS OF REFUGE

A paladin who takes this oath has the tenets of refuge memorized and often carries a scroll or text which bares them.

Protect Life, Even from Life. In life, there is possibility. For change, for growth, and for hope. Protect life with all you have, for others might not. However, if it is necessary to take a life to save a life you have vowed to protect, show no hesitation, only one warning is needed to prove your intent.

Condemn not the Unwanted. Society is cruel, and often casts aside those who have done naught to earn such. Give those shunned the chance they deserve, so long as they ask for it, and do not allow the prejudices of others to sway you from doing so.

Sanctuary for All. A request for sanctuary is an act of survival, and not to be taken lightly. When one has nowhere else to turn, accept their plea for sanctuary. Protect those for whom you provide this, even if from themselves.

  Oath of Refuge Features

Oath Spells

You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed in the Oath of Refuge Spells table. See the Sacred Oath class feature for how oath spells work.

Oath of Refuge Spells

Channel Divinity

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

Divine Barrier. You can use your Channel Divinity in times of emergency to yield instantaneous protection to those in need. As a reaction, you may choose a space or creature within 30ft to create a divine barrier around. This barrier is a sphere or dome of translucent, but impervious divine energy that can be a size of up to 5 times your proficiency bonus in feet of diameter. When this barrier is created, it can forcefully eject any creatures you wish from within its area, pushing them to the outer border. If the barrier is created off the ground to catch falling creatures within it, they land harmlessly on the bottom of the inside of the barrier, and you can choose to have the barrier gently lower at a rate of 60 feet per round until it lands on top of a solid or liquid surface beneath it, or arrives at a height you designate. While this barrier is in effect, it cannot be moved in any way other than it naturally lowering it to a surface, and nothing, including damaging spell effects, can enter or exit the barrier. The barrier lasts for a number of rounds equal to your Charisma Modifier, dissipating instantly at the end of its duration. This power's range increases by 30 feet at 5th (60ft), 9th (90ft), 13th (120ft), and 17th (150ft) level.

Sacred Refuge. You can use your Channel Divinity to declare a location a sacred refuge for those you protect. By performing a 10 minute ritual, you designate an area, room, or structure that fits within a cube that measures no larger than 10 feet on any side for each paladin level you possess. For the next 8 hours, that area is warded against intrusion and those within it are under your protection. Choose a number of the following effects up to your proficiency bonus to apply to the area:

• Any time a creature of small or larger size enters or exits the area, you are telepathically alerted to it. This will wake you if you are asleep, even if by magical means, and you will know where and how large or small of a creature passed through the perimeter of your refuge. This alert functions only if you are within 1 mile of the warded area.
• Creatures you designate within the area have advantage on all saving throws. You may grant this benefit to or revoke it from any number of creatures you can see as a bonus action, but creatures do not gain this benefit unless you designate that they receive it.
• Each creature within the area is immune to one status condition you choose from the following list: charmed, frightened, poisoned, or disease. Any creature that enters the area that is suffering one of these conditions has it suppressed while within the area. If the condition's duration ends before they leave or the ward falls, it ends naturally while within the warded area.
• Each creature within the area restores additional hit points equal to your Charisma Modifier if they complete a short or long rest within this area, and from all healing they receive while within the area.
• Each time a creature that has not already been within the area, or that you have not designated to receive any of its benefits, crosses the perimeter of your ward, an audible alarm sounds from the point they enter through. This alarm can be any sound you choose, and can be made audible up to 100 feet away. You may apply further stipulations to when the alarm sounds, such as only when a non-humanoid crosses the border, or granting a password that will allow someone to enter without sounding it if spoken aloud at the border. The alarm sounds for an number of rounds up to your Charisma Modifier that you specify, and can be silenced early by you or by a password you provide for entry.
• If applied to a room or structure that is in-tact and has closing doors, windows, or other such means of entry, you may command any or all of the doors, windows, and other such portals to close and lock or unlock and open as a bonus action. You may include or exclude any number of the portals or doors you are aware of each time you do this. A door or window locked this way is treated as under the effects of an arcane lock cast by you, but that lasts only so long as the area remains warded.
• The border of the area develops a thin fog, lightly obscuring all creatures within the warded area when looked at from outside and vice-versa. You may choose for this effect to only function one-way, and designate which way that is.
• Weather is one stage less severe within the warded area. Heavy rain becomes moderate rain, moderate wind becomes light wind, and so forth. If the warded area is within a structure that has a roof, even a partial one, and at least two standing walls, this effect causes weather to be reduced by 2 stages of severity instead of one within the structure.

Aura of Holy Refuge

Starting at 7th level, you can offer your holy refuge to those who would be injured in your presence. Any time a creature within 10 feet of you would take damage, you can use your reaction to grant that creature a number of temporary hit points equal to 5 times your proficiency bonus before the damage is calculated. These temporary hit points last until the start of your next turn, any remaining temporary hit points disappearing at that point.

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

Rejuvenating Presence

Starting at 15th level, your mere presence can rejuvenate and heal those around you. So long as you aren’t incapacitated, each creature within 30 feet of you regains 1 hit point at the start of each of your turns.

This healing is affected by your sacred refuge, and is treated as magical healing. A creature that is at or below 0 hit points and still has to make death saves automatically succeeds one death save each time they would receive this healing rather than regaining a hit point.

Savior of the Masses

At 20th level, you have become a savior of all those in need. As an action, you can draw upon this sacred station and the power of the divines that back you to make you an unrivaled protector and a walking force of salvation. For the next minute, you gain the following benefits:

• Any time you cast a spell that would heal or remove a status condition from a creature, the target of the spell regains an additional number of hit points equal to your Charisma Modifier.
• All spells you cast that heal, remove or suppress status conditions, or grant resistances or other protections to another creature increase their range by 30 feet. Touch range spells of this nature gain a range of 30 feet, instead.
• You have advantage on all saving throws.

After you use this power, you cannot do so again until you complete a long rest.