Oath of Play

"I threw the ring into the lake. Not as though she'd want it. As I watched it sink, I wondered to myself what it would feel like to glide alongside it. What would happen if I succumbed to the same abyss I thrust unto that ring? The question pushed me closer towards the lake's edge. Enough that I that could see myself under its glistening surface.

Something warm pulled me back. A man with a soothing embrace. He wiped a tear from my eye. He told me that, just a moment ago, he drunkenly 'tripped' into the bosoms of a furious half-orc. It explained his freshly purpled cheek. With a few chuckles, hand in hand, he led me back to the tavern. After a barrel of drink between the two of us, he introduced me to beautiful  young woman.

After these few years, I still can't think of his name for his marriage invitiation."

- Anonymous

Oath of Play paladins uttermost seek the joy of those around them. From anywhere between the crying child and the brooding soldier, Paladins of Joy become the lights that re-spark the love of life. While on their holy mission, these paladins smite the ne'er-do-wells that chain and control the happiness of others.

These spirit healers often seek guidance from powerful entities such as Eilistraee, The Trickster, Jaeline and Herodime who also seek merriment and freedom in all mortals.

Tenets of Play

The delight of play is a feeling worth spreading. Whether you loudly topple the order around you or subtly leave every town happier than you found it, joy must prevail. 

Release the Hearts. The world is covered in a cloak of shackling seriousness. When given opportunity, unlock the binds that hold people from their heart's wants and guide them on their path.

Tend to the Soul. You must nurture your own spirit, lest it falls into the control of the dour. Divulge in your own desires, bonus points if you can experience it with others. Ensure any ill-effects caused to others are remedied.

Play the Fool. Your strength lies in the underestimations of those that deem themselves superior. By tempering your ego and keeping your cards close, you can pull the rug from anyone. 

The Smile among the Tears. You are a paragon of felicity. Uplift and lead those that are lost, sorrowful and fearful. Correct the villains that instil it.

Channel Divinity

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

Mark of Joy. As an action, you reach out with an open hand towards a creature within 60ft of you, distracting its mind with the temptations of play. Choose whether it receives disadvantage on wisdom, intelligence or charisma saving throws for one minute. Additionally, it must use its bonus action (your choice) to either tell a joke (cannot cast spells with verbal components), juggle its weapon (-2 to its next attack roll) or do a quick jig (movement speed is halved). Affected creatures can roll a wisdom saving throw as an action on their turn or when it takes damage, ending the effect on a success.

Strike with a Smile. You always know how to stare comically at adversity. When you hit a creature with your weapon, you can activate your channel divinity. They roll on the confusion table and suffer the rolled effect on their next turn. Any further attacks made this turn also bestow the confusion.

Oath Spells

You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.

Oath of Play Spells

Paladin Level	Spells
3rd	grease, tasha's hideous laughter
5th	calm emotions, kinetic jaunt
9th	motivational speech, thunder step
13th	confusion, charm monster
17th	skill empowerment, wall of force

Aura of Satire

Starting at 7th level, when enemies are within 10ft of you, the ground beneath them becomes slippery—akin to grease. If they fall prone as a result of this aura, you can choose whether they slide 5ft towards you.

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

Creatures that fail the dexterity saving throw become immune to this aura for one minute. You may allow any number of enemies to pass, making them unaffected by this aura until you use a reaction to make as many affected once more.

Stunning Display

Also at 7th level, you gain access to an improved version of the pyrotechnics spell. It counts as a paladin spell, is always prepared and doesn't go towards your number of prepared spells.

You can cast pyrotechnics on magical fire without extinguishing it. You can cast pyrotechnics as a reaction to seeing any fire spell cast within 60ft of you, centred anywhere on the spell's trajectory (or the target if it doesn't have one).

Foul Play

Beginning at 15th level, whenever a creature you can see fails an attack roll against an ally within 30ft of you, you can use a reaction to make the creature roll a charisma saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failure, they teleport to a place of your choice within 10ft of you. They disappear and reappear in either a cloud of bubbles or a flash of smoke. You cannot teleport allies.

You can use this feature as many times equal to your charisma modifier, regaining all uses after a long rest.

Zealot of the Zany

At 20th level, you have harnessed enough divine favour to make anyone chuckle and cringe.

When you cast a 5th-level paladin spell or use a 5th-level divine smite, you briefly possess the means to alter reality into a more playful state, choosing whether to roll on the zany table. You also gain the following benefits for one minute:

• You gain magic resistance.
• As a bonus action, you can force a creature to lose its immunity to the charmed condition until the start of your next turn.

d8	Zany joke
1	All enemies within 30ft of you have gain vulnerability to fire and radiant damage for one minute as their skin briefly turns into butter, even if they are resistant. Creatures immune to fire or radiant damage become resistant instead. Creatures can succeed a charisma saving throw at the end of their turn against your spell save DC to end this condition on themselves.
2	All enemies within 30ft become showered in jagged roses. They take 8d6 magical slashing damage. They are also blinded for one minute. Creatures can succeed a constitution saving throw at the end of their turn against your spell save DC to end their blindness.
3	An enemy of your choice within 30ft becomes a ragdoll, flinging themselves hilariously towards an obstacle or another enemy within 60ft of them, dealing 12d12 bludgeoning damage to both. If the second target is two sizes smaller than the first target, they are squashed and killed instantly. Creatures with legendary actions gain immunity to being killed instantly this way and instead take an extra 6d8 bludgeoning damage.
4	A 10ftx10ft magical ball pit is summoned within 90ft of you and lasts a minute. That area becomes difficult terrain. Creatures that enter or start their turn in this space must succeed a dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC or become restrained until the start of their next turn. After three consecutive failed saves, they sink fully and disappear to a plane of the DM's choice.
5	An enemy of choice within 30ft becomes cursed with pink lightning for one minute. They take 8d8 lightning damage at the start of their turn. Whenever a creature is within 5ft of them, willing or not, they also become cursed for one minute. Creatures can succeed a charisma saving throw at the end of their turn against your spell save DC to end this condition on themselves, gaining immunity to the curse until the end of their next turn. Allies have advantage on this saving throw. You are immune to this curse.
6	One creature of your choice within 30ft is bestowed with a faint, magical sheen that tickles lightly in all the right places. For one minute, when that creature takes damage from one attack or source, it becomes immune to the damage type that removed the most HP for the remainder of that minute. The creature can only be immune to one damage type as a result of this effect. The creature can choose to replace its immunity on subsequent attacks made against it within this minute.
7	One creature of your choice within 30ft has a celestial spotlight shine on them as divine whistles cheer them on. When that creature next rolls a 16-20 on their attack roll within a minute, it becomes a crit. This effect then vanishes.
8	A willing creature within 30ft is polymorphed into a solar or pit fiend (depending on alignment, neutral creatures can choose) until the start of your next turn or when they hit 0hp in this form.