Oath of Living in Death

Tenets of the Law of Living in Death

The principles of the Oath of Living in Death are often established by the deity to whom the oath is sworn, but generally they emphasize the following principles.

Self-Preservation. Your own life is paramount. You will use any means necessary to avoid death, including necromancy and the sacrifice of others.

Dark Empowerment. Embrace the power of death and decay. Use necromantic magic to strengthen yourself and ensure your continued existence.

Harvest of Souls. View the living as resources. Their lifeforce is a means to extend your own life.

Dominion Over Death. Seek mastery over death itself, striving to become an unyielding force that defies the natural order.

Relentless Pursuit. Let nothing stand in your way. Pursue eternal life with single-minded determination and unwavering resolve.

 

Channel Divinity

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

Touch of Undeath. As an action, you can use your Channel Divinity to infuse a corpse with necromantic energy, raising it as a zombie or skeleton under your control for 1 hour as per the Animate Dead spell but when the time runs out the zombie or skeleton dies again instead of remaining undead and you can also give him orders mentally as an interaction.

Soul Drain. As an action, you can use your Channel Divinity to drain the life force from a creature within 30 feet. The target must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the target takes necrotic damage equal to 2d10 + your paladin level, and you regain hit points equal to half the damage dealt rounded up. On a successful save, the target takes half as much damage, and you don’t regain hit points.

Oath Spells

You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.

Oath of Living in Death Spells

Aura of Undying

Starting at 7th level, the unholy energy you wield grants you and those around you a measure of death's resilience. You and friendly creatures within 10 feet of you gain temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1) at the start of each of your turns, and cannot have their hit point maximum reduced. At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.

Unholy Resilience

Beginning at 15th level, your mastery over necromantic forces makes you harder to kill. When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest. Additionally, you have resistance to radiant damage and are immune to poison damage and the poisoned condition.

Deathless Guardian

At 20th level, you can assume the form of a deathless guardian, a harbinger of undeath. Using your action, you undergo a transformation for 1 minute, gaining the following benefits:

• You become immune to necrotic damage and the effects of exhaustion.
• Whenever you deal necrotic damage, you regain hit points equal to the necrotic damage dealt.
• You can cast the spell Finger of Death once without expending a spell slot.

Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.