Oath of Dark Enlightenment

The Oath of Dark Enlightenment binds a paladin to the hard truth that life is suffering. These paladins meet the ideals of a dark knight, doing what is necessary for the greater good with sometimes brutal and coarse actions. These paladins strive for enlightenment through pain and gain strength by wielding it.

Many who swear this oath are devoted to gods of liberation, chaos, and glory, and use their gods’ tenets as the measure of their worth.

Tenets of Dark Enlightenment

Though the exact words and strictures of the Oath of Dark Enlightenment vary, paladins of this oath share these tenets.

• Strength Through Pain: Trust in your god. Through shared pain, you can liberate the world.
• Freedom: The concept of slavery is antithetical to that of the Oath of Dark Enlightenment. You must use your power to free those who are most in need.
• Knowledge: The truth of this world is often uncomfortable. Seek it and embrace it.

Oath Spells

3rd-level Oath of Dark Enlightenment feature

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

Oath of Dark Enlightenment Spells

Paladin Level	Spells
3rd	false life, guiding bolt
5th	warding bond, aid
9th	mass healing word, haste
13th	stoneskin, death ward
17th	commune, scrying

Channel Divinity

3rd-level Oath of Dark Enlightenment feature

You gain the following Channel Divinity options. See the Sacred Oath class feature for how Channel Divinity works.

Insult to Injury. Immediately after you deal damage to a creature with your Divine Smite feature, you can use your Channel Divinity as a bonus action and deal 5 damage to yourself. You may distribute 5 + your paladin level necrotic or radiant damage to up to 3 enemies you can see within 30ft. You may divide this damage to the chosen creatures however you like.

Pyrrhic Intervention. Immediately after you take damage that reduces your hit points to fewer than half your total hit points, you can use your Channel Divinity as a reaction to inflict terrible pain on 3 targets within 30ft for 1 min. The targets must make a Wisdom saving throw. If they fail, they are incapacitated for the duration and take 2d4 + charisma modifier psychic damage. If a target succeeds the saving throw, they take half the damage and are not incapacitated.

Aura of Defiance

7th-level Oath of Dark Enlightenment feature

You emit an aura of absolute defiance while you aren’t incapacitated. You and friendly creatures within 10 feet of you gain advantage on checks and saving throws to resist fear, charm, grapple or restrained conditions. Spells and other magical effects cannot reduce your speed.

You and your allies may also spend 10 feet of movement to automatically escape from nonmagical restraints, such as manacles or a creature that has it grappled. Each creature including yourself may only use this feature once per long rest.

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

Mental Fortitude

15th-level Oath of Dark Enlightenment feature

Through your devotion to your oath, your mind is hardened from pain. You gain resistance to psychic damage.

You may add your Charisma modifier to a weapon attack and damage roll. You may do this after the roll but before the outcome is revealed. You may perform this action a total number of times equal to your Charisma modifier -1. All uses replenish after a long rest.

Knight of Ascension

20th-level Oath of Dark Enlightenment feature

As a Knight of Ascension you gain the following abilities:

• You gain blindsight with a range of 30 feet.
• When you are reduced to 0 hit points and are not killed outright, you can choose to drop to 1 hit point instead. Once you use this ability, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
• You have advantage on attack rolls against aberrations, celestials, elementals, fey, and fiends.

Immediately after a creature that you can see within 30 feet of you gains hit points, you may use your reaction to force that creature to make a Charisma saving throw against your spell save DC. If the creature fails its saving throw, you negate the gained hit points and deal 4d8 + your Charisma modifier necrotic or radiant damage to it. If the creature succeeds on its saving throw, the gained hit points are not negated but it still takes the necrotic or radiant damage. Once you use this reaction, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest, unless you expend a 5th-level spell slot to use it again.