The Oath of Survival

Most Paladins devote themselves to a higher calling beyond themself and reflect this calling in their oath. Paladins of Survival may dedicate themselves to any sort of cause. But all Paladins of Survival acknowledge one universal truth. You cannot champion a cause if you are dead. Paladins of Survival are dedicated to staying alive in order to complete whatever mission they set out upon. In order to do so, they must be prepared to slay foes, disable foes, and escape from foes as best fits the situation. To a few survival is their quest, an end of itself and they seek to live as long as possible. To most survival is a means to an end and the one acceptable way to die is by completing their mission in death. But for nothing less than their most sacred mission will a Paladin of Survival willingly sacrifice their life, unless they have certainty of being resurrected.

Tenets of Survival:

Prudence. Discretion is the better part of valor. There is no honor in a senseless sacrifice or a death caused by foolishness or arrogance.

Complete the Mission. A dead paladin cannot finish their quest and their quest must come first.

The Needs of the Many. Sacrificing yourself to save one or a few when your quest is to save far more is a foolish mistake. Give thy life for no less than thy ultimate mission.

What It Takes. Tools are not evil. If magic that would be called “dark” is needed to survive and continue the quest, then it can and should be used to do so.

Safeguard the Soul. Death is to be avoided but if it is inevitable it is best to have a soul to travel to an afterlife and perhaps one day be revived. Undeath and other states that endanger the wellbeing of your soul are just another kind of death to be avoided, they are not true survival.

Channel Divinity

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

Hellfire Orb. As an action, you can use your Channel Divinity to hurl a magical ball of fire that explodes at a point you can see within 120 feet. Each creature in a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on that point must make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC. The sphere spreads around corners. A creature takes 1d6 damage for every 2 paladin levels you have(rounded up) in both fire and necrotic (max 10d6 fire and 10d6 necrotic) on a failed save or half as much damage on a successful one.

Sense Your Foes. As a bonus action, you can use your Channel Divinity to imbue yourself with divine awareness for 1 minute. For the duration, you gain the following benefits:

You have darkvision out to 120 feet and do not suffer from sunlight sensitivity. You have advantage on perception checks to hear and cannot be surprised if you are conscious.

Oath Spells

You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.

Oath of Survival Spells

Aura of Antimagic

Starting at 7th level, you and friendly creatures within 10 feet of you have advantage on saving throws against spells while you are conscious.

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

Defense From Death

Beginning at 15th level, you are resistant to necrotic damage and you are immune to poison damage and the poisoned condition. Additionally for every five years that pass, you age only one year.

Immovable Object

At 20th level, as an action, you can surround yourself with protective energy that lasts for one minute. While this energy is present, you gain the following benefits:

The ranges of your Paladin auras double.

You cannot suffer from exhaustion and you cannot be knocked prone or forcibly moved against your will.

Your AC increases by 6.

You gain immunity to necrotic damage.

You do not need to breathe.

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