Oath of the Raven Queen

 

The Oath of the Raven Queen is taken by paladins who serve the enigmatic goddess of death, fate, and the passage between life and the afterlife. These paladins are charged with maintaining the natural order of life and death, ensuring that no soul escapes its destined fate. They become the Raven Queen’s instruments in hunting down those who pervert death, such as liches, necromancers, and other abominations that defy the eternal cycle.

Paladins who swear this oath are bound to the shadowed realm of the Shadowfell, from which the Raven Queen herself watches over the spirits of the dead. They often embody the qualities of fate, death, and inevitability, and their powers evoke the darkness and mysteries of the Shadowfell. These paladins become the wardens of lost souls, the harbingers of final judgment, and the protectors of the sanctity of death.

Tenets of the Raven Queen

Paladins who swear the Oath of the Raven Queen uphold these principles:

• Respect Death: Death is not to be feared but embraced as a part of existence. All things have their time, and death is the final path.
• Guard the Soul: The sanctity of the soul is paramount. Undeath, resurrection without cause, or necromancy that distorts the soul’s fate must be eradicated.
• Maintain Balance: Life and death must remain in balance. It is not your role to accelerate death or unnaturally prolong life but to guard the cycle.
• Guide the Lost: Those who are lost in death or cling to the world of the living must be guided to their rightful place.

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

1. Raven’s Mark:

   • As a bonus action, you summon a spectral raven to fly toward a target within 30 feet. The next time you or an ally hits the marked creature with a weapon attack, the attack deals an additional 2d8 necrotic damage. Once the raven returns, it delivers cryptic insight into the target's fate.
   • Judgment Insight (Optional Flavor): After marking a creature, you may gain a piece of knowledge about their impending doom or role in the grand tapestry of fate (up to the DM's discretion).
   • Queen’s Guard: as an action, you conjure ravens to protect you and friendly creatures within 30 feet of you. You and any friendly creatures in the area gain temporary Hit Points equal to your CHA modifier and +1 to their AC for one minute, or until you are unconscious.

2. Vow of Enmity:

3. Turn undead: 

• As an action, you present your holy symbol and speak a prayer censuring the undead. Each undead that can see or hear you within 30 feet of you must make a Wisdom saving throw. If the creature fails its saving throw, it is turned for 1 minute or until it takes any damage.
• A turned creature must spend its turns trying to move as far away from you as it can, and it can't willingly move to a space within 30 feet of you. It also can't take reactions. For its action, it can use only the Dash action or try to escape from an effect that prevents it from moving. If there's nowhere to move, the creature can use the Dodge action.

 

Oath of the Raven Queen Spells

Starting at level 3.  The magic of your oath ensures you always have certain spells ready; when you reach a Paladin level specified in the Oath of the Raven Queen Spells table, you thereafter always have the listed spells prepared.

Vow of Enmity

Level 3: Vow of Enmity

When you take the Attack action, you can expend one use of your Channel Divinity to utter a vow of enmity against a creature you can see within 30 feet of yourself. You have Advantage on attack rolls against the creature for 1 minute or until you use this feature again.

If the creature drops to 0 Hit Points before the vow ends, you can transfer the vow to a different creature within 30 feet of yourself (no action required).

Aura of Alacrity

At level 7 you gain Aura of Alacrity

Your Speed increases by 10 feet.

In addition, whenever an ally enters your Aura of Protection for the first time on a turn or starts their turn there, the ally’s Speed increases by 10 feet until the end of their next turn.

Soul of Vengeance

Level 15: Soul of Vengeance

Immediately after a creature under the effect of your Vow of Enmity hits or misses with an attack roll, you can take a Reaction to make a melee attack against that creature if it’s within range.

Fateweaver

At 20th level, you can use an action to become a vessel of fate and shadow for 1 minute. During this time, you gain the following benefits:

• Shroud of Death: You and all allies within 30 feet become incorporeal, granting resistance to all damage except force and psychic damage.
• Fatebinder: Whenever an enemy within 30 feet makes an attack roll or saving throw, you can use your reaction to force them to roll with disadvantage.
• Shadow Leap: As a bonus action, you can teleport to a shadowed area within 60 feet that you can see.

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