Oath of Heresy

Although faith is an undeniably powerful force, there are those within the ranks of the devoted who do not always cleave entirely to the doctrines of a god or church. Whether it be from pure betrayal, disgust with the clergy, or a jarring event, paladins can become disillusioned and break away from their respective religion, even seeking magical knowledge from other sources. The Oath of Heresy isn’t an oath that is sworn like its fellow oaths, but an assortment of philosophies and paths that all share a rejection of structured authority within the creed. Sometimes called grey knights, these warriors don’t necessarily split completely from the ideals of their faith. Rather, they simply tend to prefer to think for themselves and live up to its ideals on their own terms, without allegiance to a hierarchy. 

The Oath of Heresy provides an alternative option for paladins who break their oath and who don’t feel as though the Oathbreaker option in the Dungeon Master’s Guide fits them. 

 

TENETS OF HERESY Due to the Oath of Heresy’s amorphous nature, there are no set tenets for it, but its core values can be described as follows.  Volition. Your faith is your own. Be its voice, but never force its will upon those around you.  Resistance. Defy those who seek to compel you to kneel to something you don’t believe.   Sovereignty. Belief must never be imposed on others. Always defend the right to choose a path.   Integrity. Unseat those in the world who use deception to gather devotees.

Oath Spells

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

Oath of Heresy Spells

PALADIN LEVEL	SPELLS
3rd	shield, zephyr strike
5th	aid, mirror image
9th	beacon of hope, counterspell
13th	freedom of movement, fire shield
17th	far step, mass cure wounds

Channel Divinity

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

Doom of the Oppressor. Your strength produces hope for yourself and those around you that soars each time you land a blow and punishes those who would keep you and yours down. As a reaction, when you hit a creature with a successful melee attack, you can mark them with holy potential, a manifestation of your unfettered will. Each time you or an allied creature hits a marked creature with a successful attack, the marked creature takes extra damage equal to your proficiency bonus. This damage cannot be reduced. 

Unshakeable Spirit. Your determination to prevail allows you and your allies temporary boosts of vitality. As an action, you grant yourself and a number of creatures within 30 feet of you temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1) for 1 minute. Additionally, your holy energy coalesces into a protective field around you, guarding you from harm and occasionally reaching out to do the same for your companions. For 1 minute, all attacks of opportunity made against you and friendly creatures within 10 feet of you are made with disadvantage.  

 

Aura of Conviction

Starting at level 7, you exude strength in the face of efforts to conquer your will. While you’re conscious, you and friendly creatures within 10 feet of you cannot be charmed or restrained by magical means.     

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

 

Iron Intellect

Beginning at 15th level, your mind becomes steeled against effects that would harm it. You gain resistance to psychic damage and proficiency in Intelligence saving throws. Additionally, whenever you take psychic damage, you can use your reaction to store half of the damage taken within your weapon and deal it as part of your next weapon attack. This stored damage is calculated before your psychic damage resistance is applied.         

Defiant Soul

At 20th level, you stand as a beacon of rebellion against all those who would subjugate others, especially you. As an action, you embrace your spirit of defiance, gaining the following benefits for 1 minute: 

• Your speed increases by 15 feet, and you do not provoke opportunity attacks. 
• You become immune to psychic damage, and gain resistance to all other damage types. 
• You cannot be frightened or paralyzed.
• You and all friendly creatures that can see you within 30 feet have advantage on Wisdom, Charisma, and Intelligence saving throws.    
• Should you go unconscious, you have advantage on death saving throws.

Once you have used this feature once, you cannot use it again until you finish a long rest.