Oath of the Jaguar Knight

Foreword: This is a subclass created by Jon Hild from his 5th edition Maztica Campaign Guide that I am simply bringing over to D&D Beyond for personal use. I do not have plans to bring over any more of his content. His Maztica Campaign Guide is available as a free PDF on Dungeon Master's Guild.

Jaguar knights were once the primary defenders of temples to the evil god Zaltec, but their dedication has always been circumspect at best. In fact, despite the enmity of their respective deities, jaguar knights have always had a healthy respect for their eagle knight counterparts.

When the gods disappeared and the skies changed, the jaguar knights split almost completely from their roots with the Eater of Hearts and only a few (particularly the beasts in Nexal) continue the old ways, but Zaltec continues to supply the divine power necessary for many of their abilities.

Like Poshtli of the eagles, Gultec is a legend among the jaguar knights. They aspire to the levels of greatness and heroism shown by this greatest of all jaguars.

Jaguar Armor

At 3rd level an jaguar knight is given his jaguar armor from the artisans of his lodge. This armor will be the focus of many of his future powers and is always the jaguar knight's most valued possession.

Should the armor be lost, the jaguar knight can petition his lodge for a new set. However, this is a huge embarrassment regardless of the surrounding circumstances and the lodge will always require the jaguar knight to complete a major task before replacing the jaguar armor.

Oath Spells

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

Oath of the Jaguar Knight Spells

Channel Divinity

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

Supple Armor. As an action, your armor become supple and aids your movement. Your walking speed increases by 10 and you gain advantage on Dexterity saving throws for 10 minutes.

Fearsome Armor. As an action, you imbue your armor with the will the fearsome countenance of Zaltec. The first time an enemy makes a spell or melee attack against you it must make a Wisdom saving throw (against your spell DC) or freeze with fear, ruining the spell or attack

Jaguar Shape

At 7th level you may use an action to assume the shape of a Maztican jaguar once between every short and long rest. The jaguar knight may only transform while wearing his jaguar armor.

This ability lasts a number of hours equal to one half of your jaguar knight level rounded down. Your statistics are replaced with the statistics of the Maztican jaguar except you retain your personality, alignment, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma.

You also assume the hit points and Hit Dice of the Maztican jaguar, but if you fall to 0 hit points, you revert to your human form (possibly resulting in falling damage). Any excess damage is subtracted from your hit point total.

Any other benefits of your class are kept except you also assume the senses of the Maztican jaguar. You cannot cast spells in this form, and your equipment merges with your Maztican jaguar form.

You may not cast spells in your Maztican jaguar form or use your Channel Divinity ability, but active spells remain.

Your jaguar armor gains a +1 bonus at this level when you are wearing it.

Armor Dancing

At 15th level you may choose to perform a ritualistic dance once between short and long rests. This ability is a reaction to taking weapon damage and halves the damage of the attack against you. When you assume the form of a Maztican jaguar at this level, you provoke no attack of opportunity when moving out of enemy reach.

Your jaguar armor gets a +2 bonus when you are wearing it.

Claws of Zaltec

At 20th level you can use the heart ripper spell once between long rests. Your hands have a ghostly set of bloody claws superimposed over them.

Your jaguar armor gets a +3 bonus at this level when you are wearing it.