Oath of the Templar

"Magic is dangerous, just as fire is dangerous. Anyone who forgets this truth gets burned." - First Enchanter Vivienne de Fer

Magic uncontained is one of the most dangerous forces in all Toril, and some stoic warriors have sworn to stand against those who would use magic for nefarious purposes.  Known as Templars, these mighty warriors have sworn to keep the Material Plane safe from those malevolent magic users.  From the Necromancer using an army of undead to assault a defenseless village to the Warlock attempting to summon his Demonic master from the Abyss to the uncontrolled Sorcerer whose magical abilities have flown out of their control, Templars defend the world from those who would use magic for ill intent.

Oftentimes the best way to defend the world from magic is to prevent its fell influence from ever manifesting.  To this end, Templars also actively seek out fiends from the Lower Planes, Unseelie Fey from the Gloaming Court, eldritch abominations from beyond the Material Plane, Primordial Elementals from the swirling chaos between the Inner and Outer Planes, and even Celestials who have endangered the lives of innocents.  From the Elder Brains of the Illithid, to the glorious avengers of Heaven's armies, to the almighty Archomentals of Air, Earth, Fire, and Water, to the Archdukes of Baator, to the myriad undying Spellcasters, to the most powerful Archfey of both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts, Templars stand against them all.

TENETS OF THE TEMPLARS

A paladin who assumes the Oath of the Templar swears to safeguard the innocent from the ravages of evil magic users and extraplanar threats.

Vigilance. Magic exists to serve man, and never to rule over him. Always be on the lookout for malevolent magic users.

Compassion. Magic can be dangerous, but not all magic users are evil. Show restraint when dealing with those who have not caused harm.

Order. You must protect the world from the ravages of extraplanar threats. They will devastate the world if allowed to go unchecked.

 The overwhelmingly vast majority of Paladins who take the Oath of the Templar will be Lawful Good.  Some will overlook harmless uses of magic such as a charlatan cheating a gambler, simply reporting them to the town guard, or a sorcerer unable to contain their powers, calling in more powerful spellcasters to give them the help and training they need.  These Templars could be considered Neutral Good or even Chaotic Good in extreme cases.  Some Templars, however, take the tenets too far, and begin to hunt down mages simply for the crime of existing.  Depending on the severity of their hatred for magic users, these particular Templars could be considered Lawful Neutral or even Lawful Evil.

Templars have some magical abilities themselves.  These magical abilities allow them to resist magical damage, protect from extraplanar beings, capture mages, disrupt and shutdown spellcasting, send extraplanar threats back to their home planes, remove the unnatural influence of evil magic, and speak to creatures not native to the Material Plane.

Oath Spells

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

Oath of the Templar Spells

Channel Divinity

When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options. See the Sacred Oath class feature for how Channel Divinity works.

Righteous Strikes.  As a bonus action, you can use your Channel Divinity to infuse your weapons with magic suppressing energy.   For the next minute, any time you hit a creature with spell slots with a melee attack, they must make an Intelligence saving throw against your spell save DC or they automatically lose a spell slot equal to half your Paladin level, rounded down.  If they have no spell slots available of that level, they lose the next highest spell slot they have.

Mental Fortress.  When you are targeted by mind-altering magic, you can use your Channel Divinity to steel your mind against magical attacks.  As a reaction when you are targeted by a spell requiring an Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma saving throw, you can add plus ten to the saving throw.  You can choose to do so after the roll but before knowing the result.  Additionally, when you use this ability, you take no damage from any spell that causes half damage upon a successful saving throw(such as Dissonant Whispers or Synaptic Static).

Aura of Annulment

Starting at 7th level, you constantly emit an aura of suppressive magic while you’re not incapacitated. The aura extends 10 feet from you in every direction, but not through total cover.

Creatures of your choice within the Aura's area that attempts to cast a spell must first make a check with their spellcasting ability modifier.  The DC equals 5 + your proficiency modifier + the level of the spell.  If they fail the check, the spell is annulled, and the spell slot is lost.  If they succeed, the spell goes off as normal.

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

Maker's Will

Starting at 15th level, you can now strengthen yourself with the magic you suppress or dispel.  Whenever you prevent a spell from being successfully cast, either using Counterspell or your Aura of Annulment, or whenever you dispel a magical effect using Dispel Magic, you gain temporary hit points equal to three times the level of the spell.

Wrath of Heaven

At 20th level, as an action, you can focus your Templar energies to create an Antimagic Field centered on yourself for one minute.

• You and any creatures of your choice are not affected by the Antimagic Field.
• Once per turn, as a bonus action, you can cast Lesser Restoration or Dispel Magic on a friendly creature within the Antimagic Field without using a spell slot.
• Any humanoid with spell slots or any aberration, celestial, elemental, fey, fiend, or undead takes 10 radiant damage if the end their turn in the Antimagic Field.  You and any creatures of your choice are not affected by this damage.

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

Reminder: Casting Spells as a Bonus Action

When you cast a spell with a casting time on one bonus action, you cannot then cast another spell with your action, unless it is a cantrip.