Oath of Merriment

Sometimes, when a person goes through a great tragedy, such as the murder of their family, or the loss of their village, the mind can break. Oft it results in a dark, cruel madness, but for a select few that madness brings the burning desire to look on the bright side; To laugh, to play, to... SMILE. After all, what good is still being being alive if you aren't enjoying it? It is these poor, tormented souls that tend to find their way into the Oath of Merriment. It is these paladins - sometimes known as Smiling Knights- mission, their sole purpose, to bring a smile to the face of people everywhere, because life is short and terrible, and everyone should enjoy it while they can.

A paladin under this oath may travel the world in a jester's garb, bringing smiles with their capers and mischief, while deliberately removing anything and anyone that may remove those smiles. Or they may stalk the alleyways of large cities, driving a knife into the throat of a nobleman trying to take advantage of a young woman, then taking his coin and giving it to the local poor. Some may tread a darker path, seeming little more than crazed sociopaths to the casual eye - after all; Tragedy made them smile, why would it not work for someone else? There is more than one way to make somebody smile.

Paladins under this Oath tend to be looked down upon by Paladins of other orders, with some even coming to blows with them as they step across the lines drawn by their particular oaths. But regardless of this, the common-folk still tend to look kindly, or perhaps pityingly, on the Smiling Knights, knowing that most of them only have everyone's best interests at heart.

TENETS OF MERRIMENT

A paladin who takes this oath has the tenets of merriment memorised, although some of them often choose to ignore one or more tenet in favour of another, and the words used often vary from Paladin to Paladin.

Pride Comes Last. Your life ended when you took up the smile. You have no fear, no worry, no shame. There is no debasement too large if it makes another love life. 

Joy Is A Gift. While you strive to bring joy to all who deserve it, remember; There are always those who do not.

Always Leave Them Laughing. Lack of love for life is no life at all. To move on without improving the situation is to fail.

Errant Jesters. While others may enjoy to sit and watch the rewards of their labours grow, you must move on. Somewhere, a smile is fading.

The Final Smile. Always have the last laugh. Always.

Inherent Performer

You have an in built desire and need to perform, you gain proficiency in performance

Channel Divinity

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

Make Them Laugh. You can use your Channel Divinity to augment yourself with a endearing presence. As a bonus action, you grant yourself a +5 bonus to Charisma (performance) checks for the next 10 minutes.

Captive Audience. You can use your Channel Divinity to ensnare a creature with your powerful will. As an action, you can choose a creature within 10 feet of you that you can see. The creature must succeed on a Constitution or Charisma saving throw (its choice) or be paralyzed for 1 minute. While paralyzed, the creature repeats the saving throw at the end of each of its turns. On a success, it frees itself.

Oath Spells

You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.

Oath of Merriment Spells

Paladin Level	Spells
3rd	hideous laughter, charm person
5th	knock, detect thoughts
9th	fear, stinking cloud
13th	polymorph, confusion
17th	modify memory, animate objects

Causing a Distraction

Beginning at 7th level, be it from your garish outfit, slapstick-style manoeuvres, or simply your somewhat unnerving presence, you have master the art of distracting your foes when it really matters. As a bonus action, choose up to two hostile creatures you can see within 10 feet of you. These targets suffer disadvantage on any saving throws until the start of your next turn. This ability does not affect undead or constructs.

At 18th level, the range of this effect increases to 30 feet and you can target up to two additional hostile creatures.

The Last Clown

Starting at 15th level, when an allied creature you can see drops to 0 Hp, you can choose to gain that creatures Challenge Rating/Character level as bonus Hit Points by using a bonus action. This ability can be used twice, and all expended charges refill after you take a short or long rest. 

Additionally, you gain immunity to being charmed.

Merriment and Joy

At 20th level, you become a veritable avatar of Merriment and Joy, spreading happiness wherever you tread. Any creature charmed or otherwise controlled by you is physically unable to stop smiling, and finds most things hilarious. You yourself gain an aspect of your choosing that marks you out as a powerful Smiling Knight; This could be, for example, a permanent wide mouthed grin. Skin that is coloured like a mime's makeup. A deep, warm, hearty laugh no matter what your voice usually sounds like. Or even a Fez permanently attached to your head.

You also gain the following benefits:

• When casting a spell or using an action that requires a creature to make a Charisma saving throw, if the creature has a Charisma score equal to or less than your spell save DC they automatically fail the saving throw, unless they would have had advantage on the save, in which case the advantage is negated.
• When you magically charm a creature, the duration of the effect is doubled.
• Any allied creature that can see you gains advantage on Charisma saving throws if they did not already.
• Once per short rest, if you cast a spell as an action that doesn't require concentration, you can cast a spell of your choice from your Oath spell list as a bonus action on the same turn. This ability cannot be used to cast the same spell twice. This ability recharges on a short rest.