Oath of the Grave

The Oath of the Grave is a seldom-practiced tradition reserved for the followers of the Raven Queen or her doctrine. Sometimes called raven knights, black knights, or grave knights, these paladins serve as protectors of the natural order and warriors in the war against the forces of undeath. At the same time, they excel at healing; using their unique abilities to preserve the life around them.

Tenets of the Grave

The tenets of the Oath of the Grave have been passed down for generations. This oath emphasizes the preservation of life and the extermination of undeath. The idea of resurrections serving a noble purpose is still hotly debated, but the raising of the dead in any sort of unholy manner is universally detested.

• Annihilate the Unholy. The undead and those who would create more violate the natural order. Destroy them before they defile more than they have already.
• Preserve the Righteous. Death should not come early to those who do not deserve it. Preserve the righteous to the best of your ability, so they may live without fear.
• Let Souls Pass On. Every soul deserves its place in the afterlife. When you see a creature forced into undeath, let its soul go free.
• Accept Death. Death comes to all eventually. Accept it, and you will find a place in the afterlife.

Channel Divinity

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

Wave of Radiance. You can use your Channel Divinity to unleash a silent wave of radiant energy. As an action, you can force each creature of your choice within 30 feet to make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes damage equal to your Paladin level of either necrotic or radiant damage and is stunned until the start of your next turn. On a successful save, the creature takes half damage and is not stunned. Undead creatures have disadvantage on their saving throw. Whenever an affected creature takes damage, they can reattempt their Constitution saving throw, ending their stun on a success.

Dreadful Brand. You can use your Channel Divinity to mark a creature, de-buffing their natural resilience. As a bonus action, you can use your Channel Divinity to mark a creature you can see with a shadowy brand for 1 hour, or until you lose your concentration (as if you were concentrating on a spell). Whenever the marked creature is forced to make a saving throw, but before the roll has been made, you can spend your reaction to roll 1d6, subtracting the number rolled from the creature's saving throw. While you are concentrating on your Dreadful Brand, you can spend a bonus action to move the brand to a new creature.

Oath Spells

You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.

Oath of the Grave Spells

Paladin Level	Spells
3rd	faerie fire, guiding bolt
5th	gentle repose, prayer of healing
9th	speak with dead, beacon of hope
13th	dimension door, banishment
17th	cone of cold, mass cure wounds

Aura of Judgement

At 7th level, you gain a 30 foot aura which grants you the power to judge who deserves to live or die. You gain a number of Judgement points which you can expend in the following ways.

Writ of Recovery. As an action, you can revitalize a creature within your Aura of Judgement; healing them for 1d6 hit points. Optionally, you can draw power from your Lay on Hands pool to restore additional hit points to the creature as if you were touching them.
Writ of Demise. As a bonus action, you can curse a creature within your Aura of Judgement. All attack rolls made against the target are considered a critical hit on a 19 or 20, provided they are still within the aura. This effect lasts for 1 minute and ends if the creature suffers a critical hit within the aura, if the creature dies, or if you curse another creature in this way.

You can use these features a combined number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 60 feet.

Vampiric Smite

Starting at 15th level, whenever you damage a hostile creature with your Divine Smite feature, you can heal a creature within your Aura of Judgement for 1d6 hit points. If the target of your Divine Smite is undead, the number of restored hit points is doubled.

Herald of the Grave

At 20th level, you gain the ability to focus your power. As a bonus action, you surround yourself with swirls of radiant and necrotic energy and take on the appearance of a specter of death. You gain the following benefits for 1 minute:

• You gain resistance to all bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.
• You can add your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1) to all melee weapon attack rolls.
• Once per round, when you hit with a melee weapon attack, you can use your Divine Smite feature at 1st-level without expending a spell slot.

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest, unless you expend a 5th-level spell slot to use it again.