Law, order, and protection of the innocent are what many visualize when they hear of or come across paladins of many different oaths. There are those, however, who have forsaken those promises of civilization for the tenets of destruction and ruin. These heartless warriors only see personal strength as a means of survival, that the institutions that claim to protect and provide are mere illusions in the grand scheme of the cosmos. Their oath, that of destruction, seeks to break the world of any semblance of order and bring the true nature of chaos to bear.

Tenets of Destruction

In taking the Oath of Destruction, a paladin has forsaken the order brought by civilization and strives to tear down the institutions that chain people to false ideals.

Order is an Illusion. Law and order are false hopes that mask the true nature of the world.

Destruction brings Evolution. Growth can only be achieved by tearing down weakness.

Nothing is Permanent. The world is full of temporary ideals and institutions. Each successor must be torn down by a stronger force.

Strength through Power. Only the strong can survive, and only through destruction can one gain strength.

Oath Spells

You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.

Paladin Level	Spells
3rd	Bane, Hellish Rebuke
5th	Enlarge/Reduce, Shatter
9th	Dispel Magic, Fireball
13th	Blight, Freedom of Movement
17th	Contagion, Telekinesis

Channel Divinity

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

Mark of Ruin. As a bonus action, you mark a creature that you can see within 60 feet of you with a deadly mark. For 1 minute, whenever you hit the target with a melee weapon attack, it takes radiant or necrotic damage (your choice) equal to your Charisma modifier. If the target is reduced to 0 hit points while marked, you can use your reaction to move your speed towards another creature and make a single melee weapon attack.

Sundering Might. You are able to channel your divine might into destructive force. When you make a Strength (Athletics) check or melee attack roll to move, lift, or break an object, you add the following bonuses to the ability check:

• Add a +5 bonus to the roll.
• You are considered a large creature in determining your capacity to push or pull an object.
• Your melee attacks deal double damage to objects and structures.

Aura of Desecration

Starting at 7th level, you emit a menacing presence that breaks down your enemy’s defenses. When you deal damage to a creature within 10 feet of you, its AC is reduced by 1. This reduction increases by 1 each time you deal damage to that creature. A creature regains any lost AC when it moves out of range of your aura, or if it has not taken damage from you since the end of its last turn.  

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

Overpowering Might

Starting at 15th level, when you roll damage from an attack or spell, you can reroll any number of damage dice. You must use the new rolls.

You can do this a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of once). You regain all expended charges after completing a long rest.

Lord of Destruction

At 20th level, your divinely gifted ability for destruction can bypass any semblance of a creature’s defense. When you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can use your bonus action to ignite your weapon with divine energy and give the target vulnerability to all damage from that attack.

You can do this once, and regain the ability to do so after completing a long rest.