These monks serve orders commonly referred to as a Brotherhood, living cloistered together in ascetic lives, learning combat discipline and meditating on the sacred truths and scriptures of their divine order. They often operate in service to gods of Justice, Law, and Order, as men and women of the cloth who devote their lives to improving all their skills in service to their gods or goddess, and they spar physically, verbally, and mentally with one another to sharpen all their tools, so to speak. Those who emerge from their cloistered lives often do so only when called upon for a unique mission in service to their church, but a few have proven themselves as valuable aides to Clerics and Paladins, and they wind up in service to the same causes and deployments.

Divine Spellcasting

3rd-level Way of the Brotherhood feature

At 3rd level, you have learned to draw on divine magic through meditation and prayer to cast spells the same as a paladin does. See Spells Rules for the general rules of spellcasting and the Spells Listing for the paladin spell list.

Preparing and Casting Spells

The Paladin table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your paladin spells. To cast one of your paladin spells of 1st level or higher, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

You prepare the list of paladin spells that are available for you to cast, choosing from the paladin spell list. When you do so, choose a number of paladin spells equal to your Wisdom modifier + half your paladin level, rounded down (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

For example, if you are a 5th-level paladin, you have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level spell slots. With a Wisdom of 14, your list of prepared spells can include four spells of 1st or 2nd level, in any combination. If you prepare the 1st-level spell cure wounds, you can cast it using a 1st-level or a 2nd-level slot. Casting the spell doesn’t remove it from your list of prepared spells.

You can change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of paladin spells requires time spent in prayer and meditation: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list.

Spellcasting Ability

Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your paladin spells, since their power derives from the strength of your convictions. You use your Wisdom whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Wisdom modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a paladin spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier

Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier

Spellcasting Focus

You can use a holy symbol (see the Adventuring Gear section) as a spellcasting focus for your paladin spells.

Righteous Ki

6th-level Way of the Brotherhood feature

At 6th level, you gain the ability to cause your weapon attacks and unarmed strikes to be empowered with additional divine radiant damage, as you also learn to cooperate with your order well. Once per turn, when you deal damage with a melee weapon attack roll or unarmed attack roll, you my expend 1 ki point to increase that damage by 1d6 radiant damage, and you may spend no more ki points this way than your proficiency bonus for any one instance of damage.

Additionally, you gain proficiency in Persuasion.

Defensive Aura

11th-level Way of the Brotherhood feature

Starting at 11th level, you have learned to exude an aura of defensive ki to protect yourself and those you care for. As a bonus action, you spend 2 ki points to exude this aura, and whenever you or a friendly creature within 10 feet of you must make a saving throw, the creature gains a bonus to the saving throw equal to your Wisdom modifier (with a minimum bonus of +1). You and creatures of your choice in this aura can't be frightened. This aura lasts for a number of minutes equal to your Wisdom modifier. At 17th level, the radius of this aura improves to 30 feet.

Cleansing Ki

17th-level Way of the Brotherhood feature

At 17th level, you have achieved a mastery of your spiritual and battle training skills, and you know how to use your ki to restore others' well-being. As an action, you can spend 1 ki point  and you end one spell on yourself or on one willing creature that you touch. As part of this action, you may expend 2 additional ki points to remove any one of the following conditions from this target: Blinded, Charmed, Deafened, Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned or Stunned, or you may remove a level of Exhaustion.

Additionally, whenever you hit a creature with a weapon attack or unarmed strike, you deal an extra 1d8 radiant damage to that creature.

Lastly, the radius of your Aura of Defense improves to 30 feet.