The Oath of Shadows is a secretive code, sworn by those paladins who realize that they cannot do what they must by the light of day. They take to the night and shadows, cloaking themselves in power drawn from the Shadowfell, turning the darkness against their foes. Some are selfish blackguards seeking personal wealth, while others are vigilante heroes seeking to root out evil that is normally shielded by the law.

Tenets of Shadows

Each paladin who swears to the Oath of Shadows decides for themselves what is truly right and wrong, and though they range from good to evil, they are rarely lawful. Still, they share certain tenets about how to enact their morality on the world.

Cast a Great Shadow. You know that just as a shadow can loom much larger than its source, the idea of you can be far more terrifying than you yourself. Use any dramatic flourish, imposing costume, or mysterious tactic you can to leave your foes telling fearful tales of you long after you have left them. The shadow you cast over your foes is your greatest weapon.

Shades of Gray. No one is entirely good or evil. There is no moral black and white, only shades of gray. Even those with the best intentions can commit evil, and even those who seem irredeemable can still change for the better. One should not slay the wicked in thoughtless haste, for they may not be so wicked forever, and the slayer may not be so righteous.

Remain Cowled. The night and shadow are your cloak and cowl, guarding you from those who would stymie your efforts out of a misguided hunger for transparency and "truth." But darkness and deception are not inherently good or bad -- they are tools that can be used for any cause. Stay within the safety of the darkness, and always keep your true nature private and hidden except from your most trusted allies.

Do What Must Be Done. Laws, norms, and rules have a purpose and a place, but you belong outside that place. You must do what you believe is correct in the privacy of your heart, even if it means being a vigilante, pariah, or criminal.

Oath Spells

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

Oath of Shadows Spells

Channel Divinity

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

Eyes in the Dark. As a bonus action, you can use your Channel Divinity to imbue your eyes with shadow power. For 1 minute, you can see normally in darkness, both magical and nonmagical, to a distance of 60 feet. If you normally have darkvision, this distance increases to 120 feet. You can also see invisible creatures within 15 feet of you for the duration. This effect instantly ends if you become incapacitated.

Shadow Jaunt. As a bonus action, you can use your Channel Divinity to dive through your own shadow and emerge out of the shadow of a nearby creature. You teleport up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space within 5 feet of another creature that you can see.

Shadow Smite

At 3rd level, you choose either force or psychic damage. Your Divine Smite feature deals that type of damage instead of radiant damage.

Shadow Smite (Force)

Your Divine Smite feature deals force damage instead of radiant damage.

Shadow Smite (Psychic)

Your Divine Smite feature deals psychic damage instead of radiant damage.

Aura of Menace

Starting at 7th level, when a creature within 5 feet of you makes a weapon attack against a friendly creature and you are conscious, you can impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You choose before the roll is made.

At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 15 feet.

Nightfall

Also at 7th level, you learn to float like a shadow. You never suffer disadvantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks for wearing armor if you are proficient with that armor.

In addition, when you fall, if you are in dim light or darkness, you silently fall only 60 feet per round and do not take falling damage.

Finally, when you end a conversation with a friendly creature, you can use your reaction to silently move up to 30 feet and Hide while the creature isn't looking at you. You can't do this if you or the creature are fighting anything or in any immediate danger (DM's discretion).

Ebon Advance

Starting at 15th level, you can step through the Shadowfell to descend upon your foes in a cloak of pure darkness. You can use a bonus action on your turn to teleport up to 120 feet to an unoccupied space that you can see. Until the end of your next turn, your space is filled with magical darkness that you can see normally in. The darkness moves with you.

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

Phantom Knight

At 20th level, you gain the ability to take on the ghastly form of shadow itself. As an action, you can immerse yourself with shadow energy. For 1 minute or until you lose consciousness, you have resistance to all damage except psychic and radiant damage, you have a flying speed equal to your walking speed, you can hover, and you have the Incorporeal Movement trait:

• Incorporeal Movement. You can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. When you take radiant damage, you can't move through objects until the end of your next turn. If you end your turn or take radiant damage while inside an object, you take 2d10 force damage and you are pushed into the nearest unoccupied space in a random direction.

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