Oath of Cruelty

The Oath of Cruelty is often thought to be for those who swear themselves to evil deities like Lolth, the Dead Three, Tiamat, and so on. While many warriors of this persuasion are in service to such deities, the core of this oath is simple: cause as much pain, suffering, and grief as you can in your mortal life. Paladins who take this oath a like a disease, spreading misery wherever they go; given their extreme tact and force of will, they can go unnoticed for some time.

TENETS OF Cruelty

Tenets vary by creed, or lack thereof, but they hold true to the same basic ideology.

Wicked Heart, Wicked Mind. Whatever you do, it must eventually further the suffering of others. Befriend a newcomer, only to ostracize them. Take a lover, only to stab them in the back. Savor each delectable act of cruel betrayal.

Merciless. Maim, murder, and despoil as often as permits. Killing, often, is a peaceful release. When given the luxury of time, invest in keeping your victims alive to suffer longer.

Fueled by Spite. Hatefulness creates ambition, drives you forward. Be ever driven by spite.

Pleasure from Torment. Take pleasure in the suffering of others, and endeavor to cause it wherever possible.

Oath Spells

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

Oath of Cruelty Spells

Channel Divinity

When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options. See the Sacred Oath class feature for how Channel Divinity works.

Sapping Presence. You can use your Channel Divinity to create a dampening aura of desolation for 1 minute. When creatures of your choice within 30 feet of you that can see you make an attack roll or saving throw, they subtract 1d4 from the roll. Unless a creature is surprised by you, they can avert their eyes; if it does so, the creature has disadvantage on attack rolls against you until the start of its next turn, when it can choose to look away again. If it looks in the interim, it is immediately subject to your aura.

Scent of Blood. You can use your Channel Divinity to sense when death is near, enhancing your own bloodlust as a bonus action. For 1 minute, you have advantage on attack rolls against creatures with fewer than half of their hit points remaining.

Aura of Agony

At 7th level, you exude an aura of pain provided you aren't incapacitated. The aura extends 10 feet from you in every direction, but not through total cover.

When creatures of your choice within this area takes damage, they must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be wracked with horrible pain. On a failed save a creature's movement speed is reduced by half and they have disadvantage on attack rolls until the end of their next turn. 

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

Lasting Trauma

At 15th level any encounter with you leaves a lasting, painful memory in the form of an unhealing wound.

Damage from your divine smite can be necrotic, and it cannot be healed by any spell with a level lower than your proficiency bonus; a remove curse cast on the creature at this level or above is sufficient to rid them of the affliction as well.

Vile Torturer

At 20th level, your wicked cruelty can be manifested, bestowing a curse upon the world. As an action, you can foment your wicked heart, granting you the following benefits for 1 minute:

• When you deal damage with a spell or ability that allows you to smite, the creature must make a Wisdom saving throw or be paralyzed. Paralyzed creatures can repeat this saving throw at the end of each of their turns, ending the effect on a success. 
• When you reduce a creature to 0 hit points without killing them outright, they do not fall unconscious, instead becoming incapacitated while remaining aware of their surroundings. As a bonus action on your turn, you can force the creature to fail a death saving throw by inflicting unimaginable pain on them. When you do so, you regain 20 hit points, or regain a spell slot of 3rd level or lower. When a creature in this state dies, you have the option of denying them death, allowing them to fall unconscious instead.
• You cannot be frightened.

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.