Oath of the Brand

Upon joining a cause, kin, society, or etc, it is typically expected that you prove your loyalty. One of the best ways to prove this loyalty is by permanently representing it through a tattoo. With needles, ink, and flesh, you have sworn the highest form of devotion to a cause by printing onto yourself some kind of mark representing the community you're involved in. While a tattoo may just seem like a mundane print on skin, it has a meaning regardless. And because it contains meaning, especially to you, the special way of taking an oath can manifest as unique abilities.

Whatever may be the alignment in which determined the origin of your tattoo, it is the source of your power. Your tattoo is a signature of your commitment, and thus you gain the ability to manipulate your tattoo to perform special magical feats that can range from enchanting the mundane to creating spectral sigils. The power of your community and the bond signified by your brand allow you to show the world who and what you stand for.

Tenants of the Brand

The tenets of the Oath of the Brand are the pinnacle of devotion and commitment to an organization or group you swear allegiance to. Because of this, a paladin of this oath must be ready to become more than just themself, having joined something greater.

• Community. Your community is your kin and are as close as blood. You are stronger because of your bond with them.
• Representation. You and your marking represents your entire group. You must act with the mindset of what is best for your allegiance.
• Ideals. The insignia you carry contains the ideals of your loyalties. You must believe in these ideals and be ready to defend them.
• Reverence. Prove to the world that you and the community you represent are strong and are worthy of acknowledgement.

Oath Tattoo

3rd-level Oath of the Brand feature

You gain a special tattoo from an organization that grants the features of this subclass. You determine its appearance and placement on your body, or generate it randomly by rolling on the Oath Tattoo table. Roll a 2d6 and choose which result determines the tattoo’s appearance and placement.

Oath Tattoo

D6	Appearance	Placement
1	Faction Flag	Face
2	Elemental Art	Neck
3	Clan Insignia	Chest
4	Animal Pattern	Back
5	Numeral Rank	Arm
6	Intimate Sign	Leg

 

Oath Spells

3rd-level Oath of the Brand feature

Choose one of the following origins of your oath tattoo: Arcane, Eldritch, Divine, or Primal. You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed in the table associated with the origin you selected. Each spell counts as a Paladin spell for you, but it doesn’t count against the number of Paladin spells you know.

Arcane

Your tattoo's origin allows it to channel arcane magic. You gain the following Oath spells:

Arcane Spells

Divine

Your tattoo's origin allows it to channel divine magic. You gain the following Oath spells:

Divine Spells

Eldritch

Your tattoo's origin allows it to channel eldritch magic. You gain the following Oath spells:

Eldritch Spells

Primal

Your tattoo's origin allows it to channel primal magic. You gain the following Oath spells:

Primal Spells

Channel Divinity

3rd-level Oath of the Brand feature

You gain the following two Channel Divinity options. See the Sacred Oath class feature for how Channel Divinity works.

• Signature Weapon. You can transfer your tattoo onto your weapons or arms, enchanting it. When you roll initiative, you can gain a bonus to damage rolls on weapon attacks and unarmed strikes equal to half your Charisma modifier (rounded up). Whenever you deal damage with a weapon or unarmed strike, it can deal your choice of Force damage or its normal damage type. Lastly you can treat weapons you're holding as a spellcasting focus. This benefit lasts for 10 minutes.
• Invoke the Mark. As a bonus action, you can invoke the power of your oath through the tattoo you possess. This power is determined by the Oath Spell list you chose:

Arcane

Your tattoo is a blank rune that can tamper with magic. You can replace one spell you gained from your Arcane spell list with another spell of the same level for 1 hour. The new spell must be an evocation, enchantment, or transmutation spell from the wizard spell list.

Divine

Your tattoo is a punishing ward against vagrants. You and three allies of your choice within 10 feet of you gain a number d6’s of temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier. Targets that damage creatures that have these temporary hit points take 1d12 radiant damage.

Eldritch

Your tattoo is a hungry and stirring enigma imprinted on you. You make your first attack roll with advantage when you take the Attack action. If the attack hits, you regain a number of d4 hit points equal to half your proficiency bonus (round up). This effect lasts for 1 minute.

Primal

Your tattoo is your tie to nature, allowing it to inspire you. You ignore difficult terrain and gain a climbing and swimming speed equal to your speed. As a bonus action, you can take the Dash or Hide actions, even when you are only lightly obscured. This effect lasts for 1 hour.

Aura of Alliance

7th-level Oath of the Brand feature

You can magically print your tattoos onto nearby allies to mark them as honorary members. You and allies within 10 feet of you gain a +1 bonus to ability checks and attack rolls (to a maximum equal to your Charisma modifier) as long as each ally within the area possesses at least one class level.

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

Flag Bearer

15th-level Oath of the Brand Feature

You can create and equip a spiritual or physical flag with your tattoo as the insignia on it. If you move at least 15 feet towards a target, your movement no longer provokes opportunity attacks and the range of your Lay on Hands feature increases to 30 feet until the end of your current turn.

In addition, when you move this way you can wave your flag to allies, granting any creature within 30 feet of the last space you were standing that could see you an additional 10 feet of movement on their next turn.

Glyphic Icon

20th-level Oath of the Brand Feature

You can reveal your Oath Tattoo and cause it to manifest into reality. When you take the Attack action, you can replace one of your attacks to create a Huge size spectral icon that resembles or represents your tattoo in an unoccupied space within 30 feet of you. While the icon persists, you gain the following benefits:

• Attack and Cast. Any attack you make or spell you cast can be made as though you were in the icon’s space, but you must use your own senses.
• Destroy. Any creature hostile to you that enters within 15 feet of the icon for the first time on its turn or starts its turn there takes up to 20 damage. The type of this damage is determined by the Oath Spell list you chose: force (arcane), radiant (divine), necrotic (eldritch), or acid (primal).
• Move. On your turns, you can move the icon up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space you can see that is within 120 feet of yourself (no action).

The icon lasts for 1 minute, but it ends early if you are unconscious, dismiss it as a bonus action, or are further than 120 feet from it. Once you use this feature, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest, unless you expend a use of your Channel Divinity to use it again.