Oath of the Grave

A paladin of the Oath of the Grave accepts the beauty of life and the sanctity of death, and thus vow to rid the world of undeath and those who would disrupt the natural balance of the cycle of life. Often referred to as raven knights or black talons, these paladins adorn their clothing with a raven feather and don black armour with intricate carvings of feathers and raven wings.

Tenets of the Grave

The first three tenets of the Oath of the Grave emphasise the neutrality of death and the lawfulness of obeying the natural cycle of life and death, while the fourth tenet serves as a warning to those who would disrupt that cycle.  

All Life is Precious. Without life, death is meaningless. A life shall not be ended before its intended time, and should not remain after.

We Must Accept Death. Do not dread it or run from it, death arrives all the same. It is a natural part of the cycle of life.

Let Souls Pass Unhindered. Souls deserve to pass on to the afterlife. Do not interfere with their final peace.

Strike the Undead. Although resurrection is acceptable as the soul is willing, cheating death through undeath and immortality is unnatural and disrupts the natural order. Thus, the undead should be destroyed.

Oath Spells

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

Oath of Redemption Spells

Channel Divinity

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

           Fear of Death. You can use your Channel Divinity to invoke the fear of death in those that can see you. As an action, you can force each creature you can see within 30 feet of you to make a Wisdom saving throw. Undead and fey creatures have disadvantage on the saving throw. On a failed save, the creature is frightened of you for 1 minute. The frightened creature can repeat this saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

           Rebuke the Damned. You can use your Channel Divinity to rebuke those who harm your allies. Immediately after an attacker within 30 feet of you deals damage with an attack against a creature other than you, you can use your reaction to force the creature to make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes cold damage equal to the damage it just dealt, or half as much damage on a successful save. If the creature was an undead, it takes an additional 1d6 cold damage.

 

Aura of Preservation

Beginning at 7th level, you and friendly creatures within 10 feet of you have resistance to necrotic damage and advantage on any saving throw caused by undead. Additionally, any undead inside the aura have disadvantage on attacks.

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

Sentinel of Undeath

Starting at 15th level, whenever a creature hits you with an attack, that creature takes radiant damage equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1), or twice your Charisma modifier (minimum 2) if the creature is an undead, if you’re not incapacitated.

Guardian of the Grave

At 20th level, your devotion to your tenets allow you to temporarily empower yourself. As an action, you gain the following benefits for 1 hour:
- You are immune to necrotic damage.
- Whenever you deal damage with a melee weapon attack, you deal extra Radiant damage equal to your Charisma modifier.
- When an undead creature ends its turn within 30ft of you, you can use a reaction to force it to make a Wisdom saving throw. If the creature fails its saving throw, it is turned for 1 minute or until it takes any damage. This ability has no effect on creatures with a CR greater or equal to 20. A turned creature must spend its turns trying to move as far away from you as it can, and it can't willingly move to a space within 30 feet of you. It also can't take reactions. For its action, it can use only the Dash action or try to escape from an effect that prevents it from moving. If there's nowhere to move, the creature can use the Dodge action. 

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