Forsaken Oathbreaker (2024)

An oathbreaker is a paladin who breaks their sacred oaths to pursue some dark ambition or serve a new power. Whatever light burned in the paladin's heart been extinguished. Only darkness remains. Abandoned by their gods, they must hold the burden of power squarely on their own shoulders.

Oathbreaker Spells

An Oathbreaker paladin loses previously gained oath spells. However, that is not all. They also find their connection to holy spells to have weakened, and have LOST a number of options when casting spells, detailed below. Spells below cannot be prepared.

Paladin Level	Spells
3rd	Bless, Ceremony
5th	Warding Bond, Prayer of Healing
9th	Revivify, Aura of Vitality
13th	Aura of Life, Aura of Purity
17th	Summon Celestial, Circle of Power

Channel Divinity, and The Loss of Aura

An Oathbreaker paladin of 3rd level or higher gains the following two Channel Divinity options.

Smite in Holy Flame. As an action, the paladin lets loose a bout of holy flames designed to sear heretics flesh from their bones in a 30ft cone in front of them. Each creature must make a charisma saving throw against your spell save dc, or have their soul seared by the intense heat of your religious fervor, taking 6d12 radiant damage on a fail, or a creature who succeeds this instead takes double damage from smite spells for a minute, stoking the wrathful gaze of your holy might.

Forlorn Aspect. As an action, the paladin channels the memories of their past, elevating their oathbreaker abilities to retribution. This channel divinity can only be used if your only class levels are paladin. When a creature misses you with an attack, you may use a reaction to parry them. They fall prone, and their movement drops to zero. The next time that creature would be struck by an attack that has a smite spell attached to it within one round, the smite spell's damage die are treated as if your attack had landed a critical strike. If the attack is already a critical hit, it doubles again. 

In addition, an oathbreaker paladin is disconnected from the path of other paladins, and therefore does not gain aura of protection at level 6. Instead, they will gain two distinct auras, both at level 7.

Aura of Loss and Wrath

Starting at 7th level, the paladin, as well any hostile creatures within 10 feet of the paladin, gains the ability to tap into the powers of their hate and wrath. Any creature who taps into their power has vulnerability to all damage against other creatures who have tapped into their hate. A creature who has tapped into their hate attacking a creature who has not can add additional d6s equal to their strength modifier to all damage rolls they make, rolling an additional time for all smite spell damage rolls. A creature can benefit from this feature from only one paladin at a time.

In addition, in exchange for your aura of protection, you instead gain Aura of Loss. Any creatures except you within your aura of loss have their armor class reduced by double your strength modifier.

Any strength modifier gained through items or buffs with a duration such as potions do not count for these abilities. They will only scale with your natural strength ability score.

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

Supernatural Might

At 15th level, the paladin learns to use their body in supernatural ways. Three times per long rest, you can use your supernatural strength to manhandle even the mightiest of foes. Whenever you make an attack with a heavy weapon, you may activate this supernatural smash. Your range is 15ft further for this attack, you can only make one attack roll this turn (if you have already made more, you cannot use the ability), and you gain a minus to hit with that attack equal to your paladin level. In exchange, you deal additional damage die on your weapon attack equal to the amount subtracted. If you then cast a smite spell after that attack, it blows the creature away, an amount of feet equal to the damage done, to a maximum of 100. If they strike a wall or other solid surface early, you may count it as falling damage against them. 

Reclaim Your Ideals

At 20th level, the paladin has completed their journey as an oathbreaker, and is ready to accept what they have become. No longer missing their own paladin's identity, they march forward on their own path as a person. Denying godly influence, you gain the following features, which cease to work if you are willingly under the effects of a cleric spell, paladin aura, or other power of a god (such as a god boon other than your own). 

- You deal double damage to all objects

- You gain one legendary resistance, which recharges only when you kill a creature with the damage from an attack in which you casted a smite spell.

- You have expertise in strength and charisma saving throws

- Your strength modifier contributes towards your hit points, in additional to your constitution modifier. It also contributes to all of your skill checks and initiative rolls.

- You have resistance to damage against saving throws you have failed