The Oath of the Butcher is sworn by those who serve Bhaal, the Lord of Murder—a dark god who sees death not as an end, but as the only truth. These paladins are not noble knights, but sanctified killers. They do not revel in mindless bloodshed—they revere it. They believe murder is divine, that pain is sacred, and that mercy is a lie.
This path is often walked by fallen champions or cult-trained zealots. Some embrace the oath willingly; others are broken, rebuilt, and baptized in blood. Where other paladins protect, the Butcher purges. Their oaths are not to the innocent—they are to the cleansing power of the kill.
Channel Divinity
When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following Channel Divinity options:
Marked for Slaughter
As a bonus action, choose one creature you can see within 30 feet. For 1 minute: Your weapon attacks against that creature crit on a roll of 19–20. If you kill that creature during the duration, you may immediately move up to your speed and make another weapon attack as a bonus action.
Bloodletting Smite
As an action, you imbue your weapon with unholy power. The next time you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack this turn: It takes additional necrotic damage equal to your paladin level. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or begin bleeding, taking 1d6 necrotic damage at the start of each of its turns for 1 minute. The target can repeat the save at the end of each turn to end the effect.
Level 3:
Oath of the Butcher Spells
The magic of your oath ensures you always have certain spells ready; when you reach a Paladin level specified in the Oath of the Butcher Spells table, you thereafter always have the listed spells prepared.
Level 3:
Sacred Weapon
When you take the Attack action, you can expend one use of your Channel Divinity to imbue one Melee weapon that you are holding with negative energy. For 10 minutes or until you use this feature again, you add your Charisma modifier to attack rolls you make with that weapon (minimum bonus of +1), and each time you hit with it, you cause it to deal its normal damage type or Necrotic damage.
The weapon also emits Bright Light in a 20-foot radius and Dim Light 20 feet beyond that.
You can end this effect early (no action required). This effect also ends if you aren’t carrying the weapon.
Level 7:
Aura of Dread
Your presence evokes a spiritual sense of death. Hostile creatures within 10 feet of you that start their turn in the aura must make a Wisdom saving throw or become frightened until the end of their turn. You and allies within the aura gain advantage on Intimidation checks.
> The aura’s range increases to 30 feet at 18th level.
Level 15:
Reaping Strike
Your killing blows fuel your hunger. When you reduce a creature to 0 HP with a melee weapon attack, you may use your reaction to make another melee weapon attack against a creature within 5 feet. If no creature is in range, you may instead regain hit points equal to your Charisma modifier + half your paladin level.
> You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier per long rest.
Level 20:
Avatar of Murder
You become the living embodiment of the Death God’s will. As an action, you assume your Murderer’s Form for 1 minute. You gain resistance to all damage except radiant and force. Your melee weapon attacks deal an additional 2d6 necrotic damage. When you score a critical hit, the target must make a Constitution saving throw (DC = 8 + Proficiency + Charisma) or die instantly (immune if legendary or undead). You ignore resistance to necrotic damage during this form.
Once you use this feature, you must finish a long rest before using it again.
Base Class: Paladin
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