Oath of Ancestral Wrath

Many who swear this oath are devoted to ancestral spirits or gods of home and hearth.  They tend to have a martial approach, so gods of war and protection also have followers who swear this oath.

These paladins share the following tenets:

• Avenge past wrongs and prevent new ones
• Bring justice to those who deserve it
• Protect communities from those who would endanger them

 

Level 3: Book of Grudges

You are granted an enchanted ledger, book, scroll, or other form of record that tracks any official enemies of communities under your protection.  Listed groups must be specific, such as a specific rival kingdom or clan of goblins, they cannot be broad categories such as species or class.  

This book magically updates during a long rest, adding entries for any new groups.  It records any known groups responsible for injustices against the community, for the entire history of the community's existence.  If the record is destroyed, it magically re-forms during a long rest.

If you extends your protection to a new community, any groups considered enemies of that community magically appear in the record during the next long rest.

You must spend an hour each day meditating over this record before they can make use of features granted by this subclass.  This meditation can be accomplished at the same time as spell preparation.

Level 3: Declare Grudge

You may expend one use of Channel Divinity to declare a grudge against a target.  The target of the spell must be a creature that has wronged you or a community under your protection, or be a known member of an organization that appears in your Book of Grudges.  While this grudge is declared, the target takes an additional 1d6 radiant damage from your attacks, plus an additional 1d6 radiant if they appear in the Book.  

If the creature drops to 0 Hit Points before the grudge ends, you can transfer the grudge to a different creature within 30 feet of yourself (no action required) who meets the criteria of the initial declaration.

Level 3: Flaming Wrath

Any class ability or spell that deals radiant or fire damage can be altered at will to deal either type of damage.

Level 7: Aura of Wrath

You and all allies within the radius of your Aura of Protection gain advantage on CHA checks against declared enemies.  This ability also provides immunity to the frightened condition when applied by a declared enemy.  Enemies must either be known members of a group listed in your Book of Grudges or be the current target of your Declare Grudge ability.  

Level 15: Smoldering Wrath

When you hit an enemy with Divine Smite, it now does an additional 1d8 of lingering radiant damage for every two damage dice of the smite (rounded down) at the end of each of their turns for one minute.  The target makes a CHA saving throw against your spell DC at the end of each of their turns to end this effect.

If the target is under the effects of your Declare Grudge ability or a known member of a group in your Book of Grudges, they have disadvantage to saving throws against this effect.

Level 20: Wrath Incarnate

As a Bonus Action, you gain the benefits below for 10 minutes or until you end them (no action required). Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a Long Rest. You can also restore your use of it by expending a level 5 spell slot (no action required).

Burning Wrath:  Any declared enemies who begin or end their turns within the radius of your Aura of Protection take 2d6 radiant damage at the end of their turns.

Gaze of Fury:  As a free action, you may meet the gaze of any enemy making an attack against you or an ally within your Aura of Protection.  The enemy must make a CHA saving throw against your spell DC or become frightened for 1 minute.  This condition is applied to the attack that triggered this action and can cause a successful attack to become a miss.  They can repeat the save at the end of each turn to attempt to end the effect early.