Oath of Terror

Tenets of Terror

The tenets of the Oath of Terror can be misread by those failing to understand the Oath itself. One does not spread fear purely for pleasure, but for purpose. To correct the bad behavior of those who would harm others, or to open the eyes of those who would rather live in ignorance. In an odd twist of fate, paladins that follow these tenets do so to ensure the masses are on their best behavior, even by using their reputation alone. Such paladins are often lawful in alignment, ensuring that civilization is either stabilized or improved upon. The tenets are as such.

Terror upon those Deserving. Often in life, the strong abuse their power to control the weak. Remind them that they are only mortal.

Open your Eyes. When faced with oppression or tyranny, the weak may choose to be blind to the issues at hand. But terror will always wake them to the truth.

Every Story Told. Reputation alone is a powerful tool. When you slay those deserving, leave something behind to let all know who caused the death, be it a message, symbol, or person.

The Dark Reminder. Should one promise to improve themselves, to be better, never let them believe that you are gone. For if they fell once, they can fall once more. Remind them that you can always return to see their progress, and that you will correct them further if they fail.

Oath of Terror Spells

Paladin Level	Spells
3rd	Bane, Hunter's Mark
5th	Hold Person, Silence
9th	Fear, Bestow Curse
13th	Greater Invisibility, Phantasmal Killer
17th	Hold Monster, Geas

 

Level 3: Channel Divinity

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

Lingering Threat

You can use your Channel Divinity to cause horrid doubt in your enemies. As a reaction when a creature you can see within 10 feet makes an attack roll, you force that enemy’s strike to suffer from a disadvantage as they glance at you in fear. The attacker must also make a Wisdom saving throw, becoming frightened for one minute on a failure.

Visage of Fear

You can use your Channel Divinity to augment your presence to instill fear. As a bonus action, you grant yourself a +5 bonus to the next intimidation check you make within the next minute.

Level 3: Heavy Dread

Starting at 3rd level, your mastery of shadow allows you to move with unnatural silence. You ignore the disadvantage on Stealth checks normally imposed by wearing Heavy Armor. 

Level 7: Brutal Promise

Starting at 7th level, you turn every killing blow into a psychological weapon. When you reduce a creature to 0 hit points, you can use your reaction to target one creature within 30 feet that can see you. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or be Frightened of you for 1 minute.

The frightened creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If the creature you reduced to 0 hit points was a "Deserving" foe (a leader, a tyrant, or a known criminal), the target has disadvantage on the initial saving throw.

Level 15: Living Legend

Starting at 15th level, your reputation is well-established, and you remind your enemies with their every mistake. For every time an enemy misses you with an attack roll, you gain one Legend token, up to your proficiency bonus. Upon your next successful strike, each Legend token is converted to a d8 of additional force damage. When you do successfully get struck, you lose one d8. The amount of Legend tokens that you have will reset upon short or long rest.

Level 20: Terror Manifest

At 20th level, you are the terror of the night, and you bring the night with you. Spend an action to emanate a 30-foot-radius sphere of Darkness for one minute. This radius moves with you. The effects of this darkness is:

• You choose which targets are affected by the darkness, and you can see through this darkness automatically.
• Targets within the darkness must make a Wisdom saving throw against your Spell Save DC. Failure means becoming Frightened of you for one minute.
• Enemies who are frightened within the darkness take 1d10 of necrotic damage at the start of their turns as long as they remain within the sphere.

Once this feature is used, you cannot use it again until you finish a long rest.