Order of the Oathshorn

Blood Hunters of the Order of the Oathshorn believe that an oath gains power through sacrifice. Words alone are easily abandoned, misinterpreted, or broken. Blood cannot lie so easily. Every member of the order carves, brands, or ritually marks a sacred vow into their own body, creating a permanent bond between conviction, hemocraft, and soul.

The Oathshorn stand at the boundary between Blood Hunter and holy warrior. They share the discipline, courage, and moral purpose often associated with Paladins, but they do not rely entirely upon divine favor. Their power arises from personal sacrifice, ritualized conviction, and an absolute refusal to surrender their chosen duty.

Some Oathshorn serve gods, churches, or celestial powers. Others swear themselves to mortal principles such as mercy, freedom, vengeance, guardianship, or the destruction of a particular evil. The order teaches that the source of an oath matters less than the willingness of the hunter to pay its price.

In battle, an Oathshorn marks enemies for judgment, strengthens allies through a blood-forged presence, and transforms personal injury into divine or radiant retribution. Their weapons burn with consecrated hemocraft, while their voices carry the supernatural weight of promises that have already survived suffering.

The greatest Oathshorn become living covenants. Their blood protects companions, their presence weakens the corrupt, and their refusal to fall can turn the course of a battle. Yet their power carries a grave danger: an Oathshorn who betrays a sacred vow may find the oath turning against them.

Origins in Aetheris

The Order of the Oathshorn emerged from cooperation—and conflict—between early Blood Hunter lodges and militant holy orders.

During periods of planar invasion, supernatural plague, and widespread corruption, Paladins often fought beside Blood Hunters. The two traditions shared enemies but differed sharply in method. Paladins placed their trust in sacred vows, divine authority, and disciplined faith. Blood Hunters relied upon sacrifice, forbidden knowledge, and the controlled use of monstrous power.

The earliest Oathshorn were warriors who belonged to both traditions. Some were Paladins who turned to hemocraft after divine magic proved insufficient against a particular threat. Others were Blood Hunters who discovered that sacred conviction could stabilize dangerous mutations and prevent the spiritual deterioration common among veteran hunters.

The first formal Oathshorn covenant is believed to have formed in the March of Draeven after a company of Blood Hunters and holy knights became trapped behind enemy lines during a fiendish incursion. With no temple, priest, or consecrated ground available, they sealed a shared oath in their own blood and held a ruined fortress until relief arrived.

The survivors carried the ritual into other lands. Over time, Oathshorn enclaves appeared within the Concord of Veltrion, the Helbrann League, the Kingdom of Aurvalis, the Volarion Republic, and the Freeholds of Rhonadral.

The order is not a single centralized institution. Its members gather in small groups known as Crimson Covenants. Each Covenant is defined by a founding vow, a code of conduct, and a shared interpretation of sacrifice.

Some Crimson Covenants are closely associated with temples or knightly orders. Others operate independently, particularly in regions where religious institutions have become corrupt, complacent, or politically compromised.

Philosophy and Doctrine

The Order of the Oathshorn teaches that conviction becomes meaningful only when it survives suffering.

Its members commonly observe the following doctrines.

Blood Is the Witness

An oath sealed in blood is witnessed by the body, mind, and soul. The hunter cannot claim ignorance of a promise physically carried upon their flesh.

Sacrifice Gives Meaning

Power without cost encourages carelessness. An Oathshorn accepts pain willingly so that others need not suffer in their place.

Conviction Must Be Chosen

An oath imposed through coercion has no sacred power. The order condemns forced vows, magical compulsion, and contracts made without informed consent.

Mercy Is Not Weakness

A defeated enemy may still be redeemed. An Oathshorn must distinguish between justice, necessity, vengeance, and cruelty.

The Oath Judges the Bearer

No hunter stands above the vow they have sworn. Rank, victory, and noble intent do not excuse betrayal.

Faith Is More Than Worship

An Oathshorn may serve a deity, but divine worship is not required. Loyalty to a just cause, community, or moral principle can possess sacred weight of its own.

The central tension of the order is the danger of absolutism. Conviction grants strength, but certainty can become fanaticism. Oathshorn training therefore emphasizes reflection, accountability, and the difference between serving an oath and using an oath to justify personal desire.

Visual Identity

Oathshorn hunters combine the severe practicality of Blood Hunter equipment with the symbolic presentation of sacred warriors.

Their armor is commonly marked by engraved vows, crimson cords, wax seals, strips of prayer cloth, or metal plates etched with the names of those they have sworn to protect.

Common colors include:

• Deep crimson
• Ivory
• Blackened steel
• Burnished silver
• Royal blue
• Dark gold
• Ash white

Many Oathshorn wear a mantle, sash, or tabard associated with their Covenant. Unlike a Paladin’s polished heraldry, these garments are often repaired, bloodstained, and visibly worn from years of service.

Every member bears an oath-mark. This may be:

• A scar across the palm
• A branded sigil over the heart
• A line of script carved along the forearm
• A ritual tattoo filled with blood-reactive ink
• A chain-shaped scar around the wrist
• A consecrated nail or metal fragment embedded beneath the skin
• A ring fused to the finger through ritual heat
• A name written permanently across the ribs

When an Oathshorn activates a Crimson Rite, the oath-mark glows and the weapon becomes wrapped in crimson-white radiance. The effect resembles holy light viewed through blood or stained glass.

Powerful members project a palpable sense of certainty. Their voices deepen when issuing judgment, their shadows resemble kneeling knights or spread wings, and allies near them may hear faint echoes of the vows they have sworn.

Role in Aetheris

The Order of the Oathshorn serves as a frontline striker, secondary defender, and protector against supernatural corruption.

On the battlefield, Oathshorn hunters:

• Mark dangerous enemies for judgment
• Add radiant power to rite-bearing attacks
• Protect nearby companions
• Punish enemies who harm allies
• Resist fear, charm, and possession
• Convert spellcasting resources into hemocraft effects
• Endure wounds that would incapacitate less disciplined warriors

Outside combat, they often serve as:

• Monster hunters
• Oath witnesses
• Bodyguards
• Temple wardens
• Investigators of corrupted holy orders
• Hunters of oathbreakers and fiends
• Protectors of persecuted communities
• Mediators between secular and religious authorities

Within an adventuring party, an Oathshorn stands close to vulnerable allies and focuses on the enemy posing the greatest immediate threat. The subclass works especially well alongside characters who value melee combat, protective positioning, Charisma-based abilities, or limited spellcasting.

Subclass Integration

Major Polities

Concord of Veltrion

The Concord generally respects Oathshorn Covenants that demonstrate accountability and restraint. They are often employed against fiends, undead, corrupt officials, and supernatural tyrants.

March of Draeven

The March formally recognizes several militarized Crimson Covenants. These Oathshorn serve as monster hunters, officers, and battlefield wardens.

Draevenite authorities expect their vows to reinforce lawful command, creating conflict when a hunter’s personal oath contradicts military orders.

Helbrann League

Helbranni Oathshorn often swear vows to individual cantons, mountain communities, family lines, or specific roads and passes. Their style is austere, practical, and highly disciplined.

Kingdom of Aurvalis

Aurvalian Covenants combine elegant magical traditions with strict codes of guardianship. Many protect sacred sites, ancient forests, or settlements shared by humans and elves.

Volarion Republic

Volarion Oathshorn frequently swear themselves to civic principles rather than rulers. Common vows include defense of local liberty, impartial law, and protection of the canton system.

Freeholds of Rhonadral

The Freeholds produce independent Oathshorn whose vows may be directed toward crews, families, settlements, or personal codes. They distrust centralized authority but take chosen loyalty extremely seriously.

Dominion of Xathrin

The Dominion despises the order’s opposition to slavery, forced contracts, and soul-binding. Oathshorn hunters frequently destroy infernal covenants, liberate oath-bound captives, and pursue Xathrin slavers.

Obsidian Hegemony

The Hegemony attempts to corrupt Oathshorn conviction into fanaticism. Fallen Covenants sometimes become ruthless executioners who believe suffering proves righteousness.

Organizations, Guilds, and Orders

Oathshorn hunters frequently cooperate with:

• Paladin orders
• Temple guardians
• Inquisitorial organizations
• Monster-hunting lodges
• Witch hunters
• Military chaplains
• Civic watch organizations
• Anti-slavery factions
• Relic wardens
• Pilgrim escorts
• Orders devoted to mercy or protection

Relations with traditional Paladin orders vary. Some regard the Oathshorn as respected allies who accept burdens that holy knights cannot. Others view hemocraft as a dangerous corruption of sacred vows.

Religious and Philosophical Movements

Members of the Order of the Oathshorn may worship within the Celestial Harmony or follow regional gods and traditions.

An Oathshorn’s power does not require direct divine sponsorship. However, many believe that the gods recognize sincerely chosen sacrifice even when no formal priesthood is involved.

Some theologians consider Oathshorn rites a form of mortal self-consecration. Critics describe them as an arrogant attempt to manufacture divine authority through pain.

Rival Factions and Enemies

Common enemies include:

• Fiends and infernal bargainers
• Undead tyrants
• Oathbreaking knights
• Corrupt Paladins
• Slavers and soul traffickers
• Dominion of Xathrin contract-mages
• Obsidian Hegemony executioners
• Cults built around coerced vows
• Enchanters who destroy free will
• Fallen Oathshorn known as the Forsworn
• Creatures that feed upon faith or conviction

Subclass Features

Order of the Oathshorn Features

Blood Hunter Level	Feature
3rd	Sacred Hemocraft, Rite of the Crimson Vow, Blood-Sealed Oath
7th	Covenant’s Rebuke
11th	Consecrated Judgment
15th	Aura of the Bloodbound
18th	Incarnation of the Living Oath

 

Optional Subclass Techniques

The following techniques may be offered as specialized Covenant teachings, ritual rewards, or optional Blood Hunter abilities at the Game Master’s discretion.

Crimson Litany

Prerequisite: Order of the Oathshorn, 7th level

When you finish a short rest, choose yourself or one creature that rested with you.

The chosen creature gains temporary hit points equal to your Blood Hunter level plus your Charisma modifier.

Once a creature gains temporary hit points from this technique, it cannot do so again until it finishes a long rest.

Oathkeeper’s Challenge

Prerequisite: Order of the Oathshorn, 7th level

As a bonus action, you can expend one Oath Die and challenge one creature you can see within 30 feet.

Until the end of your next turn, the creature has disadvantage on attack rolls against creatures other than you.

The challenge ends early if you become incapacitated or end your turn more than 30 feet from the creature.

Blood of the Penitent

Prerequisite: Order of the Oathshorn, 11th level

When you use Blood Maledict against a creature that has damaged one of your allies since the end of your last turn, you can amplify the blood curse without taking the normal damage required to amplify it.

Once you use this technique, you cannot use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Sanctified Malediction

Prerequisite: Order of the Oathshorn, 11th level

When you deal damage with a Blood Curse, you can change that damage to radiant damage.

If the target is a fiend or undead creature, you can reroll one damage die and use either result.

Covenant Without End

Prerequisite: Order of the Oathshorn, 15th level

When you roll initiative and have no Oath Dice remaining, you regain one expended Oath Die.

At 18th level, you regain two expended Oath Dice instead.

Playing This Subclass

The Order of the Oathshorn is designed as a frontline striker and secondary defender.

Its central combat rhythm involves activating the Rite of the Crimson Vow, remaining close to vulnerable allies, and punishing enemies that ignore the hunter.

Oath Dice provide flexible options for:

• Protecting allies
• Improving saving throws
• Dealing burst damage
• Restricting enemies
• Supporting social or investigative scenes
• Reinforcing a chosen roleplaying tenet

The subclass works especially well in a Paladin multiclass because Sacred Hemocraft allows Charisma to power Blood Hunter abilities. This reduces the attribute conflict that would otherwise arise between Intelligence-based hemocraft and Charisma-based Paladin features.

Spell-Forged Conviction creates a limited interaction with Paladin spell slots without directly adding additional Divine Smite damage. A multiclass character can regain an Oath Die after expending a spell slot, but this recovery is deliberately limited between rests.

Aura of the Bloodbound complements Paladin auras without duplicating bonuses to all saving throws. It emphasizes resistance to fear, necrotic power, death, coercion, and forced contracts.

The subclass performs best when fighting near allies. It is less effective as an isolated skirmisher or long-range combatant.

Resource management is important. Oath Dice power offense, defense, and utility. Spending too many dice on early damage can leave the hunter unable to protect allies during the most dangerous part of an encounter.

Roleplaying This Subclass

An Oathshorn is defined by the vow they have chosen and the price they are willing to pay for it.

Common character themes include:

• A Paladin who adopted hemocraft after failing to protect someone
• A Blood Hunter seeking spiritual discipline
• A former oathbreaker attempting redemption
• A bodyguard whose loyalty has become supernatural
• A liberator sworn to destroy slavery and magical coercion
• A temple knight who distrusts organized religion
• A monster hunter who believes mercy must remain possible
• A veteran carrying the vows of fallen companions
• A hunter who fears that conviction is becoming fanaticism
• A warrior who no longer knows whether the oath serves them or controls them

Oathshorn characters should consider the precise wording of their vow.

A good oath should provide direction without making ordinary adventuring impossible. It should create meaningful decisions, moral tension, and opportunities for sacrifice.

The order recognizes that vows may evolve. A hunter who changes through experience is not automatically an oathbreaker. However, deliberately abandoning a vow for convenience is viewed as a profound spiritual failure.

Faction and Organization Connections

Likely allies and patrons include:

• Paladin orders
• Crimson Covenants
• Temples of the Celestial Harmony
• Monster-hunting lodges
• Inquisitors
• Witch hunters
• Anti-slavery organizations
• Civic defenders
• Military chaplaincies
• Relic guardians
• Orders devoted to mercy
• Communities threatened by supernatural oppression

Likely enemies include:

• Dominion of Xathrin slavers
• Soul traffickers
• Infernal contract-makers
• Obsidian Hegemony executioners
• Corrupt Paladin orders
• Fallen Oathshorn
• Enchantment cults
• Undead tyrants
• Fiendish tempters
• Organizations that weaponize forced loyalty
• Rulers who demand obedience without accountability

Adventure Hooks

1. The Oath That Bleeds. Members of a Crimson Covenant begin suffering identical wounds whenever one of them violates the order’s code. Someone has altered the founding oath.
2. The Forsworn Knight. A former Oathshorn has become an executioner for the Dominion of Xathrin. He insists that his original vow now requires him to serve the Dominion.
3. The Silent Paladin. An entire holy order has lost access to its divine powers. An Oathshorn investigator discovers that their communal oath was secretly transferred to a fiendish contract.
4. The Martyr’s Chain. A relic containing the blood of the First Martyr can strengthen any sacred oath. Several churches, monarchs, and slaving factions seek to claim it.
5. The Vowless Village. The inhabitants of a remote settlement are physically incapable of making promises. Every oath spoken there is swallowed by an unseen presence beneath the local shrine.
6. The Broken Covenant. Two allied Crimson Covenants interpret the same founding vow in opposite ways and prepare for war. Both believe the other has fallen.

Notable NPCs

Ser Caldra Veyne, First Martyr of the Crimson Vow

Caldra was among the survivors who established the earliest recognized Crimson Covenant in the March of Draeven.

She died holding the gate of a ruined fortress while wounded companions escaped through the mountains. Witnesses claim she continued fighting for several minutes after her heart stopped.

Fragments of her bloodstained armor are preserved by several rival Covenants, each of which claims to understand her final vow correctly.

Brother Amon Carthis, the Gentle Brand

Amon is an Oathshorn healer and former Paladin who follows the Oath of Mercy.

He refuses to kill any creature capable of redemption but is relentless against slavers, torturers, and creatures that destroy free will.

His oath-mark covers both hands. When he treats a wound, the scars glow with pale gold light.

Dame Ysara Thorn, the Chainbreaker

Ysara is a Helbranni Oathshorn who hunts infernal contracts, magical slavers, and corrupt nobles.

She carries a broken length of enchanted chain taken from the prison in which she was raised. Each link bears the name of someone she failed to save.

Ysara is admired as a liberator but feared for her growing belief that all political authority is a form of bondage.

Balance Notes

Intended Role

Primary role: Striker

Secondary roles: Defender, Support, Anti-Control Specialist

The subclass is intended to fight near allies and punish enemies who target them.

Damage Profile

Sustained damage comes from Crimson Rite and the reactive damage of the Rite of the Crimson Vow.

Consecrated Judgment provides limited burst damage through Oath Dice.

Oathfire Weapon adds reliable capstone damage once per turn.

The subclass deliberately does not grant Divine Smite or allow unrestricted stacking of additional spell-slot damage.

A Blood Hunter–Paladin multiclass can still use Divine Smite normally if it possesses the feature, but the Order of the Oathshorn does not increase the number of smite dice.

Survivability

The subclass gains survivability through:

• Damage reduction
• Defensive reactions
• Saving throw support
• Temporary hit points
• Fear resistance
• Necrotic resistance
• Bloodbound Intercession
• Capstone resistances

It does not gain heavy armor proficiency or unrestricted self-healing.

Utility

The subclass offers:

• Charisma-based hemocraft
• Social and religious skill support
• Anti-charm and anti-fear tools
• Anti-teleportation judgment
• Anti-healing effects
• Spellcasting disruption
• Protection against magical contracts
• Nonlethal combat options
• Social utility through the Oath of Truth

Resource Economy

Oath Dice equal the hunter’s proficiency bonus and return on a long rest.

They power offense, defense, utility, and subclass reactions.

Spell-Forged Conviction allows limited Oath Die recovery through Paladin spell-slot expenditure but cannot produce unlimited resources.

Bloodbound Intercession can be reused by spending two Oath Dice, creating a significant opportunity cost.

Incarnation of the Living Oath restores one Oath Die per turn but is limited to once per long rest.

Multiclass Compatibility with Paladin

The subclass is intentionally compatible with Paladin through several controlled interactions:

• Sacred Hemocraft allows Charisma-based Blood Hunter abilities.
• Shared spellcasting focus rules simplify equipment use.
• Oath Dice complement rather than replace Divine Smite.
• Aura of the Bloodbound provides benefits distinct from Aura of Protection.
• Spell-Forged Conviction rewards Paladin spell-slot use without increasing smite damage.
• The subclass favors melee positioning and ally protection.

The multiclass remains balanced by its continued need for Strength or Dexterity, Constitution, and Charisma.

A character must still satisfy all normal multiclass prerequisites for both Blood Hunter and Paladin.

Comparison to Similar Subclasses

The Order of the Oathshorn shares themes with Paladins, defensive Fighters, and Blood Hunters devoted to spiritual or supernatural enemies.

Unlike a Paladin, it possesses no Lay on Hands, Channel Divinity, general saving throw aura, or automatic spell progression.

Unlike a dedicated defender, it cannot permanently force enemies to attack it.

Unlike an offensive Blood Hunter order, much of its resource budget is devoted to protecting companions rather than maximizing personal damage.

Its power is strongest when the character balances aggression, positioning, and limited protective resources.

Summary

The Order of the Oathshorn is a sacred Blood Hunter tradition built around blood-sealed promises, personal sacrifice, and supernatural conviction.

Its members channel radiant hemocraft, mark enemies who threaten their companions, and wield flexible Oath Dice to defend, judge, and inspire.

The subclass is especially compatible with Paladin multiclass characters through Charisma-based hemocraft, complementary aura abilities, and limited interaction with Paladin spell-slot expenditure.

Within Aetheris, Oathshorn hunters serve as guardians, liberators, monster hunters, and living witnesses to promises that cannot be abandoned without consequence.

The subclass is best suited to players who enjoy frontline combat, ally protection, moral tension, flexible resources, and the image of a warrior whose oath is not merely spoken but permanently written in blood.

“I do not ask the gods to remember my promise. My scars remember for them.”
—The final line of the Oathshorn initiation rite

Sacred Hemocraft

Your conviction becomes an essential component of your blood magic.

Action Type: Passive
Uses: At-will
Duration: Permanent
Scaling: Applies to future Blood Hunter and Oathshorn features

You can use Charisma instead of Intelligence for your Blood Hunter abilities.

When a Blood Hunter feature refers to your Intelligence modifier, you can use your Charisma modifier instead.

When calculating your Hemocraft save DC, you can use Charisma instead of Intelligence.

Once you choose to use Charisma for a Blood Hunter feature, that choice applies to all calculations made for that use of the feature.

You also gain proficiency in Persuasion and Religion. If you already have proficiency in both skills, you gain proficiency in Insight instead.

Sacred Focus

You can use a holy symbol, your oath-mark, or a weapon bearing one of your active Crimson Rites as a spellcasting focus for any spells you gain from the Paladin or Blood Hunter classes.

Your Blood Hunter levels count as Paladin levels for the sole purpose of determining whether you meet the level prerequisite of a magic item that requires attunement by a Paladin. This benefit does not grant access to Paladin class features.

Rite of the Crimson Vow

You learn the Rite of the Crimson Vow as part of your Crimson Rite feature. It does not count against the number of Crimson Rites you know.

Action Type: Part of the bonus action used to activate a Crimson Rite
Uses: At-will, subject to normal Crimson Rite rules
Duration: Until the Crimson Rite ends
Scaling: Additional protection at 11th level

While the rite is active, the weapon’s rite damage is radiant damage.

Once during each of your turns when you hit a hostile creature with a weapon bearing this rite, you can mark it with a Crimson Oath until the start of your next turn.

The first time the marked creature willingly attacks a creature other than you before the mark ends, it takes radiant damage equal to one roll of your Hemocraft die.

A creature can bear only one Crimson Oath from you at a time.

At 11th level, when a creature takes damage from your Crimson Oath, the creature it attacked gains temporary hit points equal to one roll of your Hemocraft die plus your Charisma modifier.

Blood-Sealed Oath

You swear a personal vow and bind it to your hemocraft.

Action Type: Passive; bonus action to invoke
Uses: Oath Dice equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest
Duration: Varies by invocation
Scaling: Oath Dice become d8s at 11th level and d10s at 18th level

You gain a pool of Oath Dice equal to your proficiency bonus. These dice are d6s.

You regain all expended Oath Dice when you finish a long rest.

Your Oath Dice become d8s when you reach 11th level in this class and d10s when you reach 18th level.

Choose one of the following Sacred Tenets when you gain this feature. Your chosen tenet represents the principle at the heart of your personal oath.

You can replace your chosen tenet whenever you gain a level in the Blood Hunter class, provided the change reflects a meaningful development in your character’s convictions.

Oath of Guardianship

When a creature you can see within 30 feet takes damage, you can use your reaction and expend one Oath Die.

Roll the die and reduce the damage by the number rolled plus your Charisma modifier.

You must be conscious to use this reaction.

Oath of Mercy

When you deal damage that would reduce a creature to 0 hit points, you can choose to reduce it to 1 hit point instead.

You can then expend one Oath Die. The creature cannot take reactions and has disadvantage on attack rolls until the end of its next turn.

If the creature willingly attacks before the end of its next turn, it takes radiant damage equal to the number rolled on the Oath Die.

Oath of Retribution

When a creature you can see within 30 feet damages one of your allies, you can use your reaction and expend one Oath Die to mark the attacker until the end of your next turn.

The next time you hit the marked creature with a weapon attack, the attack deals additional radiant damage equal to the Oath Die roll plus your Charisma modifier.

Oath of Liberation

When you or a creature you can see within 30 feet makes a saving throw against being charmed, frightened, paralyzed, restrained, or magically compelled, you can use your reaction and expend one Oath Die.

Roll the die and add the result to the saving throw.

You can use this feature after seeing the d20 roll but before the outcome is determined.

Oath of Truth

When you make an Insight, Investigation, Persuasion, or Religion check, you can expend one Oath Die and add it to the roll.

You can use this benefit after seeing the d20 roll but before the outcome is determined.

In addition, when a creature you can see knowingly speaks a lie, you can expend one Oath Die to gain advantage on your next Wisdom (Insight) check against it within 1 minute.

Covenant’s Rebuke

Your oath reacts violently when an enemy harms those under your protection.

Action Type: Reaction
Uses: One Oath Die per use
Duration: Instantaneous, with secondary effects until the end of your next turn
Scaling: Improved by later features

When a creature you can see within 30 feet damages you or one of your allies, you can use your reaction and expend one Oath Die to issue a Covenant’s Rebuke.

The attacker must make a Wisdom saving throw against your Hemocraft save DC.

On a failed save, the creature takes radiant damage equal to two rolls of your Oath Die and suffers one of the following effects of your choice:

Rebuke of Cowardice

The creature is frightened of you until the end of your next turn.

Rebuke of Cruelty

The creature has disadvantage on attack rolls against creatures other than you until the end of your next turn.

Rebuke of Falsehood

The creature cannot benefit from invisibility and cannot knowingly speak a lie until the end of your next turn.

This effect does not compel the creature to speak.

Rebuke of Bondage

The creature cannot grapple, restrain, charm, or magically compel another creature until the end of your next turn.

On a successful saving throw, the creature takes radiant damage equal to one roll of your Oath Die and suffers no additional effect.

Shared Conviction

Whenever you expend an Oath Die, you can choose one creature other than yourself within 30 feet that can see or hear you.

That creature gains temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier, with a minimum of 1 temporary hit point.

Consecrated Judgment

Your weapons carry the weight of both hemocraft and sacred condemnation.

Action Type: Part of a successful weapon attack
Uses: One Oath Die per use
Duration: Instantaneous, with a mark lasting until the start of your next turn
Scaling: Oath Dice are d8s at this level

Once during each of your turns when you hit a hostile creature with a weapon bearing an active Crimson Rite, you can expend one Oath Die to deliver a Consecrated Judgment.

The attack deals additional radiant or necrotic damage equal to two rolls of your Oath Die. You choose the damage type when you use the feature.

If the weapon bears the Rite of the Crimson Vow, the additional damage increases to three rolls of your Oath Die.

The target must then make a Charisma saving throw against your Hemocraft save DC.

On a failed save, choose one of the following judgments.

Judgment of Exile

The target cannot teleport, become ethereal, or travel to another plane until the start of your next turn.

Judgment of Silence

The target cannot cast spells with verbal components until the start of your next turn.

A creature can overcome this restriction by succeeding on a Constitution saving throw against your Hemocraft save DC immediately before casting the spell.

On a failed save, the spell fails, but its spell slot is not expended.

Judgment of Frailty

The target cannot regain hit points until the start of your next turn.

Judgment of Submission

The target cannot take reactions, and its speed is reduced by 10 feet until the start of your next turn.

Judgment of Revelation

The target cannot benefit from invisibility, illusion-based disguises, or shapechanging until the start of your next turn.

This judgment does not end those effects but prevents them from concealing the target from you.

Spell-Forged Conviction

Also at 11th level, you learn to reinforce your hemocraft with sacred magic.

Once during each of your turns when you expend a spell slot as part of a Paladin spell or Paladin class feature, you can regain one expended Oath Die.

The spell slot must be 1st level or higher.

You cannot regain more than one Oath Die through Spell-Forged Conviction during the same turn, and you cannot exceed your normal maximum number of Oath Dice.

Once you regain an Oath Die through this feature, you cannot do so again until you finish a short or long rest.

Beginning at 18th level, you can regain an Oath Die through this feature twice between rests, but no more than once per turn.

Aura of the Bloodbound

Your oath manifests as a protective presence surrounding you.

Action Type: Passive; reaction for Bloodbound Intercession
Uses: Aura is at-will while conscious; Intercession once per short or long rest, with additional uses through Oath Dice
Duration: Continuous
Scaling: Aura radius increases at 18th level

While you are conscious, you emanate a 10-foot Aura of the Bloodbound.

You and friendly creatures within the aura gain the following benefits:

• Advantage on saving throws against being frightened
• Resistance to necrotic damage
• Advantage on death saving throws
• Immunity to effects that would magically force a creature to speak an oath, enter a contract, or give consent
• A creature reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright can remain conscious until the end of its current turn

Remaining conscious through this aura does not prevent the creature from being incapacitated. The creature cannot take reactions and falls unconscious at the end of its turn if it still has 0 hit points.

If you possess the Paladin’s Aura of Protection or another aura granted by a Paladin subclass, Aura of the Bloodbound functions alongside it. Identical benefits do not stack.

At 18th level, the aura’s radius increases to 30 feet.

Bloodbound Intercession

When a friendly creature within your aura would be reduced to 0 hit points, you can use your reaction to take the damage in its place.

The creature takes no damage from the triggering source. You take the same amount and type of damage the creature would have taken.

This transferred damage cannot be reduced or prevented in any way.

If the transferred damage reduces you to 0 hit points, the protected creature gains temporary hit points equal to your Blood Hunter level plus your Charisma modifier.

Once you use Bloodbound Intercession, you cannot use it again until you finish a short or long rest unless you expend two Oath Dice to use it again.

Incarnation of the Living Oath

You become the mortal embodiment of your sacred covenant.

Action Type: Bonus action
Uses: Once per long rest
Duration: 1 minute
Scaling: Final subclass feature

As a bonus action, you assume the form of an Incarnation of the Living Oath for 1 minute.

The transformation ends early if you are incapacitated or dismiss it as a bonus action.

When you transform, your oath-mark burns with crimson-gold radiance, your voice carries supernatural authority, and spectral chains, wings, script, or heraldic shapes manifest around you.

While transformed, you gain the following benefits.

Unbroken Covenant

You cannot be charmed, frightened, paralyzed, possessed, or magically compelled.

You have advantage on all other Wisdom and Charisma saving throws.

Consecrated Resilience

You have resistance to radiant and necrotic damage.

You also have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from attacks made by fiends, undead, aberrations, and creatures currently affected by your Consecrated Judgment.

Oathfire Weapon

Once during each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, the attack deals an additional 2d8 radiant damage.

If you use Consecrated Judgment on the same attack, this additional damage becomes 4d8 radiant damage.

Voice of the Covenant

At the start of each of your turns, choose one hostile creature within your Aura of the Bloodbound that can hear you.

The creature must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your Hemocraft save DC or suffer one of the following effects of your choice until the start of your next turn:

• It is frightened of you.
• It cannot willingly move farther away from you.
• It has disadvantage on attacks against creatures other than you.
• It cannot regain hit points.

A creature that succeeds on this saving throw is immune to Voice of the Covenant until the start of your next turn.

Living Martyr

When a friendly creature within your Aura of the Bloodbound takes damage, you can reduce that damage by one roll of your Oath Die without expending the die.

You can reduce damage in this way only once during each round.

Oath Renewed

At the start of each of your turns, you regain one expended Oath Die.

You cannot have more Oath Dice than your proficiency bonus.

Final Adjudication

Once during the transformation, when a creature within 30 feet reduces one of your allies to 0 hit points, breaks a magical oath, or willingly attacks a helpless creature, you can issue a Final Adjudication without using an action.

The offending creature must make a Charisma saving throw against your Hemocraft save DC.

On a failed save, it takes 6d10 radiant damage, is knocked prone, and cannot take reactions until the end of its next turn.

On a successful save, it takes half as much damage and suffers no additional effect.

A fiend, undead creature, or creature that has knowingly broken a magically binding oath makes this saving throw with disadvantage.

Once you use Incarnation of the Living Oath, you cannot use it again until you finish a long rest.