Oath of the Dove

“To possess the power to destroy, yet choose to preserve—that is the burden of mercy.”

Paladins who swear the Oath of the Dove believe that strength finds its highest purpose in the preservation of life. They are neither incapable of violence nor unwilling to confront evil. Instead, they wield extraordinary power with deliberate restraint, standing between danger and the defenseless.

Unlike traditional sacred orders, these paladins seldom measure victory by the number of enemies they defeat. They are wandering peacekeepers, guardians, and marksmen who have mastered the art of intervention. Through extraordinary precision and divine power, they disarm opponents, redirect attacks, shield their companions, and create opportunities for others to escape.

Their weapons are instruments of both protection and judgment. A Dove's marksmanship can incapacitate an opponent without taking their life, yet the same precision can deliver devastating force when necessary. Their mercy is not a limitation imposed upon their abilities, but a conviction they must continually choose to uphold.

The oath does not promise that mercy will be rewarded, nor that every life can be saved. Rather, it demands that its followers persist in seeking peace even when violence appears inevitable.

Tenets of the Dove

Though the precise wording of the oath varies among its adherents, all who swear it uphold five fundamental principles.

Every Life Bears Worth. No creature is beyond the reach of mercy. Even those who have surrendered themselves to cruelty remain worthy of being spared when possible.

Strength Must Serve the Weak. Power is neither a privilege nor an entitlement. It is a responsibility owed to those who cannot defend themselves.

Refuse the Easy Violence. Killing may end a threat, but it cannot always resolve the suffering that produced it. Seek another way, even when that way demands greater sacrifice.

Stand Between. When violence is inevitable, become the barrier between the aggressor and the innocent. Let your courage be measured by what you preserve, not what you destroy.

Hope Without Naivety. Mercy does not require trusting the untrustworthy, nor does forgiveness mean abandoning justice. Love your enemies without permitting them to harm others.

The Way of the Dove

Those who follow this oath understand that peace is not passivity. Their commitment to preserving life demands extraordinary courage, resourcefulness, and self-sacrifice.

Where others seek to overpower their enemies, a Dove seeks to control the conflict itself. A weapon may be struck from an opponent's hand, an advancing aggressor driven backward, or a wounded companion shielded from an otherwise fatal blow.

The most accomplished Doves possess supernatural accuracy, reacting to threats with a precision that borders on the impossible. Yet their greatest discipline is not found in the steadiness of their hands, but in the convictions that guide them.

For the power to preserve life is often inseparable from the power to take it.

Whether that power becomes an instrument of mercy or destruction ultimately rests with the one who wields it.

Level 3: Oath Spells

Oath of the Dove Spells

The magic of your sacred oath allows you to intervene in moments of danger, preserve the lives of your companions, and restrain those who threaten them.

You always have the spells listed below prepared when you reach the specified Paladin level. These spells don't count against the number of spells you can prepare.

Paladin Level 3

• Sanctuary

• Longstrider

Paladin Level 5

• Hold Person

• Warding Bond

• Paladin Level 9

• Counterspell

• Slow

Paladin Level 13

• Freedom of Movement

• Otiluke's Resilient Sphere

Paladin Level 17

• Wall of Force

• Mass Cure Wounds

Level 3: The Gentle Hand

The Gentle Hand

3rd-Level Oath of the Dove Feature

Your sacred oath grants you extraordinary precision with firearms, allowing you to wield your weapon as an instrument of protection or judgment.

You gain the following benefits:

Firearm Training. You gain proficiency with firearms. You can use a firearm you are holding as a Spellcasting Focus for your Paladin spells and as a Holy Symbol for your Paladin features. This feature does not grant a firearm or ammunition.

Close-Quarters Precision. Being within 5 feet of a hostile creature does not impose Disadvantage on your ranged attack rolls made with firearms.

Measured Force. When you reduce a creature to 0 Hit Points with a firearm attack, you can choose to knock it Unconscious and Stable rather than kill it. This is an exception to the normal melee-only knockout rule.

Weapon Mastery. Your Paladin Weapon Mastery feature applies to firearms for which you have proficiency, provided the weapon has a mastery property assigned by your DM. This feature grants no additional mastery choices.

The normal 2024 Divine Smite spell remains limited to its normal triggering attack; this subclass does not make it work with firearms. The Paladin's level-11 Radiant Strikes likewise remains unchanged.

Level 3: Dove's Precision

Dove's Precision

3rd-Level Oath of the Dove Feature

When you take the Attack action and are holding a loaded firearm, you can replace one of your attacks with a Precision Shot. Choose a creature within the firearm's normal range and make a ranged weapon attack roll, expending ammunition as normal.

On a hit, the shot deals no damage and you choose one effect below.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus, regaining all uses when you finish a Long Rest. A use is expended whether the shot hits or misses. Only one Precision Shot may be made on each of your turns.

Disarming Shot. The target makes a Strength saving throw against your Paladin spell save DC. On a failure, it drops one held object of your choice into its space; secured objects cannot be dropped this way.

Toppling Shot. If the target is Large or smaller, it makes a Dexterity saving throw against your Paladin spell save DC. On a failure, it has the Prone condition.

Repelling Shot. If the target is Large or smaller, it makes a Strength saving throw against your Paladin spell save DC. On a failure, you push it up to 10 feet directly away from you.

Covering Shot. Choose one willing creature other than yourself within 10 feet of the target. That creature can use its Reaction immediately to move up to half its Speed without provoking Opportunity Attacks from the target. No additional save is required.

A Precision Shot cannot trigger Dove's Judgment, Divine Smite, or another effect that requires the attack to deal damage. A Precision Shot has no weapon mastery effect.

Level 3: Dove's Judgment

Dove's Judgment

3rd-Level Oath of the Dove Feature

Once on each of your turns, immediately after you hit a creature with a firearm attack within the firearm's normal range that deals its normal weapon damage, you can expend one Paladin spell slot to invoke one option below. This requires no additional action. You cannot use Dove's Judgment on an attack that benefits from Divine Smite or a Precision Shot. The spell slot must be level 1–5.

Judgment. The attack deals extra Radiant damage equal to 1d8 per level of the expended spell slot (maximum 5d8). You may still use Measured Force.

Deliverance. Instead of extra damage, choose yourself or one creature you can see within 30 feet of the target. That creature gains Temporary Hit Points equal to 1d8 per level of the expended spell slot plus your Charisma modifier (minimum +1).

Intercession. Instead of extra damage, the target makes a Strength saving throw against your Paladin spell save DC. On a failure, push it up to 10 feet directly away from you. Whether it succeeds or fails, one willing creature other than yourself within 10 feet of the target can use its Reaction to move up to 10 feet without provoking Opportunity Attacks from that target.

Dove's Judgment is not a spell and does not use your Bonus Action. Its lower damage and once-per-turn limit compensate for ranged delivery; DM review is recommended.

Level 3: Channel Divinity

Channel Divinity

3rd-Level Oath of the Dove Feature

You gain the following two options for your existing Paladin Channel Divinity feature. Each option expends one use of Channel Divinity.

Part the Violence. As a Magic action, you expend one use of Channel Divinity and choose a point you can see within 60 feet. Creatures of your choice in a 10-foot-radius Sphere centered on that point must make a Strength saving throw against your Paladin spell save DC. On a failed save, you can push each affected creature up to 15 feet directly away from the center and give it the Prone condition. This ability deals no damage.

Gentle Reprieve. As a Bonus Action, you expend one use of Channel Divinity and choose yourself or a creature you can see within 60 feet. The chosen creature gains Temporary Hit Points equal to 1d8 + your Paladin level. If the creature isn't Incapacitated, it can immediately use its Reaction to move up to half its Speed without provoking Opportunity Attacks.

Level 7: Aura of Intercession

Aura of Intercession

7th-Level Oath of the Dove Feature

While you are conscious, you can use the following special Reactions when the triggering creature is within your Aura of Protection and you can see it. You must be holding a firearm able to fire and expend one piece of ammunition.

The aura has its normal 10-foot radius, increasing to 30 feet when your Aura of Protection increases at Paladin level 18.

These Reactions share a pool of uses equal to your Proficiency Bonus. You regain all expended uses when you finish a Long Rest.

Interposing Shot. When a creature within your Aura of Protection takes damage from an attack, you can use your Reaction to reduce that attack's damage by 1d8 + your Charisma modifier (minimum 1). If the damage becomes 0, the protected creature can move up to 10 feet without provoking Opportunity Attacks. This movement requires no Reaction from the protected creature.

Warning Shot. When a creature within your Aura of Protection makes an attack roll against a creature other than you, you can use your Reaction before that roll to make a ranged firearm attack roll against the attacker, provided it is within your firearm's normal range. You expend ammunition normally. On a hit, the triggering attack roll has Disadvantage. Your shot deals no damage and applies no weapon mastery effect.

You still have only one Reaction per round. These special Reactions do not replace normal Opportunity Attacks.

Level 15: Unerring Conviction

Unerring Conviction

15th-Level Oath of the Dove Feature

Your Dove's Precision uses increase to twice your Proficiency Bonus per Long Rest, but you may still use it only once on each of your turns.

Impossible Angle. Your firearm attacks ignore Half Cover and Three-Quarters Cover.

Unerring Shot. When you miss with a firearm attack, you can reroll the attack roll, using the new result. You can use this benefit a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum once), regaining all uses after a Long Rest.

Level 20: Avatar of the Dove

Avatar of the Dove

20th-Level Oath of the Dove Feature

As a Bonus Action, you manifest spectral dove wings for 1 minute, gaining the following benefits:

Spectral Wings. You gain a Fly Speed of 40 feet and can hover.

Divine Precision. Once on each of your turns, you can make a Precision Shot as a Bonus Action, spending one use of Dove's Precision. This Bonus Action shot is the only Precision Shot you can make that turn.

Perfect Intercession. When you use Interposing Shot, its damage reduction becomes 2d8 + your Charisma modifier. When you use Warning Shot, its attack roll has Advantage.

Sheltering Presence. At the start of each of your turns, choose yourself or a creature within 30 feet. The chosen creature gains Temporary Hit Points equal to your Charisma modifier plus your Proficiency Bonus (minimum 1).

Once you use Avatar of the Dove, you cannot use it again until you finish a Long Rest, unless you expend a level-5 spell slot (no action required) to restore its use.