The Oath of Grief shuns false hope and seeks to remind the world of the hollow joke of its existence, its purposelessness, its futility, and its tragic horror. Life may seem good at times, but the only constant is that it will get worse. Comforting lies like love or a greater meaning to one's life which hide the true horror and madness of the world only teach people to swim against the vicious tide of life and drown. Only by accepting the cruel hand we are given can those of the Oath of Grief find the path to what meager existence can be tolerated.

Tenets of Grief

The brutal realities that the Oath of Grief hold as tenets may be painful, but they are better to accept than to deny.

Expect the Worst. Surviving is about minimizing pain, not finding happiness. Always expect to suffer and fail, and you'll never be disappointed. Remind others of this inevitable truth.

Beware Everyone. Trust is fleeting, false, and foolish. Never forget that everyone lies to themselves, and that you could be betrayed by anyone, especially at their lowest point.

Let Go of Your Mind. The quest to maintain one's sanity is a futile effort. Embrace the dynamic nature of your mind and accept that you will never truly understand your own depths.

Reject False Hope. Just as those thrown high into the air will suffer a steep fall, those sent high by hope will inevitably crash down all the more hard when the cold reality hits them. Deny hope in yourself and others. Stay safely on the ground.

Life Has No Meaning. Do not believe in such silly lies.

Oath of Grief Spells

You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.

Paladin Level	Spells
3rd	Cause Fear (XGE), Dissonant Whispers
5th	Calm Emotions, Earthbind (XGE)
9th	Enemies Abound (XGE), Fear
13th	Confusion, Phantasmal Killer
17th	Phantasmal Plunge (new), Telekinesis

Crushing Smite

Starting at 3rd level, your Divine Smite deals force damage instead of radiant damage.

Channel Divinity

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

Evoke Malaise. You can use your Channel Divinity to remove all purpose and motivation from a creature. As an action, you choose one creature you can see within 30 feet. The target must make a Charisma saving throw. Fey make this saving throw with disadvantage. On a failed save, the creature can take no actions on its turns. At the end of each of its turns, the creature can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on a success. If the creature takes damage the effect ends instantly.

Weight of Despair. You can use your Channel Divinity to cover an area in crushing gravity. As an action, choose a point within 60 feet. A 10-foot radius 30-foot tall cylinder of crushing gravity forms with the point as its center for 1 minute. The space within the area is difficult terrain for creatures other than you. Each creature other than you that starts its turn in the area must make a Strength saving throw. Celestials make this saving throw with disadvantage. On a failed saving throw, a creature is knocked prone.

Aura of Paranoia

Starting at 7th level, you and friendly creatures within 10 feet of you can’t be surprised and have advantage on initiative rolls and ability checks made to sense hidden creatures or traps while you are conscious.

At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.

Banish Hope

Starting at 15th level, creatures of your choice within 5 feet of you that are prone have disadvantage on all Wisdom and Charisma saving throws and must make a Wisdom saving throw before attempting to stand up. On a failed saving throw, a creature cannot stand up that turn.

Dread Idol

At 20th level you gain the ability to channel the powers of your Oath into your very body. As an action, you can transform into an avatar of hopelessness and dread. For 1 minute, you have advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks, and whenever an enemy begins its turn within 100 feet of you and it can see you it becomes frightened of you.

Upon being frightened, a creature must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, it cannot take actions until the start of its next turn. Each creature remains frightened of you until it deals you damage, it makes you roll a saving throw that you fail, or the transformation ends. A creature can only be frightened in this way once per transformation.

After activating this feature, you can't do so again until you finish a Long Rest.