Base Class: Paladin
Oath of the Dragoon
Oath of The Dragoon requires a paladins who seeks to be the final pillar of support in battle. Those who would bravely charge into enemy ranks for the sake of their allies. These warriors are closely bonded with their steeds and become true vehicles of destruction in war.
Paladins who have taken this oath differ from cavaliers and other beast masters by treating their mounts as an extension of themselves for better or worse. When mounted or near their charge, they extend this nature to allies in need. Men and women of this caliber are always aiming to be the brightest light before, during and after the darkest night.
TENETS OF THE DRAGOON
A paladin who takes this oath must share it with those they would call allies.
Strength through companionship. We are strongest when we work together. This is the cornerstone of a strong civilized society.
Bolster the protectors. Those who protect the innocent deserve support for we are only as strong as the least of us.
First in, Last out. Always be the first into the fray and the last one out of it. Violence may not always be the answer, but if it is we will finish what is started.
Oath Spells
You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed in the Oath of the Dragoon Spells table. See the Sacred Oath class feature for how oath spells work.
Oath of the Dragoon Spells
Paladin Level | Spells |
---|---|
3rd | bane, shield of faith |
5th | warding bond, find steed |
9th | haste, conjure animals |
13th | dominate beast, guardian of faith |
17th | awaken, flame strike |
Channel Divinity
When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options. See the Sacred Oath class feature for how Channel Divinity works.
Unshakable Bond. You can use your Channel Divinity to reinforce the bond between you and the last friendly creature you mounted. Using your action, you gain the benefits of mounted combat as long as you share a space with it for 1 hour. While this ability is active, you have advantage on any spells or effects which would cause you to dismount or become separated more than 5ft.
Marked Foe. As a bonus action, you can mark a creature you can see within 30 feet of you, using your Channel Divinity. The creature has disadvantage with all attacks that don’t target you for 1 minute or until you drop to 0 hit points or falls unconscious. If they manage to successfully strike anyone but you, you have advantage on your next attack against them.
Aura of Relief
Starting at 7th level, you and friendly creatures within 10 feet of you or your summoned steed gain a bonus to AC equal to your charisma modifier (minimum +1).
At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.
Cavalry's Charge
Starting at 15th level, your enemies learn to fear you and your trusty steed. While mounted, you can command your trusty steed to trample enemies if it moves more than 20ft during its turn. Your mount can now also make attacks as a reaction at your command using whatever basic attack is described in it’s stat block. When you use this feature these attacks count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
Winged Hussar
At 20th level, you and your steed become beacons of hope for your allies, which gives you and your steed each one benefit:
- Your steed has resistance to all damage dealt by other creatures (their attacks, spells, and other effects).
- Both you and your mount sprout small magical wings (An additional pair appear if either of you already have wings). You and your steed no longer take fall damage and have doubled jump distance.
- Whenever a creature hits you or an ally you can see within 30ft with an attack, you can use your reaction to cause it to take 20 radiant damage.
If you are more than 5ft away from your mount for 1 minute, you lose this ability until you finish a long rest.
Hey, glad you like the subclass! I greatly appreciate the feedback and will take it into consideration. I've already released new versions of it, so please let me know if you think they are improvements or not.
As I studied up on how to make it feel more thematic, I came to realize that Dragoons specifically have a different style of combat than other mounted cavalrymen. Kinda fear I may have over corrected, but if that is the case I can always go back closer to this version with your suggestions in mind :).
Newest version is here if your curious: https://www.dndbeyond.com/subclasses/346324-oath-of-the-dragoon
I will though be changing the aura again because I think scaling on Cha is possibly a tad bit strong, but looking at the oathbreaker makes me think damage might be alright to add bonuses to. Not sure yet.
I think this is a pretty cool take on a Dragoon for 5e. Overall I like what you've done, but I do have some suggested changes:
Channel Divinity: Unshakable Bond
- I would change this to grant some other beneficial effect rather than duplicating the benefits of the Mounted Combatant feat. It encourages players to not take that feat, which would normally synergize well with a Dragoon type class. I would give this Channel Divinity option something that is complimentary to Mounted Combatant, but doesn't overlap with its benefits.
- Something like: As an action, you form a powerful bond with a friendly creature within 30 feet of you that you can see. The creature must be a mount that you have ridden at least once in the past 24 hours. For the next minute, you and the creature have advantage on Wisdom saving throws while you can see each other.
Channel Divinity: Marked Foe
- This one looks good. I would consider altering it slightly.
- Something like: Using a bonus action, you mark a hostile creature you can see within 30 feet of you for the next minute. The target creature has disadvantage on attack rolls against creatures other than you, and must make a Wisdom saving throw each time it attempts to attack a creature other than you for the duration.
Aura of Relief
- This is an interesting aura, but much too powerful. You and your allies will likely receive a +3 to +5 bonus to your AC, which is a HUGE beneift. Think of permanent Shield on all these creatures. I would recommend altering the benefit.
- Something like: you and friendly creatures within 10 feet of you or a creature targeted by your Unshakable Bond feature gain half cover. (+2 AC, which is a nice benefit, but much more balanced for game play).
Calvary's Charge
- This is a cool feature. I would not change the benefits, but I would recommend rewording it for clarity.
- While you are mounted on a creature under the effect of your Unshakable Bond feature, you can use a reaction to command the creature to move 20 feet toward a hostile creature and take the Attack action. The creature's attacks count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to non-magical attacks and damage.
Winged Hussar
- Very cool feature. I wouldn't change anything.