Base Class: Paladin
These paladins center their whole life around relics, items of cultural and religious significance. Whether they are seeking them out, collecting them, destroying them or carrying out the prophecy connected to them.
Tenets of the Relic
The specific tenets depend on the relic(s) in question, but are generally about not letting them fall/stay in the hands of evil. Maybe you are collecting the last remnants of your dead civilizations that have been looted. Maybe you found an artifact in a temple that gave you purpose in life. Or maybe you are collecting them for a museum or library. You are all about finding relics and their histories, protecting and preserving the stuff of old and bringing out their divine purpose.
At the start one piece of equipment from your starting gear is actually a relic, which will give you some bonuses. Your relic can be used as your holy symbol. You can choose from the list below. Whenever you stumble upon a more meaningful or powerful item, you can have it become your relic (changing the relic type if need be). If you lose your relic, you can either give another piece of equipment the relic property or wait until your DM puts a new one in your game. Work with your DM to determine how the history of your relic ties in with the world.
Residue of the Prophet. Your holy symbol is a memorabilia or piece of a prophet or hero from your church, giving you bonuses to spell attacks as you start to emanate their doctrine or follow in their footsteps.
The Long-forgotten Weapon. You own a (martial) weapon that once belonged to great people, giving you bonuses to attacks as you learn more about its lineage and the tragic history surrounding it.
Crest of the Disbanded Order. Your shield or a piece of armor bears the sigil of an organisation thought to have died out, giving you bonuses to your defenses as you unravel the mysteries of their sudden end or do initiation rituals in this secret order.
Oath Spells
You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.
| Paladin LEVEL | SPELLS |
|---|---|
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3rd |
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5th |
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9th |
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13th |
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17th |
Channel Divinity
When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options.
Activate Relic. As an action, you can call on the divine power from within the relic that you are holding, using your Channel Divinity. For 1 minute, you add your Charisma modifier to attack rolls made with it, to magical attack rolls in case of the Residue of the Prophet or Melee rolls in case of the Long-forgotten Sword (with a minimum bonus of +1). It becomes magical for the duration. In case of the Crest of the Disbanded order, you can add half your charisma modifier rounded down (minimum of +1) to your AC and gain resistance to Necrotic damage.
You can end this effect on your turn as part of any other action. If you are no longer holding or carrying this weapon, or if you fall unconscious, this effect ends.
Hands off. As an action, you present your holy symbol and speak a prayer to keep the unworthy from using relics, using your Channel Divinity. Choose one creature within 30ft of you that is holding a magical item. They must make a wisdom saving throw. On a fail, they drop the item and take 1d8 + your Paladin level in radiant damage. On a success they take half as much damage and don't drop the item. For a minute, you can use your bonus action to give them disadvantage on all rolls made with this item until the start of your next turn. If they failed, they can attempt the save again on each of their turns during that minute, picking it up on a success
Bolstering Aura
Your relics are so powerful, that your allies gain some of the effects when they are close to it. At 7th level, allies within 5ft of you can also use your relics magical to hit bonus, or to AC bonus for themselves. If their magical items have a bonus equal or higher than you relic, they use their own magical bonus instead instead. The added bonus corresponds to the Relic type, as described in the Activate Relic channel divinity.
If your DM does not hand out magical items often, your relic gains a +1 to hit or AC at 7th level, +2 at 13th level and +3 at 17th level.
Sacrifice
Your relic can revive you with some of their divine energy when you drop unconscious. Starting at 15th level, when you are reduced to 0 hit points and are not killed outright, your relic can make you drop to 1 hit point instead by degrading their magical bonus by one. The item cannot gain a negative modifier. Whenever you finish a long rest, the magical bonus regains a +1, up to it's original bonus.
Bask in Glory
At 20th level, you can unleash the true power of your relic, making your enemies grovel for even looking at it. As an action you can have your relic radiate its holy power in a 30ft radius for a minute. An enemy starting it's turn in here must make a wisdom saving throw. On a fail they are Petrified until the end of the duration. On a save it is frightened of you until it has left the radius.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
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