Oath of the Warden

Foreword: I love the simplicity and situationally complex classes and subclasses that are presented in D&D and i admire the accessibility of them for all players, however i have often found myself wanting more from my classes. Classes that have more depth, that are more mechanically complex while not being overpowered. I tend to find in combat specifically classes are limited in their effectiveness if they stray outside of their most effective option. E.g a barbarian should hit things, a ranger should fire their bow. Mostly for my own enjoyment  but hopefully for the community's as well i have set out to create more mechanically deep subclasses and maybe one day full classes that i hope will be fun to play with engaging story hooks and tactical choices in combat and in roleplay. The paladin is the first entry in this series and while not yet complete i believe it to be in a playable state and i would love to hear feedback good or bad, and if anyone is ever kind enough to play this i hope to hear from you about your experience. As a side note i am still getting used to this platform and the formatting so i apologise if it looks terrible currently. And lastly this class is not intended for beginners, there's also a lot of reading, sorry.

The Oath of the Warden is an ancient oath taken by devout followers of the Law domain. You become an implement of divine justice, meting out punishment to those that escape your deity's will. Though you harbour distaste for all those who break the laws of the divine, you are ill concerned with minor crimes, as your mandate is far more important than the petty squabbles of mortal and mundane realms. For centuries the wardens have guarded the prisons of the most powerful and evil beings to exist, exacting judgement and punishing them according to their deities divine will, it is for this task that you are chosen.

Taking this Oath binds you to these Tenets.

• Judgement: All shall be judged and the guilty shall be charged, let none who are guilty in the eyes of your deity walk free. 
• Law: You respect the law but are not bound by it, you are judged by your deity not by the will of a mortal. To exact judgement on the guilty you will do whatever you must
• Vigilance: The eye of the warden is ever watchful
• Eternal: The service of the warden is eternal

 

       

Channel Divinity

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

 Torment Spirit

As an action you channel divine justice into the mind of your foe, causing them to take 2d4 Psychic damage if they are living or 2d4 Radiant damage if they are undead. They must make a wisdom saving throw, On a failed save they are frightened.

 Executioners Judgement

As an action you raise your holy symbol and target a single creature you are aware of within 60 feet. Your Deity passes judgement on this creature and you are granted knowledge of its crimes (Dm's Discretion), if you deem this creature guilty it becomes permanently marked with Executioners Judgement.

The creature is unaware that it is marked even if it perceives the spell being cast. Executioners Judgement cannot be removed by greater restoration however greater restoration will reveal that the creature has been marked, any creature with true sight can perceive the mark.

Executioners Judgement can be removed by the divine power of other deities through spells such as divine intervention. It can also be removed by a wish, or other being of sufficient power e.g Archdevil, Archfey. The mark is removed when the creature dies. If the creature dies while marked and not in combat with you, you fail your Oaths and take 5d10 necrotic damage

 

While the Executioners Judgement is active, The creature becomes the subject of your Oath and you gain the Following abilities

• You can as a ritual, channel divine power to locate this creature. this takes 10 minutes and while channelling you immediately know the direction of this creature. If the creature is in motion, you know the direction of its movement. This ability is not limited by distance, geographical features or a creatures form, however this ability does not work across planes

 

A creature in combat with you that dies while marked can have its soul imprisoned, this requires an action and must be performed within 1 minute of the creatures death

A creature whose soul is imprisoned cannot be resurrected by conventional means, a wish spell cannot resurrect the creature however it does reveal the Identity of the warden who guards it

If this is the first creature you imprison your Deity creates within your holy symbol a Divine Prison causing your holy symbol to take one of 2 forms. It's soul and future souls are imprisoned there. The souls are bound by the rules of your chosen Symbol.

(As a side note for Dm's, If a player chooses to mark a creature that would not be reasonably assumed to be guilty of crimes worth the wardens attention the dm at their discretion may influence the player to take any of the actions described under the Breaking your oath section of the paladin class. Additionally For balance i would suggest that until the paladin seeks absolution their chosen holy symbol form reverts back to normal and they temporarily lose access to the specific skills or bonuses ascribed to their chosen form as well as the Executioners Judgement ability. Their other oath and paladin skills may remain unaffected.)

Oath Spells

You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.

 

Oath of the Warden Spells

PALADIN LEVEL	SPELLS
3rd	Inflict Wounds,Command
5th	zone of truth, Blindness Deafness
9th	Dispel Magic, Slow
13th	Stoneskin, Dominate Beast
17th	Hold Monster, Wall of Force

Divine Prison

Upon imprisoning your first soul, your holy symbol transforms into one of the following. This choice is permanent and cannot be reversed or changed.

- Headsman's Axe

(please note that while this is intended to be carefully balanced, This is designed to take the place of a magic weapon, therefore your DM should have final say on the bonuses conferred and when, as this will depend somewhat on the kind of campaign they are running and the power level of PCs that they intend to have. Again though, this has been carefully balanced in accordance with item rarity to PC level ratios and the general intended playstyle of the Class, any attempts to alter it without considerable thought could have unforeseen consequences on this class' power level. Additionally Souls are intended to be acquired on average every 2 levels, So balancing this around your campaign can be as simple as limiting the opportunities for souls to be collected until the party is a level or two up)

Your holy symbol takes the form of a miniature Greataxe and a Divine Prison is created within it. This divine prison can hold Level/2 Souls rounded down (min=1)

As a bonus action at will you can channel divine energy to manifest The Headsman's Axe, this axe takes any appearance you wish and functions as a +1 Greataxe, your Holy Symbol maintains this form until you choose to revert it.

Souls imprisoned in your Divine Prison are displayed as gemstones upon the shaft, these Gemstones take the appearance of your choosing. And confer the following bonuses

 1 Soul - Resistance to a single damage type relevant to the soul of this imprisoned creature (if Unclear your DM will make this decision)
 3 Souls - Divine Interrogation: over 1 Minute Channel your divine power into your prison to gain advantage on Skill checks related to Intelligence that your Prisoners would be familiar with (Dm's Discretion)
 5 Souls - Attacks with this Weapon now deal an additional 1d4 damage and all damage dealt by this weapon is now radiant
 6 Souls - This Weapon now functions as a +2 Greataxe
 7 Souls - Once per Short Rest, When you make an attack against a huge or smaller creature that succeeds you may attempt to Shackle the creature. The Creature must make a strength saving throw or be restrained, The creature makes a save at the start of each of its turns
 9 Souls - While in the Headsman's Axe form, add a d8 to initiative rolls at the start of combat. (this bonus does not confer if not in the Headsman's Axe form during initiative)

 

Your holy symbol can no longer be destroyed by conventional means, however if it is destroyed all souls bound within are freed and return to their bodies, if their bodies no longer exist, their soul will seek out the nearest sufficiently powerful empty body. Additionally the gemstones on the shaft of your axe may be destroyed by direct damage only. If a creature makes an attack roll against a Gem it takes 2d10 radiant damage for every attack roll. The Gemstones have an AC of 15 + your Proficiency bonus, 100+Levelx3 health,  is immune to non-magical damage and resistant to radiant damage but vulnerable to Necrotic damage, If a gemstone is destroyed its corresponding soul is released.

 

- Wardens Key

Your holy symbol takes the form of a Key made of bone, and a Divine Prison is created within it. 

As a ritual channel divine energy through your Holy Symbol to manifest the Gate to your prison, The entrance shimmers faintly and and takes the design of your choosing. It is 5 feet wide and 10 feet tall. You and any creature you designate when you cast the spell can enter the Prison as long as the gate remains open. You can open or close the Gate if you are within 5 feet as an action by using the Key

Souls imprisoned in your Divine Prison manifest here as their original form, they are bound by shackles and reside within cells. The cells are large enough to hold a Huge creature or smaller, a creature larger than Huge may not be imprisoned. The creature cannot escape or leave its cell  while it remains intact, it is incapable of damaging, or altering the cell in any way. A creature that is invited into the Prison through the gate, is capable of damaging or destroying a cell, if a creature makes an attack roll against a cell it takes 2d10 radiant damage for every attack roll. A cell has  an AC of 15+Proficiency bonus, 100+Levelx3 health,  is immune to non-magical damage and resistant to radiant damage but vulnerable to Necrotic damage

Your divine prison has Level/2 cells rounded down (min=1) located in a chamber large enough to hold all cells. Your prison can also have up to Level/2 Rooms rounded down (min=1). A room is a 10 foot x 10 foot square. You can create any floor plan you like and The place is furnished and decorated as you choose. Furnishings and decorations cannot be removed from the Prison.

A warden is strengthened by the souls bound within their prison, as such the following bonuses are granted: (remember the maximum number of souls you can imprison is your Level/2 rounded down)

1 Soul - Resistance to a single damage type relevant to the soul of this imprisoned creature (if Unclear your DM will make this decision)
 3 Souls - Divine Interrogation: over 1 Minute Channel your divine power into your prison to gain advantage on Skill checks related to Intelligence that your Prisoners would be familiar with (Dm's Discretion)
 5 Souls - The Imprisoned souls grant you increased Vitality, your Constitution modifier is increased by 1
 6 Souls - Enemy of my Enemy - you gain advantage on persuasion rolls against allies of all the creatures you have imprisoned
 7 Souls -  Burning Shackles - Once per Short Rest you may attempt to Shackle a creature within 30 Feet. The Creature must make a strength  saving throw or be restrained and take 2d6 fire damage, The creature makes a save at the start of each of its turns
 9 Souls - Eternal Warden - Upon death you may choose to consume up to 4 souls, Instantly reviving you. Each soul consumed will revive you with 25% of your Maximum life. The number of souls within your prison is reduced by the number of souls you consume. You lose access to abilities that you no longer have enough souls for.

 

 

Your holy symbol can no longer be destroyed by conventional means, however if it is destroyed all souls bound within are freed and return to their bodies, if their bodies no longer exist, their soul will seek out the nearest sufficiently powerful empty body.

Divine Shackles

Starting at 7th Level As an instrument of Divine justice, you channel Divine energy as a reaction to shackle your foes attempting to flee. Any enemy in combat with you that attempts to flee must make a Wisdom saving throw. On Success the Enemy may continue its action. On failure its movement it reduce to 0 for the remainder of its turn.

 

Wardens Vigilance

Starting at 7th Level a warden is always watching, and your eyes are blessed by your deity. None shall walk before you and go unnoticed none shall escape your sight.

You gain advantage on perception checks regarding creatures that are attempting to hide from you and while conscious you cannot be surprised

Divine Sight

At Level 10 Wardens Vigilance Grants you Divine Sight. Once per day temporarily see through the eyes of your Deity, as an action you gain true sight for 1 Minute

Manifest Prison

 

Eternal Servitude

At 20th level as an action take the form of one of the creatures you have imprisoned. Your game statistics are replaced by the statistics of the chosen creature, though you retain your alignment and Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores. You also retain all of your skill and saving throw proficiencies, in addition to gaining those of the creature. If the creature has the same proficiency as you and the bonus listed in its statistics is higher than yours, use the creature's bonus in place of yours. You can't use any legendary actions or lair actions of the new form. 
You assume the hit points and Hit Dice of the new form. When you revert to your normal form, you return to the number of hit points you had before you transformed. If you revert as a result of dropping to 0 hit points, any excess damage carries over to your normal form. As long as the excess damage doesn't reduce your normal form to 0 hit points, you aren't knocked unconscious. 
You retain the benefit of any features from your class, race, or other source and can use them, provided that your new form is physically capable of doing so. You can't use any special senses you have (for example, darkvision) unless your new form also has that sense.
When you transform, you choose whether your equipment falls to the ground, merges into the new form, or is worn by it. Worn equipment functions as normal. The GM determines whether it is practical for the new form to wear a piece of equipment, based on the creature's shape and size. Your equipment doesn't change shape or size to match the new form, and any equipment that the new form can't wear must either fall to the ground or merge into your new form. Equipment that merges has no effect in that state.

this is concentration and lasts for up to 1 hour. You may only use each soul once every 7 days