Oath of the Way

Those who follow the Oath of the Way are not what would be traditionally known as a paladin. They are not holy warriors and they do not serve any god, they follow the way a code of conduct, some would say perhaps a code of honour but it is something much more ancient. Some follows of the way say some of the tenets ascribed to the path can be found etched in walls buried on long lost caves beneath the earth or found in sunken ruins deep beneath the ocean. The Way is a quasi religion at best and has been interpreted in innumerable ways, though there are basic tenets that all who walk the path of the Way follow.

 The Oath of the way is a martial discipline, they train rigourously with the weapons of their order. One of the main teachings of the way is the collection of magical secrets, spells, items anything they can find. There seems to be a closely guarded secret within the order that these magical secrets they seek are in someway connected to their code. As collectors of such magic, they themselves are steeped in magic but are seldom casters themselves. While Paladins can smite with divine fervour a follower of the Way will channel pure magic into his weapons. Of the greatest magical secrets that the Order has found is 'Kar. A highly prized metal connected to the Way's ancient past, said to be able to turn aside any blow. While not an incredibly rare metal it is still difficult to find, often residing in the hands of those the Order of the Way would consider enemies, stolen from fallen warriors during the purges. Groups or safe spaces to those of the order are called coverts and each covert has an armoursmith. These revered figures take a forge 'Kar into masterwork pieces of armour that are given to the Warriors of the Way. 

They are not a numerous order for many years those who follow the way have been persecuted, even purged, those who remain now walk a lonely path not seeing another member of the order for months even years. They tend to live and operate on frontiers, taking work as bounty hunters, trackers and bodyguards. This allows them to partake in the second tenet of their order, to seek out and defeat those stronger than they are. Rumours and myths abound of those who follow the way being able to singlehandedly defeat scores of men, ferocious beasts, some even say that those who follow the way seek out other paladins to face them in single combat. Indeed it seems that followers of the Way are at their best when the odds are against them.

The final base tenet of the order is the simplest and yet often the most difficult. Protect those who follow the Way. There still exist people in power who desire the downfall of the order and it's followers. To become a follower of the way is to become both hunter and prey and no matter any differences two followers of the Way would put aside any dispute to aid each other. There are many other tenets to this warriors code but all who follow the path abide by the three most sacred laws, for this is the way.

FEATURE REPLACEMENT

The following features are replaced when you choose this oath. Divine Sense is replaced with Peerless Tracker, Lay on Hands is replaced with Field Medic, and Divine Smite is replaced with Invested Strike.

Peerless Tracker.

Warriors of the Way are adept at tracking their foes, even through the most difficult terrain, some are even skilled enough to track them across planes. This is doubly so if they are tracking down rumours of magic items or even 'Kar. When you make an Intelligence or Wisdom check related to your favoured terrain, your proficiency bonus is doubled if you are using a skill that you’re proficient in. 

• While tracking other creatures, you learn their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area.
• You can root out the direction of any magical source within 1 mile.
• You gain the ability to seek powerful enemies, through talking to locals, following signs and a general sense for trouble you can learn the direction of any creature who is either equal to your level or any C/R rating higher than your current level.

You can use these abilities a number of times equal to your constitution modifier, theses uses reset upon a short rest.

Field Medic. (use lay  on hands)

You are well trained in combat medicine and have even learned a few magical tricks to aid in your healing. You have a pool of healing power that replenishes when you take a long rest. With that pool, you can restore a total number of hit points equal to your paladin level × 5.

As an action, you can touch a creature and draw power from the pool to restore a number of hit points to that creature, up to the maximum amount remaining in your pool.

Alternatively, you can expend 5 hit points from your pool of healing to cure the target of one disease or neutralize one poison affecting it. You can cure multiple diseases and neutralize multiple poisons with a single use of Field Medic, expending hit points separately for each one.

This feature has no effect on undead and constructs.

Invested Strike. (use divine smite)

Those who follow the Oath of the Way serve no god, they are not holy men, they serve no lofty ideals. At best they are honourable warriors at worst little more than magical thieves. But all of them are well aware of the hatred felt for them and their Way and so early on in their training they all learn the basics of magical investiture, their precious 'Kar armour acting as a focus for this practice. They can channel pure magic into their weapons adding power to their blows.

Starting at 2nd level, when you hit a creature with an attack, you can expend investiture  slot to deal extra damage to the target, in addition to the weapon’s damage. The extra damage is 2d8 for a 1st-level slot, plus 1d8 for each spell level higher than 1st, to a maximum of 5d8. This damage is un-aspected and there for bypasses any resistances or immunities but also therefore no creature has any particular weakness to it. Also those who follow the Way deal no extra damage to fiends or undead.

 

Magical Investiture

Those who take the Oath of the Way come to learn about magical in a very different way to others. As such they have no innate magical talent and cannot cast spells. What they can do is pull the very essence of magic from their surrounding and more importantly from their 'Kar armour. This magical investiture is displayed through several different ways as they increase in power and skill.

Those who follow the Oath of the Way serve no god, they are not holy men, they serve no lofty ideals. At best they are honourable warriors at worst little more than magical thieves. But all of them are well aware of the hatred felt for them and their Way and so early on in their training they all learn the basics of magical investiture, their precious 'Kar armour acting as a focus for this practice. They can channel pure magic into their weapons adding power to their blows.

Starting at 2nd level, when you hit a creature with an attack, you can expend investiture  slot to deal extra damage to the target, in addition to the weapon’s damage. The extra damage is 2d8 for a 1st-level slot, plus 1d8 for each spell level higher than 1st, to a maximum of 5d8. This damage is un-aspected and there for bypasses any resistances or immunities but also therefore no creature has any particular weakness to it. Also those who follow the Way deal no extra damage to fiends or undead.

• They can mark a target as you attack it. For 1 minute you deal an extra 1d6 damage to the target whenever you hit it with an attack, and you have advantage on any Wisdom (Perception) or Wisdom (Survival) check you make to find it. Until your next short rest you also know where the target is, including how far away it is and where and when it moves.
• You still have the equivalent of spell slots, known as investiture slots. These slots are used solely to fuel your strikes.
• At 3rd level you can touch yourself or one willing creature and for 10 minutes they cannot be charmed or frightened.
• You can funnel magical essence into your weapon(s). Your weapon(s) count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage. At 5th level you can add a bonus of +1 to your hit and damage rolls, at 11th level this bonus increases to +2 and at 15th this increases to +3. A weapon with this investiture cannot already be magical and the effect lasts until your next short rest.
• At 5th level you can attempt to absorb magic from an item or person. As an action you can transfer this magic into yourself. The DM or a fellow player must make a spell modifier roll against your save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier if they fail to beat it you can absorb 1 spell effect of your choice and remove its effect from your target, on a success nothing happens. At 11th level this improves further when you absorb a spell you can restore 1 invested strike slot up to 3rd level.
• At 7th level you can interpose yourself yourself between a spell and it's intended target, when a spell is cast within 30ft of you you can snatch it from the air. To do so, you must move 15ft (this movement is allotted to you) towards the caster, taking opportunity attacks if they are possible. You must then roll as if casting a 3rd level counterspell, for the sake of this ability your spell casting modifier is Constitution. If you succeed in grabbing the spell from the air, you can restore one investiture slot up to 2rd level, at level 11 this counts as a 4th level counter spell and you can restore up to a 3rd level investiture slot.

You can use any of these abilities a number of times up to your proficiency modifier and they reset upon a long rest.

Oath of the Way

TENETS OF THE WAY

A warrior who takes this oath has the tenets of the Way inscribed upon his 'Kar armour.

Seek out magical secrets. There is a secret to all magic, one which informs the way. Seek and find.

Strength Above All. By challenging those stronger than you, you walk the path. This is the Way.

Protect those who follow the Way. Your people are much maligned, hunted and purged. Protect them no matter the cost.

When you accept the way at 3rd level you begin to walk the path. You gain your first piece of 'Kar armour, your helmet. Many of those who follow the Way choose never to remove it unless in the presence of another member of the order, but this is an ancient teaching and only those most strict follow it. You're 'Kar armour is vital to your class. At 3rd level it counts as half plate and you are given the medium armour master feat. Your 'Kar helm also gives you darkvision up to 60ft and gain advantage on dexterity saving throws.

'Kar armour takes many shapes and forms, for some it is traditional armour made of plates, for others if their armoursmith has the skill it can be woven into a fabric. There was a time when those who followed the Way could be identified by their armour but that tradition has long since fallen by the way side. It was all to easy for the enemies of the Way to hunt their foes when they all looked alike. But even now there are patterns and designs that indicate the presence of 'Kar and a follower can always recognise another.

You also become adept in using the Amban Staff, one of the traditional weapons of your calling. It is a worthy melee melee weapon with a split point, that allows you to channel your invested strikes. It is a long weapon, between 5ft and 7ft in length. Those who follow the Way train relentlessly with this weapon and to watch them use it is an impressive display of sweeps, spins and strikes. The Amban Staff deals 2d4+ your Dexterity modifier, this increases to 2d6+ your Dexterity modifier at 7th level.

You can also choose to use 'Eskad Blades, these are shorter blades that resemble slightly over curved knives, each hilt has an open circle, allowing the wielder to quickly spin the blades depending on the stance they are using. Each blade deals 1d6 + Dexterity modifier and when you make an attack with them you can make an additional bonus action attack, this attack deals 1d6 + your Strength or Dexterity modifier. This increases to 1d8 + your Dexterity modifier for your main hand weapon at 7th level.

At 15th level you gain an additional damage die on each of these weapons.

You also gain proficiency in arcana and survival.

Those who follow the Way prefer to use the Amban Staff or the 'Eskad Blades but are adept at adapting to the weapons they have and the situations they are in. Though many prefer to use modified Amban and 'Eskad weapons.

As you gain your pieces of 'Kar armour your armour class increases. At 3th level you gain +1 AC at 7th level +2 AC and at 15th level +3 AC.

The Oath of the Way is a lonely path, many who walk it gain companions as they travel. This usually takes the form of a magical creature or a fey, attracted to the pure magical energy that surrounds a warrior of the Way. It is the players choice to decide the form of the companion, or you can confer with your DM, but most are attuned enough to the warrior that they take more mundane forms such as hunting dogs, wolves or giant cats. These companions can aid those who take the Oath of the Way in combat.

WAY COMPANION

Medium magical creature or Fey.

Armor Class 14 + PB (natural armour)

Hit Points 5 + five times your level (the companion has a number of hit dice [d10s] equal to your level)

Speed 40 ft.

Saving Throws Str +4 plus PB Dex +1 plus PB, Con +2 plus PB

Damage Immunities: same as your 'Kar armour

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10

Languages telepathy with the warrior of the Way

Challenge—

Proficiency Bonus (PB) equals your bonus

Actions

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 plus PB to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d6 piercing damage plus PB damage

Reactions

Infused Strike: The companion can use its reaction when you are hit with an attack. It will lash out at the creature that attacked you with a bite.

The Companion is friendly to you and your companions and obeys your commands. See its game statistics in the Companion stat block, which uses your proficiency bonus (PB) in several places. 

In combat, it shares your initiative count, but it takes its turn immediately after yours. It can move and use its reaction on its own, but the only action it takes on its turn is the Dodge action, unless you take a bonus action on your turn to command it to take another action. That action can be one in its stat block or some other action. If you are incapacitated,  it can take any action of its choice, not just Dodge.

If your companion dies and you do not heal it before it faces true death, you can perform a special ritual to infuse it with magic once again. This must be done over a long rest at the cost of a first level slot.

Dirty Tricks

At 7th level you gain another piece of 'Kar, your breastplate. You can invest the breastplate with magic for a 2nd investiture slot or higher you gain resistance to bludgeoning, slashing and piercing damage for 1 minute.

Over the year warriors of the Way have learned to use many nasty tricks. Built into their 'Kar armour and weapons, they have the tools of their survival.

• When you are hit with an attack you can use your reaction to fire a burst of blue flame from your bracer. This gout of flame does 2d6 + your constitution modifier magical damage to the creature that struck you. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your constitution modifier and it resets on a short rest. The damage of the flame gout increases to 3d6 at level 15.
• You can target up to 5 creatures within 20 feet of you, you can fire up 5 magically propelled darts from your bracer. Each of these darts must make a ranged attack roll on a hit the deal 1d4 + your strength or dexterity modifier, the damage of the darts increases to 2d4 at level 15. Each creature must make a dexterity save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier or be blinded until the end of your next turn. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your constitution modifier and it resets on a short rest.
• You gain advantage on initiative rolls and can add to half your proficiency to your initiative as your 'Kar helm aids you in assessing threats and your environment.
• Despite wielding either a two-handed or two weapons you gain the benefit of having a shield as your 'Kar armour is incredibly durable and projects a field that can repulse strikes at will adding +2 to your AC.

Your bond with your companion strengthens it's attacks now deal 1d8 + your PB damage.

 

'Kar Warrior

At 15th level you gain your final pieces of 'Kar armour, your pauldrons and greaves. When wearing all pieces of the armour you gain several effects. You gain another extra attack as part of your attack action.

• You are immune to critical hits and damage, as the 'kar turns away even the most brutal strikes. 
• You can spend a 3rd level investiture slot to gain damage resistance to slashing, piercing and bludgeoning damage you also gain resistance to all damage except psychic.
• You roll an additional damage die each time you strike with your weapon, as the 'Kar armour channels pure magic into your weapon, making it vibrate at a molecular level allowing it to slice through nearly any material with ease.
• You can spend one 3rd level spell slot to imbue your vision with magic giving you advantage on your attacks for 1 minute.

This is the Way

You learn one of the most hidden secrets on the path of the Way. Your 'Kar armour is finally complete.

You gain a movement speed of 50ft and and a flying speed equal to your movement speed.