Oath of Artifice

Those who swear the oath of Artifice are consummate tinkerers, inventors and crafters. They take the magic of the worlds and bind it to machines. Their minds are their strongest weapon constantly creating, designing and redesigning. Many of those who start along this path do so, to aid themselves to over come so physical disability. Maybe they lost an arm or a leg in battle, through an accident or something else. Others simply prefer to test their experiments on themselves. Those who take the Oaths of Artifice tend to do so over time as they begin to see the spirit, sparks of the divine in the machines they make.

Artifice paladins have been known to bind metals to bone, replace limbs with constructions of ceramics and steels. For their one true purpose, the main tenet of their oath is to seek out knowledge, find secrets, solve the mysteries of the many worlds that exist. This is dangerous work and Artifice paladins strive to be ready to face it all. Masters of invention, artifice paladins use ingenuity and magic to unlock extraordinary capabilities in objects. They see magic as a complex system waiting to be decoded and then harnessed in their spells and inventions. 

Many Artifice paladins are veterans injured in battle, they continue to serve behind the frontlines. Those who are approached by the order of artifice begin to learn the secrets of technology and magic while simultaneously serving as willing test subjects for the order's inventions. Many an artifice paladin has returned to combat with a new limb, even new whole portions of their bodies, many more take to the road as adventurers protecting people who will never even know they exist, from what lies in the dark.

It is in this dark, in the most dangerous corners of the worlds they walk that Artifice paladins find a home. Wandering continents, oceans, even other planes of existence  in search of secrets hidden away. Beyond the boundaries of the order, however, the life of an artificer paladin is often not an easy one. The magics and technology of the order leave one visibly changed and prone to unsettle common folk. While some societies have come to accept the good deeds of the order, many artifice paladins publicly hide their nature unless absolutely necessary, feeling more comfortable in the wilds and wastes of the world where the Orders commonly train. Even so, the best work a artificer paladin is done on the bleeding edge. Braving the threat of misunderstanding even vilification, these protectors part man, part machine, part magic wade through civilization, earning coin as mercenaries or bounty hunters, ever watching for signs and secrets  beneath the surface. They are known to particularly hunt creatures that have been warped by magic seeking to end their torture but also to understand it.

Oath Spells

You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed in the Oath of Artifice Spells table. See the Sacred Oath class feature for how oath spells work.

Oath of Artifice Spells

Artifice Body

Artifice paladins do not get skills derived from channelling divinity, as the order they serve does not have a divine patron. Instead they serve knowledge and magic as a whole.

You gain proficiency with Smith's Tools, Tinker's Tools and Thieves' tools.

Starting at 3rd level your body becomes something more than it was. You have bonded pieces of magic and technology to your limbs or even as total limb replacements. You become a living weapon. 

Your body is reinforced with magic and machinery.

• Beginning at 3rd level, while you are wearing no armour and not wielding a shield, your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Charisma modifier.
• Your Unarmed Strikes count as magical and deal 1d8 + your Strength or Dexterity Modifier when you attack with these strikes you gain a bonus action attack. Additionally you can use these strikes to channel your divine smites.
• Your divine smites are not divine as do not serve a specific god. Instead you channel the essence of magic through your mechanical, or mechanically enhanced limbs. You choose the damage type of these strikes (excluding radiant and necrotic). For a first level spell slot you do 2d8 damage and an additional d8 for every additional spell slot up to a total of 5d8. Unlike other paladins who deal additional damage to fiends and undead, your blows do an additional 1d8 to aberrations and monstrosities.
• The additional damage die you gain at level 11, is a d8 and does a damage type of your choice.
• You gain darkvision to 120ft and can see in magical darkness.
• Your movement speed increases by 10ft.

 

Aura of Mana

Beginning at 7th level, your study of the secrets of magic and constant innovation with magical machinery and prosthesis have imbued you with a aura of pure magic. You and friendly creatures within 10 feet of you have resistance to damage from spells.

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

You also have added or enhanced the mechanisms within your body. You can imbue non magical objects such as coins or playing cards with small pieces of magic and propel them with tremendous force. Others channel this force through crystals imbedded in their artificial limbs, eyes or torsos.  At level 7 you can propel 2 of these objects, they each deal 1d8 + your dexterity modifier modifier. This increases to 3 projectiles at level 15, an attack roll should be made for each projectile. Unlike other paladins you can perform a Mana Flare (divine smite) through these projectiles. 

Your movement speed increases by a further 5ft.

At 7th level you gain a +1 to hit and damage rolls. This increases to +2 at level 11 and +3 at level 17.

Your limbs have been tempered with magic and the best in artifice technology, they can turn away even the strongest of blows. Twice per short rest you can gain resistance to magical and non magical bludgeoning, slashing and piercing damage.

Mechanical Might

You have further honed the magic and machinery that make up parts of your body. Your grip is improved as magically strengthens tendons tighten beyond normal, your lungs can filter out toxins and poisons, even oxygen from water. You can retro fit your prosthetic limbs to fire grapnel hooks or restraining nets. Your strikes mark their targets with a visible aura of magic making it easier to strike them and you move with truly uncanny speed able to land blow after blow.

When you make an attack using the attack action you can make 3 attacks.

• Climbing costs no additional movement, and you have advantage on Strength (Athletics) checks and Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks.
• You gain a swimming speed equal to your movement speed and you and up to 5 other creatures can breathe underwater as small devices you hand out filter oxygen.
• You can as a bonus action fire a restraining grapple from your forearm. A creature must make a strength saving throw against your spell save DC or become magically restrained until the end of your next turn. 
• Each time you strike a creature with your Empowered Strike(s) you mark it with magical energy, giving who ever attacks it next, advantage on the roll.

Mana of Steel

You have bound magic, science and flesh into astounding combinations. You can reshape the materials that make up your body at will, lengthening fingers into claws, strengthening leg muscles to allow for tremendous leaps, your eyes can analyse an enemies weakness in a glance.

• Your melee weapon attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20 on the d20.
• You gain an additional 15ft of movement and your jump distance is doubled.
• Each time you score a critical hit you drain the magical essence of your enemy, restoring a level 3 or lower spell slot.
• Mana fuels your defence, you can use the absorb elements spell at 1st level at will, without consuming a spell slot as your magical body absorbs the energy, dissipating and repurposing it through your next strikes therefore the damage you deal on your next strike can be a damage type of your choice.