Oath of Principles

Paladins of the Oath of Principles are rare, to the point of near extinction. Many choose the path of the Cleric, devoting themselves to the gods that the Oath of Principles represent. Some, however, are more comfortable following the ideals that they stand for rather than the gods themselves. This does not equate to them having no faith, but rather choose to rely on themselves and their allies instead of divine reliance. Regardless, Paladins who choose to take the Oath of Principles are hardy, and may find that their beliefs in the ideals that Tempus, Torm, Ilmater, and even Bahamut represent are strong enough to affect their combat capabilities, and even grant their allies boons. Accordingly, Paladins that take these Oaths are trying to become the best they can be, accepting that the Oaths they take come with great responsibilities.

 Tenets of Principles

War. Battle is honorable, never show cowardice during a fight. Believe in your principles enough to war for them, but never abscond peace.
Duty. You must carve a path in history, where the common folk will follow it like a beacon. Be remembered as grandiose, yet humble.
Loyalty. You must not willingly sway from yourself, your allies, or ideals. Perseverance is paramount. Everything is tested, not just your might, but your will too.
Rightousness. Strive for upholding the standard the gods expect. There is no need for perfection. There is only trying to be good in a world where it may be easy not to be.

 

Channel Divinity

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

Sacred Weapon. As an action, you say a prayer to regain vitality. For 1 minute, gain hit points back at the start of every turn equal to 1d0 plus your Charisma modifier. Your health cannot exceed your maximum hit points during this effect, and you lose any temporary hit points you may have had. Additionally, you regain the maximum amount of points possible from any healing spells. Regaining hit points from a healing spell ends this effect early. This effect ends early if you fall unconscious.

Vow of Resolution. As a bonus action, you can use your Channel Divinity to utter a vow and affect your combat capabilities. Choose from one of the following options:

• Choose a creature you can see within 10 feet that you can see. You gain advantage on melee attack rolls made against that creature for 1 minute.
• Choose a creature that you can see within 60 feet. You gain advantage on spell saving throws made against that creature for 1 minute.
• Choose a creature you can see within 10 feet. They must succeed a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failure, the target suffers disadvantage on melee attacks for 1 minute. An affected creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of their turn.

 

Oath Spells

You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.

Oath of Principles Spells

Aura of the Warrior

Starting at 7th level, your ferocity of war can bolster friendly creatures. Whenever a creature within 5 feet of you takes the Attack action, they can add 1d8 radiant damage to one attack. Should they have the multi-attack feature, they can benefit from this feature only on the first attack that hits.

At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 15 feet.

Unfaltering Champion

Starting at 15th level, you are hard to take down from a fight. Whenever you take damage that would reduce you to 0 hit points, roll a Constitution saving throw equal to half the damage you took. On a failed save, you are knocked unconscious. On a successful save, you drop t 1 hit point instead. If you are under the effects of Channel Divinity: Devoted Warrior, you drop to 1 hit point regardless of a success or failure.

You cannot use this feature again until you finish a long rest should you succeed on the Constitution saving throw.

Divine Paradigm

At 20th level, you become a paragon of ideals. As an action, you gain the following benefits for one hour:

• You have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons.
• Your melee weapon attacks deal score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20 on the d20.
• Whenever you drop to half your hit point maximum, you gain advantage on the next melee attack against the creature you took the damage from. On a hit, you regain 20 hit points. This effect does not apply if you attempt a melee attack against a creature you did not take the damage from.

You cannot use this feature again until you finish a long rest.