Oath of the Merry Men

When one thinks of a paladin, they see a knight in shining armor, a blade of light cutting through the darkness of evil, a righteous warrior of the gods, a moral paragon of justice, order, honor, and peace.

Such images do not describe paladins who swear by the Oath of the Merry Men in the least.

The Oath of the Merry Men is a code kept by those who understand that 'justice' is never served to the rich few. They understand that the values of 'order' are often corrupt, and used to keep the powerless many in line. They view life as more important than 'honor,' and understand that 'peace' is not always attainable. These paladins abandon their shining armor for a commoners cloth and leather, their shining blade for a hunting bow, their morals for the lives and well-being of those they consider family. A singular paladin who follows the Oath of the Merry Men is known by many names: A Scoundrel or an Outlaw by the rich, Wayward Blade or Pariah by other faithful, Robin Hood or Gray Fox by the poor. A group, however, is only ever known by one name: Trouble.

Tenets of the Merry Men

The tenets of the Merry Men flow and change as they are needed. After all, corruption almost never comes in the same shape and form as it did the last time, so Oath of the Merry Men paladins recognize the need to change as well. However, it does keep four core principles that rarely -if ever- change.

Keep Your Face Hidden. This is not an oath of glory or pride. Keep to the shadows and let your actions speak for themselves. If your legacy is to take a shape, your hand should not guide it.

Look After Your Family. Those who accept you for who you are and treat you with respect and care, should be protected with your life. The lives that surround you are the only lives that you can truly and without a doubt change for the better. Do so.

Rob the Rich to Feed the Poor.  Do what you can to help the marginalized, the downtrodden, and the unaccepted. If that means taking from the spoiled, and the greedy, and the corrupt, well... try not to get caught.

Life Above All. Do not take a life without provocation. A life taken to defend yourself or another is acceptable, and expected in some cases, but ending life needlessly is proof of corruption.

Oath Spells

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

Oath of the Open Sea Spells

Paladin Level	Spells
3rd	grease, charm person
5th	rope trick, invisibility
9th	hypnotic pattern, sending
13th	confusion, freedom of movement
17th	animate objects, passwall

Channel Divinity

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

Sacred Archer. As a bonus action, you can use your Channel Divinity to guide the shadows to hide your movements. When you use this Channel Divinity, and then as a bonus action on each of your turns for ten minutes, you can take the Hide action. Additionally you can use your Divine Smite feature against any creature within 60 feet of you that you hit with a weapon attack for ten minutes.

Cunning Fox. As a bonus action, you can use your Channel Divinity to hide the movements of your hands from prying eyes. You can grant yourself a +5 to every Sleight of Hand (Dexterity) check you make for the next ten minutes.

Aura of Silent Movement

Starting at 7th level, you emanate an aura of shadow while you’re not incapacitated. You and any creature of your choice within ten feet of you gain advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks that rely on moving silently

When you reach 18th level in this class, the range of the aura increases to 30 feet.

Light on Your Feet

Beginning at 15th level, you are considered to always be under the effects of a feather fall spell.

Legendary Ne'er-do-well

At 20th level, you have become an awe-inspiring figure of rebellion, and you have learned how to use that to your advantage. As an action, you can call upon the legends of vigilantes and outlaws who came before you, gaining the following benefits for 1 minute:

• Your speed cannot be reduced by any means, you cannot be grappled or restrained, and you can spend 5 feet of movement to escape any restraints, magical or nonmagical.
• You can use a bonus action to teleport up to 15 feet in any direction.
• You have advantage on all Dexterity ability checks and Dexterity saving throws against effects that you can see.
• Anyone who sees you during this time only remembers a captivating individual, and they will be unable to recall anything that happened in that minute.

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.