Oath of the Shield (5e Subclass)
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Oath of the Shield
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| Oath of the Shield |
This is a Sacred Oath that can be taken by paladins.
The Oath of the Shield binds a paladin to the defense of those who cannot defend themselves. Sometimes called knight protectors, pious templars, or divine crusaders. These paladins know that there will always be a place for them at the front lines of the battle with evil. Whether it is a small village, a singular maiden or an entire city that is threatened with destruction, they hold themselves to the expectation of protecting all who do not have the means to protect themselves. Many who swear this oath are devoted to gods of life and war, and use their gods’ tenets as their guide through the trials they face. They do not stay in any one place too long, as those in their charge are protected and the danger passes, another’s are in need of defense.
Tenets of the Shield
The tenets of the Oath of the Shield vary by paladin, but all the tenets revolve around the protection of the weak or misjudged. Paladins who uphold these tenets are willing to go to extraordinary lengths to protect the innocent from evil or injustice, using their own sensibilities to differentiate between someone who needs their assistance, and someone who might manipulate others for their own ends. These paladins are often lawful neutral or lawful good in alignment.
Valour. Always be prepared to stand before evil or injustice to save a life, even in the face of impossible odds.
Discernment. Your ability to defend the weak is wasted on those who feign helplessness. Always know the truth of your charges need.
Resolve. Always continue on in the face of adversity, persevere when others fall short, and be prepared to end a threat permanently to ensure lasting protection of those in your charge.
Character. Your words and your deeds should engender trust, dependability and hope to all those you encounter. You do not know who will be the next to need your protection and your name should be beyond reproach, so as to be the first called upon when destruction is foreshadowed.
- Oath Spells
You gain Oath spells at the Paladin Levels listed:
| Paladin Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 3rd | shield, absorb elements |
| 5th | blur, warding bond |
| 9th | protection from energy, spirit guardians |
| 13th | death ward, stone skin |
| 17th | dispel evil and good, wall of force |
Channel Divinity
When you take this Oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options.
Divine Challenge. As a bonus action, you compel a creature within 10 feet of you to focus its attacks upon yourself. The creature makes a Wisdom saving throw. If the creature fails its saving throw, it has disadvantage on attack rolls for any attack that doesn’t include you as a target for 1 minute. Creatures who fail this saving throw also takes your proficiency bonus in radiant damage for all attacks not directed at you. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the start of its turn. On a success, the effect ends.
Divine Ward. As a reaction, you protect an ally from harm if they are within 10 feet of you and are hit with an attack. You must use this ability before the damage result is known. When you use this ability, whatever damage or conditions that would have affected your ally affect you instead. You make any saving throws as normal. The ward remains on the target for 1 minute, and you can use your reaction on subsequent turns to redirect further damage or effects to yourself.
Aura of Resolve
Starting at 7th level, your divine power protects you and friendly creatures from harm. You and friendly creatures within 10 feet of you reduce all nonmagical piercing, slashing, and bludgeoning damage by an amount equal to your Charisma modifier. At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.
Soul of the Defender
Starting at 15th level you can choose to empower yourself with healing energies. On your next turn immediately after being reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can instead choose to be reduced to 1 hit point. At the start of each of your turns you regain a number of hit points equal to half of your paladin level + your Charisma modifier for one minute or until you are reduced to 0 hit points or killed. Once you use this ability, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
Iron Resolve
At 20th level, as an action, you can cause yourself to become an impenetrable bulwark of divine energy. For one minute, you gain the following benefits:
- Your skin hardens and changes into a platinum sheen giving you a +4 bonus to AC, your eyes turn gold, and you have immunity to necrotic damage, along with resistance to all nonmagical damage.
- You emanate an aura of compulsion in a 10-foot radius. The first time any enemy creature enters the aura or starts its turn there during a battle, the creature must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or direct all of its attacks against you. If a creature has an area of effect attack it must include you as a target.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.