Paladins are the knights in shining armor of D&D, brave warriors that inspire others on the battlefield with martial training and holy magic. Inspired by Courtly Love, Arthurian Legend, and a little bit of swashbuckling, we bring you a charming Paladin Oath inspired by love.
Oath of the Gallant
The Oath of the Gallant is a vow to hold yourself to a lofty ideal; to inspire and win the admiration of others and often a significant individual. Paladins who take the Oath of the Gallant can become legends in their own time, as they are much more gregarious and interact with more people than other types of Paladins. Unlike the Oath of Devotion, which hold themselves and the whole world to lofty standards, the Oath of the Gallant is more introspective. These Paladins know that they are flawed individuals, and the world is a flawed place. But the quest for self-enlightenment is the goal, as well as inspiring others to likewise do the same. Most take this oath to make themselves worthy in the eyes of another, and in turn make the world a better place for that person. Who that person is, whether it’s a King or Queen, a person you wish to marry, or a mentor, is up to the player.
Tenants of the Gallant
Come What May. Love is eternal, but the world is not. While the reason you took this oath may pass from this world, you will always find a reason to continue the oath.
Seek all Meanings. It is easy to deceive people, especially with what they want to hear. Find the truth in all things. Knowledge brings enlightenment.
Fan the Embers. While fighting is sometimes necessary, and it may even be the right thing to do, it may be possible to turn enemies into allies. Find these times, for raising an enemy to fight for your cause is a great victory.
Spirit and Soul. People cannot rise if they are not free. You must defend the weak from the wicked. Slavery, poverty, and disease shackle us all, and by fighting it for one, you fight it for everyone.
The Pen is Mighty. Words are weapons. Always be ready with inspiring words for your allies and demoralizing quips for your enemies.
Oath Spells
You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.
Oath of the Ancients Spells
3rd – Charm Person, Expeditious Retreat
5th – Enthrall, Zone of Truth
9th – Haste, Hypnotic Pattern
13th – Compulsion, Freedom of Movement
17th – Awaken, Geas
Channel Divinity
When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options.
Daring Proclamation. You can use your Channel Divinity to issue a challenge to a Fiend or Dragon, swearing a vow that they will die this day. As an action, you present your holy symbol and target a Fiend or a Dragon within 10 feet. The creature must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw, on a failed save the creature loses all damage resistances and the creature has disadvantage on all attack rolls, for 1 minute, or until it drops to 0 hit points, or falls unconscious.
Fascinating Gift. You can use your Channel Divinity to summon to your hand a small fascinating object. It appears to others as a ball of faintly glowing light, while to the creature you give it to, it is a source of consuming fascination. As an action, if you have a free hand, you may present the Fascinating Gift to a creature within 5 feet of you that you can see. The creature must succeed on a Charisma saving throw or be restrained. While restrained by its fascination to the gift, the creature repeats the saving throw at the end of each of its turns. On a success, it snaps out of the allure of the gift which immediately vanishes. Any damage done to the creature allows it to immediately make another saving throw.
Aura of Devotion
Beginning at 7th level, you and friendly creatures within 10 feet of you can’t be charmed while you are conscious.
At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.
Quick with the Blade
Beginning at 15th level, when you hit a creature with a melee attack, they have disadvantage to saving throws against your spells and channel divinity abilities until the end of your next turn.
Gallant Champion
At 20th level, you can assume the form of a Champion of Courage and Truth. Your eyes glow with a blue light, and your skin takes on a metallic color. For 1 minute, you gain the following benefits:
You gain the effects of the freedom of movement spell, and your speed cannot be reduced.
You have advantage on all attack rolls.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
Designers Notes
Aura of Devotion is exactly the same as the feature in Oath of Devotion. Trevor and I kept bouncing a number of ideas back and forth, and we eventually arrived at giving an advantage on saves vs charm and illusion spells. But it was a little clunky, and we both felt that Aura of Devotion fit best anyway, so we went with that. We also kept bouncing back and forth on the spell Awaken, and ultimately I decided to keep it because I felt that a Paladin chasing enlightenment might also want to spread that to animals, or maybe their war horse. For DMs that don’t like that idea, just replace it with the spell Commune.
