Vengeance
The Oath of Vengeance is a solemn commitment to punish those who have committed a grievous sin. When evil forces slaughter helpless villagers, when an entire people turns against the will of the gods, when a thieves’ guild grows too violent and powerful, when a dragon rampages through the countryside—at times like these, paladins arise and swear an Oath of Vengeance to set right that which has gone wrong. To these paladins—sometimes called avengers or dark knights—their own purity is not as important as delivering justice.
Branch Features
Tenets of Vengeance
The tenets of the Oath of Vengeance vary by paladin, but all the tenets revolve around punishing wrongdoers by any means necessary. Paladins who uphold these tenets are willing to sacrifice even their own righteousness to mete out justice upon those who do evil, so the paladins are often neutral or lawful neutral in alignment. The core principles of the tenets are brutally simple.
- Fight the Greater Evil. Faced with a choice of fighting my sworn foes or combating a lesser evil, I choose the greater evil.
- No Mercy for the Wicked. Ordinary foes might win my mercy, but my sworn enemies do not.
- By Any Means Necessary. My qualms can’t get in the way of exterminating my foes.
- Restitution. If my foes wreak ruin on the world, it is because I failed to stop them. I must help those harmed by their misdeeds.
Bonus Spells
As a vengeance paladin, you gain the following spells once you can cast spells of that level. Once you gain an oath spell, you always have it prepared and it doesn’t count against the number of spells that you can prepare each day.
If you have an oath spell that doesn’t appear on the divine spell list, that spell is nevertheless a divine spell for you.
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | Bane, Hunter’s Mark |
| 2nd | Hold Person, Misty Step |
| 3rd | Haste, Protection from Energy |
| 4th | Banishment, Dimension Door |
| 5th | Hold Monster, Scrying |
Talents
| Talent | CP | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|
| Oath of Vengeance | 5 | - |
| Relentless Avenger | 15 | Oath of Vengeance and Aura of Protection |
| Soul of Vengeance | 65 | Cleansing Touch and Relentless Avenger |
| Avenging Angel | 50 | Greater Auras and Soul of Vengeance |
Oath of Vengeance
Cost: 5 Character Points
You gain the ability to channel the power of your oath, using that energy to fuel the following magical effects.
When you use your oath powers, you expend 1 mana and choose which effect to create. Some oath effects require attack rolls. When you use such an effect, your disciple spell attack roll is used.
Abjure Enemy
As an action, you present your holy symbol and speak a prayer of denunciation. Choose one creature within 60 feet of you that you can see. Make a spell attack vs the Wisdom defence agaisnt that creature, unless it is immune to being frightened. You have +1d on fiends and undead.
On a hit, the creature is frightened for 1 minute or until it takes any damage. While frightened, the creature’s speed is 0, and it can’t benefit from any bonus to its speed.
On a miss, the creature’s speed is halved for 1 minute or until the creature takes any damage.
Vow of Enmity
As a bonus action, you can utter a vow of enmity against a creature you can see within 10 feet of you. You gain +1d on attack rolls against the creature for 1 minute or until it drops to 0 hit points or falls unconscious.
Relentless Avenger
Cost: 15 Character Points
Prerequisite: Oath of Vengeance and Aura of Protection
Once per turn, if, within the last round, you hit a creature with an opportunity attack, you can move up to half your speed without spending movement. This movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks.
When you hit a creature with an opportunity attack, you can move up to half your speed immediately after the attack and as part of the same reaction. This movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks.
Soul of Vengeance
Cost: 65 Character Points
Prerequisite: Cleansing Touch and Relentless Avenger
Once per round, when a creature under the effect of your Vow of Enmity makes an attack, it provokes an opportunity attack from you if it is within range.
Avenging Angel
Cost: 50 Character Points
Prerequisite: Greater Auras and Soul of Vengeance
You can assume the form of an angelic avenger. Using your action, you undergo a transformation. For 1 hour, you gain the following benefits:
- Wings sprout from your back and grant you a flying speed of 60 feet.
- You emanate an aura of menace in a 30-foot radius. The first time any enemy creature enters the aura or starts its turn there during a battle, the creature must make a Wisdom defence against your spell skill or become frightened of you for 1 minute, or until it takes any damage. Attack rolls against the frightened creature have +1d.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.