Homebrew:Oath of Castigation
(OOC: This is an implementation of the Oath of Castigation subclass from The Crooked Moon)
Base Class: Paladin
Evil and wickedness are widespread and long-lived, but not infinite. Paladins who swear the Oath of Castigation root evil out to burn it away utterly, giving light to all that is innocent and good. Whether bound by the laws of mortals, their deity, or their own personal code, they relentlessly hunt down evil where it thrives. Paladins of this oath know evil cannot hide in any festering place once it burns.
Tenets of Castigation
The tenets of the Oath of Castigation drive a paladin to act with conviction and without mercy in the destruction of wickedness.
- Certainty
- Burn away all doubt in pursuit of duty
- Burn Wickedness
- The wicked and corrupt must burn to spare the innocent.
- Purge Sin
- Sin is forgiven through suffering equal to the pain it inflicted.
The Wicked Nemeses table offers examples of malefactors, villains, and other evil beings that you have rooted out and purged in the past, or perhaps one you’re still hunting. Facing these nemeses may have put you on the path of purging wickedness wherever it lurks.
| 1d10 | Nemesis |
|---|---|
| 1 | A rotting vampire noble who spreads a deadly plague through the command of countless vermin |
| 2 | A brutal contract killer who sells their services to various cults and shadowy organizations |
| 3 | A charismatic cult leader who lords over a remote island, making seasonal sacrifices of mortals to ensure a bountiful harvest each year |
| 4 | An immensely intelligent flesh golem that killed its creator to pursue its own sinister work with strange science and gruesome experiments |
| 5 | An envious hag of the woods who corrupts the youth of small villages into committing horrific atrocities |
| 6 | A proud and vain heretic who gathers zealous followers after a bloody schism to initiate a brutal crusade in the name of their twisted beliefs |
| 7 | A once-renowned hunter now cursed with lycanthropy who has gone on bloody rampages |
| 8 | A relentless necromancer who scours ancient ruins for forbidden magic to free their otherworldly master from an eldritch prison |
| 9 | A strange amphibious creature that emerges from the depths to kidnap innocents and drag them below the water’s surface for unknown purposes |
| 10 | A bloodthirsty revenant who was once a dark knight and now musters other Undead riders to bring about death and decay |
Oath Spells
3rd-level Oath of Castigation feature
You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed in the Oath of Castigation Spells table. See the Sacred Oath class feature for how oath spells work.
| Paladin Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 3rd | divine favor, inflict wounds |
| 5th | chain of conviction, hold person |
| 9th | counterspell, speak with dead |
| 13th | consuming pyre, locate creature |
| 17th | flame strike, hold monster |
Channel Divinity
3rd-level Oath of Castigation feature
You gain the following Channel Divinity options. See the Sacred Oath class feature for how Channel Divinity works.
- Castigate.
- As an action, you can use your Channel Divinity to clap those you would bring to justice in fiery shackles. Choose a number of creatures up to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1 creature) you can see within 30 feet of yourself. Each creature must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be wrapped in fiery shackles and have its speed reduced to 0 for 1 minute. As a bonus action, you can cause the shackles to flare. Each creature bound by the shackles takes 2d6 fire damage. A shackled creature repeats the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
- Incite.
- As an action, you can use your Channel Divinity to better seek out wickedness and corruption. For the next 10 minutes, you have advantage on Intelligence (Investigation
Intelligence (Investigation)skillWhen you look around for clues and make deductions based on those clues, you make an Intelligence (Investigation) check. You might deduce the location of a hidden object, discern from the appearance of a wound what kind of weapon dealt it, or determine the weakest point in a tunnel that could cause it to collapse. Poring through ancient scrolls in search of a hidden fragment of knowledge might also call for an Intelligence (Investigation) check.) and Wisdom (Insight
Wisdom (Insight)skillYour Wisdom (Insight) check decides whether you can determine the true intentions of a creature, such as when searching out a lie or predicting someone’s next move. Doing so involves gleaning clues from body language, speech habits, and changes in mannerisms.) checks. - During that time, you can take a bonus action to choose a creature you can see within 10 feet of you. The target must succeed on a Charisma saving throw or be frightened for 1 minute. While the target is frightened in this way, it can’t speak a deliberate lie. The condition ends early if the target takes damage or if you use this bonus action again.
Kindling Aura
7th-level Oath of Castigation feature
You and your allies within your Aura of Protection ignore creatures’ resistance to fire and radiant damage, and when an affected creature hits with a weapon attack, it can deal fire damage instead of the weapon’s normal damage type.
In addition, you and affected creatures in the aura can add your Charisma modifier (minimum of +1) to Intelligence (Investigation
Intelligence (Investigation)skillWhen you look around for clues and make deductions based on those clues, you make an Intelligence (Investigation) check. You might deduce the location of a hidden object, discern from the appearance of a wound what kind of weapon dealt it, or determine the weakest point in a tunnel that could cause it to collapse. Poring through ancient scrolls in search of a hidden fragment of knowledge might also call for an Intelligence (Investigation) check.) and Wisdom (Insight
Wisdom (Insight)skillYour Wisdom (Insight) check decides whether you can determine the true intentions of a creature, such as when searching out a lie or predicting someone’s next move. Doing so involves gleaning clues from body language, speech habits, and changes in mannerisms.) checks.
Fervent Inquisitor
15th-level Oath of Castigation feature
Whenever a creature damages you or one of your allies within 30 feet of you that you can see, you can use your reaction to gain advantage on your next attack roll against the creature that dealt the damage.
Additionally, whenever you deal fire or radiant damage to a creature with half its hit points or fewer, you become aware of any lies the creature has willingly and knowingly spoken to you in the past 24 hours.
Fire and Brimstone
20th-level Oath of Castigation feature
As a bonus action, you embody cleansing flame and gain the benefits below for 10 minutes or until you end them (no action required). Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest. You can also restore your use of it by expending a 5th-level spell slot (no action required).
- You gain immunity to fire damage.
- Lashes of divine flame increase your reach by 10 feet, and your melee attacks ignore half and three-quarters cover.
- When you hit a creature with an opportunity attack, or when a hostile creature ends its turn within your reach, it must succeed on a Charisma saving throw or be knocked prone and have its speed reduced to 0 until the start of its next turn.