Sacred Oath - Oath of the Preserver
Paladins who swear to the tents of the Oath of the Preserver do so knowing that it will never lead to personal power. Though not subservient, they live their life in service of others - preserving the weakest and guiding them towards strength. Though glory may find them, they do not seek glory itself, instead only working to help others. Paladins who swear this oath often seek out disadvantaged communities and work among them to lift them up, putting their gifts to use. Those more martially focused may help with revolutions against oppressive powers, or sign on to apparent suicide missions against encroaching threats. In more than one occasion they have then returned to overthrow the new regime, should it not live up to the promised help.
They do not believe that all life should be preserved, and some deaths are inevitable, but neither are they bloodthirsty, with most viewing the act of ending a life as an unfortunate necessity to avoid further problems. While many would prefer to negotiate, they are warriors, first and foremost.
Tenets of the Preserver
Though not all paladins who make the Oath of the Preserver adhere to these exact tenets, these are the most common.
Defend the Downtrodden: You are a bulwark for those unable to defend themselves. People, not the law, is your first priority.
Inspire Hope: Winning battles is not enough, you must also win hearts.
Remain Humble: You must wend the thin line between a beacon to others without letting pride consume you.
Death is not the End: Though they do not rush to meet it, one who swears the oath of the preserver knows that their deeds will live on after death, and so they do not fear their demise.
Oath Spells
Oath of the Preserver Spells
You gain Oath Spells at the Paladin levels listed.
| Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 3rd | Heroism, Guiding Bolt |
| 5th | Warding Bond, Calm Emotions |
| 9th | Beacon of Hope, Thunder Step |
| 13th | Freedom of Movement, Fire Shield |
| 17th | Wall of Light, Legend Lore |
Channel Divinity
When you take this oath at 3rd Level, you gain the following Channel Divinity options:
Lifebind: As a bonus action you can forge a mystical connection with one friendly creature you can see. For the next minute, all damage the friendly creature takes is instead redirected to you, before resistance/immunity calculations. This effect ends if you drop to 0HP or if you choose to end it early, which you can do freely at no action cost, even when it's not your turn.
Provoke: As an action you unleash a wave of mocking magic against all enemy creatures within 30'. They must succeed on a Wisdom save, otherwise they suffer from disadvantage on all attack rolls against creatures other than you for a number of turns equal to your charisma modifier. On a successful save, the duration is halved.
Aura of the Veil
At 7th you and friendly creatures within 10 feet of you are enveloped in an aura of abundant healing energy. Whenever anyone affected by the aura receives healing (not counting expending hit dice), they also gain temporary hit points equal to the amount of health restored.
At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.
Reflect
At 15th level, as an action, you can can encompass a number of friendly creatures equal to your charisma modifier (minimum 1) with a bubble of reflective magic. When a creature protected by Reflect is targeted by a spell, the spellcaster must succeed on a spellcasting ability check (DC: 8+your proficiency bonus+your charisma modifier) in order for the spell to affect them. If they fail the check, the spell instead targets another creature of your choice. Once a spell has been reflected successfuly, the Reflect effect ends on that creature.
You can use Reflect once per long rest rest. At 19th level, it can be used twice per long rest.
Holy Circle
At 20th level you can create a circle of radiant power as an action. Creatures you choose within a 15' radius sphere centred on yourself must make a constitution save or suffer 5d8 radiant damage and be afflicted by the Bane spell for 1 minute. On a successful save the damage is halved and they are not afflicted by Bane.
Friendly creatures within the sphere are healed for 5d8 hit points and are affected by the Bless spell for 1 minute.
Holy Circle can be used once per Long Rest.