Oath of the Ebon Creed
A Paladin Oath of Deimos and the Covenant of the Ebon Creed, with necrotic smites, a damage aura for allies and healing from the necrotic damage the Paladin deals.
Identity
The Oath of the Ebon Creed is the Paladin Oath of the Covenant of the Ebon Creed, which venerates Deimos. Its Paladins are the armed half of a funerary order: they stand the vigil, escort the body and end anything that has cheated the crossing. Within the Creed the Dark Dominion supplies the executioners and this Oath supplies the honor guard. Creed Paladins attend many deaths each year, and their grimness is a professional habit.
Features
- L3 Oath Spells and Divinity
Oath Spells. You always have the following spells prepared, and they do not count against the number of spells you can prepare each day: Paladin level 3: Grasp (cantrip), Shear (1st) Paladin level 5: Veil (2nd), Unseen (2nd) Paladin level 9: Counter (3rd) Paladin level 13: Dispel (4th) Paladin level 17: Shift (5th) Spell Divinity: Dread Lord. As an action, you speak with the Crown's authority. Each creature of your choice within 30 feet of you that can see or hear you must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failure, a creature is Frightened of you for 1 minute. A Frightened creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success. On a success, a creature is immune to your Dread Lord for 24 hours. Spell Divinity: Mark of the Crown. As a bonus action, you designate a creature you can see within 60 feet as Crown-Marked. For 1 minute (or until you are Incapacitated or use this feature again), the marked target cannot regain hit points, and the first time each turn you hit the target with a weapon attack, you deal an additional 1d8 necrotic damage.
- L7 Necrotic Smite
When you use Divine Smite, you can choose for the damage to be necrotic instead of radiant. Creed doctrine holds that the necrotic form strikes deeper against Halcyion and Sun-aligned targets. Once per short rest, when you deal necrotic damage with Divine Smite to a creature with hit points equal to or less than 25 percent of its hit point maximum, the creature must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC or drop to 0 hit points. This effect does not work on creatures whose hit point maximum is greater than 100.
- L11 Aura of Hate
Each ally within 10 feet of you that has dealt damage in the current round adds your Charisma modifier (minimum +1) to the damage of the first melee weapon attack it makes on each of its turns. You and any undead or fiend allies within 10 feet of you add your Charisma modifier to every melee weapon damage roll, not only the first each turn. At Paladin level 18, the aura's range increases to 30 feet.
- L15 Soul Bond
Whenever you deal necrotic damage with a weapon attack or with Divine Smite, you regain hit points equal to one-third of the necrotic damage dealt (rounded down). This healing cannot exceed your Paladin level per turn. You also have resistance to necrotic damage. You have advantage on saving throws against being Charmed by good-aligned celestials, against radiant damage and against effects that would compel you to act against your oath.
- L18 Avatar of the Creed Capstone
Once per long rest, as a bonus action, you assume the Avatar of the Ebon Creed for 1 minute. While transformed: The area within 30 feet of you is dim light regardless of the normal lighting. Each hostile creature within 30 feet of you that can see you must succeed on a Wisdom save against your spell save DC at the start of each of its turns or be Frightened of you until the start of its next turn. Your weapon attacks deal an additional 2d6 necrotic damage on a hit. This stacks with the damage from Crown-Marked. When you reduce a creature to 0 hit points with a weapon attack or smite, you gain temporary hit points equal to half the creature's hit point maximum (to a maximum of your Paladin level × 2). You have resistance to all damage except radiant and force. You have a flying speed equal to your walking speed. The form ends early if you fall Unconscious, dismiss it as a free action, or are reduced to 0 hit points.
