Godless Paladin
| Level | Proficiency Bonus | Features | Ire Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | Stench of the Lambs, Lay on Hands | -- |
| 2nd | +2 | Fighting Style, Divine Smite | 3 |
| 3rd | +2 | The Oath | 3 |
| 4th | +2 | Ability Score Improvement, Stench of the Lambs Improvement | 5 |
| 5th | +3 | Resolve of the Godless, Extra Attack, Divine Smite Improvement | 5 |
| 6th | +3 | Staunch Defender | 5 |
| 7th | +3 | Stench of the Lambs Improvement, Oath Feature | 7 |
| 8th | +3 | Ability Score Improvement, Divine Smite Improvement | 7 |
| 9th | +4 | -- | 7 |
| 10th | +4 | Stench of the Lambs Improvement, Aura of Courage | 10 |
| 11th | +4 | Divine Wrath, Locked In | 10 |
| 12th | +4 | Ability Score Improvement, Fighting Style Improvement | 10 |
| 13th | +5 | Extra Attack, Divine Wrath Improvement | 10 |
| 14th | +5 | Stench of the Lambs Improvement, Clarity | 10 |
| 15th | +5 | Oath Feature, Divine Wrath Improvement | 15 |
| 16th | +5 | Ability Score Improvement | 15 |
| 17th | +6 | Stench of the Lambs Improvement, Divine Fury | 15 |
| 18th | +6 | Staunch Defender Improvement, Aura of Courage Improvement | 15 |
| 19th | +6 | Ability Score Improvement, Divine Fury Improvement | 15 |
| 20th | +6 | Defy the Gods | 25 |
Godless Paladin
His armor coated in crimson from the priests now lying at his feet, a Dwarf sniffs the air to determine the location of their holy artifacts. The noxious stench guides him as a new lust for destruction fills his being.
An elf collapses to the ground pierced with arrows as a human rushes to her side. A dark radiance covers his hands as he removes the arrows and she rises to fight once more.
Godless paladins are not anti-paladins nor are they oathbreakers. Their oath is just as powerful as others. Whether they have been betrayed by the gods or simply believe more in the power of their allies than the divine, the only union a godless paladin feels is to those to whom they have sworn their Oath.
An Oath to Man
A godless paladin swears their oath to a being of flesh and bone, an ally, someone to whom they hold special recognition, a community they hold dear, or themselves. They swear to defend them against their enemies and anything else which endeavors to bring them harm. No matter to whom they swear their oath a godless paladin is consumed by only one thought: all for my patron.
The only similarity a godless paladin shares with a standard paladin is their commitment to justice. They are directly opposed to anything divine and derive their power from their devotion to their mortal patron.
Betrayed by the Divine
The worlds of Dungeons and Dragons are filled with the influence of divine entities. As such, godless paladins do not deny the influence of divine entities in the world, only their benefit to the mortal races.
Most godless paladins will have experienced some kind of betrayal or tragedy at the behest or through the influence of a divine entity thus leading to their aversion to divine influences. Still, their sense of honor and justice drives them toward a similar path as a paladin.
Creating a Godless Paladin
Godless paladins are, by their very nature, heavily story driven. To begin with, consider why they went down this path. Were they in the service of a deity who betrayed them? Did they have negative experiences with clerics and paladins?
Is there a particular deity to whom they are especially opposed? Keep in mind that while godless paladins still tend to fall into the Lawful Good alignment they may be opposed to a Good aligned deity.
Finally, consider the tenets of your oath. No two oaths are identical as each are defined by how the paladin feels at the moment it is made.
Quick Build
You can make a godless paladin quickly by following these suggestions. First, Strength should be your highest ability score, followed by Wisdom. Second, choose the Acolyte background with these changes:
- You do not have the feature: Shelter of the Faithful
- Your holy symbol, prayer book, or prayer wheel and vestments are burned as part of the oath ritual.
- You gain an additional skill proficiency or language.
Class Features
As a godless paladin, you gain the following class features.
Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d12 per godless paladin level
Hit Points at 1st level: 12 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d12 (or 7) + your Constitution modifier per godless paladin level after 1st
Proficiencies
Armor: All armor, shields
Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Wisdom, Constitution
Skills: Choose two from Athletics, Insight, Intimidation, Medicine, Persuasion, and Religion
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a martial weapon and a shield or (b) two martial weapons
- (a) five javelins or (b) any simple melee or ranged weapon
- (a) a priest's pack or (b) an explorer's pack
- Chain mail and a broken holy symbol
Stench of the Lambs
The presence of divine ties registers on your senses through various odors. As a bonus action, you can focus on these odors to determine whether something or someone near you has experienced any divine influence within 10 feet. This effect lasts for one minute.
As you level, Stench of the Lambs becomes stronger, able to smell through various materials, over longer distances, and detect specific deities. Refer to the chart for a complete list of levels and effects.
| Level | Range | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 10 ft | Detect divine influence with no distinctions between alignments |
| 4th | 30 ft | Detect divine influence along good, neutral, and evil divisions; detect through up to 3 inches of wood, two inches of stone, and half an inch of metal |
| 7th | 60 ft | Detect divine influence along lawful, neutral, and chaotic divisions; Density increased to 6 inches of wood, 4 inches of stone, and 1 inch of metal |
| 10th | 100 ft | Detect domain of deities; Density increased to 12 inches of wood, 8 inches of stone, and two inches of metal |
| 14th | 250 ft | Detect specific deities; Densities doubled |
| 17th | 500 ft | Densities doubled |
| 20th | 1000 ft | Detectable through all barriers |
Lay on Hands
You can heal those to whom you have sworn your oath through your touch. Immediately upon taking your oath, you begin storing a pool of healing power that replenishes when you take a long rest. With that pool, you can restore a total number of hit points equal to your paladin level x 5.
As an action, you can touch a creature draw power from the pool to restore a number of hit points to that creature up to the maximum amount remaining in your pool. You may only heal yourself or a creature to whom you have sworn your oath unless given permission by your patron.
This feature has no effect on undead and constructs.
Fighting Style
At 2nd level, you adopt a style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. At 12th level, you may take a second fighting style or improve your current fighting style.
Defense
While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 to your AC.
Improvement: You can add your Constitution modifier to your AC.
Dueling
When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.
Improvement: The bonus is now applied to any melee weapons you are wielding.
Great Weapon Fighting
When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to use this benefit.
Improvement: You gain an extra reroll if your second roll is a 1 or 2.
Protection
When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be wielding a shield.
Improvement: Range is increased to 15 feet and you are no longer required to wield a shield. If wielding a shield, the range is extended to 20 feet.
Divine Smite
Starting at 2nd level, your anger against the divine strengthens you attacks. If you detect divine influence on a creature or object using Stench of the Lambs, you can expend one or more ire points to inflict an additional 1d4 radiant or necrotic damage per point expended.
Additionally, if you expend at least one ire point attacks against undead, fiends, demons, or celestials gain 1d4 damage at no point cost. This damage bonus is increased to 1d6 at 5th level and 1d8 at 8th level.
If attacking a deity, you may expend an ire point to add an additional 1d10 damage.
You regain half your expended ire points on a long rest (minimum of two).
The Oath
When you reach 3rd level, your oath, sworn at the outset of your journey, begins to swirl within your mind, increasing your resolve and strengthening you as you move forward. Your oath grants you features at 3rd level and again at 7th, 15th, and 20th level.
Tenets of the Godless
Though no two oaths are identical, oaths of the godless tend to share these basic ideals.
Patron Above All: Always act first for the patron even at the expense of all else.
Disavow the Divine: The gods care not for you. Care not for them.
Oath Spells
Without the influence of a divine to assist them, godless paladins cannot cast most spells. However, their training has given them the ability to cast basic spells. At 3rd level, you can choose two cantrips from the following list. At 7th level, you can choose one additional cantrip and again at 15th level.
Cantrips: Guidance, Light, Mending, Message, Prestidigitation, Resistance, Spare the Dying, Thaumaturgy, True Strike
Mental Fortitude
Your oath allows you to steel your resolve against the divine to resist certain magical effects. As a bonus action, choose a status condition and gain resistance against magical effects which give that condition for one minute.
At 3rd level you gain two uses of Mental Fortitude. You gain two additional uses at 7th, 15th, and 20th level. Additionally, you can expend two ire points to gain a slot back. You regain all expended uses on a long rest.
Ability Score Improvements
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Resolve of the Godless
Godless paladins have a unique ability to pinpoint objects and creatures of great importance to a deity. Beginning at 5th level, when you detect a creature or object with Stench of the Lambs you can choose to focus on that creature or object, tripling the range at which it can be detected by Stench of the Lambs. This effect ends when you are beyond its detection range for longer than one hour or when you choose to focus on a different creature or object.
Extra Attack
When you reach 5th level, and again at 13th level, you gain one additional attack per Attack action.
Staunch Defender
Starting at 6th level, whenever a creature to whom you have sworn your oath within 10 feet of you must make a saving throw or comes under attack, the creature may add half your wisdom modifier to their saving throw or AC (minimum bonus of +1). You must be conscious to grant this bonus. This bonus is doubled against creatures or objects which you have detected with Stench of the Lambs.
At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.
Aura of Courage
Starting at 10th level, you and friendly creatures to whom you have sworn your oath within 10 feet of you can't be frightened by creatures or objects detected by Stench of the Lambs while you are conscious.
At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.
Divine Wrath
At 11th level, your anger towards the gods becomes a true wrath against them further strengthening your attacks. If you detect divine influence on a creature or object using Stench of the Lambs, you can expend one or more ire points to inflict an additional 1d6 radiant or necrotic damage per point expended.
Additionally, if you expend at least one ire point, attacks against undead, fiends, demons, or celestials gain 2d4 x 2 damage at no extra point cost. This damage bonus is increased to 2d6 x 2 at 13th level and 2d8 x 2 at 15th level.
If you are attacking a deity, you may expend one ire point to add an additional 2d10.
This ability replaces Divine Smite.
Locked In
You are so suffused with anger toward the gods you cannot return to the path of a normal paladin. Beginning at 11th level, a godless paladin may no longer switch to a standard paladin nor can they multi-class to a cleric or warlock.
Clarity
Beginning at 14th level, you can use your action to expend an ire point and end one spell on yourself or on one willing creature that you touch. If you have sworn your oath to the creature, you do not expend an ire point.
Divine Fury
At 17th level, you have become a force which the gods fear. If you detect divine influence on a creature or object using Stench of the Lambs, you can expend one or more ire points to inflict an additional 1d8 radiant or necrotic damage per point expended.
Additionally, if you expend at least one ire point, attacks against undead, fiends, demons, or celestials gain 2d10 x 2 damage at no extra point cost.
If you are attacking a deity, you may expend up to your maximum remaining ire points to add an additional 1d10 x 2 damage per point expended.
At level 19, all damage values are doubled.
This ability replaces Divine Wrath
Defy the Gods
Your name shall resound in the halls of the pantheons for eons for what you have done. At 20th level, pick a single creature which is dying or has been dead for less than one minute. The creature must be yourself or one to whom you have sworn your oath. You can expend 20 ire points to return that creature to life with half hit points and half their ability uses (spell slots or class abilities).